I must say I am ready for 2010. Ready for a new start and ready to have things in better order. I will be starting seeds for the garden in the next month which I find so very fun. I am also looking forward to doing some barn work when a little warmer weather hits. I am done with goats for the time being so I will be using their area for more rabbits. I have baby chickens growing in the house ready to put in the barn within the next couple weeks. Waiting for their feathers to be grown better. I have kept a cycle of chickens going so as to have more egg layers earlier. I had 3 families last year that came out to the farm on a regular basis for eggs and chickens to buy. I believe I need more chickens this year. Also hoping to expand my rabbit production and maybe they will purchase them also.
Starting a new curriculum with the children come next week so that will be nice. It is Total Language Plus so I can school all the children together. This will be alot of fun I think. Anyhow I am excited about it!! Also doing a unit study on pioneer times so we will be reading A Pioneer Sampler, little House Long Cold Winter and Farmer Boy so my son does not feel left out!!
I am also working on an area for extra food storage for an emergency if need be. And as always I am looking forward to serving God more and having a closer walk with Him. And just maybe a new little one in the family!!
be Blessed and Happy New Year!! -Dawn
Winter is here and has hit our area very hard. We have 12 inches and snow and it is 4 degrees out. Went out to the animals and all are doing well except for 2 chickens who tried to roost on the metal hog fence and they froze to it. They were hanging upside down very dead. Rabbits doing very well and the hog has a very warm bed to sleep in and the chickens are drifted all around with drifts around 4 feet tall. I was unable to get to them. They have 2 heat lamps and extra food so hopefully they should all do fine till the guy can scoop us out tomorrow. Oh yes and my ducks are m.i.a. Hopefully they resurface after the wind stops here. My husband is stuck at work till tomorrow after his shift is over at 7:00 pm.
Chili is cooking and roast is going into the oven for tomorrows supper of beef stew. Want to be prepaired in case we lose power which happens out here in the country so very often in weather like this.
Even with weather like this I am already preparing my list of garden seeds that I will start next month for the garden. Nice to think of warmer weather!! Must be going now have a blessed and warm night!!
-Dawn
thinking alot this night about my husband and his upcoming birthday. His twin killed himself 2 years ago now and here he is celebrating another birthday without his brother and it breaks my heart, Please pray for him this week. His birthday is Tuesday and I am not sure if he enjoys his day anymore or not.
Blessings, Dawn
This is my husband Chris with our youngest Christi. She really loves his beard!!
What a beautiful fall day. 64 degrees and sunny!! My husband was able to work on getting wood cut and ready for the barn. I have been busy getting more tomatoes ready to can and the children did their schooling. We were also able to get to the park this afternoon. it was a touch chillier than I first thought so the park outing was not that long. The children did not seem to care though they were glad to get out and play.
The children have been collecting leaves for a fall wreath to place on the door and they put together a center piece for the table. Now I need to get some pumpkin spice candles and that will complete the decorations for the table. Tomorrow I will be putting up apples so I will bake a pie so that will give the house a yummy smell!!
With the tomatoes I processed and got the juice from I used the pulp for a dinner roll. I put the pulp through the food processor and mixed with it garlic, basil and oragano. I then mixed it into my bread recipe and added parm. cheese and made into rolls. I rubbed garlic butter on each roll before baking them and my were they yummy!!Today we made pepperoni and salami sandwiches for lunch with the rolls and my they were oh so tasty!! I tried to make enough for the freezer but they were eaten faster than I thought they would be.
Anyhow I must be off now. I have lots to do and tomorrow I am going to pick up new rabbits and layer hens that are 2 years old. The farmer was giving them away!! YAH!! Free and cheap are my favorite prices!! Have a blessed night!! -Dawn
What a busy time of year!! Children and sports, canning and schooling!! My days are flying buy right now. I canned some cream of chicken with rice in it which turned out good I thought!! This has been a very good year for me and canning. I usually do some but this year I have been able to put up alot more. Which is very exciting. I know some people can for the whole year which is my goal but as of now I am just happy canning what I have. Still not done got lots more to do. Apples, pumpkins and more vegi soup. I did not do plums this year as I still have some left from last year and no one really likes it here.
