Bottle Calves

So we decided to take on 7 more babies. Are we crazy? Yes. But so far it has been so fun. That's probably because I haven't had to feed them by myself yet. That will come when Matt is busy with corn harvest... But thankfully Matt and I have been able to feed them together and even his sister Tiffany came after volleyball practice yesterday to help feed them. I guess she likes the smell of the milk replacer!? Strange. But Matt does too. For a couple weeks we just had one calf. A black Angus from my sister. He was such a small calf when he was born but he is doing good and is even a little feisty.
Daddy helping Lillie feed little blacky. Or Mickey as the kids call him.

They both want to feed him.

It gets a little messy sometimes.

They love their calfy.


Just this week we got the other six calves. One is a brown Swiss, 2 are brown swiss/holstein mixes and the other 3 are holsteins. Male Holsteins are more readily available since dairies don't have use for very many males. So that is why we got holsteins. Also they are a lot more calm and docile. Don't I sound like I know a lot? HA! I really am pretty lost but Matt knows quite a bit and it has been a lot of fun learning from him and working with him. It's kind of something we can do together and work together on and it is great!
Here is the brown Swiss. It is so cute. Brown Swiss are a pretty big breed so he is the biggest of them all but he is one of the younger ones. They are all 2-3 weeks old.

Here is another picture of the Brown Swiss.

Here is one of the holsteins. They are all eating very well. We bottle feed them in the morning and in the evening. Sometimes during the day we give them electrolytes from the bottle as well. We will probably bottle feed them for another 5-6 weeks.

While they drink the bottle they butt their heads a lot(at least most of them do) so it is kind of hard to hold onto the bottle. At least for the kids and I it is. Matt can feed 2 at a time. Show off=) He gets 2 out of the main pen at a time and lures them with the bottle into a smaller pen so he can feed them without being head butted by all the others. Then he gets 2 more and brings them into another small pen and so on until they are all fed. Then he lets them all back together.


My favorite calfy. They are all males but Lillie informed me that this one is a girl. I asked her why she thought this one was a girl and she said because she saw its eyes and they were girl eyes=)

Peas in a Pod

I thought these pictures were so cute and funny. Daddy was swinging in the hammock with Zethan and then Titus climbed up there. I told them to smile for the picture.
Daddy is smiling, Titus is frowning.

Okay, switch. Titus is smiling, Daddy is frowning.

Now a big smile from both. Aren't their smiles just alike?? And they really didn't coordinate these pictures. It just happened that they did that. Need I wonder where Titus got all his ornery-ness from? I think not. Cute huh? =)

Bees, Bees, and more Bees

On Pamperbeki's blog, she has Fingerprint Friday's. It is all about seeing God's fingerprints on things around us. I think it is so neat all the things she, and everyone else who links on there, think of.

I thought this Friday I would write about something that I know is definitely God designed. It is so amazing how God can put together so many working parts and have everything work together harmoniously. This little bee hive is proof of God's handy work.
This is on our front porch. Thankfully it is a non functional front porch. My husband said these bees have been coming back every year for as long as he can remember. When his Grandparents lived here, they tried many things to get rid of them, but they always come back.

They don't really even mind you as long as you aren't bothering them. I was laying right down on the porch taking these pictures.

Then all of the sudden I noticed this big Garden Spider. She must be one smart spider. She put her web right where bees would be flying. There were several stuck on her web.


You can see where the bees are behind the spider.

I thought it was so interesting just laying there watching them. And they all have built in, God designed, ways of communicating. They all work together and it is just amazing.

So that is my Fingerprint Friday. What do you see around you that is evidence of our amazing God? Check out the others who have written about the fingerprints of God. There are so many ways to see his hand at work. We are privileged to serve such a mighty and awesome God.

Washing Wheat

Grandpa and Grandma Stucky still make their own wheat flour straight from their (our) wheat field! It is such a cool tradition and I think it is so special that they do this. Diane (Matt's mom) also makes some of her own flour. They use it to make their products for Kansas Country Blessings.

Now that we are living on the farm, they have been coming out to our place to wash the wheat and dry it. Lillie and Titus have been enjoying 'helping' them!
After it is harvested, they store it in big barrels. When they are ready to clean it they vacuum it out of the barrels (there is just a small opening on the barrels) with an old vacuum. Then they empty it into these metal tubs. They usually just do 2 of these tubs full each cleaning. Then they run water through it so the running water can wash out all the empty wheat and extras that came along with the wheat. They use their hands to shwoosh it all around to make sure it all gets clean.


It is all clean now! All the light, loose pieces have floated out. They have been doing this for so many years that they have the system done pat on just the right way to do it.


Now its time to dump the extra water out of the tub. Careful, don't spill the wheat!


Grandma Stucky holding Zethan so I can take pictures! He likes to watch too=)


Then they have these screens they spread the wet wheat out on so it can dry out. These hot summer days are perfect for wheat drying.


Lillie helping dump the wheat onto the screens.


You have to pat your hand underneath it for a little while to help get the extra water out of the middle. For some reason it doesn't run out real well by itself. Lillie liked catching the water in her mouth?! Funny girl!

