Well it's been awhile and I thought I'd better catch you all up!! We have been busy getting ready for winter and Christmas and just plain old busy!!! Part of the reason I've not been blogging is not that I don't have lots to say just that I couldn't say it without alluding to the big thing that is happening for us right now and I found it very hard to keep the 2 separate!! We are going to be parents again this spring and we are SUPER EXCITED about it. I am 13 weeks and it's time to share!! Ever since we found out that I was pregnant we've had to keep a bit of a lower profile as I've been REALLY tired and a bit sick. Fairly normal for me during the 1st three months. We told the kids at a surprise American Thanksgiving that we made for Papa and they are all excited too. E took great pride in telling several people (but amazingly only when we told her she could!! She can keep a secret!) including Grandma and Grandpa F that "Mommy has a BABY in her tummy!!" L and E are the most excited of the 4, with J coming in 3rd and R a confused 4th!! Though she likes the idea of 'baby'! Papa has decreed it to be a boy! Don't laugh or scoff he's been right the last 4 times. We'll see soon enough! For those of you who don't know Papa and I have found out the sex of the baby at each ultrasound and gone out for lunch or supper after and named the baby the same day! That's our tradition and we love it. SO we should know if he's right around January. I think. My due date will change after I see the Doc but I can tell you it will likely be the 1st week in July as the last 3 kids have been 10 days late!! The only reason J wasn't was because he was induced! My friend Mrs. T is also pregnant. We are due within 3 days of each other and NO we did not plan it that way but we are happy about it.
L is Thankful for the new baby in Mommas tummy. And for Space Chimps!! ( a movie we borrowed from the T's) The way he said it made it a close thing!!
The kids are growing like crazy and L is wearing pants that J wore the week before!! J is getting better and better about helping without being asked and takes great pride in helping us. 'surprising us." L has started to make up funny stories and enjoys telling them to anyone who will listen. E is growing a bit taller and gaining more grace daily! She has started missing people when they are gone for a while and it's amazing to see the 'girl' emerge. R is copying in sentences now and talking 2 words at a time. The other day she was saying something and so I asked e what she said. Little kids can often understand younger kids. E gave me a LOOK and said. "How am I supposed to know?" I laughed so hard. The other day while we were shopping we were all talking and E pips up. 'IS IT MY TURN YET!!!" She really HAD something to say!!
On other news we have our barn almost finished, the roof needs one more strip of plastic and we may end of putting plywood on the walls in the pig area as they are trying to crawl into them. Other then that we are ready for winter. We still need to bring Bindy home but it can get cold now without us having to worry about the pipes or animal waters. (Plastics on windows, heater under house, skirting sealed off, hay over sewer so it won't freeze like last year, ) And BOY has it gotten cold. This morning we woke up to a chilly -35C which is -3oF!!! Burrr. Both Maggie and I shivered while I was milking this morning. BUT we have water!! Nothing froze not even the cow water!! Finally Papa says "A winter I WON"T have to spend hours under the trailer thawing everything out." Trailers are SUPER horrible to keep warm in these temps.
We have 1 pig left to butcher and cut and wrap and then the total for the year will be 6 pigs, Bobby the beef and our 1/4 of Moose from B&B. It was a bit insane there for a while and very exhausting. Papa set up the meat saw on the house floor and I put up some tables and with the new hanging area right there where the wood used to be it made for a nice working area with access to the kitchen through the windows. This worked lovely as the people wrapping and labeling stayed indoors and the cutters were outside. The grinding and sausage was also out doors which we really liked as the cold weather (-3C 0r 30ishF) really helps with a nicer grind. We personally made 90 lbs of sausage. 8 different kinds. Anywhere between 3lbs and 20 lbs of different kinds. Pepperoni, McGriggers, Mennonite, Dakota hot dogs, 5 alarm hot dogs, a new cheese garlic one in which we used my homemade cheese, a Argentine Chorizo, and a Alsatian. The 1st 5 we did last year as well and really liked and the last 3 were Papa's experiments. And I'm not sure if we'll do them again. They are good but not great. We got our sausage smoked by a neighbor who did a great job and we are very happy with the final outcome of all that work!! Sorry that I took almost no pictures I was simply trying to make it through a long work day.
Thankfully we are all healthy, happy (we have our moments but we are mostly happy) and ready for winter.. good thing too because it's here. We have about 8 inches of snow, a Christmas tree and it's beginning to feel a LOT like Christmas time!!
