Day in Pictures

I'm not sure if I can add one more thing to my plate right now. Farm, family, church, etc is all keeping me MORE than busy.

I told you all about having some baby kittens a week or 2 ago. Well, mama cat came up missing. She wouldn't just leave her babies, she was an excellent mother. But now we are left with 4 baby kittens with their eyes barely open, to feed with a baby kitten bottle. Then, there is the part where you have to help them "use the restroom". I am trying to pawn this off on my oldest son, who's cat it was that had the kittens. He has every excuse why he just can't get them to eat. I don't have the extra time to feed them, but like yesterday morning, after milking our goat, feeding and "caring" for baby kittens, laundry on the line, and regular barn chores, I was able to eat my breakfast at almost 10 am.

Our garden is coming along well. Don't judge me if you see weeds! :) Weeds here and there aren't going to kill my plants, it just ain't pretty. Now that the boys are out of school, I am trying to recruit them. I learned from last year, when I made them work for 30 minutes in the garden. Someone ended up sitting in one spot, and the others complained that they never did anything the whole time. Well, this year, I fixed that! I have been telling them to pick a row, and pull weeds. Then I go out and inspect! I know, slave driver right? Hardly. It takes them all of 30 minutes, and they get a lot more done this year than they did last!!! Ha!

Now for the pics!

To the left, we have 2 different kind of potatoes. Then some tomatoes and then strawberries. Bottom right is our corn. Bottom left is Pole beans.


Different view. Potatoes are the thick greenery.


Here is one of the things I got for Mother's day, blueberry bushes! I got 3 of them, hubby mowed over one (which IS still alive but a LOT smaller) and so we have 2 bushes ACTUALLY growing blueberries! YAY!


Another thing we have lots of this year is tomato plants. I can't wait to make tomato juice, soups, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, ETC, etc, etc... Here are some tomato flowers, ALMOST a tomato! :)

This year, we actually are having some issues with potato bugs. They have just started chowin' down recently. And I don't want to use anything chemical unless all else fails. SO yesterday was a fun day of picking the nasty potato bugs off the plants... YUCK. But can't wait for those yummy potatoes. We got through LOTS of potatoes, and having to buy organic can get a little pricey. Can't wait for these!!! :) Look at the pretty purple flower on the plants!


We have sprayed our apple trees with an organic spray, we just got done spraying for the second time. There are some apples that are a little damaged, but I think they should do good for apple sauce and juice.


Here are our little meat chicks that our son is taking to 4H, well 2 of them. The rest are dinner. Here is our one lone turkey with them. I really need to let him out with the rest of the bigger chickens BUT I'm just scared he will get hurt by they chicks. Last year our turkey got killed by the chickens. I don't want to loose another one!


Here are our goats. On the right, are our 2 males. The little black one is our wether male that our son is taking to 4H. The white one is our "billy", still nameless...


Spotted on the farm, was the "Naked Farmer". When I asked him why he was naked, he said "boots!". I guess it doesn't matter if you are naked, as long as you have your boots on.


And here is my sweet Sophie. She has been doing a good job on her milking, and I am enjoying it. She is getting to be less afraid of EVERYTHING, and I LOVE having her milk. Now, I just wish I had more!


Well, that is all for now from our Homestead! How are things goin' around your place? Anything new???

Sick Baby and Spring...

For the last few days, I have had a sick baby. My 2 year old, Koen, started out with a bad cold, then got some sort of flu on top of that... We took him to the doctor yesterday because for 24 hours he was unable to hold down any fluids. We discovered the poor little man also had an ear infection also. So he had to get a shot with antibiotics, because he wouldn't have been able to keep down any medicine taken by mouth...

I absolutely HATE having a sick child, I mean I feel so helpless. He has been super sick since Monday, and when there isn't much you can do but "let it run it's course", it's too hard!!!

Things like this fuel the resolve I have to keep working on making my family healthier. My youngest has definitely been my sickest child. And I don't know why. BUT, I aim to find out! As I keep on planning my garden and plan on the harvest and canning, I want to make sure I have more healthy food available to my family. I want to be able to teach along the way, so when my children are on their own, they will remember what they were taught (hopefully!).

Today is going to be a beautiful day, where I live in Indiana, so hopefully Koen will gain enough energy to want to come out and get some sunshine. I want to continue to plant and prepare for the harvest. Lord willing.

I'd deeply appreciate your prayers for Koen and his health. He is now able to keep some liquid down and some food, but has still been very weak. He woke up this morning, ate a little then went back to bed. He slept all night, he was restless but he slept. God is really the only one I trust with my baby, He can heal today if He so chooses. Please join me in praying for Koen today...

Thank you.

Enjoying Spring...

I love Spring. I love when the trees turn green and the flowers start blooming. I love when my garden starts to get those little sprouts of green. I even love doing barn chores. Not that I HATED them before, but they are MUCH more enjoyable when its warm and you don't have to try to keep your fingers from freezing off...

