Lights! Herbie! Vomit!

Yeah. You read that right.

Tonight was awesome.

A true memory in the making.

We dropped off a Christmas box to a local family & then my hubby surprised us with a nice dinner out.

After that we went to look at Christmas lights.

The neighborhood we were in was  a popular one~they had tour buses & everything!

So we are cruising around OOoohhing & AAaawwwing at the lights when we turn a corner & all of the sudden we are surrounded by about 50 VW Beetles!

(You know, Slug Bugs!)

It was so funny! It was just like that scene from the second Herbie movie where all of the Herbies come to life & chase down the bad guy :)

We were laughing so hard!

It must have been some kind of club & somehow we ended up right in the middle of their light tour (in our  Ford pickup no less).

Right on the trail of all of the Herbies was a huge stretch limo. You know these crazy Californians ;)

So we are cruising along enjoying the lights when The Biscuit.......hurls.

All over himself & his brother who was holding him so he could see the lights.

Eeeeeewwwwwwww.

We pull over & strip Biscuit, who has extra clothes in the diaper bag.

Unfortunately for his brother, he did not.

So there we are, stripping the bubby & Big Brother is forced to strip down to his skivvys as the VW's & the limo are cruising past...

It was epic :)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is coming...

Christmas is coming the goose is getting fat

Please to put a penny in the old mans hat

If you haven't  got a penny a ha'penny will do

If you haven't got a ha'penny then God bless you

I have that song on an ancient Muppet tape.

Cracks me up every time.

I have to say, it's hard to feel Christmas-y when it's 60 degrees outside, the grass needs to be cut & the roses are blooming.

It's just wrong ;)

We did 3 nights of a Live Nativity at church.

We brought one of our goats & our precious little mini donkey, Pea.

Pea was by far the star of the show.

She is just so laid back & loveable. She let everybody pet her & play with her.

This was our first year with the Nativity & it went well.

The first night we had 5 cars pull in & stop & lots more honked as they went by.

The second night I think 8 cars stopped.

The last night 16 cars stopped!

And we only got rained on one night.

God is good.



Blessings.

Abuse

I have never thought too much about abuse.

I have never known anyone (at least that I know of) who suffered from abuse.

Until now.

A friend is trying to escape an abusive marriage.

Physical & emotional abuse.

Scary abuse.

Afraid for her life & the lives of her children abuse.

It breaks my heart.

And it has made me think...

My husband & I tend to be very silly.

We have water fights. We wrestle. We chase each other thru the house screaming & laughing.

Our children, for the most part, just look on in disgust :)

Sometimes they will join in & hand me a fresh water bottle when mine is out or try to help 'bring down' their dad (an impossible task).

But when their dad picks up their mom & carries her screaming from the room ~ everyone is laughing.

It isn't scary.

What about other kids?

What about kids who see their parents hurt each other?

What about kids who try to help their mom because they fear for her life?

How do those kids make it?

How do they ever grow up & be 'normal'?

It is heartbreaking.

And it makes me angry.

Angry that people hurt the people they are supposed to love.

Angry that they hurt the people they have been charged to care for.

Angry that they seem to go unpunished & are unrepentant.

And it makes me thankful.

So  thankful that my husband takes care of me.

That I can run screaming from the room, shooting water at him as I go, and I have nothing to fear.

Thankful that my children laugh & know we love each other.

Thankful that my husband is a good man.

Thankful for the one powerful thing I can do for those who are afraid and hurting: PRAY

Please join me.

Blessings.

Bah Humbug

Ugh.

A cold has been working it's way thru the family & I have succcumbed.

Nothing too serious just a sore throat & general yuckyness so far.

I had planned to start decorating for Christmas but may sit on the couch & whine instead.

In other news: we are planning a live nativity at our church.

We want a camel so badly but haven't had any luck yet.

How cool would that be & wouldn't you stop in if somebody had a camel?

We will have goats & a donkey but a camel would just be awesome.

Maybe we can just disguise my horse, hmmm...

