I'm Baaaack!

It's been forever and I have no good reason for slacking off except I have allowed laziness to creep into my days ;-)

A short recap (and I mean VERY short) because a lot happens in 4 months!

Brent is in his FINAL week of school. If I could stand on the roof top and scream, HALLELUJAH!!!! I can assure you, I would. It has been a rough road for him through school. In 9 months time (while he was in school) his step-dad was hit by a train, he got laid off, his grandfather (who practically raised him) had a stroke and then passed away, his wife gained jobs to support the family and then lost those same jobs, and soooooo much more! I know he is so ready to be finished and I am sooooo proud of him! More than he could ever know.

We have officially decided to home school our boys and I am sooooo excited about it. Dane loves to do "school" and so we have been working on school for a bit here and there. I cannot wait to share in this journey with him. It is sure to be a learning experience for us both.

The books we used this morning.

Webb likes to work with us, so today, he looked through Dane's magazine at all the silly things :D

 We have lost lots of chickens. The majority of the causalities came from our dogs-- we had to make the tough decision to get rid of both of them. We ended up getting a Great Pyrenees puppy. Theory goes, if you raise your dogs with the chickens, they will protect, not kill. Seems simple enough. We had to learn the hard way. We have also lost quite a few lately to a predator. I am getting so frustrated as each day, we notice another missing. My husband tried to hunt the evil animal down last night, but had no such luck. He is trying again this weekend. I am sooooo hopeful that it will be found and shot!

The gorgeous view in our pasture

We are selling our milk goat and sticking to cows. Nellie is a sweet baby, but I can no longer stomach the milk and so I will never breed her. I feel like it is pointless to let her have pasture that I need for the cows. I know she will make someone an excellent dairy goat.

We have about 50 quail now. My husband and our neighbor went in together on them. We will use them for meat, to sell, or pickle their eggs. We had about 20 put in an incubator a few weeks ago and we probably have another 50 eggs that need to go as well!

Dane has turned 4 and what an adventurous 4 years it has been! I have enjoyed every second with him and I am looking forward to many more birthdays with my sweet boy! He is a wonderful big brother and such a great helper on the farm. He loves the chickens, cows, goats, dog, cats, and quail. He had informed us that he wants 5 brothers and 1 sister and we are to name his sister, Da-Merica (AKA- Captain Amercia).

I was hoping to wean Webb this summer, but the little big man is having none of it! He is super duper attached to his "boo-boos" and each time I get him somewhat weaned (meaning, no more boredom nursing, etc) something happens and we regress. That is ok though. I am a stay-at-home mom who is practically jobless these days and I am focusing on enjoying this stage. I'll admit, it is not always easy to nurse a very strong-willed 23 month old. He flops and wiggles and and twists and turns and gets picky about his current boo-boo, pulling off and pushing the one he was on and pointing at the other one screaming, "That!!!". He also must play with one while nursing from the other. This is all fine and dandy until he starts twisting and pinching and pulling. My patience gets worn thin. LOL. It has been especially hard during the night. For 23 straight months, I have nursed Webb through the night. The majority of the time (for Webb), that literally means. Through. The. Night. As in, he never, ever pulls off. A good nights sleep was not something I knew anything about. So.... Brent said I had no choice we decided together that maybe now was the time to transition Webb into Dane's bed. It actually went sooooo much better than I ever could have imagined. Webb does great and wakes up 1-2x during the night. He either walks into my bedroom (because I sleep so soundly I never hear his crying) or I go to him when I hear him wake up. I lay down and sometime I stay awake and go back to our bed, other times, I remain in there. LOL. But, it works for us.

As for me, I went from working like a mad woman-- every odd job you could imagine-- to now working a whooping 2 times a month. Yep, every other Thursday, I clean 2 houses. I would like to complain and tell you how horrible it has been to lose such an enormous amount of income in such a financially tight situation, but I have to say, God has been so good. He is supplying and meeting each and every need. I literally uttered a prayer last Thursday night about a certain amount of needed money. No one knew of this or the amount other than my husband. When I checked the mail on Friday, the needed money, in the form of cash, was anonymously placed in there. It is because of things like this and so much more that I have faith and trust that I am right where the Lord wants me, yet again. It doesn't mean it isn't hard or that there aren't scary days, but I know He brought me to it and I KNOW He will see me through it. Plus... my husband is ALMOST done with school and I get to really be a stay at home mom now that my life has slowed down. Yes, God is still showing His sovereignty and I am still amazed by it.

So, there is your extremely short 4-month recap. 

