I get to photograph and video teachers who are changing their students lives every day, both in the classroom and in their FFA activities.

It doesn’t get much better than that!

The biggest FFA event of the year is the Kentucky FFA Convention in June.  As I write this post, that’s a mere 33 days away. (Not that anyone is counting!)

As I’m sure you can imagine, things are starting to get stressful.

On Tuesday morning, I was stressed out about trying to get a big FFA project finished as well as keeping up with my other clients and somehow finding time to write a blog post, all while taking care of a teething Lorelei.

When Aaron called to check in on things before the restaurant opened, I spent the entire conversation complaining about all the things I needed to do and how I had reached the point of being so stressed out that I just wanted to run away.

Instead of joining in on the pity party like I wanted him to, Aaron insisted that I watch a YouTube video come across earlier that morning. He promised it would make me feel better and remind me what really matters.

5 minutes later, my entire outlook on life had changed.

You absolutely MUST watch this video, but to sum it up, the FFA chapter at Noble High School in Oklahoma hosts a livestock show each year for special needs students.

The FFA members pair up with the show participants to teach them how to care for their animals, fit/prepare them for a show and then help them exhibit the animals in a show.

This video touched every sentimental bone in my body.

In 2006, my sister Anna made the Ky State Fair Sale of Champions. Even though she was 11 years old, the banner was almost as long as her.

Having a sister with physical special needs, I’ve seen first hand how livestock shows can be a level playing field for children who often can’t compete in the same way as their peers in sports or other extracurricular activities.

Showing livestock is the only thing that all 5 of the Laurent kids could do together. I can’t even put into words how special that is for our family.

I want to congratulate these amazing agriculture educators and FFA members for making this program a reality for a very deserving group of students.

Words can’t describe the impact you are making on those students and their families.

If you ever need a judge, just let me know. I can’t imagine a higher honor.

Note: I realize that this video is a few years old, but with only 350 views I thought it was a story that hadn’t been shared nearly enough. If anyone knows of any more up to date information about this program, please share it in the comments.

Our first family photo.

One year ago I became a Mommy.

Aaron handed me the most beautiful, fat, pink bundle of blankets I’d ever seen and I fell more in love with the both of them than I ever thought possible.

Its been a long year but at the same time it has flown by. Its been a stressful one. A rewarding one.

A year full of love and laughter, late nights and early mornings.

I’ve watched Lorelei become a little person full of energy, personality and stubbornness (who knows where she got that from?)

Lorelei has been the number one reason why this blog has been neglected this year.

I constantly told myself that many of my readers were parents and they would understand. I guess if you’re reading this then that’s probably true.

I’ve thought a lot about how to document the past year on my blog. Instead of trying to capture it in words, I’ve decided to let my photographs narrate the story.

Besides, it’s a lot cuter that way!

Lorelei loves being outdoors and even when it was 20 degrees outside she would light up as soon as we stepped outside.

I think she’s as excited about spring as her Daddy is!

She loves hog shows and is fascinated by pigs.

Her Laurent aunts and uncles are ready for her to start walking so she can start learning how to show a pig.

Left: Lorelei’s first hog show, the Western Rivers Ky Junior Livestock Expo (3 months old). Center: 2012 Ky State Fair. Right: Pawpaw and Lorelei watching the purebred show of the North American International Livestock Expo.

She absolutely loves her cousins.

I like to think she enjoys playing with Aaron and I but it definitely doesn’t compare to how excited she gets to play with other kids.

Whether they’re reading to her, tickling her, teaching her to crawl or sweet talking some ice cream out of their granddaddies at the restaurant, she seldom stops smiling when she’s around them.

Lorelei’s Harned cousins

Her aunts and uncles are the same way. It has been amazing watching her form individual relationships with each of them.

They’ll all agree that right now Uncle Daniel is her favorite.

These two are as thick as thieves and I can only imagine what they’ll get into once Lorelei is walking!

I wouldn’t be doing this justice if I left out her grandparents.

Its been so fun for me to watch my parents become grandparents and see how Aaron’s parents have developed a unique relationship with each of their four granddaughters.

