So we needed the .22 today....

So...Big Poppa had to be put down today.


Strange thing about animals....they are all basically wild, I suppose, and can be completely unpredictable. When I fed him this morning - totally fine, sweet, grunting, rolled over for me to rub his fat tummy. Went out to give him water this afternoon, he greeted me, happily drank and promptly turned and attacked. Bit me, chased me, slashed with a tusk, chased some more - all while I'm screaming like a freakin' school girl. (Which in and of itself was embarrassing and an annoyance. For those of you who know me, I am in no way girlie - until, apparently, a 150lb pig is chasing me with a certain look of death in his eye. Then I scream like a freakin' 5 year old girl running in her prettiest Sunday dress away from the neighborhood bully.) Guess I made one too many bacon jokes and he just snapped. According to Jeremy, now he has to crackle and pop, pop, POP too. Sad, really. He was sweet and friendly and loved to roll over and let us rub his tummy. But now, we can't even approach the paddock without him charging the gate and frothing at the mouth and snapping. Rabies? That's what I thought at first. But then I read that male pigs can turn for no apparent reason, froth and posture. Or he could just be sick. Either way, he's ridiculously aggressive and a danger to us and the other animals now. We can't approach him to quarantine him and no vet will come out and deal with him. Neither will animal control.

I'll save you the gruesome pics of the bite marks on my leg and the tusk slash across my knee cap. Just know that it hurts like a *bologna sandwich*.

So, farewell Big Poppa. We hardly knew ye. May you run through fields of the freshest dandelions. May your mud wallows always be fresh and cool. And may your bacon be the best damn bacon we've ever had! Amen.

Our Solution to the Problem

Though we can't pick up and go to Africa to right all the wrongs, we chose to right some wrongs and get involved in a situation a little closer to home.

Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world, besieged by violence and extreme
poverty. It’s people are beautiful and long for a better life for themselves and for
their children.

For HIS Glory Outreach seeks to meet the needs of those in such dire conditions. The orphanage is currently home to over 150 children and provides jobs to over 200 Haitians. They provide the children with 3 meals per day, clean drinking water, an education and a chance at a better life. Sadly, there are more than 80 children turned away each month due to lack of funds. They are seeking to make 1000 friends in 100 days to make a commitment to help change the lives of these children. $1 per day - $30 per month can literally make the difference between life and death for these children.

We have chosen to partner with For HIS Glory in both support and the adoption of 2 of the children in the orphanage.



Watch the video we created below to learn more about Haiti, For HIS Glory Outreach and how YOU can get involved and change a life!

www.forhisgloryoutreach.org

Invisible Children

Imagine a world torn and divided by war. Imagine being displaced and having to "live" in camps. Imagine your children, as young as 4 - your boys, forced to kill and be part of this war - your girls, sold, kidnapped, forced to be sex slaves. This is the atrocity that the Ugandan people must live with every day. Knowledge is POWER. Get informed. Get INVOLVED. Go to www.invisiblechildren.com to learn more about what you can do to help.

***Thanks to JohnnyB for the killer photo of my boy! Check out his myspace at www.myspace.com/theremedyishope85 to learn more about and support his endeavor to go to Uganda and become part of the solution!***

Finally! A working farm!

So, my supposedly pregnant goats have still not kidded and I doubt at this point they will. So, the farm motto ere is: if you can't contribute, you can't stay! Went and got a beautiful Nubian mommy with her kid today.


The kid'll get one side and I get nearly a 1/2 gallon out of the other side - per day! That's more than enough milk for us plus some for butter and soap as well. MMMMMMM! The chickens are producing beautifully - we're getting 12-18 eggs per week. I love my little working farm!

We got the kids a pony for Christmas. She's a painted Palomino, but with her winter coat in, she's pure white with CRAZY blue eyes!

She's so sweet and loves Logan to death. Whenever he comes outside she runs up to the fence and pokes her head through. The kids were hysterically laughing at her yesterday as she acclimated to her new home. She was so happy she was bucking and racing around the pasture and talking so loudly!


Okay - I think we're done. No more animals. We have what we need for food and pleasure and can't handle NO MORE! Jeremy doesn't believe me, but I promised I would try to keep my obsessive/compulsive tendencies in check! ;0)

My Kids

Are STINKIN' cute! I LOVE black and white photography and they make great subjects!

Little Christmas on the Farm

So, we had a nice little Christmas...our first ever by ourselves as a family. We spent Christmas Eve together at home, reading the Christmas story and watching A Charlie Brown Christmas.

When the kids woke up in the morning, they enjoyed their new slide and art supplies while daddy made a special Christmas breakfast.


After they opened the rest of their presents, we spent the day outside playing with the dogs and our new toys


playing tag with daddy

wishing the animals Merry Christmas


and flying Logan's new airplane.....or at least trying to.


We spent the rest of the afternoon monkeying around and playing games inside while waiting for Christmas dinner to finish cooking.


All in all? Stress free, relaxing and really merry. How do you like the new handmade sweaters from gramma? My mom rocks!

MMMMM Breakfast!

A veritable easter basket of breakfasty goodness courtesy of my new girls. Guess they're not so dumb after all!

Our Weekend Project

We got new chickens (Easter Egg Layers) and therefore needed a bigger, better chicken run. My hubby's so handy!

We're thinking of naming the new chickens Paris, Lindsey, & Nicole. Why? They seem to be on the trouble-maker side and are quite STOOPID! They decided to sleep on top of the nest boxes instead of inside them or inside the coop. We did already get one egg today though, so I guess i could cut them a little slack....