Welcome to 4 D Farms - Homeschool Blogger

Ive got a sick one on my hands today

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:28:00 -0600

Well Ive got a sick one on my hands today. Dakota started running fever yesterday and not feeling well.
He was cold all day and last night. I checked on him through the night and a few times he was still running fever. Around 4am he must have sweated it out. It allergies because the seasons are changing and we do this everytime. Hes ok today so far. We made some homemade chocolate chip cookies and that made him feel a little better.
Right now Im enjoying a glass of goat milk with some homeade peanut butter cookies. I cant believe they turned out right.These boys love cookies. Ive gotten an Amish Cookbook and Im enjoying it so much. So much I want to try to make. Its mostly a baking cookbook. Im gonna find an Amish Recipe book for meals. WOW. I finally got some goat milk because I outsmarted the baby. She is pouting at me. I finally figured out the udder support which she kept walking out of and got it strapped right. Tasha is not happy. While Im milking, she will bite on my hair when Im not looking or she will "politely" try to nudge me off the stool. I can feel her breathing down my neck and probably making faces at me behind my back. She snorts at me too. She is just too funny. Ive got to take Cocoa back to the breeder, because she didnt "take". This is the time of year that drives me crazy with worry. Are you pregnant or not? I really thought she was pregnant but she came back in to a strong heat. She has been pacing the fence looking for a MAN!
We had baking day and the boys really enjoyed it. We started out with Chocolate-Chocolate Chip pancakes for breakfast. All you do is add cocoa powder and chips to your batter. Wonderful with whip cream or chocolate syrup
I had all my baking things out on the counter. I really wanted some pecans and walnuts, they are just too expensive.
Next we started with simple things like cookies. We made homemade peanut butter cookies. Lets see, 3 people, 3 cookies missing, you do the math. Ha! I just had to try this Chocolate Chip Pie next.Look a there, somebodies been taste testing again. You do the math. I couldnt resist making my holiday favorites. Sweet Potato pie and Pumpkin pie.
I made Sweet potato and pumpkin bread. Had a slice of it this morning with some butter. Yummy. Ive got to try some of their bread recipes. My boys also love homemade bread warm with butter.
Sister Baby spent the night with us last Friday night. She has Dakota wrapped tight around her little finger. If she wanted to play dr. he was the patient, if she wanted to play horse, guess who was the horse?
Our church took the children to the Childrens Museum in Memphis that Saturday and to Taco Bell afterwards to eat. They had a blast. Us adults were exhausted.

We are trying to get our back deck finished. This is what it looked like before we started.Now were getting the platform put on.

Next will be the steps, but is has rained a couple of days. Cant wait til those are on and we can start using the back door. Some men are coming to estimate the walls and roof for us. I guess this is my Christmas present. Ha.
Dakota is doing real good on his Research report. He just hates all the reading. I have to read it too, because Im the one who grades it, so I have to make sure its right.Ugh!!!I took a picture of Davids medals and he will put this in his folder.
He will do an interview with Daddy, but there is just some things he want talk about that happened. That is understandable.
Dallas has started Karate. Hes already having trouble pairing up with a girl, cause he knows we dont hit girls. Ha! He would hardly punch at all. But when the young instructor came and told him to punch him in the stomach, he did. Whopow!!!!!!!!! It is just too funny. Now hes going around the house punching and kicking everything.
His next class is tonight. He is so excited. He just couldnt wait til Thursday.
Well speaking of that Ive got to go get ready to take him. Let ya know how hes doing.

Ive been outsmarted

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:39:00 -0600

Ok, I have been outsmarted by Tisha, she walked out of her udder support. For some reason I cant figure how the back is suppose to go around her legs. Ill get it figured out if I have to use Dakota as a model ha
Cocoa got sick on me and got scours. Not good. They can die from this if not treated soon. So I doused her with Kaopectate. She actually loved it. It was cherry flavored.
I looked like Noah's wife this morning going down to the barn. I had goats following me, then a single file of about 18 chickens and one duck waddling, then cats. I wish I would have taken my camera. I have a wounded chicken to take care of. One of the older hens hurt one of my buffs that I let out to join them. She pecked her really bad in a muscle that connects to her lower wing to her upper leg joint. She is getting better at standing. Shes eating very well.
The kittens seem to enjoy baby sitting her too.
Ive had to put her in a kennel at night because big daddy doesnt like animals in the house.
They are working on our back deck, although its not going fast enough for me. If they dont hurry up and get done, we will find someone else to finish. Here is the progress.
Now were working on the steps. They have til this weekend to finish this.
This morning the first class was Home Ec. we had biscuits, eggs, fried Spam, and hashbrowns. Yummie!!!!!!!!!! Then Bible class. Great day.
We have to go to the Library later to get a book for Dakota's Library Research Report. He chose to do it on Operation Desert Storm the Gulf War. He will do a live interview with Daddy to get some information too. I dug out 4 scrapbooks I put together in 1991 for David covering the war. Dakota has really enjoyed going through these.
Well gotta go for now. Hope everyone has a good day.

I guess shes still pouting

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 18:38:00 -0600

Well today I had to put the udder support on Tisha so Tasha would quit nursing. She has pouted at me all day. LOL
I dont exactly have it on there perfect cause I cant hardly figure it out. But it'll do the job I guess.
Today I let the Buffs out of the hutch and into the coop with the others and already the oldest hen attacked one. She just might be chicken soup one day if she keeps this up! She got really close to her jugular vein and she is really weak and cant walk. I will check on her again in the morning. I hope she is not paralyzed.
I was able to gather another mess of radishes today.

Tonight we had deer minute steaks, mashed sweet potatoes, new potatoes, green beans, butterbeans, corn and some radishes. Yummie!
Now Im full as a tick.
They started on our deck today and will finish hopefully Monday. Right now we are just getting the bottom put on. Ill post pictures of the progress when its done.
Well gotta go clean the kitchen and start getting church clothes ready for tomorrow.

Not a wasted day afterall

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 21:24:00 -0600

Today we had a review day because they were suppose to come start our back deck. But come to find out, the guy that was suppose to do it had to go pick up his little boy from school because he got sick. Oh well, sick children are alot more important than my deck. I hope he gets better soon. It was not a wasted day, we had review and then I went to town and we picked up some sweet potatoes, pumpkin and some peanuts from a farmers market. Right now we are enjoying parched peanuts. Yummie

Just checked on my blogs, and together I have had almost 1,000 visitors this month. Wow! Word really does get out. This is not just in the US, this is from other continents as well. Thanks for all the readers.

I hope Im helping all the readers out there somewhere. Just leave me a note and let me know.