If you are a wife or a mother looking for a good devotion book, I highly, HIGHLY recommend the Power of a Praying Wife and Parent. It is split up into short, very easy to read chapters. They pinpoint key areas of each relationship and cause you to pray about things you (or at least I) would never think of until the issue arose. Examples-- for your husband, his trials, his mind, his temptations, his faith, his finances, his attitude, and so much more. For your children-- their future mates, their bedrooms, their forgiveness, their ability to abstain from drugs, alcohol, premarital sex, and homosexuality, their ability to chose healthy food and their desire to exercise, and so much more. These books have truly taught me how to pray. When fears creep in, or I begin to worry, this book has taught me to use that as an opportunity to pray for that very issue. The peace that comes is so real. I can promise you, you won't regret your purchase. I bought mine off Amazon a few years back (I have used them daily for a few years now) for about $4 a piece. 

 This morning, I enjoyed one of these DELICIOUS, made-from-scratch cinnamon rolls as I sat on the back porch for 2-1/2 hours doing my devotions and listening to the storm. Yes, it was sinfully good and I asked the Lord to forgive me ;-)

It's been nice catching up! Hopefully, I will be showing up a bit more often now that my life has slowed down to an extremely enjoyable pace.

Farmer Abby

Hmmm... sort of has a ring to it? Doesn't it?

It's never dull around here. I find myself laughing almost everyday at the things we deal with on the "farm". It's a small farm (if you can even call it that) and I can only imagine how as we add animals, we will also add drama. I'm excited though. My girls are still laying wonderfully. Every single time I find an egg (or 5) I get so excited! I hope that never ends.

Brent and I love the fact that we (for the most part) know which hen laid which egg. I love my chickens and I love knowing even more where my eggs came from :D Having chickens is definitely a learning experience.

I've gone crazy in the chicken department. We had originally bought 4 hens and 1 rooster (and 5 Americana baby chicks). Then, a few days later we had bought 2 barred rocks (who were sisters and had never ever been apart. They were always together and slept curled up next to each other). This past Friday, we had bought 2 Rhode Island Reds and 1 Buff Orpington from a local man. The Buff was so gentle and kind and would let us hold her and pet her. Dane was in love with her and we were calling her "Goldie". We had a good flock and were proud of them all. We stood out in the coop with them Friday night smiling with pride! We had a good looking flock and we accumulated them in about 2-1/2 weeks.

 We also have Hana, the great Pyrenees mix we rescued from the pound, to "protect" our chickens. She stayed in the backyard with them and did a great job with them. A few times we would catch her "playing" with them and have to reprimand her. We were gone Saturday for 13 hours and came home to 6 (out of 11) dead chickens. Our only rooster was killed. I could not believe it. We had come in and it was about 10:45pm. I looked out our bedroom window and saw our 2 new RIR (we had bought the afternoon before) dead. I told Brent and he didn't believe me. He came to the window and after seeing, grabbed the spotlight and headed outside. I felt so bad for those 2. I could see him walking all over the yard and I thought, "OH NO!!!! There must be more than those 2." Then, he picked up a stick and threw it at Hana screaming. My first thought was, "They are all gone." Then, I could see him looking in the coop and checking all over. I knew some had had to survive. He came in furious saying that 6 of our 11 were dead and Hana had blood on her paws. He was going to shoot her and asked what to do. I didn't know. I mean, I was upset too, but I didn't know what the answer was. He decided not to only because he didn't want to have to dig a hole big enough to bury her. He told me she was gone though. I sat inside crying for the dead chickens and for the fact we would also be losing Hana while Brent got the dead ones together. Brent ended up having to shoot the rooster. He was hanging on and suffering. We were hoping to be able to pluck out their feathers and at least salvage the meat of the hens, but they were stiff. They had been dead awhile. We had no idea what to do with 6 dead chickens??!!! So, Brent will be using them for bait on a hunt he is going on this weekend. 

After they were picked up, we went into the coop with the remaining 5 (4 of our original hens and 1 barred). The barred (who lost her sister) looked frightened and was trying to curl up next to our Grey Hen we call "Sister". Brent and I both started crying when we saw that. We apologized over and over to them for the traumatic day they must have had. We felt so responsible for leaving Hana in there with them.

The next day, I knew it was time to put my big girl panties on. No more mourning after chickens and a chicken killer. This is just part of the farm life and I know I better get used to it. So, after church and much debate the night before, we went to Home Depot to buy a shock collar for Hana and a replacement collar for Hank. We know Hana was just bored and was not trying to harm the chickens. We know she was just playing. We are going to give her 1 more chance and after that, she will be gone! While driving there, I found some more chickens for sale. We came home, changed clothes, and headed to look at them. The man gave us a great deal and we left with 4 Rhode Island Reds, 1 Campine hen and 1 Campine rooster. We even left with 4 new baby chicks (2 days old). They are light Brahmas and should grow up to look like this. 

