Our New Entrance 4.9.10

Stephen has been wanting to get a gate hung at the end of our driveway for quite some time.  Not to long ago as we were driving by Mr. Markey Heintz's house, Stephen noticed some nice 4x4 posts in his burn pile.  We drove in and talked to him about them and he said we could take all we wanted and asked if we would need some boards.  Stephen told him that would be great and that we would probably be making an entrance at the end of our driveway.  A few days later we got the boards and figured out how we wanted the entrance to go.  Stephen got some supplies at Home Depot and some more boards to make 2 new 8 foot gates and we were ready to go.  We were up there working for about 3 different days off and on just doing a little at a time.  It looks great!  I am so proud of Stephen and so grateful to the Lord for providing the supplies for us and giving us yet another desire of our hearts- a nice gated entrance!!      

   

Stephen got some bigger, stronger posts that he cemented in to hold the gates up.

        

The kids and Stephen put up that fence one afternoon while I was napping.  I was so surprised.  It looked great.

Martin was trying to get the nails out of the posts and he was using all of his strength to do it.

And he used all of his weight for that matter.  Unfortunately for him, they didn't budge.  It took Stephen's muscles.

Bella, Elaina and James playing together.

Our little 'Laina Girl

Martin and his buddy, Jacob the dog.

James enjoyed sampling the dirt as well as playing in it.  We were boosting his immune system and he was getting all sorts of natural vitamins and minerals:)

Bella Jane

Millie with a pretty little rose and Jacob.

Bella helping Papa.

Millie playing around holding the lock and chain.

Elaina playing on the little fire truck scooter.

Posing in front of the nice new gate.

        

I was painting and talking to my sister, Erin on the phone.  She was telling me that she and Jerry are moving back to Texas!!  We are so excited and can't wait to see more of them...especially since they are expecting their 1st due around Thanksgiving!!

Easter At The Fire Station 4.4.10

This year for Easter, the kids and I all got dressed up and went down to Houston to visit Stephen at work.  At first I wasn't sure if we should go or not, but looking back, I am so glad we did!  He was at a different station that Sunday, and he was on a pumper which was a lot slower than the ambulance he is assigned to.  He only made 2 runs while we were there and was gone for about 25 minutes.  Other than that, we got to be together.  We played basketball, ate corn dogs (we stopped off at Wal-Mart and got some treats to bring down for Papa...and us :) and just got to be together.  It was great!

Here are the big ones watching as Stephen is about to drive off for his first run.

Here he is looking into his side mirror as he is backing back into the bay and the girls as they were running to to him welcoming him back.

We enjoyed some coffee Blue Bell ice cream before we headed back home.

The kids always enjoy getting to see Papa at the fire station.  It had been a while since we visited him.  I am so glad we were able to go.  We are always praying for him while he is at work, and enjoy the stories when he comes home.  It is always a treat to get to go be with him.

Around the Farm 4.10

We worked a few cows the end of March, just tagging some calves before moving them into another paddock.

Martin was getting a birds eye view as he sat on top of the trailer.

The girls helping Mo organize the ear tags.

Bella and James playing together in the kitchen.

One afternoon I hadn't seen James in a while. I went outside to check on him and for the life of me, I couldn't find him. I walked around the side of the house, then the other side, continually calling his name. All of a sudden I heard a sweet little "aahh" and out he came from under the ramp, just grinnin' like he knew he was hiding from me.

Kevin has been using the trailer to haul his calves around to different places. They are straight from the auction barn, and a little wild, therefore they are not staying where he wants them, but continually getting out of fences. In the process of using the trailer, he bought new boards for a whole new floor. It looks just beautiful and is nice and safe to use again. Thanks Kevin!

James a.k.a. "Hambone Wyatt"

There is a nice picture of the whole new floor.

Aunt Margaret / Brood Barn / Chickens 3.18.10

Aunt Margaret comes to Dobbin about once a month to visit with whoever comes to the farm during that time. Our kids have really grown fond of her visits. Sometimes she spends the whole afternoon playing outside with all of them. I find myself very productive during that time and I am so grateful to her. She had a project to do with the kids this time...she bought a beautiful photo album and her and the kids wrapped it up and wrote the sweetest little note and gave it to me. I was SO surprised and quite humbled. She is a very special lady, and we are blessed to spend time with her. Thank you Aunt Margaret!!

Here are the kids (minus James who was taking a nap) with the photo album (Millie is holding it) and the card (Martin is holding that).

