Sad day on the farm...

I suppose it's a part of life, a part of learning, the circle of life, but I can't handle the mutilation of our poor bunnies... all 4 of them are either gone or eaten.  After inspecting the cages, I'm thinking a pack of coyotes were the culprit, which we do have in the area.  From what I hear they're quite vicious and brave  =/  I guess I just thought those cages were pretty tough, and they were!  I'm still surprised and shocked... and sad.  The kids were okay until we saw blood on 2 of the cages - the girls' bunnies are more than likely dead.  We'll probably never know about the boys.

Moving upward and onward!  We'll build bigger and better, then purchase some more...

The good news is the trees are budding!  

I need to get some pictures of the sugar maples - they're buds are beautiful!  We had a high of 83° on Sunday - it was glorious!  A record high, and a huge tease, but we enjoyed it to the fullest.  We ended the day at the neighbors' house roasting marshmellows, drinking hard cider (first introduced to me!), while the kids jumped on the trampoline, played with piggies & fell in the mud  ; )  We can't go without a little crying either... or spilling water all over the floor (TWICE).  Haha.  Ah, the adventures of children.  I really do love every minute... er, most  : )

We leave for our excursion to first Alabama, then Louisiana, next week.  I'm excited.  Caleb will be working in Ala. but at least it's away from "real work"... plus, it'll be warm!  The kids are elated about swimming in the bayou again, even though it's with the alligators - not sure they believe us on that one ; )

The strawberry patch is planted, the blueberries & blackberries!  Happy to have those in the ground.  I can already see the strawberry leaves growing and putting off new shoots - makes me think "they must be happy!"  At least we hope so... the dirt is amazing up here.

Can't leave without honoring our saint of today: 

St. Julius I, pray for us!

Spring is in the air!

Actually the first day of Spring was a bit chilly, while the day after was 71° - stormy off and on (thunder AND lightening), but warm!  I'll take that!  Today brings chilly winds again, but still in the low 60's I believe.

This past weekend was a busy one with a drive for tractor parts and bunnies - yes, we have bunnies!  It was exciting for the kids!  I loved the look on their faces (especially after having to give up their puppy) of pure joy.  We've had them for 3 days now and they seem to be adapting quite well - in fact, after seeing their former abode & feed, I think they went from Motel 6 to the Ritz!  That is, if they think  ; )  We have 2 males: Bugs Bunny & Stephen Jr., and 2 females: Bonnie Bunny & Daisy.  The boys are brown and 5 months old; the girls are white and 3 months old.  Bugs is the most friendly, but also the most hurt... poor little guy came with a quarter size bite/wound on his hind leg we discovered on the way home.  I quickly "doctored" it, and while it seems to be getting better, it still needs some healing.  He is eating, drinking & pooping though, so that makes me feel better.

Bugs & Daisy

They're growing, they're growing!  This has been fun 

for the girls, who planted every one of these seeds...

"Confession heals, confession justifies, confession grants pardon of sin. All hope consists in confession. In confession there is a chance for mercy. Believe it firmly. Do not doubt, do not hesitate, never despair of the mercy of God. Hope and have confidence in confession." ~ St. Isidore of Seville

Stick in the mud

Actually, we were *stuck* in the mud... I think our (over) 17 acres is officially made up of all mud. Will the rain ever stop we ask?  Yet those in Oklahoma are asking if they'll ever be rained on... feast or famine, so they say.  They're covered in fires, we'd be lucky to start one  ; )  I wish I would have taken a picture, but it's fairly easy to imagine.  Hubby went to hook up the trailer to my truck Saturday night, sunk... tried using his 4x4 truck to pull me out, sunk.  Sounds like something out of a book!  I had to laugh... how could you not?  He wasn't quite as entertained... With many Hail Mary's and some oil-dry, he managed to pull his out early Sunday morning before Mass.

And with that, he attached the trailer and picked up a 1942 Farmall M.  It was running quite nicely before he bought it, got it home and well, not so much, HAHA!  Another entertaining moment for me... I've decided that the only way to not break down from the utter stress is to just laugh!  If you can't, kids things could be damaged  ; )  Poor guy worked so hard, and went thru 2 brand new batteries trying to figure out WHY the darned thing wouldn't turn over!  Finally a light went off yesterday, figured out the dummies people that owned it prior had halfway converted the thing to 12 volt (and he had 6 volt batteries due to the guy telling him it was 6 volt... d'oh!).  Why are people so dishonest?  Is it to make a buck?  I don't understand how they can live with themselves!  Especially when selling such an expensive/non-returnable item.  That being said, he bought what he needed yesterday and *drove* it into the garage... whoohoo!  Yes, it's running!  Once again, proud of my handy man!

