Robbie's new little brother

What a crazy day it has been!  Actually, the last few days have been some of the busiest I can remember in a long time.  We have had quite the education in calf rearing, that is for sure!  Farming is not for sissies!!  I think maybe, just maybe we finally have it figured out with these calves.

As some of you may know, our first little calf (Sam 4...Sammy Sirloin) did not make it.  I am sure that he had the scours, and I am very sure that he was already sick when we got him.  We had a terrible time trying to get him to eat, and in the end his little body just wasn't strong enough.  He died on Monday night in John's arms while he was trying to feed him.  I have to honestly say that I never got attached to him - probably because deep down I wasn't really sure he was going to make it.  David took it pretty hard though.

I wasn't really sure that I wanted to bother with another one, but John convinced me that we should try again.  We were planning to get one this weekend, but Duffy called last night to tell us he had a replacement for little Robbie.  He arrived last night just before we were leaving to go to basketball practice.  Right away we could tell that he was a lot stronger.

So, at 5:00 this morning - long before the sun came up, little Sam 5 started to moo.  Oh, btw, this cow's tag also says "Sam 5"!  Anyway, he mooed and mooed and mooed.  I finally got up and started my morning routine of coffee, prayer and Bible study.  I was determined not to give in that early lest we start a routine that we could never break.  I woke David up around 7:00 and told him we were going to have to feed the calves a little early because poor Sam 5 was about to moo himself silly.  I figured this was going to be a walk in the park.  He is so hungry, we will never have trouble getting him to take the bottle.  Boy was I wrong!!!

We tried everything.  We chased him around, held him down, pried open his mouth, you name it.  That calf was not having any part of that bottle!  Finally I sent David in to get Steven about 7:45.  (I had originally told him he needed to be ready to feed animals by 8 am.)  The 3 of us all struggled to get that calf to take the bottle.  One of us was holding him down, one holding his mouth open, and the other one squirting the milk into his mouth.  Still no use.  He wanted no part of that bottle.  In the meantime, he is still mooing his head off because he is hungry.  I was beginning to get frustrated!  I was ready to shove him in the back of my minivan and take his little butt back to the dairy farm.  I even nicknamed him "Stupid A-- Moron"  aka SAM.  I think you get the idea.  Then I called Duffy about 8:30 to see if he had any advice.  He said try giving it to him in a bucket.  We tried that too.  No deal!

By that time it was getting late, and we had to get the other animals fed.  I fed his bottle of milk to the pigs who lapped it up in about 15 seconds.  Then I decided to milk Esther and try again with a fresh bottle of warm milk right from the cow.  I figured if he didn't drink that, then I would surrender.  It is just not in my nature to give up though.  So I called the local feed store to see if they had any advice.  They said to force feed him.  (We kind of already tried that, I thought!)  They said to put the nipple in his mouth and hold his mouth closed until he started to suck.  Well, low and behold, it worked!!  By 9:30 he finally had a full belly and stopped mooing.  Hallelujah!!

I figure somewhere in this story there is a lesson.  Persistance?  Patience?  I am not sure.  I do know that my prayer time this morning was spent praising God and thanking Him for all our wonderful blessings.  Despite how difficult it may be at times, I am extremely grateful for the life I have.  I truly wouldn't trade it for anything.  God is good - all the time!

Oh, one more thing....Sam 5 will from now on be called "Sam I Am."  That is a name I had been thinking about for a while when we had the other calf because the two of them reminded me of Dr. Suess.  Today's experience with the bottle was very much like the story, "Green Eggs and Ham."  "I do not like them Sam I Am!" ..... "I will not drink it from a bottle, I will not drink it from a bucket.  I will not drink it with the dogs.  I will not drink it with the hogs..."  (I could go on and on, but it is now11:30, and we have not started school yet.  It is going to be another one of those days...or what I am learning is just a typical day on a very busy farm.)

