One year of loving the Lovestead

I just turned over the Union Pacific calendar to another month. Hard to believe the year is half over, and hard to believe that on this day last year we were eagerly awaiting the signal to start hauling 30 years worth of stuff to the new Lovestead. The former owners were running a little slow, especially loading their donkey, so we didn't really unload any boxes until late that afternoon.

We had purchased a 4-wheeler and had asked the Boundary Tractor folks to park it at my mother's place. That morning, thinking it was surely time to move, we ceremoniously drove the Rhino to the new house, only to find it would be a few more hours. So, we went back to town and visited the Quest Aircraft Co. open house. By that time, Laura, Sefo and the gang of triplets had joined us for the big move.

When the time finally came later that afternoon, my first official duty was to load up my mother in the 4-wheeler and take her on a tour of the place. All she'd seen until that point was the view from the road. The view from within got her so excited she said things like, "Marianne, you got a bargain on this place," and "You could have weddings in this yard." Mother highly approved. As did everyone among the moving crew.

We worked hard and did a lot of sweating that week, but we also had a blast with the nightly barbecues. Laura, Sefo and the triplets set up a tent. Bill spent nights sleeping at the old house as long as there was still stuff there. I spent nights sleeping in the motorhome at Mother's cuz I was also doing chores while my sisters were at a horse show. Annie hung around and helped us for a week. Willie surprised me the next day after Laura sneaked off to the airport to pick him up. It was a great time for everyone as they helped us start this new chapter of our lives.

The same sounds we heard in early July have returned to remind us of those first few days---hawks screeching on hot afternoons, that dog yapping across Taylor's field, an occasional moo from neighboring cows and the Fourth of July firecrackers and works. We have a feeling the latter are going to rev up more and more the next few days, but with those sounds, it's most likely every year we'll think back on the joy of those first days as we moved to Heaven on Earth.

The joy continues, though marked by the recent sad loss of some very special segments of our animal family. Still, the setting provided them a wonderful year of life in the country, and the place has been good to us in a myriad of satisfying ways. One year later at the Lovestead, we can enthusiastically say, "We're happy to be here."