A Rodeo Family: A tough week

I wanted to get a good picture of my Dad's horse Doc. He brought so much happiness to my Dad. I wish I would have taken the time to do a picture like this for my Dad before he passed away.

This has been a long tough week. A week ago yesterday I got a call from my brother my Dad had quit breathing & they were taking him to the hospital by ambulance. It was such a horrible helpless feeling. Kyle was in Austin & had just got done with his run in the short go. I called him right away & he called his parents. At that time I did not know how everything was going to turn out. I was hoping for the best, & that we would soon be getting a call that he was awake & breathing. Lacey called me & said she & her husband were headed down to Albion if I wanted to ride along with them. Marilyn came over to be with my girls & we headed out sometime after 9:00 that night. As soon as I met up with my sister we got the call from Dusty that Dad had passed away.

The next couple of days are a blur to me. I never knew how much planning went into funeral preparations. We all pulled together & had a really nice tribute to my Dad. The love & support from so many caring people is helping us to get through this difficult time.

Looking back over the last 12 years I do see how the plan has been in motion for some time now, setting our family up for this day. There have been so many things that are not just coincidences. The fact that all 4 of us kids got married within 5 years & we gave Dad 12 grand kids in a 7 year time span is so cool! My Dad got to walk both my sisters & I down the aisle & he got more Grandpa time in 9 years than most men get in 30 years. It is so difficult to at the time of an unexpected death in a family operation. There are often questions for those left behind to try to figure out. My Dad had a lot of the information in his head. I was going through his cattle paper work & on Feb 13th 2013 he wrote some notes. He wrote down what cows belonged to Dusty, what cows were the old cow & a list of the 1st & 2nd year heifers. I looked back through all his other cattle papers & records. No where else was there ever a list like this. I could go on & on about other things that have happened this past year that make it obvious that there is an almighty plan & that God does work in our lives daily preparing us for the next stage in our life. We don't know what the entire plan is, but I take great comfort in knowing that there is a plan.

I am taking it one day at a time. I am so thankful for my loving supportive husband.