A Dusting.

It's Nov. 14, and last night we got our first "dusting" of snow for the year.

(Neighbor's house)

It's pretty.  It looks serene, but it's chilly outside.  Obviously.

It's also Jake's FIRST snow.  Ever.  He's only 6 months old.

He's just like our last lab, Rudy.

He LOVES the snow. 
So far.

Notice the dusting of snow on his nose.  Crazy boy, wondering what all this white stuff is!

I'm glad he doesn't seem to mind the cold.  He's leaping around like he doesn't know what to make of it.

Of course, I feel bad about him possibly being cold, so at Goodwill, I buy him the fleece blankets for $3.  The ugly ones no one wants. 

And what does he do instead of snuggle with them in his house?

Drags them all around the yard like he's Linus from Charlie Brown!

And if you so much as try to remove it from his mouth and put it back inside his house, he leaps at you till he retrieves it!

Crazy, crazy dog.  Are you part human by the way?

He also struck both these poses when I told him to sit.  He'll be great for Christmas card pictures this year!

We love you Jake, you silly, silly dog!

A Little Fair for You...

The last 9 days have seemed like a blur.

We've literally spent every day, all day long, at the fair.

It was the Elkhart County 4-H Fair...the 2nd largest in the US.  Oh yeah, it's big!

We spent the week watching animal shows, cleaning out our pig pens, showing our pigs (3 different times,) washing the pigs, hanging out with friends, eating ALOT, and feeding the pigs. 

This year, we made it easier, and the kids only had one pig each.  They both had Durocs and named them Bullwinkle and BoJangles.  (Don't ask me to explain the naming process...each year they are quite original.)

The pigs were like big sappy dogs, and they LOVED jelly beans.  Get out the beans, and they are like putty in your hands.

The kids showed well, but the judge wasn't diggin' on our pigs this year.  Bummer, but still a good experience.

Brent's goal at this year's fair...to each the ice cream flavor of the day every day.  He made it each day except the last.

It was a good year, and the weather was pretty decent, but we're all exhausted.

It takes a year to recover from the 9 fair days, but it IS a blast...like a high school reunion, but BETTER!

We interrupt this normally scheduled broadcast...

Yes, it's Tuesday, but there will be no shout out #11 for Etsy shops today.  I'll bring it back next Tuesday.

Today, we're too busy rolling around in cuteness.

You see, last night we went to pick someone up.

Meet Jake.

He's our newest addition, and over and over Grace and I look at each other and say, "Oh my gosh, he's so cute!"

So today when I wasn't weeding the flower beds, mowing, or fixing meals, I was hanging out with Jake.

But he mostly did this...

He slept a lot today, but we had bad storms last night, and he was up alot and  he's away from his mommy too, AND he's only 5 weeks old.

He is the most adorable pup I've ever seen.

I know it's very soon since we lost Rudy to be getting another dog, but with the kids and myself off until school starts, we thought this was the best time to get a puppy acquainted with us before we go back to work, and practices everyday.

He is super cuddly, and has even convinced Brent to get in touch with his inner softie.

There was a lot of napping, with short burst of playfulness.

He reminds us SO MUCH of Rudy, but black instead of yellow. 

We are told he is a mix...black lab, and they are not sure what else.  We got him from a young amish couple who were so sweet.  As soon as we got out of the van, Jake ran right over to us.  He was the only one of the 5 puppies who did, so that made him ours from the beginning.

We hope he's as good of  a dog as Rudy was.

So far, so good.

Whoever coined the phrase Man's best friend...

was NOT a liar.

If you love a dog with all your heart and treat him well, he will be your forever companion and unconditional best friend.
FOREVER.

Rudy was that, and we all LOVED him with our whole hearts.

Exactly 9 years ago this summer he came to us as a stray, and we took him in when no one claimed him.    He unfortunately left this earth a couple days ago.  He would've been 11. 

Sure, over the years, Rudy and I had our battles.

He would make a giant hole in my flower bed (s)...

I would scold him, he would look sheepish, I would fill the hole back in, only to discover a couple days later he had made another one quite close to the first one and he would look at me without any remorse.  Oh Rudy...

He would greet us in the driveway, EVERYTIME we came home.

It didn't matter if it was Brent or myself, or the kids coming home on the bus.

He did it EVERYDAY, and I miss that so much.  More than I thought I would.

He gave us so much love, and I can only hope he knew how much we loved him.

Every morning, any season, as I left for work, I would roll my window down and tell him I loved him, and I would see him later.  He would be sitting in the wicker chair on the porch, just keeping watch over the place till an amish buggy went by, or a red car drove by (he HATED the color red for some reason.)

He came to us when we needed him the most, when the kids needed to learn at ages 4 and 5, how to care for someone else and take responsibility.

He was the best dog we've ever had, and we will forever compare all others to him.

Grace found him in my garden, just like he had fallen asleep.  I think he was trying to get the last one over on me by laying in my garden. 

Goodbye dear friend.  We miss you so.

Gettin' up THERE.

I remember when anyone in their 30's sounded old to me.

I think I was in high school.

My parents were some of the youngest parents in my class.  My mom was only 37 when I graduated from high school, and my dad was 40.

My gosh does that sound young now.

Yesterday I turned 39.

I'M NOT 40 YET!

I have that saving grace.

I remember having a HUGE problem with turning 30.  I don't know why.  I had both of my kids before then, and I was still young.  30 just seemed like such a milestone.

I'm ok with 39.

I am.

I AM.

Yesterday was a good day, save for the fact that I  had to rise at 4:30am.  I got the kids up at 5:15am and they got ready for a weekend Junior Youth working trip an hour and a half away.

