Griggs Family Update Jan 29th/09

We are all well here on the farm. One bonus to not being able to go anywhere is that we don't get the sick germs that are flying around all over town. :)

Baby R is almost 11 months old and only nursing 2 times a day. I hope to have her weaned by about 11.5 months. The hardest part of weaning, for me, is remembering that I'm trying to wean her and remembering to bring her milk with us when we do get out. :) She is still crawling around everywhere and walking along the furniture where ever she can and is getting braver daily but still doesn't want to walk. Not even hanging on to your hands. She is feeding herself more and more these days and has a new 'smile' that I'll try and get a picture off. She shrunches her face up and shows her teeth. She has recently learned the sign for please, put your palm flat on your chest and rub in a circle, and will beat her chest with her hand until you notice her and give her what she wants. She has also started doing 'all done' (both hands out in the air fingers up) but only if we aren't looking!! (the kids tell us, once we look at her she stops).

Well E is finally totally out of diapers, including nights. Which is a real blessing in more then one way. She is so tiny that she needs help getting on and off and washing and opening doors but if it weren't for that she could do it all herself. Not bad for 2 years and 4 months of age. She is also talking up a storm, repeating everything!!, and recently started singing. Her singing is really cute!! She has also finally grown into the length of 18 month pants to match her 18 month shirts. The waists are huge on her and I've had to get her pants with buttons and elastic (like maternity pants for kids) so that the waists stay up. I guess Papa had this same problem as a child and she certainly takes after him. His mother put him in suspenders and Papa thinks that would be really cute on E but I don't!!

L at 3 years old is learning proper sentences and manners and we repeat him constantly. For example L will say. "I want that!!" And I will say either "Please can I have that?" Or say "what?" over and over until he says "Please can I have that." Saying "what?" over and over actually works better then telling him the correct way. It makes him think more. We are doing this with E as well. It's amazing that she's caught up with him in language. L is also learning verses with great ease these days and loves to show them off.

J is growing again and today I went though his pants a bit and several pairs are too short. He often eats as much as I do and yesterday I picked him up to put him in the cart and he's really getting heavy. He loves his new camera and I'll try and post some of his favorite pictures. It is nice enough these days that the boys are outside. Papa went out with them Sunday afternoon and built them a snow house in a huge pile of snow from plowing. I guess it's big enough for Papa and I to both be in there at the same time!! We were also told to light a candle inside it and that will harden the walls and make it stronger. They love it.

Bindy got out the other night and went for a walk in the snow. She came home with bruises on her bag, just one quarter, and we've been milking blood on that quarter for several days now. This morning I managed to get a lot out of her and her quarter was loose when she went out. We've been told that she should heal fine and our milk production shouldn't suffer too much. We think she walked through too deep of snow and possibly hit a few stumps with her bag. She also has 2 scratches on her back leg, high up, we are hoping these are from branches and not a wolf or coyote! She is healing nicely and it never did slow her down. But it's kind of a pain to milk her 3 quarters alone when we are so used to 4!

I've been busy reorganizing our house. I've gotten the kitchen, living room, front bathroom and most of our room clean and reorganized. I'm having a hard time doing the kids room because of naps, lack of washer and or dryer, and lack of totes to put things that need to go to the shed in. But one of these days all these things will align and it'll get done, until then I'm content to wait. The back bathroom had a water leak during our last water outage, or maybe the one before, which got into our closet where we keep/ kept our boxes and boxes of books. Very few were damaged and so far only 2 needed to be thrown away. Thank you Lord!! (during that day the mantra was 'It's only things. It's only things!!") We have since gone through each box, re boxed them and found other places to store them. Not an easy task in our small quarters but it turned out really well. The closet that the books were in is going to be turned into a pantry for my canning. Which is also a blessing as my canning needs more room. I'm storing some of it in boxes at the moment. Papa is going to build me some shelves for it soon. And some shelves in my kitchen, by the microwave, for my big pots and things that don't fit in my cupboards. Oh the kids bedroom is also getting bunk beds as soon as we can find or make some. That will also help with our space problem. I really want to get this all done before spring as we tend to get so busy spring, summer and fall, that nothing like this gets done around here. And it would be nice to have it all ready for the busy season.

Papa is still loving his job. He has an odd shift every second week, but we think we'll like it. He works 8am to 6pm this week (Monday thru Saturday). Next week he has Monday and Tuesday off but works 11am to 9pm. The week after that he has Thursday off (and works 8am to 6pm) and the week after that he works Monday thru Saturday (from 11am to 9pm.) Confused yet?? LOL. He should have 3 weeks off Aprilish which we are looking forward too. That is the start of the breakup in the bush (too wet and mucky to work) and the start of spring work for us here on farm. Papa might also challenge his 1st year test in April while he has the time off.

