Saturday, July 31, 2010

BAD Patriot!!!!

Our doggie is so very naughty. For the last few weeks he has been chasing the chickens. We haven't thought much of it because chasing them is all he would do. For goodness sakes, his best buddy is a cat. Well, everything changed about 2 days ago. Our very naughty dog killed one of our chickens. And, he didn't just kill it, he was, ummm.... eating it. It was very disgusting. So I put the dog in his crate (to which for the rest of the day would say "bad dog!" every time I walked by) and went in to call Ryan. About 20 or so minutes later I went outside to get the poor dead animal off my lawn and the poor "dead" animal was still alive. It was terrible. I will not go into details about how impossible that seemed considering the state of the bird, but I was pretty shocked. Normally I would let Ryan handle such a thing, but Ryan was at work. I didn't even have Leah or Logan there. I called Ryan again with the intent of finding our which one of his guns would have the least amount of kick and well Ryan was not real keen on me doing the whole gun thing. Long story short (I know, too late), I had to whack that poor animal with a shovel. I hope I never have to do something like that again. See, these are not the things they tell you when you go into the local Tractor Supply during "chick days" and see all the cute little fuzzy butts.

Patriot is still getting the cold should from me even though I know he is a dog and it is in his nature to do such ridiculous things. We bought a wireless fence today, so hopefully chicken killing is no longer on the agenda.

Well, Leah is home from camp. Boy have we missed her! She had a great time and I always love how spiritually she seems to blossom. She hasn't felt well though all day. We are learning that a lack of sleep really affects Leah adversely. It almost makes her physically ill. I think camp wiped her out and I hope she is feeling better tomorrow.

4H is very much in full swing right now. We are weighing our meat birds regularly and we need to start dipping them in water to keep them clean and get them used to being handled. We have to figure out how much weight they are gaining so we are sure they aren't overweight for the fair. Each kid takes a set of 3 birds and the pen cannot be over 21 lbs. They were about 4 1/2 lbs 2 days ago and their judging day is like 11 days away. We just have a number of little things to do to finish getting their meat bird project ready. Also, Leah needs to get her quick bread stuff ready for the state fair. It feels a little overwhelming right now because we still have a lot to do and Leah was pretty much out of commission today because of the way she felt.

Tomorrow is Gee's 4th birthday!! That is so very hard to believe. He is really turning in to a little man. Today on the way out of church he was walking beside me and I had to stop to fix something I was holding. He stop also. After we started walking again he said "I waited for you because I didn't want you to be alone." So very sweet! Gideon is sweet like that a lot. He can still be very ornery and stubborn, but overall Gideon is such a lover. He has a beautiful and kind heart and he brings all of us immense joy. He requested eggs for breakfast (which I was happy to do) and then tomorrow evening Ryan's family is coming over to help celebrate. Gideon wanted a car cake, so that is what he is getting! In a couple weeks we are going camping with my side of the family and we will celebrate his birthday again there. Oh and I bought his present today. We have this little Amish variety store about 25 minutes away that I love. I bought him this adorable wooden barn with real wood fencing. Then, we went to the Tractor Supply and bought a bunch of farm animals for his barn. He will love it!

Julie

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Leah is going to the state fair!

We just found out today that Leah's quick bread 4H project was chosen to go to the Ohio State Fair. Not bad for her first year. Yeah for her! She really did work very hard on the project, but I am sure a lot of the kids did. I guess Champaign County is one of the bigger counties in the state (as far as 4H goes) and only 1 4H member from each category (from each county) can go to the state fair. So next Wednesday we will be spending most of the day at the Ohio State fair being judged. I guess being judged at the state fair this year is a new format and our advisor doesn't even know 100% what to expect. It looks as if Leah will be studying up some this weekend though because most of her judging is knowledge based. Anyways, I am proud of my girl.... She won't even know she advanced until she gets back from camp on Friday.

Julie

Sunday, July 25, 2010

My baby is at camp.

Leah left for camp this week. I think this is her 3rd or 4th year for camp, but only her second time at Vineyard camp (Vineyard is where we go to church). So she will be in Richmond until Friday. I honestly miss her already. Sad, huh? How in the world am I ever let her grow up and fly the coop?

Last week Leah and Logan had their non chicken 4H projects judged. I think they did well. We won't know much though until fair, unless they place high enough to go to the state fair. Our 4H chickens are getting bigger. They eat like crazy. We have double the amount this time, so it is quite a bit different than any time before. It will be interesting to see how things go once fair time is here.

