Our MN Trip part 2
I actually went up there to pick up Brian, my son. But I also got the added bonus of seeing my son Michael who flew the coop last Spring. I don't know what happened to my pic of Brian but here is a good one of Michael. :)
This lovely lady is my neice. The last time I saw her was the day after she was born. She is three now. She is a doll! 
This is my sister and her family. It was easier to put them all in one photo than in five separate ones! Oh, and of course the dog.
Well, here we all are in one single pic. We are missing my brother, his wife, and the newer baby. The newer baby was sick which is why my neice is there without parentage. lol She rode with Papa and her cousins.
I won't name names, but I will start from left to right and let you know who is who in relation to me. My dd, mom holding the neice, my sis, my son, my dad, my other son, my uncle, I am in the middle (the fat lady in the green shirt), right next to my on the right is one of my sons, front row...my nephew, my nephew, my son, my nephew. My sis's other half is snapping the shot. This was the fourth or fifth one. Do you know how hard it is to get everyone to do what they are supposed to at the same time????? hmmmm.....
Well that is my lovely family. Hoped you enjoyed. I did. :)
Our Minnesota Trip part 1
Last weekend we went to MN. I drove up Friday and drove back Saturday. While driving at break neck speeds to get the rental car back....The kids took pics....
 
I have to admit some of them came out pretty good. I wish I had room for all of them! There is some pretty country out there. Of course that is NOT why I drove all the way up there. But that's for the next post!
The Last New Baby
This little guy was a twin. They were born last Thursday. His brother died just a few hours after being born. I didn't post his pic earlier because we thought he wasn't going to make it. But we were wrong and here he is!
This is BamBam. He is our last baby for another 4 months. Then (fingers crossed) we will have two more does kidding.
Just Because.....
Babies are too cute and we can't resist..............
finally!!
Remember that ewe fairy I was hanging onto so saquatch, I mean Cutie, would lamb a little ewe? Well I was able to release her yesterday. Cutie finally gave me a lovely little eweling. She is the prettiest one out there too. Just a doll. Here's a little eye candy for ya. Enjoy...
It's a BUCK!!
No this one is not a baby! It's my new buck. I just got him today. He is 2 if memory serves me right (which is hardly ever the case). He is LaMancha and Alpine. Pretty boy!
Watch out ladies....Here he comes....It's Bullseye!
Everything's Coming Up Babies
Okay, so this one hasn't popped yet, but she is about to any second.
This little darling ewe lamb was born yesterday evening. She had a rough time. Her mom was more interested in her boyfriend than her daughter......
 So she got to hang out on Hanna's lap til mom decided the baby was more important... :)
These little angels are courtesy of the doe fairy. (she was just there they are that new) She waved her magic wand and suddenly we have doelings. Bless you doe fairy...and you too ewe fairy.
Remember this one? She is two weeks old today. She kicked off the girly spree here at the farm. Good for you Lily!!
No, not sasquatch, but just as moody.....I am holding the ewe fairy hostage until this one lambs....muwahaha
Okay these babies aren't that new, but they were too cute to leave out...besides...this one is a girl!
Now if the other goat and the other sheep would just give birth I can relax enough to take care of these..........
Well, I'm Back....
Well, the computer is back to normal...yea! It's the only normal thing here, but that's okay. We like it anyway. Here's a little bit of what we've been up to....... We baked a little....
         Well I am going to see if I can post pics on here because my other blog is having technical problems. ... sigh...
It snowed here so my dd Hanna and I cleaned out the freezer and canned up about half the blackberries in there. (I have pics but I still can't post them here and now that my computer has been hijacked I can't do anything about it. sigh..)
We canned up 9 pints of jam, 5 quarts of pie filling, 2 quarts of condensed blackberry juice for later use, and 1 gallon of blackberry juice for the fridge. We each had a cup of hot blackberry juice last night before bed. We couldn't wait for it to cool. lol
It was delicious!! yum, yum!!
When my computer get fixed maybe I can post pics... :(      
Well my computer isn't fixed yet, but I just had to pop in and show y'all what's been happening on the homestead. LOL First we had lots of this......
Then we had one of these.....
computer issues
I have to make this short and sweet because I am posting from the public library.
