Autumn Around Us...

I haven't posted in months and I have been chastised for it.  Repeatedly.  I have been busy, but also just very lazy.  The kids started school in mid-August.  How nice is it to have ALL the kids in school all day 4 days a week?! (We don't have school on Mondays here...)  So nice that I have become lazy and spoiled.  My only 'job' is maintaining the house and caring for our animals.  And still I am surprisingly behind on laundry.  ugh!

This is the kids' first day of school.  Dallin would not cooperate.  Emma is in K, cole in 2nd, Zoe in 4th, Aubree in 6th (Jr.High), and Dallin is in 8th grade.  They ride the bus together to and from school.  It is so nice.

I cannot believe my baby is in school!

Our animals are doing well. 

Our 23 hens are producing eggs too well.  We have been gathering 18+ eggs a day for months.  We simply cannot give them away fast enough.  I have been offering hens to friends to alleviate the massive amounts of eggs.  Fried eggs, boiled eggs, poached eggs, scrambled eggs... Just the look of eggs make me feel queasy...

Check out this monster sized egg we found one day.  It is next to a medium sized egg.

On a good note... one of our hens hatched some chicks!  2 survived.  "HennyPenny" is currently raising her babies and they are in the "homely" stage.  One may be a rooster.

We lost one of our goats, Sprinkles a few months back.  We had tied her out and she strangled herself.  We were really sad. :(

Our surviving goat, Cheese, is healthy, but highly annoying.  What was once "cute" is now a nuisance.  She thinks it is precious to sit on our laps.  When an animal is 100+ lbs with horns... so NOT precious!  I have started tethering her in the yard, because otherwise she can get out of her enclosure in 1 second.  Allowing her to wander freely means tons of poop on the front steps and the possibility of a goat running in the house.  Both are uncool.  Trying to get a goat out of the drivers seat is always fun, as is trying to unload groceries.  I have to fight her for the bread and veggies every time.  And the most awesome thing: imagine welcoming guests to your door, with goat droppings everywhere.  "You know you're a red-neck when..."

Nice.

We had purchased another lamb as a sister for Bella to hang out with.  They love being with the goat, too.  The sheep (Bella & Meadow) are healthy, large, and so sweet.  Compared to our goat, anyway.  They are very attached to Cheese, so sometimes they get loose and get in trouble also.  But they are followers that are much easier to handle.  Fun stuff.

It is nearly time to breed the goat and sheep.  I cannot wait for them to be mothers. Meadow will be a wonderful mother.  She loves to "mother" the cats.  She even beat up my mom's pup when he pestered the cats.  LOL.

At least Cheese will earn her keep with some milk!  Mmmm!  Chevre...

My children have been enjoying school (mostly) and the wonderful Fall weather.  Of course it is hot some days and cold the next, but that is fun to us.  This morning we awoke to frost and ice everywhere! Emma had a blast "skating" across a mud puddle.

We had a Fall Festival with a Hay ride at the Branch on a nice cool day.  We had a blast.  Halloween was fun.  But as usual I did not take pictures.  We are looking forward to having Thanksgiving with the Branch at the church.  We love it here!

Summer Break On the Farm

I haven't posted in awhile.  Whoops!  I have been busy with end of the school year stuff and the first week of summer vacation.  And my husband is officially living here, so I have been enjoying that immensely!  I kinda like having him around for some reason... ;)

Farm News:  We now have 2 little ewes (female sheep), Bella and her new "sister" Meadow.  Meadow has been here for nearly 2 weeks and is adjusting fine.  At first she was a bit freaky.  Not only is she HUGE next to Bella (momma milk, I suppose), but she had been out to pasture all her life and was NOT tame.  At all!  She would go barreling through, ramming her head against fences, to get away from us, etc.  Thank heavens for Bella!  Meadow has been used to being a part of the flock and follwing all they did.  Bella is very tame and lovey, so Meadow has learned to tolerate me and follow me into her pens.  I still am not allowed to touch her, but she doesn't freak out when I am nearby.

Bella and Meadow

Meadow being shy

All of the other animals are doing well.  They are growing quickly!  Our chickens look like adults.  The roosters (there are 3, oh heavens!) are starting to crow a bit, fight a bit, and one is even "acting his part".  Blech!  We will keep one, maybe two.

