So it's been crazy busy, literally sun up to sun down and then some!
My head is still spinning from the last few days/ week - but I wanted to post a note - if you read this by or before Feb 22, please be praying... my husband is having his right foot reconstructed (yes, they are rebuilding his foot!) on the 22nd - it's a 5 hour surgery slot, though I hope and pray everything goes really well and they don't need that long - that's a long time to be "under" and a lot of drugs to get a big guy there!! Anyway, please be praying for the surgery to go well, and for his recovery time as well! Also, if you don't mind saying a prayer for me to get over this virus (z-pack antibiotics on board, and they have a good "kick" to them, so hoping this throat thing is gone by Friday!!) and to be able to do everything I need to do that my husband and I both usually do... and I'll be playing nurse to my husband (which I'm really looking forward to, for the record! *grin*)
We are taking next week off of school in the name of spring break, though the older kids will spend a good part of that time working through 4-H project books (sewing and cooking, mostly) and helping me with barn work when I'm not inside taking care of my husband or our little guy (5 1/2 months old now, if you can believe it!!)
Anyway, prayers are much appreciated - and I'll pop in with updates and our little hobby farm news and everything soon - we're a growin! (not in the human baby way, but in the animal way, haha)
Have a good one - and thanks for remembering us in your prayers this week/ weekend!!
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Road trip!!
You know, we're really, really super blessed that we like to travel, being a military family - and even more so in that our children (yes, all NINE of them!) love to travel as well! I know so many families who hate taking trips and don't even going for a drive... now, don't get me wrong - I love being home (boy howdy! and I'd sure love to be home a whole lot more after our last few weeks of constant busy!!) but I do love going for a nice scenic drive, too!
Yesterday we were blessed with just such a venture. We headed out to Missoula - I've never been there before - and was just kicking myself for having forgotten to bring along a camera! We saw some amazing postcard worthy landscapes - we even drove THROUGH a big, fluffy, white cloud! (I didn't know that was possible, but I guess we were high enough in the mountains and the clouds were low enough... the sky above them was a beautiful blue, the sun shining brightly, and it was warm! At least in the mid 40s, so we only wore light jackets and didn't need our bulky coats! :)
The purpose of the trip was to go look at some horses that were offered to us - "free to a good home" - friend of a friend arrangement. Well, about 3 hours each way, and just gorgeous views!!
So, the horses... you know, my four oldest girls (also the four oldest children, ha) are taking horse education classes through our local 4-H program/ extension office - and of course I'm there, too, since I don't "drop and run" with the kids' activities - so I've been able to glean a lot from the gal who teaches the class, which proved exceedingly helpful as we went to check out these horses!
Now, I know how the old saying goes, "don't look a gift horse in the mouth" - but I'm guessing that whoever said it was trying to give away a horse with really bad teeth - maybe killer morning breath to boot! However, I've learned that looking at the teeth (**after** looking at feet, legs, gait, etc) is very important - and can give some good clues about a horse's health. Not to mention that a horse with bad teeth won't be able to eat well and will have problems with droping feed, and consequently dropping weight. So, I looked at feet, at movement, at gait... at teeth... whew - you know, horses have really BIG teeth!! But I digress - it was neat how I was able to use what I learned listening in to the kids' horse teacher's instruction, and I noticed several things - some positive and some not - about the horses we were looking at. We did not take the trailer with us - it was a "go see it" trip, with the assurance that we would not be able to make an emotional snap decision that may or may not be a good one - because we have to go home and think about it and then decide. Both horses, just on the side note category, have promise... both are older - one is just HUGE height wise, the other is much smaller but a trivky catch and had been abused by a previous owner, so he's pretty head shy - once he was haltered (and I learned a new trick on haltering, too! yeah!) he was much more docile. (amazing the difference in his temperament between haltered and unhaltered) So now it's a matter of really thinking through it all and making a decision. Humpf - that's the hard part!
We also looked at a couple of minis - which were absolutely adorable!! however, they have not been socialized, so they would not be a good match for our family - at least that decision was an easy one!!
The drive back was quiet - half of the kids fell asleep after all the running amok around the place we went to see the horses - our kids went exploring with their kids, and so long as they stayed within sight and whistle range, that was ok. They ran and played hard for the almost 2 hours that we were there, and I was very thankful that we had remembered to grab a change of clothes for all of the little ones before we left the house!! So, dry clothes (it was pretty muddy out) and energy spent, it made for an extremely quiet ride back home - I even dozed off a little while during the trip! (yes, my husband was driving, so that was ok! haha - and he was so caffeinated that he was wide awake for the drive. I tell ya, whoever created that Monster energy drink stuff must have a degree in science or something - but whew does it stink!! ah well, TJ likes the taste of it, so I guess that's what really matters. :)
So the drive back home was restful and yet more beautiful scenery, and still wishing I had thought to grab my camera before we headed out! We also saw some good camping places en route, so I'm sure we'll be back up that way some time for a camping trip and I'll take pictures then!