It is so hard to get into the "Christmas spirit" or even think about Christmas in this weather.

The sun is shining, the grass is green, it's in the 50's.

Back 'home' the temp is in the negatives & they have 2 feet of snow on the ground. And yes, I am just crazy enough that I want that over this.

I love winter. I love snow. I love cold.

Sigh.

Anyway. we may actually get a Christmas tree this year. The kids have been begging :)

Hubby still says "We'll see" soooo, I guess we'll see ;)

Blessings.

Recent photos of random things...

Have written multiple, scintilating blog posts in my head.

Have not had them make it to the computer :(

So, I decided just to hit the highlights :)

Such as...



The cutest cowboy in the world checking out of the Nugget (yes, that is a bear on his suitcase & yes, it is wearing underpants. Scooby Doo underpants to be exact.)



The turn out for our Cowboy Saturday BBQ & service. I was impressed we had so many folks because it was pouring outside. Like monsoon season in the rain forest pouring.



Our special guest speaker (and super special friend) cowboy evangelist Leroy Cowert.



There's the world's cutest cowboy again, enjoying him some cowboy preaching.



And the world's cutest cowboy with the worlds cutest baby brother enjoying the mild Thanksgiving day. Yeppers. Thanksgiving day. Green grass. Barefeet. Crazy mixed up California weather.

Blessings.

Road Trip Part II

Yesterday we made the pilgrimage to Scheels.

According to their sign, they are the biggest sporting goods store in the world.

And since this



and this



are both inside the store, I am inclined to take their word for it.

They also have this



and this



in there too.

Along with bunches and bunches of stuff to buy.  Clothes, guns, fishing gear, sports equipment, paint ball gear, traps, dog training stuff, & lots more.

I was talked into riding the ferris wheel





The little boys thought it was pretty neat but I think my daughter is cured forever...

Fun story:

Yesterday at breakfast my 4 year old was playing 'peak' with a young man seated at the table behind us. He was smiling & being 'shy'. After a minute or 2 or I had The Little Man turn around & finish his meal. At the end of our meal, when it was time to pay, the waitress told us it was all taken care of. The young man behind us had bought our breakfast because he had noticed us praying before our meal & just liked our family! Wasn't that sweet?

Blessings.

Road trip to Reno

We are here, in beautiful downtown Sparks Nevada, at the Nugget for the California Cattlemens Assoc. Convention.

Oh, by the way, if you ever stay here, stay in the west tower. The rooms in the east tower are newer but dinky. Like, claustrophobic dinky. And more expensive :(  (we moved to the west tower)

On the way here we stopped at the Holy Grail of outdoorsmen: Cabellas.

Very, very cool.

Very.

And being the yahoos that we are we took 62 pictures in there. Yup. 62.

And now, just 'cause I know you want me to, I'm going to share them with you :)



They had several dioramas like these. All over the store. Alaska. Africa. The desert. The mountains.



Dad! Let's go over there!



A polar bear!



This fellow was an associate there.



My daughter even met a nice guy while we were there... hee hee hee



Check out the elephant behind us!



My men.

Today the plan is to go to another huge outdoor store here. It is supposed to be even bigger ~ to the point of having a ferris wheel inside~ I'll let you know how it goes.

(yeah, I know, that isn't 62 pics, But c'mon, really? You wanted me to upload all of them?)

Blessings.

Anybody there?

So...I haven't written in ages.
I actually tried to post a really cute video of the kids but WordPress hates me (which is okay 'cause I hate WordPress) & nobody at Homestead Blogger has gotten back to me to tell me how soooo...I couldn't get it posted.
And that just frustrated me so I didn't post at all.
I have to admit that all the struggles with this new format make blogging no fun.
I have thought of trying a different blogsite but that would be unfun too.
Sooo...I'm still here.
Sorta.
I also haven't really had anything positive to say & didn't want to be a big whiner pants.
This has just been a rough year. These last 4 or 5 months especially.
And this move has been epic.
We still aren't settled.
Still don't have all of the animals set up.
It is just taking forever.
We also have a serious lack of furniture so the living room is empty.
It just looks & feels like we are squatting here.
Not like home.
So I haven't been very chatty. Haven't had much to say.
Hoping to have a more positive view of life soon.
We get to do a little traveling next week.
Maybe that will perk me up.
So...I am still here.
How about you?
Blessings.

