Whew! I am sucking wind.

While my Thursday had been looked forward to with great anticipation, it didn't live up to expectations.

We had one of the largest seed blocks ever scheduled at the compound. Fifty-six modules, almost seven hundred bales, or just over half a million pounds of highly prized and sought after planting seed for next years crop. In fact, a representative from the seed company came in to baby sit our project. It's not that they don't trust us, it is just being able to maintain the chain of custody and integrity of their program.

The morning was pretty laid back. I spent most of it in the office, data entry, coordinating incoming trucks for the day's project as well as projects for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. About two in the afternoon I received a call asking me to check a brake on the Blacksheep truck. Inspection revealed a broken spring which allowed the brake shoe to drop and ride on the brake drum. Being isolated and not having all the necessary tools required me to improvise. Two trips to the farm store and I rigged up a temporary solution to get the truck back on the other end and hopefully parts and a quick repair. After several trips in and out from under the truck I was filthy! I made a quick trip to the air hose and did a quick clean up before I was summoned back to the bale dock with a problem on a forklift bale clamp. Initial inspection revealed a pin hole in a hose requiring us to remove the clamp to gain access to remove the damaged hose. Shortly, we were on our way to the farm store where Frankie A. fixed us up in quick order. We returned and installed the new hose and began re-installing the clamp when I noticed another problem, a broken key stock which secures the clamp horizontally. This required a torch, some new key stock (which I had in my tool box), a grinder and a welder. After a couple of hours we were back to re-installing the clamp. Finally, I could exhale.

I had been juggling an ever changing schedule to accommodate constantly changing requirements and boy, had those requirements changed since I had last addressed them. Seed truck to bales, other seed trucks leap frogging trucks that weren't on site and trying to work the phone (to no avail). Finally at ten pm. I yelled calf rope and called it a day. If no one else is concerned why should I be? I have an alternate plan in place for daylight and if I deem it necessary I will use it even if it hacks some people off. If you are going to play in the game you gotta play every minute.

On one of my many calls to Roscoe I was able to make contact with Kasey. She was an island in a sea of telephone rings that went un-answered. She tried to direct me but I had no success making contact. Kasey and had a brief conversation and she revealed to me that she and Bridger are expecting. Yep, Hunter is going to be a big brother, Bridger is pregnant! Congratulations.

It seemed that Thursday was fund raiser delivery day out here. Cookie dough and Poinsettias. Krl and I won't ever go hungry as long as we have cookie dough and we will be stylish as long as we have the accent flowers. Yeah, right.

Since we are so accessible and high profile, we are a target for the fund raisers. Krl tries to buy a little from several so we now have a freezer full of "tubs" of cookie dough. When I walked into the trailer it was a jungle. Krl had ordered nine Poinsettia's to use as accents for the Thanksgiving meal and then planned on forming them out to different people. As it turns out, the poinsettia farm didn't deliver until yesterday (a little late for Thanksgiving) and they didn't deliver the multiple colors the 4-H club had been marketing. The vendor decided to upgrade everyone's order since they couldn't meet all the color schemes. So instead of smaller plants we have an abundance of two foot tall poinsettias sitting all around the trailer!

Bah humbug!

Can you believe it is December? I can't.

The gin has been out of module tags for almost a week so while they are booking modules they are not issuing tags. This is going to be a mess when the new tags come in. Lots of work for Kristy, Becky, Anthony and Tyler. We are approaching that mystical 150,000 bale mark. Optimists were telling me we were between 140k and 150k yesterday. Unbelievable.

I was sleeping pretty well when either I imagined it or one of the dogs made a knocking noise. Immediately I was wide awake and my heart was thumping. One of those adrenalin rushes. I am almost convinced I have a sleep disorder. Anyhow, I jumped up, grabbed a shirt and went out on the porch to find all was well on the seed truck end. Tardy trucks had finally arrived. I didn't even go to the bale dock. I know bad news can wait until morning.

Be the real deal!

FATHER, I need YOU every hour, every day, every way. I pray for patience. I pray for rest and relief. I pray for Krl's healing and renewal. I ask safety and care for Adam and his men in Iraq. I lift up Addie, Memama, Pepa, Hag, Bets, Jess, B., Lillie, Aimee, Jennifer, Ashlyn Kate, Dr. Mackie, Jeanine, Verlin, Karen, Hope, K.C., and Tyler for YOUR gifts of healing and care. I ask comfort for those who are heavy hearted with grief. I pray for those of us who stumble as we try to follow YOU. I pray for our spiritual family and our leaders. I pray for the efforts being made to expand YOUR kingdom. I pray especially for Richard, Anastacia, James and Terah. That they would put their trust in YOU. I pray for our prayer partners Jenavene and Susan, that we would praise and glorify YOU. There is power in CHRIST's redeeming blood.