For the most part we are hanging in there with winter. The temps have been all over the place these last 2 weeks. From -20F to +50F. Today it is 50F and the water is running every which way. Feels like spring.. and it's nice to have a break from winter. Though we do realize that winter is not over. We got snow several times totalling about 7inches. The wind on our place isn't too bad but in town and other places it is horrible. We are fairly sheltered here which is a huge blessing. My chickens like the warm weather as well and this morning I brought in 13 eggs. A record for the winter!! I think I have 19 hens. And considering they are 3 years old that is not too shabby!! All and all we are in good spirits and doing well.

Misbehaving

Momma's Maids are Misbehaving
When she says dry one says "Why?"
"I've tumbled and I've turned
that warm spots being wasted,
Keep that fire well burned!"

When she says wash another says "Posh!"
"Those hands have had their rest..
Wash those dishes and do your best!"

Another maid has a leak
and when it goes it sprays,
dust and air and makes a mess,
where the littlest one plays!!

Then there is one who seats us six
Which should have been an easy fix
but has now been down days numbering almost two weeks
With, Thank you, one trip to town for some treats.
But now is having more to fix!!!

As you can see from this very poorly done poem (poetry never was my thing:) that mechanical things are revolting at our house. Several of my daily used maids are in need of repair or replacing. The dryer (friends gave us a newer one with the newer washer and it's on again off again working.), the dishwasher (which is so old they don't even make parts for it), the vacuum cleaner (which hasn't worked properly in years) and our travelall. The travelall is waiting for parts but worked great yesterday to take us on our first outing in almost 2 weeks. We had a great time at Bible study, then went out for lunch at the local bakery, went to the library for some much needed books, and did some other shopping. But this morning when I was going to take the travelall to town to get the mufflers fixed it was acting up again and our trip was canceled. Much to the sorrow of us all as we were going to 'hang out' at Grandma's house while it was being fixed and show her our new favorite movie "Animals are Beautiful People" But the sun is shining, the snow is melting, the boys are outside playing in their snow house Papa made with them on Sunday, the baby's asleep and the dryer is actually drying!!! LOL. E is playing nicely by herself and I feel the dishes calling me....And I think they can wait!!! LOL.

Playing "Church"!

Lately the kids have been 'playing' church. Right down to looking for the tape :) LOL. (In our home church we constantly have to go looking for the tape and or tape player because no one remembers where it was put last!! And since we move house to house week after week it's rarely in the same spot twice) One of the kids starts out with a prayer and they all close their eyes and fold their hands, then they all go get 'song' books. Which is any book they pull off the shelf. Then they sing. Often themed songs from their children's books. (Tonight one was CARS) Then they 'find' a tape and a player. Anything can be a tape or player. The other day the player was L's dump truck and the tape was a car! Then they sit for a minute and listen to fuzz. (one or all of them making the noise) Then they get another tape. LOL. (Believe it or not this very rarely happens in our church, but it must have made an impression because it happens every time in theirs) This one may or may not work and when they find one that works they sit for a bit. Then they are done. They never do pray or discuss the tape at the end as we do in house church nor do they 'pot luck' afterwards.

But that's their 'church' and they stick to it!!

Late Night Jam Session!!

You shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace.

The mountain and the hills will break forth before you.

There will be shouts of joy.

And all the trees of the fields will clap, will clap their hands.

And all the trees of the field will clap their hands (clap, clap)

The trees of the field will their hands.(clap, clap)

The trees of the field will clap their hands, (clap, clap)

as you go out with joy!

This is a favorite song in our household. You have to start out fairly slow then go faster and faster as you sing it over and over!! The kids never can get the clapping but J taps pretty nicely on his guitar. (A stunt learned from Papa) The kids request it every time Papa pulls out his guitar and tonight it was a duo!! Papa and J twanged it out with great power.. or J did anyway. Papa was playing normally. Papa showed him the chords needed and off they went. In all they played 5 or 6 songs together. And J practiced several new fingerings and we all enjoyed their music!!

More of J's Birthday Pic's

Here is J with his favorite birthday gift.

It is a kids digital camera. He loves it and takes tons of pictures.

Here is J making his birthday cake. I helped a bit but mostly he did it.

The little pink arm is E who was very excited about cake!!

And yes those are eggs from my hens :)

Here are the kids in J's spider man masks.

You can also see pretty much my whole kitchen!!

Our little Model!!

