Second best present

My children all agreed tonight with whoops and hugs that the second best Christmas present is being told there a new little J being knit together by God. If the Lord so wills, a new little brother or sister is due to make his first appearance around August 1, 2013. O.k., we all know Aug 10-12, then.

Now the kids know why mamma has been lazy and on the couch, sneaking up to her bed for a catnap, drinking herbal tea again and turning green at the sight of coffee. Now it all makes sense!

It still amazes me that every…single…child, from 16 to 5 to so overjoyed and excited. All talk turned from Christmas to baby. I am so happy because they are so happy, they continue to get it.  LOVE my family. 

Banana Girl

This is the product of groceries left out for five minutes and an unattended little girl who is crazy about bananas! She was packing them in as fast as she could as she was heading to tuck herself, I presume, into the corner to enjoy her feast.

A little too much premeditation for a 17m old if you ask me. 

Hasten the Tooth Fairy

Micah has been bothered by a stubborn loose front tooth. It has been wiggly for days. I think he had enough. I guess he walked in the other room, pulled out his Leatherman and twisted the tooth out! Boys are SO gross!

He fought the log and the..

…boy won. Sorry, I had to do it.

Our lives are consumed with firewood right now. We FINALLY got our long overdue, promised load of logs a week ago, then another half load of logs from my father. Daddy cuts rounds, the two oldest boys man log splitters or axes, depending on the size of the logs, and us women folk stack. It is also a full time job for one person(Jess) to keep the food and water coming...and bandaids for me. 

I LOVE FIREWOOD TIME. I’m sorry, did I yell that? O.k., I meant it. It is SO much fun, all of us out there, working together, is there a sweeter time? Nope. 

Even little Elijah ran the log splitter, barefoot and dirty. He was aDORable.

Danny learned patience and temperance while working with his brother who couldn’t hear commands with his big boy ear muffs and the engine.

Jacob, in his own world, a machine himself. He was fantastic and such a help this year on the tractor. It is like an extension of his body and was moving logs like a pro. Daddy was a happy man.

Micah split the small stuff. What muscles you have little man. That is all you gotta say to get the biggest grin EV-er.

Then there’s Gracie. In her Sunday shoes stacking wood. A bit tired and taking a break.

Danny rolled this log to the splitter, it was h.e.a.v.y.

 

That’s my man. With a chainsaw. I like that.

The cutest toddler again.

and again.

…and…he…

won.

You go Dan the Man.

My family rocks.

Oh…did I mention my husband just ordered another truck load? It definitely warms you twice.

New Family Pictures

 

Since I stink at blogging…I thought I’d share our family picture we just took. Life is sweetly consumed with homeschooling, caring for my father in law who is battling stage IV lung cancer and loving family life. God is so patient with us. I find myself at His feet more than ever as our children grow older and He is faithful to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Life…is….good.

Jessica 15, Jacob 14, Daniel 11, Emma 9, Micah 7, Gracie 5, Elijah 3 & Lydia 1

I wish it were this easy to feed my family for a year

Four trips and one hundred and twenty bales of hay put away in the loft for the winter. That, and a few bags of grain, are ALL that are needed to feed our goats and sheep for the next twelve months…now why couldn’t it be that easy to feed my family? I think we may try hay for dinner and see if they like it.

Diddybuns is learning to be as good of a driver as her big sister Jessica. Watch those mirrors and pay attention to Daddy ;)

My camo girl. And Mindy, you are no longer allowed to point out how quickly my little daughter is growing up. No she’s not. I still see a cute little 7 yr old and it will stay that way. Oh dear.

Kayaking Burrows Island

Paul and I got away for an ocean kayaking adventure last night for our anniversary. It’s just one of those things we have always wanted to do…ok….*I* have always wanted to do, and Paul was kind enough to go along with it. He had FUN though.

We left Anacortes Kayak (highly recommend) around 5:30 pm and spent over three hours paddling around Burrows Island in the San Juans.