"Chickie Hutch" or Brood Barn"

We have been wanting to raise chickens for about 3 years now, and have never jumped out there and done it. Well, the day came, and we ordered 100 of the "frying pan special" from a hatchery in Iowa. The next day Stephen went to Home Depot. and got some lumber for a little brood barn. We had the greatest time assembling it.

I am so proud of Stephen. He designed this little barn all by himself and built it all by himself (well, not counting all of us who "helped" every step of the way). It turned out so cute. It rained the night we got finished, and proved to be leak free and nice and dry inside.

Here is all the lumber and supplies we needed.

As you can see, everyone is helping every step of the way.

I think they were all taking a rice krispie treat break as I just brought out a 9x13 of nice soft treats.

A little measuring here, a little sawing there, here a screw, there a screw, everywhere some more screws.....

We had some family stop by to see what was going on.

All of our girls going through the door frame at once. That won't be able to happen for much longer.

It is so much fun getting to watch our children grow up. They surprise us every day at the things they say, what they can comprehend, what they try to do etc. Martin loves being Papa's big helper. His latest favorite is to not have to take a nap (he hasn't slept for a nap in months) or lay down to rest, but stay up and work with Papa. Stephen is so patient with them all and gives him opportunity's to "be a man".

Martin took this picture of Stephen and I as we were painting the little brood barn. When the paint was first going on the wood it looked pink and we were sure we didn't like it. But as it dried, it turned red and now we are sure we like it:)

Stephen and Martin working their way around with the rollers.

The baby chicks came early Monday morning. Wouldn't you know they came in with a cool front. It had been so warm and pleasant, and we were sure the chicks would be fine as the instructions were to make sure the temperature of the shipping van would be at least 50 degrees or warmer...and wouldn't you know it got down into the 30's during their travels...oops, oh well. They all survived. We felt bad for the little fuzz balls, but got them home to feed, water, and warmth as soon as we could.

I am not sure why this picture uploaded sideways, but anyways, you get the picture of 100 peeping baby chickies all happy in their nice new warm home.

Mable's Heifer / Fish Fry 3.14.10

Mable finally had her calf! It seems like it took forever. I know it really didn't, but it just seemed like it did. We have been very excited to see what she would have because Mable was bread to our Miniature Hereford bull, and we were hoping for a heifer. Sure enough, the Lord gave us a heifer. We would like to eventually milk her half the year, and milk Mable half the year so we always have fresh milk. We'll see how it goes.

Later on that afternoon we went over to Granny Smith and Papa Troy's for a fish fry. Grannie let the the 3 big ones play with her special umbrellas for a few minutes.

Papa Troy made some excellent fried fish...and lots of it!

The girls ate it hot off the fire (well, we didn't give them the hot hot ones, but the ones that had already cooled) and sat in the back of his truck as they watched him fry up the next batch.

Martin ran around and played with whoever he could...mostly Stephen and the girls. They had a water gun that got a work out to say the least. It was a really fun afternoon.

HLSR and 6th Anniversary 3.11.10

Well, I am finally getting back to the blog. It has been quite some time, so I will try and do a few quick posts to catch you up to date. Stephen and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary this year. We take turns every other year and plan what we will do. This year was my year, and I was at such a loss as to what to do. I had about 4 different plans in my mind, but I am not very quick to make a decision and there were some things here at home that kept us near and not able to go on a little camping trip (which was 1 of my ideas).

Wouldn't you know, just 2 days before our anniversary, Ryan Wallace (a fire department buddy and good friend of Stephen's) offered us 2 tickets to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. We took him up on the offer and went down to Houston for the evening. It was so much fun...just Stephen and I! Mr. & Mrs. Herzog kept the kids, so it was just the 2 of us. It was very enjoyable and we had a great time together!!

Here we are at the rodeo.

They opened up the rodeo with very nice prayer and a beautiful presentation of the Star Spangled Banner. Those were Stephen's favorite parts.

We enjoyed the rodeo and concert by Brad Paisley.

A few days later, on the 13th, we went to Huntsville for the day. We went out to eat at a Mexican food restaurant, then went to the old downtown part of Huntsville and went antique shopping and got an ice cream at an old fashioned ice cream parlor. Then we found a nice park at a church and played there for at least an hour. It was so much fun getting to be together as a couple, then as a family. We are so blessed and live every day to its fullest!