Making Memories

The other day we decided Captain definitely needed some grooming attention. Rachael was my assistant and I think she ended up with more hair on her than Captain!

Gramma Jackson arrived December 26th for a week's visit. She had a special surprise for the two little guys...2 fire truck toys, complete with sirens, lights, and other lovely sound effects. We tell her they are definitely "grandparent gifts" because no parent in their right mind would willingly give their children such noisy toys! We may not treasure the noise, but the happy faces of our little guys as they play with them are worth it.

All our snow had been washed away by the time Gramma arrived. This morning we woke up to heavy snow fall and the ground covered. We told her that we had put in a special order for snow just for her. She took the opportunity to go play in the snow with the youngest four.

Holiday pics

Wednesday evening we had a great Christmas Eve program at the church. One of the best gifts of the evening was having our pastor deliver the devotional during the service. Now that may not seem unusual, but as many of you know, our pastor has been very ill for the past four months. In September he was on a respirator after suffering 2 heart attacks, a kidney stone, and pneumonia (on top of diabetes). The fact that he was able to be at the service was a special blessing, but having him able to give the devotional was extra special.

The older kids were up very early Christmas a.m. and were busily completing chores when I came downstairs around 6:30. I thought the incentive was the presents, but Matthew quickly corrected me...he wanted the cinnamon rolls!
The boys love to dress up for paint ball in the back field. We found a surplus military company that sold grab bags of at least 10 military clothing items for a very low price. The boys were thrilled with their 'treasure chest'.

Rachael loves a good mystery and goes around talking about Sherlock Holmes almost constantly. A family from our church surprised our family with a tree full of gifts. They found a very special hat for Rachael. I bet you can guess what Rachael's favorite gift was!

The same family gave Jonathan this giggling gorilla. He's enjoyed making the gorilla giggle and shake.


Yes, Katelyn made sure Captain got a present. She found an ear warmer in the winter hat basket and thought it would make a good neck warmer for Captain. He was a very tolerant pup and wore it for most of the morning.

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas!

The stockings are hung...

The lights are strung...

And the gingerbread cookie baking has begun...

Each year there are certain traditions that take place in the Jackson household. The children's Christmas stockings are special in that all but the last three have been handmade by Wayne. (I made Wayne's the first year we were married.) Katelyn's stocking project has become a multi-year project. It's a very complex counted cross-stitch pattern and this year he passed the major milestone of completing her name. He tells me that after completing this stocking, he thinks I should tackle the next two. I tell him that I can't break the tradition of his making the stockings for each child. All in all, the youngest 3 are very patient with their 'store bought' stockings. The older ones are the most vocal about the 'poor little guys' not having a handmade stocking yet.

Next year we hope to have the front steps rebuilt, but for now the snow is beginning to do a good job of hiding the piles of stones waiting for that project.

It's not Christmas for Matthew until we do gingerbread cookie baking. This afternoon I came home from work to find Matthew and Ian busy in the kitchen trying to correct a very sticky batch of cookie dough. They soon had the problem solved with additional flour. Soon gingerbread men, trees, stars, and just about every other cookie cutter shape, were coming out of the oven and being protected from 'starving' children. Each of the other kids had their turn helping Matthew in the process, but I wasn't quick enough with the camera to catch them.

Tomorrow brings bread baking and cinnamon roll preparation for Christmas morning and then the Christmas Eve church service. I love the sights, smells, and sounds of Christmas and each year our time together as a family is more and more precious.

Mid-December!

I can't believe that it's already the middle of December...and I still haven't got my packages out! I got the cards out this morning, and hopefully, the packages will go tomorrow (or the next day!). It's a good thing I have an understanding family!


The little guys are so excited about Christmas. We set up the tree Sunday and they had a great time decorating it. This year we have a train going around the base of the tree so 2 little boys are very happy about that.

Our family has been dealing with the stomach bug--5 down; 4 to go. Nothing like a good stomach bug to force you to rest when you least want to.

