Saturday

Darlin finally got some exercise today!

Our Number One Job As Parents

We all have one main purpose—to have a relationship with God, to bring glory to Him by the way we live our lives, by how we relate to Him and others (Matt. 22:37-39; Mark 12:29-31).

When we are walking in that purpose we are where we are meant to be, we are swimming in the river of living water. Doing what we are created to do. When we are not fulfilling that purpose we are frustrated, discouraged, depressed, brokenhearted, and frequently provoked to seek out something else that will fulfill the void.

Meat Grinders are Pieces of JUNK!

Why can't one ever last us more than 2 years? Granted, we normally grind the meat from 2 or 3 deer as well as 2 to 4 goats yearly... but we are careful with the grinder, and use it properly. So. Hmmmph. Now we have the meat from four goats off the bone and cut up into grinder sized chunks, but we had to put it in the freezer just like that until we can get a new grinder. Kris tried everything he could to fix it, but the inner parts are just worn out.

Anyone have a good TOUGH meat grinder brand that they can recommend? This last one was a "Waring Pro" and a lot of the parts were stainless steel, but it still didn't last longer than the mostly plastic KitchenAid one we used to have.

Anyway, I am very happy to have gotten so much done so quickly because of all the help I had!

All Day Fire

It was cold enough to keep the fire in the wood stove going all day long. Then, instead of standing outside in the strong north wind to roast weinies, the kids decided to be true rednecks and roast them inside! :o)

While the girls washed the dishes and cleaned the house, the boys and I got the four wethers butchered. (Kris has the cedar fever again, and I didn't want to delay this job so went for it.)

The first one took us 44 minutes from start to finish.

The second one took 33 minutes.

The third one took 23 minutes,

and the last one we got finished in 21 minutes. Woohoo!! Good hard working boys!! And girls!

Harvesting Rock

It was cold and windy this morning!

We had some good helpers as we worked on our yearly rock harvest! Actually, it is an ongoing job, and there is no end to it. If we could sell rock, we'd be rich. Or as Dalton said, if we could eat rocks, we could save an awful lot of money! Before I put new batteries in the camera, Mooky did a whole lot of tilling, in both sections of the garden. After that, he was incapacitated by stomach problems so I didn't get any pics of him. We are going to plant potatoes in two different sections, hoping that they will grow well in at least one place.

This is about the extent of the attention Darlin' gets lately. No one but Erinn wants to ride her very much, and poor Erinn CAN'T ride her! According to her 4 week check up, her arm is healing wonderfully well, but she shouldn't ride for 4 more weeks. She doesn't have to wear the sling anymore, unless she is playing outside - just as a reminder not to overdo it with that arm.

Congratulations

to Jordan for graduating from Navy bootcamp!!! I may have already posted this, but it's such a good pic, I might as well do it again. :o)

Jordan, we are very proud of you!

Distinguished Guests!!

Look who's here!!
It's the Long Lost East Texas Cousins. :o)