An Unexpected Day of Spontaneity

 Today has been the "best day ever" according to Taft, which is wonderful to hear him say because also according to him this month has been the worst month ever. 

We had a really fun, random, unexpected spontaneous day! We started this morning by jumping on the trampoline while listening to songs like Jump On It and We Didn't Start the Fire and Here Come the Men in Black. We might have ripped a spring off the trampoline - maybe a trampoline isn't designed for 2 adults and 3 kids, but we sure had a fun time. Taft suspects the cows wanted to jump too because they were all looking at us intently.

Erik made breakfast and we ate it outside. It included pancakes and a chocolate banana shake.

We played pickleball this morning and this afternoon. We went from casually hitting the ball back and forth to designing a makeshift court with a baby gate for a net. 

After pickleball, Taft was hot, so he decided he should swim, which landed all the boys in the hot tub which was heated up for the first time since we have moved in. It was about 80 F outside but the water was 63 F. They swam for almost 2 hours with Erik and Alyssa joining them towards the end. The hot tub made it to 96 F, which made the experience much more enjoyable and tolerable.

Erik also did a Sea World training routine for us! The kids were his whales and dolphins. The pool fun mostly ended when a scorpion was discovered and then lost in the hot tub. It was a little scary staying in there after that!

Erik has been working with all the kids on building a climbing wall. They decided to paint it like the solar system. It is looking so good! It is ready to get the climbing grip things put on and then somehow we will figure out how to stand and mount the wall!

Alyssa and Evan chased chickens. 

Tonight we had a fire and roasted hot dogs, little smokies, and s'mores.

It was just such a pleasant day and we had fun! It's been a long time since I have had good ol' fun. 

Don't forget to remember!

Life passes way too fast and I just want to remember all the good things; all the cuteness and beauty contained in my children and their every day living and their relationships and all of that. Here's some of the moments that brought my heart joy recently.

Evan's a cute diabetic. A lady in the area was giving away a sugar pixel clock, which is a clock that shows your blood sugar all the time. I'm sure to an older person, they don't want their blood sugar displayed, but as a mom of a diabetic, I love it! It's ideal for night time alerts as it has all sorts of loud and vibrational features, but for now it's just in the kitchen. Anyway, I am also so thankful for this lady who gave us this clock. She even shipped it to us and did it all out of the kindness and goodness of her heart. It restores my faith in humanity and the goodness people have in their hearts!

These boys love to play and create and adventure. There's a new park in town and they have a nature play area (let's not mention we live on lots of nature...but whatever...). The boys had so much fun rearranging logs and making obstacle courses and firepits. It was a fun stop at the park. We had just picked up more eggs to hatch (also, the kindness of humanity...the lady we buy eggs from gave us a dozen more to try again...) and were waiting for Alyssa to finish Teen Night at the library. All these things are beautiful things about our life right now. Just happenings, but indicative of what is going well!

Kent and Evan love the crafts from the library. Kent is very good at putting them all together. This one was a rake with leaves!

A regular scene...look at all those kids reading. Even Evan can read graphic novels ;). Sometimes its hard to get the kids to do anything else because they are so good at reading and looking at books.

 

The Hubers Visit!

We had so much fun when the Hubers came to town! We did all the Texas things like got to Buc-ee's and Torchy's Tacos and eat Blue Bell and HEB Creamy Creations ice cream. There was some tractor driving and some hay bale jumping. We crafted our eyeballs out, making t-shirts and garlands and laser cutting water bottles! Trampoline jumping was a must with all the cousins and the magnatiles never got put away! We swam every day almost and enjoyed the first cool days Texas has had in months! It was a blast!

 Come baaaaaccckkkkkk real soon, now, ya hear?!

A smattering of recent events - Gramma and Grandpa's visit, Joel's birthday and farm life

August has proved to be fun and full of adventure so far! Mom and Dad came to visit and see what life is like here on the farm! We enjoyed celebrating Joel's birthday with them.

{Joel is 7! He is very tall for his age pretty much off the chart! He still loves art - drawing pictures and coloring and all things colorful. He likes the animals and enjoys being with them and observing them. Joel is always thinking of an invention that will automate things - from picking carrots to cutting food to feeding animals. Joel is pretty good at roller blading and loves swimming. When we moved in he always wore a floatie when he swam. Now he can swim across the pool unassisted! He would swim every day if I could let him! Joel is also a shark! He is growing new teething behind his old teeth! Hopefully the old teeth will fall out soon. Joel is awesome!}

We spent a day at the Houston Temple, going to Buc-cee's and stopping by the Blue Bell Ice Cream factory.

Saturday was a normal farm day chore. The front field had just been cut and baled so Dad and Mom learned how to drive the tractor and gathered all our bales of hay into the back store lot. We got 20 bales mid summer which is pretty good for Texas.

We also visited a railroad crossing where to railroad lines cross. This was especially exciting for Dad!

This summer has been remarkably mild. We are just now getting over 100 F. Last summer it stopped raining by May and was 100 F by June. I am thankful that we've received a little more rain than that and that we've only had a handful of days above 100 F! My plan for this week is to bake cookies on the dashboard. I've always wanted to do it and when it's 108 F out, you have to hope it can be a success!

I've never considered myself an animal person, but last week we had a net gain of 10 animals on the farm and in the house! 

Alyssa got herself a gecko - his name is Fiyero (cue Elphaba's long Fiiiii-yyyyyeerrrooo refrain from Wicked - it's inevitably sung by each person who learns his name.)