Woo Hoo!

I'm baaa-aaack!

We have a house. And it has internet!

I am typing this from the comfort of my own bed ;)

We finally found a house to rent.

And it is so nice.

It's big.

Four whole bedrooms. Two & 1/2  bathrooms!

We haven't lived in a house with more than 1 bathroom in 10 years.

It's a fabulous thing.

It has a big kitchen & a wrap-around porch.

It's on 5 acres but there is no fencing or barns :( so we are working on that part.

It has a beautiful yard with a fire pit & a gravel patio & fruit trees & a garden.

And internet!

:)

So, everything is a mess. Boxes are everywhere & we can't find anything, but, we have hope.

Another week or 2 & we should be pretty much settled in.

I hope...

Blessings.

Home Again?

I had a surreal experience this week.

I went "home".

That old saying "You can't go home again"? It's so true.

We went back to my hometown.

I wanted to see the house I grew up in.

It isn't there anymore.

An emormous Lutheran church is sitting in the middle of our pasture.

Horse shoe pits are where the house once stood.

A small storage shed is all that is left of the many barns.

I almost cried.

Well, truly I did, a little.

It was so different. So unrecognizable.

I had to walk the property to orient myself.

Most of the trees are gone. All of the walnut trees & the huge old oak.

I stood at the spot that was my bedroom window.

It was bittersweet.

I know it was just a house - and not a very well built one at that.

But I grew up there.

And I was happy there.

After we moved away I wasn't happy again for a long time.

I'm glad we got to see it again.

But it wasn't "home".

Not anymore.

Blessings.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

We climbed Mt. Lassen today as a family.

All 7 of us.

It was long & steep & awesome.

And now all of my kids can say “I climbed a volcano.”

How cool is that?

It all started several months ago when we drove by Mt. Shasta.

The Little Man decided he wanted to climb that mountain!

And every time we drove past while we were moving he kept asking when I was going to take him to climb that mountain?

Well.

I explained to him that Shasta was probably a little beyond our capabilities.

He assured me otherwise.

Uh huh.

But, I told him, I did know of a mountain that we could climb: Mt. Lassen.

I climbed it way back about 17 years ago.

I remembered it as being long & steep but not hard.

So I thought that would be perfect for us.

So today we did it. We climbed a mountain.

A volcano to be exact.

The southern most peak in the Cascade Range.

It took us 3 hours to go up & 2 to come down.

The Biscuit made the trip in his backpack - all but the very beginning & very end where he walked.

But The Little Man hiked.

He hiked that entire mountain up & down on his own 2 legs.

All but about a half mile section where he got a piggy-back ride from his biggest brother.

He determined to climb a mountain & by golly he did it.

Pretty impressive for a 4 year old.

People on the trail were quick to give him an encouraging word as he made his way.

One group of women hikers from Germany were particularly impressed with his good attitude.

It was a good day.

The only bummer was later at the gift shop.

I had promised my kids that if they all made it to the peak I would buy them a t-shirt that said “I climbed a volcano”.

I still have mine from when I first did it (in fact I wore it today :)).

But when we finished up our day & headed to the gift shop they didn’t have any!

I even asked the cashier & she said they no longer carry them. Even though, according to her, whenever they did they always sold like hotcakes.

Which kinda seems to me to be something you would want to carry?

Maybe that’s just me…

So after moping around about that they all picked out different shirts that they liked & a couple buttons that said “I climbed the volcano”.

Care to guess how much 6 t-shirts cost at a National Park?

Uh huh. Yeppers.

It was pretty outrageous.

We don’t do that sort of thing very often but this was a special day & sometimes, if you can, it’s good to splurge.

For a long time we never could afford to but now-a-days, every so often, we do. And it’s fun.