I could live there on the sea, the sights, the smells, it was experiencing God’s creation with all the senses. We’d *park* in kelp fields to avoid the current and sit and chat. Our guide said that kelp can grown an amazing three feet a day. Kelp is very high in iodine and bubbling over in minerals and good stuff. I hoisted kelp onto our kayak and we tasted it, mmmm, salty.

Gary, our guide, pulled this purple sea star off a barnacle covered, black, rocky shoreline.

I’ve lived here for 36 years and never seen a porpoise, but last night, a small pod of porpoise strolled by about 300ft away.. 

It was so great. Even our guide commented that he doesn’t see this much wildlife on a trip too often, but we knew it was a gift from the Lord of Creation. There was so much to take in.

A stop on Burrows to stretch our legs.

Then we rode off into the sunset, back to the harbor from whence we came. The journey back was eventful with the ebbing tide. The intersecting tidal currents, wakes from the large boats coming back to harbor made for a wet and exciting ride. Thankful for this special time with my hubby of 19 years!

Dirt

 

…Is good.

 

 

 

 

How lucky were we

to get a live band performance for the evening!

Herm, John and Bob VH came over tonight and gave us a special treat!

I guess these guys all played together a couple months back(I missed it). We fell for their family, they fell for ours. These three men are from a family of 11 boys and 2 girls, one of those *girls* is our neighbor.

Neither of them can read a lick of music, everything is by ear. They each play a minimum of two instruments. Jon taught both Jacob and I some new tricks on the guitar.

Herm on Dobro, Jon on acoustic guitar, Jacob on acoustic, Daniel on the fiddle, Micah on spoons and Bob on the bass. Jessie and Ems vocals - Gracie was on tambourine and Elijah was on shaker off camera.

What a blast. These guys have hearts of gold and were so patient and mentoring. Thank you! Catch them at the Lynden Community Center this Friday at 12:30pm,  our kids might be joining them for a few songs.

It was one of those nights I just sat back, watched my kiddos and thanked God for His goodness to our family. Where He’s brought us. My sweet children who love each other, their smiles, their brilliance, their cheerfulness, their talent, their hearts for hymns and singing…it was a wonderful night.

Sweet sleep..

…with a brother is best.

She’s legal….

AAAaaaaaaahhhhh!!! This happened too fast.

I told her to expect to be turned away because we didn’t have enough ID. I told her to expect to flunk the first test. I told her to be patient. I tried to protect her from being disappointed, BUT she passed and in two hours we left with a permit. We prayed before we went in and the Lord just made it so smooth and blessed her with the kind man she leaned over and told me she “hoped she’d get”.

That was the easy part, now giving her the wheel will be cause for much more anxiety…for me. Yay Jess! We are so proud of you!

Happy birthday..

…to the sweetest, kindest, most handsomest man I know.

The Lord gave my men seven beautiful trout this morning for his birthday…not bad.

Yesterday, we had fun taking family pictures! Here is Paul, me and Paul’s Dad. He is feeling much better this week!

Dead birds don’t eat…

 

At least, that is what Elijah(3) learned today. A neighbor called last night and said an exotic bird was attached to her screen door and wanted in. Jessica ran over on her bike and saved the little escaped, runaway blue bird from the elements.

She brought her home and kept her calm, covered and quiet. That wasn’t enough, however, the stress was too much. In the morning, the little parakeet was nestled in the corner of her cage… dead. Much to everyone’s disappointment, especially a very curious toddler, we could not play with a new pet.

That didn’t stop Elijah. He really wanted that bird to wake up. Periodically, while walking through the dining room, I looked over and saw the bird, face down in her food dish. Several minutes later, floating in her water bowl. It still didn’t hit me. Several minutes later, back in the food bowl with it’s head rolled in food and this time Elijah standing guilty-like by the cage. O.k., that’s just wrong. Get the dead bird OUT of here. Wash and sanitize the 3 yr old. <Sigh> Toddlers. Gotta love ‘em. 

