Jessica and Angel

Houston…we have a problem.

 

Daddy does not like horses, nor do we have the room to keep one. We own animals that produce or work, not pleasure pets that eat a ton of feed only to give kisses and rides. Jessica has forever had the typical girlish attraction to the beasts. She daydreams of owning a horse, draws pictures and asks what if’s. We have horses in the field next to our home. Last time the owner was here, he mentioned that Jess doesn’t need a saddle or bridle to ride Angel, she only needs the halter she has on. As soon as his pick-up was around the corner that girl was a’sittin on the back of that horse.  It quickly came to the point the horse would no longer listen to Jess without something more than a halter on. Jess was commiserating with her friend Christiana, who tucked that thought away in her little heart. The next time she came over she brought a bit that she had woven reigns from bailing twine onto and she helped Jess attach it to the halter. She showed her how to put molasses on the bit and slip it in Angels mouth. It was magic! A brand new horse. Jess rides her at least 1/2 hr a day and says the horse has had a good workout, but I know it is JESS that is building up confidence in the horse and Jess has had a good confidence workout. The horse could stand to do a bit more as she is a fat ole thing.

 

So that brings be to the two pictures here. Every time Jess goes outside she brings a little nibble of grain from her pocket for Angel. Angel has become like a puppy dog trotting to the fence like when she sees Jess…in return Jess’s heart melts and gets this smile a mile wide. The four horses in the field stay in a tight little herd. Notice the above picture? Angel is away from the herd, staring in the direction of our house, just standing there..seemingly moping. It was too cute. I can’t help but think she is waiting for Jessie.

 

 

I am apprehensively happy for Jess, but keep reminding Jess the horses usually go in the Fall when the pasture fails them. She needs to spend her time thanking the Lord for this blessing of riding every time she is on her back, knowing it will end soon. But while the summer is here, she is the happiest 13 yr old in the county.

Muddy Feets

 

 

That blasted mud hole that mysteriously grew in my front yard after the construction trucks were gone is a source of so joy. Why? Well, dirt makes any day better.  Jessie took the little ones out to play and this was her idea of *play*.

Two chubby muddy little feets.

Mud snowmen baking in the sun. And yes, it happened. Someone left the front door open and those two chubby little feet above came traipsing through my living room carpet to show me a hand full of gushy mud. <sigh>

  

Ma’boys. I asked daddy when he called on his lunch break if I could have his boys do something constructive to help him. He said they could continue taking siding off the house, so I told them to get started. Little did I know all the siding left was 7ft up. They, by themselves, made this scaffolding set up a plank and finished the job. They amaze me, at their age I would have used that as an excuse NOT to work.

Going to the chapel and we're...

gooonna see a weeeeedding...

Oh goodness I never would have thought a wedding would cause this much excitement in our home. Our sweet friend Ms. C is getting married tomorrow. Now, this wedding is super exciting to our family because this is a beautiful courtship wedding. 5 years ago we'd never heard the term outside of old books, much less known what is was, but boy has it captured us now. We are seeking God's Word and learning as much as we can(for every courtship looks different) and here the Lord puts a Godly family in our lives and gives us a beautiful example from start to finish! What a joy watching this all happen first hand, I am so excited for what the future brings for our family and no longer get anxious or worry about...well...what all parents worry about at some point.

I have been asked a million questions today about marriage. Jessica, who is the most inquisitive(and rightfully so!) wants to know all the details of the wedding, which I just do not know. Will she have a cake? Do you think it will be big? I wonder what her dress looks like? I wonder what he will look like? I bet her Daddy will cry. Will my Daddy cry? I chimed in and said I bet her Mamma will cry too, I will! Jessie was asked to possibly serve at the wedding, so she is busy dreaming about her job if they do need her. Outfits for the children have been picked out for the big *wedding* by Jessie and Emma, suits pressed. Gracie came floating down the staircase all dressed up in her version of "wedding day clothes". I have never been this excited for someone else's wedding before, it's just goofy.

I think the clincher for my girls will be Ms. C and Mr. H's first kiss at the alter. Someone will mention something about it and everyone melts in giggles and the boys slap their forehead and turn red. Ms. C and Mr. H have never given their heart to another or given away their first kiss. Something again that is such a hard concept to grasp in today's world.

Since Ms. C lives in Lynden and Mr. H lives in Oregon, the wedding is half way down the state so we have about a nice 4hr drive to make in the morning. Thank you Lord for bringing these families into our lives and showing us a better way than what we did. It is all about honoring you in with our lives.

Country Boys

I smile when I see these pictures. I was raised in the Lynden city limits most of my life. Many of my friends were large dairy farm owners and I loooooved to visit their homes. I savored that county life while visiting them. The loud large family environment, the mice in your barn boots, “poop skiing” behind a cow(grab it’s tail in the mucky barn, slap it’s rump and hold on!), bucking hay till you collapsed, feeding calves, drinking your own cows milk…ahhhhh….

I wanted to raise my children living a simple slow paced life, with farm animals coming out of our ears. Very much contrary to what we see around us. 

The feed store won’t allow us to afford farm animals coming out of our ears, but the Lord has seen fit to grant the desires of our heart to raise our children living a simple, slow-paced life. His Word has been our direction. To us, this is what is important: not a hurried life, not a calendar full of scribbles, a parked vehicle  & no need for a watch(and I don’t wear one). Life’s lived too quickly, children grown too fast, regrets come slithering in.

