April to May 21...

All righty...here's some pictures in reverse chronological order ranging from April (at the bottom) when the kiddos new trampoline, a Christmas present, was initially setup to May 21, when lil Miss Sadie Elizabeth was born. 

The first 4 pictures are of Sadie, bless her lil heart. We love her!

A, showing off her chicken's (for the life of me I can't remember the hen's name right now) egg. She is an easter egger, and A likes to claim all of her eggs for herself :).

A reading to her siblings. She's an awesome reader, and reads vivaciously to anyone who will listen.

A's field day at school.

And the new trampoline. The kids love this thing, I never knew how much joy and laughter it would bring!

Double shot - A and K and jumping, and in the background you can see J and T chasing each other on their respective tractors. It was quite hilarious. (yes, all safety precautions were taken!)

Now to catch up the rest of the way....

March/April Random, maybe a 'lil late

Before you even waste your breath asking, no, there has been no little arrival yet. The doc said that next Wednesday is her deadline, if she doesn't come before, so we are hoping and praying that she decides to come on her own before then.

In the meantime, here are some recent-ish pics, in reverse chronological order (I think).

*The animals (how many and what kind are there?) are excited to be on pasture.

Unfortunately, this same day I took a video of Melody standing up, gimping horribly. Took her to the vet, and it appears that she has injured her Suspensory Ligament somehow. So she is on rest for a while, and getting the Princess Treatment to her legs twice a day. 

*Confession: Adalynn and I played hooky from church a week and a half ago and worked Grimmie and Susie. Adalynn did an awesome job with Susie, and I am so proud of how she is working with her to communicate better.

Grimmie, on the other hand, NEEDS A JOB. He's a hot mess right now!

*J turned 2 on April 30. Here he is with his (I think) favorite birthday present. He rocks it in high gear.

K and I cuddled with him on his birthday for a while. I love this picture of him. Makes me smile!

*Slimer the bottle calf arrived sometime around the middle of April. He is hilarious, if not a bit too friendly at times. He enjoys long walks (leashless), milk, and is growing his taste buds for fine grass (not of the opiate variety).

*Trav and I have had a day or 2 to work around the farm sans kiddos, which has been a blessing. We have gutted the barn from winter messes and it is currently on my garden, awaiting tillage. We've also moved the big pig into the woods, and now further into the woods, where she is rooting, hanging out, and hopefully growing piglets (we're 90% sure!) for an August delivery. T is her favorite.

*Easter morning:

We did finally make it into church clothes:

And then to Opa and Oma's for lunch, then Papa and Nana's for dinner. Good times.

There are more, but I don't have the energy to search through and upload right now. But yes, we are still around. Sometime soon maybe we will have a 4th addition to our family. Sometime soon we will add one more bottle calf. And T is done with his Tactic Team training, which is a blessing that it went well and that he is home on weekends now! More later, I think...

February Random...

Like Daddy, Like Son...it's where J wants to be 24/7...

Susie-Q

Are we on-the-go too much? Given J's desire to put shoes, coat, and hat on every single morning, even on my days off, I'd say so...(and yes, he always 'forgets' the pants, socks, and other appropriate outside-of-the-home attire. All boy!)

The girls have been a big help around the FarM and with baby J when T's gone for training.

1st ever school Roller Skating party. The girls were impressed. J would like to express his desire to be included in the action next time. He's not a bench sitter.

Came in the girls' room to this note one random day in Feb. A had transcribed for K:

Mama-made skirts.

They are growing up!

This, I guess, could go in March as A wrote this yesterday. But I think it probably pretty well sums up yesterday, the day before, the month before, and likely the next few months until I give birth. Sorry kiddos, I'm trying.

A, after her first 4-H function. Love that there's still a little girl inside of her big girl pants.

I know a lot of people are getting sick of the amount of snow that we have gotten. Unless you have farm animals, you may not think of the environmental implications of the snow height.

Such as farm animals.

What do they do when the fence is grounded?

Is that a cow in my yard?

Why yes, it is!

And in my back yard too? How could I be so lucky?

And pig, couldn't stay out of the action and had to come up to the house looking for food. Her poor 30" tall fence is literally buried under the snow. She stayed in it for a while still, but the cows showed her the 'free' way to live, and she could contain herself no longer.

And why is it that they always get out when T is gone for training? Yes, this pregnant woman loves to lumber after the 400# piggie to lure her back to her enclosure.

Not gonna lie, Flopsie had to wait for T to come home. Sorry T, but thank you, very much.

We did learn that she knows her name. And that if she starts to wander down the driveway toward the road, you can call her name and whistle and she'll come thundering back down the driveway to the barn. And the sight of a 400# pig responding to her name, grunting as she waddles runs down our snowy driveway made me laugh, I'm not gonna lie. Actually, just the image of it in my mind still makes me chuckle. She is the one being right now that doesn't make me feel large as a barge. And for that, she has a special place in my heart.