I was rarin' to go by 7am, so I headed over to my parent's house to get my sister who is up with her family visiting from SC.

We headed to the BEST flea market/garage sale where I picked up a set of two end tables, (which became my new coffee table side by side) and some other small stuff.

Then we ran a couple of errands, I dropped her back off at mom and dads and I ran some more errands.

ALONE.

I got to pick the music on the radio and turn it up as loud (or as quiet) as I wanted.  I wasn't constantly telling my 13 year old daughter to take her earbuds out so she could hear me.

I got to go WHERE I WANTED and BUY WHAT I WANTED.

I think I took a small trip to heaven yesterday.

Then I got home, and my husband came home from work and asked if I was ready.

For what?

"Well," he says, "We need to go wrestle one of the sheep.  I need to see why she is limping."

Oh, great.  What a fun birthday present honey!

So we did.

Where we have our sheep grazing is the most peaceful place around.  A widow lady lets us graze her many acres all summer and into the fall.  She and her husband used to have sheep, and she misses that, and she loves when ours have babies.

We caught the ewe and he trimmed her heels so her feet would feel better.

Then we headed home, where we stripped off our poison ivy riddled clothes, changed, and sat down to a very delicious supper if I do say so myself.

Chicken enchiladas with our own lettuce, some tomatoes, and the BEST chips and salsa from our local mexican restaurant.

Then some of my very own strawberries for our "sweetness" part of the meal.

Then we watched a movie, I read some, and we sat outside on the patio for a little bit.

SOUNDS like we're getting old, doesn't it.

BUT, IT WAS GREAT.  Peaceful, just what I wanted.

Today, the work begins.

Weeding the garden before the supposed storm we're supposed to get, more strawberry picking and making jam, and cleaning the house.

I think I'm gonna need some coffee.  Stat.

The last Hurrah...

You know how you feel when a big event is coming up....

anxious
scared
excited
overwhelmed
giddy
or even ho hum...

Our big event is that school starts back up tomorrow, and this is the first time in 5 years that I will not be working at the same school as the kids.

I have a new job, which I've already started, and which I LOVE...but I won't have my eyes on the kiddos anymore.  (I have to let that go...I know...)

AND, to top it all off...Grace moves over to the high school tomorrow for her first year of Junior High.

She's very excited, and I, (being the person that I am...) is nervous.  Nervous about her getting to each class on time.  Nervous for volleyball practice/tryouts to start this week, and nervous, well, just in general.

Evan, however, is the big man on campus this year.  A sixth grader.  He is thrilled.

He got the teacher he wanted, and the status of being a sixth grader, at a school, for once, without his sister.

They are growing up.

It's hard, but exciting as a parent to see it.

So, for the last night before school, they went outside with dad for some smores.

I was working on my first batch of canned pizza sauce, so I opted out this time.

When we do smores, we like them with Reese's peanut butter cups in them instead of Hershey's.  They are beyond delicious!

(A hastily made fire pit in the area which will soon become my concrete patio...)

A cool summer night, a fire, smores, and the heroic, totally devoted dog, Rudy.

Could it get any better?

Spotty at best

So, needless to say, we've been a little busy.

I'm posting this to say it'll be spotty posting this week...

I'll highlight with a few photos of the fair when I'm not feeling like I've been hung out to dry.  (These early days and late nights, and all the laundry each night because we all smell like we've been living in a pig barn...are quickly getting to me.)

Like this for one.

How's this for tight quarters...nothing like feet in your face!

These two were pen mates here at home, and can't seem to be without each other this week.  (Snickers on the left, and Elmo on the right.)  If one leaves the pen for a show, and the other is left alone...they act like they don't know what to do.

Of course, the fair is all new for them too.  There are hundreds of strollers and thousands of people going past their pens everyday.  There are new smells, hard floors, and they just don't know what to make of it.  They got used to running down our lane for their nightly walks.

Evan seems to be making a go of it, though.  He's a great helper and loves his pigs, even when they get a little annoying. (I think he still loves them...)

He and Grace have done great getting their pigs ready for the week.  They have fed them 3 times a day for months and walked them, washed them, and loved on them to get them used to us.  But then I see this...

If I were to name this it would go something like this:  "Texting IN a pig pen, while trying to look busy" by Grace Yoder.

I'm trying to remember back before cell phones, when I was in pig club and we sat around with friends playing cards all day, acting like we were taking care of our pigs.  It seems like such a long time ago.

So... sorry for the short post.  I'm trying.

Until later.

Scenes from a Farm

A couple weeks ago we brought the sheep home.  I don't know what it is, but it just always makes me feel better to know they are on our land.  Right out past the back yard.

All summer they were down the road grazing on another man's property.  It helps to keep our pasture from getting too sparse, and it's nice that we're able to do that.

The sheep crack me up whenever we go out to see them.

They stand perfectly still as if we're gonna run at them any minute.

They are much more used to Brent, though, because he's the man always giving them new pasture.  It really is true that sheep are followers.

I did get close enough to Lily and her baby today though,

and the ewe the kids aptly named "Licorice" because of her black lips.

When she was a baby, her lips were totally black, and the kids and I joked that she was our "Goth" sheep!

The trees around us have all lost their leaves, and the barn stands large against the blue sky.

Our hens are settling in with the 8 new birds we got about a month ago,

And I realize fall is quickly coming to a close, and we're getting ready to tuck the animals in for the winter.

The ewe's boyfriend "Rambo" will be coming to visit soon, and we'll have to get out the heated water dish for the chickens.

I'm feeling a little sad about the close of this time of year, but anxious for all the new babies in the spring.

Have you tucked in your animals yet?

Linking up to Verde Farm's linky party tonight.