Now to decide on those horses....
Yesterday we were blessed with just such a venture. We headed out to Missoula - I've never been there before - and was just kicking myself for having forgotten to bring along a camera! We saw some amazing postcard worthy landscapes - we even drove THROUGH a big, fluffy, white cloud! (I didn't know that was possible, but I guess we were high enough in the mountains and the clouds were low enough... the sky above them was a beautiful blue, the sun shining brightly, and it was warm! At least in the mid 40s, so we only wore light jackets and didn't need our bulky coats! :)
The purpose of the trip was to go look at some horses that were offered to us - "free to a good home" - friend of a friend arrangement. Well, about 3 hours each way, and just gorgeous views!!
So, the horses... you know, my four oldest girls (also the four oldest children, ha) are taking horse education classes through our local 4-H program/ extension office - and of course I'm there, too, since I don't "drop and run" with the kids' activities - so I've been able to glean a lot from the gal who teaches the class, which proved exceedingly helpful as we went to check out these horses!
Now, I know how the old saying goes, "don't look a gift horse in the mouth" - but I'm guessing that whoever said it was trying to give away a horse with really bad teeth - maybe killer morning breath to boot! However, I've learned that looking at the teeth (**after** looking at feet, legs, gait, etc) is very important - and can give some good clues about a horse's health. Not to mention that a horse with bad teeth won't be able to eat well and will have problems with droping feed, and consequently dropping weight. So, I looked at feet, at movement, at gait... at teeth... whew - you know, horses have really BIG teeth!! But I digress - it was neat how I was able to use what I learned listening in to the kids' horse teacher's instruction, and I noticed several things - some positive and some not - about the horses we were looking at. We did not take the trailer with us - it was a "go see it" trip, with the assurance that we would not be able to make an emotional snap decision that may or may not be a good one - because we have to go home and think about it and then decide. Both horses, just on the side note category, have promise... both are older - one is just HUGE height wise, the other is much smaller but a trivky catch and had been abused by a previous owner, so he's pretty head shy - once he was haltered (and I learned a new trick on haltering, too! yeah!) he was much more docile. (amazing the difference in his temperament between haltered and unhaltered) So now it's a matter of really thinking through it all and making a decision. Humpf - that's the hard part!
We also looked at a couple of minis - which were absolutely adorable!! however, they have not been socialized, so they would not be a good match for our family - at least that decision was an easy one!!
The drive back was quiet - half of the kids fell asleep after all the running amok around the place we went to see the horses - our kids went exploring with their kids, and so long as they stayed within sight and whistle range, that was ok. They ran and played hard for the almost 2 hours that we were there, and I was very thankful that we had remembered to grab a change of clothes for all of the little ones before we left the house!! So, dry clothes (it was pretty muddy out) and energy spent, it made for an extremely quiet ride back home - I even dozed off a little while during the trip! (yes, my husband was driving, so that was ok! haha - and he was so caffeinated that he was wide awake for the drive. I tell ya, whoever created that Monster energy drink stuff must have a degree in science or something - but whew does it stink!! ah well, TJ likes the taste of it, so I guess that's what really matters. :)
So the drive back home was restful and yet more beautiful scenery, and still wishing I had thought to grab my camera before we headed out! We also saw some good camping places en route, so I'm sure we'll be back up that way some time for a camping trip and I'll take pictures then!
Now to decide on those horses....
Saturday, February 2, 2013
National Boy Scouts of America week!
National Scout Week is February 3 through 9 this year, and is the anniversary week of the Boy Scouts of America!
Go scouts!! :) ***cheering***
I love that the Boy Scouts has held to their convictions, even in the face of opposition from the liberal agenda - I love how the Cub Scouts offers great opportunities to learn and grow for our boys who are not yet old enough for the full fledged Boy Scouts, and I love how much fun my son has working on all the projects in his book each year! :)
(Proud wife to an Eagle Scout and Mama to a Cub Scout)
Go scouts!! :) ***cheering***
I love that the Boy Scouts has held to their convictions, even in the face of opposition from the liberal agenda - I love how the Cub Scouts offers great opportunities to learn and grow for our boys who are not yet old enough for the full fledged Boy Scouts, and I love how much fun my son has working on all the projects in his book each year! :)
(Proud wife to an Eagle Scout and Mama to a Cub Scout)
Friday, February 1, 2013
February... already??
I changed the calendar page this morning after seeing my husband off to work, and it struck me (kind of a "duh!" moment, but still...) that it's already February!! I was just getting used to it being 2013, and here it is in the second month... time goes so fast, it seems!
So of course life is busy - as always! My 13 year old is recovering nicely from her second foot surgery (corrective for a hyper-flexible flat foot - seems kind of oxymoronic, doesn't it?? but ya know...) - the doc says she should be back up and running in no time, and she's very much looking forward to that!!
and just in time...
