We're still here

I meant to update sooner, thank you to all who emailed, we are fine the tornado was a few miles sw of us and continued moving east until it had past us an then crossed the border about 6 miles east of us.

I have been really tired, to the point that I physically ache :( Hoping the dr will have some answers next week. Thankfully it does not inhibit homeschooling :)

We have had a steady increase in demand, we are thankful for this and I have ordered additional jars to keep up. We thank you for you continued prayer for the success of our farm.

This week we discovered that the first grasses of Spring are not the best for dairy cows as the wild onions/wild garlic and mustard grasses, affect the taste and smell of the milk. We have since pulled Mag off the pasture and bought her some alfalfa and fresh hay. She LOVES the fresh alfalfa, the bright green bales were enough to even lure Quinn out of the pasture for a taste, lol. Quinn appears to be coming along quit nicely, he goes to the butcher next Friday.

Well not a whole lot else going on, we are going to work on getting this old farm house fixed up in time for my moms visit this summer. :)

Other updates

Baby girl has begun standing and working without holding. I think she is on a race to get it down before her birthday. lol Dh is so excited for their joint birthday this year, the first of many :)



I got tired of fighting with my cheap sewing machines, I spoke with a friend who knows a thing or two and sent her a few links of what was available in my area (at a reasonable price). The machine above won hands down came with it's own sewing table and was under $50. The 2nd runner up was a completely refurbished 1960's portable singer straight stitch machine, that was under $40 and will be great to start teaching HG the basics on. She is so thrilled!

Quick Note

The 1st trimester yuckies are still upon us ;( The toddlers are running a fever and flu like symptoms are running rampant in the house ;( I had my 1st prenatal appt and will have a sono to check the due date of the baby. HG is really enjoying reading everything in sight, it is really wonderful to watch. School is getting back to a more normal schedule again and the results of EE's re-evaluation will be available shortly. I cannot believe how many appointments have come up in the few short days I have been home again. Well, off to try to get dinner going and get everyone back to bed.

He got it!

As you know, my job is soon coming to an end with the upcoming April 15th tax filing deadline. Dh has been offered and has accepted a job not too far from home that will continue to keep the farm running. It's 3rd shift but he's worked it before, he can apply for a shift transfer after 6 months. :) The job comes with benefits and the ability for the children and I to go to the wellness center at a very low cost :) We are very excited!!

Yes, I am still alive :)

There really hasn't been much to report, work is good, farm is good - though the ground is VERY wet and it's cold out, and the family is good. :) Buttercup is coming closer to calving I would say about 10 days or so, her udder has really started to come in and she has a string of mucus hanging. She has been a bit more ornery but she loves coming into the stanchion and all of the cows have gotten the routine down :) Blackbird (our Angus) seems to be the object of her abuse however, though I am not sure why. Eva is eating grain and hay from our hands and we will be working on doing the horn paste this weekend. We are thinking of getting some oats and corn planted next month but I need a bean to plant with the corn. Suggestions welcome.

In other news I am pleased to see that AR seems to be doing really well even though he is no longer on medication for ADHD. He has really buckled down and worked hard to do the things he needs to at the time it needs to be done. :) Well that's about all I've got. Stay warm and keep praising. :)

So much to tell

There is so much going on recently, where do I begin? We were blessed to be able to welcome our daughter into the family of God on Sunday, she was terrific for the entire thing. I couldn't believe that she didn't cry even once, I am so proud of her.

We FINALLY have a vehicle running, I have to thank my family for blessing us with the ability to pay for it. Life threw quite a few curves, turns out it was not just the transmission but also the half and intermediate shaft that had to be replaced. :(

I started my job and it is going well so far. I've only had one day so I'll let you know.

Buttercup looks like she will be calving within the next few weeks, we are really excited as this will mean that Lot bred her. We miss him terribly but the cows are muddling through, lol.

