Friday, February 27, 2009

Abigail's Birthday in Review

Yesterday was Abigail's 14th birthday! I took several pictures from the day so you can get idea as to what we did.

Happy birthday little sister! Isn't she cute? :)
Rachel bowling (or attempting to)
Mom letting it fly!
The birthday girl giving it a roll!
Ben's ball going toward the bumper. Note which direction everyone is leaning. :)
Elizabeth bowling!
The scores from Mom (she ended up with 94), Rachel(31), Elizabeth, (she ended up with 54) and Ben(13).
The scores from Dad (147), Bethany (93), Abigail (57) and Rebekah (41). The scores are in age order: Dad, Mom, Bethany, Abigail, Elizabeth, Rebekah, Rachel, Ben.

We came home and had pizza and Abigail opened presents. Here are a few....
A T-shirt for the horse lover....
....and The Perfect Gift! A gift card to Family Farm and Home. There were a few other presents as well, a coat, book, face mask stuff, a bracelet and of course $$$$ from Grandparents. The cake was a German Chocolate Cake (warm, you HAVE to eat it warm or you don't get the full flavor) with vanilla ice cream.

The children in our family are now as follows;
Bethany (me, 15), Abigail (14), Rachel (13), Rebekah (12), Elizabeth (7), and Ben (4). Wow, seems to be a tiny family now!

Have a great day, and until next time!
~Bethany~

Thursday, February 26, 2009

A few kid pics

Here are a few random kid pics I took yesterday. Sorry they aren't the greatest quality! The kids just WON'T stand still!
Nubian buck kid (still unnamed) and Nibbles buck kid (still unnamed)
Elizabeth with a few kids.
Our future herd sire?
Everyone drinking
Heading for the water. Front; Mattea (or Tea, pronounced Tay-yah), middle; Nibbles buck kids, back Matteo (or Teo, pronounced Tay-yoh)

~Bethany~

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Freakin' Out

This morning I felt led to post something on the state of our country and the mental state of a lot of people here. I pray that you are not offended by the things I write here but are encouraged to trust our Savior.

Everyone is freakin' out. I think everyone knows that our country is in a pretty bad economic rut. Yeah, this has happened before (even worse) and we have always pulled out. We are not all going to die because we have a mega liberal in the White House or because the economy is taking a down slide. Folks, sure the stock markets may be practically crashing and not one house on the market selling but does that mean we need to quite trusting God? Or are we only going to trust Him during the good times? I have been reading about all of these people (a lot of Christians) who are wanting to move to Belize. Okay, first of all my question is "why would you want to move there?". To run and hide from the issues in our country? To get away from poverty? Ummm, you don't know what poverty is. If you still own a home, have food to eat every day, have a family, and love the Lord you are blessed! Right now, America is the number one strength in the world. You know what? I am not at all saying that America has problems. I know it has plenty. I know that there is sin, disgusting sin, but I also know that you are NEVER going to be able to run from it in this world. The only place you are going to be able to run from it is to Jesus.

Here is an example. 1999 A.D. rolls around and the world is freakin' out becuase the computers might not be able to reset! Oh my word! What are we going to do? We are going to have to stock up on food! We might not be able to get these computers going for 2 days so we are going to have to buy 2 years worth of food! I am not making fun of these people who did this ('cause I know qute a few of them) especially since I think they have seen how foolish it really was. Now, we are doing the same thing again but this time people want to move. Dear friends, please see how foolish this is before you start freakin' out!

One more. A food shortage. Has anyone looked in their garbages lately and seen how much food we throw out every day, or have you looked in the garbage bins at stores to see how much food is thrown out just becuase it was a day past the expiration date? Do you know how much food we (as America) can grow or how much agricultural business is out there? Or are we just going to be freakin' out again?

Now that I've beat everyone up I want to show you the point I'm trying to make. We are only humans and humans tend to worry. Before I try to say everything I am going to give you a few verses. This totally sums up this whole post.

Matthew 6:25-27, 31-34
25
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I hope these verses that Jesus spoke clearly point out what we are supposed to do in "trying" times. We as Christins do not need to be worrying (or freakin' out) about what is going to happen in the future. All we need to do is trust our Father. He won't forget about us, He will always be there for us. Praise His Name!

In Christ,
~Bethany~

Monday, February 23, 2009

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Jenna! Here are the rules: Try to come up with 50 facts about yourself. If you're tagged you must try to do it! Its o.k. if you don't make it all the way to 50. You may use things from previous tags. Just have fun!

