Video of Daisy's Kidding

Here is the video of Daisy's kidding on Saturday! Now, this is a little graphic (births are a little messy....) so if you're squeamish, do NOT watch this. One of the little girls who was watching the whole thing felt a little queasy and had to go sit down at one point - but it really is amazing. Birth is such a testament to God's amazing creation!

One of my favorite verses when it comes to goats is Job 39:1 - 3: "Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn? Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth?"

It's true; I had an estimate of when I thought she might give birth.....but I didn't know for sure. God is the only One who knows the exact due date of every pregnancy.

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Daisy had a relatively easy birth. I was pretty worried for a while, because Clover took a little longer to come out than I was expecting. His little front legs were extended all the way, so his head didn't appear for a while. I was beginning to wonder if maybe his head was swung to the side, in which case I would have to help out a little bit (eeeek!). Thankfully, I looked up and saw a little nose coming down, so I was VERY relieved.

As you can see from the video, we thought that Clover was the only one at first. And then, surprise, "Daisy's having another baby!!"

Have a great week, everyone!

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Cool church

I thought everyone would enjoy this "trailer" for the new church that might be coming your way sometime soon. It's hilarious - but also sad, since it is so true of churches today. Many churches these days are no different than the world and have made what is supposed to be a worship of God into a rock and roll band that they call church. What has happened????

This movie shows a very accurate example of what "seeker sensitive" churches are like today - I've never been to one like this (thankfully!) but I know they are everywhere.

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Sunday Snapshot: Daisy the new mamma

Yesterday afternoon, the moment I've been waiting for for 5 months finally happened - Daisy kidded! We had two families visiting at the time, so they got to watch the whole thing. What a fun experience!

Everyone anxiously looks on...

....here I am, looking a little nervous as I slip on my gloves. Daisy kidded around 5:30 - 6:00.

And here's #1 - a boy! We named him Clover. You can see from this picture Mom helped me out quite a bit when the babies where born. Thanks Mom for being willing to get messy! :)

Shortly after Clover was born, Rosie made her appearance. A boy and a girl - how exciting!

Kayla, Ava, Hannah, and Annabeth look on. Thanks, girls, for keeping me company as we waited f0r Daisy to progress!

Here are the cute pictures from this morning - Clover and Rosie, just one day old!

Daisy, the proud mamma, can't stop licking her babies.

Rosie, (my personal favorite) is SO cute! They are very Nubian looking, too; long floppy ears and all.

And a BIG thank-you to the M family for coming out so late in the evening for penicillin and iodine. We really appreciate it!!

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The pregnant ladies

Well, here they are: our pregnant does. Pearl is on the left, and Daisy is on the right. And for those of you wondering, NO, Daisy has STILL not kidded yet! But she's gettin' there. :)

Look how big she is! What do you think - four, five six babies in there? (Just kidding - I'm thinking maybe two!)

This picture shows how big her belly is. Goats are supposed to have a large belly anyway, due to a healthy rumen, but Daisy is a smaller goat so this much stomach on her just looks HUGE!

On the way back to the house after taking these pictures, Isaac and I stopped to say hi to the kitties. Helen was nowhere is sight and Thelma-Lou was napping, so we played with Juanita. Our friendliest cat, by the way.

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Pheww....life's a whirlwind!

Hi everyone - I'm sorry I haven't posted recently, but we have just be SO busy! Nothing unusual, mind you; but cleaning the house, taking care of spontaneous diaper explosions from you-know-who, :) trying to finish school, make meals.......it all takes time!

But, at least I'm not bored.

Oh, and of course, Daisy still hasn't kidded yet! But she waddles out of her pen every morning, looking tired and just so ready to be DONE with pregnancy. I really feel sorry for her!

Besides all this, our garden is up and running; we desperately need to weed it! We have all the summer crops to plant this week, so that will be fun.

Thankfully, we haven't seen many rattlesnakes yet this summer, so that has been a blessing. Jonathan continues to train his horses pretty much every day; and the dogs have been very agitated at the little kitties they see running around!