Our chickens are growing up nicely

Capt'n Dudley Haddock (Cole named him) is watching over his ladies

The twins are so cute and fun!  They are into everything and are little Houdinis!  We have to make sure their enclosures are VERY secure!  They love playing around, climbing on everything, and head-butting anything.  Emma made the mistake of playing "head-butt" with the twins one afternoon.  She ended up regretting it (sore bum and forehead)!

Cheese & Sprinkles are growing quickly and loving life

The twins love torturing the cats (head butting them), and Ruby is ever vigilant

Fun stuff:  We got are garden going with tomatoes, swiss chard, green beans, yellow squash, zuchini, cucumbers, and watermelons.  Yum!  It was HARD WORK (especially when the ground hasn't been worked in a few years)!  We had to till several times, hoe into into rows, plant, and mulch it (straw).  But it looks nice.  We cannot wait to get some veggies!



We now officially have baby grapes!  We have 3-4 old Concord grape vines going strong.  How awesome will it be to have fresh juice and jam?!

A nice close up, the bunch is about 2 1/2 inches long

Glorious, glorious grapes!

The coolest thing...

We have a PEAR TREE that is producing highly!  We didn't even know we had a pear tree!

AND we have TWO.... drum roll, please... APPLE TREES!  Woohoo!  I am just a bit excited.  Can't you tell?

Okay, okay.  The fuits are only about 1 inch long right now.  But how cool is that?!

I should probably say something about my kids... they love summer!!!

Why Missouri?! Part 2

The events over the past few weeks have really strengthened my testimony and have been truly uplifting.  They have solidified my testimony that we have been inspired to move here.  The experiences that my oldest son alone has had recently are enough reason to have come.  He has a greater desire to do what is right and an unshakable testimony in the validity of a living prophet today. 

After reflection, I have noted some changes in our life now versus a few months prior.  I feel closer to the spirit overall.  Mind you, it is likely that I have been greatly humbled to be living so far away from my husband at present (He is currently on his way to Venezuela for 10 days).  And it is always humbling to have a new calling ( I LOVE YW!). However, there is more to it than that.

One thing I do not miss:  that feeling of "keeping up with the Joneses".  Firstly, there are no neighbors to keep up with (we obviously do not associate with our 'mental' neighbor).  And everyone is poorer here, including ourselves (due to a house payment back in TX).  But it is just refreshing to be in an area where I am not tempting to go shopping and find good deals or to covet the belongings of others.  I feel it is easier to stay away from those temptations.  I even feel like I could go grocery shopping in my pjs and no one would care.  SO nice!

Lately, I have been taught the hard way to avoid judging others and keep my mouth shut.  I had a prideful "I am so well trained to be a leader" attitude when we moved here that was completely inappropriate.  I am since trying my best to watch my thoughts and try to see the best in everyone around me.  There has been contention here due to others judging others, backbiting, and taking offense.  I was a part of some of that.  I am trying my best to change my attitude and repent of my tendencies to find fault in others and to be negative.

It has been refreshing to have true "work" to do outside.  I love that we see a natural cause and effect in the natural world around us.  Imagine.  If you put a seed in the ground and tend it, it grows.  If you love and care for animals, they thrive and love you in return.  Duh, Amie!  I know.  It still does not mean that these things are not little miracles!

I also love watching valiant youth sharing their talents and being the best examples.  I watch these kids and feel so much hope for the future of the Church.  They are so spiritually strong, despite their trials and the difficult world we live in.  I have been honored to have the opportunity to serve in YW and to have been associated with them all.

We love it here.  Its as simple as that.  I miss my family and friends back in Texas.  Very badly.  But I know that this is where we are supposed to be.  And I rejoice in that knowledge.  I can see my children raising their own children here.  They love the fresh air, beauty of nature, and simplicity of life here.  We love Missouri.

Why Missouri?!

We have been getting this question quite a bit over the past few months, from friends and family back home, and even our new acquaintances here. So I thought I'd answer on my blog. Why did we leave our perfectly comfortable life in the Houston, TX area to move out in "the sticks"? By choice, even?! I cannot give a simple answer to this question. I have been reflecting on this a lot.

My husband and I have been craving a simpler life, a country life, since we were first married over 14 years ago. He was blessed to live on a farm in Oregon for a few years in his childhood and loved it. I took FFA in high school and raised 2 pigs, despite the "nerd" label I got from it. We just both have sought for a chance to have a little parcel of land to grow a vegetable garden and some animals. For fun. For a little more self-reliance. For our kids to learn responsibilty and appreciate nature.