1. I am one of the daughters of God!
2. I love war history
3. I love politics
4. I love hunting
5. I have flown across the Atlantic ocean in a plane.
6. I am 99.99% Dutch.
7. I love babies and little children.
8. I have never been admitted into to the hospital, just out of it.
9. The first place I would want to start a ranch is in Arizona.
10. I am a bookworm.
11. I like to write.
12. I would love to become a nurse or a vet.
13. I love to tell people that my goal is to become a road construction worker. :)
14. My favorite time of the year is kidding season.
15. I love to swim.
16. I love to ice skate.
17. I wish I could run 5 miles without huffing or puffing. (okay, so I haven't even tried that far yet.)
18. I want to own a truck.
19. I am in FFA and would like to restore a tractor.
20. I like listening to Hannity.
21. I listen to music while I am doing my school work so I can concentrate.
22. I would love to trap coyotes!
23. I am going to take drivers training in just a few months and get my license when I am around 16
24. I am finally learning how to play volleyball right. I tend to fall and split my chin open though. :)
25. I wear braces and will probably have to wear them for about another year.
26. I get up at 4:30 every morning.
27. I like to breed and show dairy goats.
28. I wear glasses.
29. I am a tomboy.
30. I bailed over 1000 bales of straw last year
31. I want to apply for a grant to start a licensed dairy on our farm.
32. I have 4 sisters and 1 brother and occasionally a few more since we are a foster family.
33. I am homeschooled.
34. I am going to go to the Career Center next year.
35. I am in 10th grade.
36. I really want to buy a lab puppy and train it to hunt.
37. I love the movies Facing the Giants and Fireproof.
38. I actually enjoy watching war documentaries
39. I love to can, especially with air conditioning. :)
40. I am 5' 9" and though not the tallest in the family I can wrestle everyone except my dad to the floor.
41. I am not tired of the snow yet.
42. I want to tap trees this year and make syrup but I don't think we are going to. Maybe next year
43. I have always wanted to get into drama and never have.
44. I don't play sports, but if I did I would play soccer.
45. I show goats and swine at our fair.
46. I am planning to start up an informative goat website for an 4H project.
47. I wear size 10 shoes.
48. I want to go to the ADGA national goat show in California this year.
49. I like Steven Curtis Chapman.
50. I made it to the end of this!

I am going to tag
J.J.
Ryan
Kevin
Sandy
......and everyone else who wants to do it!

~Bethany~

Sunday, February 22, 2009

The Church

Today is Sunday. So what do we all automatically think about? Church of course. What is church? What are we looking for when we go to church? Why do we go to church? What makes a good church?

What is a church and why do we go?
The church, is within us. This means that we are the church. So whenever several believers gather, this means that the church is gathering. We don't need to go to a building to go to church though the fellowship with other believers is a God given desire. He desired fellowship (the reason he created man) and because we are created in His image we desire it as well.

What are we looking for in a church?
I have been to many different churches in my short life. I have been to many different denominations and you know what I have seen in every one? Judgment. Everyone wants to find the church that teaches what they believe. Okay, sounds good. The thing is, don't we all BELIEVE in Jesus? I don't understand how people judge others on the fact that they are this denomination or that denomination. This person does this and that person does that and so therefore we can not let them come to our church. See what I'm getting at? This is in almost every church I have been to.


What makes a good church?
Well, I think people get down on others too fast or too hard. Yes they may not think the way you do, but do you totally not need to fellowship with them anymore? I don't think we need to find a whole bunch of people that are doing everything "right" (especially 'cause they probably aren't) but find one where the people are willing to accept everyone for being who they are. Everyone is different and God made them that way. He made them to THINK differently as well.

Thoughts anyone? I would be happy to hear them!

In Christ,
~Bethany~

Friday, February 20, 2009

A 12-year old Girl Speaking Out

I found this post on Rachel's blog and have received it as an email. The word needs to get out! This is awesome!

This is worth embeding on your blog or website. This is from WorldNetDaily:

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
12-year-old steals day with pro-life speech
Teachers threaten disqualification, but girl chooses to speak against abortion


Posted: February 16, 2009
8:36 pm Eastern

By Chelsea Schilling
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Despite facing threats of disqualification, a 12-year-old girl took first place in a speech contest when she eloquently argued for the rights of unborn children – after an offended judge quit.

"What if I told you that right now, someone was choosing if you were going to live or die?" the seventh-grader begins in a video recording of her speech on YouTube. "What if I told you that this choice wasn't based on what you could or couldn't do, what you'd done in the past or what you would do in the future? And what if I told you, you could do nothing about it?"