(Our Americana chicks should grow up looking something like this and laying green eggs)

So in less than 24 hours we more than replaced our flock! The Lord is good :D Not only did he replace our flock, he gave us another kind and gentle hen like, Goldie, only this one is even more kind and gentle. She is one of our RIR and the boys affectionately named her Lily (after their cousin!).

Yesterday, I had Brent teach me to shoot a few guns. If I ever come home to a partially dead chicken, I want to know how to take it out of it's misery. A way other than the option Brent gave me of smashing it's head. YUCK!!!!! I can shoot it, but I can't stomp it. That's just gross. Not only that, he was going to be leaving for the evening and heading south to spend the night (to take national registry for EMT basic that he is taking right at this moment, so say a little prayer!) and I tend to get scared and I don't want to be scared anymore. I need to know how to shoot the 12 gauge he keeps in the closet in our bedroom and I wanted to know how to shoot this other shot gun that is in the basement (it would be what I used for a chicken and 12 gauge I would use for an intruder-- I even practiced what I would do if I heard an intruder at the door in the middle of the night.)

Here is the 12 gauge. I'm going to start shooting it more regularly so I am more and more comfortable 

I did pretty darn good (I'm better with a pistol!) if I do say so myself.

Yes, the target is the dot. That was the "man's" chest. So, I still hit him. All I have to say, is "Intruder's BEWARE!!"

I was scared, mainly because I was practicing with purpose. I knew I was trying to prepare myself for an intruder, an animal, or a chicken catastrophe. After a couple shots, I got less scared. When I shot the buck shot 3in magnum (there is some major POWER in those!!! It would blow someone's head or arm off), I got this little keepsake

Been looking into a dairy cow again. I think we may be able to get one sooner rather than later. I am studying up on it and making sure our barn is ready for one. I'm thinking by January of next year, we will have one!! I am sooooooo pumped!!!!

I am loving every minute of this crazy life!! :D

Crazy Day

Today started pretty normal. I got up at 5am, turned on my coffee, went to start laundry, and sat down to do my devotions. My devotions were so good, I took a picture and sent it to Brent (who was still asleep). I do a devotion on parenting on my Bible App each morning. Short, sweet, and so so useful!!! I had no idea just how useful this devotion would be for the day :D

We had bought 2 new hens yesterday, a rooster, and a new chicken coop with 2 parts. It is sweet! The man was so glad we bought it all, he threw in 3 feeders and 2 water containers with our purchase.

My new hen... her sister is identical :D

The rooster... isn't he beautiful!

We were going to have to come back for the coop. So, this morning, we were getting ready to leave at 8am to Pigeon Mountain for baby chick feed and other supplies and Walmart for various supplies. When we go outside, we realize that Brent left the sprinkler on the garden from about 8pm-8am. Lovely. The garden was flooded!!! We knew we would have to deal with that later today. We were also supposed to pick up our baby chicks while out. When we arrived to get the chicken coop, it was big and built really nice. I didn't know if I could hold it, but I always give it my best shot. I am pretty strong for a girl ;-) Brent went to move it and realized how heavy it was. He instructed me on what to do and when I picked up my side, I literally could NOT lift it. It honestly weighs prob 200+ pounds. In fact, not only could I not lift it, it began to slip. I wanted to not let it drop (I don't like disappointing Brent) so I kept my hold. My side came smashing down and landed right on 3 of my fingers (right on the knuckle). I had to struggle to get my fingers out that thing was so heavy. I was so upset to have let Brent down. It was such a heavy piece, that he couldn't even get it to stand up on his own. So, we had to leave it laying down in the man's yard. I felt so bad and frustrated with myself. My fingers were throbbing... there was no more trying for me. Wasted trip. Bummer.

My swollen fingers. Tonight, they are all bruised.

From there, we went to get the chicks (even though the coop we were supposed to have to house them in were not with us). I fought back tears the whole trip and prayed that my fingers were not broke. How could I work with broken fingers???? And 3 at that???? We got to the place to get baby chicks and the whole ride I worked with my fingers, trying to bend them, and get some movement going. By the time we got there, I could straighten them out. Yay!!!

We got our 5 baby chicks and headed home. When we got home, we realized that we had no where to put the chicks and she had warned to not let them get cold. They needed to get in a box with a lamp immediately. We unloaded the truck and I tried to keep the boys out of the box. Brent walked on the back porch to look at our chickens and came back in and said, "There is a dead rooster in the backyard." I felt sick. Our only assumption is the original rooster killed him. They fought upon originally meeting, but we NEVER thought it would lead to this. 