I am so thankful that she gets to see all four of her grandparents so often (even though that means she gets spoiled more often!)

Left to right: Mawmaw (6 months), Pawpaw (10 months), Nana (1 month), Granddaddy (11 months).

Its hard to believe its been a year. In some ways it feels like she’s been here forever but in others it feels like she should still be my little baby.

I don’t know if I’ll ever cease to be amazed at how fast she’s growing up or the beautiful little girl she’s becoming.

I know I should have written more this year but I wouldn’t have traded any of these moments for an extra blog post.

The Harned’s, Easter 2013

When she’s teething and fussy or isn’t feeling good, though, we often cuddle up together in a recliner and watch cartoons.

I always put on PBS Kids.

(With the exception of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, we’ve been known to do the hot dog dance around here a time or two!)

The shows are educational, there’s no commercials and usually the shows are based on books, which I love!

Curious George is one of my favorites.

That little monkey is always learning important lessons that many small children can learn from.

On February 4th, there will be a new episode of Curious George focusing on animal shelters and sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

Anyone else see the irony there?

If you’ve ever read my blog you know that I am dedicated to exposing the truth about HSUS. I’ve written posts focusing on some shocking facts about them, why I think you should leave them out of your holiday donations and even how I found a way to share their true intentions while planning my wedding.

HSUS is an extremist organization that spends less than 1% of their multi-million dollar budget on animal shelters.

One of the tips from HSUS that the Curious George facebook page is sharing.

They don’t operate a single animal shelter. Isn’t that shocking?

HSUS preys on animal lovers who donate money thinking they’ll be helping animal shelters when in actuality, those donations fund a group dedicated to eliminating our right to eat meat and my right to raise pigs and cattle on my family farm.

Let me be clear – I think its great that George is going to teach children how to safely care for pets. I’m thrilled that George is going to teach children about the work that animal shelters do to care for animals and help them find homes. As someone who grew up with dogs and cats that “adopted” our family, I know that adopted pets can be very special to a child.

I don’t understand why the folks behind Curious George thought it was a good idea to use the Humane Society of the United States as a resource for this episode!

Why not highlight a local shelter that is actually using its donations to care for animals in need?

In addition, on the Curious George facebook page they’re sharing “tips to keep your pets safe healthy and happy” from HSUS! (I already commented on those and hope you’ll do the same!)

As a child, I remember my mom calling and donating money to Kentucky Educational Television during their telethon. She always told us about the importance of supporting our PBS station because if we didn’t support them then they might go out of business and we wouldn’t get to watch our favorite shows anymore.

I hope that after years of animal lovers and farm families like mine donating to KET, they’ll support us and won’t air this episode of Curious George.

I’ve emailed, facebooked and tweeted KET and I hope you will too. (Or the PBS affiliate in your state).

Here’s what I sent/posted, feel free to copy and personalize it for yourself!

Hello KET,

As a mother of a young daughter and sister of a kindergartener, I have spent a lot of time watching PBS Kids. We love PBS Kids’ many great television shows, especially Curious George!

I recently learned that the new Curious George episode set to air on Monday, February 4, will be sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

I am very concerned by this because HSUS spends less than 1% of their millions of dollars in donations to help animal shelters. Sadly, many animal shelters across Kentucky could really use those donations. I’m worried that if you air this episode, many animal lovers will donate to HSUS instead of a local shelter and animals in our communities will not receive the help they need.

I remain a loyal fan of KET and the many great programs you provide for my daughter, however, I am very disappointed in the folks who produce Curious George for teaming up with HSUS.

Please do not show this episode on Monday. My family will not be watching Curious George on Monday and I am urging other parents to do the same. Thank you!

A little over a month later, we were elected to be regional officer teammates.

Castle and I on a GSP field trip in the summer of 2006.

Two months after that we set out to spend 5 weeks at the Governor’s Scholars Program, both with the focus area of agribuisness and biotechnology.

By the end of that summer, there was no doubt in my mind that she would be one of my best friends for years to come.

Her name was Ashlee but since there were so many other “Ashley’s” in the world, she’d forever be known by her last name: “Castle.”