The girl, a student at a Toronto school identified only as "Lia," continued:

"Fellow students and teachers, thousands of children are right now in that very situation. Someone is choosing without even knowing them whether they are going to live or die.

"That someone is their mother. And that choice is abortion."





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOR1wUqvJS4

But what made the 12-year-old choose to speak about abortion?

"It was really a family thing," her mother explained on the blog Moral Outcry. "I saw Lou [Engle] speak at a conference several years ago. I came back to my family with the Life Bands, and we all wore them, made our covenant, and prayed the prayer for abortion to end. … We were invited to participate in a 'Life Tape Siege.' Once my kids heard of this invitation, they all agreed: 'We have to do that!' Since then, Lia's passion for seeing abortion end has continued."


Despite Lia's enthusiasm for her topic, her teacher "strongly encouraged" her to select a different one for her class presentation or she would be considered ineligible for an upcoming speech contest.

"[S]everal teachers discouraged her from picking the topic of abortion; she was told it was 'too big,' 'too mature' and 'too controversial,'" her mother wrote. "She was also told that if she went ahead with that topic, she would not be allowed to continue on in the speech competition."

Lia's mother continued, "Initially, I tried helping her find other topics to speak on, but, in the end, she was adamant. She just felt she wanted to continue with the topic of abortion. So she forfeited her chance to compete in order to speak on something she was passionate about."

Lia's teacher was so impressed by the speech that she allowed her student to advance as the winner. Lia presented her speech to judges in front of her entire school on Feb. 10.

The school principal and teachers called Lia's presentation the "obvious winner" – but the judges suddenly disqualified her the following day "because of the topic and her position on abortion," her mother said.

Lia's father later revealed that the judges had a "big disagreement." One was offended by the speech and voluntarily stepped down while the others reversed their earlier decision – declaring her the winner.

Now Lia plans to take her message of life to a regional speech competition, and more than 130,000 visitors have viewed her presentation online.

"Why do we think that just because a fetus can't talk or do what we do, it isn't a human being yet?" She asks in the video. "Some babies are born after only five months. Is this baby not human?

"We would never say that. Yet abortions are performed on 5-month-old fetuses all the time. Or do we only call them humans if they're wanted?"

She continues, "No, fetuses are definitely humans – knit together in their mother's womb by their wonderful Creator who knows them all by name."

Thursday, February 19, 2009

I've been awarded!

I've been awarded with the "Excellence in Blogcasting" award by Sandy at American Way Farm. Thank you Sandy, I've never been given this award!

There are a few rules as usual. :) 1) Post the award on my blog; 2) Pass it on to some friends, up to 15; and 3) I have to let them know they've received the award. So, here's some of the people I enjoy associating with and this award is now theirs to pass on.

1)J.J. @ The Phenomenal Blog of J.J. (for the King)
I love reading this blog, J.J is so funny! Oh, and of course there are all the pictures.....!!!!

2)Jenna @ My Strength and Song
I couldn't make my list without Jenna! I love her blog and..........she is my best friend!

3)Lydia @ Galloping Guitarist
Lydia is a relatively new blogger but her blog is lots of fun with so many awesome songs and hilarious jokes on it!

4. Kevin @ Kevin Wegners Blog
Kevin has an awesome blog with wonderful thought provoking posts. There are the funny ones too, along with every day life.

5. Joshua @ A Warrior's Heart
Joshua has an excellent blog! He has been going through a series titled The Cross of Christ and it is awesome.

6. Rachel @ HopeJourney
Rachel is Joshua's sister and she has a beautiful blog! She writes very similar to her brother (I think it's really cute) and has awesome posts! I especially liked her last post with a video a girls speaking out against abortion.

7. Lauren Ann @ Beside Quiet Waters
Lauren Ann has been working hard on her blogs and has cut down to just one (Beside Quiet Waters) and it is beautiful! I enjoy her wonderful posts very much!

Okay, sorry I'm not going to do 15, but here are my top 7! Check out all these awesome blogs, they are wonderful!

In Christ,
~Bethany~

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Just an update

I apologize to all my readers for not updating earlier. Not much has been going on around here since everyone left. I have pretty much just been working on school, cleaning up around the house/farm, catching up on laundry, cleaning goat pens, doing chores, making meals, feeding kids, etc. You get the idea?? :) On Thursday I have my FFA speech at regionals so I've been focasing pretty hard on that. I tried to post the video of it several times but it won't come up. It might be a bit on the long side since the whole speech plus all the questions are on it.