I am up to 12 new little chics in my house. I have more that should be hatching here soon and 10 duck eggs that should hopefully hatch mid Oct. They just started paying so not sure if they were fertile. The drake sure likes the hens so maybe so!! Still working on getting goats sold. Think I am jst going to take a break from them. I seem to never do well with goats. I think I need a better set up for them. I will miss them dearly they are so much fun. Maybe next spring I can get me a new one again. So many things to do right now I just don't have the time for a milker. I would really like a cow instead so we can have alot of milk for butter and cheese but I have heard it costs alot more to feed them. I thought it would maybe even out one cow verses 6 goats though but not sure.
Anyhow little ones are stirring so I must be on my way!! Coffee to make and food to get cooking!!
Have a blessed day!! -Dawn
Daniel after a game "75"

Much to do around here and I feel as though I am running out of time. my days are so busy with schooling, house and canning that I feel I can add nothing more!! But alas I do and we all get through the days just a little more tired. My daughter Dora had hernia surgery and she is doing very well. How amazing it is to see a little one be able to bounce back from a surgery so well.
Crazy but we have been hatching out chics in the house and we are up to 9 new little ones. i still have more eggs that will hatch over the next few weeks. I thought it would be nice to have some young ones start laying in the spring instead of waiting for the fall or late summer. I also have 7 duck eggs hopefully growing away but they are young hen ducks just started laying and I was told they may not hatch cause it is too soon for them to be fertile. So my house sounds like spring with all the baby chics being hatched out. I will leave them in the house a few more days then move them to the barn in their brooder. I put eggs in over a weekand a half time so I have 3 to 4 hatching out every few days. 1 hatched the night before last , 3 during the day yesterday and 1 overnight. They are all part leghon and mostly buff orphinton and also long island red leghorn mix. my other roosters are just now doing their thing around here. Si it will be nice to have some other kinds of chics hatching out. I plan on hatching out for another month then waiting till january to start again.
Anyhow I must be going time to start my day and coffee!! GO COFFEE! Have a blessed day!!-Dawn
and i have been doing just that!!Today I have blanched tomatoes and peeled them ready to process tomorrow. I have green beans to pack in jars and process and some chic soup and also a beef stew base. I have sooooo many apple to process which I hate doing but they are too good to turn down when free!! I made some zuccini pickles which turned out so yummy. the children love them and it is kinda hard to tell the differance. They tasted great on the grilled burgers last night. So anyhow just a quick check in and an update. I am very drained and ready for bed. Have a blessed night and a great day!!
Blessings, Dawn

I have been doing alot of all three of those these past few weeks. I am beginning to see why my friend has always waited till after harvest time to start homeschooling. I have been putting up alot of things this year. I have zuccini comin out my ears so i am making pickles out of them. They taste so yummy you cannot tell the differance. I have also started making sick soup (so it is called). I have been freezing that in quart bags so if the children come down with something I can cook them up a pan of that. it is very easy to make.
SICK SOUP
Chicken (hopefully home grown or an organic one)
1 large yellow onion
1 large white onion
Leeks
1 whole garlic bulb
Carrots
Cabbage
and any other vitamin filled vegis you like.
Boil your chicken and while it is cooking cut up all veggies and you can either blend till smooth or leave it a chunky soup. Blending the veggies can help hide thiings the kiddos mught not like.
While chicken cools on counter throw in all the veggies and let cook till about 3/4 done then add chicken to it and let cool if freezing or put in hot jars and pressure cook. Thats alot of onions and garlic but that really is good for you and can really help out a cold. Good way to get your vitamins in as well.
i am also going to start my veggies for stew and I will be canning those as well. I am currently running low on veggies so that will have to wait till next week. I still have LOTS of zuccini to pickle and more turnips to put in the freezer for winter meals.