You know, if the Lord doesn't come back soon, we may be seeing some pretty rough changes in our country that we are not use to. I never thought my kids would see these things come to pass, much less me. If we teach our children how to handle these situations in a Godly manner, I know that we will be ok.We just put our trust in Jesus and we will be fine.We have to prepare ourselves and our children for these changes.
We won our Allstar game last night. 16-6. Now we have ended the season with 7-0 wins. Yea!
I missed Tishas heat cycle and will have to wait for 3 weeks then plan it.
Hubby had to use my truck today so I couldnt take her. Today just wasnt a good day to go.
For those of you who do not like to run to the dr. everytime we get a cold, I have a few home remedies that are tried and true in my house.
Upper Respritory problems or acute bronchitis:
1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp red pepper (optional especially for children recipe)
2 tbsp honey
1 cup apple cider vinegar (white will be fine)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp ginger
Put all ingredients in a jar, close, shake, and take 2 tbsp. 3 times a day.
Sinus infection or stuffy nose:
2 drops garlic oil in water in a nasal spray bottle. Spray liberally during day.
I hope these help your family as they help us.
Well its getting late and my eyes are getting tired so Im gonna retire for the night.

TIme is just slipping by

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 11:14:00 -0600

It seems like time is just slipping away from us. Its already Nov. I have been busy. We have had a good year in football. Our team is the 2009 Undefeated Peewee Champions. Yea. This is a picture of homecoming.
This is the night of the awards ceremony and Dakota getting his trophy.
He made the Allstar team and tonight is their last game of the year. He is so excited.
This is Dallas at one of the games keeping his eye on the cheerleaders. Ha!
One night at the games, Dakota is playing his heart out, Im fighting the wind, umbrella and video camera, while Dallas is getting sugar from a girl!!! How funny!
We had a great Halloween. We dont do all the scary stuff for Halloween because that is of Satan and we dont participate. Remember this is just my conviction. If we do anything, we do it with the church and if they dress up its nothing scary or evil. I did let them carve a happy pumpkin for the sake of carving one. Then I used it later for muffins and pie.
I did take them to a festival at another church where some of their friends go and of course they had to engage in a game of football.
We had a Christian Magician at our church. I know what your thinking, "black magic". No, this is a christian illusionist who uses this to teach the kids the gospel on their level and catch their attention. He will tell you its not magic. He gave his testimony and we actually had some kids accept Christ this night. Our church was packed with kids and we had Trunk or Treat last. It was awesome. You should have seen some of the things he and his wife makes with balloons. They made a 3D cross.
The leaves and trees are looking so beautiful here. We have been able to get some projects done around the house. We finally got the driveway rocked and smoothed out and a few other places too. We got our big burn pile pushed up to nearly nothing to burn and working on two other big brush piles to get ready to burn. We will do this a little at a time until our whole 22 acres is like we want it. With all the dump trucks and dozers out here, do you honestly think I could keep the boys attention in school? Tomorrow we will be having someone start building our back deck for us, finally. These projects have been a long time coming. And we are so proud.
The boys got some money to spend one day and here is Dallas having a hard time picking out what he wanted.
Dakota already had his mind made up what he wanted. He wanted some pants, since hes cleaned out his closet and took out all the things that are too small for him.
I had to find a different method to get Tashas horn buds off. It may take a while and she dont like it, but it had to be done and shell have no pain this way.
I had to use an elasterator bander to put bands on them to cut off the circulation so they will just come off. Then we will go and burn the tips again. Some times not matter how hard you try they will still occasionally be that one that will still grow them. I am having to put a udder support on Tisha because she is not concerned about weaning the baby. But it looks kind of funny when you see a goat about the same size as Momma kneeling down to take a drink> LOL Well see how this works and maybe we will get the milk. Cocoa was the first to go into heat so I took her and had her bred. We should know something in a few weeks if she "took" or not. I hope so. She really needs to have a baby. Tisha is in now, and I cant take her right yet cause we have so much going on at home that I cant get away so I may have to wait til next month. We will still build another kid stall to let the babies in at night.
School is still going great except Dakota has made a few bad grades on tests. One was a History Exam. He was having a bad day and just couldnt remember some answers. I have to be tough on them. Just because we homeschool doesnt mean I give out answers, I will not cheat my children of an education. I will help them anyway I can, but they have to use their brain too, cause mines about wore out. LOL I will give him his phone back when he pulls those grades up. Not until. Momma has spoken and it will be so. LOL.Dallas loves to color and draw. He will be starting Karate soon. He is so excited.
We won our Football Allstar game tonight. Now big boy is 7-0 for the season. He earned us a trip to Pizza Hut afterwards. Yea! Daddy was so glad to finally get to see him play since he was out of town all season and didnt get to see any of his games. Granny and Poppa and Scarlett was also there. He played his heart out, while we cheered our lungs out.Ha!
Now it is hunting season. My house has guns ready and hunting clothes ready. Dakota has already shot one, a 7 pt buck but they couldnt find it that evening, so first thing next morning they went looking for it but coyotes had found it. He just brought the horns back as a trophy. We are getting the freezer ready for deer.
One day Dallas and I made pear jelly. Dallas loved squishing the juice out of the pears.
Our Nov. issue of Homesteadernews is out, so be sure to stop by and read my article. Just go to homesteadernews.com and click on the Homeschool tab. There is my article. Be sure to read all articles if possible.
Well as for me I gotta go hit the hay it has been a busy day and more busy tomorrow.

Homeopathic Medicine for Flu Like Symptoms

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:16:00 -0500

A little bit of information. If you would rather find a natural alternative for the cold and flu season instead of depending on chemical medicines, I can direct you to a great website to read all about it.
http://children.boironusa.com/freesample
They have homeopathic remedies for colds, flu and coughs. You can go to this website and request a free sample. I got mine today and it is a good free sample, worth requesting.
They also request other bloggers to help spread the word by posting it on your blog. It would be worth a try since their are no side effects and its all natural.

Little Changeroonie on the Boys

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:25:00 -0500

Surprised the boys this morning and made them go down and do chores with me this morning. Ha! Usually, we get up, get ready, eat breakfast and they start school while I go do everything. This morning, we came back in, freshened up, and then ate breakfast. It worked out fine.
We had an awesome time with my mother Friday. She fixed us some homemade chilli and some cornbread and then a chocolate cake. yummy!!!
Then we went shopping. We went to a new thrift store. I got some great outfits to wear to church since Im outgrowing all my others. That may be why Im growing out of everything. Too much chocolate cake. HUM!
Then Saturday night we had a hayride and chilli supper at a church members house. Had a great time again. He has a 150 ft. zip cord that is so much fun and yes I went down it. Awesome.
Sunday had a wonderful time at church and in the Lord. Had to take a nap though, the weekend just wore me out.
Monday, I called a work day We had to dig up the sweet potatoes. We didnt get much. It just rained so much. But oh, I fixed some for lunch and they tasted so good. I canned 8 qts this morning. I can use these for pies and to fry some up. UMUM Good! Today Im going to cut a pumpkin up and can some of that too. We like sweet potatoe pies and pumpkin pies. We will save the seeds for next year and grow some of our own. I will just have to break down and buy some sweet potatoes from someone selling some. We also harvested some radishes. Dallas keeps trying to eat them all. We mulched what stuff is left out in the garden. We cleaned out from underneath the house. The boys picked up sticks an threw them onto the burn pile we had pushed up. Missed some good photo ops due to batteries ran down in camera. Im lost without my camera. Cocoa was hanging close by and I think she was picking up some too. ha! They would throw a few sticks on the pile and Dixie would go get it and take it back out and put it where she wanted it. It was just too funny. She had a good day working too.
Yesterday, I didnt feel good at all. Had to lay back down and restart my day. After some rest we cleaned up a little and I cooked supper.
Then we had to go to Dakota's ballgame. He made several tackles. I lost count cause I was screaming too loud. Go Big Orange. 14-0. Thats my boy.

