It is drizzly and overcast today. Yay for water though...I am going to walk down to our humble attempt at a pond and see if the water level is up any. Seeing the footprints during this little first year is pretty inspiring. We have seen deer, cow(yeah...some rancher makes poor fences!), raccoon, oppossum, rabbit, dog,cat, and mountain lion! We also put a salt lick down there for the deer to lick on.
   Luke and I are having a very snotty day. :P I think a cold spell is moving in, so our noses are not happy, but after it is here we should be good again.Poor baby flinches when he sees me with toilet paper!
   We got the ornaments on the tree yesterday. Only the non breakable ones, and we have a tabletop tree this year since Luke is in love with pulling up on things and trees...a bad combo!

That is Jubilee looking slightly crazy next to the tree. She is a bit over the top excited with all the holiday happiness.
  We watched the Why Do We Call It Christmas Buck Denver show yesterday. It was fantastic, as are all of the videos in the series. I highly recomend it!

We went to Rhema's lights last night, with Brian's mother. In priot years we have gone when it is so frigid that the wind stings your eyes and the lights are a pretty blur as you squint through the chilling pain. Last night was a balmy 45 degrees, and so much more enjoyable!

  Wee baby boy(who is really not so wee at 24 pounds) was strapped to me in the Mei tie. Here is a pic of the teething ginger boy earlier that day.

 

Here is Kuzco the llama and Ms.Pacman, Metroid, and Frogger the goats. Also a one legged guinea boy who can apparantly survive any kind of attack and live to tell about it(loudly). He is the last guinea we have, though I plan on getting more*all together now* "in the spring". One pen over is the donkey, but I didn't take her picture because she is cranky and I couldn't get a decent angle.
   I made up a couple new batches of deoderant yesterday night. One scented with rose, one with sandelwood and lemon. I think the sandelwood one smells terrible, but it is for Brian and he likes it so yay! I am so glad that this deoderant works better than the chemical laden Secret I "had" to use before. My skin is a gazillion times softer , I do not sweat as much, and when I do it doesn't smell. Seriously, this stuff works! Brian is a convert also, and he is not nearly as hippy dippy as I am.
   I have on my to do list for today: make two loaves of bread, two loaves of banana bread, make granola, do history,science,and math with all kids, do spelling with 4, do phonics with 3, tea party tonight while the bigs are at youth group. Yikes...I better get off here and get to work!

 

Lucian didn't want to stay put and kept crawling off. He is 7 months. Pippi is 3, Jubilee is 5, Griffon is 8, Logan is 10, Gavin is 12, Christian is 13, Trinity is 14. Right behind them is the snake enclosure...the one Copper(ball python) keeps escaping from. We found him(again), this time after a week plus of searching. We have plans to redo the cage(which started as an iguana hutch and worked well as that).

Luke has been mobile from very early on. He began rolling over at just a few weeks old, consistantly.He started scooting at 3 months, crawling on his belly at 4, full crawling at 5, standing at 6, and is cruising furniture at 7 months. He has no desire to stay still. His middle name is Danger and he seems determined to live life on the edge!
   I am doing research today on homeschooling with processing disorders. I sort of fumbled my way through with Christian and Gavin...managing to help them learn to read and write over time by using just about every trick I read about. Now I am getting ready to do it again, with Jubilee, but there are a lot more resources available even in just a few years. Maybe I can streamline the process and not have it take so much time and energy(which I am fine with using, but if it can be easier I am for it!).
  Life is turning back to that very simple(hard work and busy, but simple busy) way I love. We only go to town on Mondays for errands and violin, and maybe one other day a week for dr or dentist visits. Sunday is church. Everything else is being at home, learning,playing, being together. It is a soft and gentle rythem and I missed it for a season. Nursing(giant)Luke has forced me once again to slow it all down, and reminded me how much can be done when not doing too much.Ahhh.

