This is our old milking area. The kids and I cleaned it out Friday and on Saturday Roy and our Pastor worked all day to put in a floor and new cow milking stanchion. Ella is making a bag so it should be soon.This is all the junk we pulled out.

TA DA! LOOK how AWESOME!Gordon(our pastor) built both of these himself. It will make our milking experiences much easier.

Our Dog Quinn blessed us with 5 (one died) puppies right before Christmas. I don't like boy dogs so Jesse had to give up his favorite which was this little brown/white.He got $40.00 for him to go towards his pig. Not bad.

Here's another one he liked but $40.00 is pretty sweet. So Good-bye to you too!We did keep one little female her name is Dottie. Not real original I know but That's what I called her in the litter to tell them apart and it just stuck.

But it's not my cow. We purchased 2 milk goats! One is 3 yrs old her name is Grace or Gracie depending on wether or not she is making me mad! LOL The other one is just a yr. and her name is Mercy. We also got 2 wethers and are waiting for two more. Once all 4 are here we will divi them up and let the kids name each of their own. These will be for Fair. We were able to move our pigs over here to our house. WHEW! in less than 48 hrs we became pig & goat farmers! Olivia is a natural. I cried the first day I had to try to milk. It was not going so well. The next milking Liv was there to help and she was AWESOME! She can strip those goats out like no one else around here. I am enjoying them but enjoying the time with my sweet girl moreI also have a camera that works now so I will be posting pics soon I hope.

I had down loaded some old ones into my photobucket account but can't seem to get them to post. A red X is all that comes up when I do it. Got any suggestions? We had wonderful Wednesday at chuch tonight. I have started helping the teens with the worship time. The lesson was very poignant. It made me ponder. I hope what I heard will change my daily life. I get so caught up in the day to day I forget where I am going. I so appreciated a friends blog today with a quote from Ann of Green Gables about fresh starts and new days.

We got some more snow during sring break so that put  a little damper on my spring planting and outdoor clean up. Late April and May I think are suppose to be more consistantly nice. We will see.

It is late so I better go for now. Blessings,
Alaina

this is one I found of the little boys on moving day sitting on the end of the trailer. Precious or DANGEROUS UMMM I'm not sure which

Roy is over here this week and that is good. I keep wandering around and that is bad. I want to get so much accomplished while he is here to help but get so over whelmed I don't know where to start. Here just a few things I can think of right now that NEED to be done:

Old metal piles in and out of the soon to be milk parlour loaded and hauled off

Decide where to build permanent hog pen and do it

line old corral with new wire, reroute fence line to covered pen for goat area

get HUGE pieces of concrete moved out of the horse corral

build or buy a goat milking stand

clean out and detail my nasty van and put new car seats in and wash and clean old ones I plan to keep

Clean shop/barn area put away holiday containers fix area for animal food and stuff

put away micellaneuos items laying around the house in weird places

hang a few more pictures on the wall

clean the office/sewingroom

finish Alaina & Josie's quilts

sew new spring pillow covers for livingroom

figure out where and when to plant my new strawberry plants my friend Debbie sent over with Roy this trip

Clean out and put down fresh chips in the chicken coop

well that's all I can think of right now. See my delema?

We had to go into Baker tonight for a LATE WIC appointment and to pick up some fencing for the pens at D&B farm supply. We got McDonalds and came home. Olivia is at her friends tonight so I think I will go ahead and get to bed early. I should have a busy day given my long list! LOL

Have a great evening,
Alaina

I just popped in for a minute. I'm headed out this am to Nissa for Olivia's first softball game! It is supposed to be VERY cold there so I will be dropping off my yougest 4 at my sister's house. I haven't had family around for quite a few years so this is really nice.  I cleaned out the van. GROSS! Now I am riding herd on the youngins' so they get chores done. I am trying to decide if I will brave getting into the shower before I go or just go stinky. It is always crazy if I leave the kids unattended even just for a shower. Maybe they will suprise me.

Roy is heading back over this way today or tomorrow for Easter & Spring Break. We have alot of preping to do for our Spring animals coming. I need to go I am running a bit behind. Have a Fabulous Friday!

Blessings,
Alaina

It has been wet and rained most of the day.  NOT the kind of day that motivates you to do much of anything except maybe sleep! LOL Olivia & I were up until 2 am watching movies with our friends. SHAME on us! It makes it very difficult to get going.

I have a million things I could or should be doing but am not very motivated. I think I'll call my sister. She always calls me when she needs motivated.

The older kids are still at school, the little boys(Tim & Kai) are up napping & Olivia just left for softball practice. It is VERY QUIET in my home at the moment. Not many times in the day will I be able to "catch the silence"(something a teacher taught Kenner when he was in Montessori) Well what do you know I spoke too soon I hear Tim & Malachi talking back and forth. Haaaaah,I  could almost get use to the peace, not really I'm sure I would miss the chaos.

I gotta go think of something for dinner, maybe with the turkey carcas from Sunday.

