This man of mine....

Todd and I have a different relationship than other couples we know. We bicker, we argue, we tease, we laugh hard, we can sit in silence for long periods of time together, we LOVE to make other people uncomfortable, but most of all we love big time. Todd travels with his work, and always has. We have been married almost six years, but it feels like we have only spent 2 together. (I know that is exaggerated, but that's how it feels)

We don't have kids so when we are at home we have zero distractions. People will ask if we go on dates, or have family movie night, or FHE, or whatever it is normal couples do. But truth be told that is our every night. I get Todd to myself all the time. That can be a good thing, and other times it can be overwhelming.

The reason for this post is a simple one, he has been gone for a week and I am feeling it, he is feeling it, and we just need to be back together. Life for us isn't meant to be apart. I can handle two maybe three days away, but anymore than that and it gets to be too much. This man is my other half, he makes me a better person, and he makes my life better every single day. This week has been a tough one on us, and I am ready for it to be tomorrow. Tomorrow he comes home, tomorrow I dont have to crawl into an empty bed, tomorrow I get to drive him crazy by smothering him with my love. If I could fast forward any day, it would be today.

I love you Todd and I can not, I repeat, I can not wait for you to be home!! I love you

My cute brother Dallin

A few weekends ago we had a short visit from the NC family. Dallin got to spend the weekend with us, and we had a blast. (Or at least I did, Im not sure about Dallin but I think he had fun)

I wish we had taken more pictures but the only one I snapped was Dallin driving the tractor. He was so excited for this, and couldn't wait to get out there and drive. I was a little nervous, because I myself am not too fond of driving the thing, but he picked it up and had a blast!!




We are excited to have the family come back and hopefully we will get to see them soon!! Love you guys

Brigham, Parley, and the 10 wives

Completely sacrilegious I know, but these are the names of our 2 roosters and 10 hens. I am not naming the hens because they will eventually be meat that I eat, so I don't want to get attached to them. We picked them up last Friday and have had such a fun time getting to know our newest friends.

Here is Brigham. He is an adorable 16 week old Cochin Rooster. We are anxiously waiting for his crow to come in, but he is just such a sweet fella.


This is Parley. I can not for the life of me remember what breed he is, but I fell in love with him the minute I saw him. He is a little temperamental, but that just adds to his personality. He is struggling a bit with the others hens at the moment. They do not like him, and will peck him when he gets close, but time will work itself out and hopefully they will all get along.


We are so excited to get the farm up and going, and are looking forward to our next addition. I am researching now and trying to decide between fainting goats or sheep. Only time will tell...

Watching the storm roll in...

Over the past few days sweet Nashville has had some pretty rocky storms. Up where we live now we rarely see anything, but yesterdays storms were a bit different. I was watching the news, and it was saying that in 5 minutes the storms would be right over my house. On the radar, they pulled up street names and BAM there was my street. They we weren't reporting any tornado sightings at this point, but funnel clouds and circulations were for sure there. Now where my house is, we are pretty well protected from any tornadoes,(were are up on a hill and our house is near the trees, so my pastures might be hit, but not the house). Within a few minutes the rain stops, the clouds roll in, and it turns pitch black at 1 in the afternoon. Todd is OF COURSE traveling, so I call him up and head out to the front porch. I watch as these funnel clouds come rolling and, and lo and behold I see rotations....

Here is the funnel cloud making its presence...


As it blows along, at 65 miles per hour, it is for sure rotating...


When it all of a sudden drops down. I couldn't see, because of my gorgeous yellow trees, if it touched the ground. However, I saw plainly that it dropped pretty far down...

It was a pretty exciting day. The dogs, cat, and chickens were pretty huffy about it. Its strange though, there can be terrible storms and nasty winds all around, but when the actual tornado comes rolling in, it almost stops. It clams down, and then it goes dark. Very creepy and very unnerving. I am grateful now more than ever, that we bought a home in the trees and up on a hill. It makes for great weather watching!!

Check it out...