They usually come out around 8 in the morning and then if I'm going to be home I stir it around noon to help it dry faster, then they come pick it up in the afternoon sometime. After that they take it home and finish up the process there. I'm not really sure what else they do. But eventually it ends up being ground up and used to make delicious home made cookies, bread, and other treats! We all LOVE Grandma Stucky's homemade wheat bread!!

Hayloft Kittens

Here are the kittens we found in the hayloft. We only found two and then when we went back there was only one, so the momma must have started to move them since we had messed with them.
The kitten is right on the edge that is about 7 feet down. Right after I took this picture the little kitty fell over the edge.


I put it back in its little hole where we found them. It wasn't very happy.

Titus with the flashlight helping me find the kittens.

Lillie is kind of scared about the hay so she just stayed on top of the old grain truck. I guess it needs a good dusting=)

Hide the Rock Bug

My mom is the one who told me about this idea. She found it in the Family Fun Magazine. I thought that it sounded like a pretty fun idea and I knew that the kids would have fun with it.
First you find some smooth round or oval rocks that are big enough to paint like a bug. Then you gather up some paints, paint brushes, some wax paper to put the paint and rocks on, a blow dryer to help dry the paint faster in between layers, and a cup of water to clean brushes out between colors. Then let them have at it!! The idea is to paint them like cute little bugs and then when they are dry you can go hide them in your yard or flower garden or wherever and play a hide-and-seek game with them.
Here is Lillie and Titus getting ready to start painting their rocks. They were pretty excited. They always love to paint! Usually we go outside on the cement to paint so I don't have to worry if they don't keep the paint on the wax paper. But Jasmine (our pup) was out so that wasn't going to work too well.

Titus wanted green to paint with first. He was really into it=)

Of course Lillie wanted purple first. She got hers painted in no time and was ready to find lots more rocks.


Here is my creation=) Can't you just tell how artistic I am. HAHA! NOT! But it was fun to paint with the kids and of course they were impressed with it=)


Where, oh where, have those little rocks gone?


Here they are! Actually that isn't where they were hidden but after Lillie found them she lined them all up so I could get a picture of them all.


They were Lillie's little treasure for quite a few days. She was so proud of them. She put them in her purse and took them wherever we went.


Here is where Lillie hid one of her rocks. It is a little crevice in the tree. It was so cute. Titus was the who found it here and he thought it was the greatest. He was so excited that he found it.


But of course his attention to this game didn't last and he found other things to explore...


...And climb on.

We had lots of fun and Lillie just keeps asking when we get to paint some more. I'll have to find some more rocks I guess=)

Fun in the Sun (And shade)

We went out to Marion Reservoir with our Sunday School Class and had a BLAST! Matt, and the kids and I went early to get a spot on the beach so we could bring the boat right up to the shore. Lillie and Titus had a great time! I wasn't really sure what we were going to do with the kids while we actually had the party. Being in the water, you have to keep such a good eye on the kids. And with Zethan, it was windy, and someone would always have to stay on the shore with him.
Well, Matt's mom so graciously said she could watch them. ALL THREE OF THEM! I had never been away from Zethan for that long. It was like 7 hours! He tried a bottle for the first time and it didn't go so well. He couldn't or wouldn't really suck on it. So he was so patient and waited to eat until we came and got him. Thankfully Diane knew how to keep him happy! They were outside a lot and he took a couple naps so that helped. I was so thankful to Matt's parents for watching the kids. It was really great to just relax with friends and be able to be by ourselves without the kids. I could even go out in the boat for awhile since I didn't the kids to worry about! It was SO nice! Thank you so much Diane and Mark!
And we were happy to see the kids again and Zethan was so sweet and smiley to me-after he got fed=) I think he missed me! I know I missed him=) And Lillie wasn't really happy about having to leave the lake so she complained about -why couldn't we stay at the lake with you? And Titus was so happy to see us too. He always has the sweetest hugs for us!

Now here are some pictures of the kids playing at the lake.
We found a spot that was pretty sheltered. It was so windy that day. Zethan did pretty good while he was out there. I brought his travel bed so he could take a nap. I draped beach towels over it to keep the sun and leaves and stuff out. He slept a little but not real well, as you can imagine being outside.

Playing with Daddy in the shade.


They thought it great fun when Matt buried there hands and arms! They did this several times.

And I guess it tickled Titus's funny bone to lay down and have the water come up around him! He was so cute and silly!

And those two kiddos being their silly selves=)


And my handsome hubby!

Onesies

I am having a lot of fun creating these little onesies. It is so fun to see the different fabric colors come together and make fun shirts for the babes. Orange Flower shirt

The first three onesies I finished today.

Blue Butterfly Onesie

Bold Color Flower Onesie

A couple more I finished

The circle collage onesie

And the last one: the Pink Butterfly Onesie

These little shirts are so fun to make. I can't wait to make some more! I need to make some that are boy friendly. Some how it is easier to come up with cute little girl things than it is for the boy things. I will probably list these for sale in my etsy shop. These are all 6-9 month onesies, Circo brand. We have some craft fairs coming up in October too, so I will get lots more made for those!