Promised pictures

Here is the newest member of my extended family. Early consensus has her named Lightning - for how fast she was born. Mama has been good to her. She is about 4 hours old in pictures. We put a little doggie sweater on her. I figure she is about 2 pounds in picture.

Only one kid but cute as can be!

I call her wee one, Mike wants to call her Justina afer a guy at work that has been asking daily if the kids have arrived. Our horse boarder that was instrumental in her arrival wants to call her lightening because she came fast and furious. About 3:20 p.m. is the time of delivery. By 7ish that evening we decided there wouldn't be a second. Evidently this happens and we shouldn't be worried about it.

Pictures will be posted soon. She is adorable!

Pictures to enjoy...

Master Saing...what a beast! He isn't done growing yet! You can tell by the picture of him and Chris wrestling just how big he is. Mike thought the ceiling was going to come down on him when they were doing this. tee-hee!

Valenino...the stud!

Valentino, Lilly, Velvet and Brownie

The coop...got the black paper on yesterday with all that cold and wind...almost inhabitable.

Mama....she still hasn't dropped the twins. We're patiently waiting.

Here's our barn kittens...Grey is our gal and black is our guy. We're sure to have others with these love birds.

Time passes...

Well I figured I'd take a bit to put a little update in here on what's happened on the farm the past couple of months. Mike has been trying to get the coop done in between wind, rain, sleet and snow. Currently Saint thinks it is a great big dog house. He wouldn't even come out of there this morning when I called him to come back in the house. Just peaked around the corner at me. All that's left is getting the black paper and shingles on the roof, a door and some interior beautification and heat. We need to get the chickens out there because they are out growing their current quarters and starting to kill eachother off.

Projects in the house have been at a stand still for quite some time. I think we just need to regroup and use our time more wisely with good weather for outside projects and bad weather for inside projects. Spring will come at us quicker than we think which will be good for getting a lot more done.

Mama is still making us wait on the twins. She should deliver any day. Signs that I've read about having completely happened yet so I suspect it will be a few more days at least. I'm sure we'll have pictures to post once they arrive. Maybe she is just waiting on us to be completely ready for this event.

Hobbitt, our boarded horse and Rachel have turned out to be great to have around. She helps in the barn, turns out the goats in the morning and locks them down at night if we haven't. We help her too when she needs to go home or to a vet activity. Chris and Hobbitt are good pals now. Mike has had his chance too to take care of him while we were in Florida. Hobbitt knows when a newby is around. Isn't that right honey? Hobbitt didn't want to come in one night...gave him the business for a while.

The kittens are growing fast and appear to be doing their job because I really haven't seen many actually any mice around since a few days after they arrived. Either they are scaring them away or getting full bellies. Saint loves chasing them around the barn. They know how to stay just enough out of his reach to make him nuts.

I'm still having sad moments on a regular basis from missing my Bogie. I'm sure someday it will be easier to handle when I'm thinking about him.

Minimal decorating occured this year for Christmas. Hopefully next year we will be more organized and I can get the place really lit up and ready for friends to come over and enjoy the holiday with us.

Happy New Year everyone and thank you so much for your friendship!

Catch up or is it just time?

I haven't wrote since the end of October.

Why?

Too busy!! Nothing happening? Lazy!!

Probably lazy. Lackadaisical! Most likely.

Well, here I am. Today was a good day. Spent some time with my girlfriend.
Not sure she really want to traipse around town with me, but she did. I forgot all about going to VG to fix a pc for my friend's mom. Girlfriend just said drop me off and go. That was good. Though she would have been welcome.

Anyway. Been working a lot lately at the farm. Cleaning alot. Trying to decide what to throw away. Building.

Building!!!! Spending lots of money more like it. Building a chicken coop. Post and beam style. It will look good. And be good. Need to find a way to keep it 20 degrees or more in winter. That will be the hard part.

Got a vet med student boarding her horse at the farm. Works out well. When we leave for trips and stuff, I got someone to take care of the goats, chickens and dog. It is a wonderful trade off. Hell, today she rake all the hay and goat shit up. more than we would of done.

Back to VG. Fixed momma san's computer and drank her beer. Talked and had a good time. Then spent a lot of time with good friends.

I haven't spent that kind of time and talked to them in a long, long time. I feel really good about it. We talked about current events an we talked about the past. We talked about the future. Mainly we just shot the shit with each other knowing that whatever was said would be taken seriously but calmly. To coin a phrase from the past - "It's all good!".

And so it was. Hopefully some of what we mentioned will come to pass. That mainly is dictated by our resolve. Mine I know has been sorely lacking lately.

As some may now, my son is leaving to join the Army in July of 2009. I am proud of him for that. The Armed Services are a good thing. Yes, I would have preferred the Navy or Air Force, but his choice and I stand by his choice. I am proud of you, Jake.

Thanks for the conversation dudes. We should make it a habit to do it more often. it was good. I enjoyed it. there is never any... any... judgment on what we talk about it. i don't always get that and I enjoyed it.

Thank you.

It's with a very heavy heart....

....my sweet sweet Bogie had to be put down this past Friday. He was definately my third child and I feel great sorrow in my heart. For whatever reason he went behind my rear tire when I was moving my truck and his little lungs got bruised and was getting worse by the minute. Once the doctor said pain and still may not recover, Chris and I agreed to give him peace. We said our good-bye and shed many tears. The doctor confirmed we made the best decision for him as right after we saw him he turned even worse & there wouldn't have been any way for him to recover. The doctor took care to quickly eliminate his pain for us. We brought him home to lay in peace in our garden. It was the hardest decision I've ever made and cannot imagine how I will ever handle anyone else that is close to me passing. God will lead Chris and I through this and the hurt will fade, but the wonderful memories will never be gone.

Thank you to all my friends and family that have been so supportive.

Read this and though it was worth repeating

Because as I see it, we all have a choice: You can wake up pissed off or you can focus on everything you’re grateful for. You have to open your mind and your heart and accept everything that is happening to you, good and bad. Right now, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I’m living a no-bullshit kind of life. Just waking up every day is an orgasm — an emotional orgasm. I know there are more ahead of me. I live for that.