Thanks mom for the great outfits for the children! They look wonderful!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Together
The girls are thrilled to have little brother (who is getting bigger all the time!). Hosanna thanks God all the time that He gave her a brother who smiles at her.
Must be Santa?
Jeff installed a second stove and chimney this year. 'Tis a scary thing to cut a hole in your own ceiling (I guess less scary than cutting a hole in someone elses).
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
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Friday, July 16, 2010
New Suits
Jeff's company is have a pool party for all the employee families this Saturday, so since the girls have needed new suits I decided to make them myself. I tried to scale down my adult pattern to fit their little bodies (with a bit of trouble), but I think they turned out pretty nicely. The girls were thrilled to have had me sewing on their behalf.
Store-Bought Turkeys
These turkeys we ordered online and they were shipped through the mail service - it's that amazing! Turkeys have poor sight so we had to put colorful marbles and buttons in their food and water so they would be able to find it. Some even with constant checking did not make it -but a few weeks later we have fourteen that are strong and loudly peep for every little need they have.
Turkeys Hatching
We have been less than successful in the past at incubating eggs - three rounds of chicken eggs about a year ago produced nothing. So, needless to say we were all completely surprised when turkey eggs that our neighbor gave us hatched. Two hatched and one made it. Turkeys are not very strong creatures - many things can go wrong within the first week or two. But the one that did survive is still growing!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Final Three
Saturday marks 37 weeks of pregnancy - so we are in the final three weeks. Hosanna told a friend the other day, "We have three more weeks and no months left." That kinda sums it up! Still waiting on the Lord for the perfect name for the third Youngin'.
Mowin'
Jubilee has been promoted to assistant lawn mower - there is a self-propelled feature so even our 6 1/2 year old can push!
Mother's Day Tea
The girls and I had a fantastic time at a tea party this Mother's Day - we all got to dress up and do our hair. :)
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Early Summer fruitfulness
We have lots happening now on our 'mini-farm!'
GOATS
After setting up our garden, we started making plans for goats. We bought 3 does - a breed called Nigerian Dwarf. They stand about 21" high and don't weigh a whole lot. They are bred for both milk and meat.
We needed a buck to go with them so they could have kids and produce milk for us. We responded to an ad for young bucks for $50 and planned to pick one up. Jeff decided to ask if they were interested in trading, and the owners ended up giving the buckling to us for free!
RABBITS
We had already bought a few baby rabbits from someone, and Jeff asked if he was interested in trading for a goat - we don't really need to have 3 females being bred (6 baby goat kids?) to have 3 goats to milk next year. So we traded a doe and received an adult rabbit pair weighing about 25 pounds together. We also received a cage for them, and two turkey poults. speaking of turkeys..
TURKEYS
We had ordered 15 "heritage breed" Turkey Poults which will be full grown by Thanksgiving time. They shipped 16, since some may die, and it happened that 3 didn't make it, but they even refunded for those. Neighbors gave us some turkey eggs and two ended up hatching for us - our first ever to hatch in the incubator, after 30+ eggs.
So at one time we had 20 poults, but now have 14. Kind of takes the idealism out of ya to have that many precious commodities go underground within one week!
More to come.
GOATS
After setting up our garden, we started making plans for goats. We bought 3 does - a breed called Nigerian Dwarf. They stand about 21" high and don't weigh a whole lot. They are bred for both milk and meat.
We needed a buck to go with them so they could have kids and produce milk for us. We responded to an ad for young bucks for $50 and planned to pick one up. Jeff decided to ask if they were interested in trading, and the owners ended up giving the buckling to us for free!
RABBITS
We had already bought a few baby rabbits from someone, and Jeff asked if he was interested in trading for a goat - we don't really need to have 3 females being bred (6 baby goat kids?) to have 3 goats to milk next year. So we traded a doe and received an adult rabbit pair weighing about 25 pounds together. We also received a cage for them, and two turkey poults. speaking of turkeys..
TURKEYS
We had ordered 15 "heritage breed" Turkey Poults which will be full grown by Thanksgiving time. They shipped 16, since some may die, and it happened that 3 didn't make it, but they even refunded for those. Neighbors gave us some turkey eggs and two ended up hatching for us - our first ever to hatch in the incubator, after 30+ eggs.
So at one time we had 20 poults, but now have 14. Kind of takes the idealism out of ya to have that many precious commodities go underground within one week!
More to come.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Our Garden Beginnings
A gracious neighbor allowed us to borrow their roto-tiller - probably after seeing this pregnant woman out in the dirt with my shovel for two weeks. The little progress I had made with my shovel was surpassed by the machine in a matter of 25 minutes. I guess yielding to progress has some benefits - let's not pretend we are actually committed to non-electric ways, we just don't own the machines yet. :) Jeff drove the "Bronco" (brand name!) through the dirt well!
Spring has Sprung
It sure has been a while since I have posted on our blog, but we have plenty blog-worthy events to share now. Top on the list is Jubilee and Hosanna and thier matching outfits which a friend gave to us. The girls were so excited to match that they wanted me to take their picture outside. (So this is what Mama's photography has produced.) They are getting bigger and sweeter all the time!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Winter 2009 family and life update
As always, there are lots of changes going on in our family. We have recently said "goodbye" to our foster boys. They were part of our family for 14 months. For a short while, we thought they were going to be adoptable, but a cousin with whom they lived before was able to take them back, and she adores them. This was a difficult change for all of us, and especially for the girls. They lost their playmates - 'brothers' whom they loved for the year. Hosanna cried all morning about 5 days after they left. Jubilee cried as well but understood more. We can say that it was a good lesson in loving and serving those in a time of need.