My tomatoes are not fairing so well so it looks as though we will have alot of green tomatoe relish.
So anyhow I am really busy with food plus all my other chores and schooling.
Have a blessed night to all!! -Dawn
Dora checking out ducks during morning chores.
Well today I kicked off butchering with a rabbit ready to be put in the freezer. Tomarrow I have 25 roosters to put in the freezer. What a long day that is going to be. We will get our schooling done in the morning so we can get the chickens processed after lunch.
The other morning I wentout to feed the hogs and found a momma hen walking around with a couple little chicks. i guess my roosters are old enough now to be daddys!! She hatched out 2 and by evening was down to one so I brought it in under the lights. i have 2 other hens setting on eggs that should be hatching over the next week to week and a half. i have been gathering eggs to put in the incubator so we can keep the eggs and meat coming. I can't seem to get the heat set right so it is taking me longger than I thought to get them going.
My rabbits should be kindling also here soon and I have 2 large does that I will breed tomorrow. I had 3 rabbits kindle the beginning of the month and for what ever reason they did not care for them and they all died. hoping that the rabbits will do better this time around.
I have 3 pregnant goats as well!! It's more like spring around here than the end of summer!! Crazy!! I have been trying to get these last 3 goats sold but to no avail thus far. I have my new gots to buy and want to get milking before the cold sets in.
So anyhow I must be off now!! it is getting late and I have a busy day tomorrow!! be blessed, Dawn
I just read the article on what does simple living to me and how to make changes. I have many times thought on this and have always known that life is so much easier without all the newest and latest gadgets. Although some gadgets make life easier the older ways seem easier. i believe in modest dressing for the family though I find myself battling the latest fads with a few of my children. Simple living to me means being able to supply a meal out of the garden and from around the chicken coup for the family. To me it means waking early making homemade bread and getting yogurt started for the weeks supply.
When thinking about our budget I have just been having a conversation with my husband about writing down all of our money transactions. From a pack of gum to a roast bought on sale. I have been going through my freezer and cupboards to find all I have to help keep the little items needed at the store to a minimum. I have been putting up all the food I can to eat in the winter and trying to take advantage of all the fruit and vegetable sales I can find. I have a friend who runs an orchard and he calls me after the farmers market and gives me a discount on the fruits and vegetables left from the days market. He also calls when he has things that really need put up and gives me a wonderful deal on them.
Taking a look at what causes me a little extra stress and takes up my time I would have to say the phone. I have so many calls some days I can hardly get things done. I have many friends and family that calls on a daily basis to check in and say hello. I am working on changing that to getting back to people in the evening when our day is less hectic and not so busy. I take advantage of car trips to the store or sports and make calls then and that keeps the phone calls down and also I know I will be stopping soon to get children to where ever they need to be so my time is limited on the phone and I was able to touch base with people who needed to talk or tell me something.
I have also taken a look at our animals and decided what is cost effective and what is a money pit. I am happy to say that I sold a couple hogs and I am selling my goats to get a different breed that I have had before and they happen to be the same line and they are wonderful milkers so I will be back to making goat milk yogurt and cheese!! I would much rather be putting food into animals that I know I can get use out of them. Not in this for the pets but that is a benefit of raising farm animals. Don't we all need a few farm cats? I do love mine.
So anyhow with that said I have to get back downstairs before children wake and get to making breakfast and making coffeeYUM YUM!! Fried zuccini and hot cereal with bisquits. have a blessed day!! Dawn
What a busy day!! I sold 2 goats today and 2 hogs. I now have enough money for 2 of my new goats!! I am so excited to be getting these new goats and it will be wonderful to have milking goats again. I have alot of work to do in the barn this weekend. My hog area needs cleaned out and also the rabbit hutches along with the goat area. lord willing I will get the new outside hog area done. I am anxious to see it all together.
Tonight I made spagetti and was able to use the fresh basil I grew. This is the first time I have planted my own herbs so I was excited by it!! I also was able to pick some yellow zuccini out of the garden. That went well in a stir fry for lunch. YUMMY!!