So we are pretty universally tired, sore & sunburned.

But we can proudly say “We climbed a volcano.”

Can you? :)

Blessings.

Ponderings

I can’t sleep.

It’s now 4:26 & I have been up for hours.

I prayed & then prayed some more & tried to go back to sleep.

Didn’t work.

I got up & read for awhile & tried to go back to sleep.

No go.

I really would love to talk with somebody but there is nobody so, here I am.

Blogging with no blog as we still have no internet.

I think I am mostly homesick.

I had an unpleasant encounter with people I thought better of.

Had a major disappointment in the housing department as well.

I think that has for sure added to my unsettled feeling.

I just keep playing the same thoughts over & over in my mind & can’t seem to get passed them.

Not sure what to do about it.

I would love to be able to do something productive right now or even just mindlessly watch TV but being as we are in a 1 room apartment & the other 6 occupants (5 people & the dog) are sleeping~ that is a no go as well.

And, yeah, that situation is definitely part of my problem.

I so desperately want to be a “bloom where you are planted” kind of person.

But I feel like I am withering on the vine.

I want my own place.

I crave my own space.

I want to be able to plant flowers & to sit in my yard. I want to be able to send my children out to play on their toys in their own space.

It is just so hard to have no ‘place’.

To not be able to change anything or make any decisions.

I so admire people who can just adapt.

I am trying.

But, failing miserably so it seems.

My son told me tonight that I just don’t seem happy anymore.

I’ve been trying so hard but failing all the while.

I want to be happy here.

I want it not to matter that we have no home of our own.

We are all together & healthy so what else is there?

That is what my head says…

but my heart says: I want a home, I want my own room, I want to plant flowers & put in a fall garden, I want a kitchen , I want to be able to bake for my family again, to make bread & cookies & anything I want anytime I want, I want my fridge & my bathroom inside my house, I want a yard, I want grass, I want to be able to let my chickens roam free, I want my boys to have their sandbox & their swings, I want to be able to have people over, I want internet, I want my things out of storage & available to me, I want, I want, I want.

The heart is deceitful above all things & desperately wicked. Who can know it? Jer 17:9

Blessings.

4

The Little Man turned 4 yesterday.

Wow.

How did that happen?

He of course got his Scooby Doo cake (which he has been requesting for a year)

And he got his Daniel Boone "skin shirt" & "skin pants".  And a rifle. And a pistol. (cap shooting only ;) )

And a new coonskin cap. And his brother made him a wooden knife with a leather sheath and a leather pouch.

It was a good birthday for a 4 year old :)

Sorry for the measly 2 pics but the camera is MIA. Cell phone to the rescue.

(And I mean, I gotta show off the cake right? ;) )

Blessings.

 

Wedding Feast

I.

Am.

Tired.

A couple from church are getting married tomorrow.

There was a minor (hah!) snafu in the wedding preparations & a few other ladies & I found ourselves in charge of the food.

So Wednesday we hit the stores with the bride-to-be.

It was my 3^rd visit to a Costco.

I have to say, that is a nifty store.

I’m thinking we need a membership ;)

We had a $600 hundred dollar budget & we came in $100 under :)

Today was the big prep day.

We started at 11am & we chopped & sliced & minced & (melon) balled until almost 5pm :P

We have pasta salad, fruit salad, strawberry shortcake—complete with freshly whipped cream—salami sandwiches, ham & cheese sandwiches & turkey sandwiches & I am sure I am forgetting something.

But it is done!

And it should feed all 120 of the expected guests.

And, more importantly, make the bride happy :)

It was long & tiring but fun.

We laughed & we shared & I learned bunches about my new friends.

It was awesome.

And thru it all, I just have to say, that being “the pastor’s wife’ is just the weirdest ;)

But with ladies like these to fellowship with I think I’ll adjust :)

So tomorrow is the big day.

And I better see people with full plates…

:)

Blessings.

FYI

We don't have any internet at our current domicile :(

So, when I get the uncontrollable urge to blog about something, I write it all out & save it.

