Fair is Fair...

Well it's 4-H fair season and we've been busy getting ready. We don't have as much to do as some families, but it's still fun. Nathan took his vacation so he could help this year.
Cas got some great photos this year for her board and I can't wait to see how it places. Aravis tried her hand at sewing and will be judged Tuesday. Nervous!
Aravis also got her first taste of the runway this week after being asked to page for one of the queen contestants. Both girls are interested in competing now. only 5 more years until Cas is eligible. Caspian drew this great picture of a goat in a pasture and Nathan built a homemade frame for it. It looks pretty cool. We'll probably hang it once it's back from the fair. They haven't worked as much with their chickens as they should've, and knowing some of the defects their hens have, I'll be surprised if they even place. The garden is looking pretty good and the weeds are about 50% gone. Last night's rain will probably bring them all back though. The squash and zucchini are coming on strong and we've been able to share. Aravis and I actually took a ruler out there yesterday Trying to find some to fit into her fair exhibition requirements. This is her first year in "real"4-H and I'll turn around tomorrow and they'll both be graduating High School.

In other news, I am still enjoying our new truck, the weather has been hot, and our garden is doing well. Bell peppers are coming on and soon maybe the tomatoes will turn. Our laying hens are now in a pen and we are getting at least 4-5 eggs a day sometimes 8. I know that's not much, but we rarely use over 4 a week, so it's good for us.
My mom seems to be healing well since her femur broke last month. Dad is literally killing himself caring for her and neither of them will accept help from "professionals" Nathan and I have been doing a lot of their running and work around the house. It can be frustrating too when out of 8 kid only 3 seem to be fully willing to help anyway. Between that and doing another friend's running and shopping we haven't had time to enjoy our summer. This friend even told me out right She'd rather us do it than other people. She will go without things she needs until I can get them rather than ask somebody else. How can I turn that down knowing She may go without medication She needs because I wasn't availble right when She needed it. The answer is I can't turn it down. It gets old watching other people get to hang out together and do things while we go and pick up prescriptions or groceries. They've even stopped asking us to join them. Even if they did, the extra trips to town are taking a real tole on my gas money and making me have to cut back on my expenses just to make sure I have the gas I need to do my family's things. The sad thing is all of my friends are hours away in other cities and there's no one here I can go hang out with and just step away from reality for awhile and be 100% comfortable. There are a lot of times I look around me and think I really don't belong here. I'm glad to do it though, don't get me wrong. There is a special joy from being the type of person people rely on and in being the type of parent who can teach thier children that it's a blessing to help someone. Just sometimes I want to be a bit selfish and take a break to hang out with my kids instead of just having them there while I do other stuff. I'm just VENTING not complaining. Maybe I should just run away from home and join the circus.

Enough of that. In money news, Nathan and I aren't doing as well as I'd hoped with our $$$ issues. We purchased the kids Abeka books and that was over $700. Ouch. We're going to do our best to take good care of them. That way we can sell Ravi's 4th grade stuff to pay for 5th grade and then we'll try and pass Cas' on to Ravi. We've given up eating out, and we're trying, at least for the summer to reduce what we eat anyway (which means gruel twice a day, everyday for a month..."Please sir, may I have some more?" = / ) Okay it's not that bad, but we are having to make some decisions, though it's not as difficult as I thought it would be. We've totally been cooking more at home doing some good old fashioned baking, cooking and gardening. The cool thing is that any rotten or spoiled garden items go straight to the pigs and isn't considered a waste. I will be glad to get the hogs gone before winter though. They are eating a lot now and the boy is growing well, but it will mean an enormous drop in our feed bill once they're gone. If Nathan decides to keep hogs again next year I hope we plan better for it. For now I'm anxious to see how we do with these 2.

Sorry....can you say Negative Much??? It feels good to get things off your chest. Helps you to clarify things a bit.

Not too much more than that going on now. Just one day at a time

Well,
Yesterday was my 32ND birthday. It was pretty uneventful. Cas and Ravi had a couple of friends over and they had a good time playing with the kittens and each other. I got a Corbin Easton cd and he does very much sound like a young George Strait.
The garden is finally taking off. The broccoli plants Cindy gave us are really huge. My cauliflower and snow peas are also doing well. If our tomato and pepper plants continue, we'll be up to our eyeballs in them. For the first year too, our sunflowers are really growing.

In other news, Nathan is worried about work things. A lot of changes are happening and he doesn't know which ones will affect his job. It's a little nerve wracking and we're hoping that in the next few weeks we'll know more.

