Just an Update...

Ok, it's been a little while since I've updated the family blog. :) It's not for lack of anything to post about...life's been busy...I've just been lazy about updating. :) So what's been going on? Well, since you asked....

Jacob has started college and is loving it. Seems his favorite class so far is a computer course he's taking. He's learned a lot and is very interested in it. He's already been fairly busy writing research papers and essays. He has been VERY blessed....at the beginning of the year, he received the Pell Grant, which covered his tuition plus there was almost half of the grant money leftover to use for "incidentals". Then just a few weeks ago, he was notified that he had been awarded a scholarship!! What a blessing!! We are very thankful. Rachel has started with the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra and she is in hog heaven!! :) It's an altogether different experience playing in a group like this. But she loves it. I think it'll be a challenge for her and usually, that's a good thing. Violin just seems to be her "thing". She spends anywhere from 1-3 hours (occasionally more) practicing. I've never ever had to make her practice...she does it because she loves it! Here's a picture of a big gift basket Amy sent to Rachel as a "congratulations" for getting into the orchestra. Wasn't that sweet of Big Sister?? :)Katie is doing very well in school. Sixth grade can have it's own little challenges, but she's doing great. In fact, I mistakenly got her the 7th grade math book this year. I considered sending it back and getting the 6th grade book, but thought I'd at least let her try it. I'm so glad I did because she's just flying right through. She's also working on a Civil War project. She's always been fascinated with that time frame in history. We're hoping Amy will be able to come in for a visit soon...she really wants to be here for Rachel's first concert. She has started taking some pre-med courses...which she says are quite "intense"...I can only imagine! :) But she seems to be really interested in them. Working and going to school is always difficult, too.

Let's see, in farm news...garden is practically over now. Okra is still quite abundant. The plants are way taller than we are...in fact, Matt can't even reach some of the okra to cut it! :) We have been so blessed with rain all summer long. Last year, during the drought, he was having to bend over to cut it. LOL! Rain makes all the difference, doesn't it? :) The cows are doing good...besides the Angus, we have a few little Jerseys that will be next year's beef, and we also have a little Jersey/Holstein mix (named Hershey for her chocolate color). Lord willing, we "may" eventually use her for a milk cow. The chickens seem to be cutting back on production lately...I guess they're getting ready for winter. :) Hopefully, the pup in the picture below will make a good farm dog one day. So far, half of the time, he's doing this....

The other part of the time, he's fighting with the other pup. :) He hasn't shown much interest in the cows...and thankfully, hasn't been concerned with the chickens. :)

We'll be getting things ready for winter very soon...moving the potatoes into the cellar, bringing wood on the back porch, cleaning out the chimney, etc... We are already having some very cool nights. I wonder if we won't be having an early winter this year.

So, for now, that's a brief update on what's going on here. Hope all is well wherever you are!!

Audition Results!

I mentioned before that Rachel recently auditioned for the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra. She actually auditioned last Saturday...and has waited until today for the results. The coveted letter finally arrived in the mailbox today and I'll let you guess if she made it or not by looking at the picture....She made it!!!! :) In the photo, she was already on the phone calling people!! She is so excited! We are very proud of her...of course, we'd have been proud had she not made it...but there are some moments in life worth celebrating! This is one of those. :) Yay, Rachel!

Audition

Rachel auditioned today for the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra. It was a "first" for her. Surprisingly, she wasn't nervous or anxious...UNTIL she went in for the actual audition. :) Then she was shaking like a leaf!! :) There were four judges and no one besides Rachel and the judges was allowed in the room. They asked her several questions, then asked her to play a scale. Her audition piece was Gavotte by Thomas. She has practiced and practiced and practiced for over a month!! The judges told her they were limited and could only hear one full minute of the piece. :) (All that practice time for just one minute!!!???) When I asked Rachel how she felt it went, she said, "I think I did pretty good." :)

Anyway....that part is over...and now...we wait.....

I'll post the results of the audition on the blog when we find out. They mail out "acceptance" or "rejection" letters so it will probably be later in the week. :) Stay tuned!

Yep, We're Still Here :)

Wow, has it really been almost a month since I posted anything here?? I guess I've been busy with life and just didn't realize it had been so long! :) Maybe you're wondering what's new. Well, let's see here....there's a new puppy named Ed....
a new calf named Hershey.... a new car (I think I'm in love)....

about 75 new jars of green beans adorning my pantry shelves....
and though I don't have pictures...we just started a new school year! :) I'm down to just two left in school now. Seems kinda strange. :) We have been homeschooling for quite a few years now, probably about twelve. That's a long time! We've got quite a supply of schoolbooks we've acquired over the years, so we only had to actually purchase just one textbook this year! That was nice.

