Decorating for Christmas!

My Hoosier Cabinet

I love Christmas!  I love the greenery, I love the shininess (is that a word?), I love the music, I love the giving, I LOVE the celebration and remembrance of the birth of Jesus! 

If you look around my house the week after Thanksgiving (yes, I hold off until AFTER!), you will see a LOT of snowmen appear!  And it's a good thing I have them for inside, because there sure isn't any snow for them outside yet in Indiana!  :/

My Dollar Tree Birdy

This year we got a smaller tree, and yes, we get fresh cut.  We go to a local farm where we can get on a wagon pulled by a team of horses.  They take us out to the fields and drop us off.  You and your family can wander the field looking for that perfect tree... 

And I think we found our FIRST perfect tree!  Why do I say that?  Well, because this is our first tree in 13 years of marriage that HASN'T FALLEN OVER!  All the rest we had to tie it to something, weigh down the base with a large rock, or just straight up lean it onto a wall!  NOT THIS YEAR!  Yay!!! 

The perfect tree at night

Ain't she a beaut? 

Now who else loves the decorations like I do?

School All Summer!?

Ice and Snow!

Oi!  The weather...  I'm not really sure what I can say about it, that hasn't already been said over the last few months.  This Winter has "seemed" to last so long! 

We had the temporary thaw which was pleasant, while it lasted, but now the snow and ice is back with a vengeance! 

My boys have now missed so many days of school that we are about 2 weeks further into the summer!  Our date was already pretty late (June7th), but now I think we've missed so much that we are going to be there until the 16 or 17th!  If we miss another day or two, we could be jumping into that next week! 

My son Austin is already afraid that we are going to be having school over his birthday (June 23rd!).  And we might not be too far off that!

Weather for the next 2 days show that we could have some more potentially bad weather on the way!  Snow and ice mix for Thursday and Friday.... 

I wonder if the school would just let us homeschool our kids so we don't have to miss half of the summer... 

Anyone else missing a lot of school this year??? 

Hibernation

With highs in the teens and lows in the single digits, I could SO easily hibernate!Animals on our farm all snuggle down in their beds.  The chickens don't leave the "warmth" of their coop or barn.  Everyone else stays in their "homes" and don't leave unless they hear me coming.  Then they come out and make their noises, so I feed them faster...

Then after they chow down most of what I brought them, they head back to their little warm areas.  I won't see them wandering in the pasture.  Sometimes you will see the sheep, but my hubby figured out that they don't like WIND.  So, if there is wind, you WON'T see the sheep either!

So, right now I need to work myself up and BUNDLE myself up to go outside.  Once I am out there, I am usually fine, with the exception of my freezing fingers.  All those buckets of water back and forth get those gloves WET and not too enjoyable when it is so cold out!  Then I LOVE coming back in to stand in front of the fire.  Ahh!  SO warm! 

Hope you are all staying warm! 

The Weather Outside is Frightful...

 But the fire is so delightful...  And I want to hibernate right beside it!  As many of you know, the midwest got hit pretty hard by Winter storms.  And Indiana didn't get as much as other places but we are still stuck inside, well, to a certain extent.  Church was canceled yesterday, and school was canceled today...  But chores are NEVER canceled....  In fact, they become harder, as you probably know!

Here was the view of our backyard yesterday morning:

 And here is the view of my walk down to the barn this morning.  It was actually lighter, because I made my trip a little LATER because of boys being home...

 Here are my Jacob ladies outside.  On Saturday, they were put all back together and the males were put together (for the first time).  Calvin, our new male actually escaped, because Puck is a little pushy... and kept trying to fight him!  So he is now in with our baby goats... 

 Here is Koen, he went outside yesterday with his brothers and dad, and he looked in at me in the house...

Here is the result of the blowing and drifting snow... BEAUTIFUL!

My hubby had to dig a way for his work car to get out of the drive this morning.  It was parked right behind our truck, and he had to dig through a snow drift.  You can see the roads aren't looking too hot, and even drifting in many spots...

Well, I was hoping to go to the grocery today (Mondays are usually my day) BUT, I will just hang out at home today, and FINISH with my holiday decorating, and some cleaning of course! 

Tomorrow, I will share with you about our vacation coming up!  And some info on how YOU TOO can get great information for your vacation! 