Over the next four years we’d both be state FFA officers (on different teams) and graduate with agriculture degrees (from different schools).

We ate way too much sushi, brownie batter cookies and learned valuable lessons about cooking (like not to microwave eggs!)

We comforted each other through tragedy and helped each other celebrate some of life’s happiest moments.

When I look back on it, our friendship is kind of ironic because Castle and I really don’t have that much in common.

I grew up with four siblings, she’s an only child.

The only time we were both in our state officer jackets, receiving our American FFA Degrees in October 2008.

I was raised showing livestock, she spent as little time around that smell as possible.

I seldom watch movies, she could quote every famous flick out there.

When it comes down to what really matters though, we couldn’t be more alike.

We’re both incredibly old-fashioned and family oriented.

We both have a soft spot in our hearts for serving others.

Most importantly, Castle and I both grew up in small, tight knit churches that taught us that God had a special plan for how we would serve Him someday.

For Castle, that plan started falling into place this past spring when she accepted a position on a World Race team.

The World Race is an 11 month mission trip in which Ashlee and her team will visit 11 different countries!

Here’s her description of the program from her blog:

“In 11 months, I will visit 11 countries, utilizing adventure, ministry, community and self-discovery to share God’s love and the message of Christianity all over the world.”

“My team and I will partner with churches and pre-existing ministries within the communities we visit, serving through evangelism, food distribution, working in orphanages, reaching out to women trapped in prostitution, and all the while working to demonstrate the change God can bring into the lives of the people we will come to know and love.”

Today, Castle is leaving her home and setting out to spend the next 11 months living out of a backpack.

Castle and Lorelei at the 2012 Kentucky State Fair.

She’s saying goodbye to her mom’s home cooking, her hometown and the rolling Kentucky hills she loves so dearly.

She’s a country girl taking on the world armed with a bible, Southern Gospel songs and tons of spunk!

To say that I’ll miss her is a HUGE understatement!

Honestly, the only thing helping me through this is knowing that she’ll be able to regularly check her email and skype every now and then!

(Sorry Castle, I’m apologizing in advance because I’m probably going to overload your inbox with photos of Lorelei!)

Since Lorelei arrived, I’ve gotten in the habit of reading my bible on my iPhone when I’m awake in the middle of the night.

Last night’s randomly selected chapter was Isaiah 41 and when I read these verses (9-10) I immediately thought of Castle.

“For his sake, I have taken you from the ends of the earth, and I have called you from its distant places. And I said to you, ‘You are my servant. I have chosen you, and I have not cast you aside. / Do not be afraid for I am with you. Do not turn away, for I am your God. I have strengthened you, and I have assisted you, and the right hand of my just one has upheld you.’”

I wholeheartedly believe that every experience in Castle’s life leading up to this was God preparing her for the journey she’s about to embark on.

Its not often you can get a photo of two country girls all fixed up! We snapped this one just a few weeks ago after Castle’s send-off at her church.

From the FFA workshops to her love of camping to her willingness to eat just about anything, I know she’s as ready as she can possibly be.

I’m so proud of her for being brave enough to answer this call and I can not wait to see what amazing work she is able to do throughout the year.

To make things even better, she’ll be blogging about her adventures along the way.

I hope you’ll take the time to follow along with her blog, Ashlee Castle – Running the Race Set Before Me.

The photo Castle gave us will hold this spot on our fridge until she gets back as our constant reminder to say an extra prayer for her and her team.

She’s been writing some really inspiring posts in preparation for her trip (including one about going to the state fair hog show with my family).

Over the next few months, please keep Castle and her team in your prayers.

Until she comes home, we’ll keep her photo on our refrigerator as an extra reminder to pray for Castle, her team and the many lives they’ll be touching all over the world.

I’m so proud of everything she’ll accomplish this year and even more proud to call her my friend.

Bon voyage, Castle! And look out world, there’s one fired up Kentucky girl headed your way!

During my many years showing livestock, my friends and I always talked about what we as livestock exhibitors wished we could tell everyone who attended the Kentucky State Fair.

This year, I finally took the time to write it all down.

