Why does it always seem that the only time I get to blog is late at night when I am so tired I can barely hold my eyes open? Maybe that is when I ramble the best.  I was shocked to see I had not made an entry here in three months; shame on me!  :o)

It's hard to believe that is January and 2012 already.  Wow... time really flies.  Tomorrow is Hannah's real 11th birthday although we celebrated it Sunday.  I actually took most of a whole day off of farm business, didn't even check my emails.  I am awe struck at the idea that the little five pound baby I brought home is now eleven years old.  You would think I would be getting used to watching these kids grow up, but instead I would really rather they just slow down a little and let me enjoy them more.  I long for a day when we are less busy, less hectic and more organized with more family time.  But I know we are doing a good thing with this farm and all this work will pay off.   Anyway, back to the kids.   We have only had one real snowfall this year, much to the small people's dismay.  Hate to disappoint all you folks back home...  but we did NOT have a White Christmas.  Hannah kept saying it didn't feel like Christmas without snow on the ground...   all I could think is "Nope.... no one can call these kids Southerners anymore..."  Missing the snow; they did decide to plaster the house with snowflakes.. which I really loved!

Our first calf of the season was born on New Year's Eve... silly guy.   Just five hours later and he would have been the first calf of the year, but instead that honor went to the little guy born today.   We have also had our first set of lamb twins born.  Twin girls.   I must admit, I especially love it in the winter when our barn is transformed into a nursery.  The heat lamps give off a soft glow and Mommas and babies are fun to watch.  It's just so peaceful in there.  Of course all newborns have an audience of kids, I love that we have such warm relationships with our cows that they trust us to be there during birth and afterwards.  It's awesome!   

Mom was here for Thanksgiving.   She is so stinkin' awesome!  She spent most of her time playing cards with the kids, teaching them all sorts of games.  She seemed to almost always have one kid in her lap.   The certainly caught the card bug and even still seem to always be playing some card game somewhere; there are stacks of cards all over the floor, remnants of games interrupted by little brothers or chores or in the case of the little guys... just plain ol' forgotten.  

Games seem to be the new passion around here.. I love that!  And crafts... boy do they enjoy crafts.   Little art and craft sets procured at the dollar store have brought much joy around here.   Someone pointed out to me that my kids find joy in the simplest of things...  and I realized how much I love that about them.  They could care less about the latest fashion trends, they don't know much about what's hip or trendy.. they are just happy to have what they have.  

We were visited this Christmas by the Christmas Angel...  and want to take a moment to thank our angel.  You really have no idea how much your gift meant and helped us.  We thank you. 

OK It's really late now.  I will leave you tonight with one of my favorite Christmas pictures... the kids and Santa taken at Bass Pro Shops when Mom was visiting.  I call it "Santa needs a potty break".  Is it just me or doesn't he look like he's gotta GO!     

Wishing everyone a wonderful new year.  We are looking forward to 2012, the fresh start it brings and all the excitement this year holds for us. 

Hugs...
Laura

Much thanks to Rod Adams... friend of Andy's that came out for a farm photo shoot.  He snapped some amazing shots of the kids and animals.... we are super thankful.  (fyi... anyone interested in his services his email is on our links page)  I will try and sprinkle some of the pictures throughout this post.  I have also updated the webpage including many of his photos not shown here.  Its such fun to have new fall photos to share!

Ashley came home for Thanksgiving!  I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful it was to have her home again for a few days.  We have all missed her so much.   I have come to the realization that, for me, letting go is the most challenging stage of parenting.   While its awesome to see the person she is becoming and watching her make her way in the world... its challenging at times and a bit sad.   

November was exhausting... Andy finally had his knee surgery so I had to step in and milk the cows.  The first day it took me almost six hours!  Thank goodness we are just milking once a day now!  Mom arrived a couple of days later.. and not a minute too soon.  By day three Hannah was helping me milk and we had it down to under four hours and then to three (which is how long it takes Andy).  By Thanksgiving Andy was back milking.   

Andy's recovery was amazingly fast!  His knee is almost the same size as the other one now.   Andy was hit by a car about three years ago and had suffered from knee pain ever since.   His pain is far reduced now and for that we are all thankful.   

Our milk supply is good now... we finally figured out what was wrong.. .and it's CRAZY!  There was an electric waterer in the field that was putting 110 volts into the ground.  Every time the cows went to drink they were getting zapped...even though we were not using the broken waterer... our water tank was acting like an antennae.   We also have a small stray voltage issue in the milking barn that we are sorting out.  But it's one volt and minimal.   We are back up to 20 gallons of milk a day and most thankful.

Winter is setting in and we are discovering that our barn is not insulated enough... so we are planning some additional work for the next few weekends.  Anyone bored?  Need an activity?  We can put you to work!  

I am looking forward to Christmas and the approach of the new year.  Spring holds new calves and the return of cream... glorious cream.  


Until then we will keep warm and snug... enjoying cuddles in bed with the kids, hot cocoa and look forward to spending more time together.  Spring also brings the return of twice a day milking!