My computer has serious issues. It will be undergoing therapy soon. We are not sure if the therapy will help or not. It is seriously disturbed.
If the therapy works I will be back online in no time. If not.....Well, I may be posting once a week from here with no pics...blah. How boring would that be????
So if you a praying person put my computer on your list. lol Or maybe just me because I am unsure if I will survive without my constant virtual companion.
Woe is me and the trojan that took down my buddy. :(
I am really hoping it all works out but who knows. sigh......
Just don't forget me while I'm gone. Hopefully I can buy a new Microsoft operating system with the income tax returns and completely wipe my computer and re-do it entirely. A clean new puter.......maybe.
til next library day......
American Made....
I got this in an email yesterday. I don't know if it is true, but being the wife of a man who was laid off for almost 9 months last year....I am certainly gonna try it. What does it hurt to look at the stinkin' label BEFORE you pay for it????
Anyone else wanna try it?
Just read the email and think about it. Think long and hard when you go to the store. Do you want AMERICAN made or not??????????
>>ONE LIGHT BULB AT A TIME...Buy American MadeThis works when the dollar is weak and the people are afraid for their jobs. Buy USA ........
A physics teacher in high school, once told his students “While one grasshopper on the railroad trackswouldn't slow a train at all, a billion of them would!”With that thought in mind, read the following, obviously written by a good American. Good idea . . . one light bulb at a time! Check this out. I can verify this because I was in Lowes the other day, and just for the heck of it, I was looking at the hose attachments. They were all made in China . (My swimming pool is not yet closed for the winter!!!)The next day I was in Ace Hardware and just for the heckof it, I checked the hose attachments there. They were made in USA . Start looking.In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do affects someone else - even their job. My son likes Hershey's candy. I noticed, though, that it is marked made in Mexico now.I will not buy it any more.My favorite toothpaste Colgate is made in Mexico now.I have switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything..This past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60 W light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets.I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand that I normally buy, was an off brand labeled, "Everyday Value". I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats - they were the same except for the price. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brandbut the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO !!!and the Everyday Value brand was made in - get ready for this - the USAin a company in Cleveland , Ohio . So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use everyday that are made right here.So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets . . .yep, you guessed it,Bounce costs more money and is made in China . The Everyday Value brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA !I did laundry yesterday and the dryer sheets performed just like theBounce Free I have been using for years and at almost half the price!Lay's stacked potato chips in a can is made in Mexico .Good old Pringles made in USA . My challenge to you ~~~is to start reading the labels when you shop For everyday things,and see whatyou can find that is made in the USA - the job you save may be your ownor your neighbor’s!If you accept the challenge, please pass this on to others in your addressbook so we can all startbuying American, one light bulb at a time!Stop buying from overseas companies!(We should have awakened a decade ago)Let's get with the program. Help our fellow Americans keep their jobs and create more jobs here in the U. S. A. <<
Who's Your Plumber Now???
HA! This is what I looked like just a short hour ago...
If you think the coveralls look bad you should have seen the rest of me!
I am very claustrophobic, but by golly I wanted my hot water back. So after lots of prayer and reassurances from God that He was with me, I crawled up under the dark, wet, muddy, gooey house. I had with me a brand new CPVC T and some primer and glue. I also had my trusty never-need-sharpening Japanese knife. This knife has cut down trees so I was pretty sure it could handle the 1/2 pipe. I was all set for this battle!
I didn't think I would ever make it out from under that house. I prayed and worked and prayed and worked. I sawed until my arms were stiff and my butt fell asleep, but I just kept praying for strength and kept going. God really got me through it. (if you aren't claustrobic, shut up and quit making fun of me)
Finally the last piece was glued together and I looked at my handiwork and thought....Dear God I hope it holds.....
Once out from the tiny dungeon that is the underside of our house, I spoke to hubby on the phone. I was trembling and not a little excited. I went to the water heater and turned the hot water back on and.....my son saw NOTHING coming from the pipe...WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
I was jumping for joy and about to cry. Something for which my husband decided to tease me about. I just don't understand why men don't cry when they accomplish their plumbing tasks with success. ~shrug~
Anyway, I got to celebrate that success with a hot shower and a lot of heartfelt thank yous to God for pulling me through. :)
wooooooohoooooooo hot water!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's a Heat Wave!!