I picked up Daisy (11) and Daniel(13) from bible camp today. They had a wonderful time. Daisy is always very sad to leave and is really excited about recharge camp in Oct. My daughter Cassidy goes to camp in Aug and she is still a little nervous. She has already written me letters to open on each day she is gone. She numbered them for me so I knew when to open them on which day. She is very much a mommys girl which is OK by me. But it does make my heart sad to know she misses me so much when she goes. She really does have fun though. I told her she did not have to go but she is ready.
Anyhow I must be off. It is getting late and I have some school stuff to do on here for the children. You can find so many useful things on here for schooling!!
be Blessed, Dawn
This is going to be a crazy busy week. Well Lord willing hopefully just busy. We started the paint chipping on the house yesterday which is going to take awhile. It will be so lovely to have it all done though. I will be picking out colors for the kitchen to be painted as well. I am starting there and working my way through the house. Downstairs first then up. if I have any go left and nice weather left maybe the barns could get a fix up also. Here is all we will be doing tomorrow thought I would post it tonight as I did not know if I would get on here in the AM.
5:30-up for the day/hubby off to work
6:30-Animal Chores (my animal chores children are at camp all week:( I miss them!!)
7:00-Make scrambled eggs and caramel bisquits(not healthy but SOOOOO yummy!!!)
8:00-Wake remaining children from slumber
8:30 Breakfast
9:00-Schooling independantly
Cleaning house the rest of the day.
Mopping floors,washing laundry,and walls.
Clean upstairs hall and Matthews room.
Make laundry soap
Bake bread
Start roast
Pull up potatoes for supper/Drenched in EVOO shook up in herbs and roasted in oven!!
Chores outside
Animals to bed
Little Humans to bed
Shower,read and slumber!!
Speaking of which...Good Night!!
Blessings, Dawn
This year I have begun to put food up at an earlier time. I have preserved and froze food during the fall months but i have not done this in the early summer before.While strawberries are in season i have been freezing them as quick as I could get them. This past weekend I put up strawberries, peaches and turnips which will taste oh so yummy in a pot of beef stew this coming winter. I can already taste it!!
I have to get back in the garden this week and retill some areas for my fall crops which I am trying to be patient and wait atleast another 2 weeks to plant those cool weather crops. My vining garden is growing many volunteer tomatoe plants as I moved my tomatoe garden to a new spot this year.
I have been busy these past few days breeding my rabbit does. I have been breeding 6 rabbits and the bucks have no complaints:) One of my does when I put her back was bleeding so I wondered if he was to large of a buck to be bred to her. I bred her sister to him and she did just fine.
While doing chores this morning I had an interesting situation. I was feeding the hogs when a rooster went in with me and the hogs went after her and one grabbed him by the legs while the other grabbed his wing and they pulled him apart!! OH my what a site!! The other day they got loose and they knocked over all my hutches with the baby rabbits and killed all but one who got away and we found her hiding behind the barn.
We just got 2 knew hogs yesterday so we now have 5 hogs again. One is a gilt which we will have bred in Feb. The first hogs will be ready for the locker in October and the other one will not be ready till Feb. or March.
I am contimplating selling all my goats at auction and buying 2 good milkers because these goats have become a money pit and are just not working out. They will not let me pet them and I just don't understand how I am supposed to be able to milk them. I want to be able to send out my daughter to do the milking. She has milked my other ones but these will not work out. I would much rather feed 2 good milkers instead of 6 non milking goats.
We also gained 4 new ducks. The are 4 white pekin ducks. they are hens so it will be nice to have duck eggs again. I will be getting a drake for them so I can incubate eggs.
This is also the week that we start schooling again, yes I know it's only July but we always school in July but not in August as we are busy canning and doing fall farm work till October so not much schooling gets done in the mean time. Anyhow!!! Schooling will be delayed as we have some work that has come up today that will keep me very busy for the next 4 days.
