The early bird gets the worm.

This entire week I have tried to be extremely disciplined. At every juncture I have done computer work in hopes of having an easier weekend of settlement preparations. Yesterday I generated the hourly payroll and almost immediately went into seed truck settlements. By last evening Krl was proofing and found only one mistake.

Early this morning I began doing bale truck and bale driver settlements. Whew, I would imagine all these guys are bald because they change hats (and trucks) almost every load. This was a nightmare because I had several drivers drive for multiple truck owners. One truck had five (5) drivers! Yuk! But it is all water under the bridge now. I am done. Once again Krl is proofing settlements and writing checks. With luck we will be done by late afternoon! Yippee!

Yesterday we celebrated the office manager's birthday. She was caught totally by surprise. We had a huge cake, dips, chips, cheeseball, crackers and grapes. The was a large contingency that "grazed" all day long. I went into the office about seven in the morning, setting it all up, and last evening about six Krl and I were cleaning things up. What little cake was left went to the night crew inside the plant.

Ollie, the youngest daughter, is supposed to come out here to do some work. Krl is going to use her on some data entry and I may use her on a forklift. She was actually trying to come out Thursday and got to Sterling City before she was stopped for erratic driving. The troopers put her out of service. They thought she was suffering from diabetic shock. They made her park until her Mom could pick her up. Krl and I were in Midland when all this was going on. It probably didn't help but her medical doctor in 'Angelo was closed down Monday by authorities and she had been out of some of her meds since Friday. She went to a new doctor Friday and got a new Rx script. She called wanting money for her meds. "Wire it". Krl told her the nearest place was an hour away and then she called back and gave Krl a website where she could use her credit card and wire the money from the comfort of our trailer. I told Krl I wasn't comfortable with this and to just call the pharmacy and pay for it. As it turns out, her mother had already paid for the meds so we will just repay her. Not quite the foundation you build trust on. I am still trying to put my finger on what is bothering me.

E.T., the seed truck driver who's three month old grandson was found dead Thursday morning, made a trip yesterday. Apparently authorities are conducting an autopsy, but preliminary opinions point to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). We are still unclear as to when and what the plans are but the body was to be returned to the family this morning. Right now there are several drivers who are stretching themselves pretty thin in order to give E.T. the flexibility to do what he needs to and feels like doing.

Sunday is a maintenance Sunday. Double yippee! If we can get the paperwork out of the way today we will be footloose and fancy free! Hello Cattle Baron! I can hear a steak calling my name! Thursday we did all our supplies shopping except for three items so we are in good shape. Houston, all systems are go!

Later today I am going to try to expand myself. All the components have finally arrived. We are going "wireless" network. I am going to try to get the new laptop up first and if all things go well we will expand it to include the other two computers and both printers. Actually I am considering moving up to a much better grade printer when we do this. Probably the savings on paper alone would have paid for it because our current printer often has a big appetite for paper and will take multiple sheets at a time (of course it has to smear ink on all of them and render them useless). Basically what we are going to is a full "T" bandwidth which will be a real improvement over the old dialup. I will notify all of my address book if and when I am confident enough to take the other system down.

A fellow blogger passed from this world Wednesday night. She had been battling melanoma. She demonstrated immense faith and total trust. Her obit was in the Friday Reporter-News, her name was Kerri Lane. It began with "this is a testament of the life of ....... . It is worth reading either in the archives on line or by going back and looking in your paper. I had included this young woman in my prayer list, I wish I had known her.

Be the real deal.

FATHER I am sad, I am heavy hearted. FATHER I pray for those sad and hurting with grief. I pray for E.T. and his family and for Kerri's family. FATHER you are all seeing and all knowing but sometimes it is difficult for us to understand how and why things happen. Strengthen our faith. Give these the comfort they search for. I pray for Krl and her healing and renewal. I pray for Adam and his men. I ask for their safety. I lift up Memama, Pepa, Hag, Bets, Jess, Douglas, Jack, Frances, Lillie, Aimee, B, Dr. Mackie, Jeanine, and Hope for YOUR care and healing. I pray for others who are suffering loss. I pray for those of us who stumble while attempting to follow YOU. Forgive us. I pray for our spiritual family and our leaders. I pray for the efforts being made to expand YOUR kingdom. I pray for Richard, Anastacia, James and Terah. Keep them from the lure of the world, keep them true to YOU. I pray for our prayer partners Jenavene and Susan, that we rejoice in all the good things YOU have blessed us with. I pray for our time spent with Ollie, that it would be productive. FATHER help us to know that each day we live is our testament, may that testament reflect YOU in us.