While I do mention specifics about the Kentucky State Fair, I’m sure that the same tips could apply to any state. My hope is that these tips will help the showmen, fair goers and livestock have a safe and enjoyable state fair.

Dear Fair-goer,

I’ve been showing pigs at the Kentucky State Fair since I was a child and over the years I’ve noticed a thing or two about you.

In some ways, you and I have a lot in common.

We’re both excited to take in the sights, do a little shopping and eat an ice cream cone the size of our head.

There is one key difference between you and I, however… I am here to show my livestock.

One of my favorite photos, my brother and I showing our pigs at the 2010 Ky State Fair.

My family has been working all year to get our animals ready for this moment.

On my family’s farm, we raise our own show animals so that means that we’ve been preparing for this show since before the pigs were born!

We bathe them with special soaps and shampoos to help keep their skin moisturized and their hair fine.

My brother and sisters got up early every morning this summer to take our pigs for a walk and teach them how to be shown.

We traveled across the state to compete in “preview” shows which only made us more excited about “the big dance” at the state fair.

Now I realize that you probably live in a city and don’t get to see farm animals very often.

I’m glad that you’re excited about seeing the many different types of animals.

As a family farmer, I love talking about how I work hard to make sure that my animals are cared for properly.

If you see me sitting in a nearby pen, feel free to pick my brain and ask me all about my animals.

If I’m in the middle of getting my pig ready for the show by brushing them off or spraying them down with water, please understand that I don’t have time to talk because I need to focus on my pig.

One of the questions I get asked the most often is, “Can I pet your pig?”

This is a VERY important question to ask at the state fair because the livestock exhibits are NOT a petting zoo.

Make sure to ask the owner’s permission before petting any animal.
Photo courtesy of the Kentucky State Fair.

Not all livestock respond well to new people and they get intimidated by large crowds or new places just like you or I do.

It always makes me nervous when I see children petting a show animal without the owner’s permission.

Pigs bite, cattle kick and just because the sheep or goats look too little to hurt you doesn’t mean they are!

Only the animal’s owner knows if an animal is friendly or not.

In order to keep both you and my livestock safe, please don’t touch them without my permission.

While walking through the livestock barn, you probably noticed all the many different bags of feed I have.

If you watch me prepare my pigs’ feed pan, you’ll notice that I might add a scoop of one type of feed or two scoops of another, etc… This is because my pig eats a very specific diet to keep them healthy and help them be more competitive in the show.

Please don’t try to feed my pig.

Just because you want to “pig out” on a Krispy Kreme burger doesn’t make it ok to share it with my pigs!
Photo courtesy of Kentucky State Fair.

Animals are curious and will eat just about anything that you put in their mouths.

Its my job to make sure that they don’t eat anything that will hurt them so please keep your corn dog, cotton candy and krispy kreme burger to yourself.

I know many of you will be bringing your children or grandchildren with you to the state fair this year.

This year, will be my daughter’s first year at the fair as well and so I’ll share some kid friendly tips with you.

First of all, if your child is in a stroller or wagon, please don’t take them up and down the aisles of the pig barn.

The aisles are not wide enough for “two way traffic” and are intended for showmen to get their pigs to the ring.

As you can see, the aisles are a tight fit for some pigs. Its best to avoid going down the interior aisles with strollers and wagons.

Most of the pigs have never seen a stroller before and if its blocking their path they sometimes get scared and try to go under it.

I’m sure you can imagine how dangerous this can be!

If you’d like to watch the pig show, please stay near the bleachers by the show ring as there are seldom pigs walking in that area.

If your child is anything like mine, their hands and anything they grab end up in their mouth.

I always make sure that our pigs’ feed and water buckets are out of my daughter’s reach.

Otherwise she might get curious and try to share the pigs lunch and those feeds weren’t made for little girls!

If you’ve got a curious child like mine, please keep a close eye on them while in the livestock barns.

I also make sure to wash my daughter’s hands regularly with a baby wipe or kid-friendly hand sanitizer.

In fact, there are “hand washing stations” set up all over the fairgrounds for your convenience. (How handy is that?)

After all my years of showing livestock at the state fair, I’ve had the chance to meet a lot of you and talk to you about my animals.