We are supposed to get several more inches of snow but not before some rain and sleet goes through. Hopefully it doesn't interfer with my speech and we'll get through that okay.

We are up to 7 kids since Hannah kidded with twins on the 14th. I want to name the doe Running Deer as she looks like a little fawn. The boy can be named Valentine. :) We are still attempting to come up with names for the other boys and I am trying to come up with a good one for the buck kid we are keeping. It needs to be a musical term (our other bucks are Allegro, Stacatto and Presto) and I'd prefer it to be a lively type name. It has to be somewhat easy to say too. :)

I'm posting some of the last pictures that were taken before the girls left. Note: the house was a MESS. It is in way better condition now. :)

In Christ,
~Bethany~
From l-r; Ben, Abigail, Elizabeth, Katelin, Rachel
About ready to "move out".
Myah and Ben on Saturday (day before they left)

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Prayer Requests

Hey everyone out there in blogworld who checks my blog! I have a few prayer requests here. As you know, our family does foster care and have a few girls here in our home for the last few weeks. It was a wonderful, tiring experience. They were supposed to have left to go live with their new legal guardians in Florida by the end of January but because of delays in "the system" the papers still have not gone through. On Friday we cooked up the idea to have some of the family drive down with them down to Florida on a "vacation" so that once the papers came through they would already there. So this morning at 5:00 Dad, Mom, Devin, Abigail, Katelin, Jena, Elizabeth, Benjamin and Myah left for sunny Florida. Rachel, Rebekah and I are staying here at Asher Acres to hold down the fort and take care of the farm. They hope to get down there tomorrow sometime and will probably not get home 'till at least Sunday. My Dad sent out an email to friends with prayer requests as well and this is what he requested.

1. Our "new" van I bought on ebay 2 weeks ago. It only has 170,000 miles on it compared to the 235,000 of our other ones but would probably benefit from some prayer.
2. Bethany to be a sweet foreman to Rachel. She is very capapble of the nuts and bolts of running everything on her own, but pray that she will let God help her.
3. Rachel to feel safe and be content with being left behind. Also that she would be a cheerful helper for Bethany.
4. Rebekah to not feel left out. She has many special needs and she needs to have adult supervision that we can trust.
5. The H****** and O***** who will be taking care of Rebekah.
6. The girls as they leave behind many sad memories of their mom and dad, foster care homes that were not good, court cases, and a lot of stress for such little souls.
7. The girls as they head off into another unknown.They know these people, but not very well.
8. Sandy and me as we are try to enjoy 20 hours of driving with 7 children, 4 of whom have little self control. Make that 5, I forgot Benjamin was coming.
9. "My" family that is going to FL. Pray that we could have a much needed time of enjoying each other.
10. Us after we are all back together in a week or so. We need to re-group and sort out what just happened to us and take these lessons and become an even better family.

And I am adding a few of my own:
11. Safe travel for my dear family.
12. Safety for us at home.
13. That we won't get too lonely. :)

If you could pray for our family, I would really appreciate it. Oh and if you want updates, Devin and Katelin will be updating their blogs as often as possible.

In Christ,
~Bethany~

Saturday, February 14, 2009

True Love

Today is Valentines Day. This is the national "love" day. We just got a new book here in our home titled Do Hard Things. I am sure several of you have read it and love it. We (as a family) decided however that one of the hardest, most painful things to do is to love. Love is a difficult thing and I am no means the expert on how to work it. In my few years down here on earth, I have come to the conclusion that there are several different kinds of love. There is the love that a married couple share. There is a love that parents have for their children. There is the love that siblings have for each other. There is the love that children have for their parents. There is the love that a child has for their first crush. Then, there is the love that Christ has for us. This is called agape love. I looked up the definition of agape in the dictionary. The results?

1. the love of God or Christ for humankind.
2. the love of Christians for other persons, corresponding to the love of God for humankind.

The love of God or Christ for humankind. In the bible we read about God's great love, Him sending His only Son to die for us filthy wretches. That is extreme love. The other part of the definition is "the love of Christians for other persons, corresponding to the love of God for humankind". Wow! If that doesn't place a load of responsibility on your shoulders, I don't know what would. We are supposed to love EVERYONE just as Christ loved us. He was not a respecter of persons, no person was better than another. He loved those that persecuted Him, who spat on His face, who betrayed Him, and who hung Him on that cross. Here in America we have the freedom of speech and can say what we want and worship as we please. We don't face the physical kind of persecution that Jesus faced. There are many though who do face an almost mental persecution in their own homes and we need to love those who persecute us. Love them with the agape love, the same kind of love Christ loves you with.