Oh, and our tomatoes have sprouted!  Just 1 or 2 eggplant plants... the peppers are taking their merry ole' time!

In honor of our "saint of the day"... of whom we have had the pleasure of visiting in Paris and possess a first class relic of!

Co-Founder of the Daughters of Charity,

St. Louise de Marillac, pray for us!

"The faults of children are not always imputed to the parents, especially when they have instructed them and given good example. Our Lord, in His wonderous Providence, allows children to break the hearts of devout fathers and mothers. Thus the decisions your children have made don't make you a failure as a parent in God's eyes. You are entitled to feel sorrow, but not necessarily guilt. Do not cease praying for your children; God's grace can touch a hardened heart. Commend your children to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. When parents pray the Rosary,at the end of each decade they should hold the Rosary aloft and say to her,"With these beads bind my children to your Immaculate Heart", she will attend to their souls."

De ja' vu

I woke up this morning to rain, after a beautiful Mardi Gras full of sunshine!  A bit apropos I suppose.  Today we start the difficult 40 days of Lent.  I do feel a bit more ready prepared this year.  Maybe it's feeling less stressed (not sure I am!), or the fact that things have been fairly calm around here since the beginning of the New Year.  I may just be jinxing myself, so I'll stop this now... while I starve!   ; )

We did get quite a bit of sap yesterday, which surprised me, as the low was not below freezing.  I'm not complaining!  Especially since I'm not sure we'll be squeezing much more out of those trees this year, as the lows aren't that low, but they may surprise me.  The sap bags have become increasingly frustrating however, falling at the drop of a hat... maybe we should've ordered buckets as soon as we noticed these wouldn't work.  We certainly wouldn't have lost as much as we have... neither here nor there I suppose!  Live and learn!

Today holds two beautiful feasts I must share...

"I am not capable of doing big things, but I want to do everything, even the smallest things, for the greater glory of God." ~Saint Dominic Savio

"Nothing seems tiresome or painful when you are working for a Master who pays well; who rewards even a cup of cold water given for love of Him." ~St. Dominic Savio

"A married woman must often leave God at the altar to find Him in her household care."

~ St. Frances of Rome

Monday, Monday

A new day dawns, sunny, high temps in the mid-upper 40's... we're thrilled at the prospect of playing outside!  Yes, I said "we!"  Who said adults can't play outside?  ; )  Try being cooped up for days with 4 toddlers... looney bin, here I coooooome!

We did manage to plant seeds this weekend!  We started our bell peppers, jalepenos, tomatoes, eggplant, lemon peppers, and possibly some I've forgotten, indoors.  The kids already see them growing... those are some miracle plants!  ; )

Our shelves for the seedlings...

Right now: We just finished school, kids are getting a bit rambunctious with a balloon they keep fighting over and I respond with taking away... *sigh*

This weekend: Was a poor, pitiful weekend.  My husband got the short end of the stick yesterday, having to play Mommy while I lay in bed with a migraine. He did a fabulous job and finished the day with homemade hamburger buns (which were amazing!), venison hamburgers and chips!  Oh, how I love him so!

Some plans for this week: Library, Mardi Gras tomorrow (whoohoo!), trying to focus on our Lenten fasts beginning Wednesday.  What to give up, what to give up... hmm.  The kids have informed me of different stuffed animals they're putting away during Lent for their sacrifice... and chocolate.  They're better than I am!

Some prayer intentions for this week: For my husband to know God's will regarding a possible job change, and for the soul of a church parishioner who passed away!

Something that makes me smile: My husband's flirty texts... they're cute and totally make my day!

St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us!

"To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. 
To one without faith, no explanation is possible."

"To convert somebody, go and take them by the hand and guide them."

"Peace is the work of justice indirectly, in so far as justice removes the obstacles to peace; but it is the work of charity directly, since charity, according to its very notion, causes peace."