 

Which brings me to my pictures that make me smile. We had a sick chicken. It just didn’t *look* right. I could tell she wasn’t going to be with us in the morning so Daniel asked me what do with her. I said “butcher her up son.” Oh how his eyes twinkled! As you’ve read, this isn’t their first time.

 

In the *Cone of Death* she went and her lights were out in no time flat. The boys were busy naming the different organs and their function as they pulled them out.

 

In no time flat, we had ourselves a nice tasty meal that was sufficient for our large pot of spaghetti tonight. Mmmm good.  What providers!

It does my heart good to see them so confident and able.

Then comes my princess. Dress on backwards, mud on her cheeks, a nightcrawler in her right hand and a crown on her pertty little head.

Ah Summer…

I think we are seeing a glimpse of summer today. I hear the lawn mower, the hammer pounding and children laughing. Paul reminded me that I have a glorified wheel chair awaiting me in the wood shed. I got to enjoy some sun! 

3 minutes into the ride and my dog and all seven children are onboard. Even Elijah started crying and running for me. It’s bad. The tub I am pulling is quite handy. It is a large water tank Paul picked up somewhere. We cut it in half to make two tubs. We use this tub as our poultry brooder, puppy pen, and meat bird hauler. I’m thinking it will make a great sled, too.

 

 

Thank you sweetheart for taking out the window you had put there and buying(Craigslist!) and installing it, just because I asked. It will be so nice to have an exit.

   

Siding! It is looking like a real house.

  

My men. Micah is a very hard worker. At times he puts his big brothers to shame! Daddy sure enjoys having him along side.

The children’s Brick Factory. Made to order.

 

Elijah is intrigued by the meat birds.

 

My big 14m old boy. Goodness, where does the time go?!

Our pastured birds. Our Cornish cross are doing very well. The boys(Jacob 11, Daniel 9) do all the the upkeep which has been a huge blessing to turn that over to them 100%. We have had a few more causalities this year because of this, but they are learning. Raising animals builds such great self discipline and responsibility. We eat these birds. We want them fed well, pastured, and kept spotless and healthy. Raised in the sun and free to live a good quality life doing what birds do naturally, as much as we are able to offer. No filth, no growth hormones, no vaccines, no pesticides. Just happy birds that eat a gob a food!   

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Jacob and Daniel with their chicken(+ 1 turkey) tractors. Moved each morning.

 

Daisy, Daisy.

 

“Left-over”. His last five minutes of being a buckling. Paul and I wethered him this afternoon. Poor thing. He is not happy with life right now. 

 

The 8 wk old goatlings enjoying the sun.

 

Lillie the chicken-poop-cleaner-upper and Jake the cowdog.

Junie is all ours

We weaned Junies triplets. They are none too happy with us, but that is the way life goes. You must grow up and give that precious milk you've been hoarding to someone else. Someone who deserves it more. 161 hand milkings resulted in nothing for us but three perpetually hungry kids, yelling....no screaming at us through every milking. Selfish little things they are. The result has been three beautiful healthy HUGE goatlings. Hopefully as tasty as they are cute.

So that brings me to why I blogged. No reason really. As I sit in my chair paying for a day of rebelling yesterday, I will blog. My legs are punishing me for it, but I just couldn't take it any longer. I had to get up and get out.

We had goat milk this morning. Junies raw freshly milked milk. MMmmmmm....yummy. I heard cheers of joy as I ordered our big 25lb box-o-granola from Azure. Our favorite lunch is a big glass of goat yogurt with 1/2 C of granola mixed in. The kids go nuts over it and it is so filling.

BTW, Chloe never kidded. We had that cute little ticker that said she was due mid May. Paul and I joked about how BIG she was, but alas, we knew she never took. We bred her three weeks after bringing her to our home so I am sure that is the reason right there. She hadn't adjusted to her new life, hadn't' been fed ideally and we should not have expected her to become pregnant. Oh well, next year.

Be Comforted

Be comforted,

all you who are tried and buffeted with difficulties

in your way towards heaven,

difficulties from without and difficulties from within,
difficulties abroad and difficulties at home,

grief for your own sins and
grief for the sins of others:

the Good Shepherd Jesus knows you well,

though you may not think it.

You never shed a secret tear over your own corruption,
you never breathed a single prayer for forgiveness and helping grace,

you never made a single struggle against wickedness,

which He did not remark and
note down in the book of His remembrance.

You need not fear His not understanding your needs,

you need not be afraid your prayers are too poor
and unlearned to be attended to;

He knows your particular necessities far
better than you do yourselves,

and your humble supplications are no sooner
offered up than heard.

*~ J.C. Ryle*

4:02pm

At this moment...

Paul is at work. He's told he's working 6/12 this week. That is an awful lot of work.

I am in his chair, patiently healing.

Jess is chasing Elijah around on all fours.

Jacob is listening to Jonathan Parks and washing the dishes.

Daniel is somberly reading a storybook, on the couch, in a sleeping bag, wearing a princess crown. Whaaa???

Emma is drying dishes.

Micah is sucking his thumb, reading a book while in the rocking chair. He just woke up.

Gracie is peacefully sleeping. She should be thumping down the staircase any moment, thumb in mouth, pink blanky in hand, looking for a warm Mamma's lap to snuggle in - I can't wait!

Elijah is squealing while he tries to coordinate his little legs to run from his sister as she chases him.

The cat is still missing. :(

It's raining, I hear thunder, I smell Jessie cook'in something yummy.