I don't even know what my last post was...Blogger has changed since I was here last.Ha! It took me half an hour to get back in, I forgot my password even and had to do the whole email me a new one deal. So I am back, it is almost winter, so I will need to write to stay sane ;) .
  Lucian is 7 months now. He is a giant redhead! 22 lbs,28 inches long. He has 5 teeth with a few more poking through. He bit the heck out of me as the first top one came in(as in drew blood on three seperate occasions and made me crings at every latch) but we seem to be ok now. He is such a sweet baby, looking up at me while nursing and just grinning this heart melting smile as milk driblles out the corner of his mouth.Then he puts his attention back to eating lol, and he nurses quickly. 5 minutes per side and he is done. We haven't started any foods yet, though he will put anything he finds on the floor into his mouth.Ugg.
   Pippi is turning out to be a super smart girl. At 3 she knows all her letters and numbers,and can identify them on paper. She is doing Jubilee's kindergarten lessons with her and is actually mastering them faster than Jubilee...this should be a fun ride.She is also an extremely funny girl, full of sweet mischief and very exuberant in everything she does.
   Jubilee is being seen by a dr to try to identify her allergy/stomach issues. She has a pronounced sacral dimple too, so depending on what the blood tests show the next step is a neuro consult. She is still just the sweetest pixie girl. She really doesn't care a bit about schooling, but she loves her friends and family and is always full of smiles and laughter. I can not for the life of me figure out who thought it would be a good idea for her to turn 6 in 6ish weeks...too fast!!!
   Griffon is dealing with a major dairy allergy, as well as soy,cats,and dogs. We have to go for more testing because even with the elimination of those things from his life(well...as much as possible on the animal front)and being on medication , he still has a bleeding rash covering him. I was opposed to putting him on meds, but the difference in him is significant so I feel better about it. He loves to draw his "Jane" books, a series he is creating that is full of spies and violence and large family drama lol...he said people need to be 9 to read the series(he is only 8) because it is so violent(it really isn't that bad, but we rather frown on most violence).He has also entered into an obsessive Legend of Zelda phase.
   Logan is quite the character. He is so LOUD at home...like he doesn't have an indoor voice or an inkling of what that might be. Anywhere else and it is pulling teeth to get him to talk...he is shy! He prefers to stay home...he will choose that every time if it is an option. He has turned into a great reader and is ahead of the game for schoolwork.He seems to be intuitive in many things(which I am so thankful for!). He also thinks he is older than he is because he gets on so well with Christian.They are birds of a feather.
   Gavin is still a major daredevil...cracking ribs or scraping of his skin in crazy stunts outside far far too often!He is such a sensitive,sweet,caring individual. It is an odd Sunday if some parent or another doesn't come up to me at church to let me know something special or caring he did for someone. He has a heart to help, all the time. He still struggles terribly with reading and spelling. I have an appt for him and Christian to be seen to discuss a few things.
  Christian is in the tten years now and while I see the struggle he has with being a little moody, it is really so seldom and so minor, that I feel like I dodged a bullet. He is defintely an anxious person though and we are trying rescue remedy to see if that will help him. He loves to read and is soing so much better with that. He has online forums that he goes to that are helping him develop storywriting skills, and he is very thoughtful.
   Trintiy is 14 now and well on her way to independance. I pretty much let her regulate her day and she is up half the night doing her online persona thing. She has several forums she frequents and she does well with the contests and making (very guarded)internet friends. She has real life freinds too lol, and they all tell her(and me) how she is such a strong,different person and that she is unique. She is a major hippie(in spirit,she dresses pretty trendy to me!) . I am treasuring my time with her because I see that I have 3-4 years before she takes off for Colorado(that is her plan for now).
  We have been busy with the land. We have 3 goats right now, and the two females should be pregnant. I will keep watching them for signs of heat but so far I am thinking kids in March/April.I have a cage ready for rabbits but have hesitated for some reason...I am thinking of starting in spring. We just got two new hive setups given to us(english...I am a topbar hive kinda gal, so I don't know if I want to use them!) and are so reday for spring to get new bees.Our old hive was wiped out by wax moths.That is actually what happened to the people who just gave us the two hives as well. Ugg. We also have the winter crops in the garden, after a really great year of harvest. In spring we will be adding a second raised bed in.We will also be getting at least 3 turkeys next year. I am pretty excited for it.
   I need to get my camera set up with this new computer so I can dump a gazillion photos on here(including goats in trees!!! Like 15-25 feet up!) Right now I need to get going to pick up our meat from the butcher. :) 