The next time I get somewhere with internet I can post it.

That way I don't forget all of those worthwhile thoughts I feel I MUST share ;)

So, if you don't here from me for days & days & days & then I post 5 new entries at once...

that's why :)

Blessings

Happy Christians?

We went shopping today.

While we perused the unfamiliar aisles we ‘people watched.’

It’s like bird watching onlymore interesting :).

We saw a couple, obviously ‘modest’ families with several children while we were there.

People like us. :)

We don’t often see that so we tend to notice.

One family was a young couple with 3 children & 1 on the way.

The mom & the little girl were wearing t-shirts & jean skirts. They had longish hair. And they were smiling. She looked very happy to be with her children & they looked happy to be with her.

The other family was Mennonite in dress but they had no head coverings. It was a mom , teenage daughter, 6 or 7ish daughter & a 9 or 10ish little boy. They didn’t seem so happy.

They weren’t very smiley.

We were in line behind them & the older girl had a bag of live fish. My 3 year old very loudly started talking about the fish & none of them ever turned to smile at him.

Now I am not trying to judge them or say they were bad or mean. Just commenting that they didn’t seem very happy.

And it made me think.

For people who intentionally dress differently, like the Mennonites or even those of us who choose to dress more modestly , especially when it is an outward sign of our faith shouldn’t we try to look joyful?

Shouldn’t we, as ambassadors of Christ, try to embody the joy of Christ?

Now I know we all have bad days but it is kind of like putting a ‘fish’ on your car.

That is an outward, public symbol declaring yourself a Christian.

Should you really be making that declaration if you speed & cut people off & make obscene gestures?

I’m gonna say “NO.”

I do have a fish on my car. And I am conscious of the fact that people are going to be watching me to see what “the Christian” does.

I feel the same when I am out with my kids.

I want people to see a joyful mother. A joyful family that is glad  to be together.

I want people to see a happy family. I want people to feel joy watching us.

So I try to be happy. I try to consciously smile & catch peoples eye & say “hi.”

I want them to see us as approachable.

And most importantly I don’t want it to be an act we put on in public.

I want it to be real.

I want my children to remember joy in their childhoods. Laughter.  Fun.

Even if it just a trip to Walmart.

So smile.

Wave to the loud little boy who notices your fish. :)

Say ‘hi’ to someone who looks grouchy & give them a reason to smile.

Be a joyful Christian.

Blessings.

VBS

This week we jumped right into Vacation Bible School.

The theme is “Saddle Ridge Ranch.”

It became immediately clear, on the first night, that we aren’t in the High Desert anymore.

We are among the flatlanders.

Don’t get me wrong; this is a small, country community.

But it is a farming community.

We are surrounded by almond orchards & rice fields.

We have always lived in ranching communities.

You know, with ranchers as opposed to farmers.

With cows, horses & hay being your main commodities.

Well.

That ain’t the case here :).

These folks are decidedly NOT cowboys.

We are going thru some serious culture shock.

And when they asked how many people had ever ridden a horse & about 5 hands went up ~WOW~ that was an eye opener.

And things that we take for granted as ‘normal’ are real eye openers for them.

Cowboy preachers preaching from horseback. Church in a barn. Church in the rodeo arena. Wearing boots & jeans & hats as a normal, everyday part of your life.

Using spurs in your decorating :)

It’s just a little odd to be the minority.

But, it’s still fun. And tonight is night 4.

Tomorrow is the last night.

Maybe next year the theme will be about city folks.

What do you think?

Blessings.

Saying Goodbye

Oy.

Today was a long day.

We couldn't quite fit all of the contents of the shop into the U-haul (sigh).

So today we drove up with the stock trailer to get the last of  it.

We loaded it all up.

The house is empty except for dust bunnies & cobwebs.

The barns are empty.

We officially don't live here anymore.

:(

There's nothing left but the dump pile.

Some friends are doing the final clean-up & dump run for us.

We had planned to do it ourselves but it would have required one more trip and that just may have done us in.

We had the trailer all loaded & did a final walk thru of the house.

