A little peak into our day!

6:20  Alarms went off (it was nice being able to sleep in a little!!)
6:30  Coffee was made and the guys headed out to the barn to start feeding the cows.  Normally it only takes one person, but my hubby's tractor is broke down till tomorrow.  That leaves him using the skid steer to load the feed into the mixer.
Abby headed out to do up her chores too.  She had to feed her veal and gather the eggs.  Then head in to get breakfast started.
7:00  The rest of the girls get up (all but Little Elli!) it is time for them to get their bedrooms cleaned and then head out to the barn to get their chores done.... more calves need feed, goats need feed and milked, and the bunnies get feed.
8:00 Breakfast is ready...... the girls are all in and ready and Ben comes in!  Great!  Called to let Dennis know that breakfast was ready.... you know just in case he lost track of time!!  He was busy helping a cow.... she wasn't feeling the best after freshening. (which is having a calf)  So, as soon as he finished giving her an IV he came in!
9:00 Finally having breakfast and Bible time!
After we finished up breakfast and Bible time it was time to finish up "services" while I cleaned up the kitchen.  (Services are the the jobs that they each have to do around the house!  Jobs or chores just don't sound fun!!  So instead we go by services!!!)
10:10 Leave to head into violin. This morning the girls met their new violin teacher!  She was very nice and looks like she is going to be a great teacher!  While us moms talked with Miss Joanna the children all had a chance to play together!  That is always a highlight of their day!

I couldn't resist taking a picture of these two when I came out!  They are just to cute!!  This is Ezra and Elli! 
12:40 we got home and quickly got some lunch
1:00 time to get going on school!!  Thankfully we are just about done for this year so it doesn't take that long!!! And then it was time to start fixing fences.... after those were finished we needed to build a few more fences for the horses!  We did get one finished, now just a few more to go!!!    
5:30 It is time to go and get the evening chores done.  Which included feeding and milking the goats and feeding the calves.  Oh yeah, and "stretching" the horses!!  LOL or in other words riding! 
While they were all out doing up chores I did a little more housecleaning.  And made dinner! 
7:00  we all enjoyed a meal together of homemade pizza out on the deck!!
7:30 time for dinner dishes, any unfinished chores, and then SHOWERS!!!
8:30 younger girls head to bed!  Followed by anyone else who is wore out after a long day!!

Hope you have all enjoyed a glimpse into our day!  I should get off now to get the little girls into bed!  And hopefully before to much longer my dear hubby gets back in from the barn.  I am not sure what all he had to get finished up after dinner.  Blessings!  

Fun times!

This is what happens when a 2 year old dresses herself!  She thought she was big stuff!  She went through her drawer to find something to wear because she wanted to go "outside" and momma wouldn't let her with go out with her little WHITE dress on!  Just a little reminder~ we have had over 5 inches of rain this past week......  white and mud just don't go well together!!  "Elli cute now!"  Gotta love it!

In between the rain we have been getting we have been working in the flower beds!!  The ones that aren't under water are looking so nice!  One good thing about all the rain is that our ducks have a lot of places to swim!

Not to mention that the girls have a spot to do mud baths!  Isn't clay good for you!  (They had better make sure they clean up after themselves!)

It is the little things that somehow make each day such a blessing!  Hope you enjoyed a few of the "fun" parts of our life!  Blessings!

Busy day......

Today has been busy with working the fields, putting fertilizer on, and doing lots of running back and forth to the fields~  As I type they are out planting corn!!!!!!!  We are so thankful that the rain has held off!  We are praying for a few more nice days!!
We had two new baby calves born today!!  A boy and a girl!  The girls excitement sure doesn't wear off, even though we have new calves born almost every day!
Here are just a few pictures from around the farm!

Here is one of the new calves

a few of the milking cows enjoying some dinner!

The skid steer coming back from the barn

our new duckling!

and Eliza's new horse CD Jack of Kings

or as called around here SP

Hope you all have enjoyed your day!  I am off to go out and spend some time with the girls and their horses!

Finally Planting!

Here is our rock picking crew!! 

Yes, even Elli "picks" rocks!

Look who got caught taking a break!

This is the tractor working the field!

 And this is the tractor that my hubby is driving!  He is planting the alfalfa with peas and tritucule.  The peas come up quicker then the alfalfa which helps keep the weeds out!  He is hoping to get the field all in yet tonight...... I have a feeling it is going to be a LATE night.  After he plants Ben then goes over the field with another tractor and a huge roller.  The roller helps pack the ground which keeps the moisture in and also smooths the field out as well! 

All part of a days work!  Enjoy your spring!

Egg-less Vanilla Pudding

With a few children with allergies to egg I love finding recipes that don't call for them!  Here is one that is a keeper around here!

Egg-less Vanilla Pudding
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar (can use raw)
3 Tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon butter

Heat milk to scalding.  Stir together sugar and cornstarch.  Gradually add to hot milk.  Stir continually till thickened.  Remove from heat and add in the vanilla and butter.  Stir in till butter melts.  This can be cooled for later by covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating, or can be eaten warm!

This doubles very well!  And in my case I use like 8 cups of milk 2 cups sugar........  It works great with either goats milk or cows!  Hope you enjoy it!

Where do my days go?

     Where do my days go??? They seem to fly by faster then ever anymore.  And I am not sure if that is that I always have a ton to do, or the farm is keeping me busy, or just that I try to fit to much into each day..... oh well, I had better quit wasting time trying to figure it out!!  And try and get the most done I can!
     We finally got into the hay fields today to spread some potash!!  Now we just have to wait till the rest of the ground dries up a little more and we should be able to get the hay field planted and then the corn! 
     Now that all of our goats have freshened we are getting lots of milk everyday!  So, today we needed to use up some milk!  We made cream cheese and mozzarella!  Now we are down to a gallon of goats milk in the fridge!  My girls love it on the days that we make cheese!  Fresh mozzarella is one of their favorites!  With some of the whey we get off the mozzarella cheese we make homemade bread!  So, that was Eliza's job today!  It sure smells great!
     Tonight my hubby and I have a 4-H meeting.  We are both on the Dairy Committee.  Tonight we get to  In just a little over 3 months is the fair!  So far 2 of the kids have gotten their veal calves!  We only need 2 more!  We have been having lots of calves born, but they have been heifers!  (For those of you who might not know what a heifer is.... it is a girl!)  As dairy farmers heifers are a good thing!!  Sorry kids!

Feeding calves!

 Helper!

Farm life isn't all work!  We do have fun! (No, this picture isn't on sideways!)  Abby likes to entertain herself while she is waiting for the switch to finish!

And at least part of the day is spent out with the horses!