30 weeks. It is wonderful to feel Luke growing in strength and size. He has been breech throughout, so all the kicks I feel are down low, and his head bumps out at my right side ribs. It is kinda funny to be able to reach down and rub his head!We are all starting to get excited to see what he looks like(especially to see if he is a ginger) and it feels so imminent. Lent begins on Wednesday, and at the end of Lent I will be 37ish weeks! So soon!
We have been doing intensive schooling for awhile and honestly...it feels great. The kids don't gripe because we still only school a few days a week and take plenty of time to do other things. It also helps that they love the curricula we use(Story of the World, God's Design for Science, Sonlight lists for read alouds, and a hodgepodge of internet things to fill us out.) Urg...I am using this time to print out the worksheets for the day and my printer is not eating the paper properly! It never acts up, this is really annoying.Finally...printing of the Samurai commences.
It is almost baby chick time, and we are getting goats soon too.We are keeping our eyes and ears open to see if we get a Kiko buck or Boer(we both are leaning heavily toward the Kiko)and will be raising meat goats this year. I do wish we were still getting pigs, but we aren't. I am much more of a pig person.
In order to not repeat the crazy squash bug issues we have had for 3 years running we are not doing vining plants this year. We will focus on tomatoes, peppers, and herbs.We have sprayed with Neem oil and hand picked squash bugs till we wanted to scream last year. Hopefully a year with nothing to feed on and the other organic methods we use will rid us of the pests.
We are ordering three large apple trees this year also. We will be fencing them in, as the deer have been stripping the trees worse than usual.I hate the fence intruding on our ideal scenery, but we need to keep the orchard safe.bah
I have been extremely active at church lately. Sunday mornings(in the nursery of course), followed by a Revelations study Sunday afternoon at a member's home. Tuesdays I lead a small group. Wednesday is Youth group. We have started a once a month community dinner on Fridays that will kick off next week. I attended a seminar with other leaders about beefing up the church(not expanding numbers, but enhancing things).It feels very good to be involved. I love my church family!
Ok...lots more prep work is calling me.

It has been a little bit...no surprise.I am 22 weeks along now with our baby boy,Lucian. He is growing and kicking and it thrills me to feel his strength. At the last ultrasound they had me see a genetic counselor and talked a lot about his heart. It is scary, and I have been battleing the what if's. I am fighting to keep a peace about this, and I go for another ultrasound in a week.
My glorious midwife has asked me to allow her to do my birth for free. This is gut wrenching hard for me...if ever there was someone I wanted to pay it would be her, but we just do not have the funds. I am glad I had something to give her in appreciation that was worth quite a bit...it will stay in my head to repay this blessing either forward or back. I am so excited to be birthing at home again though!
My sister and her husband are on again off again. She had purchased a cruise for the two of them and he left so she asked me to go! It was a wonderfully neat experience.I won a Harry Potter trivia game on board the ship. :P We went to Key West, Freeport and Nassaue Bahamas.I would love to go again someday with Brian.
I can't believe the new year is upon us. I have a few things to acomplish this year and I feel really good about them at this point.

It has already been a very busy day and it is only 11:30. I got the chicken coop thoroughly cleaned, which added a full deep wheelbarrow full of stuff to the compost pile. I piled brush to burn in a little bit...it is supposed to be slightly less windy than normal until tonight.I did 2 loads of laundry, made breakfast, excersized for 20 minutes.
Bella leaves tomorrow for her new home. We are all pretty happy with where she is going so it isn't too sad that she is leaving.We are really eager to get going with the goats in Spring. Probably Boers, although I really like Kikos. Boers are much easier to get here.
We have taken two deer to be processed and the guys are going to hunt again. I really am not thrilled with hunting every last freakin deer on the property, but I am reminding myself that there are three empty neighbors who are not hunting this year. We will use the meat, I just really enjoy seeing our herd of deer grazing in the back yard in the winter.I still think we will have some, and plan to feed them when hunting season is over.
I am 15 weeks! In 4 weeks we will find out if baby will tie us or make the gap Big for boys and girls. I am definitely thinking girl, but have boy twinges every few days.
Epiphany gets her cast off her arm on Tuesday. I think it is too early, but I am not the Dr. He mentioned a brace but I can't imagine how we will keep that on her. They still see no need for testing, saying her bones are plenty strong. It is very aggravating to hear that and worry about my little climber.
I am excitedly planning Thanksgiving dinner. It is one of the highlights of the year for me!