Good Memories

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:28:00 -0500

Dallas is in the bathroom singing, "I love my momma, I love my momma, even though she burns everything!" Its gonna be a good day, were gonna do school in the tent in the living room.

A teenager at church gave the boys a 5x6 tent last night. We came home, set it up, and they camped out in the living room last night. This morning I felt like acting like a bear and scaring the crap out of them, but I figured Dakota would wet his breeches getting to the bathroom, so I didnt.

This is their new tent. They love it.

The boys have fixed me a nice soft seating area in the tent so I can be comfortable when we do schoolwork. Ha aint that sweet?

They are excited that today is pay day for all their chores. After they got paid, they thanked the Lord for it and asked him to help them spend it wisely.

We were suppose to have games tonight, but of course it rained again. So they were called off, but they got in a nice practice anyway. Im fixing to make the coach start doing dirty muddy uniforms.

The girls are better this morning, no more bloat.

The boys are making meatballs for supper tonight with some fresh corn and new potatoes from the garden. Dont they look good?

Dallas begged me to take a nap with him in their tent, so I did what any good mommy would do. I did.

Well, everyones needs have been met and Im pooped. Were fixing to head to bed. Off tomorrow and gonna go see my mother. She wants to take me to this new thrift store. Im glad. I love thrift stores.
Everyone have a nice weekend. We have a hay ride and chilli supper Saturday night for the church. The boys will have spend the night company, so Ill have plenty to blog about Monday.

Baking Soda and Pepto

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:42:00 -0500

Headed down to the barn this morning to find two bloated goats. They had broke into the feed stall. Had to run back up to the house to get the Baking Soda and Pepto Bismol and a syringe. Had to drench them quickly. How did they show their appreciation? I was wearing it. I'm going to have to watch them closely the rest of the day to make sure they dont get worse. They are wanting to lay down alot, thats not good. The sign Im looking for is if they start kicking at their sides and laying down. Thats no good. Its just like a horse that eats to much and gets colic. So far all is well.
Last nights pictures and games were called off due to Guess What? RAIN. They rescheduled for Thursday night. It was kind of a relief, we got some needed rest and a chance to slow down and enjoy our time.
Had a lunch of home made spaghetti o's. You can make these with any noodles you want and a can of tomato soup and one can water or milk.
We've been sitting and watching the kittens play. Theres nothing like watching baby animals learn and play. Later today we will have to take Chey's stitches out.
Dallas has been so content the past few days to get a big piece of paper and just spread out in the floor and draw. He may be the artist of the family.
Tomorrow will be a review day and then clean house day. We will take off Friday and go see my momma.
Tonight after church all the women will be staying afterward to clean. The lady who usually cleans has been caregiver to her husbands parents. She is being a good servant, but she is getting exhausted. We are pulling together to help her out.
All is well now, so Ill go.

Little Troubel Today

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Having trouble keeping the boys focused today. We have two dump trucks and two bulldozers out here working on our culvert in our driveway. They would rather watch them. Think Ill go join them. Ha!
Okay, were back, I guess that was educational. Dallas is getting frustrated in Phonics, she goes a little fast so Im gonna have to slow him down and go back and highlight some areas hes having trouble with.
We have got a long day today. After school, homework then a little rest we go to have Dakotas football pictures made at 5:30 and his game is not til 8pm. Ugh!!!
Now, were enjoying a lunch of Roast, potatoes, and fresh peas.
The bulldozers have almost got our driveway and pasture all shaped up, this has been a long time coming.
Just read a very informative tip on one of my favorite blogs. Ill share it with you:
There are a lot of pre-made mixes and frozen foods that we have come to rely on. Sure, they are convenient, but we are paying for that convenience. Instead, look into cooking from scratch. Many things take hardly any longer than the convenience food version. Take a cake or brownie mix for example. It takes me exactly five minutes longer to bake a cake from scratch as opposed to using a baking mix. As an added bonus, I know exactly what's in that cake.
This is so true, I have done comparisons myself and I can make the same thing from scratch and not spend near as much money. Plus, we know whats in there. She is so right.
Another good tip is, if you make way too much of one thing for supper, instead of putting it in the fridge and then it never be eaten, put it in a storage container and freeze it. You can pull it out later. Example, Spaghetti. I always make too much. I just freeze the rest and have a meal already prepared for the next time. I throw some homemade bread with it and wholah!!!!
Just read another interesting tidbit. In this stage of our childrens life, nothing is more important than teaching. If you are pushing them away to do laundry or other chores, then we are not teaching. The laundry can wait and so can other things. Pay attention to them first, then get them to help with the chores later. This is more quality time spent together by talking.
Well I got one ill one on my hands, hes going down for a nap. Think well join him and then get homework done before we go to game. Tell you how it goes tomorrow.