My 13 yr old started to cry.

So I started to cry.

Even my big, strong husband started to cry.

We stood there, in our empty living room, holding onto each other & crying.

Saying goodbye.

Don't get me wrong.

We are super excited about our new ministry.

We love the people there.

But leaving our homestead is hard.

This is home.

We've been here 6 years.

The longest we have lived in a single place since we've been married.

I've had 3 positive pregnancy tests in this house.

Our youngest was born in this house just 18 months ago.

God has given us much joy here.

And been faithful to us thru the sadness.

He blessed us with this homestead.

I remember when we moved here I said "This is it. They are taking me out of here in a pine box."

Well, God had other plans.

And I am blessed to live them out.

But saying goodbye is hard.

Goodbye High Desert Homestead.

Goodbye.

Blessings.

If you don't have anything nice to say...

don't say anything at all.

Well.

I got on here to give an update to our busy, hectic, drama-laden lives.

I had a post all written out in my head.

But now I am so  stressed I don't even know what I was going to say.

The site had me logged out.

Even though I always check the 'keep me logged in' thingy.

Then it wouldn't recoginize my passsword.

So I tried to get a new password.

FOUR  stinking times before it would give me one & direct me to the right page.

I just find this site & it's user un-friendlyness NO fun.

I don't even want to blog anymore because of all of the hoops I have to jump thru now.

:(

Anyway.

I got on to say we are, hopefully, on the down hill slide of this move.

We had to stop in the middle of it all for my husband to do his first serious pastor work.

A member of our new congegration had a stroke & wasn't expected to live. For 4 days my hubby did the bedside vigil with her husband.

And then...

She decided she wanted to live & she started to fight & to regain her strength.

Praise the Lord!

So, today we are back in Oregon packing up the rest of our dreck & tomorrow we get a big U-Haul truck & hopefully (cross your fingers) it will all fit in & we will be done.

For now.

Because, of course, this is a temporary move until we can find a place.

And we have no internet at our temporary place so I can only get online when I can sneak over to the church.

So. There you have it.

I'm still here. Still plugging along. Still hatin' WordPress ;)

Still praying for a buyer for our Oregon home so that we can start looking for a California home.

I'll be back :)

Blessings.

A new beginning

Well.

As of last night, my husband is the new pastor at Mid Valley Baptist Church.

Wow.

I am sort of in shock.

Yes, we have been praying.

Yes, we have known it was a possibility.

Yes, we wanted it.

But....WOW.

Big changes.

We will be moving down to California in about 2 weeks.

That is not much time.

We will be temporarily staying in an 800sf apartment over someones shop until we can find a house.

They have 5 acres & we will put up pens for our animals.

We don't know yet if we will look to rent or buy.

Houses are expensive down there. And our house still has not sold.

So we will be looking for a renter for it.

Any takers?  ;)

So we are pretty excited & nervous all at the same time.

And I am feeling overwhelmed with the thought of packing up & moving: our house, 2 shops, a pumphouse, a garden shed, all of our yard furniture & decorations, 1 horse, 7 goats, a dozen rabbits, 40 odd chickens/geese/turkeys, 2 dogs & 4 cats, all of their feeders, waterers, tack, equipment, cages, travel cages, fencing panels, t-posts, etc, etc, etc. Not to mention my family :)

Mind numbing isn't it?

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Phil 4:13

Blessings.

Not happy

I can't help but compare this whole debacle to the "New Coke"  train wreck in the 8o's.

It has been almost a month since HSB rode off into the sunset & WordPress was crammed down our throats.

Guess what?

I just now, like 45 seconds ago, found The Front Porch.

I guess I have to ask, why doesn't it say somewhere, "Front Porch"?

Instead there is this vague, highlighted thingy saying "we're here" ???

I mean "we're here" isn't exactly the same thing as "The Front Porch" now is it?

And do we have a way to look at the latest posts? 'Cause I still haven't found it.

By the time I find anybodies blogs these days I don't have time to read anything.

Sorry guys. I miss you.