Today, I exhort you to reach out to someone who is in need of love. They may be an old neighbor, an enemy, or a friend. Reach out and love them with agape love. It may be hard, so ask God to help you. He loves you too!

Here are a few verses to encourage you all!

Proverbs 10:12

Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.

Proverbs 17:9
Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a and 13

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails....And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Colossians 3:14
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Lovingly,
~Bethany~

Thursday, February 12, 2009

God's Beautiful Creation

I've often wondered how people can doubt that God created the world. I think they don't want to believe it even though deep down they know that this all happened because of Someone. Yesterday spring rains were washing away all the frost and snow from this chilly state when the sun poked its head through the clouds and formed a beautiful rainbow. It reminded me of a few verses.

Genesis 9:11-13 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

God never breaks His promises. He has also promised to never leave nor forsake me. Isn't that wonderful?!?!

Psalm 19:1-4 The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun.

God has formed a beautiful work for us to enjoy. Here are a few pictures that I took so you can enjoy it as well!






Abigail
Elizabeth pushing Jena on the tire swing.
Devin

In Christ,
~Bethany~

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Nibbles' kidding!

Nibbles kidded this morning around 7:30 with twin bucks. Arggg! I could have used at least 1 doe! :) They are both strong and healthy and I got a few decent videos. The first was born in the "diving" position and the second was born breech. I had to assist in both of them so there is some interesting parts to it.

For Nibbles history, she has now had 14 kids in 6 kiddings - 5 does, 9 bucks.
Enjoy the video!
~Bethany~

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Is Spring Coming?

In the last 3 days 4 of the 7 or 8 bloggers that I follow who live in Michigan have written about spring. Ummm, sorry folks but it's still February! :) The 35 -60 degree weather we have had the last few days feels like spring compared to the -21 to 27 degrees we have had the last 6 weeks. So here are a few pictures I took today when we were all outside enjoying some fresh air. Note how much snow has dissapeared! :)

Abigail on Hoss and Devin and Rachel on Angel taking a ride and enjoying the warmth.
A really nice picture of our 8 month old Lab Sophie.
Sophie with Missy's kids Matteo and Mattie. Oh, forgot to tell you all. I decided on Mattea and Matteo. I'll call Mattea "Mattie".
Sweet little Mattie!
One of the babies (I think it's Mattie) with the cat.
All the babies together outside. From l-r, Matteo, Mattie, Gypsy's buck kid. :)
I think this picture is halarious! Ben looks like he weighs a ton! :) Must have been when he just landed or something!
The cows soaking in some sun!

Oh, and just as a warning....I think Nibbles might kid either tonight or tomorrow morning. We are planning to stage her delivery so we should get a good video. Hopefully it will all turn out! I'll keep you all posted!

In Christ,
~Bethany~

Sunday, February 8, 2009

1st Kid Pictures!

Here are the pictures of the kids. They aren't the greatest since kids just WON'T stand still. :) Sorry about the blue eyes too, I am not quite sure why it was doing that. Probably the lighting, but they are in a barn! :) Oh, and the girl has been name Mattie. I still need something to make it longer, but we're working on that!
I love this picture! This is Mattie laying beneath her brother. So cute!!!
All the babies snuggled together. From l-r Mattie, boy, boy. The boy's names haven't been decided on yet.
Little Mattie.
Brother and sister...bro on the left, Mattie on the right. Just for everyone's info, she has AWESOME legs. :)
Gypsy's buck kids yesterday morning. He was only about 8 hours old here. Rachel is thinking of using him as a market wether.
I don't care for this picture since it's so dark, but the is Missy's buck inside the house. I am going to use him for my market wether. Any name ideas? I would prefer it to start with a M and kinda go with Missy/Mattie. I've been thinking of Matteo.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Kidding video!


Hey guys! Here is the video of Missy kidding. This is the second, the buck. Sorry it is a little dark!
Enjoy!
~Bethany~

It has begun!

I apologize to everyone for not updating earlier. I tried several times to upload some videos but they weren't loading, so we'll just go for pictures which I will post later. We do have news here at Asher Acres; the kids have begun to arrive!