Rock On

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:55:00 -0500

Well, school is rocking on whether I keep up or not. ha! The boys have done very well on a few projects already. Dakota had a tree project in Science and he chose to do his on The White Oak. Here is his finished masterpiece....
He collected samples of bark, twigs, leaves, and acorns. His report is folded up inside the envelope.I am so proud.
Dallas had a project in art too. His was a leaf project and here is his...
He did a very good job as well. I love his handwriting. Here is one of his papers.
Dakotas next book report is on Billy Sunday, who was a famous baseball player who later became one of the worlds famous missionaries. He has made a 100 on his first Bible test.
I took the boys to one of our church members house who raises honey bees and collects and sells the honey. First, you have to scrape the wax off the comb. He let Dakota try to do this.
Then the combs go into this machine that he hand made to "sling" the honey out of the combs.
The honey is strained and poured into buckets to be placed into the jars. Dallas just wanted to keep sticking his finger under there and stealing the honey. Hes my little raccoon...
He loves cheese, fruit and now honey.
One day the boys helped me make home made bread. They thought it felt like playdough.
Of course, they loved eating it too. Dakota is still doing good in football. He has made a few touch downs and made me proud.
I have been video taping since Daddy is out of town so he can watch them when he comes home.
Everything is going well on the farm. Susie is doing well in her competitions still. She is close to earning her HRC title. Dixie has been helping me with the chores on the farm. Really she just likes to ride in my rhino and try to push me out of the seat so she can drive. She looks so innocent, but dont let those eyes fool ya.
She loves to grab an empty feed sack and just run around the barn with it in her mouth. I get dizzy watching her. We took three of the last older kittens to a warehouse in Jackson that was having a bad problem with rats getting into the boxes and things. That was just right up their alley. They knew they had a job to do and their doing it. The boss made them a bed and they have plenty of food and water not to mention all the free mice they can handle and they will stay very warm.
My Buff's are growing fine although I have lost 3. One was due to getting too cold I think and two the other day due to suffication by the bigger ones when they huddled together.
Im not for sure how many hens to roosters I have, but they will have separate living quarters than my others. I want a pure breed of buffs. Ace is doing fine and growing well. So beautiful.
Its the little white one with black specks. Looks just like its daddy.This is most of them out meeting me for breakfast. I look like Noah's wife sometimes, with cats, chickens and goats following me to the barn.
I still love my little Sassy.
She thinks shes camouflaged in the grass. She is so funny to watch.
I still worry about Cocoa. She would rather raise chickens than her own kind. Here she is in the barn with all them.
I have really got to work with her this year to have her bred. Ive got a buck rag Ive been using on Tisha to get her use to the buck smell, but when I come towards Cocoa with it, she heads for the hills. She insists on not getting pregnant. Well, if I have anything to do with it she will. I have to give her a shot first to bring on her heat then I will take her and leave her a few days with my breeder. She will watch them for a few days. If Cocoa doesnt give in, then we will have to put her on a stand and hold her still. I know that may sound awful but some goats are just different. Once she has one, shell see what she has been missing. Tisha, on the other hand, I will probably not have any problem out of her except trying to show the buck whose boss. We may have to put her on a stand too. Tasha is doing great. Growing like a weed. She still steals milk. Tisha is still enjoying being Mommie and not too worried about weaning her. She still thinks she has to get on the stand like Mommie. Thats a good thing cause shes not scared of it. Its easy to get her up there to trim hooves or give shots. She loves to come behind me when Im not looking and rare up on my back and push me like, "Tag!, You're it!" She is funny too. One day she did this and I about fell face first in the mud.LOL
I still have a little problem with her horn buds, they are still trying to grow, but I have learned one more process to help. yea, I know goats can have horns there's nothing wrong with that. But in a dairy herd you dont want horns simply for safety reasons. We do find the best humane procedures possible. You know I dont like hurting my animals.
This is the view from the front door. The colors of the leaves are changing, the animals are browsing and its crisp outside. A beautiful scene.
I have been enjoying some of the best juice I think Ive ever gotten my hands on. We picked some muskydines one day and came home and cooked them down, strained them and added sugar and wholah! I had muskydine juice. It is delicious. Then I did some blueberries that way. delicious again. I forgot to take a picture sorry!
Well, Dallas has just conked out during his last class. He'll just have to finish when he wakes up. We had a very good weekend. Had football practice Saturday morning and Me and Dallas froze and had to get back in the truck. Then we let Dakota clean up and we headed to Lexington to see our friends and spent the rest of the day with them and had a bday party for their grandson. We had a great time. She had been busy making apple butter, I gotta a jar. Yummy!
Sunday,, the boys had company after church for the day. This morning we slept in a little and just relaxed a little with school. It is fall break in public school, so Friday we will take off and I want to go see my mother. Then Saturday if its not raining, we will work outside.
I have been chosen to be the editor of an online newsletter for the homeschool section. You can check it out.

Our Homesteader News October issue is now online. Please come by and help us preserve this way of life. Look for my article under the Homeschooling tab. Go to www.homesteadernews.com today. Hope you enjoy.

Until Daddy comes back home the boys fight over whose turn it is to sleep with me. Dakota likes to kick alot, not so much fun. I feel like pushing him off into the floor with Dallas. Ha!
I had to finally give in and go get a steroid shot for my RA. It hurt my feelings a little cause its been 2 yrs. since Ive had to have one. It has helped some, but my right elbow joint still is having trouble. Cant hardly lift anything, and having to do some things left handed. If it wasnt for my boys, I dont know what Id do.
Still getting a few summer peppers out of the garden, now were getting radishes. Yummy!! The peas, beans, potatoes, garlic are all doing well. My corn didnt make it, they just got water logged. That's ok though, we still have plenty from summer. This is why we do what we do.
Well, I hope this catches me up for now. I hope you have enjoyed another one of our adventures.

Awesome day for 4 D's Lil Susie

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:22:00 -0500

Today was a good day for Susie. We got to go see her compete for the first time after her accident. She was awesome. Course I dont exactly know what the judges were looking for, but to her Momma she did good. We missed her land run this morning due to having to stay behind a do chores. But we got to see her water run. Here she is, yea thats her the little black dot carrying the duck.
Our trainer, Linda Brewer did an awesome job with her. She always does. She is a very good trainer. We saw some dogs make it and some not. We had to hide when they got her out of the kennel, cause if she saw us, that would have been it. She would have been good for nothing. We would have been a huge distraction to her. Her mind would not have been on what she was suppose to do. So we hid behind a tree, then when her back was to us, we got behind the blind and I could video tape. When her run was complete then we could hug and praise her. I called her name and she took one look at me and came to me as if to say, "Did you see me Mommie, did I do good, Huh, Huh, Huh????" I was so proud of her. We got to go to the dinner that night and accept her ribbon for her. We video taped for David as a surprise. He will be so proud of her too. We did not tell him anything, he didnt even know we were going. It is killing me not to be able to tell him. We will let him see her video when he comes in and see if he notices her ribbon on the wall. She competes again tomorrow and then again next week. I pray she does really good on these as well. That is our baby girl. Dallas seemed to have had a good time too, anywhere there is mud, he is happy.
I just had to post this before we turned in for the night. It has been a good day today for us. After a long week in school, we deserved some fun time. Tomorrow will be a good day to worship. God Bless and good night John Boy!!!!!

Addition to last post

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:30:00 -0500

In case I forgot to tell yall, you can find me on face book. You can find me by looking for Tracy Dixon in Bethel Springs, TN.
I looked at my clustr map and I had no idea I reached so many people. Heres the low down. I have 285 visits in US, 3 in Canada, 2 in the Philippines, 1 in Kenya, 1 in Norway, 1 in Finland, 1 in Turkey, 1 in Jamaica, 1 in Trinidad and Tobago, 1 in Australia, and 1 in Malaysia. Not to mention the others I have on my sister blog, homesteadblogger.com/4dfarms. I feel so privileged to have so many readers. Thank Yall very much. I have always loved to write, I get that from my Grandmother. She always wanted to be a writer.