Until then, we will try to stay warm, and we hope you do as well!  Have a beautiful day!

Winter is Officially Here!

Hi Friends!  Today has been the first day that I haven't had a bunch of running to do during the day, so I am going to get some blogging in today!  And what a beautiful wintery day to stay in.... Well, kind of.  Of course, I need to go and get some chores done yet... which will be C-C-COOOOLLLLDD!  But it sure is pretty to look at.  I suppose I will enoy it when I get back into the house, standing in front of our corn burner...

So, all week here in Indiana, we have gotten snow!  Everyday it drops a little more.  And this weekend is supposed to be even more!  I love to look at the beautiful snow, and I even enjoy the snow at Christmas time.  But I am DEFINITELY not a cold weather person.  I am very much a warm weather gal.  So when I go out, I freeze quickly, and I take forever to thaw out!

But enough complaining!  I have been getting quite a bit done, for Christmas anyways.  There are still a few things I would like to accomplish before the big day, but am glad to have MOST gifts done, and planning getting done for get togethers...

I finally have some pictures today!  Here are 2 from putting our tree up:

Boys all ready to decorate the tree!

Koen, the little ham in the front, wanted HIS picture taken!

And here are some pics from our farm this week...

This was taken at the end of last week.  We got a bunch of rain! 

Our first BIG snow day Monday.  The animals weren't sure WHAT to do!

Turkey (yes, she is still around!) hiding out in the barn!

After Monday's snow, I broke out the cover-alls, and went to work doing my chores...

Our Jacob pair, Myst and Calvin, scarfing on some hay.

The sun coming up this morning, over a snowy farm.

Our finished tree this morning, with a beautiful backdrop!

In store for me today is running to the mill (one of Koen's favorite trips!), and staying home, making Christmas cookies and MAYBE some noodles.  I also need to catch up on some laundry, I started last night, but it NEVER seems to end!  Can I hear an AMEN!?

I also want to share with you all about our vacation that is coming up in about 7 weeks!  Yep, we are going somewhere warm!  I will share real soon!  Until then, have a beautiful day!  I need to go bundle up and get outside to do some chores!  See ya later!

DO It Yourself, Waterer Heaters

Last year, you MAY remember I posted a link for making your own waterer heaters.  I was reminded of this, when our chicken's water started to freeze this last week.  My husband asked if we still had those heaters.  And as far as I knew, we did.  Hubby found them, and they are STILL in great working condition!  Even after storing them in our barn this whole year!

We put it under our NEW chicken waterer, which is a metal one...

And it works great.  So far, with temps reaching to the near teens, I have yet to go down and find I have to chip the water out of their waterer. 

To find information on how to make your own waterer, go through my link HERE.

This year, we replaced the bulb, but didn't have to replace anything else! These, of course, are for smaller waterers.  But I have also used them under waterers for my sheep, the waterers were larger, and when it got REALLY cold out, it didn't work as well.  It works the best if you can get the same circumference of tin as your waterer....

Hope you enjoy this idea, and have as much fun making one of these as I did! 

Getting All Decorated for Christmas...

Right now, I am sitting in the midst of a MESS!  Since we were all sick over the long Thanksgiving weekend, we didn't get to do any decorating, but TODAY my friends, TODAY is the day! 

I am moving furniture and sweeping under everything, dusting and such...  I don't like to bring new things in on a bunch of dust/ dirt!  So, here I sit, on my "lunch break"... ;)

We will also be getting our tree tonight I hope!  We go to a Christmas tree farm that is about 5 miles from our home.  Very nice family.  We also LOVE the smell of pine!  They also plant hundreds, if not thousands of trees each year.  And hubby has gotten baby trees to plant on our farm the last few years. 

To add to the "Christmas-y" feel here in Indiana, it is snowing, and has been all morning.  It's colder than, well, something really cold.... :)  And it wasn't "fun" doing chores this morning, but everyone was glad too see the ice off of their water!  YES!  It is COLD!  The snow seems to be sticking too!  The boys are loving it, I'm sure!

Well, lunch break is nearly over (I'm such a stickler!), so I better get busy!  Pictures of my beautiful mess will come soon, as well as more pics from the farm.  Until then, have a WARM and beautiful day!

Week in Review...