The chicks were starting to shake and we were super paranoid they might die. I guess because of our poor old rooster! We took the boys downstairs to frantically look for something to build the chicks a home. Brent found 5 old boards.

He wanted to check the rooster again. He went out there and could see that he was "dead", but still suffering. He got his shot gun because we didn't want him to suffer. I stayed with the boys and heard the 1st shot. Shortly after that, I heard a 2nd. He came back back in without a word and quickly screwed all the boards together and put shavings down.

We got the chicks settled with a heat lamp, food, and water.

The boys are in LOVE!!! Us too :D

We came upstairs and Brent said he was headed out to work on the garden and see if it would make it. He went back to the basement to fill our Brita and noticed the fridge wasn't very cold. He looked in the freezer and saw that I had 5 packages of 1.5lb turkey meat. They were beginning to thaw. GREAT. He brought them up to me. I was in the process of cooking lunch but knew I would have to cook all the turkey meat today. He got to work on the garden, I got lunch cleaned up, Webb down for a nap, and began cooking some turkey meat. Not long after that, I heard Brent yelling at Hank (yesterday we came home to him trying to kill a chicken) so I rush outside. This is in our yard.

What in the world????? He or she was trying to play with Hank. Our sweet neighbors have a pot belly pig, so my guess is it's theirs. Brent tells me that Hana is gone so he will go tell the neighbors about the pig and look for Hana.

While he is gone, Hana shows back up, the pig goes home, and 2 chickens lay an egg. He comes back with 30lbs of deer meat (talk about awesome neighbors!!!) from our neighbor and says that Hana had gotten into some trash so he had had to clean that up. By the time he gets back, Hana has run off again (I don't know what her deal was today). He grabs a leash and takes off. As he is running after her, Hank stays with him so he realizes that Hanks shock collar is dead. I watch out the window and see Brent, Hank, and Hana all running down the hill.

Whew. I'm exhausted. I know Brent is. He gets the animals settled, looks at me and says, "I'm about over all this animal drama!" I hold in my laughter as he goes back to work on the swing set. 

I decide to bake some chocolate chip cookies with Dane while Webb is sleeping!

Dane and I probably ate about 5 cookies worth of dough. YUMMY!!!

Webb woke up happy to the smell of cookies and we all enjoyed some before heading out to help daddy with the slide.

We finished the swing set (FINALLY), came in and I fixed dinner (Curried Coconut Chicken, brown rice, and sweet peas). We ate, I washed dishes, picked up the house, and got everything ready for my personal training session. The girls showed up at 7pm and we had an intense leg workout. After they left, I gave the boys and myself a shower, brushed and flossed teeth, read a book, and got Dane to bed.

Webb is still going strong which amazes me!!! LOL.

I am about beyond exhausted and I have no idea if this post even makes a lick of sense! But, I'm off to bed!!!

BTW, here is the swing set right before he finished.

I love it, the kids love it, and their friends who came to play tonight loved it. I call that SUCCESS!!!! :D

And my hubby worked his butt off on this thing! I am so grateful for all the hard work he has been doing. Poor guy. He probably can't wait to get a job. I did tell him today I was so glad he was unemployed. I said, I can't imagine coming home to a dead rooster, no home for the baby chicks, a pot belly pig in the yard, a missing dog, neighbors trash to pick up, a swing set to finish, a garden to work in, 9lbs of turkey meat to cook, and kids to look after. I gave him a big 'ole kiss and said, "Thanks, babe! You're the best!"

Oh the Joys

My chickens are doing fabulously!!! They are laying eggs and making this home. Every time I go out there and find an egg, I do a little happy dance. It makes me so excited. We have this one chicken, she is grey and I call her "sister" (BTW, that is the only one I have named. She has an attitude, so I had to come up with something. My MIL says we should name the rooster "Boss Man"). She lays these beautiful dark brown eggs. Yesterday, she was in the coop and I knew she must have laid an egg or be about to, because when I walked in, she stayed put. When I went to move her, she started clucking and getting angry and she even pecked me. I stood and watched and got to see the egg come out (this was about my 4th time to watch). I went to grab it and she pecked me. I took it in to wash it and when I came out, she was going insane!!! Clucking up a storm and wouldn't move from where she laid. I can tell she is just wanting to sit. So, her next egg, I'm going to be nice (since we have quite a few eggs with our neighbor giving us 30!) and I'm going to let her sit. I'll mark the egg with a marker and then I'll always know which eggs are for us and which one she is sitting on to hatch. I'm pretty excited about that too :D

