Chickens, chickens, who's got the chickens

We are now gearing up to bring on the chickens. I am really excited as I love fresh eggs fried in bacon grease in the morning. Not politically correct, but it's my favorite way to eat eggs. So, we are venturing out in the chicken world and trying to learn as much as we can. There is a lot to learn. I remember Granny having chickens, but I didn't learn a thing at that time in my life other than you shouldn't poke a stick at the chickens (not one of my nicest moments in life ). If any of you know anything about chickens and care to throw some advice at us, please do so. Rebecca is taking the chickens on as her 4-h project, so she has been doing most of the research - or as she puts it, she's been "pecking" everybody's brains. We are looking forward to the eggs and possibly at some point, we'll even look at raising broilers just to butcher them. Joshua is begging for turkeys, but one fowl animal at a time, please.

By the way, I've had calves in the tub, and I just finished having two cats neutered on my dining room table. Yes, you heard me. We had the vet out fertility testing bulls, and as we mentioned we needed to bring the cats in to be neutered, she offered to take care of them right then and there. They are recovering in the bathroom right now, but I thought I would just add one more bizarre thing that has occurred in my home. If anyone had told me 20 years ago this would be my life, I would have laughed until I passed out. At least no one can tell me they told me so!!!

PS - we did put a trashbag and old blanket down for the procedure, and I have used a washcloth soaked in bleach to clean that table. I might be up for trying these strange things, but I am all for sterilizing after....... I wonder if any of you will still come join us for a meal????

Birthday spa

Hippo Birdie Two Ewe - that was the song my family sang to me as they brought me breakfast in bed. I was given coffee with heavy cream (whipped cream, actually) apple turnovers, eggs over medium, roses in a vase (silk roses in an old wine bottle, but I loved the creativity :)), cards and cards and cards. Then, everyone grabbed their plates, and we all piled on the bed and enjoyed our meal together. That was a wonderful way to start the day. 14 years ago when I started this tradition with my children, I had no idea it would come back to bless me as it does every year. I can remember when they were younger and couldn't cook, yet, they would always make sure Daddy bought Captain Crunch cereal and bring me a bowl of that for breakfast (I confess I do like that sugar filled cereal ). I am still wearing the smile I've had since this morning. Children are truly a blessing from The Lord!!

Now to the spa, we have had 3 calves enjoying our luxurious set up here at the J-C Bath and Day Spa. So far, all are doing well and back with Momma. I am posting some pictures so that everyone can see that we really have had calves in our tub and sleeping in front of our fire. The calf last night was so precious. The children had all gone to bed, and John and I were reading in the living room. The calf stood up precariously and then started bawling for his momma. Since no one came to him, he started walking toward John and me. We loved on him but had no nourishment (we try to make them wait until they go back to momma so they are good and hungry). He then proceeded to bump into the furniture all over the living room and dining room until he finally came back and plopped on his blankets. John and I just laughed and laughed. What a sight! When you're in the area, do come by for your own special treatment!!

Feeling like Job

It's very easy to praise God when things are going well, but we are beginning to experience just a taste of what Job must have felt (nothing more than a taste, maybe only an aroma....). We have had an abundance of snow that has made it difficult to get to the cows. We have run out of hay reserves and can't find any at decent prices. We have had 1/3 of our calves die (that's bad when a normal year is only about 5%). Plus, the dishwasher is giving us fits along with our water softener (and we really, really like our water softener). Now, while we are already feeling down , we find ourselves dealing with a transmission on the 4x4, feed pickup that has chosen this moment in time to begin gagging and taking it's last breath. We don't know how much longer it will work for us, but we are really starting to worry. As John sat the other night wondering what we were going to do as we won't have money from bull sales until late March, early April, I couldn't help but wonder what went through Job's mind.