And I just have to wonder why, being as this is "Homestead Blogger" ( or at least it used to be) that there is not one single, even vaguely homestead-y, template available?

They are all super-modern & trendy.

Um, isn't that sort of the antithesis of what homesteading is about?

Yes, I know I'm whining.

Yes, I know it is childish & unlady-like.

But I miss being able to DO ANYTHING here.

I miss reading my friends blogs.

I miss seeing what folks are up to.

I miss Homestead Blogger.

I liked Homestead Blogger.

WordPress not so much.

I still just don't understand why we/they (whoever made this decision) decided to take a fabulously successful & popular website & destroy it.

I mean have y'all ever heard the saying "If it ain't broke- don't fix it" ?

I bet the folks at Coke could tell you about that one.

Blessings.

Making progress...

Praise the Lord for tech-savvy husbands!

My hubby figured out how to add my counter back. Yay!

We can't find a way to add back my Joshua 24:15 banner tho :(

And I haven't found my Bible quiz.

Slowly, slowly, slowly we pull ourselves from the bottomless pit that is Word Press ;)

It is cold here. Gray & cloudy with a bitter wind.

What happened to summer? We haven't seen hide nor hair of it yet.

We are heading down to California this weekend & I am looking forward to some sun!

We dropped my wagon off at the wheelwrights yesterday. He's starting in on the new shafts.

I can't wait!

Blessings.

Busy Days

The last few days have been busy but fun!

Today, our driving club had a clinic & we were able to hitch up our mare & drive her for the first time!

It was so fun :)

We have a wagon but we need new shafts made to fit her so we haven't been able to drive her yet. Today the ladies at the driving club let us use their cart & worked with us on proper hitching  & driving.

My 13 yr old, 10 yr old & I all got to drive her.

We are so blessed by the people in the club. They are all so kind & willing to lend equipment & volunteer their time.

We have really been enjoying ourselves.

Our mare is very gentle & she was easy for all of us to drive.

I am so looking forward to when our wagon is ready & we can drive in the fields around our home.

Yesterday was Heritage Days.

Heritage Days is an annual event where re-enacters volunteer & give talks to school children.

I believe the public schools send 4th graders to it but we take all of our children

They have soldiers representing both the Civil War & the soldiers who were stationed at Fort Klamath during the Modoc Indian War.

They explain their uniforms & the different weapons & fire off their guns  a few times (always a big hit with the kids).

They also have a cannon which they fire through out the day.

Plug your ears!

Several people come in clothing from the pioneer period.

They bring horses & wagons & buggies & carts.

They show the different vehicles used for different kinds of travel.

They had a huge conestoga wagon loaded with supplies.

The kids get to see how the pioneers cooked over the fire, kept their food & supplies & hear about what daily life was like.

There is a museum at the fort & it has artifacts & photos from the original fort & a model of what the fort looked like when it was completed.

The whole day is alway fun & we always have a good time.

This year it was FREEZING.

The wind blew & blew & blew.

I felt so sorry for the people who were putting on the talks & camping in the yucky weather.

But it was still well worth it :)



All dressed up & ready to go!



Two man saw.



Lift that barge! Tote that bale!



Inside the museum.



Isn't this the coolest picture?



Petulant is as petulant does ;)



And last, but not least, the cool new toy from Grandpa!

Blessings.

Musical Barns

Today was a moving day here on the homestead.

We moved the turkey poults out of the brooder in the puppy room into a cage in the henhouse.

They will now face the cold, cruel world without the comfort of a heat lamp.

But they can make so many friends in the henhouse & it is so much sunnier ;)

We also moved our rabbits.

A  few weeks ago we acquired a large, stacking cage unit for them.

So this morning we moved out some of the old cages, shoveled & swept & cleaned out the rabbitry & moved the new cages in.

We filled the feeders, hung the waterers & moved everybody into their new homes.

It is looking pretty spiffy in there now.

We have 2 litters of kits due this week so we wanted to get them settled before the blessed events.

