So what's new?

I need new batteries for my digital camera, so there'll be no pictures with this post. Just an update to let y'all know what we've been up to.
For those of you who don't already know, Jacob has a job! Several weeks ago, he went to the Republican Statesmen Dinner in Nashville. He met the owner of our local Holiday Inn. She called him a week or so after that and asked if he'd be interested in working the front desk for him!! Wowee! That was a surprise! :O) So he's "in training" right now. Seems to like it quite well. He could do alot worse for a first job, huh? He got his first paycheck yesterday. For those of you who know Jacob well, you'll know that he's got that safely socked away somewhere. But trust me, only he and the Lord know where. :O) Also, Jacob is leaving on his birthday (July 5) for a missions trip to the Dominican Republic! He is really looking forward to that. He'll be gone a week. While he's gone, Amy's coming home for a long visit. Got alot going on around here!! My July calendar looks like somebody's scribble pad. :O) It's got notes and reminders all over it!
Oh, at church, they're starting up a little group of musicians. There are violins, a cello, a trumpet, a piano, and a flute. Rachel, our resident violinist, will be playing the melody part of Abide With Me. It's a beautiful hymn. They'll be playing probably once a month. Also, her violin teacher is starting up a little strings group for any of her students that want to participate. For now, they'll just be meeting once a month for rehearsals. Later, they may possibly be performing at events here and there. So we're all excited about that too.
Let's see....Katie is doing well too. She stays outside with the animals from almost sun-up to past sundown! Give that girl a furry animal and some sunshine and she's happy. :O) She seems to be in a bit of a growth spurt lately. (They all are, for that matter! It never fails...every week somebody is telling me, "Mom! My shoes are too tight. I need a new pair!)
It is still hot and dry dry dry here. We did get a good soaking rain last week, and we do have some water in the cow pond now. Thankfully, it's enough that we're not having to water them anymore. But if we don't get more rain soon, it'll be dry again. Some neighbors came down one evening with their tractor and front end loader. They dug out the pond, so when it does rain, it'll be much deeper. I feel pretty sure we were able to find the spring too. You can see the water streaming out, it's just not a real gusher. Maybe we'll dig deeper.
We've been busy with the cows more than anything else lately. We have hauled off 8 cows in the last week or so. Eight down, eight more to go. It's been very hard to sell them. I keep letting myself believe that maybe....just maybe...we'll be able to keep one or two at least. Then Matt will remind me of the price of a bale of hay and I know there is no way we'll be able to manage keeping any of them. Last year, hay was about $12 a bale...that included the cost of getting it hauled here. This year? Brace yourself. Because of the drought, we've gotten prices of $25-$30 a bale....NOT including the haul bill. Not good. So, little by little, we're hauling off pieces of our lifelong dream. :O( Admittedly, sometimes I wonder what the Lord has in mind....why He, in His wisdom, is withholding the rain. I only know that whatever He does is right. That's all I need to know. We're only the caretakers of what is His anyway. :O) So that cheers me. These verses in Romans speak volumes:
Romans 11:33-36 ¶O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
That's all for now, folks!

Head 'em up! Move 'em out!

Well, we had hoped the drought would not last as long as it has. We've been getting a little rain here and there, but not enough to make up for what we haven't gotten! Since the cow pond is dry, and the pasture is bad, we have no choice but to start getting rid of some of the cows. :O( Sad. Sad. I hate to see them go! One of the cows we sold today is one we've had for years. She was born here in 1999. We had to sell her and her calf. :O( Next weekend, if the Lord wills, we'll be loading up some more. I think alot of other farmers are in the same boat. Matt had to wait in line awhile at the stock pen just to unload! I hope we'll be able to carry a few cows over the winter anyway. But if not, we'll just sell them all and buy back next spring, good Lord willing.

Lye Soap!