My in-laws came up yesterday to help put the swing set together. It was a fun day of nothing. I got up early and did an intense leg workout. I worked out in the yard for about an hour and then, I ran to Walmart for a few things. When Webb and I got back, they were here. The boys got busy after lunch and my MIL and I stayed inside for some girl talk. We eventually went outside and played and made our way back in for a coffee break and chat. The boys came in for dinner just as it began to downpour. They worked for quite a while and got lots accomplished. I'm hoping Brent can finish it today (HOPING!!!!!!!). They watched the DVD on how to put it together and it said you needed 3-4 men and it would take between 10-12 hrs. My MIL and I just busted out laughing. I can't wait for it to be up!!!

On a different note, I have decided to start teaching boot camps out here. I may have mentioned that before, but I am so pumped to start! I think I will run 1 or 2 all summer long (the 1st one is 4 weeks long) and then possibly run some through the fall and winter. The winter would have to be very limited spaces because we would be inside a lot and for the summer and fall, we will only be outside. I think I have 12 signed up now. I am really really looking forward to doing what I love.

Today is another busy day. I need to haul off some more rocks (I really want my sweet husband to go buy a trailer for the lawn mower to make this easier!!) and then my girlfriend from church is coming over to hangout with me!

Hope you all have beautiful and fabulous Saturday :D

Dogs, Zoo, Chickens, Swingset, and Garden

Wow! I'm sitting down for the 1st time in days!!!!

Friday, we had a busy day of running errands. In  the midst of those errands, we decided to go to the pound and look at dogs. We knew we were getting some chickens and we knew we needed a "guard" dog so to say. We have a Boxer who is dumber than a pile of bricks!!! He is no guard dog. He is a slobbery, hyper, destructive animal. But, he is Hank. We love him :D Upon arriving at the pound, we all noticed this one dog immediately. She was calm (OH! What a wonderful thing), big, and she had these killer blue eyes.

We found out she was a Great Pyrenees mix which was exactly what we were hoping to find. After looking at all the dogs, our hearts were still on her. We decided to get her. We named her Hana (to go with Hank and also it has to be 4 letters.... just like my kids. We brought her home and have not regretted it even for a second. She is AWESOME. SOOOOO calm and wonderful with the kids. We haven't put a shock collar on her and she never leaves the yard. She stays right with the boys while they wonder and even stays right with me and Brent. Literally.

Yes, this is my butt and this is Hana.... stuck on me like glue :D

The boys love her and she loves them!

After we got Hana, we came home and Brent and Josh (his BFF) discussed what they would do for my coop. We ended up having Josh stay for dinner and inviting one of my closest friends, Sarah over as well. Boy, was it nice to have another girl in the house for a change ;-) We had a wonderful evening.

Saturday morning, we got up early and I got a quick workout in. Brent, Josh, and Dane went to Lowes for all the materials for the coop. Webb and I sat out for the vet for some flea and tick medicine and to Walmart for ingredients for the meal I am cooking for some friends at church tomorrow. We all came back and the boys worked and worked.

It took a bit longer than I expected. I thought it would be done in a matter of hours. They ended up completing the building part, but no shelving or chicken wire on Saturday.

We were supposed to get the chickens on Saturday, so I had to call to reschedule for Sunday. They finished, Brent hopped in the shower, and we ran off to a birthday party at the Zoo.

Here is Dane holding the snake at the Zoo. I tried to hold it while holding Webb and Webb came unglued!!! LOL. He is so much like his daddy!

We stopped at Subway on the way home and then ran by Costco. There was a swingset there I have been in love with for years!!!! This year, my parents and Brent's parents said they would go in with us for both boy's birthday and get a nice swingset for them. I had my eye on this one that was on sale through Sunday. We pulled up at Costco at 7:15pm and they closed at 7pm. Errrr. So, instead, we went to Tractor Supply and bought chicken food, a water thing, an egg gathering basket, holders for the food, scoops for the food (DANG!!!! Chickens are EXPENSIVE!!!!!!). We came home, unloaded it all and put the boys to bed. I still had TONS of work. Sunday, there was a fellowship following the am service and I had food to prepare. I decided to make my spaghetti with the yummy sauce that I make from scratch. I finished that up at 11pm and we called it a night.

Sunday, we went to church, stayed for the fellowship, and ran home. I had a babyshower I had to be at at 2pm. I had been planning on staying, but now that we had to finish the coop, go to Costco, get more lumber, pick up chickens, and start the garden, I knew there would be no way. Brent dropped me off so I could say hello to the expecting mom and drop off my gift. From there, we went to Costco, bought my dad and FIL their birthday gifts AND bought the boys the swingset (anyone want to chip in???!!! LOL).

