Finally Fair!!

Today is nuts. I am scrambling to help Kelsie get all her animals ready for Yuma County Fair, get the little man off to mom's for a sleepover, get to church and prayer partners by four, try to figure out why the email on computer wont work, and get to Del Mar tomorrow! It's official......I am overbooked and boy am I feeling it today.

Monday starts the insanity of our fair. I love it and hate it all at the same time! We have thirty some animals to get there and then I have to help work the barn the whole week. Kelsie shows cavies on Tuesday, Poultry on Wednesday and Rabbits on Thursday and Friday, with the auction on Saturday, and finally check out Sunday night. Whew, just writing it is exhausting me!!

Then, like the sucker I am, I have to be in Del Mar tomorrow........I think I need my head examined!!

Somehow, it will all work out. It always does. I just find that in the middle of the fray, it's hard to come up for air.

I am realizing this week how incredibly fast my daughter is growing up. Only two more fairs for her! It is my hopes this week to just enjoy being a 4-H mom and leader. Take time to enjoy the kids because that's what the fair is all about!

It has been amazing to see her transformation and growth through rabbits. She was so shy in the begining she was scared to death to even show. So many wonderful friends and mentors have changed her into the unique and special young lady she has become. Only two more fairs........where does the time go?

Wonder if my mother felt that way? Experiencing 4-H as an adult has been so rewarding and my hopes are that every child has a terrific experience. For ribbons are nice, but learning to keep it all together under pressure is the ultimate experience!!

It's 4-H Time!

According to the Weather Channel....Fall has arrived. I think that Yuma missed that forecast as our temperatures are still projected to be hovering around 108 degrees for the next week. That aside, everything else is starting to feel like Fall. School has been in session almost a month, and it's time to sign up for 4-H!!

For those of you who don't understand the 4-H organization, here's a brief overview. 4-H is a youth organization open to children from 9 to 19 years of age. It encompasses many projects with the ultimate goal of teaching youth leadership, responsibility, and citizenship.

4-H has been a part of my life since I was nine years old. I started in a Foods project and added more projects over the years. I attended the National 4-H Congress, Citizenship Washington Focus and learned that the world is so much bigger than Yuma. Through 4-H, I learned so many lessons that apply to my life today. No wonder my daughter is a member of 4-H too!

I have watched her learn how awesome it feels to win a competition, and how to be a good sport when she doesn't. With animal projects, you definitely learn responsibility and the inevitable facts of life and death. She has learned about politics and how sometimes it's not important what you know but who you know. All of these life skills she will use for the rest of her life.

She has also learned how to actually practice being a Christian through 4-H. She has learned to turn the other cheek when people say hurtful things and how to stand up for others when they have no voice. She always tithes her income from her animal projects and God has blessed her with awesome bunnies to boot. It is amazing the lessons she has learned in such a few years.

I'm not actually ready to start the chaos that is the 4-H year, but I am excited to see old friends again. I often am feel like I benefit more from Kelsie's hobbies than she does because of the awesome friends that I have made.

So here's to another 4-H year......craziness and all!