The garden is doing well...but so are the weeds! We've been REALLY blessed with rain this year....so much that it's been hard getting in the garden! We actually flooded one day...both ponds overflowed. Considering we had two years of drought...I'm not complaining!

Rachel's audition is quickly approaching (Aug. 22) and she's been working very hard to prepare. :) Unfortunately for her, she will have to wait on an acceptance/rejection letter in the mail...hopefully the week after the audition. That'll be a long wait!!

So anyway, lots new going on here. Hope everything's good where you are!!!!

Auditioning!

Not sure if I mentioned it on the blog or not, but this summer, Rachel started with a new violin teacher at the recommendation of her old teacher. She felt like it was time for Rachel to move on to a new level of teaching. She's learned a lot from the new teacher, who is a very talented musician. She has "strongly" recommended that Rachel audition for the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Being as though the orchestra is (obviously) based in Knoxville, and we're an hour and a half away, we gave it a lot of thought and prayer. But we have decided to let her audition. No matter what happens, it'll be a good experience for her.

Her audition time is on the afternoon of August 22. She is SO excited/nervous/happy about this! In fact, she's already had a dream about receiving the acceptance/rejection letter in the mail...but in the dream, the letter is blurry and she can't tell if it's good or bad! LOL!

I remember when, at the age of seven, Rachel first mentioned wanting to play the violin. I also remember thinking..."hmmm, I wonder how long this will last. a week? maybe two?" :) It wasn't long after we got her a half-size violin and I saw the pleasure it gave her, that we prayed and asked the Lord to gift her with a talent to play for Him. We feel He answered that prayer. We are very thankful to Him and very proud of her.

I'm mentioning this well in advance because I'm sure she'd appreciate any prayers well in advance!!

Lazy Days of Summer

We're full swing into summertime now and I thought I'd just post a few pics of what we've been up to these days.

After two summers of drought, we've been blessed with an abundance of rain this year...it's been great for the garden and pasture!
Summertime around here means fishing in the Nolichucky...
Swimming in the Nolichucky...
This summer has meant graduations and birthdays...
And it's meant fun times with each other...(*somebody* needs a bit of a tan, but we won't mention Rachel's name. Afterall, you have to go *outside* to get a tan) :)
And Ah! Yes, we mustn't forget the *lazy* days of summer....it's tough being a farm dog...but somebody's gotta do it...














Might as well be these two lazy dogs...

Hope you're enjoying your summer as much as we are!!

Happy 18th Birthday, Jacob!

My son officially turned 18 yesterday. All I can say is that the past 18 years went by in a blur! It all happened way too fast and I'm left standing here in disbelief! :) Nonetheless, it's happened and I only know there's nothing I can do to stop it! :) Of course, I wouldn't stop it if I could. As much as I loved having babies in the house, I've so enjoyed watching this boy (all my children, for that matter) mature into a young adult.
Seemingly overnight, he went from being a curly-headed baby, to a Hot Wheels-loving toddler who loved being around grownups, to a serious 4 year old who memorized all the Presidents of the United States just by studying the encyclopedia!! LOL! He entered kindergarten as a self-motivated learner who taught his Mama many things...asking questions so far over my head that I almost always had to send him to his Daddy!! Many of his questions were so deep...I simply had to exasperatingly admit, "Son, I just don't know!". :) He has always been a *deep thinker*. He finished high school having two very difficult college courses under his belt....with A's in both classes. In late August, he'll be entering college full-time aiming for a degree in Business. I have no doubts he'll accomplish that goal if the Lord is willing.

What a blessing he's been through the years. I'm grateful for a son who is a sober-minded, hard-working, responsible CHRISTian young man. (CHRISTian being most important) Proverbs 10:1 says, "A wise son maketh a glad father..." I can heartily add that it makes a glad mother too. :)

Ya Just Never Know...