Gosh, so much has happened.

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:02:00 -0500

So much has happened, I don't know where to start. First, I'd like to say I have been chosen to be the editor of the homeschool section of an online newsletter. My first article will come out in Oct. I'm very excited. I've never been an editor of anything.
I have been doing alot of frugal research. What I mean is, I'm going to start learning more about couponing, ad matching, etc. I've read a great book that Ive had in my bookcase for about 3 yrs, that I never got around to reading. She is known as the coupon queen. I love her witty advice. Ive even learned what you can do with those soap bars when they get down to nothing. You can take them and put them in a potpourri crock pot with some water and let it simmer and your house will smell like a babies bottom. Ha!
Oops, I think I hear an argument stirring between the boys. Gotta go check it out. Be right back. Yep, just as I suspected. This time they couldnt handle it on their own. (I try not to intervene right away, cause I want to see how they will try to work it out). It lead to Dallas hitting Dakota and that has never been allowed in our home. Our boys have never been allowed to hit one another or call one another names. They get heavily punished if this happens. Usually, I stop the argument and we settle it before it gets out of hand.Dallas has to learn to control his temper. He gets upset really quick and doesnt know how to handle it.Dakota really does try to settle the arguments.
Dallas is doing really good in school. When reading, he still has trouble saying his L's and R's correctly. He's getting better with his L's especially when he slows down and thinks about it. If he gets fast he relapses and forgets. His handwriting is to die for. I love it. Dakota is the one I have to stay on about his penmanship. I do not tolerate sloppy work. I will make him do it again. He has improved in his writing. I reward them with marbles. Each marble is worth .25 cents. My kids will do anything with money. Call it bribing if you want. But when they do bad or make a bad grade, they owe me .25 cents. I think that is a fair deal. Hey, just because we homeschool doesnt mean I give them the answers.
Dakota has made a few bad grades the past couple of days. He is going to have to pick up they pace cause he doesnt like having his phone taken away. He doesnt talk on the phone or text message, its just that it his his only prized posession because Daddy got it for him and he loves it and takes care of it. Dallas has had trouble the past few days and gotten frustrated. They are doing something different in school and he doesnt adjust to change well sometimes. So, Ive had to slow down and help him with this adjustment. I know my kids better than anyone, thats why Im here to help.
We have gotten alot of projects done and reports. Working on the next ones now. When we get Dakota science project completed, I will take a picture of it and post it. Dallas wants to do one too. So Ill post his too. Were having to wait for dry weather so we can collect the rest of our things for the poster.
He will now do a History project on a country of his choice. He chose Japan since David went to Okinawa, Japan when he was in the Marines and PaPa was in WWII when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. I think he will do really good. Dakota has been having to help me with Roman Numerals in Arithmetic and Prime Factoring. He has speed drills that he does in Arith. and Reading. He gets so nervous when you turn on the clock. He doesnt like to be rushed when thinking. He has to learn to calm down and concentrate on thinking and not the 'tick tock' of the clock. This is something else we have to work on. I am very proud of them they do try and I see this in them. I hate however to see them struggle. But if they learn it now, theyll be better off. Dallas has a little trouble with his long and short vowels when applying them to reading. Hes getting better though. Dakota had to learn several verses in Bible and he got a B cause I had to help him a few time. Dallas learned John 3 14-19 and got an A.
Dallas enjoys coloring more and more. I think hes gonna be the artist. Dakota is the hard worker as far a actual labor goes. He want let me tote anything heavy, well I cant and he knows this and he tries to help and be the man while Daddy's gone.
Dakota is doing really well in football. He finally got to run the ball in last nights game. The coaches son has been getting all the glory and stealing the show until he got hurt, now its someone elses turn. I dont mean for that to sound ugly, but its true. Dakota made a touch down last night and guess who cheered the most. Yep! ME!!!!!! I was so proud. He drug a few boys a few yards that were hanging onto his feet. Ha! Im having to video tape for Daddy since hes out of town so he can see them when he gets back in. Hes in Texas right now, near you Cindy. He hates being away from us. But work was slow in our neck of the woods and he had to go out. I support what ever he does.
Susie has been doing well at the trainer. Ms. Linda said its as if nothing ever happened to her. She gets to compete this weekend and we are going to try to go see her in action and video tape for David. We might mess the first run because they have it early in the morning and we have chores to get done here first and then Dakota has practice for a couple of hrs Saturday. We will see her evening run. We stopped by to see her one day last week, but I think it might have upset her cause she thought we were coming to bring her home. I felt so sorry for her. After a couple of weeks and trial runs she will get to come back home and then it will be Dixies next set of training.
I have added alot of things to my side bar because Im promoting other peoples website that I really enjoy. One is Freebies 4 Mom. I love this website. I have gotten so many free things in the mail. Some all you have to do is sign up to receive a newletter by email or just answer a survey question or two. It simple. I also love Mom Advice. They have alot of tips on how to save money and where to find the best deals. I also promote alot of good homeschool references. Feel free to click on any of them and just surf til your hearts content. They will enjoy you stopping by. We all share tips and suggestions and share concerns to help one another out.
This set in rain has really taken a toll on my body. I have gotten really stiff and sore and my arms hurt alot. You can forget lifting anything. I really dont want to go get any steroid shots, I havent had to in a long time, about 2 yrs now. But if this doesnt let up, I may have to.
My Buffs are getting so big now. It want be long I can let them out of the hutch. David wants to build another coop when he gets back home to house just the Buffs, so they dont inter breed with my other ones. We want to keep a pure breed in the Buffs. Sassy didnt get to hatch the eggs she was sitting on. Everytime she left the nest to get something to eat or drink a chicken would come in and peck them open. Shes back to her old self again and splashing in the mud puddles. She is just too funny to watch. This spring I will have some farm ducks. I will try to find her a boyfriend too.
The girls are doing fine. Ive got a man from church going to bring me a buck rag so I can get them use to the smell and get them ready for breeding season. I dont know if I will breed Tasha so soon or not. Shes not even a year old. I will just have to see. Me and her still fight over Tishas milk. Ha!
Chey, Dakotas calico has blessed us with 5 more kittens. I swear 3 of them look like Simese or little possums one. They are just too cute.
I just thought of a funny thought I could leave you with. The other day Dallas called me a "Big Girl". Now I dont know if he meant big like mature or he meant a BIG GIRL> Ill have to think about that one. Ha!
Hope everyone enjoys their days that God gives you without complaining.

