Showing posts with label sheep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sheep. Show all posts

June 10, 2015

One Thousand Words

A picture is worth "a thousand words", right?
 Today I have a loooong overdue picture post for you all!


On March 16th, our first lamb of the year was born.



We pretty much had at least one ewe lamb every day after that, so with 11 ewes expecting, it wasn't long before we had 17 lambs running around.  We had only 2 stillborn lambs (their twins survived), so we did really well this year!  Praise the Lord for that!



This little one was jumping around as soon as she was born!


We had quite a few first time mommies this year, and they all did a fabulous job.  Three of them gave us twins, although the norm for first timers is a single lamb.  Very exciting!




I'm not sure why we're wearing bowls on our heads.  But that's okay.


The awesome owl cake that my sister Jenny made for my birthday!



April 21st was Kellie bridal shower.  I had way too much fun putting the candy buffet together!


Shortly after the shower, we went on a day trip with Hank's family.  Actually, we went to a funeral.  But the trip was fun, even though our fan belt broke and we were stranded for a bit.  It's all part of the adventure, right?  :smile:


Hank, Bonnie-the-human (wouldn't want to confuse my sister-in-law with my dog;), and I entertained ourselves in the back seat.


Next on the schedule, shearing our flock of 15 sheep.



The lambs grow so fast!  I'm so glad we ear tagged all of them - it would have been so hard to keep track of who belonged to which ewe without them!


It was around this time that we had to put our ram, Ferdinand, down.  He was apparently extremely susceptible to internal parasites and try as we might, we couldn't seem to get him to gain weight and thrive.  Eventually, he became too weak to even stand up.  So we had to make the hard decision.  And it was a hard decision, especially since he was such a sweetie and only 2-years-old.



At the end of May we headed down to Arizona for another funeral.  We rode with Jenny and her husband, JD.  Which was really fun!



Saw some sheep while driving through Montana.  We also saw several moose, elk, numerous mule deer, some antelope, a coyote, and jackrabbits.  Oh, and Hank saw a bat.


Jenny and JD's dog Rex came along.  He did so well on the drive, usually content to sit in someone's lap...especially if they had a soft pillow. He liked my pillow best. ;)


My handsome man.


On our way down, we planned to stay in Las Vegas.  The lights on the casinos may be pretty and fun to photograph, but I felt uneasy as soon as we arrived.  Fortunately, God had other plans for us.  It turned out that the hotel we made reservations at didn't accept dogs.  Since we had Rexy, we had to find another hotel.  Th unanimous decision was made to head to the next city and get a hotel there instead.  I don't think I've ever been more relieved in my life to not stay somewhere!  So thank you Father for making it impossible for us to stay in that hotel and providing a better one elsewhere!


Like I said, the lights are certainly fun to look at! :smile:


Me with my baby bump.  13 weeks in this pic!

I unfortunately didn't get any pictures while in Arizona.  On our way home, Hank and I drove his parent's car back (since they were driving a different vehicle home).  I loved traveling with Jenny and JD, but it was really, really nice to have my husband all to myself!  Hank says I didn't stop talking till we arrived in St. George.  Being Memorial Day weekend, we had quite the adventure finding a hotel room to stay in.  But we kept praying, and finally found one!


We took a scenic byway on our way home and encountered some snow.  And we drove around the Bryce Canyon area.  Love the red rocks!



And, making their first appearance on the blog, the pigs!


We bought four pigs at the beginning of April, and after 2 months, they each weigh about 100 lbs.  Once they reach approximately 300 lbs, we'll have yummy pork in our freezer.  But for now, I just enjoy having them.  Pigs are so funny. :grin:



And that's all...for now.  So much is happening in our lives right now.

My "little" brother got married on Saturday.  So weird, having my little bro be a married man.  But also, completely wonderful.  He and Sarah make a lovely couple and I'm looking forward to seeing what the Lord has planned for them!

I'm now 15 weeks pregnant.  Not feeling nearly as sick as I was, praise the Lord.  I was beginning to think I might be sick the entire pregnancy - not a happy thought!  It's much more fun now, especially being able to feel baby move around a bit.  I love that so much!

The weather has been insanely hot here for this time of year.  In the 90s.  I'm not much of a heat person anyway, but being pregnant makes it much worse.  So I spend a lot of time in the house.  Which is good, since I'm finally able to do housework again.  I was too tired and sick before.

Anyway, I think I'll wrap this post up and start doing some of that housework!

Has your summer started of busy, busy, busy?
What are some of the things you've been doing?
Is it really hot where you live?
I want to know!

February 18, 2015

Outfit | Sunshine in My Soul












o u t f i t 
sundress // Old Navy {ThredUp}
shirt // thrifted
denim shoes // Crocs (long, long ago)

I took these last week.  It should have been freezing outside, this time of year, but it wasn't.  It was over 50* F!  So, I took advantage of the beautiful, sunny day and my camera tripod to get these photos.  It's a bit tricky, taking timer photos, but pretty fun!  Getting the focus right is really hard sometimes.


