The Muench Bunch

Jayden signed up for a horsemanship clinic with a trainer named Cody Keller. It was a 2 day clinic, due to the small numbers, we just signed up for one full day. I went with Jayden and watched, Mom met me and we went for lunch. At one point, we got a heavy down pour and some strong wind, thankful we were indoors.The clinic was very helpful for Jayden. Cody taught her a lot and was good to Jayden. He encouraged her and complimented her a lot. I do think he was very impressed with the riding she does. There was one technique he was showing the students, counter arching. Jayden was able to do it no problem and could make her horse go anywhere. He was in awe and said never in all his clinics has anyone been able to do that. Jayden took Joker and Moose. She spent most of her time with Joker. She was able to ask questions and get some pointers. Cody told her that he would like Jayden to run one of his horses in a rodeo if she is every running in her area. That shows how impressed he was! He

Tiny is the name Jayden came up with for her ranch weanling. He is little for his age, and we know his age is about 3 months younger than his actual registered date. He is the size of a weanling at the age of a yearling. He has been quite a project for Jayden. He came with other surprises, not yet vaccinated or wormed, a hernia, and hundreds of ticks that survived on him through the winter. She halter broke him on her own and worked with him a lot. She could lead him all over, tie him, pick up his feet, and sack him out. It wasnt all easy, she got kicked several times and had many days were he would turn and run from her. He was never the best about getting caught. Once caught, he was submissive. She decided to get some help from a 4H horse project leader. He came out and worked Tiny in the round pen. IT went from bad to worse. The longer he was worked, the more tolerant he became to the whip. He got to the point of standing and taking the whipping. It was hard to watch and I stopped i

5/22 Kyle K has been our horse shoer for many years. He has been kind and friendly. Standing with a farrier for hours gets very long and boring. He is good at making conversation and has been pretty good to us. He likes to tease and talk with Jayden. He has helped us in a few binds and always comes out to  put a pulled shoe back on within a day or two. As we have acquired more horses I have noticed Kyle getting a little more annoyed in having to shoe and trim so many. In fact we have decided on trimming some and just doing front shoes on some. it is also a big expense for all the horses to have all 4 shoes and Kyle insists on a 7 week rotation all year round. Recently he asked if he could start coming out on Sundays and working on our horses all day. I like to keep Sundays as much a day for the Lord as possible. We do church, we do connection group, and we do family. Unfortunately at times other things get planned like 4H meetings and things I can't control. I dont like to fill Su

The trips to Mayo are heavy on my mind and tend to cause some stress. Tuesday morning I was ready to start school with the boys. We were at the table starting devotions and talking about things when Mark came in and wanted the boys to go out in the tin shed and move all their stuff, toys, junk and clear it all out. We were talking at least an hours worth of work. The carpenters were coming this very morning to work. Nothing like last minute. I was stressing, upset that we didn't do school yesterday, I had the day planned, I had expectations, things that needed to get done. I have a hard time just letting go and not worrying about it.  In the  afternoon, Jayden and I went to ride up at the Dayton arena. It was a sun shining hot day reaching almost 80. Wednesday the boys were not listening, not cooperating, Luke was in tears, Jake was mad, it was just spiraling and I was stressing. For three days in a row, I felt the worst, my stomach would be in knots, my body tense, and my head fog

Early spring my little Skippy John Jones disappeared. I was so heartbroken. I loved that little cat, he was mine. I named him, spoiled him and he was super sweet. I miss him. My little Skippy will be missed. Not long after, Daytona disappeared. Our cats come in and out of our lives so fast. Some cats go too fast, some we have had for years. Another gray striped cat appeared on our farm one day and we named him Bandit. He was a stray and it took awhile before he would allow us to pet him. Once he realized we weren't going to hurt him, he has been super friendly. Coco, still remains the only cat allowed in the house and he basically comes in to take his 8-12 hour nap. He is the top dog favorite and spoiled. We currently have 8 cats.

Soccer season consisted of 5 games on Saturdays and two nights a week of practice. The season went relatively fast, and didn't have any frigid or rainy weather.  Luke enjoyed playing on the team with some nice boys on his team. He kicked the ball a few times and got to play goalie. He still likes to stay back and is apprehensive to go kick the ball when others are by him. This year he was on the U10 team with a much larger field. He spent a lot of time running and learned more about how to play the game than just kick the ball. Their are forwards and guards and strategy. He is fun to watch and had a good time. I enjoy going to his games, especially in the nice weather.

I got to take photos of little Levi. He is 4 months old and such an adorable, photogenic, little guy. I brushed the dust off of my digital camera and took some photos.