He endured more than we've even begun to fathom, and yet, he continued to praise God. How often do I praise Him when things are going well - lots of rain, lots of grass, an air conditioner that works, vehicles that work, school going smoothly... etc..... How often do I praise God when I burn the bread, have a stuffy nose and just can't seem to get things done? Not often. Now, here I am finding myself anxious about so many things that I just can't control (that's a whole other issue), and am I easily praising God? I must confess, no. I immediately cry out to God, which I know He does want us to do, but I'm crying like a big baby because things aren't a bed of roses right now. Why is it so difficult to cry out to God with a voice that praises Him for all the things I do have? For all the health we are blessed with? With a family that is willing to work hard together? With friends that are willing to offer their hands wherever needed? With a Savior that was willing to lay His life down for mine? How did Job do it?

Did God show Job He loved him more than He shows me? Definitely not. Was Job less materialistic than I am? Maybe. Was Job's a closer walk than mine has been lately? Probably. Or maybe Job just chose to praise God no matter what. Job's walk was probably much closer than mine has been lately, and because of that close relationship he felt with God, Job knew he could trust God to only allow what was best - even if Job couldn't understand how all of those events could be best. Job knew God's character so well, that he knew God would not desire to harm him or hurt him in any way - it goes against God's character. Often, I've lived through difficulties and wondered how it could be best - such as with Caleb. We can look back now and see that it was best that Caleb was not only conceived when he was but born when he was. At the time, though, we simply had to trust. We are now facing another one of those times. We don't know what the best is going to be out of all of this, but we can trust that God's character has not changed. He is still a loving, righteous, just, giving, caring, compassionate God that desires nothing for us but what is best. Maybe what Job did was to make a conscious CHOICE to praise God no matter what - not because he felt like it, but because he knew that was the best he could give to God. That's what we will try to do, too.

Now, Here Comes the Sun!!

For the first time in I don't know how long, I woke to the sun shining brightly. There were no clouds in the sky at all!!! We are praising God and are beginning to feel the warmth pouring down on us to melt this snow. Yesterday, we woke to a dead calf right outside the kitchen window. Poor thing was born in the night with the chilling winds. Next to that calf was another calf just born that morning and struggling to get up and move around - which I had a hard time myself with the fire for warmth. My children watched that other calf all day to make sure he stuck with momma and was moving and nursing. As much as I hated losing the other calf, I shared with John last night that the good from that loss was the desire it placed in our children to watch even more carefully on the other calves out there. Numerous times they would go search for the calf and felt satisfied when they saw it nursing or snuggling with mom. The desire to care for those less fortunate in any way is something you can't be taught from a book but have to learn through experience in one way or another. I hope yesterday planted one more seed for them.

Also, we are still baffled by the deaths of a couple of these calves and have come to the conclusion that the crows may have killed them. Apparently, after talking to some of the other "older" ranchers around here, the crows have been known to go right down and attack a calf and kill it. After a calf is doing well, often the mom will go looking for a little nutrition, and that's when they come in. So, now we're not only on calf patrol, we're on crow patrol. I always found those birds to be a little creepy (maybe it's a Poe thing, who knows), but now I may be finding a valid reason to dislike them. We'll keep you posted..........

Here it comes.....oh, please let them be wrong

Here is my contribution for the day. Below is a little verse I've quickly written while looking out my window this morning. Sometimes these things just come to me in a weird sort of way. This one is sung to the tune those wonderful BeeGees sang, Here Comes the Sun.

Here comes the snow, Little Darlin’.
Here comes the snow, and I say, it’s all wet ( da da da da da da)

Little Darlin’, it’s been so long since we’ve seen grass.
Little Darlin’, I never thought the white could last, but
Here comes the snow……….
Here comes the snow, and I say, it’s all wet……

We are praying that we only get 1-2 inches this time as we still have not seen the ground (except the mud on the road) since December 28th. That's right-3 WEEKS!!! YIKES! It's not that we mind the snow, but it sure does get expensive when you have to feed 3-4 tons of hay a day. We are almost out of our entire winter stock of hay because feeding 21 days is more than we normally would. John tried finding some more around here, and there is none. What he did find was running 133% increase over what we paid a few months ago. We do have lots of cubes, and they love eating those (high in protein, sweet tasting little cigar shaped food supplements), however, too much is a little hard on their systems without the roughage of grass or hay. So, we continue to pray for the snow to melt and more hay to be found at a more reasonable price. It has just been funny to be in this situation after all the rain we had this last year. We ended up with so much left over grass on the ranch we were actually looking forward to winter for once because there was plenty for them to eat - go figure.