Here are a few pictures from our homestead:

This is what a little boy looks like when he has been playing outside on the farm. Oh and this is what it looks like when that same little boy is ornery:



Here he is helping me with some dirt from the garden:


Now here is one I never would have believed a month ago. 12 pups. One mama. And NO skinny pups. They are all little fatty babies. I had to drop what I was doing and run to get my camera so I could get this picture or "Girl" and her pups:


Here Caden and I are trying to do a little "bonding" with our little male sheep "Jack". We have taken him from his mother, and he isn't too happy about that. SO we are trying to make friends.


Caden has already made friends with Max, our baby goat. Max is already telling Caden secrets:


In the goat world, when you surprise someone with sucking on the end of their nose, it's actually a sign that you love them. I'm glad that doesn't extend out of the goat world, don't look at me to suck on the end of your nose to show you I love you:


AND here is what we will be doing 4 days a week, for the next 2 months. Watching these poor little guys lose. They are a VERY young, first year team, and it just ain't gonna happen. Which is OK! I just like to see my boys have fun... Here is my boy Austin hitting the ball:


Well, it's garden planting day. So you all have a good day, and I will share more pics with you later!

Happy Birthday, Baby!

2 Years ago today, I gave birth to my 4th son, Koen. As soon as I had him, I held him for a short time before they whisked him away to the NICU. He had ingested amniotic fluid. Of course, as a mother, I cried, and prayed HARD.


I prayed that he would get healthy and strong.


Little did I know, how strong (WILLED) this little man would someday be!


Cute as a button, and ornerier than all get out... Koen keeps me on my toes.


He has been a blessing, and our family wouldn't be complete without him!


Thank you God for such a blessing!


Happy 2nd Birthday, Koen!

Some Days...

Some days, I feel like I just clean up messes all day... Ever have those days?


Yeah, TROUBLE strikes again. This is one of MANY messes yesterday... That kid needs to get some parents! We have now LOCKED the door to this area AGAIN, so that SHOULD solve that problem. Unless he learns how to scale a wall... then we're in BIG trouble.

Healing...

God is good! I can say this from experience! With Austin sick Thursday & Friday, I thought since the doctor thought it was H1N1, we would be layed up for a while... But Saturday morning, Austin woke up feeling good, and no temp! Just a little cough, which I only hear about 2 or 3 times a day!

Yesterday at church, my husband asked me if our youngest, Koen, felt warm. I do the lips to the forehead thing and he felt REALLY warm. I had to play drums with the Worship team so I told him, when I was done, I would drive Koen home. I did and Koen was so tired, so out of it. I gave him fever-reducers all day, but it only seemed to bring it down a little bit. Last night, he was just burning up and I decided to keep him beside me, so I could monitor him.

The hubby and I prayed over him before we went to bed, and at 11 pm, I set my alarm so I could give him more medicine, then fell asleep. At about 12:30 AM, he woke up and I felt his head (with my lips again) and his temp was perfect! Praise God!

If this was the H1N1 thing, I am glad we had a MILD version. If not, I am just glad we have been trucking right through it, no problems. Just a little lost sleep... Right now, as I am typing I have him sitting beside me falling asleep... Not without me your not!

Time for a Cute Boy...

It's always a good time to check out a cute little boy! We have lots of those "cute boy" moments mixed in with craziness around here, so they balance out pretty well.

The other day, I was going to go out to the barn, so I started to get "bundled up" and Koen, my 18 month old, noticed me getting ready. He runs and grabs his brother's sunglasses and a small purse that I "outgrew" recently. He puts the sunglasses on his head and the purse on his arm, and wants to go out with me. He did not get to go out to the barn with me, not matter HOW cute he was.

But then, later, I need to go to my mom's and told the boys to get ready to go... Koen, once again, ran and got his sunglasses and purse. Here he is ready to go to grandma's!

If it can get much cuter than this, I don't know how! Now, time to teach the boy to grab a WALLET instead of a purse, so his dad won't freak out... ;) hahaha!

Surgery and an 18 Month Old...

Yesterday, we took my 18 month old in to the hospital to have cyst removed. He was born with this cyst, which was undeveloped tissue. Here is him yesterday just before his surgery:

That small red spot on his chest is the cyst, that has been causing him problems for about 2 months now....

Here was this morning:

That's him, the ornery one in the cowboy hat. Happy as ever! Thanks from family and friends for all of the prayers! Prayers are appreciated, and will continue to be appreciated as his ouchie heals!!!

How do You Side-Track a Fussy Toddler? Wordless Wednesday

Sheet over chairs, Mickey Mouse, Silky Blanket, Cheerios...

Ah, quiet for a little while...

Things I Love Thursday- An Ornery Face

It's Thursday, and time again for Things I Love Thursday! Today is the day we get to share with each other what we LOVE! All you have to do is link up below, directly to your post. And I would also appreciate if you mentioned this blog!