Well, today we are having a heat wave. It is supposed to be all the way up to 50 degrees. After the last 4 days of literally freezing in my own house, I don't know how to handle this hot weather. I know what I will be doing in it though.....fixing busted water pipe....wooooo
The lovely frozen temps of the last few days left us without hot water in our kitchen. Which was alright, we had hot water in the bathroom. But then it decided to warm up above freezing yesterday and when it did.....
I could hear a funny sound coming from under my bedroom floor. I listened very hard then sent my oldest-at-home to go look under the house. He comes back and tells me there is water spraying everywhere. ugh...really? really? REALLY????
sheesh...so I shut off the hot water to the WHOLE HOUSE and now today I will go all the way to the hardware store (it's like 10 whole miles) and pick up one little T. One little T. That's all I need.
So okay, I'm thanking God it isn't worse and that I only need one little T instead of a whole line of pipe that I would have to learn to install all by my lonesome. I'm just being a baby because I don't wanna crawl under the house. There's no way I'm letting one of the kids fix the water...... I want water when this is done.......
So I am going under the house today, and I am gonna fix that ONE LITTLE T. Then I will have hot water again until the next freeze.
Maybe I should buy extra pipe and supplies while I'm at the hardware store............
A Boy and His Fish....
This is Fishy.
He is Sam's new pet.
Sam turned 8 recently and a local friend decided since we had every other type of animal here that Sam should have a fish.
We got Fishy on Tuesday afternoon. He has a very cool tank .... see.....
This tank mounts on the wall. So Sam and I took the tank and accessories to his room and mounted it on his wall and put his Fishy in there.
I don't know how many of you live in the midwest area, but our temps have been sooooo low lately......
Sam woke up the next morning and came silently creeping into the kitchen crying softly. "My Fishy is dead," he whispered.
I went to his room and sure enough Fishy is streamlined and floating. I stuck my finger in the water to test it. Almost frozen....It was like ice water in the fridge. brrrrrrrrrrrr....
But I though I saw Fishy move a tad bit so a thought struck me (that doesn't happen often so I really roll with it when it does....) My hubby had told me a story of putting goldfish in water and freezing it. When they went back and thawed the block of ice out the gold fish was still alive. It was an AH HA moment!!
We moved the tank to the living room wall. Every now and again you could see Fishy twitch.
After about 4 hours his fins spread out and he started swimming!!!! woohoo!!!
Now his water is warm and tropical and he is the happiest animal on the farm. He is the only one allowed in the house. ;)
And Sam is the happiest child on the farm.
The Honeymoon's Over!
Well the glorious love nest is now a harem. Sean's concubines arrived today. They are a little spoilt having ridden in the back of the van all the way from Muskogee.
Meet Dotty, the one with black markings, and Cutie, the white one.
 They are soooo darling....But I don't think Sheila is going to agree.
And just because God can do anything.....I ended up with a beautiful nubian doe too. Because I have been wanting one but not asking for one. God will give those that love and obey him the desires of their hearts. What I wanted more than anything right now was a pretty black nubian. So God looked down at all the billions of people and still remembered me and this is what He gave me......
I've named her Mercy because that is what God gives us. Mercy.....welcome to the herd!
The Brand New Year
Well today is the first day of a very new year. Like a freshly scrubbed, soft, pink sleepy new baby opening it's eyes for the first time.
This year is so full of possibilities and hope. Last year ended on a downright, dirty note. Less money than we've ever had, fewer animals than we started that year with, drawn and quartered financially....
But somehow that magic hour of midnight wiped the slate clean to start all over. By this time next year I can hopefully be saying that we ended this year with much more than we started with.
I know there will be trials and tribulations. There always are.....But this year I plan to put God first and let Him lead me through them rather than try to blunder through them on my own. I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions. They are just a way of letting yourself down later..lol
I do believe in prayer. My prayer for all of you reading this is that you have Faith, Hope, and Love this year and that you find it all in God.
May God bless you and keep you.
I lied......
Yesterday was NOT the longest day...Today was....
Lots of fencing going on and sheep wrangling. There's a whole lotta stuff I can laugh about today, but right now I am too tired.