Loads of SYRUP!

We boiled, boiled and boiled again, finally having our finished product today!  I can't believe how much syrup we got out of these past 2 weeks of tapping!

Over a quart out of 10 gallons of sap!

The rain is not letting up needless to say.  We're pretty flooded.  The kids family is getting a bit 'o cabin fever I do believe. The kids are officially tired of "movie days" - I didn't know that was possible  : )

Since I didn't post yesterday, in honor of St. Casimir...

Daily, daily sing to Mary,
Sing, my soul, her praises due:
All her feasts, her actions honor
With the heart's devotion true.

Lost in wond'ring contemplation,
Be her majesty confessed:
Call her Mother, call her Virgin,
Happy Mother, Virgin blest.

She is mighty in her pleading,
Tender in her loving care;
Ever watchful, understanding,
All our sorrows she will share.

Advocate and loving mother,
Mediatrix of all grace:
Heaven's blessings she dispenses
On our sinful human race.

All our graces flow through Mary;
All then join her praise to sing:
Fairest work of all creation,
Mother of creation's King.

Sing in songs of peace unending,
Call upon her lovingly:
Seat of wisdom, Gate of heaven,
Morning star upon the sea..

Loads of sap!

I called it! We drew TONS of sap yesterday.  Unfortunately by the time we got the burner started it was just too late to finish the boil down, so we'll finish today.  We have quite a bit more from the trees today too, so this will make about 2 glass bottles I bet!  Exciting...

The sun is shining beautifully again - warm inside, warm warmer outside, and the ground is starting to dry up a little.  It's wonderful watching the kids run, jump & play.  Oh, and did I forget to post about the long awaited tire swings?!  How could I?  Oh my goodness, the kids have begged and begged for those things to be put up, waiting ever so patiently (not really) for a day with no snow on the ground to do so, as promised!  One needs to be re-done, as it bottomed out because the knot wasn't quite tight enough.  Easily fixed.  They're enjoying the working one immensely!

We stand on swings... heck with sitting  ; )

St. Simplicius, pray for us!

It's a new day!

So, yesterday was too crazy to post.  And now that it's passed, it was too crazy *not to post* about it.  Some decent storms Sunday night led to no power around 9:00, which came back on about 10:30.  Winds woke us up about 3ish?  And when I say winds, I mean WINDS... it sounded like a train.  My hubby and I came from tornado alley, we grew up in it, and never experienced those winds this close.  The tornadoes we watched were from afar (the best kind)  :)  So, it was a bit nerve wrecking.  We then lost power to part of the house... luckily the kids' bedroom outlets still worked, so fans helped stifle the thunder and wind noise.  It worried us however because we didn't know if we lost breakers or not.  We decided to just wait it out until morning and luckily power came back around 6-7am, but flickering.  We came to find out that the heat and well pump weren't working, so we used as little power as possible.  The power lines from the pole had broken away from the house basically - I think it was weak from the ice storms recently, and the limb that fell Sunday night just did it in. The electric company only gave it a "quick fix" so we'd at least have power, but told us we needed a professional electrician to repair it (but also said that he wouldn't need the power turned off to do it).  Well, umm, my husband WAS the "professional electrician"... I'm so darned proud of him!  I cannot begin to tell you how nervous I was with him, not only on a steep roof, but messing with high voltage electrical wires (or close to them!).  And he is less than confident in the heights department!  But, he did an awesome, perfect, FREE job!  I love my handy man!

You couldn't pay me...

Oh, and did I mention we lost part of the roof on our pole barn?  We found it out by the creek.  It's going to have to be disassembled then reassembled on the roof, as it's very heavy!  That will be left for a dry, warm day... 

It is now sunny and supposed to get up to 47° after a low of 22° - this also means SAP!  I'll be watching the trees closely, as the bags have a tendency to fall when they get too heavy.  We'll be switching to buckets next year and tying them to the tree to prevent swaying in the breeze.  You learn by default... we figured the bags wouldn't rust and thus last longer... we were wrong  ; )  We've already lost 4 - gone.  We do, however, have almost another full pot ready to boil - I'm excited, more syrup!  I can't believe how much we'll have our very first year...

"Be joyful, brothers and sisters. Keep your faith, and do the little things that you have seen and heard with me."

St. David of Wales, pray for us!