We had tried to find this dream property in the Houston area. We tried to purchase properties and failed after many attempts. It just wasn't meant to be in that area. We continued to feel a feeling of changes ahead, of "waiting" for something to materialize. It took us a few years.

More recently, I have felt this need to become more self-reliant, to be prepared. I worked on learning new skills and food storage. That helped. But it wasn't enough. I have always been a bit more "granola" than my peers. I had 2 homebirths, just to prove I could do it if necessary. I homeschooled my kids for a spell. I always felt this need to learn certain skills for that "just in case". Am I a bit doomsday? Yes. I am. I worry about many things that could be in these perilous times. So I naturally have been feeling a need to go to the country.

But WHY MISSOURI?

We had been looking at dream properties online for a few years. We looked all over. Maine, Alaska, Oregon, Utah, Arizona... but we kept coming back to Missouri. We found a few properties that were the most tempting, but one in particular. And in October of 2011, we took the plunge and drove out to see them. That favorite of ours was definitely "the place" for us. My mom knew it, too. We decided to bid a bit less and see what the response would be. Obviously, it was accepted.

We are LDS, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. But we were not seeking to build up Zion in the New Jerusalem. As a sweet sister in our new Branch has said, we were prayed here by some very good members. I like that.

And we love it here. We have 40 acres of beautiful land. The soil is so rich and fertile. We are slowly acquiring the animals we have dreamed about. We have met the nicest people and truly feel at home here. We feel like we have a work to do here, both temporally and spiritually. But we still do not know the full answer of why Missouri. If I ever figure it out, I'll let you know.

Bella Is a Little Lamb...

I really need to get acclimated! It is so much colder here. I know I am just a wimp, but seriously! I seem to be cold at all times! And this is the mildest winter they have had here in some time. Brrr!

This morning I mucked out a small animal stall in the barn. It was way too cold and windy! We need to get our Miss Lamby outside soon. She thinks she a house-lamb, spoiled thing! There is a danger in not moving her out soon. If we do not get her acclimated, she could catch pneumonia. Obviously, we do not want a very huge ewe (female sheep) roaming through the house. Not so sanitary. You cannot "housebreak" sheep. So the stall should be a good place for her. We have a heat lamp to put in there and it has 4 sides to shelter her from the elements. She is gonna move out there tomorrow afternoon. Its supposed to warm up.

We started to notice that she has scours. That's animal diarrhea. Not good. We went to a feed store and bought some meds for her (electrolyte solution with medication for scours). We also bought her some clean bedding, pine shavings, for her stall. Bella needed a bathy, to clean her hind quarters. Getting poop balls out of wool is not easy. Pretty gross! (Admit it, you are jealous!) But now she is all clean, fed, and sleeping comfortably. We are learning how to be good lamb parents. Its just hard when you know absolutely nothing! We look like total idiots, I am sure!

I have so much to do around here! I need to fully unpack. I need to till up my garden area. I need to clean out the chicken coop. On and on. But its kinda fun, too. This is definitely a different way of life. We are such novices!

We have arrived!

After a nearly 17 hour drive, we have arrived! We had a relatively uneventful drive, although Chester (our dog) had an accident in his cage. GROSS! But, we are home safely.

Grammie had a surprise waiting for us when we arrived. She was given an orphaned lamb, 5 days old! We named her Bella. She is so precious! We have her in a dog coat and sleeping in a dog crate. Weird, but it works for now. We'll post a video later.

Moving to the Country

Our new home in Gentry, MO

The past week or so has been busy. I have been boxing all our belongings for our big move. We are leaving our home in League City, TX (suburb of Houston, TX) and moving to NW Missouri (Gentry, MO). We are very excited about the days ahead! We will be leaving in 3 days!

I have so much to do! Most of our items are boxed, but today I need to pack up our kitchen. That makes the whole moving thing that much more real! I feel so many mixed feelings. I am SO excited about our move. But I have so many loved ones and wonderful memories here in TX. This is definitely bitter sweet!

There are so many changes ahead! I am so used to having easy access to everything and will soon be a good 20 minutes away from a gas station! I know I have been totally spoiled. Its time to get used to a new way of life! Wish me luck!