I moved the goats around last week. We had our milking doe & her bucklings seperated from everyone else. But our doe is older & the stress of milking & raising the bucklings was too much for her & she started to look really unhealthy so we decided to stop milking her for now.

She is one who just puts it all into the milk & as she has gotten older it is starting to be too much.

So I moved all of the goats back into the big corral & barn. They are still figuring out their pecking order but things are settling down.

I have yet to put up the electric fence out front for the horse but will probably do that this week. There is much yummy grass awaiting her :)

Our weather has been cold & gray & soggy for ever it seems. Very little sun. My peas have been the same size for weeks  & my asparagus keeps getting frozen out.

We are down to the last pathetic bits & pieces of our fire wood so it had better warm up soon !

Maybe the sun will come in June...

I recently realized that my visitor counter is gone from my blog.

I have no clue how to get it back :(

Change is for the birds ;)

Blessings.

Trying again...

Here are some pics of my poor sickly children recovering from their nasty, nasty , nasty stomach bug.



The 3 year old had the hardest time :(

The only thing that kept me sane thru it all was strawberries.

Yummy, delicious, fresh, sweet strawberries.

I made jam.



Syrup



And of course, nummy, fabulous shortcake, mmmmmm



So far so good.

If it doesn't work this time I am packing up my blog & going home ;)

Blessings.

I hate this

After spending the last 20 minutes trying tp upload the same pics I have been trying to share since the site change....

I just have to say....

I hate this site.

I hate all of the changes.

And I hate not being able to do anything with my blog.

So there.

So...

Okay.

 So.

 I'm better now.

 I think  :).

My blog is back.

Sort of.

And I got to put up my own header picture.

That I like.

Everything else?

Not so much.

I don't know how to get back any of my 'extras'.

My Bible quiz.

Or my "As for me & my blog we choose the Lord" banner.

My friends list is gone, gone, gone.

Anybody care to give me a tutorial?

And what happened to the smileys?

I need my smileys.

Blessings.

Bad Blogger

I'm a bad blogger.

I have been really hit & miss lately with new entries.

I mean well .

We've been busy. Done lots of traveling. So much so that yesterday, on our way to a pony club meeting, my 3 year said "Mom! You forgot the suitcases!"

I think we need to stay home for a while.

We got all of our gardens tilled up yesterday. We added 2 new garden areas this year.

I got the black plastic down on our main garden & I'm ready to plant some of the early crops. Just need the motivation.

Today I woke up feeling very yucky. We stayed home from church & my hubby let me sleep in.

I slept until 2:30! Wowzers.

I guess I needed it. I still feel crummy but I think I'll live .

We are in the countdown for our school year. I am thinking of wrapping up sooner than we planned. I am just ready to be done. You know?

I think we will finish up our planned countries to study but be done with English & handwriting & science. And I already told them they can be done with math as soon as they finish their books.

I bought the fabric to make The Little Man a quilt for his big boy bed. I'm hoping to get it cut out this week & then start piecing it together. I don't have a pattern, I am just going to play with it until I like it. The squares will be 6 inches in  a random patchwork pattern. Hopefully it will look good.

That's about it for my random, stream of consciousness blog.

Blessings.

Wedding

Today was the day.

My sister-in-laws wedding.

It was a beautiful day. Sun shining. Blue skies. Perfect.

My sister-in-law looked beautiful.

My husband was gorgeous (as usual).

My children were all gussied up in their finery.

And everything went much more smoothly then I had thought possible!

My daughter played the piano like a seasoned pro.

My hubby did a wonderful service.

My little boys were very well behaved.

My big boys did a great job of corraling the little boys.

The ceremony was beautiful.

The reception was great fun.

The food was delicious.

It was a good day!

Everyone in their purple best.

All of my boys with my husbands Dad.

How my kids passed the time waiting for the ceremony to start

 

My beautiful pianist.

The cutest boy there.

The brand new family.

My little girl taking a spin with her big brother.

 

Blessings.

Snow Day!.....in April?

 

 

 

 

Hope you are enjoying your spring. Ours appears to have been postponed

Blessings.