5/17/17 Monday and Tuesday were in the upper 80’s, it even reached 90 on Tuesday. Mark was planting at the Dayton farm and rolling along with the 36 row planter trying to finish. And I mean finish planting for the entire season. The last field, the last corn in the ground. Storms were heading our way and we were watching the radar close. Mark had 1 ½ rounds to finish the field for the season. He was dog tired from running hard the last few days into the night. The raindrops started, but he managed to finish the field, Halleluia praise the Lord. It is such a great feeling for everyone when we finish! Luke was with Mark for the last few hours. They had to leave the equipment in the field and head home as the rains and wind came up. It stormed and rained most of the night.

The kids and I made meals to freeze for Grammer to have after her shoulder surgery. We had a process kind of like an assembly line. Some things we cooked and prepared, like the burritos. Others we combine ingredients and place in a gallon freezer bag that can later be put in a crock pot. We want grandma to have some easy meals during her recovery. Grammer has had two shoulder surgeries alreayd and this time it will be complete replacement.  

5/14/17  Since Mark’s mom was going to be gone on Mother’s Day Mark grilled steaks and had her over for supper on Friday. I fixed dinner then we sat outside by the fire pit. It was a lovely evening. Mother’s day morning started out like any other weekday. I fixed Mark a sack lunch for the field because he would be plattning all day. He had all the guys work . I know it is mid May and the crop needs to get planted, but I still think a person could take a day off, or even a few hours. It is mother's day and the hired men are not getting to honor the day either. Mark has always been hard core in planting season and nothing stops the planter except rain. He felt bad that it was Mother’s day and apologized many times. I wasnt going to let it ruin the day, I took the kids to church in Ames, I enjoy going to Cornerstone and it feels like a special treat when we go. With the college students home for the summer, the congregation was much smaller. After church we ate Mexican, then  we chan

4/22/17  The Rouge Rodeo hosted its first rodeo in Elkahart at the Prairie Rose arena for IRCA. It is just an hour from home and in a nice big indoor arena. Jayden was so excited to get the rodeo season rolling. Luke is a great traveling partner and likes to tag along whenever he can. Ace ran a good pattern for Jayden and put her in the money at 6th place and $222. Let the rodeo season begin. I am hoping Jayden and Ace can have more good runs than bad and can make place at a few, win a rodeo, and make it to finals. 5/13 The second IRCA spring rodeo at Elkhart. I was the driver and it would be my first outing with the big Bloomer horse trailer. It is long, and it is heavy. Mark did some major tuning up on the Dodge pickup, so now it sounds like a semi. No more emissions, a big exhaust, and a tuner. It is loud! The ruck also has a tow haul and a Jake break. I was pretty nervous driving the first time. The route was simple, 30 to 35 and off the exit to Elkhart and then out on a county

JMO May 2017 God gives us children as a gift. They're our precious child to raise and to nurture. It is our job to prepare them for the world and to prepare them to someday become parents themselves.   God gives us the role in parenting to have authority over our children. God says children are to obey their parent in the Lord for this is right. He tells us we are to raise our children up in the Lord. He tells us to respect authority. So when did parents stop raising their kids? Now, I know we are not amazing parents, our kids fall into many of these categories, but we are always trying to guide our kids, shepherd them and come along side in helping them make good choices. So many times I hear parents talking, some are friends, some I don't know and I overhear conversations. I hear parents complaining about their kids spending too much time in front of the television, kids being lazy, kids spending all their time on electronics, kids becoming violent because they watch the wro

5/8/17 The fifth trip to Mayo in Rochester Minnesota should be the last. Jayden and I drove up on Sunday. We went to church, she gave a riding lesson, went to a 4H meeting, we we took Jake to Williams, and finally we were headed north. It was 10:30PM when we checked in, close to midnight when we went to sleep and up at 6AM. We had breakfast, then first appointment at 8AM. All these tests, labs, and doctor visits start to get to me. As the doctors try to come up with a solution, they also have different opinions and contradicting recommendations. That is when my stress level starts to rise. We look to the doctors as they are the educated experts, the ones with all the knowledge. However when they dont agree, that leave us greatly confused. From the beginning of Jayden's symptoms, we started out visiting her local medical doctor who suspected a post strep response leading to rheumatoid arthritis. We made several trips to Omaha children's hospital to a pediatric rhematologist. She

Jake has enjoyed his motorcycle. He can hop on it and zoom all over the hay field any time he wants. He is pretty safe and a good driver. One day this month he got to have Rylie come and ride. we have the 4 wheeler so they take turns and zoom around the dog house place where they made a path. I recently purchased two helmets for Jake and Luke. They came from Nate, the mechanic and friend that Jake draws with. He has had them in a box for several years, brand new.

I took a few photos of Jayden getting senior picture ideas. Here are a few that I took, and some school pictures.