The best Mother's Day EVER!

The past two weeks have been a never-ending Mother's Day for me! I received a phone call near the end of April that I had won the Southwest Regional Farm Mom of the Year and was a finalist for the National Farm Mom of the Year! Wow! What a surprise and honor!

I knew that my aunt Mary Ferguson, who is more like a friend than an aunt, had nominated me. Mary and I are fairly close in age and while she was in college at K-state I was finishing high school, and she spent a lot of time with my family. My mom is her big sister and Mary was like a idol to me! She has done so many awesome things in her life, that to have her honor me with a nomination meant a great deal. Mary and her husband Mike Colvin are Angus cattle ranchers in western Kansas. Their ranch is Wolf Creek Angus. She said she had written an  essay--had to be less than 300 words--and sent it in. I felt very special just being thought of in that way by her. Thank you so much, Mary!

When I received the phone call, he said that I had received two nominations! I couldn't imagine who else would nominate me, so I thought he was wrong. I asked who the other was, and he replied that my five kids had sent in an essay to nominate me. That choked me up! What an honor that my children would want to nominate me for Farm Mom of the Year--especially this time of year when we are working hard to get cattle bred, fences fixed, cows to grass and we are all often out until 9:30 pm working. We have been coming in to gulp down supper and get a hot shower then fall into bed exhausted by 10:30 pm most nights! As I thought about it, I realized that meant that they had to write an essay without my help, too! I am an English major and I enjoy editing their writing. Recently, they don't have much editing needed, and obviously, I can quit doing it now that they have more than proven their competence.

For the past two weeks, the online public voting has been going on. I have watched my kids promote the website and encourage voting for me online and through their friends. They wrote a guest blog post encouraging votes and said some really sweet things about me there. I have to tell you, it really surprised me to find out it was my husband Duane who encouraged the kids to nominate me. He emailed them the information, and encouraged them to put it together. That means a lot to me, as well, because I know Duane would love to be the full-time farmer/rancher in our family. He works in town, at a desk, and encourages me to do what I love--that is, take care of the ranch. It takes a pretty special husband to appreciate his wife doing what I do. And Duane is that special!

So this Mother's Day, I want to honor my kids and my husband, and my aunt Mary, as well as all the people who have supported me in the voting! I am so thrilled with my neighbors who have said that they voted for me; the radio stations and newspapers who have called for interviews and encouraged the vote; the bull buyers who said they heard it on the radio and went online and voted; the K-state students (some I haven't even met) who found out through my kids and voted; the friends I've met through social media who have read about it on twitter and Facebook and followed a link to vote; and the people who reposted my kids' guest blog post to encourage votes. Thank you all for your encouragement for me personally, and your support of Farm Wives/Moms in general!

Honestly, at this point, I do not care if I win the overall National Farm Mom of the Year! I am flying high with the support I've been given from people who matter most to me. Last night, the kids asked what I wanted for a Mother's Day gift...and I said absolutely nothing else! Thank you all for the deep honor of being your Mom. I love you very much Meghan, Allie, Trent, Tyler, Eric...and husband Duane. You are my world. I love to say I raise kids and cows--and I really mean that I love it!

6 comments:

  1. ...as a Ranch Mom, Grandmother and Wife I just absolutely love your blog...I just found it today...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congratulations! It would bring a tear to my eye if my children nominated me for something like that. I'm sure you are very proud! We are looking to buy a farm right now! It is one of our dreams. I can't wait to read more about your life on the farm. Thanks for sharing. Found you on the Mother's Day Big Family Blog Hop.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Janine: I'm glad to have found the Big Family Blog Hop site, as I'm very proud of my big family. I had no idea that I would love it as much as I do...but I am very very blessed with these five amazing kids! Thanks so much for your comments, and I look forward to staying in touch!

      Delete
  3. Congratulations Debbie! To be named farm mom of the year is awesome! That's pretty neat that your kids and Aunt Mary did that for you.I too wonder how you get it all done. My troops are all home for the summer. As you know I can relate to most everything on your blog. I enjoy catching it when I can. Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
  4. You have a sweet family and it sounds like your kids are the best! Love the nice photos..

    ReplyDelete

Let's talk!

Thank you for reading! If you like this post, I would appreciate any comments and shares. You can see a bit more about me and my family here, and connect with me on facebook and twitter! Please do! Connecting is the WHOLE POINT of blogging! I'd love to hear from you.