So, saying all this, I will definitely try to post with some pictures this week ~ I really thought I'd have photos of the new baby goats by now, but not so! They should appear on the blog within a week or two.

Have a great day, everyone!

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What I'm Reading

I am currently reading this book, "All Glorious Within" by Tiffany Schlicter.

And yes, all of you girls at church who get the magazine "Virtuous Daughters", this book is worth getting! I ordered it with some birthday money I received from my grandparents this year (thanks Grandma & Grandpa!!) and am about half way through with it. So far it is excellent. Tiffany does a great job going through various topics that concern Christian girls today!

A few of the topics discussed in the book are modesty, why you shouldn't trust your heart, good friends, and 'running the race'. She also sprinkles personal diary entries throughout chapters to give you a look into her own life - how she has handled emotions, trials, and lonelines.

The only place you can order it at this time is through Tiffany, or at CBD.com.

Tiffany also publishes a magazine for young ladies entitled, "Virtuous Daughters". I have received it for several years and have really enjoyed it! If anyone's interested in learning more about how to subscribe, please drop me a comment and I'll email you privately, okay?

What have you all been reading lately? I am always on the hunt for good books like this ~ any suggestions?

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Barnyard kittens

Yesterday we got three kittens! We got them for free (hooray!) and are keeping them outside to catch mice. We have a horrible mouse problem around and in and around our shed, and mice mean snakes....ugh. So hopefully these kitties will keep the mouse population down!

Isaac looks at the three sister cats with great interest. Although he's somewhat afraid of big animals, he did GREAT with the cats and wanted to hold them! Until one scratched him on the neck, that is. :) But he quickly forgets about their sharp claws and grabs for more!

Thelma Lou, Helen, and Juanita. They're a little camera shy.

The kittens have already established their "home". They live under our huge haystack and frequently disappear there.

Juanita says hi.

I know Isaac looks terribly glum in this photo - but we so rarely get Mom in the pictures I just had to post it!

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To kid or not to kid

....that is the question we're asking ourselves right now! And no, I'm not talking about a joke. "Kidding" is a goat birth. And we're getting awfully close to one.

Daisy, our little Nubian goat, is due to kid anywhere from May 22 - 28. So I was a little alarmed last evening when David came running in the house and yelling that Daisy was giving birth! This was very strange, not only because she was still early, but because I had checked on her no less than 45 minutes earlier and she was just fine.

I was very much expecting some cute goat babies last night, since Daisy was laying down, grinding her teeth, having contractions, and acting very much in pain. I even stayed up 'till 11:30 to watch her. And nothing happened.

I rushed out to the goat shelter this morning, expecting to find some cute little goaties running around...but still nothing! And Daisy is fit as a fiddle today. No more labor, no more contractions......so what's up with her??

Stay tuned this week for pictures of her cute babies! I am sure she'll kid this week ~ and I'm sure she's desperate to get those bowling balls out of her stomach.

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Sunday Snapshot: Courtney

This week's Sunday Snapshot is Courtney ~ my older sister and possibly my best friend!

Because she's two and a half years older than me, she got to a lot of the "firsts" before I did. This has usually been okay; but one of the worst firsts she's ever had was when she decided she was too old to play dolls with me.

Oh that was a hard time for me! Dad tried to console me by offering to get on the floor and play dolls right alongside me.....but boy was he bad at it. (Have any of you girls ever had your dad try to play dolls with you? It doesn't work very well.)

But then, a year or two later, I came around and finally agreed with Courtney; and dolls were no longer on my radar screen. As we've gotten older, our interests have become more similar, but still very different. For instance, I love to sew, journal, and take care of our goats - but she can't stand any of those things. (Especially that last one.)

But even though our interests differ, she and I can have great conversations on topics we both agree on; such as, Will I ever get married? How could I ever live without chocolate? What should I do with my hair? What part of the Bible have you been reading? Don't you think we should keep the house cleaner?