As this week comes to a close, I have to give a little review on what is happening! It of course is all in preparation for Spring, which I am totally STOKED about (yes, I said stoked... ). The last few days, the sun has actually come out, and gave us a little taste of Spring... And a little of the snow has melted off, today though, around here they are calling for more. But tomorrow is supposed to get up to 36 degrees! Woot! :) Here is what the barnyard looks like, during our "melt-off":


I know. Nothing too impressive, BUT, I am just thankful for the sunshine! I see it trying to peak again today...

For the last few days, hubby and Deklyn have been hard at work putting together our hive! We are going to order bees (Monday???), and will PROBABLY be getting another hive... I cannot wait for the honey!


And our baby broiler chicks were a week old on Wednesday. They are getting big, and eating a lot! They also make a MESS with their food. See that on the floor of their brooder? That isn't bedding, that is food, and it about 1/2 in. thick, more in other spots... They are QUICKLY growing out of their "home", so hubby is going to build them a bigger one in the barn today. I guess in 6-7 weeks they are full grown, so they only have about 5 weeks left before they are larger than a normal chicken! That is amazing. In this pic, they are all SO afraid of me, even though I bring them food and water (about 3-4 times a day!). They are all trying to escape!

And last but not least, I cannot hold myself off any longer. I am going to be planting my seeds this weekend. And as much as the hubby hates it, I am setting up shop in our living room. It is the warmest spot in the house, and with the most light. He will thank me in the fall! ;) Love you, honey! I will try to post some pics on Monday!

I can almost feel Spring! Can't you!?

Snow Days, And Other Craziness...

Yesterday, the boys had another day of school canceled. So 2 days for them, then this morning, a 2-hour delay. Thank goodness, they can go to school... I hope we aren't going to school in mid-June!

The snow WAS beautiful, and deep. Though not as deep as some parts of the country. I think we probably got a foot or a little more here, with drifts that were much deeper.

Here are my boots COVERED:

Like I said, the boys are back to school. Just in time for a Valentine party...

Tomorrow, we should be getting our new broiler chickens. I need to take my banty chickens down to the barn today (with their heating lamp!) and make a new brooder for the chicks. Our brooder has been a cardboard box, but hubby says for Valentine's Day, maybe he'll make me a WOODEN ONE. I told him to throw in some organic soil for my seeds, and he has a deal. We are SO romantic... :)

Well, long list of chores to get done today: laundry, sweeping, Mille Fleurs to the barn, new brooder box... I know. My life is SO EXTREME! :) I love it...

Aw, Honey, Honey...

For Christmas, I got my hubby all he needs to make a beehive! He had been talking about getting some things for a while. My uncle raises honey, and my uncle had walked him through several things, explaining the process.

I use honey for baking instead of sugar, sometimes, and probably would use it lots more if I had it! I am also excited about the bees wax... for candles!

So, this Winter, we are going to get the hive put together and get it all ready for our own bees! Looks like we have some work to do!


Next week, we need to order bees! Did you know, you have to order a queen and you have to order bees! We are ordering Carniolan bees, which are the gentlest bees. (With all of the 'crazy' around here, we need something more gentle...)

So, you can look forward to more stories of HONEY this Spring, Summer and Fall! I cannot wait... Mmmmm....

Snowed In...

It is just the beginning of a snow storm that is SUPPOSED to be pretty huge... The boy's school canceled, and the snow keeps comin' down.

In our trip to the barn this morning, we spend about 20 minutes in there, and by the time Deklyn and I went back to the house, our footprints from before were already gone! I had hoped to make it to the grocery store yesterday, but I had a boy that had too much spicy food at a church Super Bowl party and sick... So, I guess sit is a good thing I am pretty stocked up.

The boys, of course wake up EARLIER when there is a delay or cancellation, because they are SO EXCITED... SERIOUSLY. Me? I'd rather catch up on some zzz's. But, I am a mother, so I guess that means I don't get what I want... until kids move out???

Animals are all happy in their homes, fresh water, food, some treats!, and a some attention... Now it's time to sit back for a bit and watch the snow come down... well, until lunch...

New Farm Members- Coming Next Week!

Black Broilers... 30 of them coming at the end of next week... :)

Praying that our FRIGID Indiana weather won't kill them all before they get here! Now, where to put them all....

SEEDS!!!

