Good times, good company

It's been quite a whirlwind the last couple days, with temperatures in the 60s on Monday to yesterday's 20 degree weather! Cant believe it's the 22nd of January already either. 

On Monday after work I stopped by one of our lease places and brought John something to eat. (It was 4 o'clock and he still hadn't had lunch!) We went and fed hay to a bunch of Mama cows, and oh how I miss being smaller and fitting in that tractor with him!! There is NO buddy seat so you know that means sitting on the wheel, and halfway on the armrest in my case. It was still a beautiful day to enjoy riding around with him nonetheless. It sure made me miss being able to stay home with him 24/7 and being a part of the daily routines of running a cattle farm. Someday I will be back though (: 

Now yesterday was a little different story. I stopped by Sheena's home and rode around with her while she hauled some round bales. It was great to have some gal time and catch up, but I wish I had worn my cowgirl boots, because I didn't realize how much work we'd be doing! Lol. Trying to take that trailer off sure was entertaining if someone had been watching us. Ground frozen to one foot of it, trying to get it even, cranking it down just to crank it back up in the freezing cold, but it was definitely a good laugh!! We are so ready for springtime and summer time that's for certain. 

I thoroughly enjoy living a few miles from a fellow farm wife, it has many advantages. Our kids enjoy playing together and there is someone to talk to that understands where your coming from when discussing something like calving season or hay season. This is a picture of my daughter Adelyn Belle, and Sheena's youngest son Tanner. 

Hope you guys have a great week! And you can follow our instagrams for more photos Ashley- @arkansas_belle Sheena-@cashntanner 

-realfarmwifeofcc Ashley 

On Your Mark

Well today was day #1 of my health journey. I started my 14 day Tiny TeaTox from Your Tea! It taste much better than I would have thought and I can't wait to show you my before and after pictures from it. I jogged 1 mile on the treadmill and followed up with p90x legs and back workout. 

I just LOVE the feeling of working out, and am definitely keeping this up. But on another note it SNOWED AGAIN❄️⛄️

I got to go with John to feed cows this afternoon and burrrrr it was freezing! Here's a bred Mama looking at me like I'm crazy for taking pictures. 

 

Snow is beautiful, but these cold temps with these -20 windchill is not something I enjoy in Arkansas, I just admire my husband for getting up 7 days a week NO MATTER what the weather is like and going and taking care of these guys. 

With 400 head of cattle that takes hours, even with my Father in Law and Brother in law helping too! 

Well it's 8 o'clock, so off to snuggle with Adelyn I go! 

-Realfarmwifeofcc 

4 Days till Christmas!

Christmas Is Nearing

I don't know about ya'll, but Christmas is such a special time around here! Our daughter is 2 and 1/2 and understands that Christmas means presents. ("Is tomorrow Christmas? Is it Christmas time now?") Although she is only 2 and 1/2 she knows about Jesus Christ and that he lives in her heart, if you ask her she'll tell you where he lives! But when telling her the Christmas story her 2 year old mind is quite set on the gifts still. We will be focusing more next year on the giving spirit for sure and Jesus' Birthday!

Now my family is a blended family so we have SEVERAL outings to attend to this season, 8 so far, spread over a weeks course starting with tomorrow. This can be very exhausting, and rough some years but is nevertheless humbling knowing there is so many loved ones in our lives. We also volunteered (were told) to be in our church Christmas play tomorrow! Yes, John is in it too, surprisingly. My Grandpa is the pastor at our little country church, and the whole family is a part of this. 2 sets of Grandparents, my parents, my sisters, my nephew, and Addy, John and I! I will definetly be posting pictures afterwards.

On another note, the bad winter storm that was expected to arrive tonight, has turned into warmer temps and rain instead. We are praying the rain stays as far away or as minimal as possible. After the snow storm last week our fields are saturated so there is no where for the rain to go. In the spring of 2011 we had a bad spill of rain that flooded and destroyed some of our hay fields, so we're hoping histroy does not repeat itself in December!

I would love to know what your weather is like this week and where you are from! Comments are LOVED

-Ashley

Behind Every Successful Farmer, Is A Wife That Works In Town

Well This is my first offical blog post! The Name is Ashley (: I am a farmer's wife from Carroll County, Arkansas. (We're about 25 minutes South of Branson, MO and about 1 hour north of Fayettville, AR) In this blog I will be discussing my daily life, possibly my journey to a healthier me, some ranch/farm product reviews, Farmhand approved meals, and of course what it's like being a Beef Cattle farmer's wife! Before Adelyn was born I was on the farm every day and with John 24 hours a day, but now that Addy goes to preschool I currently work at a local school as a Paraprofessional. You know what they say "Behind every sucessful farmer, is a wife that works in town!"

FARM.LIFE

John and I currently operate with his father and brother. My husband manages around 600 head of cattle. We have 2 farms that are owned, and then we currently rent 4 other farm properties. There are 4 chicken houses that my father-in-law mainly takes care of as well. We have 2 horses, Scooter & Duke, that are mainly used for roping or working cattle. We have around 400 head of stockers/background calves and about 150 cow/calf pairs. We also maintain several Hereford Bulls for breeding.

HOME.LIFE

We of course live on the farm, less than a mile down the red dirt road to my Inlaws home. Such a blessing to have them so close as we raise our children, and build this farming business (and my mother in law certainly helps by feeding us a good home cooked meal, when cooking is just not on the agenda, such a plus!) We have one child, Adelyn Belle. She is 2 and 1/2 and probably the sassiest thing to come out of Oak Grove! She absoutely is being raised as a genuine farmer's daughter and southern belle. She has manners that will melt your heart, and the temper of a mad momma cow if provoked! LOL she loves playing in the dirt, but wants to be in her best princess attire while doing so....

Now that you've learned about some of my background, hopefully we can have some fun times here! Feel free to comment, and give me a link to your blog. You may email realfarmwifeofcc@gmail.com if you would like more information on me doing a product review for you, or my husband is willing to do any sort of product review from fence fixin' products, to horse products.

Thank you for joining, and I look forward to what is to come of this!

-Real Farm Wife of CC