However, on a brighter note, we have about 8 calves on the ground so far, and today is actually the due date for calving to begin. God is so caring and good. He knew that we really needed to see those sweet babies out there to remind us that things do not come to stay - His Word always says, "And it came to pass". Life does not stand still even when we are in a panic, and He once again brings forth new life. So far, Rebecca's herd has increased by a little bull calf. She plans on raising out her calf and selling it next year as a yearling (they learn the value of that dollar early and good business practices as well). Sarah's herd has increased as well with a little heifer. She is happy about that because it means more potential calves in the future. Joshua is still waiting......

I am also grateful for a huge wood pile, lots of meat in the freezer (guess what kind???), food in the pantry, games on the shelf, and lots of great company to fill up the next few snowy hours. What more can we really ask for. Even when we can look one way and possibly become anxious and overwhelmed, we can always turn back to Him and be reminded that He is in control. It's almost as if He says, "These are my cows, and I'll take care of them. In the meantime, go enjoy your family, eat some good food, play some games, read some books, sew some quilts, and trust in Me." Ahhhh, now how easy is that...

Let it snow!!!!!

I hope all of you had a Blessed Christmas as you focused on the gift of Our Savior. I also pray for God's abundant blessings on all of you in 2007.

We ended and began the years with lots and lots of snow. More snow than I remember seeing in a long while. Here are some photos the children took. We ended up with 22" at the house and up to 4 or 5 feet in certain parts of the ranch. The cows would like to have been given B & B treatment, but we were not willing. :) Wonder why! John was able to get to the cows and feed hay as well as cubes, and he eventually got them all moved closer to the house in a smaller pasture. We were thankfully not calving, but we will begin in another week and a half. So, I am preparing the bathtub for cold calves if this weather continues throughout the next few months. If we do have a calf in the tub this year, I promise to post the pictures. Ahhhh, the life of a rancher's wife. If only I'd known..........I'd still have married that wonderful, handsome fella!!!

Another Happy Birthday!!!!

I want to wish my oldest angel a very Happy Sweet 16!!! It's hard to believe that tiny little baby is already 16 years old, but what a blessing she has become through the years. She has grown into a lovely, young woman that has a heart for The Lord and desires to serve Him where He leads her. I am enjoying my time with her as she shares her heart, her frustrations not only with "things" or events but with herself. As much as she blesses me and so many others, she is also still so very humble and willing to look at her faults and try to make changes. What I would have given to be like that when I was 16 - in fact, I'm not sure I'm like that at 40!!

Our time has gone by too quickly, and I know in my heart that the rest of her time in my home will go much faster than I want it to. However, what a joy it is to know that this young lady is preparing herself more and more every day for the service He has for her.

I love you, Dear daughter!!!!

Happy Birthday!!

OK. Way too long since last blog. Now have something really wonderful to blog about.



Today is Joshua's 11th Birthday!!! WOW!! How did I get children this old already? Time is going by too, too quickly for this mother who is having more fun than any person should be allowed to. You will see my handsome little man is showing off his 11 pt. buck he was blessed to shoot his very first hunt. He actually missed a 6 pt. buck an hour earlier and was very bummed and ready to go home. They looked in one more pasture and came up on several large bucks. He and Daddy both shot 11 pt bucks, but Joshua's was the biggest (and he's very quick to point that out, too). We are going to enjoy some venison BBQ tonight to celebrate his birthday. What a deal. Have everyone celebrating your birth while you know that it was your effort that is providing the meal. I can't think of anything that would make him feel more masculine than that.