If it weren't a chilling 28 degrees outside right now, I would almost think it were Spring! The sun is shining and I got my seeds today in the mail! Woot!



Along with MANY variety of Heirloom seeds, I also got seeds and Sprout topper to try my hand at growing sprouts... We love salads around here, and I guess they are a good additive to sandwiches too... I will let you know how that turns out! Just another way of getting extra vitamins into your meals! And I got a book with a lot of recipes for homemade natural cleaners, and many other things for home and garden... Sweet!



In case any of you wanted to know, here is a list of Heirloom seeds that I got:

• Kentucky Wonder- Pole Beans
• Golden Bantam- Corn
• Boothby's Blonde- Cucumbers
• Australian Yellow Leaf- Lettuce
• Giant Noble- Spinach
• Delicata- Winter Squash
• Vegetable Spaghetti- Winter Squash
• Pruden's Purple- Tomatoes
• Zucchetta Pampicante Tromboncino- Zucchini
• Red Russian- Kale
• Wild Lupine
• Honey Rock- Melon (for my mom)
  
• Moon & Stars- Watermelon (for my mom)

The 2 that are for my mom, I may see if I can keep a seed or two to try... ;) The Kale is mostly for our animals, but I am willing to eat it also. I have never tried any winter squash before, but an excited to try it, and see how long it actually DOES last in the winter. The Zucchini (with the really long name), well these are going to be fun. They grow about 3 feet long (sometimes longer!). And the rest, well, I can almost taste it now....

For fun, we also got these non-heirloom seeds:

• Grey Stripe- Sunflowers
• Bird House- Gourd
• Luffa- Gourd
• Strawberries!!!
  

Sunflowers for eating, Birdhouse gourds, well for birdhouses! And Luffa gourds, to make actual Luffa out of! You know the stuff you can use to scrub your dishes or yourself in the shower! Strawberry plant will be sent after the frost! I can't wait!

We are very excited about starting all of these new varieties!

This is our first year ORDERING seeds. Usually we will buy the standard seeds from an Amish greenhouse or last year I wasted my money on seeds from a farm store. It was horrible. I planted my green beans 3 times, and in the end, only about 3/4 of them came up. I have NEVER had that kind of trouble before. Grrr!

SO this year I ordered from Pinetree Seeds. My aunt has ordered there before and said she liked them. The prices are GREAT for heirloom seeds, and I got my order in a week from ordering them (I called in my order). The corn and cucumbers I ordered are on back order, but should be to be in 30 days, it says.

Well, off to stare at the box of seeds again and dream of Spring... Kidding. I wish I had time to stare at a box of seeds... I will keep you updated on on of my EXCITING (ha!) seed stories! :)

Snow's Gone... But Not for Long!

Friday night, almost all of the snow melted from around us. I was hoping it would, even the thought of muddy didn't bother me half as much as the thick layer of ICE all over everything did.

SO, it all melted away, and I can't say it FELT like Spring, but I have been dreaming of Spring EVEN MORE (is that POSSIBLE!?) these days. I see the snow all gone from my gardens, that soon will become one BIG garden (muah ha ha ha!!! - Evil laugh... ) I am from the safety and warmth of my home, planning my garden areas and animals we will have, where they will pasture, etc....

I will be even MORE impossible to live with when I get my SEEDS IN THE MAIL ANY DAY NOW! Oh my goodness, I can hardly wait! I have some little indoor plant starter container thingies to start some of my seeds SOON.... I will probably TRY to hold myself off until Valentine's Day, but I don't know if I can make it that long. I once heard a greenhouse owner say that is when she started planting all of her stuff...

Well, last week I was going to tell you that I had put more eggs in an incubator to hatch until the morning I was going to post it (day #2 in the bator), I went to turn my eggs and found that SOMEONE who shall remain nameless...


... had turned the knob and had it 10 degrees hotter than it was supposed to be. It was that way ALL NIGHT. Yes, you guessed it, cooked eggs. They were so HOT. I let them go until yesterday, then I candled the eggs (shining a light through them to check the progress of the baby inside). There was NOTHIN' in 'em. SO! I will have to start the process AGAIN, but this time put a baby gate up so MR. NAMELESS won't turn any more knobs!!!


Well, today we are supposed to get more snow... I will enjoy this while I can...


...while I dream of....