The hogs are growing and going through more feed than they were a week ago. They can easily eat about 2 1/2 bags of feed a week. I'm hoping once they're processed it will average out to a decent price per pound.

Aunt Betty made it to church Sunday and everyone was glad to see her. She is doing better and getting around a lot more on her own.

The kids standardized testing is this week and I'm very nervous that I haven't taught them the right things. I guess we'll find out. We're already debating which curriculum to use for next year.

Also, Nathan is very proud that our New Years Resolution to be more hospitable is working. We are trying to be more social and spend more time with people from church and family. Sometimes it's a strain on time, but it's very worth it.

Right now our focus is getting some $$ set aside to cover what we had to put down when we bought our truck and to cover plates. I need to sell a goat and then maybe some other stuff too.
Overall, we're okay and just getting through one day at a time.

Well,
since my last post things are looking up. We'll have some more stuff paid off, Lord willing, by the end of this week. Nothing major, but enough to give us some breathing room. We've been really enjoying March and spring like weather. The mud is abundant, but it's kind of fun. I like it. Until I get stuck again. In a couple years, I want to buy a big crew cab truck. One thing at a time though. Hopefully by next week we can get the plumbing done in the new bathroom. In our bedroom, we have to rip the entire floor out and replace the boards. That means the front room will be our bed room for a while. We're not starting on that project anytime soon though. I'm reading a good book called Living Debt free, Getting out of Debt and Staying out. I really like it a lot, because it gives you bible verses that help you put your debt in perspective. It also promotes the man being the head of the household. I don't agree with everything the book teaches, but overall, it gives some pretty solid "Christian" advice on how to manage your money and what not to do. And also some ideas on what to do once you've messed up.
For the first time in a long time, I feel hopeful.
In other news our nephew Donovan is growing really fast. Every time I look at him he looks more grown. It feels like time is flying. He's such a wonderful child. I've got visions of bubble wands and kiddie inflatable pools for this summer. I can't wait. Cas, Ravi, and I could play with him for hours. The girls really want to be around babies and help take care of them. Cas has a real nurturing spirit. She'll make a great mom if that's what She chooses to be.
The girls had their first real recital last week and they were great. Aravis was actually nervous. She never gets seems to get nervous, but it was her first time infront of a crowd. I was the only one in the audience for them, but everyone applauded them both.
In animal news, Candy our beagle, wrestled a mink the other day. It got away, but Nathan shot at it a few times and hopefully it won't be back. We'd already dealt with a few possum issues. Fernie and Violet are good and stir crazy. We've been trying to walk them on leads, but they're pretty powerful. The goat haven't delivered and about a week and a half ago, Sugarbug died. That was rough. The chicks will be ordered Thursday for this year's 4-H.

Not much else other than that.

Drinking Java straight black.
Eyelids burning on their back.
Trying to do a few more thing,
Before the kids alarm clock rings.

Slinging Hash and Brewing Joe
Feed the dog and onward go.
Warm the car and buckle in.
Tomorrow do it all over again.

Well, it's been a bit since I've been on here, but not much is going on. We celebrated a very simple new year's eve with a puzzle, tv, and some welch's sparkling grape juice. Poor Nathan had to get up at 4:30 and he got home at 9:30 that night. It was uneventful.
The pups and goats have been trying to stay warm in this cold. Old Sugarbug has been limping on her back leg and took a bad tumble a couple days ago. Her owner, in Mexico, fell off a ladder and broke a few bones, punctured a lung, and is recovering.
Nathan and I have been talking lately about this next year. We both have goals. Financial, Spiritual, and familial. It's been a rough past couple years between us dealing with all the junk we've went through. I'm trying to be better at certain things, but I don't like going against my gut. Being burned once makes you cautious.
Money wise, we're trying to be even more conservative. It's hard when we see all of our friends congregating and we can't go because we're sticking to our budget. It feels nice at the time to have the will power to say no once in a while, but then they have their little "cliques" which seem to be an exclusive club. We have each trip to town budgeted for gas and one extra trip can throw everything off. I know exactly how many trips I have planned to town between paychecks. If I need anything I have to get it on those days. It's working somewhat, but it's kind of lonely and the kids are bored out of their minds. On the upside, I've been doing more at home cooking. I made a big pot of ham and beans. Nathan is pretty much fed for the week. The girls didn't like it, but I made them eat it anyway. I'm their mom, it's my job! I made up for it with homemade waffles for breakfast.
Anyway, enough rambling.
Hopefully you all have a good hope for this new year too.