More pictures

I couldn't get Sarah's birthday picture to download, so here is a picture of the birthday girl, Sarah. She is modeling her Regency tea gown she made for the Cotton Extravaganza (and took first place at County (brag, brag)).

Here is Rebecca modeling her outfit she made for the Cotton Fiesta. She won at County and Distric and will be competing at the State Fair in September.


I can't leave off this picture of my two Knights. These dashing young men caught the eye of a photographer at the County Fair. He was very kind to send us a copy of this photo. I must confess I think these are the four loveliest blessings in the world - that's my opinion, and I'm going to stick to it.

Happy Anniversary

The most important post that should have been made a week ago is a huge big I LOVE YOU to my dear hubby of 20 years!!! Hard to believe he's put up with me all these years, but he has and deserves a medal. I wish I could tell you they have been 20 years of bliss, but some of you would know that was a lie. I will say that we received a gift from our children that made those years of working through difficulties worth it. Our children gave us a piece of paper. This piece of paper was a Marriage renewal that John and I signed as well as "the four witnesses that know us better than anyone else" - our children. They also shared with us how much they appreciate our working on our relationship and giving them a home where they know they are loved. WOW!! Again, there were tears everywhere - including John (mine were a given). I can honestly say that after 20 years, I would still go back and marry him all over again - struggles and all, and I look forward to the next 20, 30, 40 and beyond years of marriage!!

I love you, John, and I dedicate this song to you!!

IF I HAD TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN

We’re not as young as we used to be
But baby I don’t mind
'Cause growing old with you is gonna be
Full of life and good times.

And if I had it to do all over again I’d do it with you
I wouldn't want to miss a thing that we’ve been through
Baby nothing can compare with the good love that we’ve shared
And if I had to do it all over again I’d do it with you.

Looking back on life I can’t complain
It ain’t been easy but don’t you know
We still had sunshine even when it rained
And we’ve shared a love few have known.

And if I had it to do all over again I’d do it with you
I wouldn't want to miss a thing that we’ve been through
Baby nothing can compare with the good love that we’ve shared
And if I had to do it all over again I’d do it with you.

And if I had it to do all over again I’d do it with you
I wouldn't want to miss a thing that we’ve been through
Baby nothing can compare with the good love that we’ve shared
And if I had to do it all over again I’d do it with you...

Belated birthdays

As many of you have emailed and reminded me, I have been very delinquent in my blogging. Let me take a quick moment in the midst of my chaotic world to at least catch up on my birthdays. Caleb is now the big 6!! Way to go my little energetic, bundle of encouragement. It's hard to believe that 6 years ago we all wondered if he would even survive let alone whether he'd have any disabilities. Looking at him now, I just have to laugh at all the worry.

Next, we need to welcome Sarah as a new Youth (she doesn't want to be called a teenager). She turned 13 a few weeks ago, and we were blessed to celebrate with the Heckendorn traditional 13 year old evening (I can only whisper this as I don't want the boys to find out what we do until they turn 13). Let's suffice it to say that the evening is filled with blessing and welcoming our newest young lady. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner in a very special place, shared lots of encouraing words, and shed tears all around (yes, even Daddy.) It was just wonderful.

No regrets...

My dad was visiting a while back and commented that this life was not what he thought I'd be living. He then asked me if I was happy I had chosen this path instead of the "my dreams" path. It was so easy to say yes. I can honestly say that I don't regret giving up the things I did at all. I wanted to "be somebody". You know - play at Carnegie Hall, be an actress, write a novel - be somebody "important". Well, I do get to play at the J-C Ranch, do the voices for numerous characters in novels, and write lots of lists and assignments. Maybe a bit different from MY dreams of long ago. The best thing is, I am SOMEBODY. I am IMPORTANT!! My face will never grace the cover of People magazine, but my portrait has been drawn by all four of my children. In fact, it usually is drawn with beautiful hair, a huge smile, a tiny waist (thank you for that boost), and at least one child in my arms. I don't think they would have chosen that pose for People. I have received the best reviews from my critics when I read a book out loud and give each character their own "sound". I might add, too, that my critics typically bless me with hugs and kisses as well. Not sure John would have appreciated that from the "important" critics in the other arenas. As to Carnegie Hall, I don't want to take the time I would need to in order to be that good anymore. I would miss out on too many precious moments snuggling with these sweet angels God has blessed us with.

