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?

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!

Back from A Busy Family Weekend Trip!

40 Mile Point Lighthouse

We just got back last night from a weekend vacation to the Upper part of Michigan...  Both the upper peninsula and the upper part of the lower peninsula...


After I finish with the pile of laundry, and catching up with other chores, I will tell you all about it, WITH pictures! Plus, more planned this week!  Including some of those "new additions" I was telling you about!

Talk to you soon!

Down on the Farm

Sorry about the small break folks! My little guy is better, and is back to his rowdy, crazy little self!Oh yeah, and he is ALMOST potty trained!!! YAY! YAAAAAAYYYY!!! Can you tell I am SO PUMPED about that?! :)

There is so much to catch up on!

First, my oldest son, I told you that he wanted to get baptized and he did it on Sunday. We were so very proud of him! And so glad that he was ready to take the step of "stepping it up" and showing people how much he loves Jesus!

Here is BEFORE:
And AFTER:
YAY!

My 3rd son, Caden lost his first tooth! He pulled his own first tooth AT SCHOOL! Here he is, milk mustache and all... He was MOSTLY excited about the money! :)

Here he is all dressed up... Park ranger? Policeman? Not quite sure...


We have been working on different things around the homestead, because it FEELS so much like Fall... Hubby was tired of looking at the dead and dying garden... SO we yanked much of what we had. Tomato plants were still producing, BUT the tomatoes were horrible! So I know not to plant those next year! Lesson learned!


We still have our sunflowers, but those will be coming out soon, before the birds get them. I'm not sure if we will dry them to eat or if those will be dried for the chickens, for a mid-Winter snack! We also have sweet peppers. Some carrots, that are JUST about done. We also have pumpkins (the pie kind!), YUM! And we have our strawberry plants that have spread like wild fire! Can't wait for THOSE next year!!!


We harvested a bunch of Winter Squash, hopefully those will be good! I have never grown them before! I should be able to just stick those in my basement (similar to a root cellar- temps are never higher than 70 or lower than 55...). I look forward to those and the potatoes! :)

With Fall on it's way, and the temps being cooler... I am already thinking about my garden next year! I KNOW I am going to do more cool weather veggies, like peas, onions, and carrots. We don't really eat peas or onions, but I think if we had them we would! We all like them, but just don't ever BUY them... hmmm... Maybe I should start on my seed order now...

Another change that is coming, is that we are going to be getting another milking goat! Her name is Black Iris. This time, I did my homework on the seller! We will hopefully get her in the next week or so! Pictures to come! :)


Also, with Fall coming up in less than 2 weeks (yikes! already?!!), I am REALLY in the mood for baking and trying new recipes! Of course, most of them (knowing me!) are for different types of bread product! :) But next Thursday, we will be starting back up with "From Scratch", where we share links or just recipes that we love! AND share what you have been making that week! I'm ready! How about you?

Still lots of great things to come! You'll want to stick around for the fun! See ya later, alligator! :D

Camping at Hogback Lake

You've been able to take a little peek at our vacation, with yesterday's pictures from our canoeing trip.

We have come to this same campground for 3 years in a row, and each year we make plans to come back. If you were looking for a beautiful place to camp in the northeastern Indiana area, I would say look no further!

On the side of the river, canoeing

We are getting no compensation for this post, nor does the campground know I am posting about them! We just love this campground, and will visit it for many years to come. We also want to share some of our vacation pictures with you!

You can find Circle B Campground on US Highway 20, in Indiana, just west of Angola, Indiana.

Taking a swim break from canoeing

Circle B is a clean campground, with activities within the campground. There are paddle boats, canoes, or you can bring your own boat! There is a nice beach area. There are playgrounds for the kids, yes I said playgrounds. Plural. You can rent bikes or golf carts. The camp store is nice, there are even arcade games for kids there. You can fish. And fish. And fish!

Back from fishing!

The summer crowd who stay there all summer are a very nice bunch, even if you happen to have 4 crazy little boys. I can't tell you how many time people are so nice in giving us things like worms to go fishing, or their golf cart!

