Snow pictures.

This fence is for our cow. Good thing she's not an explorer type. When this fence was put up it was too high for me to step over. About 2.5, 3 feet tall. Cow nose hieght. :) This 1st picture is right behind the trailer where the sun almost never shines. We always have snow here for ages while the rest of the place is clear! This is about the middle line of the property both ways. That small hump you see at the far end is our lagoon rim! This is part of what we cleared. You can still see where they put the line in from the lagoon to the house.

Our International truck isn't going anywhere soon!! You can tell the sun heats up the metal enough for the snow to melt. The flat bed has been clear of snow a couple of times already.

Valentines Day.. Late I know!!

We actually celebrated it on the 12th. We have for the last 3 years. We went for our 1st walk as a couple, he actually asked me if he could court me during this walk, on the 12th of August (which I found out years later was his Pa's birthday!) and we have always kept the 12 of each month as a 'sort of special day'. Some months we go out for supper on the 12, like August, and other months we just say "Happy 12th" LOL. I think it's kind of ironic as Papa would like to have 12 children. So the last 3 years we've celebrated these two days together!! Very sweet. The kids went with Papa to pick out the flowers and chocolates and they each got a tiny box too.

Here is J and his 'cheese ball' grin!!

A Turning

Well things are going better these days!! Much better. Papa had the last few days off and instead of having every little thing go wrong and having to put things off because of all the little things we had a very GOOD productive 3 days.

First I must brag!! My sister Ann recently had a beautiful baby girl which they named Courtney Ann. She is a tiny little bundle. She has an older sister M who is perfectly thrilled to have a baby sister!! M bragged minute I walked into the room "This is my baby sister!! I'm a BIG sister now!!" She is 3 and they are all thrilled with their newest family member. This is my parents 13th grandchild and the only one born my C-section!! I told my sister the baby just had to distinguish herself! In the last 2 years there have been 3 grandchildren a year!! This year Courtney is also the 1st of 3!! (and for the 1st time none of them are ours)

We had a great mix of fun and work this week so far. Sunday morning church was canceled so we headed up to see the new baby. We had a great visit with my sister and family then we headed home to prepare for a fun evening. We had invited B &B and M & M over for a Matrix night!! We started at 3 when the kids went down for naps and watched the 1st one. Then when the movie was over and the kids up we made and ate wonderful appy's and had a great time together. After stuffing ourselves, Papa made BBQ'd pork and shrimp;I made breadstix's, B brought veggies and dip and shrimp rings and M made a great salad and chicken wings, we set up B & B's laptop in our room and the kids watched 101 Dalmatians in there while we watched the 2nd Matrix in the living room. The kids loved their movie, Thanks M, and us adults were all wishing we didn't have to get up early the next morning so we could finish the 3 part series.

Papa had Monday and Tuesday off and we got what felt like an amazing amount of work done. We made a list, like we do every day off, and actually managed to cross all but two things off it; unlike the last several months lists!! Papa made shelves for the kitchen and cut more for the back bathroom closet (where the books used to live!) and I set up the bathroom shelves. I got all my canning off the bathroom counter (it is a very big bathroom) and into shelves!! I also got most of the bathroom organized and now we can walk through it!! Bonus!! LOL. Papa's shelves in the kitchen got finished today and they are WONDERFUL!!! I love them!! I kept grinning for pure joy as I stacked them full. Well actually I even have EXTRA ROOM in them!!! I've already got the curtain material (the stuff hanging on the side. Matching my kitchen curtains.) out and will hem them up soon.

We also got a load of firewood in and brought up some pine from the very back of our 5 acres. We trudged through thigh deep snow for 500 feet or more. Making a path with the heavy loaded sled on the way back. It was like swimming in loose snow. I could not get a footing and as I'm heavier then Papa I would sink farther then his foot steps and bog down. I managed 2 trips and then my legs refused to work. I barely got back to the house before they quit completely for several minutes. I'm still a bit sore now!! I told Papa we need to teach Bindy how to pull in harness!! He said that she did enough work right now just producing milk and he didn't think she'd like it at all. I dryly told him that I didn't say she'd LIKE IT!!! But I sure would. (I've been trying to figure out how to make a movable layer house that Papa and I could move ourselves. Without having a tractor or anything we are rather stuck in this regard, but we really need a layer house that is movable.) The company we got our non-working meat saw from finally sent us the right pictures (they sent our own back first. Makes you wonder really, how bright are these people?) and Papa found the problem and got it all put together right! We even got all the sausage meat from our 1st two pigs ground!! Here is Papa grinding away. I thought it would make a big mess, but it doesn't. Even when he used the saw it only made a little mess on the floor!! I'm impressed!