Well, I must be going now chores still need done downstairs before I go to bed. Have a blessed night, Dawn
tonight my mind is filled with so many things. How to get things right and what to do next. It seems as though Monday I will begin to homeschool my high schooler again. Sometimes the world has too many things to offer.
Sometimes my own struggles is not with the devil at all but with myself resisting what God is working on in my life. The truth hurts and sometimes seems too hard to handle.
So anyhow, just thinking and needed to put it down somewhere. I actually had a diff. post but I deleted it on accident but that is ok because just writing things down sometimes helps to sort your mind. praise be to God and Holy is His name!! -Dawn
My daughter just had her first birthday . It was so wonderful watching her with such happieness for every gift. Here is a picture of her that I just had to share! She is so yummy cute:

Christi was soooo excited over this gloworm!!

I just love my new shoes!!!

Okay, I'm ready to eat!!!
What a fun day we had celebrating Christi's first and Daniels 13th birthday!!
Blessings, Dawn
I have been working all week on getting the house done. I got most of the downstairs finished this week. After all the cleaning is done I will be putting on a fresh coat of paint and washing walls down. it feels great to have windows open and hearing the birds singing as I work and get the home in order. As I work on the house I am still working on the outside as much as I can.
The chickens arrived this past week and we were off to a hairy start but now all seems to be well and the other new chicks arrived today. I am now in need of getting outside to make the brooder area bigger because those little babies eat ALOT and they seem to be growing by leaps and bounds.
My dad and son started the hog area but there is still alot to do for it and the hogs will be here on friday. Matty is very excited for the hogs as they are his.
Yesterday was very busy from all the cleaning it seems the clothes grew out of the woodwork and gave me tons more to wash!! So woth all the laundry I had to make up another batch of detergent which is always fun I think. I was able to make up some soft soap for the bathroom and kitchen. This time I used different soap for the base and it seems to go further. I was also able to get the wipes wash mixed together and poured over the wipe clothes. I have many wipes cut out and in need of sewing the edges. Maybe I will set and sew some tomorrow.
Anyhow I must be off to bed very tired!! Be blessed, Dawn
Christi and my son Daniel celebrated their birthdays today. Daniel turned 13 on the 13th of March and Christi turned 1 on the 18th!! Happy Birthday babies!!

Christi 1 yrs old and loving the sun!!

Daniel age 13
Happy Birthday to you!!!
Love, Momma
or anyhow it feels as such!! 57 yesterday 53 today and only the mid 50's for the next 5 days. Sounds good to me!!
The chics have arrived!! We went this past saturday to pick up our 135 chics. We have actually had a run of loosing some each day so the vet said they may have brooders illnessn So I don't like meds for the animals but I also don't want to loose all the chics so they are getting tetramiason(sp). They hatchery is replacing the ones we lost and I also ordered 15 more in hopes to keep our count up. I will be ordering more in may to keep the cycle going though. In the next order I will be purchasing turkeys to raise for the holidays. They will have an enclosed area that is covered because, well I am not too fond of them. They freek me out. I will sell part of them and keep only 3 for myself to put in the freezer.
Today the hog area gets put together as the hogs will arrive next friday! My son Matthew(6) has already drawn up his plans for the hog area as he wants to raise hogs on his own farm. He is very excited to help out grandpa on this project.
I have found our new buck for this next breeding cycle he is boer/alpine mix. I am going to purchase him as that will be more profitable for me. How the breeding goat works now is that I have to pay the guy 25 dollars for each kid my does have. So I will be selling them for 35-40 dollars apiece to make a profit of any kind.
The rabbits are doing well, they are very happy witht he warmer weather it seems. Arthur and Mary have cages right next to one another so they are always laying against each other on the wire. It looks like they kiss one another through the wire which looks so cute!! They are so in love!! I was told to place the does back with the bucks this weekend to make sure the breeding took 2 weeks ago. I am a little nervous to do that as I was told a fight could really break out so I have to watch them closely.
Anyhow my little one is stirring and she is in need of me!! Blessings!! -Dawn