Hope your Tuesday was spent serving the Lord,

Alaina

HALLELUJAH! Daddy came over Friday night to see us!  I felt with the events on Thursday it was a much needed trip even though he will be coming back next weekend to spend Spring Vacation with us. He brought the trampoline and some FUN groceries. It's always exciting to see what he brings. Not the always necessay things I would get Ha HA but fun!

He spent the day putting together the trampoline, reading and hanging out with the kids. He helped me with dishes, laundry, light house cleaning and just hugs now and again through out the day. You forget how much you can miss a MAN hug don't get me wrong kids hugs  are great, but my honeys are FINE!!!

Please contine to pray regarding the selling of our Southern Oregon home and Roy's business. It weighs heavy on both of our hearts and minds.

In farm news, there is no farm news. We wait. I went out to pet Ella(milk cow) today and coach her on getting ready to HURRY up and have this calf but to no avail. She looked at me as if to say "I'll DO IT when I"m good and READY, so BACK OFF!" OOOOKK,  I got the point, I gave her one more pat and a scratch and left her well enough alone. I have a feeling it is all going to come down at once, new chicks,new goats, new pigs, new calf and one mad momma cow to try and milk. LOL It will be busy but I am truly  looking forward to Spring.

The weather has teased us a bit. It gets very blue outside but can be bitter cold yet, also the wind blows very cold here. But on occassion it has been warm enough to go out with out a coat and put a bit in the yard. I am planning a LARGE honey-do list for Spring Break. We have pens to build and milking barns to clean and set up.

I don't remeber if I mentioned the other day it was so nice Olivia & I sat out on the back deck and planted some vegtable starts while the big kids were at school and the babies napped. I guess at almost 3 and almost 4 they are not really babies anymore. OH dear!

Someone asked about my Mexican Buffet I feed to the chickens. I don't measure anything so I will try to explain as best I can. I use as HOT of water as my tap produces, I put 1-2 Teaspoons pepper flakes because I have it and probablly 2 Tab sp. of cayhenne peper. I mix it until it sticks together very moist and crumbly not so wet it pours like pancake batter. I don't know if this is the right way but that's how I'm doing it and it does seem to help. Good luck!

Tomorrow is chuch and Pot luck. I am baking a turkey to take and a peach pie. I canned filling last Fall so have it to use in a hurry.

Better go for now morning comes all too soon.

Blessings,
Alaina

The phone ringing off the hook, A two by four sticking out of Isaac's hand and someone stealing  Malachi's crowned jewels, and Timothy was ran over by a tractor or at least that's what you would have thought by the blood curdling screams preamiating though out the house all at the same time! The truth of the matter was Isaac had gotten a sliver in the palm of his hand it was about 1/8 of an inch wide & 3/4 inch long. Painful but not life threatening. Malachi's cowboy rope(some orange baling twine he found at my friends house) was taken by Noah. Noah was running through the house from Malachi and crashed into Timothy. I sent Noah outside to FIND the puppy, I put a cold wet rag on Tim's head and popped in a veggietales video, I got the alcohol and tweezers and went into surgery. Isaac was a less than cooperative patient until I threatened to call Gordon (our Pastor/EMT/rancher. I have heard him preach, check-out injuries and and be up to his arm pits in a cow trying to pull a calf.) I just told Isaac you don't want Gordon down here I've seen the tools he uses! LOL He sat still enough for me to get it out. WHEW! Then we got ready to go to church. It was Wonderful Wednesday, the night we eat dinner at church. YEAH a break for me. I'm sure there was much more but as usual I waited to post so I have forgot most of it.

Still No calf, No piglets and No baby goats. We need to shore up some fence and build some pens. My chickens are slow laying anywhere from 3-8 eggs a day. I made them what I call "Mexican Buffet" I mix their layer crumble with hot water and cayhenne pepper. That usually gets em' going!

Today not so good day to be a mom. I had a phone call from the kindergarten teacher regarding Hannah. I would have expected the unsaid behavior from Noah but was SHOCKED at Hannah. I am one sad momma right now. Also had some problems in regards to Noah on the bus. Please pray for me as I try to make decision about home-schooling next year.

I am beat so I will go for now,

Blessings to all,

Alaina    PS I have more OLD photos I will try to get posted tomorrow. I could really use a digital camera!

For G-ma Gotzman who asked "what is your cows name?" It is Ella and she is in a lot of trouble right now because she has NOT I repeat NOT calved yet! So I wait. I did manage to attend the DIFFICULT vet assisted birth of one of Wendy's other cows. Thankfully cow & calve are doing fine.

We are having a bit of a pig shortage over here in eastern Or. So far we have only managed to find 8 possible piglets and we need at least 8 preferablly 2-3 more. We may have to let Roy find some where he is and bring them over Spring break. I am still waiting to hear from our goat lady.

I went to quilting and am slowing finishing the twins(Alaina & Josie) blankets. My son Kenner called and asked if I would make two for the RVF church nursery. Stephanie had been in charge of re-doing the room cleaning, painting, etc... She did a beautiful job so they though it would be nice to have some hand made quilts. I was very honored he would think of me.

I am feeling a bit tired and want to go spend a little time with Olivia this evening so I better go for now. PS Gma the grad stuff came in the mail today THANK-YOU!!!

Blessings to all, Alaina