That night we watched "Swiss Family Robinson" with the kids, ate hot breadstix's, apples and cheese, and J found his "favorite new movie!!"

Tuesday was another great day. We slept in a bit and we were in the middle of general house clean-up after breakfast when friends of ours showed up. They had called ahead, we were just behind, so we visited with them while finishing up and then the guys put the meat saw all the way together and A and I watched kids and visited. Here is Z and Baby R playing together. They are 9 weeks apart in age (he's older) and 8lbs in weight and several inches in height!! But they love each other!! Neither are walking so they are 'practicing' standing together!! They live an hour from us but were coming in to town to visit our favorite Doctor so they stayed for several hours and all the kids napped together. They have 2 roughly the same ages as E and Baby R and with our 4 it makes for a great time. When they'd gone we got the kids up and Papa finished the kitchen shelves and tore apart the dryer. The most amazing thing happen while he was taking the dryer apart. He found change!! LOTS of change. $52.02 worth of change. (and one token to the swimming place :) Papa told me "It's not every day you cut open a fish and get a coin!" (Jesus did this in the Bible for his taxes.) But that broken down dryer did just that!! He also found out that it needs a new motor to spin the drum. Watch the part will be $52.00. :) .

The evening was spent grinding meat with the grinder on the meat saw (something that wasn't even ON the list!), finding a babysitter for a night out, supper and watching a episode of "All Creatures Great and Small." Which we all enjoy

Weather wise we've gotten two dumps of 5 or 6 inches each of snow in the last week and temps hit -22F one night. It's warmed up a bit and we are suppose to see positive temps by early next week. I'm hoping that was our last cold spell of winter but I also know it's likely that we will get another one before spring. The sun has been shining and water dripping on warmer days.

We are getting out a bit more these days, Papa and I. Grandma watched the kids one day so we could go to a friends birthday party. Wings night at a local pub! Great Fun but not kid friendly. And Saturday is a celebration dinner (at the same pub!) for Papa's work as his bosses are finally whole owners of the business!! This evening will make 3 times we have ever left Baby R with someone for a few hours. And twice in 1 week!!!

Baby R eating her favorite food!!

She will even ask for "Nana's" she likes them that much!!

Snow Babies!!

Update Feb 17th.

WELL.. the baby shower was great!! The kids and I had a great time and the twins were very tiny and very cute and they got lots of really helpful and cute stuff.

One of the kittens that we've been taming has recently decided that humans are awesome ear scratcher's and lovely all around caretakers. He, named Patches as he looks just like his mother did (who never did come back), loves to wind his way through my legs as I'm milking with quick foray's into the milk bucket to see if he can reach the milk yet. He allows us to pet him but would rather not be picked up just yet. He is actually becoming a bit of a pest and try's to 'play' with my hands as I'm milking, drink out of the milking bucket, and swat at the milk when it streams into the bucket. As I'm only milking into an old pail these are not serious offences. Yet! This morning I decided that even 'happily friendly kittens' need manners and started to swat at him when he tried to drink out of the bucket. I got a playful swat back! But after a few thumps he got the idea. And as the 'thumps' seemed to come out of no where he is still friendly and playful. The other kitten will not come near, but often plays with Patches tail while Patches sits by me. We have the loan of a live trap and are going to try and tame him when he gets caught in it. The trap is actually for 2 strays that showed up this last fall and are making themselves at home here. They are both Tom cats and neither have any manners or sense. One of them cause our water to freeze the time the bathroom flooded but living under the house after Papa thought he had it all shut up so nothing could get in. We still don't know how he's getting under the house but it must stop.

Papa and I are looking forward to home schooling J and in prep we are looking into different types of programs. Several of our milk people home school and tonight I went to one of their homes to look at what she does and find out more about the program she uses. The kids had a great time playing with their kids and as we left their oldest child started to play their keyboard. J was all ears, riveted on the music and this child only 3 years older then him that was playing it. I got a fair amount of info on home schooling, I really wasn't sure what all to find out, and learned a bunch about that great family.

This week is Papa's 6 day late shift week which means we have mornings together and so far we are really enjoying it. He has time to get some stuff done in the mornings before work which is really nice. And we all get to have breakfast together. Last night he even got home in time to read the kids their book. He's reading Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder and we are all enjoying the story of that hardworking, constantly eating and dreamer of horses Almanzo Wilder.