The beautiful warm days last week lifted my spirits and made my heart sing.  Not that I was seriously depressed or anything, but sunshine makes me so happy to be alive.  So thankful for my Father's gift of life.  Volunteering at Open Arms really brings that home every week, how precious life is.  I'm so thankful to be a small part of that.  I can't talk about my experiences there because of patient confidentiality, but I'm blessed each week by the women who come through the doors and by my fellow volunteers and the staff.  The Lord's peace and love fills that building and the hearts of those in it.  I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be there.  This hymn comes to mind - the words perfectly describe what I'm feeling.


There is sunshine in my soul today,
More glorious and bright
Than glows in any earthly sky,
For Jesus is my Light.

O there’s sunshine, blessèd sunshine,
When the peaceful, happy moments roll;
When Jesus shows His smiling face,
There is sunshine in the soul.

There is music in my soul today,
A carol to my King,
And Jesus, listening, can hear
The songs I cannot sing.

O there’s sunshine, blessèd sunshine,
When the peaceful, happy moments roll;
When Jesus shows His smiling face,
There is sunshine in the soul.

There is springtime in my soul today,
For, when the Lord is near,
The dove of peace sings in my heart,
The flowers of grace appear.

O there’s sunshine, blessèd sunshine,
When the peaceful, happy moments roll;
When Jesus shows His smiling face,
There is sunshine in the soul.

There is gladness in my soul today,
And hope and praise and love,
For blessings which He gives me now,
For joys “laid up” above.

O there’s sunshine, blessèd sunshine,
When the peaceful, happy moments roll;
When Jesus shows His smiling face,
There is sunshine in the soul.


Anyway, I'd better go feed the sheep.  The girls should start lambing around the beginning to middle of March.  We're getting closer!  Can't wait to have little lambs running around!  Now that will infuse this place with new life! We could end up with about 20 lambs this year if all goes well.  Yikes!  

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

What are some hymns/songs that make your heart sing with gladness?  I want to know!

January 9, 2015

Photo-a-Day + News | January {week one}

This first week and a half of 2015 has been incredible.  If this is any indication of how the rest or the year will unfold, it's going to be a fantastic one!

The delightful and fabulous news, is that my bestie is engaged! *huge smile*  I'm so, so happy for my dearest Kellie.  Praise the Lord for bringing them together!  I rejoice in this new adventure that Kellie and Christopher are beginning together, and I'm more than  a little excited to be the Matron of Honor. *grin*

: :

ONE | Hank's brother came from Wisconsin for Christmas and they had fun shooting guns when he visited our house.
TWO | The Bonnie dog.
THREE | Smudge, the kitty cat.  She's supposed to be outside...but when the cats away, the mice will play!  Except, it's the cat who's playing, so that makes Hank a...oh, never mind.
FOUR | Sheepies!  The black face on the left is Ellie and the smaller one is her daughter Seven.  In the front (l-r) are Helen, Phrionnsa (pronounced "Frunsa" which is Gaelic for "princess"), and Laura.
FIVE | Ta-da!  The diffuser!
SIX | Some intense thank you note writing has been going on here.  The end is near...one way or the other!
SEVEN | We've caught this family of elk munching our hay several times!
EIGHT | This horse gets loose and comes visit the next door buffet, too.  We just lead him back home and leave him there.
NINE | Beautiful hand dyed wool yarn from my sister-in-law Molly.
: :

We finally got some real snow...after Christmas.  *sigh*  There was a tiny bit of snow Christmas morning, which was enough to put us in the Christmas spirit, but not real snow.  This, is real snow.

I reintroduced Hank to Psych this past week.  We watched the pilot episode while we were courting, but didn't have time for anything more.  Only a few episodes into Season 1, and Hank is wanting to watch the show every evening.  A Psych-O is born! *grin*

Originally, I thought essential oils sounded, well...silly.  At the very least, they couldn't be as amazing as so many people say they are.  That point of view was altered when I had an ear infection and my sister-in-law gave me some Lemon oil to use.  The discomfort was pretty much gone within a day.  So, we ordered a starter pack from Young Living and are learning a bit about essential oils.  We just got the diffuser, and I love it.  I'm hoping it will help with my headaches and the winter dryness that makes me stuffy.

Photo a day might be a bit sporadic until I get my new camera battery charger in the mail.  I misplaced mine (yeah, I lost it) somewhere during our honeymoon travels. *sheepish smile*

And that's all I can think of to share right now.  Hank should be home any minute now and I can't wait to give him a big hug and a kiss!

What do you think of turning this year's photo-a-day into a link-up?
Would you link-up?  I want to know!