I hope these tips will help all of us (you, me and my animals) have a safe and fun time at the Kentucky State Fair.

Sincerely,

A Livestock Exhibitor

I grew up with a huge garden and if there was one thing my parents knew how to grow it was green beans.

In fact, my brother “Bud” and I started our first business when we were children picking/selling the surplus green beans to my dad’s coworkers.

So when Aaron and I started planning our garden, we never questioned if we’d grow green beans, just how many rows of them we’d plant!

We were so excited that despite drought and record setting heat we picked a big batch of green beans this week!

Fresh green beans can be intimidating if you’ve only prepared them from a store bought can but trust me, the extra work is definitely worth it.

There’s something nostalgic about Southern style green beans cooked “low and slow” that you just can’t help but love.

Fresh Green Beans

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb green beans, snapped

4 cups water

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 lb ham, bacon or some kind of cured pork

4-6 red potatoes, peeled and quartered

Salt (to taste)

RECIPE:

1. Snap your green beans (and string, if necessary).

Or marry a guy as awesome as my husband who will do it for you and put them into a handy ziplock bag. I’m so spoiled!

(Note: You might have noticed the loose peas in my beans. Those are just shelled green beans that Aaron’s grandmother calls “shellies.” I had never heard of shelling green beans before but his family does it. If you don’t, no worries, the recipe works the same either way).

2. Pour water into stock pot and bring to a boil. While its heating up, chop up your pork.

Everyone has their own favorite pork to use in their beans.

If you’re like my mom, you use country ham to add smoke flavor and salt. If you’re like me and your husband’s family owns a restaurant with amazing sugar cured smoked ham, you ask him to bring some home.

If you didn’t marry into a pork restaurant or you live somewhere that doesn’t have country ham (bless your heart!) then you can use bacon.

Add your ham and let it simmer for 5 minutes.

The boiling water draws the flavor out of the meat so that when you add the beans they’ll be swimming in pork flavor. And seriously, when is that ever a bad thing?

3. Add green beans, potatoes and garlic powder.

Reduce heat and let it cook down for 2 hours or until the water has cooked off and the potatoes are soft.

When its done it should look something like this, smell amazing and taste even better!

Renee with one of our piglets at a school assembly in March of 2011.

My sister Renee, on the other hand, has always preferred to teach children about our farm.

She’s brought our pigs to local schools and throughout high school provided the pigs for the local 3rd grade farm field trip.

Renee knows that its important that kids today learn the basics of where their food comes from.

I’m very proud of her for being a part of a the Kentucky Farms Feed Me virtual field trip series to help students across Kentucky learn just that!

The camera crew met up with Renee at one of her favorite places – a hog show!

A screenshot of Renee talking about caring for pigs at the North American International Livestock Expo.

In the video, you’ll hear her discuss what showing pigs is all about and some basics of caring for pigs.

The virtual field trip wraps up with a trip to Purnell’s “Old Folks” Sausage Company in Simpsonville, Ky. to see how it goes from pig to pork.

If you’re a teacher interested in using these videos and their coordinating lesson plans in your classroom, you can find more information on the Kentucky Farms Feed Me website. (Note: Not all of the content is up yet but according to the site it will all be ready to go by August 1, 2012).

From Pig to Pork from Kentucky Farms Feed Me on Vimeo.

Its always a lot of fun for us because we get to share our day to day lives with them instead of just holiday festivities.

Aaron and I have always tried to make sure that even though they live in a city, they still learn where their food comes from.

In the past, we’ve brought them to the Kentucky State Fair or read books about farming.

This year, we’re taking a more hands-on approach: putting them to work in our garden!

Both Aaron and I grew up with families who had huge gardens so we knew we wanted our own this summer.

Since summer is also a busy time at the restaurant, Aaron knew the things that needed to be picked daily would likely fall on me so he put in a raised bed right outside our back door for the tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers.

Yesterday, we decided to let our nieces start helping out by weeding the raised bed.

Then Uncle Aaron showed them the “baby tomatoes” that are already starting to grow.

They were pretty excited about the little green tomatoes and said they’d help us keep an eye on them and see when they’ll start turning red.