Alyssa and Fiyero

We got 4 cats! I've had a lot of leads for barn cats fall through. The evening after my last hope the Austin animal shelter contacted me that they had 4 cats that were supposed to be picked up that day, but the adoption fell through. I was going to contact them within the next couple of days, so I took it as divine intervention and we picked up Flirty Flame, Lavassa, Perceptions of Reality and Longhorn. They are pretty feral. They live in the catio right now. Flirty Flame is pretty friendly and will play with strings and what not. Everyone else is starting to look more relaxed, but they still keep their distance. We have cats though!

Saturday we got 6 new chicks. We have some eggs in an incubator and are hoping to increase our flock a lot. The eggs will hatch in about 6 days. Then we may have 9ish more chicks as well! I'm so nervous. I hope it goes well!

A new Australorp Chick

Sadly after the addition of those 11 living animals, Miss New Hampshire Red, the head of the flock - first one out every morning, passed away from sickness. I think she had pneumonia. Poor lady. She was 8ish years old. May she rest in peace.

We are expecting Pinball the goat to give birth this weekend. There are also still 4 cows who need to calve! 

This is all to say, again, that I've never considered myself an animal person, but there is something beautiful about this little farm we have here and the life and even the death that happens here. It's fun to see how we all interact with the animals and the joy that comes from taking care of other living things. Just today I was out with the goats and Blinkie made sure that he knew he needed me to scratch his itch. He's a good boy.

With the farm and living around other farms also comes the occasional visitor. We had some neighbor cows visit on Saturday. This big white bull stayed until Monday night when we tricked him into walking through a gate that we hope leads to his real home. We had a few other bulls and calves visiting too. Their owner fixed the fence and took most of them back. I'm not sure why he didn't take his bull with him. He was pretty gentle and liked to coral all the ladies, keeping them in line. 

We still do stuff that doesn't involve animals and farm chores. Taft and Joel made cat inspired pizzas. Taft's was a full size cat and Joel's was a cat face.

Alyssa does lots of puzzles. She can knock out a 500 piece in a couple of hours. Here are a couple of pictures with her and the puzzles she has done.

Evan is cute. He loves his bandaids and his button down shirts (not currently pictured). He is really moving from toddler to pre-schooler. We start co-op next week and he is in pre-k. No more nursery for this guy!

There's a snapshot of life as of late. We start co-op next week. I am teaching a "physics" - motion and simple machines class and helping with a Harry Potter Elementary class. The kids are looking forward to their classes including a class all about dinosaurs, chess, STEAM based in Walt Disney, and intro to Spanish (for Joel :)). We'll start school a couple of weeks after that. We are also looking forward to Claire's visit soon! For now, we're here, fixing fences and watching the sunset and sweating in between. Stay tuned to find out about how chicks hatching goes...and if Pinball really does have a baby and when those other calves are born! Never a dull moment!
















 

Farming on a New Level

 We added a new species to our animal farm today.

Worms.

I just kind of chuckle inside when I think about it; that feeling of giddy joy that kind of starts under your chest and moves up to your cheeks and makes you smile. It's not because I love worms, but I love the enthusiasm of those who have lead us to have worms. 

Brother B, our fishing mentor, is a little appalled by our usage of hot dogs as fish bait. He has brought us several cups of worms. They kind of usually just die in the fridge. On Sunday he told me that we needed to get them a good home so they could grow and reproduce and we would have a good supply of worms for all of our fishing attempts. He brought them by on Monday and today we did a little research and put them up in carbon rich hotels...inside of our fridge. Luckily we have two fridges and they can live in the other fridge.

I think it also makes me giggle because I'm spending my days out in the pasture watching all the little calves running around and hoping and praying with all of my heart that they are nursing and getting enough to eat, but I also now have a little colony of  worms to hope and pray they thrive as well. 

The farm live; the homesteader's dream is romanticized. I don't think there is any way to really know and understand what you are getting into when you choose to live in the country until you get there. I did not plan on living on a farm when I grew up. I don't think I even really planned living on a farm 3 years ago.

I remember the first time we visited the property we are on now. We came out to see the animals for Joel's birthday because he loved sheep and farms. We spoke with the owner who became a dear friend and I just marveled at all that she did for her animals. I could not fathom doing any of that myself. Sure, living on property sounded kind of dreamy - so much nature, but caring for animals, not me!

Circa 2021

And here I am, on the same property 3 years later watching her cows mother their babies, learning to identify them all by their udders, and trying to understand what makes a calf healthy and what is cause for concern. I trim goats hooves, keep the chickens vents clear, and see snakes on my porch. No big deal. But it is a big deal! It is becoming a part of me and it is beautiful.

Having the calves hit the ground in the last week and a half has caused a lot of worry and stress. I feel overwhelmed and inadequate, but I am learning. Encouraging notes from Rebecca that remind me that this experience is for my learning and growth are helpful. I feel strengthened. I have been reminded that we felt sure about moving here and that we can do all things with the inspiration and guidance of the spirit. I have also needed the reminder of my hopes of living on this wide open space. I hoped to be outside, with my family, close to the earth, learning and growing. This is a beautiful place with gorgeous skies and green fields. It is hard. I am a newbie (evidenced every time I ask an employee at Tractor Supply for something as well as all the conversations with Rebecca). But I am having good experiences, enjoying the world Heavenly Father created for us and witnessing His hand through beauty and tender mercies.

Also, I still have kids. We had a flood last week and one of our "chicks" got into the water and had a hard time roosting again. Alyssa thought she was dead and then she blinked! Alyssa scooped her up and Alyssa and Taft spent an hour blow drying her. The things we do for animals around here....

More cute kids...

Evan used the bathroom while I was outside...watching cows...and "needed" me to wipe his bum. I never came so he fell asleep in front of the toilet.

Alyssa makes cookies most Sundays. She often includes her brothers. They are so cute together!

The things we do for cows...