Farm Update through pictures

I haven't posted much about the farm lately.

Things are still growing and Jason is still working tremendously hard. The rye and clover grasses that he planted in October are starting to come up. Our pastures are getting greener and greener as the seeds make their way up into a full blown blade of grass. In a month or so, our pastures will be picturesque.



The cows are being rotated throughout the fields in small 1-2 acres pads. They usually stay on the pads about a day and then move on to the next. The point of rotating is so that the cows focus in on one small area and eat it all down before they get moved. The manure in such a small area is pushed and shoved back into the earth which fertilizes and puts all kinds of good stuff into the dirt. We are up to 36 total cows right now with more to come in January. Jason thinks the cows will be ready in the Spring.

We've lost a lot of chickens to a hawk. But, have no fear. Jason is here! He caught that hawk and had to teach him a lesson. We haven't lost any since then to hawks. We are up to about a dozen of eggs a day.

The 2 older sows are getting more and more beautiful- if that's possible for a pig to be beautiful. We've decided to keep the two bigger ones and breed them for more piglets. They are really show quality and have taken a liking to their daily belly rubs by none other than farmer Jason. We are in the process of getting an enormous boar for breeding. Hopefully we will have Spring piglets.

We've learned a lot through this entire farming adventure. But, the biggest thing we've learned is that there is a season for everything. Things don't just happen overnight. It is a patient process that requires planning and performance and lots of prayer. I am reminded of the scripture in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Here are some recent pictures of what is going on around here.

Farmhouse Facelift Finale, Part 1

We couldn't be more thrilled and thankful about our house. It is perfect. I have finally successfully taken and posted pictures of the house. The pictures really don't do it justice. You need to come out and see it in real life (hint, hint:). We can't wait to have sweet family and friends come out to visit us (hint, hint:).

We love that this is the original farmhouse out here on the property and tried our darnedest to keep with the farmhouse style. It is unreal to think that this is the same exact house with just a different use of square footage. We didn't add any additions- just reconfigured the space and made it more user friendly for our family. The house went from 2 bedrooms & 3 bathrooms to 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

There is so much room! I haven't even filled up the closets or bathroom drawers and shelves....which will come in handy raising girls in this house.

This is part one of two parts. I will post pictures of our bedroom, Laney Rae's room, and the exterior later. But, there were SOOOOO many pictures of just these rooms.

Our Living Room








And what is behind those doors......but an office of course. A messy one! We used our old doors to make a partition.



The girl's bathroom!



The Kitchen.....my favorite room and where I spend most of my time! It is so fun being in this kitchen.



Farmhouse sink.



Butcher Block counter tops with a beaded board back splash.





Our Kitchen Island and where we eat most of our meals.







Dining Room





KK's room....schoolhouse-themed (duh, ya think????)









KK's Reading Wagon




Our Christmas Tree and Decor







More pictures to come later of the rest of the house!

Family Pics

Here are the latest pictures of our family. Since Laney Rae has been on this earth, there is only ONE picture of all 4 of us together. That picture was taken in the creativity inspiring location of my hospital bed 5 hours after delivering Laney Rae. I look pretty awesome in them.

Needless to say, it was time for an update.

My sister was nice enough and patient enough to snap some of us together. I, of course, couldn't resist taking a few of my own of my sweet little girls and cute hubby.

These will be donning a New Year's photo card near you since Christmas is...oh, I don't know......9 days away.

And I promise pictures of the house are coming soon! We are all settled in and even have our Christmas tree up. Every time I think about taking pictures it is dark outside which since we live in the country means it is dark EVERYWHERE. No street lights here.

Thanks for stopping by!
lyns

A man of faith

If you are wanting to know where every presidential candidate stands for the upcoming 2008 election, you can check this website out. It is www.ontheissues.org. There is direct quotes and their voting record during their political careers. I found it very interesting to look at.

Blogger's Block

I haven’t posted in weeks and yet I find myself not even knowing what to post about. I guess I feel the need to give my readers (all 4 of them…..thanks mom☺) something.