We still had to go to Lowes to get MORE lumber. After going there, we went home. Brent started on the coop, and I started "tilling" the garden.

I soon realized, there was this lovely wire buried under lots of dirt and LOTS of massive roots and bulbs. I worked with Webb to the best of my ability. Brent ended up needing help on the coop, so Webb and I scooted over there because that was way more important since we were needing to still get chickens. We worked and worked and there seemed to be no end in sight. At 7:30pm, we made the decision I would go get the chickens alone while Brent continued to work. Thankfully, dad and Dane (they had graciously taken Dane home from church) pulled up and Dad helped me unload the swing set. I went and picked up 4 hens, a rooster, and 1 Banty chicken (for the boys. They lay tiny eggs) and came back home. My hubby was still finishing the coop (He is OCD and everything had to be perfect). We got the chickens in their home around 10pm.

We left Hanna out last night and she slept near the chickens. While going to sleep with the windows open, we heard some coyotes. We also heard noises in the woods. Hana started barking and we felt soooo good knowing she will be protective not only of the chickens, but also of us. 

Here they are this morning.

The boys wanted to see them first thing.

Today, I deep cleaned the house, ran errands, dropped stuff off at the cleaners, and came home and prepared dinner. I also have decided (after many asking me to) to start teaching a boot camp out at the house. It is a perfect location and I can really maximize our space. I planned that out and got dates sat in stone. I also worked on the workout and "diet" plans I have for 3 ladies I'm "personal training" on Tuesday nights. I'm no personal trainer, but I have worked out hard for years and have the space to have them over and assist them through a workout. It is fun and I LOVE it. Brent helped our dear friends move all day. He came home, ate dinner. After dinner, we all ventured out to complete the garden we wanted to finish on Saturday. LOL!

There was this wire mess and TONS of roots. It took lots of muscles to dig it all up. But, we did it!!! I shoveled the pounds and pounds of roots and my hot hubby pulled up the wire as I did. 

Here is what the wire looked like.

Here is a small fraction of the roots we dug and dug and dug up!

Here are a few other pictures from our hard work tonight.

Needless to say, we got quite a bit accomplished tonight. We still have some onions to plant, some more veggies to buy, my blueberry bush to plant, and then putting bricks around the outside. All in all, I am super pleased!!! I am so thankful for my hardworking hubby to did soooo much this weekend to please me :D This is all things I wanted done, not necessarily him, and it means the world to me that he worked so hard to please me!!! I am so blessed.

As for me, I'm calling it a night. I need to do dishes and get in the bed. We have to be in Hixon at 8:15 am for Dane to get his cavities filled. Then, it's home to make 8 homemade pizzas and a dessert (1 is already made). I am taking food to a lady from church who just had baby number 5 and to our dear friends who just moved in today! Then, tomorrow night it is biceps and triceps for my personal training ladies!!! And lots of cardio and Abs! If you're reading this, be prepared!!! 

Good night, ya'll!!!

Recap

It's been a long, long time... So, here is a quick recap.

Back in February, we got the dreaded phone call from my MIL. Pappy had taken a turn for the worse that morning and around 5pm, she called and said we need to get down there and do it quickly. My husband left school and as a somber family, we made our way to the hospital in Cartersville. I have never lost anyone close to me and the whole way there, I was so nervous. We cried, we talked, we prayed. We didn't know exactly what to expect. From what we understood, Pappy was on a ventilator and once the family had all arrived, they would be placing a patch on him, the patch would help the Morphine do it's job, and after about 30 minutes, they could remove the ventilator. Pretty much, it was time. They had warned the family it might be hard to watch once the ventilator was removed. I was scared. We had both boys with us. We were the last of the family to arrive and we came onto a scene I'll never forget. It was an ICU room FILLED with family and a few close friends. Pappy was laying in the bed with a ventilator helping him breathe. When we got there, my MIL told him we had arrived. The doctor came in a put on the patch. A family friend and Pastor prayed that the Lord would take Pappy peacefully and help his exit into Jesus' arms be comfortable and also be pain and suffering free. We were all sobbing through that prayer. As he prayed, you could hear the monitors and know that Pappy was leaving earth. After the prayer, some of his children told him it was "ok" to go. After that, it wasn't long. Both boys were eerily quiet. It's as if they knew. We were privileged to be standing next to Pappy, holding him, as he passed from this pain filled earth into the presence of our Lord and Savior. It was the most peaceful thing I have ever witnessed. No pain. No suffering. Only peace. We had been there maybe 10 minutes when he passed. We had been told it would be at least 30 minutes. Later that evening my MIL told my husband that Pappy was waiting on us to get there. We were the last ones to get there. He loved my husband and my children so much. I can't imagine the pain Brent would have felt if he hadn't made it in time. Brent says Pappy had to do one last thing for him. Knowing he waited on him, brings him such peace and happiness. It was a very sad night with many sad days to follow. We rejoice in knowing that Pappy is in Heaven-- walking, breathing, talking, laughing, hanging out with his first wife, Mammaw, and watching my babies continue to grow. I know he and Mammaw watch because on really pretty days, Dane sees them. Talk about making me cry! Some days, he will sadly say, "Mom, I can't see Pappy and Mammaw anymore." Then out of the blue one day in an excited voice, he'll be looking up at the sky and pointing saying, "MOM!!! I see Pappy and Mammaw's shadows!! They're watching me!!"