January: Come and Gone...

I think these pictures are somewhat in order of occurrence....maybe...nope, they weren't, but I got them there.

Ok. So a few (maybe 3 weekends now?) I took the kids ice skating at Aunt Amy's backyard. Yes, it was 3 weeks ago because it was just before we got the flu, and infected their family with the flu.

J loved 'playing' hockey. For him, this meant missing the ball 2-3 times with the stick, then picking up the ball and throwing it. 

Honestly, I can't get over the knowledge that a naked tush used that seat in the shower. I realize it was a long time ago and hopefully many cleanings, but still, the knowledge remains. Either way, K loved getting a free ride on it (and if there is a free ride around, that girl will find it!).

A got her sea legs. And by sea legs, I mean ice legs. She rocked that ice. Way to go girl!

Last weekend we moved a horse. We had loaded Grimmie first, we weren't sure how the other horse would load alone, and then took Grimmie and the other horse for a ride. When we got home I thought about leading Grimmie up, but didn't, because really - how much of a difference would 1000# make? Famous last words? We drove 3/4 up the hill and then slid back down...tried once with the Expedition and a weak rope to pull it out of the snowbank, then left it for the night. The weather warmed a little overnight, which didn't help the icy snow on the driveway. In the morning Levi drove his tractor over and helped Trav pull it out. My lands, that tractor pulled the trailer and truck around like nothing from side to side. A little scary, if I do say so myself. We'll wait for spring to bring the trailer back home...

That same day we picked up the kids from Opa and Oma's house. We made them (and us, we're not that mean) walk up the hill to save the truck from sliding back into a snowbank. Not so sure Levi would have liked that call...

In all though, it has been a beautiful and needed winter. And for me, I'll take the snow over mud any day.

Thank goodness for snowblowers and Opa's who lend (or drive) their snowblower freely. We wouldn't be making it through without them.

Hope y'all are staying warm!

What a week...

I know it's not nice to come on here and just spillllll, especially after I haven't written anything in the past ... well, it's been a while. But here's why. So far, since Sunday morning:

1. 5/5 of us have had the flu. We were dropping like flies there on Sunday night. Trav is, unfortunately, dealing with it right now.
2. We infected my sister's family, 2/3 of them who were sick Monday/Tuesday (1 already had it). Praying my sister doesn't get it.
3. We are in the middle of a likely irreparable fight with a family member. This sucks, and it keeps me awake at night. I want it resolved now, but am trying to wait on God's timing.
4. The tractor got stuck, yes, on flat ground, getting a round bale for the horses. Too much ice!
5. We have had to start talking to the insurance company again, about clothes that were damaged, and drywall that is cracking all. over. the. living. room. and. kitchen. I'm going to cry.
6. Our fridge died. This includes the freezer attached to the fridge. So, I spent this morning frying up a TON of pork.
6a. This, also, needs to go to insurance, as after the fire is when the fridge started acting up. I'm going to go hide under my sheets now.
7. My dear son picked up the top of the crock pot this morning to give it to me, and I told him to put it down. Which he did, on the floor. It is now in 3 pieces.
8. My dear daughter's Kindle, a Christmas gift from Nana, wouldn't turn on. After a call to Amazon, it needs to be replaced.

I have faith that God hears prayers and it will get better. Lots and lots of faith. I know, it could be a lot worse. I just had to let it out a minute.
Psalm 17

Okay...let me try that again. Since Sunday Morning, I am thankful for:
1. I have come to see how close our family is. I am very thankful for this. Within 12 hours, 4/5 of us got the flu. Trav was the sole healthy one and had to clean up after us for a few days, and now has it himself. Sorry honey. Thankfully, we have a lot of clean towels and blankets, clean bathrooms, and clean floors.
2. We are also very close with our extended family. (sorry.)
3. God is teaching me patience, and how to seek His word in times of trouble and conflict. I'm a slow study.
4. I am very thankful that my husband is very skilled at using the truck to unstick the tractor by now, and honestly, better without my help than with it.
5. God has foresight that we don't, thank you Lord! I'm thankful that our adjuster has been hemming and hawing on our last submission; God knows better than we do.
6. I'm thankful that we will have prepared meat for a while!
6a. Insurance, or the warranty from the electronic/appliance repair people, may cover a new fridge. Thank God!
7. I get a new crock pot?
8. Amazon's customer service. The lady I spoke with was awesome, and very nice, and quickly tried to trouble shoot. When that didn't work, she offered to send a new one right away, which will be here today.

Seeing the good, being thankful, isn't first nature. But God has shown his face in these past days; a post from a very Godly lady on a barrel racing forum led me to Psalm 17, which I have read often recently. Just after I initially wrote the first part of this post, I saw this story/devotional. Yes, it's all going to be ok. God is in control.