Emma Gets The Dirt Spot

Look who I found in the dirt hole today. Ms. Emma.

Isn't she cute?

And small in that dirt hole. That is mom's nose. Look at the size of that dirt hole.

So it's been a week!

Ethan lost his other front tooth and I had to email the tooth fairy and tell her to come!

My dogs used this as a play toy. I did the OMG it's a snake dance as I was heading out to feed the goats.

This little lady caught a ride in with the green beans I picked. Honestly I lost track of her and she could be anywhere in the house. Oh very nice right?

I banned the TV a few days ago. Long story there but it's banned and they will not be allowed to watch it until further notice. I'm liking the no TV. But in the mean time they have gotten into everything. Including all the costumes that we have. Here is Cole as a dragon.

I learned Sierra loves to drink water from a hose. Who know?

I cleared out two beds of Green Beans. I canned 16 Quarts of Green Beans this week.

My son learned he could climb the apple tree. Oh Peachy, I'm still waiting for a kid to break a bone and I thought this would be the day? It wasn't.

Yep, he is up there.

I made cupcakes and Tucker cleaned up after me. Yep, he cleaned up all right.

All three boys got new pj's today. So here they are showing off the new pj's. Yep those are canned goods behind them. I have canned goods everywhere.

Pumpkin Cookies

So I saw these cookies and I just had to convert them and make them tonight. They must be good because, between three kids they are gone. Very simple to make.

Here is one of my cookie monsters. Um, no it's not halloween, he was just being a puppy tonight.

Pumpkin Cookies

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup shortening

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup pumpkin

2 eggs (I used egg replacer with sparkling water)

2 1/4 cup gf flour mix, I used Cybele's mix

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon guar gum

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 375. Mix sugar, brown sugar, shortening and vanilla, until well mixed. Add in the rest and drop them on a cookie sheet. Make sure you flaten them out a bit and bake 10-12 minutes.

Ms. Spunky

So this is Ms. Emma. She has a new nickname Ms. Spunky. Well Ms. Spunky learned a new trick yesterday, she got out of the goat pen, she got through the dog pen and made it to the back door where she paw-ed and paw-ed until I opened the back door and let her in. She wanted her food!

But left us going how the heck did she sneak out? Well today I found out. We came home today to find she was again out of the goat pen and with the dogs. Now this little 15 pound goat and she can take on the dogs. Go Figure. So I got her and feed her and took her back. Where she got out again and roamed free with the dogs, where I was watching. But mom finally started to yell so I put Ms. Emma back with the goats. Where she stayed for a few hours until I happened to peek outside to see her just walk through a hole in the fence. Well there you go, that would be how she is getting out.

Here she is caught.

Here she is looking very cute, in hopes I give her some more grain. Have I mentioned she has takin a liking to grain?

Well guess who won? Here she is eating grain (in our dining room). One word Spoiled!

Apple Pie Filling

So our apple tree was loaded this year. This has been our first good year of apples. Last year we got 3 apples. This year it was buckets and buckets. So what is a girl to do? But to make apple pie filling, and applesauce and we will see what else comes to mind as I go.

Here is the finished apple pie filling. It smells amazing.

Apple Pie Filling

Core and slice apples and place in water as you go.

This makes about 7 quarts of apple pie filling.

6 quarts of sliced apples

5 cups of sugar

1 1/2 cups clear-gel

1 tablespoon cinnamon

2 1/2 cups water

5 cups apple juice

3/4 cup lemon juice

I toss it all into a pot until it boils, I load up the jars and bwb for 25 minutes. Here is a good link to some good photos and how to's.

Enjoy.

Cole and Vilitigo

So this is my son Cole, he has Vilitigo. He doesn't know he has vilitigo, he just knows he is a 3 1/2 year old boy having fun with life.

So I have to pose a question here. Cole starts preschool in a few short weeks. You see vilitigo when you look at Cole. His hands, legs, arms, back, every place but the face.

I'm sure kids will point this out to him so really I want to try and sit down with him and explain to him why he looks like that. I don't think I should wait until a kid says something and it shocks him that he does look different. I don't think I should let it go and hope the kids don't mention anything.

In all honestly I don't know what to do? Ideas?

I'm thinking of telling him that God made all of us different and this is how he made you different.

In the photo that is a picture of Coles hand. It's not a clear photo but you get the idea.

Emma Update & Checking Labels

This is Emma. She is doing so much better today. She looks so good. I am really no longer worried about losing her. Her swelling is now fully gone and has been all day long. She is very perky and spunky.


This is momma to Emma. Mom told me to do everything in my power to save her girl. I told her I would but she has to help me. Keep her going and keep her eating.

So the vet and I chatted yesterday and the vet gave me a really strong wormer. Then she said I need to probably check my minerals and food. She just came back from losing some horses because of a food change? Hum, had me thinking on the way home. Because my goats get goat minerals and what I think is good goat grain.

But what do I tell my gluten free board? Read your labels, check your labels, read your labels every time you buy a product because companies change.

Well all be dang, in looking at my minerals they did change. So I took my minerals up to the feed bin and we chatted and looked at labels and found a really great mineral for the goats. I also took my food with me, well not my food, but the goat food. And compared labels. I didn't realize my protein was almost down to nothing. I get the same stuff every week but yet the label was changing. I found better feed for the goats as well.

So they got their new minerals last night, and I mix the food until we are changed over. You don't change a goats diet fast. You take it as slow as you can. Poor Emma got a vitamin shot in the butt, selenium, and the new wormer. And she was also taken out of the pen for a feeding so she could have food and the new minerals. By the end of the night she was begging for mercy.

But I made a promise to momma I would do everything in my power and I did.

So a lesson here check labels Every time! I know I will from now on.