Besides tired I am thankful. Thankful to Steve and Diane for the Sean Connery of rams. Thankful to them for the pretty little ewe too. Thankful to Steve for finishing up the tedious fencing job that I thought would never end. Thankful to my children for putting up with my crankiness..(I might need to add Diane and Steve to that part too.....) Thankful that Steve is the sheep whisperer. Thankful that Sheila sheep accepted the hunk of a ram she was betrothed to.
Thankful that ALL the chores are done and the animals are lounging peacefully.
Thankful that I am inside and relaxing about to work on my quilt....if i can still move my fingers. Typing is hard enough......
So at the end of the really longest day I am looking at my kids and thinking about my friends and silently cursing the sheep...and I am happy and content. :)
Love Story....Sheep Style
This is Sean......
Sean is the angry, bad boy type.....
Sheila is the painfully shy, librarian type.....
Fate brought them together.....
And it was LOVE at first sight!
The newlyweds are spending some quality alone time together at the back of the pasture.
They are blissfully happy for now.....until I bring the other two ewes home........
But that's a sordid story for another day.
The Longest Day
 Oh what a long day. It was just this morning that my darlin' Hanna cooked me a delicious breakfast of fried eggs and sausage. I didn't say healthy, I just said delicious. :)
Then we went and did chores like we always do.
The usual suspects were present....
Some of them eat politely....
and some ......
Are just plain pigs........
Soon after that we found out we are getting a ram tomorrow for our poor lone Sheila Sheep. yea!!!
We are getting him from a local friend (that's even crazier than me....)
This meant we needed to clear the fenceline and put up fencing. Our fence in our front pasture consists of some barb wire that has been there since barb wire was invented. Ours was probably the first test strand.....
Seems simple enough huh? Well to start we had to get the fencing out of a pile of junk from behind the barn. HA! It was like playing twister on a giant stack of matchsticks. Hanna, Wyatt, and I were tangled together like twislers. I was pushing on one pile of wire, Wyatt was pulling on another and Hanna was holding up an old metal bed frame that could collapse and crush us all. I'm telling you if I could have gotten Sam out there I'd have gotten a few pics for y'all. I know this could have been hilarious if weren't too tired to describe it in all it's gory glory. Maybe some other time....
We finally got the fencing out and cleared about 2/3 of the fence line. We actually got the fence up working together. Everything went as smoothly as it could go with my children. (it's really hard on them when they can't yell at each other constantly...)Right up until I got the wire cutters clamped on my hand. These wire cutters are as rusty as the barb wire and when they clamped down we couldn't get them off my hand. Hanna helped me and we finally got them off my hand and I immediately started bleeding like someone had shot me. I went to the house and washed it out, took more ibuprofen than legally allowed, then went right back at it. (the ram is more important!)
This is what it looks li  ke all cleaned up .....For some reason you can't see the bruise or how swollen it is, but take my word for it. Now that I am sore and tired I think I'll work on my quilt. The kids are pampering me by bringing me cocoa and making me supper. I am going to go enjoy myself. If they could just stop argueing over who is going to bring me what, it'd be a peaceful evening.
Hope you are having a good one too............
I'll take lots of pics of the new ram tomorrow. His name btw is Sean, Sean the Sheep. hehehe (think wallace and gromit...)
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So she got to hang out on Hanna's lap til mom decided the baby was more important... :)
Did a LOT of cleaning. The rabbit barn was due for an overhaul! They were on strike and threatening to move out. So we did our duty as landlords and cleared the garbage out of their way. They love us now and will soon provide us with lots of little fritters..er...babies...
And just recently become a rehab hospital for doggies and ducks. Unfortunately the duck didn't make it. But the doggie is hanging in there so I snapped a pic. She was hit by a car three nights ago. Her pelvis is broken in more than one place. She dislocated her front shoulder and she has multiple other injuries. But she's strong as an ox and just plain wants to live. So we let her. :) She will be starting rehab services in about 2 weeks right here in the doggie hospital. Good dog!!
So this is just a taste of what we've doing. It is by no means a total picture of the everyday chaos here. And trust me there is plenty of chaos. Maybe we should have named the farm Chaotic Harvest instead of Blessed. Then again...is there a difference? Isn't life always chaos when you are as blessed as we are? 
