Happy Easter!

In our house we don't really have a  lot of traditions for Easter.  My mom always baked a ham, hid eggs (even when we were well beyond wanting to hunt them) and gave us baskets.  My husband and I have done some of those things since the babies were born.  We always go to church, but that's every Sunday and Wednesday.  We have hidden eggs and gifted them baskets every year but I didn't do it this year.  I told everyone their gift was Six Flags and they were content, but I wasn't and after church I hit Walmart's seasonal aisle and stocked them up with Easter candy.  It certainly made the kids happy but now I'm feeling the "I just gave my kids a ton of unhealthy sugar" guilt.  I really can't win here.  Oh well, hope you all had a great Easter!

Six Flags

Every once in a while you need to take a day to spend with your family doing something fantastic, like going to Six Flags.  Yesterday was the first time my kids have ever been.  I bought the tickets (and spent the same on season tickets as most do at the gate) a few weeks ago.  We have all been looking forward to it.  The weather was perfect!  The lines were low!  It could not have been a better day!

When I was younger I loved the Texas Giant.  I am older now.  I thought I was going to die.  My poor Zack scared me.  It was too much for him and though he didn't scream he was clearly frightful.  However, there were some of our family who couldn't get enough roller coaster.

These two showed up every other person in the family with their roller coaster enthusiasm riding the Texas Giant, Runaway Mountain and the Shockwave then begging for more.  I will give their brother an honorable mention though.  He rode them all too, despite clearly being scared.  There's something to be said for not wanting a girl to make you look weak.

Here he is in line at Runaway Mountain. My goofy Nathan.  This pic just says "derp" and that suits him.  Always silly.

Here are a few more pics of us having fun.

Meeting new friends.

Getting all wet at the Splashdown.

Begging for cotton candy.

Flying and....

Posing

Silly Kids

Taking care of any kid, human or goat, can be very entertaining at times.  All have silliness pent up inside of them oozing out in increments so now and then you get to see something funny, like a goat kid on top of nesting boxes...

or one with green tattoo ink all over her face.

I love how she looks like she's smiling.  I could spend all day sitting outside watching animal antics and my kids (the people ones) would spend the whole day catching chickens and ducks if I let them.  My friend calls it "chicken chunkin" and that's the best way to put it.  The kids just catch and release.  Sometimes they hold them and pet them.  Just now I learned that while I was out this morning that one of my kids brought a goat into the house.  I'm thankful that the teenagers put a stop to it.

Duck, Duck....Goat?

I have been eager to get my husband out to see where I have been getting most of my animals from since he has only seen it in passing so this morning he got up a little early and we drove the 45min to Queenacres.  I have been trying to get there for a few days because of this pair of ducks.

Now we have five ducks.  I loooove watching the ducks!  I can't wait for the weather to be warmer so we can put the kiddy pool out for them to splash around in.  This pair is beautiful.  They are meat birds though.  This pair will breed some birds for the freezer but these two can safely be named.  We are considering Edmund and Lucy.

Duck, Duck...goat?  Yep.  We left home this morning to buy two ducks and came home with another goat.  Meet Ginger.

 I called the kids and told them we had a big surprise for them.  They were definitely surprised!  Now Miss Heidi has moved out of the chicken yard (she was beginning to think she was a bird and we often found her in the coop snuggled up with them) and into the goat pen and poor Doritos is in the chicken yard.  He is upset about it too.  He cried so loud when I left him.  I did spend a long time in there getting him and the ducks settled but he was still upset when I left.  Lydia went and spent more time with him and there are three kids out with Ginger right now.

Here is Miss Lisa playing with Burger.  It will be hard to get them inside tonight.

My Kids are growing

The "kids" are getting bigger every day!  I love to go out and greet "my boys" throughout the day.  This morning it rained while I was out there.  The boys all stood up but instead of the usual fence greeting they stayed in their barn, in the doorway, just looking at me.  Smokey stretched then came out and greeted me.  Burger thought to follow but as soon as he felt that rain he turned around and ran back into the shed.  I had a good laugh.  Doritos never budged.  Like the people you pass that just nod their head in your direction as if to say, "I see you but I'm not coming over there."

Burger is earning the nickname Fat Boy!  Every time I see him he's eating something.  Here he is, munching away on some tree bark.  They love to gnaw on the trees and Lydia loves taking him all over the yard for "exercise."  I'm pretty sure he loves it too.

Doritos is such a handsome boy and full of spirit but clearly not as "social" as Burger.  He greets me mostly when he thinks I may have food.  Today I saw him nuzzle Smokey who licked him in return.  Awww moment if I ever saw one.  Too bad I didn't have my camera handy.

Heidi is still tiny but she's got lots of time to get bigger.  She's ever eager to see us, always coming to the fence with excitement.  Of course, she thinks we have milk every time too...

The goats are not the only kids growing.  Monday was my Zack's ninth birthday.  He got a pretty nice airsoft rifle which I found on amazon at a really good price.  He's a bit of a mess in this pic but in my defense, it's been really windy.

Zack's my special baby.  I may post separately about him or I may even make a separate blog.  He was born with a malformation and has been through quite a bit medically.  He gave us quite the scare a few years ago but by God's grace he has been doing very well for the past four years!  

2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

(KJV)

Oops! Maybe...