My younger brother Nick got married this past weekend. His wife Kristy is really a sweet gal and we like her a lot. The wedding was beautiful and the kids had a blast. They danced and frolicked all evening. Madeline was in awe of how "beautiful" Kristy and Nick looked, it was cute. I really wish all the best for them, I hope their lives are totally blessed.

This week shouldn't be too busy, besides heading to camp on Friday. Oh and Tuesday night we are taking my sister and my cousin out for their 40th birthdays. That is if they are feeling up to it. Please keep my sister and my cousins husband Pete in your prayers. My sister was in the hospital all last week due to kidney problems. She had to have surgery and is now home. Pete has a perforated bowel and is currently in the hospital. Plus, my mom is having her knee replaced tomorrow. Crazy times I tell ya. Just pray for them if you can.

Thanks!

Julie

Friday, July 23, 2010

God is the 'portantist.'

I have been going through a book with the little ones called "Leading Little Ones to God.". I think they are picking up a little something. Madeline just told me that God is the 'portantist. I think that was to be interpreted as " God is the most important.". I love that!! Why yes Madeline, He is.

Julie

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Happy Anniversary!

Today Ryan and I have been married for 14 years. I remember our wedding day better than I remember most things. It was hot. So hot our cake was melting. And, for some crazy reason I chose a dress that was long sleeved. It beautiful though and in spite of a few minor things, it was perfect.

I had no clue then the ride Ryan and I were in for. We have been through more than I expected but certainly not more than we could endure. Our family looks way different than I imagined 14 years ago. It is better. Marriage was rough for Ryan and I the first couple of years. We are so different and so bull headed, but God totally knew what he was doing. I love Ryan more than I ever thought possible. I remember wondering years ago how you could love someone year after year. I never wonder that any more.

Ryan is beautiful through and through. He is strong, loving and an amazing provider. Today of all days I hope he never doubts how deeply I love him.

This was us on our wedding day. Happy Anniversary Babe!





Julie

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Home from our anniversary trip!

Ryan and I went away to Cincinnati this weekend for our anniversary. It was great. We ended up leaving much earlier then we'd planned (like 5 hours earlier) which gave us a whole evening Saturday night. We went to the outlet malls on the way and ended up at Newport on the Levee. It is right by the river and it was so pretty. We ate at an Irish restaurant that had really good food. We walked by the river and over to the Reds stadium. They had just won their game with the Rockies (today was a different story apparently) so we got to see a little fireworks display just as we were walking across the bridge. We spent the night at a cute little Inn that had a free breakfast served in the next door historic home. After breakfast we went to Kings Island where we spent the rest of the day. We hadn't been to Kings Island in years and it brought back lots of memories. Good memories. Ryan and I really had a beautiful time. It was such a good break for us and even though I am physically tired, I am emotionally energized.

I missed my kids though. That hit me about noon today. When we got to Kings Island and I saw all the parents dragging their kids into the park I was so glad it was just Ryan and I. It was funny though because as the day wore on, I missed them more and more. It was so good to see them again.

Madeline stayed the night and all day today with my sister, Chrissy. It was her reward for being so good and staying in her bed all last week (one of the things she's struggled with). She had a ball and apparently did not miss us at all. She said the only person she missed was Asher. She has gained a little "sas" from being at Aunt Chrissy's. I think she got a little spoiled. The rest of the kiddos were here with our babysitter (we actually ended up using two different sitters). They did good. I guess Anna was missing us last night and Gideon was really happy to see us tonight (Anna was asleep already). Asher has been "grumpy" all day, but when I went to see him (and took him out of his bed for a second) he was all smiles. He was grumpy last time he was with the sitter too. Maybe he doesn't do as well as I was hoping with mommy and daddy gone.

Well, I am tired and ready for my own bed.....

Julie

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

What going on around our house?

Sometimes I think it is easiest to talk about our lives through pictures. Or at least it has to be more interesting (since many times our daily routine is not).

Every year we but a big tub (or two) of cherries from a local farm. These are delicious tart cherries, already pitted. Grandma Dobbins got me started on this years ago. Cherries are absolutely my favorite fruit. Yum! Last year my aunt bought a tub and never even opened it. They offered them to me and so I went over last week and got them. The problem is that I forgot and left them in my car for about 6 hours. Needless to say they weren't frozen solid anymore (although they were still partially frozen, which surprised me). I needed to use them quick. So I made a double batch of cherry jam (oh so yummy) and I canned the rest. I wanted to can cherry pie filling but apparently the only thickening agent that USDA recommends is not carried in stores, you have to order it. So, cherry pie filling was out. Unless of course I wanted to buck the system and possibly feed my family bacteria laden pie. I considered it. Heck, Ma Ingalls didn't worry about the USDA...... Ok, I digress. Here are my three beautiful jars of cherries. Seriously, aren't they lovely? All I will need is to reheat them and add some sort of thickening agent and we have pie.