New additions to the farm

Wow!  What a busy and exciting weekend this has been for us.  It started on Friday night when we were having our regular Bible study with some good friends.  Duffy is a dairy farmer and has become a very close personal friend to our family.  He and my husband John have become bff's and he has become somewhat of a surrogate grandpa to my kids.  Anyway, during dinner at our Bible study, he told my son David that he had a present for him.  This he said with a big smile on his face.

Knowing Duffy to be a big practical joker, I was concerned.  :)  He said he was going to bring it to the house on Saturday morning.  He later told us what the surprise was when David left the room to make sure we were okay with it.  Then when David came back in, Duffy asked him if he wanted one present or two.  Of course, he said two!!  When he told David that he wanted to give him a little calf of his own, David was so excited! Then he asked Steven if he wanted one too.  Of course he also said yes.  So, long story short we are now the proud owners of two adorable baby steer.

The boys agreed that they would be the ones taking care of them.  Little did any of us know how much work would be involved to bottle feed two little calves!  Not only does it take a long time for them to drink their 1/2 gallon bottle of milk, you have to prepare the formula, wash the bottles... It is much like having a newborn (except they only have to eat twice a day).  One of the little calves is still having some trouble taking to the bottle, and we are concerned that he may have the scours.  Duffy is going to come over tomorrow to check on him.

Meanwhile, John got busy building them a new pen and shelter.  He converted part of the dog's pen.  They will live there for the next few weeks until they get a little bigger and we can put them with Esther and Annabelle.  Then I hope to convert it into a chicken coop.  The dogs were very curious about the new calves, and were not at all happy about being temporarily kicked out of their pen.  It was really quite funny.  When they are in the pen, they want out.  Then when they are out, they want back in!  Since Katy can't be trusted not to jump the fence, she had to spend the night tied to the pole barn while Sadie was able to run free.  They were both very happy to be back in their pen tonight.

So, the big question everyone is asking is, "Will you be able to butcher them?"  Only time will tell!!  It will be at least 18 months before we have to do that.  Their names are Robbie Ribeye and Sammy Sirloin.  :)  Robbie is David's new best friend, so we will just have to see.  I do know that they will be the tamest steer you ever want to be around if he keeps hugging them and letting them sleep in his lap.  LOL!

Happy New Year

Wow!  This past year has brought so many changes to my life.  I hardly know where to start.  Let me first say, I am trying more than ever to listen to the "still small voice,"  and lately it has been telling me in more of a roar than a whisper that I need to blog daily.  So, I suppose you could call it a New Year's resolution, but I am going to think of it as more of a response to a calling from God.  Again, I have no idea if what I am writing down will ever be read by anyone other than myself.  But, if it helps me somehow in this journey of life it will be worth it.  However, my deepest prayer is that something I say in this blog will profoundly change another person in their life in someway.  My deepest goal is to share the love of Jesus and to minister to others as to how to have a more personal relationship with Him.

I have experienced a lot of personal growth this past year - especially since my last post.  Breaking my ankle was one of the most painful experiences I have ever gone through.  I would not wish it on my worst enemy.  It did however teach me many valuable life lessons that I may not have learned otherwise.  I do not say that to say that I believe God was responsible.  I believe that the enemy (Satan) was responsible, but I allowed myself to be used by God through the situation.  I believe my family became closer.  I believe my husband and children learned a greater respect for how much I do for them.  At the same time, I appreciate them more too.  I learned to be a little less of a control freak.  Most of all I learned how much I appreciate the ability to walk.  I have such great empathy for people who do not enjoy that freedom, and such respect for our armed service men and women who have lost that ability while trying to protect our freedom.

The best thing to come out of that situation was it gave me time to just sit and do nothing and think and pray.  I had time to read, write in my journal and just reflect on life.  I had time to visualize what I want for my life, and just as I can picture my home all finished, I am beginning to picture our farm and business take shape.  It also seemed that as I was beginning to have these visions, I was discovering articles about "finding your vision".  I even wrote down the following quote in my journal after watching an episode of Oprah:  "You become what you believe.  To find your purpose, pay attention to the life you are leading now."  So once again, the "still small voice" was speaking to me.