About a month and a half ago we rescued a pup from the shelter to train as a livestock guard.  We had advice that hounds might do a good job but, as I understood it, it was best just to get a puppy and raise it with the animals, teaching and guiding it along the way.  The pup we picked was a beautiful little black and white boy labeled as a hound mix.  He had marking that suggested it was possible he really was.  Nature has fooled us all! 

Meet Smokey.  Notice the ears?  Pit bull maybe?  I suppose it's still early enough for nature to surprise us again but his blocky face and bow-legged appearance suggest pit.  Is it a good idea to keep him?  I really don't know.  I did some googling and read many things that suggest he's a keeper though and with lots of praise and love he may turn out beautifully.  I guess there's nothing but to wait and see.

He sometimes plays a little rough with the goats but puppy style.  Nothing unusual to any puppy.  Bonus, I told him once not to mess with the chickens and he leaves them alone!  That's much better than my "inside" dogs do!  I have a soft spot for dogs and it would sicken me to return him or send him away just because he wasn't the breed we expected.  Besides, we already love him.

She's Here!

She's here! Our doe is finally here! I started to move Doritos to the new chicken yard and put her in the large pen but when I saw how small she was I thought Smokey (our pup) would be too rough with her so she's with the chickens until she's bigger.  Sooo exciting!!!

Speaking of chicken yards! Here's a pic of Heidi in the yard with Culpepper, the rooster I picked up along with 5 other young chickens.

I had the hardest time pulling the kids away from the yard after we put everyone in their new home.  My oldest daughter is as much in love with this life as I am and I can hardly get her away from the animals sometimes.  Anyway, the yard is wonderful.  The building looks a bit rough but cost very little and was mostly put together with pallets.  It will suffice and probably for a long time.

I am done buying animals for a little while at least.  I may buy another doe soon but I don't need to, not yet at least.  I'm anxious to get the chickens from the brooder and into the yard where they won't make so much mess in my carport.  They stink too.  But the oldest of them still need a few more days and the youngest need a couple of weeks.  So, for now we will get the newbies settled into our routines and enjoy our movie night tomorrow.  Until next time!

Spring!

Here is a shot of our intact buck code name: Doritos (kids went a little berzerk after seeing the Doritos commercial with the chip-eating goat).  He is growing fast and soon we will have his future bride, Heidi.

She's the beautiful cream-colored girl.  We are all very excited to bring her home!

My husband finished the chicken yard yesterday and tomorrow we will be adding the first batch.  I will pick them up when I pick up Heidi.  That's something else we are excited about.  I will post a picture of them in their new home tomorrow.

Today seems all about spring!  I spent a good portion of my day working in my flower garden.  I added an iris, a few daffodils and began turning the soil for future perennials.  Here is a "before" shot.

The row I have planted is shrubs (azalea, roses, and moonflower) and bulbs  (irises, daffodils and one flag). I have a few seeds in containers by the door.  I plan on filling this area with perennials.  I will add morning glories to grow up the porch posts and shrubs by the road.  Hope it all blends well.  I am new at a lot of this.

Today is Wednesday and our church has had special services all week.  One of the downfalls of living so far from town is the limited number of trips you can make.  We decided to go to Tuesday's and Wednesday's services this week.  Last night we went and saw a beautiful deaf choir perform.  It was moving!  My daughter did a book report on Helen Keller several years ago and has been attempting to learn sign language and had a burden for the deaf ever since.  We thought it very important she see the performance.  It was not disappointing.  However, my youngest daughter was.  I had to leave the service several times for a yucky nose and today she is unwell and has slept a lot.  Unfortunately I will miss tonight's service due to her illness. It looks like she's got tonsilitis.....again.  That's a story for another day.  At least we got to go last night.

...aaand chickens!

Well, it appears I am no good at keeping a blog up-to-date.  More than a week since I was last on.  In my defence I have been busy.  My favorite time of year has come around.  No, not spring (though I do love spring) tax return time!  Woohoo!  Our tax return landed in our bank account almost a week ago and though I have been shopping a bit that's not what's kept me busy.  My good friend Sharon got married on Friday.  I took her to dinner Tuesday, had church and violin lessons on Wednesday and went back to town (not the nearest town but a 40minute drive instead) on Friday for the wedding.  It was beautiful and I really enjoyed myself.

On Sunday we are always in church, unless someone is sick which I was a week ago, but this Sunday we were all there.  Since it's a 40+ minute drive to get there we often stay in town the whole day to save gas though it's not very economical since we usually spend the same amount eating at restaurants and more shopping.  With a hefty tax return in the bank we enjoyed staying more than usual.  A quick fast food meal (gross but hubby wanted to try this new sandwich called a Hot Mess, he hated it and even got a little sick later) and what was supposed to be a quick stop at Tractor Supply led to six baby Cornish Red chicks and all the supplies to take care of them.  Yep, we have chickens now.  They are quietly tucked away in the carport under a heat lamp preparing themselves to be future organic meals for us.  Only $.075 a chicken.  Tomorrow I am supposed to buy some laying hens, a rooster and maybe even a couple of ducks.  It's very exciting.  It was fun having them in the van for so long too.  They had to wait out a church service so we went to church with live chickens in the back of our van.  My friend Timecia laughed and said, "Only in Texas!"