Around the time that we both heard that the boys would be moved, we also found out that we were expecting a new Young! This is such a wonderful gift from God. Samantha is ending the first trimester this month and we hope she will be less handicapped by the sickness and weakness she has experience since mid-November. Some days she would try to clean the kitchen and then be sick and wiped out the rest of the day.
The little Young is due August 7th, so we have another summer baby. When we told the children, Jubilee cried tears of joy, and Hosanna pointed out that God has really answered our prayers. We are thrilled for this new member of our family. Jeff is very hopeful for a boy, and thankful that the girls will be able to help Samantha so much, being that they'll be 5 & 7 around the time of the birth.
WORK news:
Jeff has been working as a substitute teacher all over the county. From high school math, middle school special education, to elementary P.E., he has learned how to adapt and teach just about anything! He has also been working one-on-one with clients with challenges and disabilities. This has been a learning curve, but also a rewarding time. With all the different teaching experiences in this past year, including group home work with at-risk youth, public school and one-on-one clients, Jeff has decided to pursue a Master's degree in education. Possibly a general education program, but he is also interested in a Special Education degree to work with those with learning and behavioral issues. One option is an online program through the local university that starts this summer, taking up to 3 years, including pre-requisite classes. Other options are being prayed about.
HOME LIFE:
Samantha: I have especially enjoyed teaching Jubilee how to read and work with her on homeschool assignments. It seems almost like a miracle that I have taught our daughter to read. Hosanna and I enjoy sitting together on the couch and learning numbers and letters with a doodle board. (This is a magnetic, quickly erasable board that's clearly readable.) I used the "cuddle approach" when teaching her and she enjoys every minute of it. :)
FARM?
We sold most of our chickens at the onset of winter, as they don't lay eggs through the cold months without extra lighting, but eat just as much food. We also had little market for eggs without the time to pursue it.
Our two sheep have grown up and our lamb has become a ram. We have personal experience on why they were given the name "Ram." He has taken to the girls very dearly - and they run for dear life with great fear! We have moved them into the lower pasture/garden. Jeff's hope is that the ewe will become pregnant and we can sell Firefly the Ram/Lamb.
With so many changes, God has been faithful to provide and bring peace. It has been such a comfort to rely on the Lord through job changes, court decisions in foster care, and pregnancy sickness. He certainly stands by us through it all. The Lord helps us to love each other and draw close to one another through the blessings and trials. He is faithful! And we are so glad to be His!
Around the time that we both heard that the boys would be moved, we also found out that we were expecting a new Young! This is such a wonderful gift from God. Samantha is ending the first trimester this month and we hope she will be less handicapped by the sickness and weakness she has experience since mid-November. Some days she would try to clean the kitchen and then be sick and wiped out the rest of the day.
The little Young is due August 7th, so we have another summer baby. When we told the children, Jubilee cried tears of joy, and Hosanna pointed out that God has really answered our prayers. We are thrilled for this new member of our family. Jeff is very hopeful for a boy, and thankful that the girls will be able to help Samantha so much, being that they'll be 5 & 7 around the time of the birth.
WORK news:
Jeff has been working as a substitute teacher all over the county. From high school math, middle school special education, to elementary P.E., he has learned how to adapt and teach just about anything! He has also been working one-on-one with clients with challenges and disabilities. This has been a learning curve, but also a rewarding time. With all the different teaching experiences in this past year, including group home work with at-risk youth, public school and one-on-one clients, Jeff has decided to pursue a Master's degree in education. Possibly a general education program, but he is also interested in a Special Education degree to work with those with learning and behavioral issues. One option is an online program through the local university that starts this summer, taking up to 3 years, including pre-requisite classes. Other options are being prayed about.
HOME LIFE:
Samantha: I have especially enjoyed teaching Jubilee how to read and work with her on homeschool assignments. It seems almost like a miracle that I have taught our daughter to read. Hosanna and I enjoy sitting together on the couch and learning numbers and letters with a doodle board. (This is a magnetic, quickly erasable board that's clearly readable.) I used the "cuddle approach" when teaching her and she enjoys every minute of it. :)
FARM?
We sold most of our chickens at the onset of winter, as they don't lay eggs through the cold months without extra lighting, but eat just as much food. We also had little market for eggs without the time to pursue it.
Our two sheep have grown up and our lamb has become a ram. We have personal experience on why they were given the name "Ram." He has taken to the girls very dearly - and they run for dear life with great fear! We have moved them into the lower pasture/garden. Jeff's hope is that the ewe will become pregnant and we can sell Firefly the Ram/Lamb.
With so many changes, God has been faithful to provide and bring peace. It has been such a comfort to rely on the Lord through job changes, court decisions in foster care, and pregnancy sickness. He certainly stands by us through it all. The Lord helps us to love each other and draw close to one another through the blessings and trials. He is faithful! And we are so glad to be His!
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