It's a Miracle!

After losing three goat kids to the cold weather, Deb and I decided to intervene with nature and bring this little one in the house to 'thaw'. Meet 'Miracle'...she was born January 2 at approximately 8:00 a.m. Her mom had done her best to clean her up but I found her too weak to stand and nurse. Deb and I tried to help but she was shaking and the bottom of her ears were frozen stiff. I brought her into the house zipped up in my coat. Deb rubbed her and warmed her with her body temperature while I ran to the farm store to get some milk replacement.

It was touch and go for awhile, we had to force her mouth open and literally make her eat.

Last night she was able to stand alone and here she met Lou. Today she took to the bottle all by herself and is very strong. We have her in the dog crate in the laundry room until the 13th! That is when we can wean her off the milk replacement...and hopefully she will go back to the 'herd' at that time. As of tonight I have penned up one more momma goat, I believe she might be in labor as I type. It could be a long night for Deb and I. We have decided that we are not going to loose any others if we can help it. (and never have goat kids in the winter again) If you are in the area, please stop and see our little Miracle! Of course there will be more pictures as she grows.

Merry Christmas

Luke Chapter Two

1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

It is so cool how God makes everything work. It was prophesied in the Old Testament that the Messiah would come from the town of Bethlehem. Jesus would not have been born there unless the Romans had not ordered the census. The prophet Micah foretold of this 750 years before Jesus was born.

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. "

a few miscellaneous shots from the past week...

Brandon after playing basketball on his bad ankle...enjoying a 'snack'!

...after a 8th-grade girls game...several 8th-grade boys painted their faces and were the cheering section! Lots of fun...
Our crazy cat enjoying a bath with Riley...(see Kelly, you don't have the only cat who enjoys water)...I thought Lou was nuts the first time he did this. So glad I was able to get a picture this time!

Champ is a good boy!

Tess is so gorgeous...but...gone. Jeff spoke with Steven's mother a couple days ago...and Tess is happy, they absolutely love her! So it worked out good for both of us. :)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone...

Sad news, same news, good news

Greetings from West Point, Illinois. It has been awhile, so here goes.

One little lab is no longer with us. No, she did not die. Tess turned out to be a puppy who thought chickens were stuffed animals. Unfortunately , for the chickens, Tess thought it would be nice to pluck the chickens while still alive. One was so bad that I had to put it down. Tess is now residing in Warsaw with the son of a lady I work with. It is ironic because he wanted a lab out of this litter but didn't get one, so now he has one.

While Tess was the major problem, Champ did his part as well, We are praying that we can rehabilitate him. We will see. He is lonely now but he listens so much better than Tess.

The goats are doing real good. Getting fatter by the day.

Brandon suffered a really bad ankle sprain in basketball practice three weeks ago. He is back to playing but is evident that he is not healed. I doubt if it will for awhile until he quits running on it.

Riley is doing well. She does pretty good in school. but I think she would rather be with her animals. I have to remind her to do well in school or she can't be a veterinarian.

Deb helps out at school on Fridays. She enjoys it alot. She is so happy at how well her mom has done. I am happy to, but it really reminds me how much I miss mom. At deer camp this weekend, John was telling me stories about mom and dad. I envy him for remembering so much. Not all memories were good, but still, they are memories.

Can't wait to see you all this weekend. If anybody is interested, Emma plays basketball at QND on Saturday at 12:30. Hope some of you can make it.

Update

Riley met a new friend at Matt and Beths. This is Jackson. We had so much fun Saturday night. Thanks guys. Well, 3 out of 5 ain't bad. Love you bro's.

Well, again, I've got nothing.

What a cutie. I actually held her for a minute.

It was a beautiful night around the fire. What a great time.

Deb doing some chores around the farm. Goat feeding time. They are worse than a bunch of teenage boys with free pizza.

Thank God she's a country girl.

The sun was shining today.......

It was so nice today that Riley and I took the pups for their first walk down the road today. They behaved very nicely. No leashes needed. We went to pick some corn to see if the goats would eat it. Well they weren't the only animals who like corn.