A couple weeks ago we went to a "farm" auction. There was a whole skid of egg crates. We left early, but my sweet, dear father in law picked all these up for us. I think we are good for a while!


Just a picture of my freezer dinners/bread. We are slowly eating these yummies. It is bad though because I kind of feel like I want to save this stuff, but really that is not what it is intended for.


Pretty arbor eh? About 3 months ago we ordered raspberry bushes, some trees and some grapes from a site on line. We never planted the grapes because we had no arbor for them. We thought of building our own arbor, just doing something make-shift to get them planted, etc., etc. Part of the problem is that we have so much shade on our property. Grapes need lots of sun. So, I saw this arbor at Lowes and really like it. I am not a fan of the orangey finish, but it is very pretty overall. So we brought it home, assembled it, and could still not decide where to put it. We decided that it will fit perfectly into our long term plans for our property, however we still don't know what to do with it fro now. So there it sits. By our garage, all looking pretty.


Patriot is doing pretty good. I will say though, for not being a water dog, he sure loves the stuff. This is one of the big puddles by the garden (gee I wonder why the mosquitos are so bad), and Patriot will just go and lay in it. He is a nut.


Here's the garden as of this morning. On the left side of the red bucket is all tomatoes, plus about 1/2 of the next row. We are just starting to see a few ripe cherry tomatoes, but we have tons of green tomatoes. Peppers finish off the second tomato row. The next row is spinach (died within a week), leaf lettuce (normally I love leaf lettuce, but what I have is only ok) and horseradish (for my dear hubby who like the stuff). The next row over is green beans that are almost ready to pick. That row also had beets in it but I already harvested and canned those.


Just another garden picture. This shows Gideon's, Anna's and Madeline's "little" gardens. we picked Gee's green beans yesterday and he was pretty excited about those. Even though he doesn't really care for green veggies. Anna's pumpkins are taking over the world (see pic), but there are only blooms at this point. Maddie's tomatoes are getting tall, but they only have one pathetic green tomato on them. I think maybe I didn't weed them out enough.....


Just one more garden picture. This shows the whole south side of the garden where my cucumbers, squash, melons and pumpkins are. Oh, speaking of pumpkins. My dear husband was weed eating around the electric fence a couple days ago and totally uprooted one of my pumpkin plants. I try and "train" all that vining stuff to stay in its spots, but this plant was a seed that I had bought of a certain type and it was the only one that had come up (I was pretty excited about it). So, later in the day I am out in the garden and I see my dead looking plant and I ask Ryan "did you weed wack my plant?" Poor Ryan, his response was "well, I tried to replant it." Poor guy. We did indeed try to replant it somewhere else, but this morning it was still looking pretty rough.


Oh, I am so very proud of these beets! I have never grown beets before and certainly never canned them. I grew up on pickled beets (and eggs) thanks to my Grandma. These are a thing of beauty to me. I plan to take Grandma her own little jar tomorrow. We will certainly be doing more of these next year!


Ok, so what is wrong with my 12 year old? Poor, poor Asher.


Leah is doing "quick breads" for the fair and she really seems to be getting in to it. This was one of her project. Make biscuits using a biscuit mix and make biscuits using the recipe in the book and compare the two. Here they are. The one on the left is Biscuit (a bit modified due to not enough mix) and the book recipe. They were both yummy, but the book recipe had more flavor and was more tender.


Making pumpkin bread using my coveted frozen pumpkin.


The next Beethoven? I think we will send this one to our piano teacher.


Here is Logan giving a presentation at his 4H class last Sunday. He is doing a project on gun safety.



So, we are officially up to date on life. The summer is going well for us. Right now we are doing a lot of 4H stuff and projects around the house. Canning season is pretty much here and I am sure I will be doing lots of that in the next few weeks.

Ryan and I's 14th Anniversary is coming up next week so we are going to get away this weekend. We are going to go to church Saturday night with the kids and then we are taking off for the night and all day Sunday. We are going to go out to dinner Sat. night and stay in a hotel. Then, on Sunday we are going to hit Kinds Island all day. Yeah! Very fun for us. It has been years since we enjoyed that park and just did adult rides for the day.