Summer is here or though it seems! I have many ideas for what this house needs! Chickens, a garden, a pool, flowers, a bunch of yard work, and much much more. I think my hubby is going to go crazy with all my "wants" before the true season of summer is here. On the top of the list, a garden, chickens, and yard work! In fact, I'm hoping to get my coop today :-)

I'm recovering from bronchitis. What a nasty thing to have. It absolutely knocked me off my feet. Looking back, I know I was sick a few days before I admitted to being sick. I am officially all better other than a persistent little cough I have going on. I did have to miss my friend Sarah's birth on Monday though. It was my first birth to attend as a doula and I knew I was still contagious and hacking! My job as a doula has me face to face with the laboring mom. I could not risk her or baby girl getting sick. So, unfortunately, I had to miss it :'(

Life here is going great! My boys are growing and absolutely captivating me each and everyday. I had read this thing before I got sick about a mom who wished her babies childhood away due to stress, irritation, and overwhelming exhaustion. She was always thinking things like, "I cannot wait till you sleep through the night", "I cannot wait until you can dress yourself", "I cannot wait until you kids can entertain yourself", "Man! I wish he would go to sleep without asking me to lay down with him. There is so much I could be getting done around the house", "How I long for the days when the kids will actually eat what I fix!" and more. Her babies were all grown up and she was looking through pictures with sadness saying how she begged for those days to fly by and now she would do anything to go back to those days and cherish each and every moment. I think I had become that mom. Always in a hurry, irritated, impatient, annoyed, etc. It makes me sick and embarrassed to think about it now. I have made up my mind, NO MORE!!! My babies are only little once. I am enjoying every single second I get with them. As a mom, I sometimes have a thought (a morbid thought that is) and think, "what if my child dies before me??? I don't want to wish I had done this or that. I don't want to wish I had put my phone down and splashed in puddles with them. I don't want to wish I had laid down at night, snuggled as close as I could get while the laundry waited on me. I want to know I enjoyed every second with them". So, those 2 things are pushing me lately to be the BEST mom I know how to be. I'm focusing big time on patience (also because I know they learn patience by watching it being practiced) and one-on-one time. We spend lots of time playing, laughing, and I let them help me do things. I'm actually finding that by doing this, I am less stressed and much more happy! These boys are my LIFE. I love them more than should be allowed. I am so, unbelievably grateful to God, for blessing my life with them and giving me the opportunity to be a mom. I do not want upset the Lord in the responsibility he gave me. I want to make Him proud.

Here's to a fun-filled, patient, loving, laughing, and playing day!!!

Hope you make the best of today as well!

I'm Baaaaackkkkk!

Wow. It's been a while friends. Since my last post, life has been super crazy. The day after my last post, Webb broke his leg.

Yep. Can you believe it?? Dane broke the opposite leg when he was just a little bit older than Webb. He fell out of a chair his leg got stuck and twisted as he fell. His daddy took him to get a cast while I was at a "Farewell Brunch" for a girlfriend who is moving away.

Don't worry. He is handling it just fine. He has learned how to walk on it and although he has a limp when he does, he is managing just fine. I'm a proud momma to see the determination he had to not be "disabled". He wasn't going to let an old cast stop him!

I stick an old sock over it so it won't get too disgusting!

My sister Amanda (AKA-- Aunt Man Man) came in for a quick visit.

She moved out to Texas a little over a year ago and we had seen her once since then. It was nice to get to visit and let the boys play with her for a few days!