First call ever to 911

Thu, 3 Sep 2009 11:55:00 -0500

When we got home from football practice, we got out of the truck and heard Tasha hollering like crazy, we thought she was in the brush pile and couldnt find her way out to momma. We ran down there and found Tasha and led her out, well we couldnt find Tisha, so we started calling her. She gave one loud cry and I followed her voice. She was down deep in the brush pile, in a hole, with her front legs, head and shoulders wedged between two logs and the other half stuck up in the air with another log above her. She could not hardly breathe nor move. I climbed down in the hole with her and was trying to pull her out, didnt have enough strength. I couldnt go down any further to get under her to push her up either, I had to call 911, of all people they send a cop, not the fire dept., so it took them ,too long for me, for them to get here, so I had Dakota go get our neighbor. We tried pulling logs with chains and winches to no avail. Finally, we get the chain saw out. We were able to push her down so at least she could get off her front legs and lay down. We cut logs into and moved them and away from her. Then I pulled her to where she could follow me out. Dakota led her to the barn while I thanked everyone.No broken bones, just weak and tired. Thank the Lord. I do not know how long she had been stuck in there. Our brush pile is huge. We have to have a bulldozer come to push it up so we can try to burn it. We have to wait til every thing dies out before we can burn again. I have a very smart Tasha though, she wasnt gonna leave momma and she was calling for help. Even the kittens were there with her to comfort her. We were covered in black sut and sawdust and exhausted. So far she hasnt gotten back in there. She was very thankful too. That is the very first time Ive ever had to call 911.
We are doing great in school, both are making good grades, reading well, and writing better in penmanship class. Dallas has speed drills now in Arithmetic. They love being rewarded with marbles for good work. Each marble is worth 25 cents. Dakota has already tried to test me about neat writing. After me throwing it away twice and him having to do it over two times, he didnt mess with me any more. LOL. I dont accept sloppy work. We have been on a good schedule, they dont like getting up early in the morning. Right now we have to make sure were done with school and homework before football practice. We dont want to have to do any when we get back cause his coach likes to keep them til 8 or 8:30 pm.
While Dakota is practicing Dallas plays in the sand or I let him ride his bike while I walk.

Dallas is very glad hes learned how to blow bubbles.
I do have a confession to make. I failed my Science Project. The chickens didnt hatch in the incubator. Come to find out the humidity wasnt right for the hatching process to begin. David knew I was upset so he got me a suprise. Well, 10 of them to be exact. He got me 10 little Buff Orpingtons.
Aren't they so sweet? Ace seems to love the company. Its too late to try to hatch anymore cause they want get their feathers before winter. So well have to learn more and try again next spring. I keep wondering though, how many are we going to sacrafice before we get it right? My farm cat has made her bed in my bird bath. She sleeps during the day and works on the farm at night making sure everything is OK.
We'd really freak her out if we put water in there.LOL
Dakota's games start Tuesday night, he can hardly wait. Weve got a busy weekend. Weve got a wedding in Cordova. I dont travel well, but this is ok. Next weekend, its the goat festival in Millington. Cant wait for that either. Dove season has started, so they will get to hunt a little before we have to go to the wedding. Ill be working with Dallas shooting. Hey, somebodies gotta show these guys how to do it. LOL.
Ive got all my fall planting done. Just need Dallas to pray over it again, so we will have a bountiful supply.
Well its time to go to bed. No football practice tomorrow night. Dont know how to act not being in a hurry to go somewhere.

Having a Great Day so far.

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:14:00 -0500

Today was the first day of our school. It was smooth and easy. I know everyday is not going to be this easy and smooth. I really enjoyed it today. Dakota got rewarded for neat writing and reading. Those are two things he struggles with. Dallas got done first.Dakota was done a little after lunch. Next week will get a little harder. If we keep this schedule up we'll be ok. Dakota had football practice tonight and loved it. Me and Dallas picked peas while they were gone. I got two 5 gal. bucket fulls. I will start planting the fall garden this week. Cant wait. This morning I took a ladies advice on Homemaking 911 and cooked to put some stuff in the freezer. This makes our morning breakfasts and meals quicker. I made chocolate chip pancakes, biscuits and two loaves of home made bread. Delicious.
One loaf is almost gone already. I cooked some apples down that we picked and made apple juice. Little Man loves it. It tastes pretty good. This fall I will be working on an orchard for us.
Yesterday we had a wonderful day at church.And then a cookout for two birthdays this month. The boys had a really great time. Notice the two big ones.

Sister Baby loves her Kota..
Dallas loves Hunter...
We had a really great time. We also had special singing at church that night. I love to hear the talents God has given people in our church.
We only have two or three days left for the eggs in the incubator to hatch. A couple of days ago we candled again and you could see the chicks moving around and kicking in the egg. It was awesome to see. It was like looking at a sonogram of your baby. Dallas loved it. I couldnt take a picture cause the camera wouldnt pick up such am image. Weve got seven. I hope they all make it til hatching day. Cant wait for that either.
Saturday I had alot of work to do outside. Had to trim hooves, give vacc. to Tasha. cleaned out the chicken coop floor and put the fertilizer over in the garden. I was exhausted that day. The chickens didnt appreciate being locked out of the coop so Cocoa consoled them.
Ace taking a ride on mommas back....
Tisha and Tasha taking it easy in the barn, while I did all the hard work. ha
They knocked my ladder down again. UHM!! Sassy having a good time in her pool Can you tell which one is her?
Went to my Uncles house Friday and picked up some goats from him to take to another farm. I was in three states in one day. It was very interesting. We had to catch them first. WHOOO RODEO!!!!!!!!!!!! One buck, one doe, and how many people. Try 5 or 6. Finally got them in the trailer and we were "on the road again" took them straight to Mr. Payne who raises these kinds of goats. We let them out and he vaccinated, trimmed hooves and wormed all at the same time. I dont know what we were so afraid of, they were more scared of us than we were of them. Well, we were really scared of each other. These had horns ha! We had a great visit. I took a picture of my Papa's medals. Cindy you did a nice job on this.
Thank you for your hard work and research. It was all together a good weekend. Well gotta go and get school stuff ready for tomorrow.

Just thoughts.