We butchered miss piggy as she was not gaining as we'd have liked and we needed to cull the group.

I think we have far too many roosters, so looks like we'll be butchering on the weekend. ;)

The kids are doing really well with their homeschool work and we have worked out a plan for their time while I'm at work. I am really happy with their progress and HG is getting ready to move up to 1st grade work officially. :) Her math skills are in the 1st-2nd grade range so it's time. lol.

All in all, things are moving along. Money's tight - to be expected, there's a lot of love and laughter and time by the fire. :)

Car accident

DH and HG were in a car accident today, he believes that the Expedition is totalled, it is currently flipped over in a field. We'll know more once the adjuster gets through with it. Please pray.

On a side note it appears that the wonderful people of our town have adopted our family this year, we're not quite sure how they knew but we are thankful for their generosity.

An end to my silence

Sometimes life throws so many curve balls that even narrating the events begins to feel like a whining. I do thank all of you that have checked in on us, your thoughts and prayers have been deeply appreciated. So, on to the quick overview:

Expedition fixed, savings gone, Lot sold (got 1/3 of what he's worth, note to self, never use the sale barn again - though some money better than none), lesson learned, Judd died (reasons unknown :(), hubby didn't find work, dusted off resume and start work in January. Well, that about does it. :)

I have been reading the little house on the prairie books and I must say that I am enjoying them tremendously. It is amazing how different life was back then, their courage is inspiring.

Looks like we will have piglets in the Spring :) Eva is doing really well and Buttercup is taming very nicely. It will be interesting to see how Quinn adapts to his new role as sire, he has never been the only bull around. Blackbird is still a bit weary of us but has taken to the others very well. Eva follows her around when she isn't busy nursing Treva.

The chickens are beginning to lay again now that they have adjusted to their new diet, several have migrated to the barn. We will be working on getting boards on their windows this week to keep the cold air out.

I have added rag dolls to the list of Christmas projects and will post pics of the knitted projects soon. I pray that you all are well and hope you all have a wonderful Advent season. :)

One thing after another

Today I was excited to let you all know that the car has finally been pulled from the mud. We even get a new battery in the thing, unfortunately, it does not run, it starts but does not go. :( So to recap, we have 1 vehicle with a bad transmission and the other is incapacitated. Great! We were able to get another job but this new development may put an end to business as we cannot risk going too far with the transmission. I am going back to bed till thing pick up, it seems this day is a bust. :(

It's not you, it's me

Usually when people say that it means it's totally you but not today. Lately I have been depressed as the 1st day of work looms. Actually it was supposed to be today, but I couldn't do it. My mind said I should but everything else in me said HECK NO!! There seems to be a notion that going back to work after the first baby is the hardest and that it gets easier. I'm here to tell you that that is not exactly true. My oldest and I were together for most of his first year until I started college, he is a very social child and so there was never any issues leaving him with a sitter or at a day care, he actually enjoyed it. This was a real relief to me and I was comfortable by the time my daughter came along. She had her brother and they were great. My second daughter spent most of her first year in her daddy's arms, a real challenge when he started working let me tell ya. I was going to school and we lived around the corner so my time away from her was limited. By the time I started working I was a bit more comfortable since my hubby had her. She was not the kind to stay with a sitter or go to a daycare without issue. I was home once more and finishing college with #4 and graduated when he was 18 months, leaving home started to become difficult. They were growing up so fast and I didn't want to miss it. #5 came along and I cried and cried as I headed back to work, it wasn't the kids that cost too much it was the debt that we had that made staying home seem impossible. Things got easier as she really loved being home with her daddy but looked forward to me coming home. She would take my shoes and purse at the door and walk me in, lol. I missed them dearly when I was at work, I cried at my desk as I knew that my working was necessary. They are getting so big and there is so much I miss. Now we have 6 and once again the time is here and I don't want to go, I don't want to miss a moment. I want to hold my babies and laugh at the little things that they do and the crazy things they say. So today I have delayed the inevitable and for one more week I will live, drinking in all the sites and sounds that I will come to miss and capture what I can with my camera. For one more week I can hope that it can be forever this way.