I find it so interesting to talk with so many other moms that say the same thing. Those dreams of long ago seem so undesirable compared to these little people in our lives. That's not to say that we can't keep dreaming and shoot for those things later in life. I know I still want to write a book, I even have it started, but it just has taken a different direction than what I would have written about 20 years ago. I still consider the possibility of acting - for all of my grandchildren one day. I have even toyed around with the idea of putting some really great literature on CD. We love that and can't ever seem to find enough for these long NM trips. As to playing in Carnegie Hall, well, my wrists just can't take it anymore. Instead, I'll just humm along with children and enjoy their concerts. Much less practice time that way.

Whatever the future holds, as long as we can take where we are right now and be contented, we can move forward without regrets. It's the regrets that hold us back, not the lack of dreams. Life might not be everything we imagined, but maybe we just never imagined the life we're leading could be this good!

More rain .....

God continues to bless us!!! Sunday evening we received an inch of rain. I know that's not a lot for you wet weather folks, but you know what that means to NM!! John and the boys were actually out checking cows, tanks, and stalking rabbits when it began. They had made it to the barn just before it really hit hard. They didn't care, though, and the boys begged Dad to let them run around in it. He did. :):)

The girls were inside finishing up some dresses for a contest this week. I'll post pictures after the contest. They were also delayed in their sewing because they joined the boys in the rain. As the storm was subsiding, we were blessed with not one, but two full rainbows. The children were ready to load up and get that pot of gold as it was obviously right in the middle of the Mesa pasture. Dad did not consent to this hunt at 8:30 pm, so maybe next time.

What an Awesome God we serve......

IT RAINED!!!!!! Last night about 11pm, John and I were blessed to still be up talking, and we heard the pitter patter of rain drops. We both went outside and just took it in. The lightning was glorious, the air smelled so intoxicating, and I as I stood there with the man I love looking out at the rain nourishing this dry land, I could not help but start singing "God will take of you". He does. We have been praying for rain for months and months (years, actually), and we have no sold any of our cattle as an act of faith. Yes, they are skinny, but they are still really doing well. We are amazed that we can still go out in the pastures in the late afternoon and see them lieing down chewing their cud (a good sign that they are getting enough to sustain themselves). John had just mentioned a few days ago that if we didn't have moisture by the end of June, we would have to pull the yearlings off. Let's keep in mind that we just don't get rain in June. It hits hard in July, but not in June. Well, once again, God provided. In about 1/2 an hour we received 2/10 of an inch!!! That may not seem like much to some folks, but when you haven't seen more than an inch in 10 months, that is a huge gift in water. We stood there a bit longer, and John started singing "Our God is an Awesome God". We both sang it at the top of our lungs. I'm surprised we didn't wake the children up! :)

This morning, everything just looks cleaner. I don't know what it is about that rain, but it just feels that way. The sky is a gorgeous blue, and in no time at all, this wonderful New Mexico grass will start to pop up. The cows will begin to lose that burned look, the calves will start filling out, and once again, we will wonder why we ever doubted.

Great news if you're a male Heckendorn....