This week in August most kids are back to school, so there isn't much of a crowd here during the week. Weekends come and there are more campers, but it is so nice!

Some of the camp sites

The campground also provides activities like crafts for the kids, fish fry's, NASCAR weekends, and more.

More campsites, with permanent campers

Tomorrow is our last day here, but once again we have some great memories made at Circle B Campground at Hogback Lake!

Enjoy some more pics from our vacation:

One of the nice bathhouses

Beach in the morning

Fish Cleaning Station

Canoe Trip

Handsome hubby on the Beach

Beach Baby

Oh MAN! Dirty Camping Baby...

Happy kids & mom

So, as our camping comes to a close this year, we can reflect on all of the fun things that happened. Then in a day from now, I can enjoy the weeks worth of laundry and my own bed... Ah... Back to normal.

Sore Backs and Happy Kids

One tired canoer

Yesterday we decided to go on our first (all 6 of us!) canoeing trip. We have canoed as a couple, and as 4 family members. Hubby even took 3 boys for the past 2 years. But this year we decided to go all out. All 4 boys, even the 2 year old, who can't sit still...

Daddy and 4 boys

This story doesn't end in an upset canoe, believe it or not! It ends with 4 happy little boys and 2 parents with sore backs... but it was worth it!

Lunch time! Mama and 4 boys

We are having a great time on our little camping trip! The weather has been wonderful and the camping here is always a great experience! I will be posting more on our trip tomorrow (including where we are staying, if you ever drop by the northeastern Indiana area)! Until then, have a beautiful day!

New Members to the Muddy Boots Farm!

I hope everyone's Memorial Day was wonderful! Yesterday it stormed here quite a bit but a bulk of the weekend was very nice! We were able to get a lot of stuff done AND do some fun stuff too.

Now for the new members to our Farm Family! Here is Sophie! She is our new milking goat! We were so excited to find a lady not too far from us that actually breeds the goats to sell them as MILKING goats! Downfall of buying from this lady was that this poor 2 year old female had never seen the outside of a barn. We got her Friday night, and have been trying to help her "work through" her fears of dogs, chickens, sheep, kids, etc, etc, etc... She stays in her pen a lot because she doesn't know what grass is! She doesn't know that she can eat it! So after hubby had cut some grass up from one area of our pasture he took the long cuts of grass in for her to eat, along with her hay and grain. I think she may have ate some of it.


In the pic, you will also notice the milking stand! Hubby built that for me. There are some GREAT plans and information HERE if you are considering a goat, or already have goats but need more info! Lots of WONDERFUL info. Including HOW to milk a goat. To be honest, I have never milked an animal before, and didn't know how. After reading the post on how to milk, I got my goat and milked her 2 hours after bringing her home! It was amazing!

Now just look at this sweet face. Sophie is a REAL sweet heart, and she already knows me as being "safe". One day we tied her outside (we are keeping her separate from the other goats, because we don't want to have her get hurt or loose milk production!), and there was a rope that was literally TIED to her collar. The rope came untied, and she went running. I thought, OH NO. But she ran straight to me!

Right now she is producing just shy of a quart per milking, but after the whole "scared of everything" goes away, she is SUPPOSED to be producing 1 gallon a day. Hopefully she will get back up to that. She is going to help us save so much money on our grocery bill! Instead of the $30+ a week for milk, that can go for other things!!! :) That makes mama happy!


Here is another new member! He is yet un-named. He is going to be our lucky little man, our breeding male... I thought about calling him Fabio, or Rico, or something funny like that. Any ideas? Of course, it has to be clean. We do have children... and family... and a conscience... He looks pretty with those spots and will probably have some nice looking little babies.


We also have pics of baby kittens coming soon! 4 baby kittens were born Wednesday or Thursday!

This weekend, we went to a local state park, Pokagen State Park. It is a beautiful park with some nice biking areas, and walking trails. The boys love going there too. It is one area you can take 4 little boys and they can't hurt much! We love it! :)

Here is some pictures of my 4 guys...