I have always, always, always wanted to make homemade soap. I've just always been a little nervous about doing it on my own, without ever having seen it done. To read about it was intimidating because it seemed so "technical" and "precise." But a few weeks ago, I got together with two good friends who had made soap before. What a fun day!! We had lunch together while we giggled and cackled, then got busy with the "saponification process." (For all you non-soapmakers, that's fancy talk for "making soap.") :O) Below is a picture of the finished process. I just cut it into bars today. Can't wait to use it!! I also plan to use it for laundry...I make my own powdered laundry detergent. Hopefully it won't eat the hide right off of us or eat holes in our drawers!! I'll let ya know. :O) (Next on my to-do list is cheese-making!!)

Taters...

We've been wondering how our potatoes were doing....they looked great from what we could see, but with it being so dry, we were afraid they weren't making anything under the ground. We were pleasantly surprised today when we went digging around. This is what we found!! Guess what we'll be having for supper tonight? :O) Think I'll cook these in a pot of green beans. Mmmm. Can't ya just taste 'em?
By the way, just as a little side note....just how dry has it been around here? So dry that the original seed potatoes we planted had not even thought about rotting! They are still completely in tact...exactly as we had planted them. Now that's pretty dry. :O)

Cute little chick ;O)

One of Jacob's hens, who has been faithfully setting for weeks now, is being rewarded for her labors. :O) The chickies are starting to hatch. Aw! Chickies are just the cutest little ole things. They're so soft and fuzzy. It's a shame their "cute stage" doesn't last too long.

The faithfulness of God

This afternoon, we got quite a bit of much needed rain! (Thank you, Lord!) After it quit raining this evening, there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky. I love rainbows! Since I trusted Christ back in 1987, I have never been able to look at a rainbow as just being pretty. I am ALWAYS reminded of God's faithfulness everytime I see one. Why, you ask? I'm glad you asked! In Genesis 9, after the flood in the days of Noah, God promised He would never again destroy "all flesh" with a flood. The token of His promise? The rainbow. I don't know precisely how long ago that flood occurred, but suffice it to say, it's been quite a while. The way I figure it...God has been FAITHFUL to keep that promise all this time. God never changes. I think it's safe to say He'll be faithful to keep the rest of His Word too, don't you. :O) The picture below isn't the greatest....it was getting dark. There were actually two rainbows! One wasn't quite as bright as the other. Next time you see a rainbow, I hope you'll think of it as something other than "just pretty."

Twins and drought

Jacob is the proud owner of two new baby goats, born today, both little billies. His goaties have certainly multiplied this year! There are 13 out there now! We've being overrun! Here's a few pics of the new kids on the block (no pun intended) :O) We are still very, very dry here. The last report I heard, we were 9 inches below our average rainfall. We are still having to water the cows....the cow pond is dry as a bone. Someone loaned us a water pump and we are pumping water out of our pond into a trough for the cows. If we don't get alot of rain soon, I'm afraid we'll have to start haying the cows too! Below is a picture of our pond. Thank the Lord is still has water in it, but you can see by looking at the sides of the pond how low it is.
The potatoes are looking good, especially considering how dry it's been. Of course, I can't tell what they're doing under the ground. I just hope they're making lots and lots of taters! That's all for now folks!!

Metal Mouth :O)

Another trip to the orthodontist today. We spend a lot of time with orthodontists and dentists. (In fact, we've probably purchased a few cars and maybe an RV for them over the past few years...having Jacob and Katie both in braces at the same time.) But anyway...so Katie went back today and they added a full set of braces on the top AGAIN. She's pretty sore today. :O) But ya gotta admit that's a pretty cute smile.I mentioned in my last post that we were praying for rain. The Lord heard and answered and we are grateful. We've gotten some rain almost everyday for the past 5 days or so. It's been so refreshing, and not just to us....the cows, the goats, the chickens, and the garden have all been refreshed! The pasture is beginning to green up a bit.

Well, I suppose that's about it for now. Not much new to blog about at the moment, but I'll be posting again soon!! Farewell for now!