My dear husband is set to have a rather invasive surgery to correct what the VA hospital did and to get his foot fixed up (he also has flat foot, but only in one foot) cutting and moving bones, fusing other bones, removing the implant the VA hospital put in, and more... the surgery is scheduled to take 5 hours. Amazingly, he isn't nervous! (he's relieved and looking forward to not being in pain anymore!) Well, I'm probably nervous enough for the both of us anyway, haha! We both have absolute trust that the doc handling the surgery is good (he's the one who did our daughter's surgery) so there are no qualms there - just the long procedure makes me a bit nervous - but he should be fine! He's in good hands *and* he has a good doc who is also in good hands! :) Still, your prayers are appreciated!! The Lord's hands are a good place to be, but extra prayers never hurt, do they?? *grin*
So for the next 3 weeks we get to be uberly busy - I need to sit down and make out a project/ goal list outlining what I need to do each week while my husband is away, and he wants me to outline what projects we need to tackle together before his surgery, because afterward he will be down and out for a few months - no weight bearing on that foot for 2 or 3 months! (I wonder how the military is going to accept that... kind of hard for a cop to do his job if he can't walk or run! we still have to figure out how convalescant leave works - 21 years of active duty service and he's never gone down on convalescant leave, so this is a new one for us!) So yeah, lots of busy coming up and going on and... whew! Well, that's ok - we'll rest when we're old! ;) (of course I'm told that with all the premature white/ gray hair, I'm already old - that's ok! I've earned those!!) :)
Yup - lots of busy!
Oh, the stairs? They are finished - just working on some finishing touches with the upstairs hallway and by the back door, then I'll post pictures :)
Next up? fixing my washing machine (it quit working yesterday - not a good thing for a family of 11! the part is ordered and in the meanwhile, I'm hand scrubbing with my old scrub board - like a prairie woman of old, yes? It's good exercise for the arms, that's for sure!!) and then the barn - preparing for pigs, and our spring butchering of the older cow... and did I mention we've been offered some horses? Our horse is lonely, so we've wanted to get her a companion - we've been offered four, we hope to take one or two of them, but have to go see them first! (7 hours round trip, though, so it has to work into the schedule!)
Yes, the little farm-stead is growing and adapting and alive!! :) How fun! :) speaking of which, I need to clean out the chicken coop... I'd better get busy! Have a great weekend!!
So of course life is busy - as always! My 13 year old is recovering nicely from her second foot surgery (corrective for a hyper-flexible flat foot - seems kind of oxymoronic, doesn't it?? but ya know...) - the doc says she should be back up and running in no time, and she's very much looking forward to that!!
and just in time...
My dear husband is set to have a rather invasive surgery to correct what the VA hospital did and to get his foot fixed up (he also has flat foot, but only in one foot) cutting and moving bones, fusing other bones, removing the implant the VA hospital put in, and more... the surgery is scheduled to take 5 hours. Amazingly, he isn't nervous! (he's relieved and looking forward to not being in pain anymore!) Well, I'm probably nervous enough for the both of us anyway, haha! We both have absolute trust that the doc handling the surgery is good (he's the one who did our daughter's surgery) so there are no qualms there - just the long procedure makes me a bit nervous - but he should be fine! He's in good hands *and* he has a good doc who is also in good hands! :) Still, your prayers are appreciated!! The Lord's hands are a good place to be, but extra prayers never hurt, do they?? *grin*
So for the next 3 weeks we get to be uberly busy - I need to sit down and make out a project/ goal list outlining what I need to do each week while my husband is away, and he wants me to outline what projects we need to tackle together before his surgery, because afterward he will be down and out for a few months - no weight bearing on that foot for 2 or 3 months! (I wonder how the military is going to accept that... kind of hard for a cop to do his job if he can't walk or run! we still have to figure out how convalescant leave works - 21 years of active duty service and he's never gone down on convalescant leave, so this is a new one for us!) So yeah, lots of busy coming up and going on and... whew! Well, that's ok - we'll rest when we're old! ;) (of course I'm told that with all the premature white/ gray hair, I'm already old - that's ok! I've earned those!!) :)
Yup - lots of busy!
Oh, the stairs? They are finished - just working on some finishing touches with the upstairs hallway and by the back door, then I'll post pictures :)
Next up? fixing my washing machine (it quit working yesterday - not a good thing for a family of 11! the part is ordered and in the meanwhile, I'm hand scrubbing with my old scrub board - like a prairie woman of old, yes? It's good exercise for the arms, that's for sure!!) and then the barn - preparing for pigs, and our spring butchering of the older cow... and did I mention we've been offered some horses? Our horse is lonely, so we've wanted to get her a companion - we've been offered four, we hope to take one or two of them, but have to go see them first! (7 hours round trip, though, so it has to work into the schedule!)
Yes, the little farm-stead is growing and adapting and alive!! :) How fun! :) speaking of which, I need to clean out the chicken coop... I'd better get busy! Have a great weekend!!
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