After waiting and talking and waiting and discussing and waiting........we finally found out yesterday that John drew for an elk hunt in September. Joshua is beside himself with excitement. He has been anxious since May when John applied for the hunt, so I thought we might have a respite from the hunting discussions. Not to be. Now, he is already planning what Momma needs to make for him - all in camo colors of course. :) It will be a bow hunt which means chances will be a bit slimmer of actually bagging an elk. John has explained that, but it has dampened the excitement one bit. This hunt is a cow or bull, but John has already told Joshua that he will only kill a bull. That is fine with him as he plans on breaking all hunting records for the largest elk, and then we will proudly mount the head over the fireplace. Not sure how that will fit, but I suppose we can solve that issue later. In a lot of ways, I hope they get an elk. One, I would like some sausage from the elk. Better for you than pork, but tastes better than deer. Second, John is really hoping that Joshua sees that hunting isn't all fun. Yes, it provides food for the family, but it is a lot of work. Mostly, though, we want him to fully realize that an animal dies when you hunt. That sounds funny, but I am so shocked and amazed at how many young people do not fully understand where that burger or those chicken nuggets come from. They don't realize what it takes to get that milk or those eggs to the store. As far as they're concerned, that food simply comes from the market. When we have friends over, their children are amazed that we can get milk from a cow, but they're even more amazed that we drink it (this is especially shocking if they have seen the calf enjoying a bit of momma before we milk her). Our children have talked about butchering so and so, only to find out their young friends have no idea that we would really kill that four legged critter in the corrals. One friend asked them why we don't just go to the store instead. My children said it's the same thing and explained the beef market plan of America to them. I shouldn't be surprised, though. The first time we fed corn on the cob to our children, one of them asked how they get the corn on there. John realized that we hadn't done a very good job explaining all those veggies we eat (I never can get the corn to produce in the garden, so I take full responsibility).

I suppose it's just a sign of the times. We have become such a specialized nation with each of us only doing that one thing that we're good at - mortgages, teaching, music, banking, business, engineering, etc, that we have forgotten so much of what takes place each day in other sectors. I'm just as guilty. That is why I do hope that Joshua can get a bigger picture on this hunting trip. It will be fun. We'll enjoy the meat, but I pray that he sees things a big differently after September and can keep things in perspective. Just one of the many things in life to learn.

What we learn from our children.....

OK. I must confess that God blessed me with children only to teach me a lesson. How frustrating it is to see all of my irritating habits present themselves in one or all of my children. Arrrgghh!! I know that I must give God a chuckle when I yell at my children, "Why are you YELLING!!!!" Many a times I've looked up and knew the answer to my question - they learned it somewhere. Now, I'd like to think they learned it from John, but that only delays the inevitable. OK. I take responsibility.

Lately, though, I am beginning to see someone else have an influence on my children's behavior and how they view things. Our Lord. I am constantly amazed how He speaks to them in such a different way than He does to me. In fact, I love it when they share what He has taught them because it usually makes so much sense to me - better than anything I could have thought up. For example..........

We have been reading our daily Proverb together before we start our book lessons, and as we try to read the Proverb chapter that corresponds to the day of the month, we've just started at the beginning of Proverbs again. As we were discussing the first two chapters over a couple of days, we talked about how God was clearly showing us our choice of following Him, gaining wisdom, turning away from sin or walking head long into the darkness. I'm focusing on the ways that God shows us to stay focused on Him, and my children are following along and adding their thoughts here and there. As I also try to do, I pointed out at the end that no matter how far away we turn from Him, we can always repent and He will be waiting to forgive us. Caleb then picked up this piece of paper he had been messing with and showed us what repent "looks" like - he had taken that paper and shaped it like a J so that when you laid it on its back, he said repent is when you zoom back to God! Yeah! He gets it! I'm satisfied and ready to pray when Sarah pipes in that she thinks about it like a dog going after a porcupine. That dog knows what will happen, but he chases that porcupine and gets sprayed with quills. Joshua added that the quills they get sprayed with aren't the ones you see, though. The quills that we see aren't really very bad at all. Then, once you're in the middle of the fun with that porcupine, the tiny quills with barbs like velcro are released, and these are the ones that really stick and hurt! Isn't that just like sin -it never looks that bad and you have no idea the pain it will cause until it's too late. Rebecca then chimed in and reminded us that the dog's master is always ready to pull those quills out and love the dog - just like God is willing to love and care for us as the wounds from our sins slowly heal.