Since they’ll be here for a few more weeks, we’re hoping some of the produce will be ready for them to help us pick!

(Though the youngest informed me that she wasn’t eating a cucumber unless I made it into a pickle!)

And don’t think Lorelei has gotten out of helping in the garden.

A few weeks ago I snapped one of her helping Daddy water the raised bed and yesterday she helped me “supervise” and photograph her cousins.

Hopefully in a few weeks we’ll give her the same job her Uncle Daniel did when he was a baby: help carry the tomatoes!

Like most broke college students, we chose which shop to order from based on one factor: which was the cheapest?

Today, I’m no longer living on a college budget so I’m using new criteria to chose where we’ll order pizza from.

Remember when I researched the artists who’d be played at my wedding? Or which non-profits I’d be leaving out of my holiday donations?

When it comes to choosing pizza, I do the same thing.

As a family farmer, I refuse to support people and organizations who support animal rights extremists like the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Needless to say, I was thrilled to hear that Domino’s is not falling for the lobbying tricks of HSUS!

In a recent vote, 80% of Domino’s stakeholders voted against a resolution proposed by HSUS regarding animal care.

Instead of animal rights extremists like HSUS, a Domino’s spokesperson says they’ll rely on veterinarians and animal behavior experts to make these decisions.

What a breath of fresh air to see a major food chain use science to shape their policies instead of the sensationalism of lobbying groups determined to end meat consumption!

Its safe to say, Domino’s is now the pizza chain of choice in the Harned house!

To show our appreciation for Domino’s, many farm families have gotten together to organize an “Ag Pizza Party.”

“Attending” is easy, just order pizza from Domino’s any time this weekend (May 19-21).

Make sure to leave a note telling your local store why you’re choosing Domino’s and thanking them for their support of America’s family farmers!

(You find ready to print thank you flyers here and here).

After your pizza arrives, keep spreading the word by writing a note on Domino’s facebook page, tweeting your thank you to @Dominos or uploading a photo of your pizza to instagram.

For more details and to share the information with your friends, you can check out the facebook event: “Ag Pizza Party.”

I hope you’ll join us in thanking Domino’s by celebrating “pizza night” with your family!

On March 21, Aaron and I finally got to meet Baby Harned face to face.

Lorelei Anne was born at 1:43 a.m. weighing 9 lbs 5 oz and measuring 20 inches long.

Our first family photo.

After spending over 30 hours in the hospital waiting for her arrival, hearing her first cry was the most wonderful sound imaginable!

(In the following weeks we’ve heard a lot more where that came from. It isn’t quite as cute anymore!)

There have been several moments in my life that I would have described myself as “happy” but I can honestly say none of them compare to how happy I am now that Lorelei is officially part of our family.

To say we’re in love is a complete understatement.

Aaron and I still find ourselves staring at her and wondering what we did to deserve something so beautiful and perfect.

We’ve been amazed that she has such a personality already and definitely lets us know when she doesn’t like something!

Playing on her playmat, 5 weeks.

She loves listening to music and almost any Garth Brooks song can put her right to sleep.

She’s already established that she’s a “Daddy’s girl” and expects Aaron to pick her up as soon as he gets home from work at night. (Which he’s yet to complain about).

Though I photograph her daily, she doesn’t really get annoyed with constantly having a camera or iPhone in her face.

Now that we have summer-like temperatures in Kentucky, we’ve been taking her outside more and more. She loves the fresh air and is constantly looking around, taking it all in.

I’m dying to take her “meet” the pigs and cattle at my family’s farm but that would mean one of her grandparents, aunts or uncles would have to put her down long enough and I don’t see that happening any time soon.

On both sides of the family, her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins are just as wrapped around her finger as we are!

We’re going to have to reign this in eventually, I think she’s already starting to catch on that she’s the queen bee around here!

I can’t thank all my readers, twitter followers and facebook friends/fans enough for all your congratulations and kind wishes.

It really means a lot to Aaron and I to have folks across the country sharing in our joy.

So without further ado, here’s some of my favorite shots from Lorelei’s newborn photos.

(All photos by Celeste Laurent Harned of Celeste Communications).