So, Jacob had to go to town last week to get some parts for his truck at Auto Zone. He pulls into the parking lot...and can hardly believe his eyes, but there is a BEAR walking across the lot! He goes inside and tells the men behind the counter..."You won't believe this, but there's a bear in your parking lot." Of course, at that point, everybody runs outside to see. People were using their cell phones to call the law. :)

We found out later (in the newspaper) that more bears were spotted in town too. There was one at Shoney's, a mama and her cubs at the city park, and another at Sonic. :) Not sure what's going on, but it sounds like they must be getting hungry in the wild and are coming to town to see what they can find to eat. :)


Ya just never know who you're gonna run into in town!

My New Wheels :)

I have been begging asking Matt to get a riding lawn mower. We have a LOT of grass to mow around here...not just around the yard, but by the pond, around the chicken house, and by the barn. Of course, Jacob always mows the yard and he really doesn't like it when anybody else does it. :) Apparently, he doesn't like the way we mow. :) (He always takes his time and does such a good job.) But that's ok...I don't like mowing with a push mower. And we've never ever had a riding lawn mower. But I have always wanted one.

So, Matt being the kind husband he is, finally got a riding lawn mower for me last week. Granted, it's not a new one. No where close to being new, in fact. But that's ok. It's a rider and it mows. :) I was so excited!! Meet my new $100 ride...

Now that I've given it a whirl...or two...and "mowed" the yard (let's see, I think Matt actually used the word "butchered")...I'm wondering why I really wanted one. :) Do they require a driver's license to drive these things? I thought I could just hop on it, put it in gear, lower the blade, and go-o-o-o-o! Within the first 20 minutes, I had chipped a good-sized chunk of concrete off the concrete pad at the bottom of the back steps (don't ask)...pushed over one of our year old pear trees (I heard it crack, but it isn't wilting yet so I'm assuming it'll live)...threw the belt off the transmission (or it was something like that I heard Matt mutter while looking under the mower)...and covered the cabbage plants in grass. :) Matt wasn't happy about the concrete or the cabbage...I didn't actuallly "confess" what I did to the pear tree until the next day...I looked out the window first thing the next morning to see if it was dead. When I saw it was still standing, I, as casually as I could, mentioned the little "accident". And Jacob was not happy that I had "butchered" the yard. Personally, I didn't think the yard looked that bad. Sure, I had missed a swipe or two here and there, but it didn't look awful!

To appease the angry mob, I promised I would not mow the yard again. I am confined now to just mowing around the barn and possibly around the chicken house (at least the chickens don't mind what the grass looks like).

After supper tonight, I told Matt I thought I'd go mow around the barn. It went smooth this time, honest. Looks nice and neat. Pleased with my efforts, I head towards the chicken house. I'm mowing happily along...cut grass flowing out the side of the mower. Life is good. The grass seems a little thick here and there, the mower seems to bog down just a bit, but it's still moving forward (albeit a bit sluggish). I see Jacob running toward me waving his arms...I see his mouth moving but can't hear what he's saying....looks like he might be saying, "You're chugging it down...grass is too thick. STOP!" Yep, that's what he's saying allright...I hear that last word "STOP" as the blades start making a loud racket and the mower shuts down. Gray smoke boiling from the blades and the engine.

My mowing days are over. I'm through. Jacob took my keys.

Holiday

It seems that vacation is barely over and here's another holiday! :) But I'm not knocking it. Matt worked a whole "not quite 2 full work days" and here we are vacating again. :) Gotta love that! Today we got up very early with full intentions of taking the boat to the lake. But at 5:00 AM, the sky was full of clouds. So we waited a while, spent some time "hilling" the potatoes, and by 11:00...trust me, we were ready to go to the lake. :)

It was still cloudy when we got out on the water...and we did get a little shower or two. (I'm grateful for that bimini top!!) :)

Katie has been aching to catch a big ol' catfish. Today she had her chance. She (with the help of her Daddy) hooks a big juicy worm, and lowers it to the bottom of the lake. She patiently waits for about 5 minutes. Then, lo and behold, she gets a bite. It's a big 'un and it bends her pole. She reels it in with all her might...giggling all the while...she gets it close to the surface of the water, gives the pole to her Daddy, and she grabs the line to get him out of the water...just as she was pulling that whopper over into the boat....the line breaks and he's gone...hook and all. :) I was so disappointed for her. But she's a trooper...all the more determined to get one next time.

Matt, as usual, spent most of his time baiting hooks and fixing things when we got all tangled up or hooked on something in the water. He has the patience of Job! :) I spent my time waiting to be baited, or get unhooked. :) If you know me at all, you know I love smilies. So just for the record...I use a smiley bobber-thingie. :)The remainder of the day was spent doing absolutely NOTHING but relaxing and watching the water go by. My kind of day. :) Hope your holiday was just as relaxing and enjoyable.