I have to tell you I cried. Once again, God used those blessings of mine to teach me a lesson. How many times have I chased that "porcupine", found myself full of "quills", tucked my tail, and came whining back to God. I can't say, though, that I've always viewed God as the loving, willing Master that was ready to gently help me begin the healing process. Maybe I don't see Him that way because I'm not that way? As much as I'd like to think I'm loving and merciful, I find myself too many times focusing on the consequences of the sin and hoping the lesson was learned rather than focusing on the forgiving aspect. Ouch. I think that was a quill. I do thank God for these children, and I pray that He never stops teaching me through them.

In the meantime, I have some quills that need to be removed.......

Are all addictions bad??

Rebecca made the comment not too long ago that she thinks we are addicted to endorphines. She pointed out that we always end our meals somehow laughing hysterically over things (jokes, stories, comments, songs, poems, whatever we can think of). So, she felt that just like some people seem to want a cigarette after dinner, our family seems to want endorphines.

Sure enough. We have watched our behavior, and she is correct - we end up laughing over something after dinner (and sometimes even after breakfast and lunch!!). It might start out with something mild - maybe telling stories from when they were children or a joke John heard. Then, we have noticed that it progresses to bigger things. Eventually, somebody's giggle box gets turned over, we are all laughing like crazy (some of us barely able to stay in their chairs - and it's not who you think it is), and we all enjoy a good high on endorphines. Why do we do this? We just don't know. We have to wonder if Rebecca is right - maybe we are addicted to that high.

This evening was no different from any other. We had been working very hard cleaning and painting the building where we gather for worship. We dragged ourselves in after chores, hungrily attacked our burritos, and before we knew it........we were chasing our addiction. I decided to share with you these verses that we spontaneously wrote tonight. It is sung to the tune of "One dark night, when we were all in bed"; the song with the old cow kicking over the lantern. We started out singing that song in various tones, keys, and silly dialects. It ended with these words:

One dark night
When Momma lost her head
All the rest of us were headed off to bed,
Because we just couldn’t stand one more of her old jokes,
They just weren’t funny,
Even though she thought so.
Boo, Boo, Boo


One dark night
When Momma lost her head,
All the rest of us were headed off to bed,
We tried to go to sleep but she was way too loud,
She just kept snorting
in her own little world.
Snort, Snort, Snort!

Pretty silly, but we sure enjoyed that high afterwards!

I must confess, if we were going to choose to be addicted to anything, I would choose being addicted to these moments with my family. One day when John and I are just too old to care whether or not we even put our teeth in or get dressed, we will sit there in our rocking chairs and get tickled thinking of these "endorphine" moments. We are constantly told and may even find that we are now the ones telling new parents "enjoy them while you can" or "they grow up so quickly". I've always tried to figure out how to make these times slow down. Much to our frustration, though, we just can't. However, we can store up these treasured "endorphine" moments and just keep hitting "rewind" in our memory banks over and over and over again. Maybe they do go too quickly, but we can play them in slow motion as many times as we like. So I say, addictions are good - as long as we are addicted to our families!

Homeschool blog has a huge giveaway...

Sorry. We aren't giving away any beef (other than the beef we give away when you come join us for dinner ). However, Spunky is. If you aren't familiar with this homeschool blog, you need to visit them sometime. Lots of encouragement and inspiration. Here's what you do to be entered in their contest (where they are giving away a Benz Microscope (worth $259) and an Apologia Biology book set (worth $89). You must post this sentence on your blog or in an email. Better yet, look at this sentence, visit Sparky, find the complete rules.

"Spunky is giving away a Benz Microscope and Apologia Biology Set this week. Click Here to get the details."

For those of you that know me will realize that I have no idea how to do hyperlinks, yet, so I am just giving you their links below. I'll get there one of these days....

Here are the links to those sites:
Spunky - www.spunkyhomeschool.blogspot.com
Benz Microscope - www.benzmicroscope.com
Apologia Science - www.highschoolscience.com

Thank you Sparky!!!