Grind that meat

 

Grinding the meat into hamburger was a before dinner family event tonight. Thanks to the T’s lending us their super duper meat grinder, we ground all the meat in record time.  Thank you T’s!

 

40lbs

Backyard Beef Butcher’in

2012 has been the year of the Butcher. Thus far, we have butchered, for the first time, a goat and a sheep. But today, toDAY, we stepped up in the world. (Exhaling a warm breath upon my fingernails and shining them on my shirt;)

It all started with a phone call. We had just spent the morning singing with our sweet friends at the local rest home and I was settling in to a productive laundry day, I thought, when I got the call. A neighbor’s yearling beef heifer had just cut herself beyond repair. He said she was perfectly fat and happy until the accident and he needs to put her down…now. The local butchers would not fit it in. His options? Putting her down and disposing of her, or  calling that odd homeschooling family who eat sheep and goats and see if, you know, they’ll slaughter a beef heifer the fly. He has stumbled upon many of our butchering times together and loves the fact we’re not afraid of a little blood and hard work.  ;)

But, Paul was at work. I distinctly remember thinking to the Lord. “Lord, should I really do this? I have so much to do today. I really can’t pass up your provision. Help me pull this off. We’ll roll with it Lord, please let me look back at the end of this day and be thankful for whatever I am getting ourselves into.”

“Boys? Are you up for butchering a heifer?”

“REALLY?!!! Mom, really?! A whole cow? We are SO there.”

“Yes. We’ll take the heifer off your hands.”

A half hour later the 44 mag did it’s job(Mr. C did that part…ewe…ewe…ewe) and they bled her out and got her lifted up with the tractor bucket. The boys started skinning, but the job was obviously nothing like a goat or a sheep. Discouragement crept in when we realized our knives were dull and this cow had an udder. An udder? Really? I didn’t know what to do with an udder. I called my friend Mindy whose husband used to be a butcher…he’d know what to do with the udder. She gave me Brian’s cell number. He confidently gave instructions…hmmm, I’m not convinced we can take this on.

Back out we walked and stared at the huge, hanging carcass. I usually do not come and hang out with the butcherers until AFTER the head is off. For some reason, it is at this point that it goes from a “aaawww, the poor thing” to “carcass” and I can handle the whole ordeal. Well, the head was on, it was staring at me, and I was skinning a dead sweet heifer. Did I mention my husband was at work? I suddenly felt this was not the right thing to do and it may be easier to just cut hunks of roast out and call it good. Then Jacob hollered “Mr. W is coming down our road!” Thank you Lord.

Mr. W got off work and drove to our house to survey the beast. He convinced me it was too good a deal to leave. He drove aaaaall the way back home, got dressed, got on his tractor and drove aaaall the way back to our house. Our tractor was overloaded with such weight and his picked it up with ease.

  

Long story short. Brian took pity on us and carved the beast FOR us. Tenderloins, filet mignon, roasts and hamburger meat. Identifying each piece as he carefully carved them out, patiently teaching Jacob. Then my hardworking man pulled in the driveway! He was pretty excited with all the meat harvested and jumped in. We processed, packaged and froze it all tonight. We have many, many pounds of boneless meat. Gorgeous, red, lean, yearling beef.

The cutest butcher this side of the Mississippi. Luv ya babe…

I had mentioned to Mr. W how it hit me we never got to school today. He reminded me THIS was school today, education at it’s finest. Jacob really stepped up to the plate in Daddy’s absence, Danny…well, Danny has a broken arm and he did what he could, and Gracie? She, matter of factly, wondered what in the world were we doing with that cow upside down?

The children are excited to have chunk of meat tomorrow night for dinner, beef NOT in ground form. Is there such a thing? We will feast like kings with humble hearts before our Lord who never ceases to surprise us with His unique provision of food, often with an educational twist.

I AM thankful at the end of our day, so thankful we took on this seemingly overwhelming task, and that the Lord orchestrated the whole thing and made it work. Thank you again Mindy for lending us your talented husband!