Hope everyone has a great Autumn weekend. We love you all.

The discussion continues with you.....

Found the top 10 movie quotes of all time. Some I could have guessed, some I was surprised at. What is your favorite quote of all time? Mine is " Theirs no crying in baseball" courtesy of Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own.


Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn"
Rhett Butler
Clark Gable
Gone With The Wind
1939
2
"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."[3]
Vito Corleone
Marlon Brando
The Godfather
1972
3
"You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am."[4]
Terry Malloy
Marlon Brando
On the Waterfront
1954
4
"Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
Dorothy Gale
Judy Garland
The Wizard of Oz
1939
5
"Here's looking at you, kid."
Rick Blaine
Humphrey Bogart
Casablanca
1942
6
"Go ahead, make my day."
Harry Callahan
Clint Eastwood
Sudden Impact
1983
7
"All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up."[5]
Norma Desmond
Gloria Swanson
Sunset Boulevard
1950
8
"May the Force be with you."
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Alec Guinness
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
1977
9
"Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night."
Margo Channing
Bette Davis
All About Eve
1950
10
"You talkin' to me?"
Travis Bickle
Robert De Niro
Taxi Driver
19

Dallas Cowboys WIN!!!!!!!

Danny invited me over to the Dallas - Kansas City football game yesterday. Since it was so cold, his mom didn't want to go, so Jessi joined us along with Danny's dad Ken. It was a blast. Arrowhead Stadium is awesome in person, and the game went into overtime.

Nothing much new around Slater Creek Farm except the cold weather. Goats are getting heavier and the chickens are slowing down on the egg laying. The pups are growing and getting ornry. Looking forward to seeing everybody at Matt and Beths in a couplke of weeks.

Update Schmupdate

What a cute family. We enjoyed seeing Emma last weekend.

Two new goats joined the crowd. Brandon bought these two for a way to make some money. We now have 4 female goats. Hopefully, they are pregnant. He named his Alice and Beatrice.

Well, I got nothing.

Now this picture makes sense. I call it "A Man and his Godson".

Well, I have to go throw up now. Bye....

Concrete work and puppies...

Champ and Tess played on the garage pad...that is until we had to lock them in their pen (didn't really want puppy-prints in our fresh concrete)

Last Thursday, Jeff and I and my dad poured the first two sections of our patio...

Not bad for our first time at doing concrete work...

Tess laying under an old antique corn sheller...(their new favorite spot)

Champ in same spot...

Yesterday (Monday) we poured the last two sections of patio...We had to put our prints on the last section of work...

...and the finished product right after brooming. It still looks a little wet this morning, but is hard enough for the animals to walk over without hurting it. We are so excited to finally have something other than dirt (mud) at our front door! Yippie!

(p.s. thanks Tim for your ideas about the pour!)

Say Hello to the new...

...President of Southeastern's Eighth-Grade class of 2009/2010! (this is how B passed his time at Kris & Brian's wedding reception...) ;-)

(he received a perfect score on his leaf-project)

We are so proud of you Brandon! Keep up the great work!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESS!

Jess and Riley at Kris and Brian's reception.

Jess and Danny at same reception.

I love this picture of sisters snuggling.

Jess and Riley trying to crack some corn for our new chickens(at the time).

The Shaver's at their shower hosted by the Bozarth-Aunts.

Have an awesome day Jess. We love you!

Happy Anniversary Babe!

I love you so much. I am glad God gave you to me. We are blessed.

If you're bored with chickens....look away!

This Rhode Island Red did something I have never heard of. I am easy to impress, so don't get too excited. I have never seen a chicken egg this big. It is huge in Deb's hand. We were expecting a double yoke out of it.

Imagine our surprise when Brandon had a 3-yolk over easy breakfast this morning. I told you I was easy to impress.

We now return you to Blossom already in progress.

Time flies.......

doesn't it? Our 3 little ones have grown so much in 5 1/2 years. Love you guys.