Okay, I just put the milk on to heat treat and have 1 hour to write this and email a good friend! Guess I'd better hurry up. Yesterday morning when I went out to do chores I noticed Missy had let down her milk and was starting to act strange. I knew the kids were on their way so we tried to stay quiet. Gypsy had also let down her milk so I stuck her in the kidding pen next to Missy. I knew she was going to be a little bit since she was eating her feed and hay fine. I came in from chores, ate breakfast, did inside chores and started school. Around 10:30 Dad came in from the barn to say that Missy was pushing. I went out with him and Ben and she was pushing but just a little bit and they were pitiful! So I went to go make sure everything was set up in the feed room where we dry off the kids. About 10 minutes later I went out there and she was pushing pretty good. It only took her a few moments to push out the first...a doe! We got her into the feed room and got her all whipped of and blown dry. She is the spittin' image of her Papa. It wasn't 10 minutes later that she pushed out the second...a buck! They were both huge babies (9.3 lbs. and 8.7 lbs) so I knew she wasn't going to have trips. We took them inside where they continue to stay. We'll move them out this afternoon. Missy is an awesome doe! She has wonderful kids, excellent kids and is now recovering nicely!

So I knew Gypsy was getting close but I wasn't sure on how close. I figured during the night or in the morning. I went to go check on her before going to bed (around 9:15) and saw her pushing. I knew everyone was getting ready for bed inside so I just stayed out in the barn and got stuff ready. After a little bit I noticed she wasn't getting anywhere so I decided to help out. She had the hooves right there but she was hardly dilated at all. Thankfully Devin had noticed me heading out so she came out. She tried to help hold back the skin so I could pull. She finally got a good contraction and I pulled hard. We finally got the head through and then of course the body came through too. It was a little buck. He wasn't that big so we thought she would have at least one more. 10 minutes ticked by and still nothing. We milked her out so our night wouldn't get too late. Finally we decided to go in(the goat) and see what we could fine. Abigail said she was still open but she didn't feel anything. So we came inside hoping she was done. She is a strange goat and has had odd births every year. We always manage to "go in" with her. Abigail went to bed but Devin and I stayed up a little while getting her molasses and oatmeal drink together and heat treating the milk. Then we went to check on her one more time and I "went in" again. It felt like she was closing up and it looked like the afterbirth was on it's way out. So we came inside and went to bed. It was around 11:30 then. I was disappointed with a single buck, but whatever. I give up trying to figure her out. She seemed okay this morning, no bad side effects and everyone is looking good. I am thankful that everything went well, we were there for all the kiddings, etc. Well, that's my timer! Time to go feed babies! I don't have any great pictures right now but I will try to get more up today.

Have a great day everyone!
~BETHANY~

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Tagged - Again!

Ryan tagged me! He calls it tag-a-phobia and I think he's right on! Okay, so here goes again!


A Movie I have Watched:
Objective, Burma! Awesome movie for those that enjoy war history!

A New Skill I Acquired:
Shaving goats well. I can make the does looks better with a good shaving. I guess it is quite a skill.

A Moment I will Always Remember:
Buying my first gun. :)


A Book I have Read:
FIREPROOF!

A New Place I Visited:
Biggby Coffee Shop :)

An Inspiring Verse or Quote:
"IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, TRY, TRY AGAIN.

Here are the rules:
1. Fill in your memories of 2008
2. Link my blog to yours
3. Tag others and comment on their blog so they know they've been tagged:)

Now I tag Josh and Joshua (sorry guys, your about the only ones I know that haven't been tagged yet :))

Monday, February 2, 2009

Rabbit Hunting

Here in MI, 39 degrees is WARM so we all took a hike out to the woods to hunt rabbits. We all wear orange so we can see each other. Those with dangerous guns (my 20 gauge and Dad's 22) stayed towards the front so we wouldn't shoot anyone. There were 9 people and one dog. We didn't get anything. :) There weren't very many fresh tracks though we did find some rabbit hair. Probably got into a run in with a fox. The snow is at least 18 inches deep and hard to walk in and I was impressed by how the little ones kept up. This is what I love about our family....we all love doing stuff outside and doing it together!
All of the hunters except me. I mean, someone had to take the picture! :)
Heading home. This is the old railroad bed. Usually this a decent place to see a rabbit or two.
Elizabeth (in the black and carrying the gun) and Jena running to catch up with the others.
Ben with my old BB gun.
Rachel and Buster.
I love this picture! I think Dad has my 20 gauge and Abigail has Dad's 22. Rachel and Ben have the BB guns.
Through the scope.....
That's me with my gun.
Ben attempting to shoot the BB gun. Hmmm, seems like the stock is a bit too long. hehe!

In Christ,
~Bethany~