Ahhhh....

What's Happening...

What's happening on the Farm? Well, today I see sunshine so far!!! Even though it is a chilly 13 degrees as I type this. The animals were all very eager to get out into the sun. I don't blame them!

As I mentioned, it IS still below freezing, so in the barn, by the water spicket, there is ice! Here is Sugar and the Milles getting a drink of water, as soon as I came in and got them fresh water (as opposed to the ice that was in it when I came down!).

Here are our Mille Fleur babies, who, yes, are still in our basement. I keep their bedding clean, so they don't stink at all! If they did, they would definitely be under a heat lamp in the barn! But aren't they cute!

In the house... I have a little man, who has been falling asleep at 9 am for his nap! And only sleeping about an hour or less... This messes up our day! Potty training is coming up soon for this little man also. He is almost 22 months, and my other 3 boys were trained at right at 2 years. I pray this one isn't any different!

In the Kitchen... Our chickens have been laying more eggs. For the past few weeks, they have really been down on their "production". My son, Caden, the "egg man" sells eggs to people at our church, and then he tithes some of that money and the rest goes to food for them. People have been wondering where the "Egg Man's" eggs have been! Maybe now they are going to increase eggs a bit, I hope!

My parents went to Florida 2 weeks ago, and brought us back some Florida oranges and grapefruit! Yum! I love having that vitamin c around, especially for the boys during the winter months.

In the Laundry room... Oh you don't EVEN want to go there!

Hope you all are having a great day! Hope the sun is shining where you are too!

Snow, Snow, Snow on the Farm

We have been getting snow for several days now. Here is our farm in a thick blanket of snow, and our 2 Female Jacobs out rooting around in it.

I love staying inside a warm house and looking outside. Do like getting out in the snow, or would you rather stay inside and stay by the fire?

New Year on the Farm

I hope you all are having a GREAT new year so far! I have high hopes, and have big plans for myself this year! We will see what God wills, and what I can get off my rump and DO!!! :)

It has been pretty much snowing everyday, here in Indiana. Temps are getting to their highest today with, I think, 23 degrees. It was a high of about 15 yesterday and 18 the day before... My wonderful hubby got me some coveralls for Christmas, and I have put those to good use already! I like them a lot, but look forward to warmer weather when I don't have to be all bundled up!

This morning, I took the camera with me and got some pictures of our animals...

Here are the ducks. We lost a Male Mallard a few weeks ago, when we were having wind gusts up to 55 MPH and lots of snow. I looked for him several times when he came up missing, but never found him. I am hoping he flew south for the Winter... :) I just LOVE our ducks. They are so cute and I love their quacking. They are very friendly, especially if you bring food!

I went into the chicken coop this morning, and the chickens had drank all of their water overnight. So I refilled and they waited in the coop for me to return with their apple cider vinegar laced water... Sugar, the cat, also got in on the water party:

Puck, our only male Jacob sheep, has been by himself, ever since we got Lindsay. You are supposed to separate the males from the females after a certain time, if they could be pregnant, so the males don't get too rough with the females. So, he had been a little sad for a while, and slightly upset with me. But, I think he is over that now. He has been a good boy, and I think he is getting used to life as a bachelor...

Here are my girls. I just find so much joy in them! They both have personalities that make them so interesting. No wonder Puck was having a hard time leaving! Myst is on the left and Lindsay is on the right. Myst is quite a bit smaller (9 mo. old), and could be pregnant. Lindsay is a lot bigger (2 1/2 years old) and hopefully will have at LEAST one baby, if not more for us in March/April!

Here is Lindsay. She was not used to much one on one attention from people. So she was a real scaredy-cat. But, now she is really warming up to me (as you can see with her nose in my camera!). She even ate grain out of my hand last night! She is getting brave! Look how cute:

Yeah, she has a little hay on her face. As you can see the ground is covered with snow, so we have had to give them hay to eat. Although, they like to dig through the snow and nibble on what grass they can still find!

Hopefully in the next week or so, we will be getting a goat! Who is HOPEFULLY pregnant! We have want to have milk (GOOD milk) and then my oldest son can take the baby to 4H! Along with a baby sheep!

I am so excited about all of the new life happening on our farm! Are any of YOUR animals expecting babies this winter/spring??? Please share!!! Are you getting any new animals???