What a fiasco!

I really wish you could have been in the barn this morning or at least had a hidden camera somewhere.......

We have been leaving Princess outside in the corrals, bringing the two calves inside at night, and penning them up in one of the inside stalls. We decided it was warmer for them, and they can't sneak under the fence and get milk before we get out there in the morning. This has been working quite nicely for us except that Princess can't focus on eating and letting us milk while those two calves are begging for breakfast. We decided this morning we would bring Princess in, put her in the stanchion, take the calves outside, and then milking would be a breeze. Right? Well, we came to the barn this morning, and Princess was standing at the door with her nose to the window (it is a fancy barn). We opened the door, and she walked right in. Piece of cake. Rebecca grabbed her halter and pulled Princess right into position. Great! Then, we realized we were out of the feed we needed for her. We had more at the house, but in the nick of time we discovered a stash, and put some in the bucket. Then, we went to take the calves outside. What was I thinking? Obviously nothing because as soon as we opened their pen, they wanted to head right to Mom and nurse. I do think they appreciated the fact that we had her tied up in position for them. :) We tried to head them off but that barn is not really set up for herding calves - they won and began nursing. That then left us with no choice but to try and grab the calves and pull them to the barn. Rebecca, Sarah, and Joshua did everything they could to pull, tug, push, prod, drag those calves away from Mom - to no avail. They may look small, but they are VERY strong! Sarah finally grabbed Rose Creamy Lily (what a big name for such a little calf). She had a firm grip on RCL's ears and was pulling with all her might. Joshua had managed to grab one of Heartbelle's back legs, and he and I managed to drag her outside. Sarah pulled while Rebecca pushed, and they got RCL out right behind us. We all ran back into the barn and shut the door. Dust was stirred up everywhere, I'm having a hard time breathing (I really am allergic to that alfalfa), and Princess turns her head, looks at us, and mooooos!

On the brighter side, we did manage to finally let the dust settle and milked about 1 gallon. We have discovered that we work well with one person on each side. As we get faster (and build up some forearm muscles) we will be able to milk with only one person. We grabbed our milk can, took Princess out to eager babies, and came back to the house - exhausted, dusty, and splotched with manure only to discover that we left the milk in the barn. :)

The arrival of Princess

We did it!! Today we just took on the responsiblity and blessing of a milk cow. Princess has arrived with her little week old heifer calf. Along with providing milk for our family she will also be giving milk to her calf as well as Caleb's calf Heartbelle. In case I failed to mention it, Heartbelle is Caleb's calf that he has been praying for since Christmas. She was a twin with a bull calf, and as the heifer is infertile 95% of the time, we took the heifer so the mama would raise the bull (John says cows can't count so they won't raise twins - they forget where they left the other one. :)). So God provided a calf for Caleb without taking a cow from us (which is how we typically end up with a doggie calf). Now, he can show a heifer in the fair while sisters and brother show their yearling heifers. Boy did I digress........I believe I was stating that Princess would be caring for her calf, Caleb's calf, and our family. We are all excited. Rebecca says she is very slow, and she worried that Princess was not going to appreciate that. Dad and Joshua will be milking tomorrow (and the next several days) as everyone else practices for a bit toward the end until we can pick up speed. We didn't anticipate her arrival at our home, so we still need to buy some jars for the milk as well as some milk filters and a stainless steel bucket. Phew. Joshua was hardly able to contain himself tonight as he really, really wanted a glass of "real" milk before going to bed. Dad is making everyone wait until it's chilled so everyone has voted to just have cereal in the morning. Mom will be dreaming of cream and butter and yogurt and ice cream and cheese and WHAT AM I THINKING??? We'll be doing good to get the milk strained and possibly some yogurt or butter every now and then. Whatever we do end up with, we will thoroughly enjoy it. Lisa, I'll save some and let you enjoy when you come in September. In fact, we'll have to plan a milking chart so all the children can have a whack at it. :):)