I also believe wisdom is where you find it.  Again, after watching an episode of Oprah, I wrote this quote down:  "Your life doesn't have to be what everyone else thinks it should be."  That resonated with me because I think some people - friends and family - probably thought we were crazy for making the lifestyle changes we have made.  It is not easy or glamorous to own a farm.  We are still far from the vision we have for this place, but the vision is still there.  I am committed to working each day to make our dreams a reality.  We have also left the conventional church in order to pursue a more personal relationship with Jesus.  I know that for most people reading this, that sounds like an oxymoron.  However, since "leaving the church,"  we have grown spiritually by leaps and bounds.  I'll have to expand more on that later.

As we move into a new year, I would also like to share something Sid Roth said on his program, "It's Supernatural" a few months ago.  He said, "Do not be like Lot's wife.  Do not look back to the old.  It's time for the new."  Then one of his guests said, "The key to breakthrough is a determined spirit that refuses to take no for an answer."  That is kind of how I feel about this process of trying to sell milk and cheese (which is illegal unless you have a huge expensive operation).  I know that with God all things are possible, and I am just pressing on with the vision.  I am ready to start classes on cheese making soon, and I believe God will work it all out.

I pray that all of you reading have a very blessed New Year.  I welcome any comments.

How I broke my leg

Okay. Here's the story on how I fell.... I was weeding in the garden and I had collected a bunch of grass that I wanted to give to Esther. I had a big pile of grass in one hand and a big stick in the other so I could get over the electric fence. (If you push down on the electric fence with something not made of metal, you can step over it without getting shocked.) I landed wrong on my left foot and felt like I had twisted my ankle when I stepped over the fence. Then I panicked because my other leg was still on the other side of the fence. I don't really remember what happened after that except that I could hear bones cracking, and I am pretty sure I got a pretty good shock. I just laid there for what felt like an eternity feeling kind of dazed and in an extreme amount of pain. I think I might have been in shock. All I really remember was just calling out to Jesus and praying in the spirit.

Meanwhile, Esther is just looking at me. I genuinely think she was concerned. I managed to crawl over to her shelter and stand up. Then I started to cry for help. Esther and Annabelle chimed in and mooed, but no one inside could hear us. They all thought I was working in the garden. Then I got down on my hands and knees and started crawling towards the gate. This seemed to freak out Esther who started backing up and then ran to the other side of the pen. Then she started slowly walking towards me. I started praying again that God would help me get out of that pen before she decided to run towards me. I managed to crawl out of the pen and get almost to the house when John finally saw me and came outside to help.

Well, now you know the embarrassing story of how I broke my leg. Actually, I broke the very back part of my ankle and the top of my tibia. I am now in a cast from my toes to ¾ of my lower leg. The last few days have been a difficult adjustment for my family. I am used to being busy from the time I get up until after dinner. It has been really hard for me to sit back and let other people do things for me. That has never been something I am comfortable with. I am a very independent person and a control freak. I do not like to sit around and do nothing all day. Now I can't even get myself a glass of water.

Up until now the kids have had chores that they were responsible for, but not nearly as many as they should have. Most of the time if I tell the kids to do something and they don't do it, I just end up doing it myself. Now I guess God is just teaching us all a big fat lesson. I am learning to ask for help and make my kids do more. They are (hopefully) learning that they need to help more, and that they have had it made up until now. How is John holding up, you ask?? He has been a trooper. He has taken over the job of cooking dinner, cleaning the kitchen, pasteurizing the milk, doing the shopping and taking care of the garden. The boys are doing the laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming and mopping, and taking care of the cows and the dogs. And yes, until a few days ago, I did most of those tasks myself. The boys helped with the animals and John helped when he could, but he is not here all the time. I am very grateful that he has been able to be home with us this past week. I couldn't have done it without his help. I am still praying that he finds a job soon though. I am sure he would rather be working than playing the role of Mr. Mom.