Princess R in her Christmas outfit from Grandma and Grandpa F!!

What a little Doll!!

A L funny for you.

Today L and I were talking at the lunch table and he pipes up with a question about God. He's been doing this daily, it's the same question he just wants to make sure it's the same answer. Anyway after I answered it he said something else about God. Something like "God for us... something something." Anyway a adult would have used the word 'to' instead of the word 'for' in L's sentence. So I asked him "to God or for God?" He thinks about this for a quick second and says "ONE GOD. Mommy there is only one God!!!"

The Eagle!!

This big fellow was sitting and watching me do chores this morning. Every once and a while he'd call out. When I was calling Bindy I'd yell "BINDY" and she'd start to come. Then he'd call out and she'd stop! Crazy cow. This is one of the birds that is cleaning up the entrails by the lagoon. So far the bird count is pretty small but I can defiantly see a difference in bird numbers since butchering day. Last time we counted 4 eagles and this time there has so far only been this one. I've also seen a raven and heard several smaller birds calling between the trees. I carried both boys out to see it after chores but when they went out to play later in the day he was gone. The trees have been covered in frost like this for about a week. Very pretty, but very gray as the sun has not come out at all!!

Bug Eyed and the attacking Pig!!!

This was taken the same day as "Snow Throw". Bindy with her 'OH CRAP' look. Papa was throwing snow at her and you can see he got her at least once!! She just couldn't believe it!! It was really funny. If you look in the pig pen you can see he threw snow at them as well. This was a very bad idea and came back to bite us. The weather was nice and warm and everything was melting. The pigs had mud 6 inches deep.... and we had to butcher 2 the next day. FOUL!!! They were gross!!! We had to wash (Read soak and brush, scrub and rinse and brush again) them before strip skinning. YUCK. We hauled a bunch of leftover hay to the rest of the pigs the same day we took the 2 out and they now have a nice pen again. But they were NASTY. 6 white pigs turned brown overnight!! On the other hand the snow had to go and it was either there or walk half way across the roof to throw it off the end. Note: the blue wheel barrow is placed just so where we normally milk... so Bindy can't make a mess where we have to sit!! She no longer has this area as she no longer needs it.

Another cow funny happened to me the other day. It was actually funny and I really couldn't blame her even though I really wanted too. After it happened I couldn't stop chuckling. But it was NOT funny while it happened. I milk on the right side. Papa milks on the left. This started because I was pregnant with Baby R when we got Bindy and I refused to be stuck between the cow and the fence to milk. Bindy has always been really good about it. Anyway. Because he milks on the fence side he never has any pig problems. I get them all. He's between the cow and the pigs. When I milk she often shifts right to the fence and so the pigs are right there. Well one morning she shifted over to the fence and I moved over and kept on milking. Half asleep as per normal. ALL OF A SUDDEN Bindy lifts off. I swear she picked up her whole body and levitated up and over a good foot. Now that's pretty funny all by it's self. Without remembering that I was milking on that side. She went up and practically landed on me!!! I couldn't get up off my stool fast enough (I had no warning and it's a pretty low stool) and slid off backwards about 2 feet into the shavings. Landed hard on my butt and eagle spread. She kicked a few times and moved around a bit. She managed to spill about 1/3 of the milk in the bucket, which is not bad considering her scare. Right then I almost lost it, I just about got mad. Then I realized WHY!!! Poor Bindy. Then I laughed. One pigs liked to walk along the fence and grunt at me while I was milking. Sometimes he'd squeal and in general make a pest of himself. Well on this day he just about gave both Bindy and I a heart attack. He jumped up on the short wood fence and his front feet LANDED on Bindy's back. The pig in the picture with it's head over the fence is in about the right spot. With Bindy standing right next to that fence they can nose at her but this is the 1st time one attacked. It took Bindy and I a few minutes to get her moved over towards me, were the pig couldn't reach her, the stool placed and the milking resumed... but our hearts were racing for several minutes after that!!! Needless to say we were both rather jumpy for the next couple of mornings. And I didn't get much milk that morning!! Poor old Bindy!!! Now can you really blame her for getting super excited on pig butchering day??? I'm sure I saw her give me a disappointed look when we stopped at 2!! But I did make sure that the 'squealer' was 1 of the 2. Squealer was also known as Wilbur!! Good riddance Pig!!

Oh and when Papa heard about it he laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes and fell over!!! Then he tried to convince me to switch sides. Pregnant or not I am not being stuck between a fence and a COW!!! LOL. I just make sure she doesn't try and lean on the fence while I'm milking...Oh and I'm finding it hard to doze and milk these days.