Vacation!!

Last week saw us packing up the van and headed towards the NC coast to visit my parents for 5 days!! We were all so excited! :) Matt wanted to take the boat down so we could do some fishing in the Intercoastal Waterway. Dad was going to take his boat out too. So we got there last Thursday night. Dad already had his boat hooked up and on Friday morning, we planned to load up in the boats and spend the day on the water. Ah, but things don't always go according to plan, do they? :)

During the night, around 2:00 a.m., my Dad woke up with pain from a kidney stone!!! By morning, he was in bad pain. Then, Jacob wakes up having asthma problems. So instead of going boating, Matt and I headed to town to get an inhaler for him. Later in the day, when it appeared that everybody was "stable", Matt and I went out on the boat for a while. We fished. Caught one. How big? Don't ask? LOL!

So, the next day, Dad is much worse...he's getting dehydrated and the pain is bad; Matt and my mom end up at the hospital with him for several hours. They pushed fluids and loaded him up with pain meds. He comes home and sleeps. Matt and I go back out on the water for a while. One more fish. How big? Smaller than the first one. hahaha! Sunday morning finds my poor Dad a bit better...but not for long. He's pretty bad in the evening. But Monday morning, he is MUCH better....though pretty wiped out. Monday turns out cold and rainy. No boating that day...but ya know what? All things considered, we all had a most enjoyable visit. I felt so badly for Dad. But "somehow" (hmmm, must have been the Lord)...we just had so much fun being together. Even with Dad being so sick, we did lots of things...Mom was able to take the kids to the beach every day except Monday because it was raining.

We had a Graduation Party for Jacob... We took family photos.... And more family photos...
Preserved good memories for cousins and best friends...
Thoroughly enjoyed my Mom and Dad's gorgeous back yard. (Mom spends hours per day out there working in the hot sun, don't ya, Mom?) :) And to top it all off, Matt and I even got to get away overnight for our own little vacation. :) So, yes sir, in spite of kidney stones and asthma problems, I have no complaints about this year's vacation. Couldn't have asked for a better time or better company. :) More good memories socked away for years to come.

You Just Do What You Gotta Do...

Like most other children, I had big dreams of what I wanted to be and what I wanted to do when I grew up. Being a veterinarian was not one of them. :) I loved animals just as much, if not more, than most other children. It's just that I like the part of playing with them and having fun with them....not the "fix-their-booboos" part of it. But...like many other things in life, there are just times when ya just do what ya gotta do. :) So, this week, I've pretended I was a vet.

We have had a very sick little calf this week, and have spent the better part of the past 4 days in the barn. I told someone earlier that I don't think I've ever seen a calf or cow this sick and they didn't die. This little calf has somehow endured.

We've only had her for about a month...and though you couldn't exactly put your finger on it, there was just something "not quite right" about the way she acted. We'd give her medication and she'd get better, then she'd get "not quite right" again. Finally, Monday, she just went down. She literally could not get up. We moved her into the barn, (in the midst of a downpour...no easy feat) and called the vet. From being "sickly" off and on...and we don't know how she was treated before we got her...she had gotten dehydrated, and the doc also said she had lost quite a bit of "muscle." To top it all off, she had also developed pneumonia. He gave her 5 or 6 shots, drew blood, and handed us a big bill. :)

We had to call him again today because she was still sounding pretty "raspy"...he gave us 4 more shots...but these we had to do ourselves. I would loved to have waited until Matt was home from work, but he said to give them to her right away. Just look at the size of one of the shots!!!

It was as big as a tree limb!! :) Well, maybe not quite that big, but trust me, it was BIG! But just look how brave I was. (yeah, right!)
Actually, I wasn't brave....I just did what I had to do. My legs felt weak as water! :) Thank you, Lord, for a big strapping 17 year old boy!