Don't EVEN tell me that the one on the end isn't ornery! CUZ, I KNOW BETTER... ;)



The woods there is beautiful and is was such a nice day, a little hot in the sun, but under the beautiful trees, it was perfect.

It was a great weekend...

And to prove I actually DO exist (cuz sometime, it doesn't seem like I do... I'm the photographer!), here is me and Koen. This is his little "ride" when biking. Not fancy, but better than those crazy seats they used to have when I was small!


I look forward to hearing if you have any names for my little billy, and let me know what you did this weekend! How was your weather?

Happy Anniversary!

Today is my husband and mine's 11th Anniversary! According to traditional Anniversary gifts, this is the year we give steel! Sweet! I've always wanted... steel.

So, anyways... Happy Anniversary to the most wonderful man in the world! Here is your gift of steel...
Careful! It's still hot....

Is This The Life I Wanted?

No. No it isn't.

If you would have asked me as a child, if I wanted to have a farm where poop on my boots was "all the rage" and a constant thing, I would have said, "I don't think so!". If you would have asked me while I was in high school, if I wanted to be a "farm girl" and raise animals, I would have said, "Ew! No way!" If you would have asked me 10 years ago if I wanted to shovel poop and deal with "farm smell", I would have said, "My husband will do it...".


Now, what has changed? Obviously my heart. But what has changed my heart? Why have I went from being just a stay-at-home mom, to a "farmer"? Well, I stopped trying to forage my own way. I started trying to listen to God speak in my everyday life. What has He said to change my heart?

Simplify.

Having to go see the latest movies in the theater, doesn't interest me much. Same as 'going out to eat'. Sure I like to have a night off every now and then. But I like to have nights when I can just sit on the swing in the back yard, watch the moon rise, and sit in silence holding hands with my hubby. Where we can sit and play board games with the boys, and fight to try to win, because they are little "smarty-pant's". When a good day's work actually makes you relaxed and ready for a good night's sleep.

I love the slower pace of our life. I love being able to serve things I have made from scratch for supper. I love the smell of fresh baked bread. I love simmering a whole chicken (that we raised, naturally), and then making so many things from it to feed our family a super healthy dinner. I love going into our barn and gathering eggs. I love the warm ones. I love the soft feeling of a chicken's feathers (they are WAY softer than you think!). I love the thickness of our sheep's wool. I love pushing my fingers down to their skin and hardly seeing much of my hand! I love the new goats and their friendliness. I love how they NEED you. I love to garden, and yes, I love to pull new veggies out, that first harvest...


Is this the life I would have chosen? No way. But, I am so glad that this is the life God has blessed us with, because it is WAY BETTER. I can't wait to see what He has in store for us this Spring... new turkeys, meat chickens, more egg layers, baby animals... Poop, mud, animal sounds, laundry, warm tomatoes from the vine, country wind, so quiet you can hear bees buzzing in the flowers, boys laughing, happy family. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Adding to Our Family?

Seems like several times lately, I have posted about adding to our farm family by hatching some new chicks, getting new sheep, goats, etc. But this addition is still a hope and a prayer.

We have 4 beautiful, smart, healthy boys. They are a total joy and my husband and I love being involved in their activities. They keep us "hopping" and I love it.

Now though, we want a daughter. I want someone to have a relationship with like my mother and I had. So, we have started to look into the adoption process.

We are just at the beginning stages, so we need lots of prayer. Prayer that wherever God leads us, we will follow without question. That if He stops this whole thing right now, that my heart would be OK with it, that if it DOES proceed, that we are able to adopt a healthy daughter. There are so many emotions that run with this process, and I guess you never realize it until you have your heart running in that direction.

Thank you ahead of time, for all of your prayers. I know God is in control, and He will do what is the best for all of us.

Give a Day. Get a Disney Day!

I had heard about this and I just checked it out today. It's called "Give a Day. Get a Disney Day." It is a volunteer program rewarding people for volunteering in their communities. You are rewarded by getting a voucher for free admission into a Disney park!

Go to this Link, and type in your zip code and start searching all of the opportunies near you. If you can't use the voucher by the December 15th, 2010 date, you can donate it to a charity.

