The Event ~ National Finals Rodeo

The National Finals Rodeo held in Las Vegas each December can now be crossed off the bucket list ~ Tim’s bucket list, not necessarily mine.  But we share in the realization of each other’s bucket list.

The NFR takes the best of the best  cowboys each year ~ the top 15 cowboys in each of seven events ~ and they each compete for ten straight nights to determine world champions in each event for the year.  Then they start all over on January 1 in the rodeo circuit. 

Tim and I were invited to accompany friends Ernie and Connie Bussinger to Las Vegas to attend two of the NFR performances.  A bucket list event for Tim that we couldn’t pass up.  They were the two best rodeos we ever attended.  Of course, Nationals should be.

A two-time world champion in steer wrestling, Dean Gorsuch, is from Scottsbluff and a member of our new church we attend.  Tim just recently met him at a men’s Bible study in November.  He held the world champion title in 2007 and 2010.  This year he entered the NFR in third place.  It was fun to follow him and cheer him on.  We also enjoyed dinner out with him and his family after the Thursday night rodeo. 

We shared a condo for three nights with Ernie and Connie, and enjoyed devotion and prayer time around the breakfast table each day.  Tim was a fantastic breakfast chef!  We also got in some card-playing time in the evening after the rodeos. 

The National Finals Rodeo was a great event with good friends.  An eventful time with eventful memories. 

The Event ~ The Gathering Place

I love it when my kids come home and we are all gathered in the kitchen or around the dining room table.  I love it that they love to come home.  I love it when home is a gathering place, a pleasant place to come too. 

Home was a gathering place again for Thanksgiving 2012.  21 family gathered on Wednesday evening to celebrate Great Grandma Stricker's 85th birthday ~ and we also included celebration for Jon's 10th birthday.   Present for the celebration was Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Tom, Tim, Janel, Jakob, Josh, Jon, Mathilda, Ben, Jo, Amelia, Cash, Annie, Julie C, Kathy, Paul, Bobby, Alexandra, Tim and I.

We all gathered again on Thanksgiving Day for not the traditional feast.  No turkey today.  Instead, Chef Tim cooked stuffed pork loin with peach and currant sauces.  It was so-o-o-o good!  And then we had the traditional trimmings, including the usual ribbon jello, Grandmas lettuce & pea salad, bread dressing, lefsa, pumkin pie, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, and lots more.

In the afternoon we enjoyed some "minute to win it" games, thanks to Janel's creativity.  We all got into the act of trying to get cookies from our foreheads to our mouths, stacking cups, seeing how many marbles a wet napkin would hold, trying to get the most marshmellows picked up with a straw, and unwrapping a gift with big fat gloves on.  Julia was the winner of the prize box of m&m's inside the last of three boxes to be unwrapped.

The kids even got in the traditional football game on the front lawn.  The weather was so perfect for some outdoor fun and entertainment.

Throughout the rest of the weekend, I even managed to get everyone around the breakfast table at the same time - twice - two days in a row.  That is quite an accomplishment for me, as I'm never quite organized enough to get breakfast on the table for everyone at one time.  It felt good ~ gathering at the

gathering table for breakfast.

 

Then it was branding time.  We love it for the grandkids to have an opportunity to particpate in our small little branding event.  And it's always good to get the grown-up kids involved too.  Annie did the ear tagging once again, Cash the wrestling with Jakob's help after Tim A lost a wrestling bout with one of the steers, and Julia took care of the vaccination.  The boys each had a place at the head and the hips holding them down while Tim did the branding. 

Grandpa and Amelia kept a watchful eye on the whole event!



The evidence at the end of a fun branding event!

Thanksgiving 2012 was a memorable fun event at the gathering place ~ home - sweet - home!  Always a good place to be.  And so much to be thankful for, not only at Thanksgiving time, but everyday, all year long, every year.  God is good!