Because the calf still isn't about to get her up her own, we had to get her up. We had to rig up something that looked like a form of torture, but we got her up. We then pretended to be physical therapists for a while. :) Thank you, Lord, again for that big strapping 17 year old boy...this little calf has done nothing but lay there and eat for 4 days! :)

So, though I've spent a few days doing things I never thought I'd do to a cow...I can at least say I've learned something new. :)

Gone Fishin'

Today was a beautiful, almost cloudless day. We packed the cooler, hitched up the boat, and headed for the lake. :) We had planned to fish most of the day, but ended up coming back a bit earlier than we wanted. Don't ask me any of the mechanical details, but there was something wrong with the motor. That's all I know. :)We had so much fun, in spite of having to come back early. As long as somebody else baits my hook and takes the fish off when I catch one, I could fish for hours. But I just canNOT bring myself to touch a worm or any other slimey thing that goes on the end of a hook. Poor Matt spends more time baiting my hook than fishing! :) He loves having his picture made too...can't you tell?
Ok...now for the fun part. Ask me who caught the biggest fish. Go ahead. Ask away...you might be able to pull it out of me. In fact, you can even ask me who caught the ONLY fish. Well, allright then, since you're so insistent...I'll tell you. It was me. I caught the fish....not just any little bitty fish either. He was 15 inches long. Ok, so you've seen bigger catfish than this! I am still quite proud of him. :) It was a beautiful day to be out on the water!

Tater Planting Day!

Today, we were finally able to get potatoes in the ground! I was beginning to wonder if it was ever going to dry up enough that we could get it done. :) Matt and Katie took a cow to the stock pen this morning, and as soon as they got back, I donned my handy dandy tater-planting hat and we headed out....If I'm going to be outside for any real length of time, I've got to have my hat on. The gnats this year are as big as turkey buzzards (well, almost) and pesky as can be! They swarm around your head in droves! Anyway...here's Matt discing up the ground....Matt bought new hoes for the girls, and they were oh, so excited! hahaha! Rachel especially was overjoyed....
When we first started putting the potatoes in the ground, the dogs were coming along right behind us and picking them up! We put a stop to that right away! :) Here's Katie girl hard at work...Spud stayed right with her once he figured out you don't eat the potatoes yet!Where was Jacob during this exciting project? He was cutting the grass. Lucky him. :) Tater planting day is always a big deal around here. I'm always glad to get them in the ground. After all, who doesn't like tatties, eh Gary? :)

Happy Birthday Katie!

Yesterday was Katie's birthday. My "baby" has turned 11 years old. It's so hard to believe that my very shy, very curly-headed toddler has grown into a friendly, not-so-curly-headed, sweet young girl. I try to convince her she's still Mama's baby and she tries to convince me she's not a baby anymore. :)

Though yesterday was her "special day" to be sure, we actually celebrated today. As with all family birthdays, the honoree gets to choose the birthday meal. Katie's choice? Nope, it wasn't pizza...or hamburgers...or anything like that. She wanted pork roast, fried potatoes, and collard greens! :) No junk food for this gal. And for her birthday "cake", she didn't want cake at all. She wanted Strawberry Koolaid Pie. (That made it easy for me...it's a super easy recipe!) Instead of vanilla ice cream, she got Klondike bars!
All of her birthday gifts fit inside this cute little bag this year. What'd she get? She got money (her request...she is a saver!), a Walmart gift card (from her sister), two big sketch pads (she is quite a little artist and LOVES to draw!), candy (sweets for the sweet), beef jerky (loves it), and a new watch (really wanted one). She also got the day off of school, and Jacob even helped her with her chores. How's that for a treat? :) I'll close with a few pictures of the birthday girl!

Calves and Bottles

Matt bought some new calves the other day. They're quite young...one of them young enough to still be bottle fed. That's Katie's job and she loves it. Can you tell? :) In other news, we are on the countdown with school!! Just 23 more school days left! We'll be doing a few achievement tests, finishing up books, and making a few more preparations for Jacob's college courses coming up in the fall. If we don't take any days off here and there, our last day should be May 6.

Tomorrow is my birthday and I have been abundantly blessed with lots of nice gifts!! My sweet son knows how much I love smileys. I needed a new coffee cup, and he thoughtfully combined my love of smileys with my need of a coffee cup and this is what I got!!! I love it! Isn't it happy?

And my sweet Mom and Dad got a HOT PINK iPod Shuffle for me, which I am loving, by the way! I usually walk a mile or two 4-6 times a week, and this handy little gadget has been keeping me company! :O)

My Mom also sent me some goodies from Gooseberry Patch that I have been admiring from afar! :O) I loved this little "Give Thanks" sign....

And this sweet little lamp for my kitchen...

I have been getting surprise packages in the mail all week! And I feel spoiled rotten! :O)