Step one of operation chickens on the Cottle farm complete. All we need now is a fence around the pen (this weekends project), and chickens. Our little farm is finally turning into a farm!! Yay!!

Doctrine of Salvation...

I recently started reading Doctrine of Salvation, Volume 1, by Joseph Fielding Smith. I have been reading for maybe 3 weeks and I am only on page 89, that tells you how in depth this book is. I have been awakened and strengthened in my testimony since starting this book. The simple truths of the gospel are expounded upon, and talked about in such detail, that my spirit literally gets giddy when I pick it up. I remember while Todd was reading this series he would lean over and quote me things here and there, and the look on his face made me smile. I honestly suggest this series to everyone. You truly will be strengthened as you read the words of this amazing prophet.

One thing I read this morning made me stop and think, I can not move pass this passage until I share it with everyone I love. So hold on here we go....

"It is my opinion that the great stars that we see, including our sun, are celestial worlds; at least worlds that have passed on to their exaltation or other final resurrected status. This is in conflict, of course, with the teachings of scientific men, who declare that the sun is losing its energy and gradually cooling off and will eventually be a dead world. I do not believe the Lord has any such thing in his plan. The Lord lives in "everlasting burnings" we are informed. President Brigham Young has said that this earth when it is celestialized will shine like the sun, and why not?"

When I read this I took a deep breath and realized something...since moving out to the country Todd and I have a gorgeous view of the stars at night. There are no other house lights dimming the sky, there are no street lights in view, all you can see are the gorgeous stars and moon. When I sit out on our porch at night I feel at peace, I feel so clam and relaxed, I feel like somehow I am closer to my Father in Heaven along with my brothers and sisters up there waiting for me. Now I can only see why. Those great stars I am looking at are celestial worlds, how can I not feel strengthened?

Are you serious??

That is the response I get just about everytime I tell this story, so before I get started I want to just say..Yes I am very serious. And just as a teaser, here is what has been on my kitchen table every day for a couple weeks now..

It all started a few weeks ago. I noticed this black looking dog hanging around our house, but it never seemed to stay around for very long. That was until one Sunday morning. I was up early making something when I noticed Lulu down the driveway a bit. She was herding this black dog and not letting him leave. You see that is a trait of Australian Shepards, and one of the reasons we got her. She was circling this thing and not letting it leave. Well, I ran to the shower and told Todd to get out now and come and look at this. We both watch as Lulu plays with this dog, but then eventually leaves him alone when we call her in.

It wasn't a few days later when we see the black thing making "S" shapes up through our pasture towards Lulu. When she sees Mr. mysterious black dog she just gets as giddy as a school girl on a first date. She will wag her tail and run right up to him and want to play. After that encounter Todd began becoming suspicious. "This thing doesn't walk like a dog, it dogs really look like a dog, and it only comes out at dusk and dawn." He then says, "I think its a coyote". I immediately freak out and run to the computer to do some research. And this is what I see under the Bing search "TN Black Coyote"...

Boing this is it!! We have a coyote roaming around our pastures, and our precious Lulu has become best friends with the thing! Super scary business... As a result we have been on coyote stake out every morning and evening since. Todd has shot at it twice, and hit it once, but unfortunately he shot it with .22 and only injured the thing. (No worries we uped the gun and now mean business) Two days after that we see Mr. Coyote playing with Lulu again, and he was only barely limping. After a brief siting with Lulu this morning here is Todd taking it up a notch...

Can you see him? He is on the far right in the trees waiting for the Coyote and Lulu to part ways for the day. It weird they have a routine, we see them meet up, and then they will take off for a while, and then right around 7:30 or 8 Lulu comes back for breakfast, and Mr. Coyote is gone again.

Here is a pic I took of Todd not 1 hour ago...

He spotted Mr. Coyote running into a pasture next door and he is just waiting for the perfect shot.

So, as you can see life on the farm has is adventures. We love every second of it though...Ohhhh I just heard the gun fired. I had better run off and see if he got the bugger this time!!! I promise to keep you posted!!