I just set my first hatch of eggs for 2014!!  Hopefully, we'll have bunches of chicks in about 21 days!  This is the first time I've tried dry incubation, I have heard lots of good things about hatching rates rising considerably with this method.  I'll let you know how it goes!  

 And...a picture of my adorable little helper!  Mirae got up early with me and went out to help milk Penny and feed the other goats and calves. 

Welcome Meadow and Lark...

Hello!  Time to meet the newest members of our menagerie!  Meadow and Lark arrived on December 31^st.  Lydia is hoping to be able to offer our friends milk shares from our cows and her goats sometime in 2016. 

Until then, if anyone is interested in having us grow some turkeys for you this summer, let us know.  We will be taking preorders soon.  All of our animals, including the turkeys, are pasture raised and fed a ration of GMO free barley each day.  When our chickens are laying well, we have eggs available at $2.00/dozen.  Call anytime to check for availability.  (517)709-3032.

Tammy, is a little Alpine doe who we got as a surprise for Lydia! 

Rabbit Soup!

Grant, recently went rabbit hunting, and the results were delicious! Highly recommend rabbit, if you have a place where you can harvest a few.

One dollar for a small game license isn't bad at all!

Merry Christmas and prayers for a Happy New Year!  We love you all and thought it would be fun to give you an update on our family.  

Things have been going well this year at our "New" house, (we are embarking on our 3rd year).  Lots of projects going on, since everything here is a project : )  Homeschooling has been going well and this is the first year we endeavored into the business of selling turkeys for Thanksgiving.  We picked apples from our tree and were able to press 100 gallons of cider, as well as make many quarts of apple sauce, canned and frozen apples, and apple crisp.  Our garden produced well and the chickens are laying.  Lydia will be adding a lovely Alpine doe to her goat herd soon.

Grant has been hunting and has taken 2 deer so far this year from which they all were able to study biology while dressing them over.  Vince has been doing many projects, Noela loves to dance and sing, Haley is doing her best at college studying sign language interpretation, (she is carrying a 4.0 grade point average).  Lance has been stepping up to the plate of being Daddy's helper lately, and Mirae has been learning to use her words instead of her temper.

Bruce & I have been having fun deciding, on a daily basis, what to do next.  He loves his new wood splitter, as do the boys!

This year Grandma Toots, my mom, decided to bless us with a concrete driveway.  It sure is nice!

We're still doing Irish Dance and Storytelling and recently performed at the Festival of Trees at the Best Western in Holt this year.

Love and Prayers!

DeAnna & Family

A recent family performance with Haley's dance students

Noela ran two 5 Ks this year!

Lots of cider!

The driveway in the works!  It has been nice for plowing snow.

photo shoot : : Mirae

Little girl + straw hat = adorableness!

More to come in a few days when we get our internet run to our house!

prayer requests

I woke up this morning, and as usual went to the chick room to feed and water the foul before breakfast. I looked at the new chicks we got a few days ago to see if our hobble worked on one of them that developed splay leg yesterday. Splay leg, is when the chicken's hip or knees come out of socket, you must correct it while the chick it young or it will be crippled for life. The chick's hobble had come loose so I picked it up and was fixing it, when our rooster Sillabub crowed. I was surprised, his crow was very high pitched and horse. Setting down the chick, I went inside to tell mom and ask what could be wrong. We discussed it, read some information, and decided that it could be either a respiratory infection (which usually means death in chickens), or just from cleaning the cages the night before and stirring up dust. We decided to move him outside and give him plenty of water. He is still just as horse and starting to sneeze, a sign of a respiratory infection. Sillabub is such a sweet rooster, believe it or not, he likes to be held and will jump into your arms. Please pray for him that he will get better soon! Also, respiratory infections are contagious and it would be awful if all 40 some birds died, please pray that they don't catch it if it is an infection, and that our chick with splay leg will heal quickly.

I will be gone all week at Wizard of OZ practice and it will be hard to make sure that all the animals are healthy, not to mention that I usually get sick show week. Please pray that the cast will stay healthy and the shows will glorify God.

Thank you so much for your prayers!
Lydia

Hello and Giveaway

I has been a long time since we've posted....because of where our new house is, we can't get internet, and have to rely on an aircard.  And it is nearly impossible to post pictures, and what is the point of a post with no pictures?

But that doesn't mean that we've stopped taking pictures.  No, we're trying to get better.  Lauren at A Corner Pillar just released an eBook--A Beginner's Guide to Portrait Photography.  And Emily, is hosting a giveaway of the book.  Go enter!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Mirae doesn't look too happy.

               

Go over to Lydia's blog for a birthday post.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

We love you, Daddy!  Happy Birthday!  ~Haley, Lydia, Grant, Vince, Lance, Noela, and Mirae'

"Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men."

Prov. 22:29

Guess what!?  We have a new house!  Everything went fine for the closing yesterday--the needed documentation came via fax, the papers were signed, and now Dad has a pretty amazing birthday to remember!  Praise the Lord!  Even today's weather is delightful--we are so thankful it isn't pouring on us as we begin to move things from one house to the other.  We are doing the bulk of the moving Friday and Saturday, so pray for good weather then also!


Pictures will come soon!

Packing Party!

Packing Party!  Our whole family had the opportunity to participate in an Operation Shoe Box Packing Party last Saturday.  It was amazing; how well it was organized, the people, snacks, everything !

If you have not heard about OCC, I would encourage you to check it out.  It is a wonderful ministry that does a lot of good--and you get to help!  Visit them at SamaritansPurse.org!

The tables, all ready for action!  Pick up a box at one end, go through the line following the directions, and deliver your box at the inspection table.

The inspection table was overwhelmed very quickly--there were many people packing, and only Olivia, Maria, and Elizabeth inspecting.  Lydia and I joined them after a little while, as well as Mrs. T.  We had a lot of fun--and were snapped by countless rubber bands in the process!

Everyone helped!

Yeah Daddy!  Noela was so into it her hair got quite disheveled!

 A great day's work.  One thousand, sixty five boxes packed.  All of them were prayed over, and it is our hope that they will help change people's lives!

Clean-up time!  Mirae' likes helping with everything.

Samaritan's Purse!

It was a great day, with lots of great work accomplished.

Blue skies

Today, it is pouring, cold, and dark.  But all weather is beautiful in its way, and we can look forward to the clouds clearing, and lovely, blue skies!

Genesis 32:12

Macro

Macro is so much fun!  About a month ago, Dad and Haley went on a Father/Daughter retreat together.  Most of the weekend consisted of long walks in the beautiful weather, and here are some of the macro shots from those walks.  Can you tell what each thing is?

Psalm 24:1, "The earth is the LORD'S, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein."

Luke 12:27, "Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."

Harvesting grapes

Each year, we watch the deer eat our neighbors grapes.  They never use them, but the deer sure enjoy them!  This year, I thought we should harvest the grapes and use them ourselves.  So, one evening when Mom and Dad were out and it was warm and sunny, I gathered everyone together and we set out on our job.  We had no idea what we were doing, but in the end, we were covered in sticky, sweet, grape, and have 4 five pound bags of grapes.  We froze them and will enjoy them in smoothies!

Thank you Lydia for all your help and for taking the pictures!

And thank you Grant for killing all the spiders! :-)