This morning every thing finally aligned for the cleaning out of the children's closet. Boy did it need it. I got 8 totes on Sunday when we were in the 'city' to go swimming with friends and today I put them to work. Lots of the clothes were sorted and in diaper boxes, but several were over flowing and missing stuff. So I filled up totes and got everything labeled and sorted and finally finished. I had several piles of too small clothes that needed to be put with the proper size in a new rat proof tote. These totes are going to go out to the shed to be stored until we need them again. I also got the kids toys resorted and some of them re boxed and stacked away in the closet. Because of our small space and my own need for neat living area, the kids toys get put away in boxes then every few weeks we switch the boxes out for new boxes and it's like Christmas all over again. I also found some things I'd thought I lost and some I'd forgotten I had at all!! I put all 8 totes to work and emptied out many more boxes. Oh and I went through all the kids current clothes and sorted out too smalls and moved in larger stuff. E and Baby R are almost ready to share clothes!!! Shirts they could almost already. Not the button between the legs shirts but just T-shirts or sweaters! Soon I will only need one pile for them both! I was in an organizing mood and got my brown cabinets above the microwave done as well. Things are looking up!! Papa still needs to make me some shelves in the kitchen and the back 'pantry' bathroom and then I'll feel almost ready for spring!! Wellll maybe not!!

My hands are doing better now that I picked up some non latex gloves. I use the gloves for dishes and wiping up and I'm amazed how fast they are healing. A few more days of this and I may be able to hold a needle again. My finger tips were so sore that I couldn't even hope to do my next winter project which is a cross stitch wall hanging for Baby R. I've made one for each of the kids. It has a teddy bear sitting on a moon with stars all around and their names and dates of birth on the bottom. I really wanted to get it done as if I don't get it done this winter it will have to wait until next winter.

The eagles are gone I think. I've not seen them for about a week. I was sort of sad to see them go but have decided it's for the best. I was a bit worried they would hang around all year and that would not be good in the spring when we have chicks out and about!! Never mind cats!! They may come back next butchering day but hopefully they do not stay! A few years ago my brother had a pair of golden eagles taking baby goats out of his kidding pasture. An eagle can easily carry 5 or 6 lbs, and can kill a lot of chicks if it has babies to raise!!

Hemmed!!

Friends of Papa's from when he worked in the bush just had twin boys!! Their 1st and 2nd children so tonight we are going to a baby shower for them. I went to Walmart last night and picked up some great boy fabric and spent the morning hemming it into 2 large blankets for the twins. After I got some kinks worked out the hemming went really well. Surprised me as me and my sewing machine are often at odds with each other. Not outright war but close. I'm not a sewing person at all, though I seem to be overcoming this slowly, and the smallest chores on the machine are great achievements!! It likes Papa better then me and will only grudgingly work for me but will willingly work for him. I took the 2 blankets I made and wrapped the rest of the gift up inside the blanket. One for each of them. Really cute and I didn't have to wrap it!! LOL. I always want to have twin boys and so this is really special for me! I told a friend of mine that recently and she thought I was NUTS to even ever want twins. Then I mentioned that 'maybe our next one will be twins! Wouldn't that be FUN!!" And she gave me this HORRIFIED look. LOL. But I still think twins would be fun. Now that our other kids are older it would be even more fun for us all and I'd have a few helpers as well!! No I'm not crazy, or pregnant :), but I can dream can't I??

A great big SMILE!!

Papa showing L how to play a chord on our Ukulele, a gift from Grandpa and Grandma G.

Checkers.

Papa taught J how to play checkers recently. J won. LOL. I helped a little :). But as you can see it was a pretty serious game for a while. I love how cute J is with his little stick on mustache. L took the time to review the rule book for when he's old enough to beat Papa in chess.

Milestones.

Baby R who is almost 1 year old is growing in leaps and bounds. Not is size, though she is now 15 lbs. She's growing in maturity. She has started talking. She can say Papa, Momma, J and L. If you ask her to say E then she says ummumm. Here she is right after she climbed on the couch for the 1st time. She stepped up on a blanket and climbed up. She is very proud of herself. She walks along the furniture but is not brave enough to step out and walk but that's ok. She is getting braver by the day. She also gives big wet kisses and loves 'round and round the haystack'. If she wants to play 'round and round the haystack' she points her finger at her hand until you do it. For those of you who do not know. Round and round the haystack is when you draw circles around the baby's palm while saying 'round and round the haystack goes a little mouse." Then you point on the baby's arm and say "One step." Point higher and say "Two steps" Then you tickle them under the chin and say "In his little house!"