January

It's been a quiet month. We haven't had much going on around the farm. It's actually been one of the coldest months we've had for a couple of years and no one has wanted to go out and do much. Right now it is snowing like crazy. Kate took this picture out our back door just before dusk. Through the snow you can see the deer behind the fence, a flock of Canadian geese to the right and I think that is a huge pile of cow poop on the left! Hehe. We have a heifer in labor right now and Ted and Claire have gone out in the cold to check on her.

Jessi is here recouperating from her gall bladder surgery. She has suffered with attacks all month and was counting down the days to say a happy good bye to her defective organ. She is doing very well. Thanks to all those who prayed for her.

Ted's back....no calf yet.

Josh has started back to school this semester. He is very excited and ready to get on with his education. For those of you who don't know, Josh is inactive with the Marines right now and may be medically discharged due to health problems. It has been very disapointing for him since being a Marine was such a life long dream and he was so darn good at it! But...he is moving on and realizes that when life throws you curve balls, you have to adjust your game plan. Right now his health is better and he is focusing on school and his lovely girlfriend, Lily.

Kate's been busy with homeschool and has been sick quite a bit. Actually, we've all been sick with various things this January. Every one of us got the flu and at least one cold. Kate has had the worst of it though.

ClaireAnna learned this year that Santa is really Daddy! She asked Jessi if Santa was real and Jessi asked her, "Well, what do you think?" ClaireAnna said, "I don't think so." and so then we told her. She was cool with it. She got a Carrie Underwood CD for Christmas (it was on her list!) and the other day I caught her sitting on her bed listening to it and singing along. Then she wrote in her diary, "I love Carrie Underwood" (She showed it to me, I didn't snoop!) Doesn't this pink and purple room make you dizzy? Not sure what's up with the baseball cap but she sure looks cute!

Oh, Ted just called from the barn....calf is born....I will run down and take a picture....be right back!

Here she is! It's a little heifer...Yeah! We were hoping for a girl. We just have the 2 winter babies due, both out of heifers that we bought at auctions that were already bred. We don't breed ours for winter birth. So we had Noel, born on Christmas day, and this girl born today. That's it till early March. I will name her tomorrow.