Changes on the farm

We've had some changes here on our little farm. It all started with the results from our allergy testing. Hailey and I got tested for food allergens since we were the ones suffering from symptoms and also have a lower immune system.



If you know about what we've been up to, you'll know that we have been looking for the right goat to have and breed, with the ultimate intention of having a milk goat. One of the main reasons besides being more self sufficient was the fact that my daughter and I didn't do well with cows milk, and goat milk to purchase is so expensive. We've also been working on growing our small chicken and duck flock. In fact right now we have a chicken incubating 2 fertile eggs and then the cousins are using an incubator to hatch the remaining 10 eggs. Our goal, more eggs, more affordable and healthy protein for the family.



Ok, so what's the change? Well, lo and behold, guess what Hailey's allergy test showed. A high reaction to chicken eggs, soy beans, chicken, and turkey, along with the ones we already figured out, cow's milk, cheeses and gluten. And here's the kicker, she's also allergic to goats milk! As for myself, I also have an allergy to milk, gluten (although not as severe as Hailey's), peanuts, beef and chicken eggs. Yikes!



So we had to sit down and really think if it was still worth it to continue on our path of owning a milk goat for just two people. Right now we do rice milk, and probably only spend at the most $10 a month on a case of rice milk. So, it looks like we'll be turning our goat pasture into a large garden next year to expand what we already have and be able to sell and can more produce. It will also save us a lot of time and money on goat feed, housing, etc.



As for the chickens, we won't be getting rid of them. We'll be able to sell more eggs and we also really like how they do a great job eating our food scraps and the chickens also provide a lot of entertainment and companionship.



Now to figure out if the family will be eating two separate meals or if we'll all convert to vegans. I'm all for the conversion to a mostly vegan RAW diet. But's it's easier for me to do it, since I have health issue, which makes for motivation. It will be interesting to see how the meals all work out. The boys sure like their meat!

What we're up to this week

We went down to the Ape Caves (Mt St Helen's lava tubes) this weekend. We had a great time visiting with family and friends that joined us, and had a blast exploring the dark lava tubes underground. We camped at a camp ground along the Lewis River. Of course we had to go play in the mud.

After quickly packing up camp this morning we headed home to meet with the man who was buying our untamed and horned goats to eat down the brush on his property. I September we'll be started over in our goat endeavor with two new, tame, and de-horned goats.

Then we spent all the extra energy we could muster to can up two batches of tomatoes. Hence the reason I'm still up this late. Only the die hard caners can when it's 95 degrees outside! When it's that hot we use the propane burner outside on the side of our BBQ.

Beard, here and gone

For family who wanted to see.
Here's Keiths 5 week old beard. We shaved it off today. I think it looked good on him, but the owner didn't like the feeling, and feeling good about how you look is more important. So off it came. I'm proud of him sticking it out for a full 5 weeks. I'm sure thankfull I don't have facial hair to shave off every day, what a pain! If I were a guy, I'd probably have a beard, just because I would be lazy.

Thankfulness

Sometimes I feel like I get so far off track on life. Why? Who knows how or why I do it......all I know is that I feel like sometimes I just wake up and shake myself back to reality and wonder where I've been lost.

Yes, I blog for myself, if others read it and they get a smile or a kind reminder about life, then that's wonderful too. You never know where my blog bantering may lead. :)

Sometimes I get lost in the world of "I wants" and "if only I had this" and "someday I'll have ____ (deck, patio, nice yard, more time, more money, you get the point)"
Then I wake up and look around me and think to myself how blessed, lucky, fortunate, and most of all grateful I am to have what I do have. Boy am I blessed! Life really can't get better.

I struggle sometimes with contentment, I always strive to improve my surroundings, yet I don't try to live like the average American ie large house, fancy car, designer jeans, etc. It's an odd combination. Sometime I just get in a funk and get tired of things being unfinished in the house, unfinished in the yard, etc, etc. Life's the jurney, not the destination, right? After all, once all my projects were finished, I'd just make up more. I'm a dreamer, what can I say. :)

When it comes down to the important stuff I have all I could ask for......above all, God's grace, a wonderful family, a roof over my head, food in the garden and in the cupboards, a car that drives, a job, and improving health.

And when it comes to the important things, what I really want more time for is.....time with my family, time to be in God's word and time outside in God's marvelous creation.

Note to self.........life is much happier when you look at the things you DO have and not the things you don't have.
Live a life filled with thanksgiving and gratefulness, it's a lot more fun that way!