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:38:00 -0500

Just trying to play catch up. Im sorry there are no pictures on here, nothing has really changed. The garden is fizzling out for this season, getting ready to plant for fall season. Weve done good for the summer. Plenty to eat.
The boys spent another week with Granny and Poppa and had a very good time. Their trying to squeeze all their fun stuff in before school starts.
We received all our school stuff from Abeka. It is going to be an interesting year. Ive about got everything organized in our school room,until I have to put something else in here. ha! We are not really ready to start school, but we'd better so we dont get behind. Were still enjoying our summer vacation.
Me and Dakota have been learning alot on the computer. Will try to learn more this time. Im still trying to learn MP3 players. How far behind am I? Now theres this IPOD thing and etc,,,,,,
Tasha is still growing like a weed. She is suppose to be weaned, but every once in a while, she sneaks some milk from momma. She is so sneaky. Its fixing to be breeding season again. Stress ful time for me. Watching for signs, checking tails (literally), marking calenders, trips to the breeders, and so on. I dont know If I will have Tasha bred this year or not. She might be a little young.
I will be going to my Uncles one day this week to pick up his goats, they cant care for them anymore and just want them to have a good home. So I have found them one. This man in our church has the same kind as he does and will take them. I will go to AL to pick them up and vaccinateand worm them. Possibly get them spruced up for him. They will be fine.
I am so proud of my boys and for the way I have taught them. A few times they have encountered problems with another kid and they have handled themselves rather well. They learn to sense when something just isnt right. Im so thankful the Holy Spirit speaks to them.
I am so thankful I get to homeschool my children, however long that may be. I "KNOW" they are in a safe and suitable environment. It is our place and we call it HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Although I have given Dakota the right to make a decision for next year. This is his last year playing pee wee football. He really does love it more than baseball. If the only way he can play football next year is by going to public school, I will put my feelings aside and let him choose. I will just plead the blood of Jesus on him everyday. We will enjoy this year if it is our last. Id better stop there before I start crying. We will see what next year brings. I so love being with my kids everyday. Yes we have bad days, but the good far outweighs the bad. All is forgiven and forgotten at the end of the day when Im tucking them in and they hug and kiss me and say "I LOVE YOU MOM!!!!!
David had a good bday, well kind of. He felt bad all day, but the only thing that kept him going was knowing we were headed to pick up the boys from Grannies house. He missed them so much. He wanted them back the first night they were gone. He is such a good dad. Im very blessed to have him in my life.
In a few more weeks we should have some chicks. We have incubated some. We have to candle them again tomorrow. A few we were not sure about so we took them outside and cracked them open to know what to look for next time. To our disappointment, there was a chick in both and we couldnt put humpty dumpty back together again. We are learning as we go, sometimes at their expense. Ace is growing really well. When we have more to hatch, we will put them together in the hutch, and I will let Momma hen out with the rest.
Today has been one of my days when Im havent been doing well. I just couldnt sleep last night, dont know why. I can be so exhausted and then when I do lay down, my eyes are wide open. Oh well this too shall pass right Con?
I just thought Id leave you with this thought I put on face book.
If we spent more time thinking, rewarding, and encouraging our children for the things they do right instead of dwelling on the things they have done wrong, our children would seem like totally different people to us. Yea, they mess up and make mistakes, but you correct, discipline,pray and move on. You cant go back and change it. But you can encourage and pray for better behavior for the next time. This is Monday night, you know what that means. Monday Night Raw Wrestling. Boys will be boys.

Reminiscing -recalling the past according to Webste's Dictionary

Tue, 4 Aug 2009 16:56:00 -0500

Yep I had to look in the dictionary for that one, forgot how to spell it. Ha! I have been thinking about Sunday's services and Sunday School. I had a very good day. We have a Beth Moore study in our Sunday School class and we are studying Living Beyond Yourself the fruits of the Spirit. Sunday was JOY! The joy of the Lord is my strength. Then we are having missions week at church and had a speaker from our own state of TN. where the poverty level is below normal. You can have poor people living right under neath you and not know it. Then in class Sunday night we are in another Beth Moore study with Priscilla Shirer and Kay Arthur. If you've never heard these ladies I strongly encourage it. Kay has an unbelievable testimony of her life and what God has done for her. Their study is on Anointed, Transformed and Redeemed the life of David. This night Kay spoke on GRACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! An awesome word and something I am so thankful for. Then that night in missions we had a woman that has been in the Phillipenes. (sp) She wept as she talked about some of these people. My eyes were not dry. I had a very good day Sunday in the Lord. The boys are having a good time at Granny and Poppa's.
I have been busy in the garden again. Today I picked somemore green beans, tomatoes, peppers, and peas. Needed to do alittle cleaning up but just got too exhausted and hot. Had to come in around lunch. As I wiped my face today I thought of my PaPa wiping his brow with his bandanna with his wounded hand from WW2. and then putting it back in his coveralls with his other wounded hand from WW2. Then grabbing the reigns of Maud one of the stubborn mules he had that just like to sit down on the job and saying, "Geddie up, Maud!" He finally upgraded to a roto tiller later. It has been a weekend of thinking of my grandparents and how much I miss the things we did together when I was little. I wish now we could still do them. Maybe someday I'll scan some old pictures and put them on here. I dont have any pictures in this blog today cause I didnt think my pastor would appreciate me taking shots of him while he was preaching. Ha! Ill go for now, got more to do and start round 2 since I had me a nap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Greatest Compliment

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:09:00 -0500

I have been told by several people so many times that they are so surprised that Ive turned out to be the Susie Ellie Mae Homemaker. people thought Id be the city type or something else. Ill tell ya, I am now exactly what I said I wanted to be when I was a little girl. I wanted to be just like my Grandmother. A devoted, dedicated housewife, and mother. I grew up doing things the old fashioned way and I still enjoy it. If I forgot it some where down the road, I reteach myself. My grandparents have always had animals and a garden until health would not permit. I grew up doing all this. I still try to carry on the tradition. If they would have had a name for their farm I think it would have been, OLIVER'S HAVEN. Sounds good doesnt it?
My grandmother didnt homeschool, but thats something I knew I wanted to do even before I had children. That idea came from my wonderful cousin out in Texas named Cindy Hoots. She homeschooled all 5 of her children and they are all doing well. Some of her girls are in the medical field. She encouraged me to get started. Thanks Cindy!!!!!!!!!!!
When my husband and my mother told me I was just like my grandmother, they dont know they just gave me the ultimate compliment. It ranks right up there with, "I can just look at you and tell your a Christian." Thats two ultimate compliments. Thank You MaMa for all you taught me, I am using it well to my families benefit. Enough before I start squalling.
I have still been busy gardening and canning. Ive canned more green beans, Im up to 169 qts. now. Today I canned Salsa again, I think Im up to 20 qts there. Still working on peas though. Ive used my pressure cooker and my grandmothers. I love to hear the sound of her cooker, cause it makes me feel like Im a little girl all over again and doing this with her. Shes right there with me.

Here is David doing tomatoes. Hes so sweet. If it wasnt for him helping me this summer, I could not have done all weve done so far. He has been a great big help.Thanks Big Daddy!!!!!!!!!!!!! My momma has been making jellies and fruit butters and honey's. You Go Momma!!!!!!!!!! She is really enjoying her retirement. Shes getting to do all the things shes been missing. WORKING OUTSIDE!!!!!!!!!. Now you know where I get mine from. Im glad shes finally getting to do what she wants to do. Shes fattening Daddy up with her cooking every night.
It want be long until Dakota starts football. He is so excited. Sign ups are next weekend. He is sitting on ready. When Dakota goes to practice I will take Dallas' bike so he can ride while Dakota practices. He doesnt get to ride his bike much out here.
We have been cleaning things in the house and reorganizing. Things that were on my summer to do list. Just now getting around to it.
One day I spent and scrubbed and reseasoned all my iron skillets. Then I spent the rest of the night scrubbing my stove cause I forgot to put aluminum foil in the bottom to catch the drippings. I love the taste of things cooked in an iron skillet. You dont get that aluminum taste in your food from other skillets. Here is a good omelete I made the next morning.