But, I got nothing. I think it would be referred to as blogger’s block.

By the way, I predict that in a few years the word ‘blog’ will be recognized by whomever adds words to dictionaries so that it no longer flashes bright red at me every single time I type the word ‘blog’. See there is goes again…..red.

My uber cool Mac spell checks everything you type whether it is on your personal e-mail account or blogging comments. Everything! See, Mac owners really aren’t a group of elitist geniuses like many perceive them to be. They just have spell check on EVERY SINGLE thing that they type to make you think that they are in the smarty pants category. Sorry Mac users. The secrets out!

Is ‘blog’ an acronym for something? What does it even mean? Come on smart people, help a sista’ out. Remember, I’m not smart. I just have a Mac. Oh, that’s good. That should be the new Mac slogan.

Speaking of inventing slogans, today I invented a new phrase. It goes like this…..

Heck-to-tha-naw.

Instead of saying ‘heck no’ you could say ‘heck to tha naw’. It makes it seam less harsh this way for some reason and is super fun to say! You should give it a try.

I’ve got to have a little ghetto in the Yonder Way terminology.

Well, there you have it. Blogger’s block gone bad.

Jason and I had a conversation the other day about the stats of our blog. They are dwindling before our very eyes. I think it is partly to do with the fact that this blog is titled ‘Yonder Way Farm’ and yet I fill it with non-farm related things. So maybe our former readers were confused and couldn’t deal with it.

The other reason could be because of this very post. I go weeks without a post and still…..nothing. Just a long post about nothing. Pathetic.

As a result of this conversation, Jason is now venturing into the world of blogging and starting his own blog filled with farm facts. Isn’t that EXCITING!!! The things he is going to bring to the blogging world wouldn’t have the same effect coming from me. He is immersed in the farm daily toiling along with his hands and hard work. I can’t wait. It will be filled tons of neat info and give you a better glimpse into the vision of Yonder Way Farm. Stay tuned for more info on that.

Heavenly

Yesterday my imaginative 3 year old, KK, said a funny thing. She has the biggest imagination and is always pretending something.

Kaylyn was pretending to be a chef and was 'preparing a dish'. It consisted of a plate and a scarf on top.

When she finished plating the dish, she said,"This dish is HEAVENLY. Coming right up God!"

She lifted her plate to the heavens on her tip-toes and walked right out of the room.

I love her creative little brain. There are always plenty of funny things to laugh about.

7 months and sitting up!

I'm a little behind on posting Laney Rae's 7 month old pictures. That's because I just took them tonight! And she is now 7 1/2 months. We are livin' la vida loca right now.

But, again, this is a way that I can keep up with my family and when it comes time to compile a nice and neat photobook at the end of the year, I will have everything in one place. And that makes me smile!

Laney Rae is such a happy bouncing baby. She smiles every single time someone locks eyes with her. Her new trick is growling. I think I make her do it a little too much. Another funny thing that she does is nod with her pelvis instead of her head when I nod at her! This is my favorite thing that she does.

She is eating all sorts of stuff and drinking from a sippy cup.

Laney Rae is now vertical. She is sitting up and has been sturdy for about a week now.

As for sleeping, she is a pro! We have her on 2 naps a day for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours each. Then she sleeps at night from 8pm until 8:30am! She is amazing and her mommy is so thankful she is a GREAT sleeper.

Today, I was in another room cleaning. I left Laney Rae on her play mat and Kaylyn playing with her. I heard footsteps come around the corner and then KK announces to me as she is walking in the room, "Momma, look what I can do now. It is alright. Don't be afraid."

This is what she was doing!!!



She was carrying her sister that is almost as big as she is! I did nothing but laugh and rush over and save Laney Rae from a fractured rib. Kaylyn and I had a long talk about picking up the baby and walking around with her. She is such a little momma. KK even offered to change a poop diaper today that was pretty terrible. Is she amazing or what??? Of course I didn't let her do it ALL by herself, but it was a step in the right direction.

Here are some precious pictures of Laney Rae at bath time tonight.