New weekend

Well, two days ago we sold our puppy back to the breeder. With 4 children 6 years old and younger, it's too exhausting for us. As my mother said, "it's like having a child who never learns." Wait, that's just child #5 for me, haha! I always said I'd never have an indoor animal... I had a weak moment as this past Christmas approached and stepped too far out of "my box" I do believe, because I'm entirely too OCD. It's tiring enough keeping a house picked up with littles, but the stress of making sure all shoes, cups, toys are off the ground at all times was too much and too expensive, let alone the accidents on the floor.

Writing this out makes me feel less guilty about getting rid of her, but it has been sad watching my 6 year old pout because "she misses Carmel..." The other ones seem to have gotten over it.

We've promised each one a bunny they can name (NOT the babies, only mommies and daddies... we've made that clear). I suppose we need to make good on our promise soon! Daddy has almost finished the cages - very exciting. Now they're *up* in my dining room instead of *rolled up* :)

How can you  not take this over a dog?

We're trying to decide if we should attempt my family reunion the week after Easter in Louisiana. It won't be a cheap excursion or one without stresses. Is anything ever either of those anymore? ;) I figure it'll be one of the last trips we can make, as animals creatures will be coming soon after. I do need to plan just in case we decide to though - summer skirts, sandals and swimming suits for the bayou! The kids thoroughly enjoyed it last year, as they had no idea we were really there for my grandpa's funeral. It's hard to believe it's been almost a year... may he rest in peace.

In honor of tomorrow:

Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows,

pray for us!

“I will attempt day by day to break my will into pieces. I want to do God’s Holy Will, not my own” ~ St. Gabriel

Time to plan

So, during these cold days it gives us time to research, plan, research again, plan some more... in this process, I found these:

Reusable canning lids

I'm so excited to try them!  Canning all together is going to be another learning experience, but one I'm willing to be challenged by - it can't be any worse than potty training 4 kids, right?  Right?  *gulp*  ; )

Tonight we'll be purchasing our organic seeds for the garden, which will at least make us feel like Spring is somewhere around the corner! (despite the freezing temps, snow & ice on the ground...)  Can you tell I love Winter?  ; )

I also need to take advantage of these "inside days" and start sewing spring/summer skirts for the girls.  So, a material run will be in my near future.  I could go nuts in those stores!  I already have patterns, so now I have no excuse...

Today is the feast of the apostle who replaced Judas...

St. Matthias, pray for us!

Another cold one

Snow, really?  I was a little surprised to wake up to flurries!  The kids think snow equals Christmas, so every time we have "white stuff", they scream "is Santa coming?!" haha!  Umm, no, kids... sorry.

Snow on the farm!

I will say, I do enjoy snow days, as they make good "bundle up on the couch and watch a good movie with kids" days  : )  

I am so itching for spring though!  Ready to till our 50x100 garden, acquire bunnies, our bees (who's hives are in our living room), and have little children busy in the sunshine during the days.  Oh, sunshine, warmth... yes, I'm dreaming!  One thing I love about these winters is that it will make us truly appreciate summer.  

Until then, we'll snuggle and dream  ; )

Feast of St. Peter's Chair at Antioch

""...and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates 

of hell shall not prevail against it." ~ Matthew 16:18

And we have syrup!

Right now: naps have ended, children are snacking, and it's time to prepare dinner! It's a busy time of day in our household, as young ones get hungry, and need to let out energy (during these cold, winter days, that means running around the house screaming).

This weekend: was a really nice one! And we had 3 days with Daddy, which added to it.  Saturday was very accomplished, cleaning up the yard full of broken limbs/branches that fell during the ice storm several weeks back. We spent the entire day outside, even skipped naps and slept quite well that night! Sunday started with Mass, home by lunch and ended quite relaxed.

Maple syrup boiled today by my

husband! Our first home produced product!

Ah, adventures on the "farm"!

Some plans for this week: it's supposed to be fairly cold and wet this week, so outside won't be in the plans. We will hopefully see some more sap from our maple trees this week if it warms up enough during the days.

Some prayer intentions for this week: A young friend/mother of 2/wife who is still battling cancer and recently returned from an amazing Lourdes trip.  Praying for a miraculous cure!

Something that makes me smile: My husband coming in the door... *sigh*