So, here we go! Today, the thing I love is this:

An ornery face. Isn't this little dude just the cutest thing.... BTW~ I DID NOT make his hair into the Mohawk that you see, the wind did that. I didn't even notice it until after we got home and I saw it in the pics! This boy tho, he is going to be an ornery one. He has the nose crinkle and everything... I think I'm in trouble!

So, now it is YOUR turn! What do YOU love today!???

30 Days on the (mini) Farm- Day 24

Sorry I didn't get on yesterday! It was pretty much rainy and then turned sunny, long enough to have a nice supper outside. Then it started raining again... Which I appreciate, since I want my garden to grow!

Today was pretty much the same kind of day. Rain to start it off. And of course it rained as I did my grocery shopping today... And it stopped after we were done.

Well, we took some rainy time picks. The boys and I were just messing around with the camera, and here is my Caden showing me his "big mustles":



He has a crown on his head, and he's pretty much the cutest thing...

Speaking of cutest thing:



He loves to act surprised, and then to look at his picture (over and over and over...). Goofy kids anyways...

So, then tonight I went out and was going to get some pics on the (mini) farm, and I erased a few pics so I could get a few on the farm (my memory card is full!), and it only gave me one picture for the 3 I erased! So here is the ONE picture. It is of my Barred Rock hens.

If you have never heard me talk about it, I love our chickens, even though with them running freely about our property, I will never have nice flower beds (they LOVE to dig in the mulch!). I love to watch them run to me when I am walking around in the yard, I love to listen to their little "brrraaaaaakk". It's like they are trying to talk to me! They really are a joy.

Hopefully, if my Internet is not moving SUPER SLOW, like it is right now, I can get some pics downloaded and be able to have more for tomorrow...

Until then, I hope your day was a blessing! See you tomorrow!

30 Days on the (mini) Farm- Day 18

Today started with rain, not as much as I was hoping though. And we ended with sunshine.

The only pic that I got today was a little farmer:


Probably the cutest little farmer you will ever see...

See you tomorrow!

Wordless Wednesday- Mess!

Mess!

For more Wordless Wednesdays, go HERE.

Things I Love Thursday- Growing Babies

If you didn't know, and have never read my blogs or known me personally, I LOVE BEING A MOM! I love watching my babies grow, and learn new things. I love being there, witnessing the first time they roll over, the first time they crawl or take a step. Some days I just look at my kids and think, "Where have I been? Did I miss a few months somewhere?" Because they grow THAT FAST!

Yesterday, I set Koen in a kid's rocking chair that we have and put him next to a coffee table, and gave him a snack. He loved it. You could tell that he was so proud that he was sitting there, and darn it, he just looked so big sitting up in a chair eatin' his snack...

Here's what I'm talkin' about:

Don't mind his "just woke up from a nap" hair and no pants. That's how we roll... Well, not me. I usually wear pants. Koen, on the other hand, would prefer not too. He is STILL my baby! =)

So, tell us! What do YOU love today??? Tell us under the comments, or link to your blog where you tell us what you love! Then send a link back our way!

Have a beautiful Thursday...

Mother of the Year? I Think Not...

As you saw on Friday, it was my baby's first birthday. He does not know how to walk yet. In fact, he just learned how to crawl about 2 weeks ago. And since then, I have had plants (my new seedlings) pulled down off tables and dirt everywhere. I have had many a free magazine destroyed. Store envelopes, ready for shopping trips, dumped and valuable coupons left behind. He has ate many wood pellets from our stove (basically pressed saw dust), I guess he has got his fiber in on those days...


Well, in preparation for Party time on Friday, I was busy trying to get things done. I took baby Koen upstairs with me, and set him on the floor with me in the back bedroom, where I actually have my sewing stuff. I needed to throw together a costume in like 3 hours, per my oldest son's request. (This was a combined party for baby Koen & Deklyn). Deklyn wanted Magic Tree House Party, so I decided we would all dress up like someone from another place or time (just like in the books). I had an idea to make a skirt to be a prairie woman. So, as I said, I put my son down and picked up some fabric. I draped it around me to see if it was long enough (I didn't want to do too much work!), that one didn't work, so I picked up another. Then I heard it, thump, thump, thump... I thought what was that? Then I heard a cry, the cry of my baby! I ran, and there at the bottom of the steps was my boy. Crying.


I ran to him, crying myself. I picked him up, and got a juice bottle to settle him. I gave him the bottle, and he drank it. Praying, I looked his body over and there were a few scrapes on his head, and a bruise starting on his knee. But, after he was finished with his bottle he started crying crawling around like nothing happened! I started crying again. Thank you Jesus! I need to get out the baby gate!!! I'm not used to a crawler yet!


But, the rest of the evening happened with out much of a hitch... I did forget to de-thaw the meat for the tacos, but other then that, everything went great!



Here are some pics of my (wonderful, forgiving, wonderful) family:



Koen was Mickey Mouse, his favorite:





I love birthdays!