Happy Fourth of July!

Oh, I wish I had the time to write what my country means to me! We shot out of bed this morning, ran downstairs and I gathered everyone up around the piano. We threw open the windows and all sang out every patriotic hymn we could find the words to in the hymnal. After that we ran to the flagpole and recited the pledge of allegiance. Thanks be to our eternal God who has given us a free country to raise our children in! As freedom is fading we still rejoice and make it known our children are blessed to live in this country at this time and to praise the Lord for every day we live in freedom! God bless America... Off to celebrate!

Farmer Eli

Hello, my name is Elijah and I'ma farmer. Us rednecks can't afford those fancy smancy 4wd farm vehicals so we buy golf carts on Craigslist and put flat beds on the back and call them our farm vehicles.

Hop on with me and my brother Daniel and I'll show you a typical day.

First you check the corn, it is almost dog gone taller than I am!! Man that stuff grows fast.

The secret to assessing yer garden is to taste everything. Yes, even the foliage of the plant itself. It may make you pull a funny face, but you must try it. It will give you a good feel for the health of yer crops.

Then grab your shovel and dig up them weeds. Do everything as unto the Lord, with a smile on yer face and a song in yer heart, just like my Daddy and Mamma teaches me.

Go find them chickens and toss them a little food. Be careful, them critters love little piggies.

Feed the goats some leftover corn leaves that you grabbed, slobbered on and gummed.

Don't worry, the goat isn't a picky eater.

Make a pass or two with the tiller between the blueberries. Always wear ear protection, that is what my Daddy taught me.

If you drool a little in the dirt, no worries. Just look both ways and if Mamma isn't looking swirl it around in the dirt a little, make mud and eat. Use your imagination and enjoy yer meal.





Check on the last of the animals who wanna get in on the fun then...




It's off to work! See ya!



Before long it'll be naptime and you'll be enjoying that much needed rest.

A Sad Obituary...

It is with much sadness we announce the apparent end of a rocky 5 yr relationship. Our cat is MIA. We have traveled the ditches looking for "signs" of Thomas, but there is nothing. No meowing on the back porch, no stalking you as you walk out the back door. He never came home early last week and that is all we have.

He is just gone.

Thomas the cat was a good cat. He was named by a 3 yr old boy after a tank engine. He only needed to be fed for 3 months out of the year, the rest he fed himself as an avid hunter of mice and stalker of moles, birds and baby bunnies. Though mamma is happy this cat has gone missing(and the nests will no longer be robbed and the robins may raise their young in peace) there are many other young humans mourning the loss.

Thomas came to us the year after we moved in our home. A vehicle stopped, dropped the older kitten off and he walked right up to the front door and the rest is history. He knew his place. Though He is known to attack Paul's leg, he was quite affectionate. He was known for drooling puddles when having his ears scratched. He would jump on your shoulders if you came close enough, often causing eh unsuspecting human to shriek in pain.

So, here's to you Thomas, you "phsyco attack cat"...we loved you, rest in peace.

Now THAT is the epitomy of a friend...

Isn't he just the cutest chicken cuter-upper you ever done did saw?

I little note of recognition here. I reeeally needed help trimming my goat's hooves, I just couldn't figure it out. Mrs. W., my goat mentor, kindly offered to come show me how to properly trim the hooves and I promised afterwards to take her to Wood's Coffee for a nice sit down cup-o-java. She accepted and came over after dinner. She put on an apron over her pretty, going to coffee clothes, grabbed a hoof and went to town. She proceeded to clip and clip until the hooves were trimmed quite nicely.

Jessie says this picture is a chicken(who seems to be missing) flexing his big muscles.

However, my husband had started butchering chickens and well...remember? It is my job to quarter and package the chickens pieces? Things weren't going as planned and I could see two trains running on the same track and one was going to have to pull off. I was SUCH a bad friend! I had to get those chickens done and it became more clear coffee was not going to happen. So how gracious is this beautiful lady? If in her shoes, I may have made it known we'd just set another date for coffee and be perfectly content with that. What does SHE do? She leaves her apron on and asks me how we process the chickens. She comes in the house and proceeds to cut chickens up with me.

A freshly butchered chicken isn't as pertty to work, bless her sweet heart. We did all 9 birds in record time, she stayed until 10PM(!) until the birds were all bagged and in the freezer.

I mean, really, can you get much better of a friend than that?

I'm the blogging queen

Do you see that? Do you see all those posts in the last few days? Are you impressed? I've had so much time on my hands...eh-hem, not!...let's start again. I have been nursing so much(there you go) as baby is trying to get me to understand he wants more milk..it's working. No complaints here, boy, I am soooo thankful I'm nursing! Did I mention my baby is 3 months old and still never had formula? The last time that happened was 8 years ago, or four babies ago. So, thus come quick snippets of blogging time. Isn't he sweet?

The canoe is gone...

Jacob sold his canoe. Remember the canoe he restored last year? He finally sold it. A man emailed and asked if he'd take $50 less, Jacob agreed. When the gentleman and his wife came to pick it up, he didn't expect to be dealing with a 10 yr old. He pulled Daddy aside and asked him for the truth. Paul told him straight up Jacob refiberglassed the canoe last summer, painted it and finished it. The man asked Paul how much of the money the boy got to keep and Paul told him all but $50 to pay for the supplies. With a tear in his eye the gentleman handed Jacob what he originally wanted for the canoe!

They stayed for some time talking and before they left Jacob asked if we could take their picture to keep...what sweet people.

Play'n in the Sandbox

Here is proof big boys, as well as little, like to play in sandboxes. My brother Jeff on the backhoe and my son Daniel on the mini-backhoe, both play'n in the sand today. I love this pic!

Free Family Fun Festival

Starting June 23

Last summer we discovered this free fun. We don't have television or watch movies much so this may excite my children more than yours. We sure enjoyed the G rated films last summer. There were about five Daddy approved films that we ran in and saw, and at this price(free) you can afford that nasty, unhealthy popcorn!

Description;

"Selected G & PG(though in my opinion PG is rarely fit for children or adults) movies start at 10AM each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. First-come, first-served seating is limited to theatre capacity. The Free Family Film Festival is safe, lots of fun and a great way for kids to spend a weekday morning in the summer."