I started out with onions, peppers and potatoes. Then I added bologna (or you can use spam or bacon or ham), then my egg mixture with seasonings. I let the eggs "set" on the stove then I moved them to the broiler. Took it out and put cheese on top. YUMMIE!!!!!!!!!!
I will order their school stuff next week, and look over everything when we get it in. Im not looking forward to school starting. We are still enjoying our summer. I cant believe Dallas will be in 1st gr. and Dakota 6th. Boy time flies.
They are going to go spend some more time with Granny and Poppa next week. They dont know it yet I will tell them when they pull in the drive way and they can go pack. Ha!
Ive still got to find homes for these cats. I dont really want to but I have to.

They have been excellent barn cats. Nothing gets past them. Not even rabbits. They got one the other day. YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love all them, they are so fun to watch. I have been picking in the garden with Smokey on my back. He is just too funny. They make my time in the garden more enjoyable. Of corse I still have my farm manager Socks. She is the farm cat.Oatmeal is trying to follow in her footsteps. Here she is sitting on the barn door and looking over the children at play.Shes the supervisor.

The baby chick "ACE" is doing well.
We have collected 12 eggs to go into my new incubator. In 21 days we should (maybe) have some new chics. We'll see.
Tasha is pretty much weaned. Every once in a while she will sneak a little milk from Tisha. I can tell because one side will be fuller than the other. Ive started milking twice a day now. Here is my milker after some milkings. Some days I get more than others.
I love my milker David bought me last year for my bday. He bought it for me because of my Rheumatoid Arthritis. It doesnt hurt my hands.
Tisha has loosened her apron strings and taught Tasha to spread her little wings a little. Before, Cocoa was not allowed to get near the baby without big momma butting her all over the place. Now she has permitted Aunt Cocoa to play with Tasha. Tasha hangs around Cocoa more now.
We were standing outside yesterday and I didnt have my camera, but Cocoa was lying on the ground and Tasha was begging her to play by jumping on her back, finally Cocoa obliged and started playing the butting game with her. It was so funny to watch. She's a good aunt.
We were suppose to have gone swimming today at Hunters house, but it was cloudy and a little cooler. So the boys were a little disappointed. But this Friday night were taking Dakota to a football game at the high school here and boy is he gonna faint.
My friend Darlene came over yesterday and helped maintenance Dakotas truck. He learned alot. He loves his truck.
It is a good project for them as he grows. I guess the last thing they will do is paint it. We had a good visit yesterday, she brought me some blueberry jelly.
The next time my mother goes to my uncles house, were going to be picking apples or peaches. I love having all these goodies to do things with. Yall should try it sometime.
We called our trainer today and checked on Susie. Linda said she is doing fine and her leg is holding up well. She thinks she will be able to compete in the fall. That's our Girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now we just have to spoil Dixie the same way. She is doing well too. She loves doing the chores with me in the mornings. I love it too til she sneaks off with some eggs. We got some smart dogs.
I have created Dakota an acct. on facebook. So hes wanting alot of friends to talk to him. Im still behind on the computer thing. I need the book Facebook For Dummies.
Sister Baby came to see us the other day and she said now that shes potty trained shes gonna move in with us. Ha!
She loves her Kota and Dallas.
Weve had so many family get togethers this summer, but thats ok the food has been wonderful.. My hips dont like it too well though.
The boys have been a real big help in the house this summer. They still are collecting their marbles for every chore. They love to bring them to daddy for pay day.Here is Dallas getting clothes out of the washer to put into the dryer. Ha!!!!!! Didnt even know I was there. Any way you can Son!

Its kind of hard teaching some one else when your still working on yourself. Im still trying to learn the job God has called me to do as a home maker. But I will go to my death bed trying. Im enjoying the journey.I want to be a legacy for my children and grandchildren.
God has laid it upon my heart to teach a different age group this year on Wednesday nights in Team Kid. I want to teach the 6th graders to get their hearts ready to go to the youth group. God has been putting lesson ideas in my head left and right, Ive had to write them down just so I wouldnt forget them. He goes faster than my brain.
I know I have blogged alot tonight, but I dont get to get on the computer much right now since Imbusy alot putting up produce. I hope you have enjoyed tonights news flash. Now you can go to bed, or whatever you are doing. Sorry I kept you so long. Goodnight everyone and John Boy. (just has to say that).

Canning, Canning, Canning

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:51:00 -0500

Im still busy canning things from the garden. Here is some salsa I canned, two jars is already gone, we love salsa and chips!!!!!!!!!!
Today we are going to pick more green beans, they are still producing. If you want a good garden you'll have to ask Dallas to pray over it! Im still getting peas and tomatoes. Weve cleaned out the limas and corn. That batch is done. We are going to replant some corn, limas, peas and potatoes. We harvested good potatoes too. I will be busy til the first frost.
We got Davids decal for his truck.
Yep, I know retrievers is spelled wrong so the lady is making me another one. But I love our logo. For my bday the boys and daddy got me an incubator so I can hatch some chicks.
I got a surprise when I went to the chicken coop the other morning to take care of the chickens, I reached in to feed the hen sitting and I had a little chick looking up at me. I scared it and it high tailed it under mommas belly with its little but sticking out. Ha!
Yes there is two hens in here. One got confused as to where she was suppose to be so I moved her to the next box over. Dallas just had to hold it.
Were gonna call this one Ace cause it looks like it has racing stripes on it.
We had the pleasure of giving Dallas a Kindergarten Graduation Party. He did so good through the year and I was really proud of him. The kids really enjoyed themselves along with some adults like me!
What a way to end a perfect night, with smiles.
Yesterday we took Dallas to spend his graduation money and chore money. So we went to Tupelo to Toys R Us. He said he thinks he made good decisions with his money. He did. Dakota go him a mouth guard and a case to put it in and some glare strips for football this year. He has one more year of Pee Wee football. Im checking with the Education Laws for the State of TN. to see if there is a law that states homeschool children can participate in public school activities. Im getting closer, Ive got someone in Nashville on the Board of Education helping me. Nation wide they are trying to pass that law, it is in the Senate now. Please pray for this it would really be an answered prayer for me and Dakota. He still wants to be homeschooled, but play football for the schoo. We had lunch with one of my friends yesterday in the food court of them mall. Dallas wanted to ride the carousel.
aint he so sweet? After a day of them shopping, we spent the rest of the afternoon with my momma. She is really enjoying retirement.
Well I gotta go and do more garden stuff. Talk to ya ltr.