Julie

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

July 4th pictures.....

So here are our 4th of July pics. We went to the in laws to swim and then we headed over to my brother and sister in laws (old) house to watch the fireworks. Fun stuff and the pool was great on such a hot day!

Sorry for the crooked picture, but here is Leah showing off at the pool! Nice handstand!


Pre-show off (still crooked, sorry).


This is what happens when I say "Gee smile."


Trying to dry off before the big fireworks! Oh and I have to note that this is probably the last year we will be swimming in this pool. Ryan's mom and dad will be moving soon to their new house. No pool there, but a beautiful pond!


Two of my super cute nieces. Lucy (the little blondie) is 3 1/2 months younger than Asher. She was so funny because she hated the grass and she would just sit their and hold her left foot up. It was even funnier when she tried to crawl in the grass. Naomi is Jason and Jami's baby. She was two in April and is getting quite the personality!


My little stud showing his pearly whites (he seriously has pretty teeth).


Lucy and Asher checking each other out. Lucy was so not impressed with him. He ended up taking her sunblock tube (the thing in her mouth) right out of her hand..... He is not going to be making friends real quick like that.


Jason set up a slip and slide for the kids. They loved it. He even set a bigger one up for the adults and guess who were the only two adults to try it out? Yes sir, my dear hubby and I. We rock!




Coleson was getting ready to give Truett a kiss right here.


Asher getting some mama love.


Adam and Emily's cute little family.


The sparklers were a big hit. (Except for with Katelyn, she burnt her finger on one).


Part of the crew getting ready to watch the fireworks.


I think Gideon looks very perplexed by the sparkler in this picture. He had fun with them though. I thought he'd be too scared of them, but he did great!




The 3 little guys were so tuckered out they didn't even make it home (less than 10 minutes away).



It really was a good 4th!

Julie

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

A final friend update......

My friend's precious little boy, Samuel, went home to be with the Lord early this morning. I know that his family already miss him, but they know that he is at rest now, with Jesus. Samuel lived on this earth for just over a month, which in and of itself is a miracle. I have no doubt he has left a huge impression on all the lives he has touched.

Please keep everyone in your prayers. Samuel will be buried out on the family property tonight and they are having a memorial service for him on Saturday at their church.

Julie

Saturday, July 3, 2010

A successful freezer day and pics!

Yeah! I actually got my freezer day done. No, I did not get everything done I was planning to do, but most of it. It was a lot, but I love having my freezer stuffed!!!

Some food close ups.


I made two loaves of bread also (on cinnamon swirl and one whole wheat).



All the goodness in one picture. I made 3 meatloaves, pineapple bran muffins, two pans of chicken tortilla's (on home made tortillas), mac-n-cheese, easy chicken bake, hashbrown casserole, chicken spaghetti, 1 batch of raspberry jam, pizza dough, meatballs, shredded chicken and sloppy joe. Yummy! And then this morning I made granola, buttermilk banana bread, apple walnut muffins and applesauce bread. It really does feel good to have easy food in the freezer. Freezer days are well worth it if you can swing it!


Just a picture of cutie #6. He just pulls himself up on everything!


Here are the pice from last Sunday.....

My nephew Tyler after getting baptized. How cute it he??? It was really sweet to be there to see such an important time.


Logan.....such a naughty boy.


Leah and my little niece Gracie (aka peaches). She was dedicated and because I was wrong on when church began, we missed it. I really almost cried. Church started 15 minutes earlier than I thought it did.


Awwwww...... Look how adorable she is!


My Uncle John, Gracie and I (I love this man to pieces).


Our barn is totally gone now. Burnt and buried. Our landscape looks so much different. We also had our back fence row torn out. Eventually we will get a new barn and we plan to fence in a couple pastures. I have been wanting to do these things for a very long time so I am pretty excited to see things move along.


Chick time again. These are our new little meaties. 6 of these little nuggets will go to the fair with Leah and Logan.


This is how 52 meat birds look right out of the package (1 day old). Cute eh?


So stinker Madeline has been in trouble a lot lately (this is a whole other post) and one of her punishments is to lay her head on the kitchen table for a long time. I guess she got tired. This is the second time she has fallen asleep while in time out.



We are headed over to the in laws tomorrow to swim and watch the fireworks. I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July. I feel so blessed to be living in a free country and I am filled with gratefulness to all who've died for our country!

Julie

Psalms 10:14, 17-18

"You are the helper of the fatherless.  LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more."