Loosing Jack And the Power of Prayer

So last night a shock came to our little farm as at 12:30am last night I went out to tuck in the goats and found Jack had passed on. Now this shocked me and hubby as Jack was doing great yesterday, in fact hubby and I were debating about Jacks horns and will he look like daddy or mommy? But he looked so much like daddy I should have named him Buddy Jr. Jack and sissy ate fine that day and we left them eating. I was out and about, and back and fourth all day and he never showed any signs that he may leave us last night.

So in shock and in trying to calm down mom, oh poor mom walking around screaming for her boy. I removed Jack and put him in the green house for the night. I went back into the goat pen to check on Emma. She looked horrible, all swollen and just off alone didn't want anything to do with anyone. After much debate we brought Momma and Emma into the laundry room for the night. I wormed Emma and gave her a dose of Rescue Remedy. Something the vet gave me for times like this. We gave them cob which Emma loved and we called it a night.

As I'm laying in bed, mom is screaming, she does not want to be in the house. But you can't have one without the other right now. Emma is 15 weeks old tomorrow and they just lost Jack. So I have to deal with the screaming.

So as I'm laying there thinking, I'm thinking it's time to really test the power of prayer. I had been really wanting to test things but wanted to do it on something I could truly see the outcome. If that made any sense.

So I lay there and start praying for mom to quiet down and go to sleep. I prayed and prayed within 5 minutes mom had quieted down and went to sleep. I then prayed until I feel asleep that Emma would be OK come morning time. Because I can't loose Emma. And prayed that he would give me the guidance I needed to help out Emma.

So after a very short night I was awaken at 6:30am to both mom and Emma screaming and my oldest yelling from his room SHUT UP. Ethan finally got up and calmed down mom and then came in to get me saying they want out and that the baby is doing fine. I had Ethan give them a bit more cob until I could drag myself out of bed. At 7am finally getting up I took mom and Emma back out to the goat pen. I wormed Emma and mom and gave Emma some more Rescue Remedy and left them because my eyes didn't want to stay open.

At 10am I got up and went out to the goat pen to fine Emma full of energy and just bouncing around. She looked good. We then wormed all the goats, gave them grain and hay and put Emma away in the mom pen and gave her some cob and hay. She has a liking to grain I will tell ya.

Emma is now out of the mom pen as mom has broken her out, and I left it because she is eating with the big goats, her swelling is down and looking good. I will worm her again tomorrow and let it be. I will do more rescue remedy sometime today as I see fit.

On the other hand it was nice to see my prayers answered, well at least for now. I was told he needed Jack so he took Jack. I'm trying to be OK with that but it's hard loosing yet another baby. I told him I can't loose another because it tears out your heart. I helped deliver Jack and Emma in my laundry room. I'm out there a few times a day snuggling with them and making sure they are OK, it pains me to find that they have passed on with no real reason, they are just gone.

On the third hand I have been opening up myself more and more to prayer and more and more to listening and understanding. It's hard to know what you truly believe, I was raised with parents who didn't talk about God and so in all honestly I have no idea what they believe. My kids go to a Christian School and before I lived with it, now I"m OK with it. I want them raised with God in their lives. I want them to take life slow and to listen to God and listen to their inner selves.

So now I"m waiting on what I should do next with Emma. I'm praying I don't loose anyone else, I"m just praying for help and guide me through all of this.

You are so missed Jack...Jack is the one in the photo looking at the camera. He is snuggled with Emma, This photo was taken yesterday the same day he passed on.

Tomatoes

So here is what 200 plus tomatoe plants look like.

Could you believe with over 200 tomato plants I am not swimming in tomatoes. In walking through the tomato field today I finally spotted some tiny green tomatoes so there is hope?

WAIT what is that I see?

It's a froggy, looking back at me.

This is me, loving my new camera. Isn't he cute.

The New Feeding Area

We finally got started this morning on the new covered feeding area we are doing for the goats.

The goats needed something, this will be a few things in one. Not only a covered feeding area, but we are building steps and they will be hay storage, the steps will lead to the top where they can walk around. If I can, we will put the grain feeder under there. We doubt there will be room for water. But we will see what this turns out to be. We have a basic plan down but we are kinda building as we go also.

Well first isn't Jack and Emma so beyond cute?

Well of course the goats HAVE to help.

Another view.

This is where we stopped today. If no rain tomorrow we will be out there again. We can only give this about two hours a day trying to squeeze it in.

Canning Green Beans

Canning Grean Beans is very easy to do. So easy even The Little Naked Chef can do it. Here is Cole helping momma. I raw pack my green beans, so I cut off the ends and cut the beans in half and Mr. Cole packed my jars for me. add a pinch of salt and fresh water and they were ready for the canner. Today we only did 7 quarts. I put them in the Pressure canner for 25 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure.

See very easy...

Goats...

Feeding Time

Can Ya See Me Now?

What About Now?

Ms. Emma drinking water. The funny thing is we have a smaller one right next to this one, but all the goats think it's so cool to drink from the tall one?

OH Mom Has A Camera!

Ms. Jelly, isn't she pretty?

Mr. Trooper, Lovely Colors. Trooper really misses brother.

Your Right Mom does have a camera!

Oh the dirt spot, we can share now. This is Sierra, Leo, and Trooper.

More to come.....

Goats and more Goats!

Hum who is this? Any Ideas?

Who could that be?

Oh it's Chip...Stuck! AGAIN!

Dale says HI! He loves the camera!

The Dirt Spot. It just appeared one day. Just out of the blue this dirt spot appeared. Every time you look out into the field you will see a different goat sitting in this dirt spot. Never the same goat when you look out into the field. They all take turns and stand in line for this dirt spot.

It's Buddy's turn for the dirt spot.