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I've lost this battle but maybe not the war

As you know I have been pursuing my MBA, today I was academically disqualified from the program as my GPA has not achieved the required 3.0 (it is 2.96) :( I will have to wait 6 months to be able to reapply and appeal :( I know that most people think I had taken on too much, but I had hoped that I could make it work :( Today I feel defeated . . .

Over the last week or so I have been looking into my options for a business and there are a few classes I will need to take but I think I may have a good idea. My 9-5 began layoffs in my absence and figuring out what I maybe able to do has become very necessary. I had wondered when I'd find the time to take the classes, I guess my dance card just opened up. I may win this war yet :)

Brief life and farm update

Well I spent the better part of Friday in the hospital thanks to what they think maybe some bad acid reflux, they wrote me yet another prescription and sent me on my way. Let me just say that I am sick of pills!!! It seems like every time I see the inside of a hospital or doctor's office they are giving me something new, not really but it seems that way. There are no real answers just new suggestions on what it could be and everything seems to hang in the balance of the pregnancy. It is the easy fall back position, when in doubt it must be pregnancy related :(

On the upside I will have another ultrasound soon and maybe the baby will let us know for sure if we should be getting little pink or blue things ready. Were there no health issues on my end this would be a dream pregnancy, but alas it's not. It's funny thought, I think I always thought that a pregnancy free of morning sickness would be so great and now I see that it is no different, they are all just unique.

Sweetiepie has been escaping, though she doesn't go far, she likes to visit the tree across from the corrals. Marian AKA watch dog, is in fine form and has been a great alarm to alert us to escapee cows, lol. Months ago Lot had broken one of the bars in the arena while playing with the wheelbarrow. Since the weather is not as cold and the grass has begun to green, he and sweetiepie would wonder through it and mosey on down to the pasture. DH wedged a piece of wood to try to prevent these little trips and we returned to find that the wedge provided a really nice opportunity for them to break the lower bar too :( Luckily the Lot didn't go far, he got bored in the pasture and wandered off to the neighbors field in the back. The sheriff was very nice and just gave us a call, he must have heard that our cows aren't the difficult kind. Since then dh has fixed that section with some hog panel but it looks like we may have to re-evaluate the fencing in the arena as Sweetiepie has been slipping out again and we just noticed that a bar is broken over by the old garden.

We had another bidder on the mobile home and the deal was all wrapped up, then an hour later, we got a call that they changed their mind :( To say that I am very frustrated with this is probably an understatement. I wish I understood the plan, but I have learned that God's plan is far greater than my own so I will keep chugging along. I just wish He'd give me a heads up before I spend the propane money on the needed paperwork next time :(

Easter was wonderful, I really enjoyed the homily, so much so I will share the opening joke that Fr told us:

A US naval ship communication with an unknown vessel.

Americans: "Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision."

Unknown: "Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision."

Americans: "This is the captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course."

Unknown: "No, I say again, you divert YOUR course."

Americans: "THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN, THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES' ATLANTIC FLEET. WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH. THAT'S ONE-FIVE DEGREES NORTH, OR COUNTER MEASURES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP."

Unknown: "This is a lighthouse. Your call."

Quick update in case you missed me :)

Computer is behaving strangely at home. Not sure what the story is at this time. Cannot access Gmail or blogger :( Will post next week from work :)

HAPPY EASTER to you and your family :)

Quick update on us

Well, we are still without access to the propane in our tank as we were unable to get someone out. We will have to make alternative plans for tomorrow. We are still praising though as we know that things could be much worse. Thank you all for your continued prayers.

For those travelling, I wish you a safe trip and for everyone, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas. Don't forget to go to Church :) God Bless.