Montana Ranch Woman
"It might take a year. It might take a day, but what is meant to be will always find its way." ~ Unknown
I was not born into ranching, but I would argue that it is a foundational part of who I am. My parents adopted me into their ranch family at the age of 11 months old. I grew up how most kids dream of growing up, a life surrounded by animals and outdoors. My parents leased a ranch in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in Washington State. I was a restless person in general and although I loved the life I grew up in, it was always a sort of dream to experience life outside of ranching. This led my curious self on many journeys including boarding school in South Dakota, a missions program in Wyoming including a couple months spent in Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan, various camp adventures, visiting Ecuador, attending University (until I got kicked out for refusing to take the covid vaccine), Bible school on the Oregon coast and then finally to Montana. Living in Montana had been a dream of mine from childhood. That was all fine and dandy, until I started to get the urge to have yet another adventure and join my aunt in Texas. Fortunately, a guy from Sapphire Village, Montana took me on a successful bear hunt (another dream of mine), so I decided to marry him instead of moving.
Today I am still in Montana, married to that same guy whom I love dearly and who helps me accomplish way more than I ever could by myself. While learning to be married, I finished my marketing degree online thanks to Western Governors University. God has a delightful sense of humor, and now I am doing everything that I had previously decided to avoid in life. My husband and I raise Hereford and Hereford cross cattle on the Homestead Ranch. We are starting to grow a registered Quarter Horse program based off of equine values established in me through my parents own Foundation Quarter Horse Breeding Program, and have lots of ideas for the future. In the fall, my husband and our family run a Outfitting business.
On our honeymoon, a bladder infection I had ignored for too long went septic, landing us in the hospital. About four weeks after that, my favorite mare severed and infected her coffin joint. Only three months into our marriage and our stress levels were being tested. After all that negative stress, we were given an exciting surprise, and will be adding a little one to our family in June 2024. This past year is a beautiful example, I still have an adventurous personality and I don't miss out on experiences, the experiences have simply changed. I have never been happier at the idea of living in one place, with one person, for the rest of my life.
Following all of this, I have decided that clearly I don't have enough going on as it is, so I want to blog and share tips and tricks about the ranching lifestyle, showcase my homemaking attempts and be transparent about my first experiences of being a mom. The reasons for this are because I am passionate about the life I lead, the God I serve and the husband I work alongside. Another reason is because I want to give voice to the many incredible ranching women who are not the type to throw themselves in front of the internet or the world. The life we lead as ranchers, needs to be shared and seen. Faith is the foundation for our future, agriculture is the lifeblood of our nation, and families are a God given gift meant to help sustain the world we live in.
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