Visiting Cows

The property behind us, used to be part of this property, but the owner sold it separately. :(  So, we have cow visitors now and then. Somebody leases it for pasture land. :)
Today, we had two visitors. They have been known to stroll on through, but we put a chain fence up to keep them out. I'm not sure if this guy is going to honor that chain fence! :)

Alli was feeding him a pear. They love to eat the pears off of the tree. :)

History Diorama

I posted earlier about Erika doing the background for the diorama.  They all finished today! I think they did a pretty good job. :)

History

The girls are working hard on the diorama.  Erika is in charge of the back ground.

Next will be the little house, wagon, and other fun things. :)

The Difference of TRUE FARM FRESH

I never knew there was a difference in eggs or how they tasted until we started raising chickens in 1998.
But just to show a real difference.  Here is a picture of a store bought ORGANIC FREE RANGE egg, vs. Our homegrown, ORGANIC FREE RANGE egg.  Guess which one is ours!
If you guessed the one on the right, you are correct.  Maybe we just have more bugs and worms to choose from ??

The Thrill of a Big Sister

Alli is a little sister. She loves being the littlest.  I have been enjoyed watching each of the girls take their roles in the family.   Anna, has especially enjoyed giving her little sister attention lately.  Today, she thrilled her by giving her a cut out in her bologna. :) And then, she spent time with her playing old fashioned days again. :)

Kermit Funny

Pix Winston
 I just love true humor. :)

Look What Happens When You Study HIstory!

 They got into the trunk of costumes and pretended to be colonial girls! Scrub bucket and all! YEA!

 Even the baby doll is dressed up.

We should study colonial times more often! :)

Baby Chick Sounds and The Kitty

Cute baby chick sounds....

Apparently the new chick is an issue for Mr. Kitty. :)  He has been STARING in that cage all day long and purring.  NO! She is NOT your lunch!

Em's and the babies

 I dropped over at Tim and Em's today on the way on my trip to the grocery store. It was a round about trip. :)  I love seeing them.  We were supposed to get together on Saturday, but I started feeling bad, so we cancelled. So I had to go and get my Ya-Ya fix. :)

I am so happy that I got to hold all my grand babies and that I got Ilse to SMILE! :)  She is doing really well.  She flipped herself over and I even got a coo out of her. :)  Yea Ilse!  And the boys of course are always adorable. :) 

Ilse is 5 months old. :)

She is just precious! :)

A Visit at the Hospital

I wrote about Catherine and her girls here.  Today, was Francesca's surgery. It was a big one. So the girls and I , and our friend's daughter Marion packed up and went to sit with Catherine while Francesca has surgery. I remember when Tim had surgery. I sat alone for 9 plus hours during the surgery. I hate to think of somebody sitting alone. :(
THIS TIME..... I remembered the camera. :)

 Anna and her friend Marion studied fossils.

 Sarah and Alli had fun on the paint spots.

 Erika enjoyed crocheting.

 They all wound up resting on this couch.

And this is Catherine and me, resting on a giant caterpillar.
I really enjoyed meeting Catherine and talking about her wonderful family. :)  Pray for Francesca as she will be in ICU for now, and for Victoria's surgery tomorrow.

More Pictures of the New Baby Chick

 Miss Broody Britches is still sitting on 3 of her eggs. They should hatch sometime tomorrow.
We moved her to the dog kennel to protect the baby from falling out of the nest. Little chicks can get into all sorts of trouble! LOL

 It is hard to believe a little chick fan fit into an egg like that.

 Here she is resting on mama.

The cat is VERY amused! LOL The chicken growls at him everytime she sees him. :)

NEW LIFE!

Well, one little Chick has arrived. We were walking out to go to church, and I checked to see.... and there she was! :)  3 to go!

Saturday Fun

The girls decided to play soccer after their chores today. Having 4 girls makes for teams!

and .... WATCH Miss Erika kick that ball! Not bad for a double amputee with arthrogryposis! :)

Christmas Ideas

Any tips?
I want to make a collage for the older kids and my mom.  I would like to make it as ONE photo, sort of like this:

Maybe in an 11x14 size.... since there are so many of us. :)  This was just a sample attempt with some old photos I was looking at.

I did it on the kitchen table with no flash, but is a little blurry.

We Went Fishing

At Pets mart. :)
We have 3 new fish.  We will get 3 or 4 more next week.

They are mollies.

 Anna wants to get ghost shrimp that clean the bottom of the tank, but they said to wait 3 months because the tank is new.

This and That

 Somebody had to put ice on her hand because she was trying to do a trick on her bike. The trick was to ride her bike FAST, then grab onto a tree branch and let the bike keep going.  The bike kept going, but the tree branch was a little large.... and somebody fell on her finger.  :)

 Erika has been a busy girl, learning a new crochet stitch.

And this is our garage sale find. We had to get a new filter, and that rock thingy in the middle.
I was commenting to Mike how much things have changed.  We purchased the fish tank last week. We took a few days to research what to do, and then we have made a trip to the pet store to look at fish and filters and have our water checked.  And now, a week later we will be getting fish.  7 months ago, Miss Alli would not have been able to handle the wait.  She would have been curled up in a little ball of misery. 
But today, she is enjoying each step.  She has really handled the WAIT, very well. :)  And TODAY, we are getting FISH. :)

Strangers But Friends

Bloggy world is so funny.  Catherine, along with Victoria and Francesca made it to Dallas just fine, and then, had a bit of a fiasco.... so I had the honor of picking them up and taking them to the hotel.  I forgot my camera, but had my cell phone. I took this great picture of them with Erika, and somehow LOST the picture! :/
But it was a priveledge to pick them up and meet them. Those precious little FORMER Reece's Rainbow babies are just THRIVING!  Victoria was laughing and blowing funny noises in the back seat while Francesca slept.  It was fun to meet Catherine, and be able to assist her in any way I could.
What a precious family. :)

So, NO PICTURES.... but a wonderful memory. :)
Check out Catherine's Blog.

Awkward Moment

courtesy of ME.....
I was at a friend's house and we were talking about society and kids and family and things like that.  I said, "There are so many more people with special needs than there used to be.... I see them all the time!" 
I said, "When Tim was little, he was the only child we knew that had special needs."  But now, it seems like there are so many more!  
And my friend sort of had this look like, "Really, there are?"

And then it dawned on me....the only kids with special needs they have seen are ours.
 And so I said,  "Hey! Maybe there are more, because there are more of us! LOL
She started laughing and I did too..... (you would have had to have been  there)

I forget that our world is not typical for the majority of families.  We live a different sort of life. But it is a wonderful, rich and full sort of life. :)

I'm so thankful for my bloggy world friends who walk the same path.   They keep us from being alone, and can share in our moments of humor, trial and triumph. :)

My Sweet Girls

Alli and Sarah..... My beautiful sweet little girls. :)
Alli is just beaming. She has been home 7 1/2 months and I am so proud of her.  I am also so proud of Sarah.

Well, golly.... I am proud of Erika and Anna too. :)

WELCOME FALL!

You are FINALLY HERE! I hope you stay!  It was 88 degrees yesterday. Today, 61 at lunch time! The girls needed to wear light jackets or sweaters!  They made some sort of obstacle course where they have to jump a beam, then go around the teeter totter and put the cup on the stick when they go by..... Good Lunch time fun. :)

Erika was keeping score. :)