Why am I writing this? Well, it started out as an easy way to tell everyone at one time who asked me, “How did you break your leg?” But as I was writing, I started to think that maybe someone reading this would recognize themselves in this story. Especially if you are a mom, ask yourself this question...”What would my family do if I broke my leg and I couldn't even get myself a glass of water?” Obviously, this situation could be a lot worse. I am exceedingly grateful that it is just a broken leg. As a fb friend recently said, “I am trying to make lemonade with all these lemons life is throwing at me.” On that note, I am going to get off this computer and go organize the troops to get this house clean and the laundry done. If you are a parent, give your kids an extra chore or two. It won't kill them. It will make them less dependent on you. And if you have two working legs, turn up the music and do a little dance for me!

Listening to the still small voice

I have been thinking about writing a book or blog for a very long time now. Being a bit of a perfectionist, I always put it off because I was looking for the “perfect time.” Taking the advice from someone that I admire very much – Flylady, many of you know who she is, always says, “Jump in right where you are.” So, I guess I am jumping in. I have been inspired to write a book for the last several years. If I have to say exactly when, it would have to be around the time we started having issues with our old house (that was showing signs of a sinkhole). It was around that time that I realized God was getting ready to change our family's life in a very big way. I had no idea what it was all about, but I could just feel in my spirit that change was in the air.

Anyway, fast forward to the present. I will definitely write more about those other times later, but again, I need to just “jump in right where I am.” I have been feeling a stirring inside my spirit for a while now that more change is in the air. I don't know exactly what is coming, but I am trying to listen to that still small voice to hear what God is telling me or directing me to do. I started reading a book by Max Lucado called, Cure for the Common Life. I am only into the first few chapters, but I think this book may help me find what I am looking for. In the book he helps people to find the God given traits and talents that make them unique, and then use that information to make their lives more satisfying. He invites you in his book to “Reflect on your life. What have you always done well and loved to do? See your desires as gifts to heed rather than longings to suppress, and you will feel the same joy.”

So, I pondered that question. I reflected back on periods of my life when I have specific memories of things that brought me joy, or things that I am good at doing. Many thoughts came to my mind. I thought of various memories of my childhood. I remember as a young girl playing house, cooking, playing school (where I was always the teacher), writing and drawing, having adventures in the woods, and playing store. Playing store was actually the very first thing that came to my mind. My best friend and I used to gather various items from the yard and organize them into piles and line them up on a brick wall we had next to my driveway. For example, we used pine straw for spaghetti and these round pointy seed things that came off the big oak tree in my yard as meatballs. We would then pretend to buy and sell them. Then we would take them and pretend to cook dinner with them. Is it then any wonder that as a forty-something year old woman that I would desire to be a homemaker and homeschool teacher. Is it any wonder that I still love the outdoors, love to garden, and want to own my own produce stand/gift shop someday? Hmmmm....

Since moving to a small town in south Ga where we bought a fixer upper house on a couple of acres, I have experienced a peacefulness and joy in my heart that I cannot explain. People say to me all the time that they have never seen me so happy, and they are right. I guess that is another reason that I have decided to start a blog. I kind of wanted to reflect back on the past few years to see what it was the caused such a change in me. I can say, going back to the book that I am reading, that I have always had a deep rooted desire in my heart to live in the country and live on a farm. That may not even be a dream that I ever shared with anyone other than my husband. Perhaps that is why it came as a shock to many of our friends and family that we made such a radical change in our lifestyle.

So what can you expect to read about in my blog that may someday work it's way into a book? You will probably hear about silly stories of my 2 children, my cows and dogs, stories about fixing up our house and living in a house that is only about 1/3 completed, cooking and recipes, gardening and learning about farming from the perspective of a “city girl.” Yes, that was probably a run-on sentence. Sometimes my head becomes full of them when I try to write my thoughts down on paper. Last, but not least, you will hear about my conversations with God. I often like to write down my prayers, and subsequently, God's answers to my prayers. Why would I want to write something so personal for everyone to read? Because God told me I should. I don't know why. But one thing I have learned, is that when God tells you to do something, you should do it. So, God...I am putting myself out there...becoming very vulnerable...trying to listen to and obey Your still small voice.