Look what we got today!

Our chicks (remember this?) are finally laying! We brought these eggs in this morning and Levi said, "BWOWN EGGS!" lol. We only got eight eggs so everyone got one but Mom (and that's okay) and everyone said they were wonderful. We've been letting the chickens roam the yard and just go in the barn at night, but now that they are laying they need to stay in their pen.

It's good that we can bypass the eggs at the grocery store now, and good that we have a supply of super fresh, hormone and antibiotic free eggs. Good also that the little kids know that eggs don't just come in a carton =0).

We're here!

And I know it's been ages since I've updated the blog. So much happened here right before my hiatus, and then a lot has happened since I last posted.

I got really bummed/overwhelmed/sad with Ben's bite and then Zoey getting killed. Not that either thing was life altering in itself, but they were (together) enough to knock me for a loop. I just had to chill for a while and find an even keel again. (Of course Ben is fine- he's as goofy as ever now.) Then we had to start our school year- order in the last of our curriculum and get everything squared away so we're all legal, and then actually start. This takes a huge amount of time every day, but it's so worth it. (Oh and we got most of our big dairy goat girls bred, and let me just say that farm kids know EVERYTHING. But the biggest thing that has happened to us in the last few weeks is Tylor:


Tylor is staying with us, indefinitely. I hope to make his situation here permanent in the next few weeks... but OY! Rob and I have never had a 16 year old, lol. And it's a totally new thing to get up and see that he makes it on the bus on time, be sure he finishes his homework, etc. A new baby couldn't change things in our household more (because you know we've been there and done that, lol), but it has all been good, and we're thankful that we've been allowed to have Tylor in our lives and in our home. He is a really great kid and I could not love him more if I'd given birth to him... and I know Rob feels the same way.

(And when we have seven kids already, you know- it's not like it's that hard to make room for one more, and there certainly is enough love and attention to go around.)

In the above picture, Tylor is making an edible model of a cell for Science. We had a really good time making him bake the cake and do everything himself (mean people that we are), and we also had a lot of fun embarrassing him and taking his picture, lol. Here's another one:



And here's the finished cell (which got Tylor a 98, woohoo!):



I just wanted to say hi to everyone and let you know that we're here- life has definitely taken an interesting turn in the last weeks, but that's okay. It's good, and Rob and I are thankful =0).

Happy Monday (belated)

I am sorry if some of you have been checking in for a ring today and not seen a post- today has been a super busy one for all of us as we get back to reality. First of all, Ben is feeling better. He is not 100% by any means, but he isn't as sick as he was last week. His leg is still very bruised and looks awful. He thinks he can hobble around, but whenever he does he ends up feeling really bad and has more pain afterward. It's hard to hold him down, though- he's a hyper kid by nature, so being still isn't easy for him.

Secondly, we miss Zoey a lot. She was with us for a long time, so I imagine that we'll feel this way for a while. The kids are mostly past their tears and can talk about her now without getting too upset. The older ones who saw her get hit are having the hardest time.

Here's a picture of Zoey- she had the sweetest eyes =0/. And it always looked like she had a little smile on her face:


She was a handful and definitely neurotic at times, but we all loved her and I still don't think that I fully believe that she's gone. It feels strange to walk out to Rob's shop and not have her underfoot- she was a fixture here for so long that I imagine it will feel strange without her for quite a while. She was a nosy dog who had to know what was going on with everyone and see what was up with everybody and always butted in wherever she could. She was always fussing about some thing or another- if her kids were out after dark, she fussed. And we'd have to pen her up if they played paintball- she knew guns did damage and didn't understand that the kids were playing and would jump up and bite the guns or knock them out of their hands. And the 4th of July- omg. The first year this dog watched them shoot fireworks, she burned her mouth on a smoke bomb, because she tried to get it away from them. In her mind, the kids were in danger and she was only protecting them. (And we penned her up after that- we just didn't expect her to dart over and bite a firework!) She never walked around anything or anybody; she plowed through or over whatever was in her path. She was one of a kind and she is and will continue to be missed.

I hope that you guys won't think that we're awful for doing this, but Rob went on Saturday and picked up a puppy. We know- and we explained this to the kids as well- that we can't replace Zoey. But sometimes bringing in a new puppy after losing a dog the way we lost Zoey can help ease the loss, especially with kids. We're pretty frank with the kids about death and grieving (I believe that grief is good and that you should let yourself cry and *feel*, knowing that those feelings get better with time) but as a mom, I hate to see my kids hurting.

We've had Maggie (our black and tan cocker spaniel) for a year now- she just turned one and she has been a joy. We have absolutely loved having her and she has firmly planted herself as a member of our family. We've been discussing a second cocker spaniel for some time now- probably six months- but haven't seriously considered buying one until this weekend. It seemed like a good time to go ahead and bring home a brother for Maggie, so we did =0).

This is Buddy (we intended to name him Jack, but he just didn't look like a Jack- Buddy isn't my favorite name, but without another one to call him, we just called him "little buddy" for a while and it stuck. Feel free to suggest other names, lol.)


Buddy has been good company for Ben since he's couch or bed bound, and he's helped the other kids to deal with their loss. He's not a replacement, but he will have a special place in all of our hearts since he came to us at this time. Buddy is every bit as happy and playful as Maggie was when she came here- she never cried, never missed her family or mom- just fit right in and made this place her own. This puppy has done the same- just fell in with the activity and the loudness and the crowd here and is as happy as he can be. And any dog that can stand our crew and be happy is a good dog, in my opinion =0).



He's definitely loved already.

And check back tomorrow for the ring giveaway- I didn't forget that, lol.