I think it is important, especially being a Christian, for my family to do good for others, to be a blessing. If you are planning a trip to Disney this year, or if you would just like to donate the voucher also, this is a great way to do some good and to get a reward for yourself. All family members over the age of 6 can participate and earn a voucher!

What a great family project!

A Morning on Muddy Boots Farm

I was going to share a whole day, but I don't think you can handle a whole day. I know I can't!

First, I AM NOT a morning person. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to watch the sunrise. But I absolutely HATE to wake up when it is still dark! My husband, fortunately, IS a morning person. So usually HE is the first one up with them. I get up shortly after, because with 4 boys a house is ONLY quiet when they are sleeping, and in some rooms, it's not quiet because of the snoring and the talking in their sleep! This morning, we had eggs. We have lots of eggs again. Our new layers are starting to lay (FINALLY!). So, eggs, luckily are a favorite in our house.

Usually on of the first things I do, in the morning, is turn the eggs in the incubator! I don't have an automatic turner, so I am hoping I am not doing this in vain! But Looking at in about 5 days, HOPEFULLY seeing some new chicks. What am I going to do with them in the coldest part of Winter? Well, I guess they will get a specially spot inside the barn, with a nice cozy heating lamp... I hope they hatch, PLEASE let SOME of them hatch!

A few days a week, I take Caden to Preschool after the older two get on the bus. It has been cold jumpin' in the truck on those mornings!

When I get home from taking Caden to school, or around 9 am or so, I make my morning trip to the barn. I love actually, despite the cold, making these trips. all of the animals know me, and they are happy to see me. I open the barn door and instantly my sheep are talking to me, our one remaining lab mix pup, Jack, has jumped on my boot, and I hear my little Mille Fleur bantam chicken, Mickey, crowing at the sound of my voice. Here are the Jacobs, waiting for their turn to be let outside:

Mickey and Minnie soon make an appearance from the top of the barn, where they reside so they don't get beat up by the big chickens. I usually climb up this crazy metal ladder, check their food and water, they they usually follow me down and dig around in the hay and straw. They are the CUTEST little things...

Here is Girl dog and her pup, Jack, just let outside.

I usually open the chicken coop up, and let them out to be their crazy selves.... They run around the whole property, including my flower beds and garden areas. Not good in the Spring and Summer months...

At this time I am usually attacked by the 10 ducks that we have living on our pond. There are 5 Peking and 5 Mallard. They come up and beg for food. If i don't have any corn for them, they nibble at my boots and jeans. They are SO cute. I will get better close-ups of these guys (and gals) when I feed them tonight:

Usually, when I come back in for the morning, I am constantly running around trying to keep this little guy from getting into everything with his handy bench:

This is the only time I have PEACE, and time to get stuff done! What do you think he is doing as I type?

I DAILY dirty up my kitchen, unless I am gone to the grocery store that day or something. Today, I am multitasking. I am digging out my Christmas decor, I am making and freezing pumpkin puree, drying the seeds to use next year (want some???), AND eating lunch (lunch courtesy if leftovers from my refrigerator! Can you say FREE food?)

Well, I have about 2 hours before the boys come home, and I am going to try to get some bread baking in! I LOVE homemade bread, especially versions of THIS bread... Oh and MORE laundry... But that never stops.

So, some people think I am nutty for doing all that I do, and to that I say, OF COURSE I AM! But I also say I do this because I want to raise animals and food from a garden that is healthier for my family to consume! Do some research on how much healthier meat and eggs from a pasture fed animal is. There are SO many more vitamins in the animals and eggs I raise! I am happy to say my kids are being raised on healthy food! When I bake my on bread, YES, it only costs a buck for a loaf of bread at the store, but do you know what all is IN your bread? I know what is in mine! And have you TASTED homemade bread!? Oh MY! I am a stay-at-home mother and wife, who considers it my job to keep my family healthy and happy. I will keep busy doing it, because that is what I want to do!

I will hopefully be sharing with you the rest of my day... soon! =)

Hope you had a good day as well!