Brent's granddad, Pappy, had a stroke while Man Man was in town. His left side was affected. He cannot move is left arm and he is no longer able to take care of himself. He will require care 24/7 from this point on. Right now, he is in a nursing home for the next 100 days for Rehab. We hate that he is there, however, he is required to have this. When he first had the stroke, we were keeping the roads hot traveling back and forth to Cartersville multiple times in a week. We would still be going weekly if we could afford it, but we literally spent about $200 in gas that first week. Eeeeek. It stinks to not be able to see him everyday and to not be able to help my MIL. She is there everyday religiously taking care of him. I know she is absolutely exhausted. We are very close to Pappy. Brent grew up seeing Pappy almost everyday. He played a father-like role in his life and Brent and him have a great relationship. Not only that, my boys adore Pappy. Pappy is amazing, loving, giving, and so much more. Dane would terrorize his house and Pappy would just laugh and laugh. He loved watching Dane and Webb be little boys. They could do no wrong at Pappy's house. I remember one time, Dane colored on his wall with crayon. I got on to him and made him apologize to Pappy. When he apologized, Pappy just laughed and laughed and then "got on to me". He looked at me real stern and said, "That ain't no problem. We can get another house, but we can't get another Dane." I'll never forget that. The fact that he loved my children so much made me love him that much more. He would have his house stocked of all the "bad" stuff that I have NEVER allowed in my house. From the time Dane was a BABY he has had Little Debbie snacks (literally something I have never bought), cookies, chips, crackers, candy, etc on the kitchen table within Dane's reach. Right when we would get there, he would say, "There's some candy in there. Go get you some!" That is all the encouragement Dane needed. Pappy (without me knowing) would give him oodles and oodles of candy and then a Little Debbie snack to top it off. Dane (not used to so much sugar or artificial colors) would be bouncing off the walls. That's when we had to start putting some limit on it. At first, I didn't want him having it period, then I realized that this was something that made Pappy very happy and it was something they could "share" in. When Dane was about Webb's age (18mnts), we were over there and Pappy said, "There's coke in the fridge. Go get that boy one." I remember my eyes got real wide. I couldn't believe he wanted me to give my baby something so horrible! LOL. I kindly told him that Dane only drank water and boo boo milk and that he hated coke. LOL. Then Pappy's eyes got real big. He said, "You're kidding me!" I guess he talked to Connie (my MIL) about that. She called me one day from the store and said Pappy had sent her to get some chocolate milk for the next time Dane was there. LOL. I had her get Dark Chocolate Almond Milk (OMG!!! It's my FAVORITE!!!). After that, there was never a time his fridge didn't have some for Dane and Webb. I keep thinking back to how it was when Pappy was healthy and at home. Every single time we would go over there, Dane would jump up in his arms and hug and kiss him. Webb would even hug and kiss him. Pappy would always say, "Is he tough??" Man, I miss him. I miss that. I told Dane that Pappy may go to Heaven soon (I wanted to prepare him so it wouldn't be too big of a shock when the day comes). I told him it wouldn't be "goodbye" because we would see him again when we go to Heaven. Dane got real sad and said, "Mom, I don't want Pappy to go to Heaven yet. I still want to play with him everyday." I don't either... not yet.

Anyways, just keep us in your prayers--- and Pappy and my MIL.

I went and did my doula training last weekend in Buford!!! YAY!!!!! I am absolutely so pumped to be a doula. I am trained, just not certified. Without certification, I can still practice and charge for my doula services (there is no legislation for it in the state of GA). I hope to be certified by the end of the year. There are a lot of steps I need to complete for that. I am on the ball though and I should have no problem being done by December (if not earlier). One of the things I must do is attend 3 births as a doula. I chose to offer my services for free for those 3 births (since I'm still learning!!!) and also so I would be more likely to get those births under my belt quickly. I am excited to say that one of those births is next month!!!! Whoo hoo :-) Talk about being excited. 

Brent and I went on a date last night. It has been sooooooooo long since we went on one. I had forgotten how nice they are :-) We enjoyed each other's company and just being together. I really appreciate the fact that my parents were willing to keep the boys so we could go. If we had had to pay a babysitter, we wouldn't have been able to stay out near as long and we would have only been able to walk around a store and eat a picnic dinner packed from home. LOL.

While we were out, we were talking about how life has been since the moment we moved into this house. It has been such a rollarcoaster and we can literally pinpoint it back to November when we moved in--- we had some major extended family difficulties, me and Dane had the stomach bug, my FIL got hit by a train, Brent got the stomach bug, Brent got laid off, Webb broke his leg, and now Pappy has had a stroke. That is all in 3-1/2 months time. It's obvious that the Lord is at work. I'm ready to learn what He is trying to teach me. LOL. I know He is using this time to teach us important things and I am not allowing any circumstances to get me down. I continue to trust Him each day and with each trial. I am excited because after the valley, you know a mountaintop is in your future... and boy could we use a mountain.