We can have great (and often hilarious) conversations about any of these topics. And she's great at laughing with me, not at me!

I am so glad I have a sister ~ how boring it would be if I didn't! Brothers are special, but sisters are super-special.

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Isaac, you're sweet.

We just measured Isaac again the other day, and he has gained 2 pounds and 1 inch since we first got him! I'm sure the diet change from rice to every food available has helped some. :)

photo by Courtney

He's adjusted marvelously ~ and has learned several words. He can say most of our names, though not clearly, because of his open palate. His vocabulary at this point includes hello, night-night, I love you, doggie, horsie, woof-woof, outside, banana, ......and his latest addition,

"Oooh la-la!"

Okay, he learned that one with a little help. From me.

He can usually be found dragging laundry baskets around or slamming doors shut, and promptly declares "Upma!" anytime he sees a vulnerable sibling.

(Upma, if you didn't know, means up. Pick me up. Now.)

But he is really a very sweet little guy and, after a temper tantrum, will go to the offended sibling and sign "all done, happy face!" (With prompting, obviously. He's not that perfect.)

He is such a blessing in my life and I just can't believe he's finally here! Oh how I love you, little guy!!!!

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Guess What I Got?

Since Jonathan ordered my birthday present off the internet, it didn't get here for my birthday. So I anxiously awaited the next chance to go to the post office.

And then it came. I am so excited to tell you that I got.......

....dear readers.....

...HOOF TRIMMERS!

Okay, so this is not a very common birthday gift ~ especially for a girl. However, I was delighted to receive them, since I care for our two goats and have struggled for a whole year to trim their hooves with a rusty, dull pair of horse hoof trimmers. They don't work for goat hooves. I've gotten blisters on my hands from them. They hurt.

So you can imagine my thrill to get a real pair of razor sharp, soft-handled, orange colored hoof trimmers.....designed specifically for dainty goat hooves. Oh the joy.

Thank you so much Jonathan!

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We're normal, too.

I just wanted to post and let all you dear readers know that behind this fancy blog and great pictures.....we're just a normal family.

My siblings and I aren't perfect, and we argue sometimes. And although it may look to some like we have the "perfect" family ~ we don't. We're a normal family.

And although it may seem to you from all these perfect pictures I've posted of Isaac recently, that he's a constantly smiling child, don't be fooled. He's not photo-genic. If he happens to smile when the camera flashes, it's because I'm singing the "Itsy-Bitsy Spider".....again. :)

We're normal people, everyone - (and from the pictures it looks like we go through alot of Angel Soft toilet paper.) Ahem.

We change dirty diapers, we clean up crusty dishes from several days ago, we have messy bathrooms, we have rasins and cheerios crunched on our kitchen floor, the list could go on....

We have hard days, sometimes. If you were to walk into our house right now, you'd find the ironing pile stacked two feet high (an all-time low) and a piece of cheese ground into the carpet.

But that's okay. Whose house looks like a palace every day anyway? (Especially if you have seven people living in it?) Now, that's not to say that we live in a dump - our goal is to go to bed each evening with the kitchen clean and the house tidy. And we do suceed sometimes!

But even if that doesn't happen, that's okay. Family is more important than living in a mansion. When I'm in the middle of washing dishes, and Isaac declares "Upma!" (his word for pick me up), that is the time to stop and share a priceless moment with him!

We love each other. And often have great times together.

Everyone has a sink of dirty dishes ~ we're all the same! There is no "perfect" family. In Christ, we are all on the road to sanctification; we all have our work cut out for us!

Go before God each day and ask Him for help. If you're feeling swamped, remember Elizabeth Elliot's famous phrase, "Do the next thing." Just take it one day at a time.

And....please comment and tell me what life is like at your house, okay?

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Sunday Snapshot: David + Isaac

And then somehow, Isaac jumped in on the scene and showed his cute face! I don't know how he does it - but he managed to get me snapping pictures of him again.

Aren't my brothers handsome?

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