I did finish the back and front of Wayne's sweater...hmmm...I wonder if he'd settle for a vest this Christmas. He's not pressuring me to finish the sweater by the 25th, but I sure would like to have it finished by then. I also have to spin up some yarn to go with someone's gift....and make some goat's milk fudge...and do the baking. Maybe the sweater will be a Happy 2009 gift.

Thanksgiving every day

You don't realize how much you take for granted until you find yourself in a position where your whole life may be turned upside down. This a.m. Wayne told me he was having chest pain with it radiating down his left arm. Matthew was quickly told he had 'child duty' and we were on our way to the hospital. The road to the hospital never seemed so long and all the 'what ifs' were bouncing around in my brain. We arrived at the ER and they hurried Wayne right in and hooked him up for an EKG. After many tests the doctor determined that Wayne was not having a heart attack and that there seems to be a nerve being pinched in his upper chest/arm causing the symptoms. Today's adventure made me think about how much we tend to worry about 'little' things, but when something 'big' happens, you realize just how 'little' those other things are. How thankful I am that Wayne is home and doing okay...still in a bit of discomfort, but nothing like earlier this a.m. It's another Thanksgiving day in the Jackson home.

Long neglected blog...

The days have been filled with busyness. For Thanksgiving I baked 12 dozen crescent rolls--selling 7 dozen and somehow the rest disappeared. Wayne set up this picture on thanksgiving day. The gourds, pumpkin, and yarn are 'fruits of the farm'. We had a nice, quiet Thanksgiving dinner.

This is Ian 'horsing around' in a costume Gramma Jackson found for the kids.

I very rarely get a close-up picture of Marc without farm animals involved--not that there is anything wrong with farm animals though!

The Other Part of Owning a Dog...

Katelyn has been very good about caring for her dog. She loves playing with him and his toys. There is one part of dog ownership that has been a struggle...taking him out early in the a.m. before he has an accident in the house. The other day I looked out the window to see my stylish dressed daughter and her dog...I thought I'd share the moment with you.

Where's the time flying?

I tried downloading a neat picture that Wayne took of Canadian geese flying over the farm, but the computer is not cooperating. Instead of postponing an update, I decided to add a post without a pic.

I can't believe we're in the middle of November already! My boss is going on vacation next week and won't be back in the office until after Thanksgiving so I know the rest of the month will fly by since I'll be putting in more work hours.

Yesterday, being Veteren's Day, was declared a holiday from the routine schoolwork. We processed our first Twilight goat milk soap (milk from Marc's doe). I just finished cutting it into smaller bars and now we let it cure for 3-4 weeks. Hopefully, it'll be a successful batch.

Twilight is not taking to milking very well. She does fine as long as there's grain in the feeder, but as soon as she sucks down that grain she starts dancing around, which makes milking 'interesting' to say the least! Poor Wayne...he joined the Air Force to get away from milking and here he is back to milking again--only this time it's a goat and not cows. Marc tries, but when she starts dancing around Wayne takes over.

I've been busy spinning and knitting. I spun 5 oz. of brown alpaca for a co-worker. I cleaned out my craft room and found lots more carded fleece so I have no excuse for not spinning more frequently.

After attending Rhinebeck I decided to try my hand at knitting mittens that are lined with wool fleece...or in my mittens, alpaca fleece. They came out quite nice. I'll try to get a picture for the next blog. I'm also tackling a BIG project--a sweater for Wayne. I haven't made a sweater for anyone since Matthew was about 18 months old so I'm a bit rusty. I've picked a fairly easy pattern though (at least that's how it's described!) so I'm hopeful that it will come out wearable. I'm hopeful that it'll be finished by December 2009!

Kids in Costume

Our kids enjoy dressing up throughout the year. Years ago one of our neighbors told me she could tell what period of history we were studying by the costumes Nathanial was wearing!

The three youngest got out the costume suitcase the other night and Katelyn tried to organize a play. The boys didn't cooperate very well, but we enjoyed the performance.

Here Jonathan declares that he is a sheep. Nathanial would be horrified to find out how 'baa-ttered' his former powdered wig has become over the years.

Rhinebeck

This weekend is a big event in the fiber world...Rhinebeck...which is where the NY State Wool and Fiber Festival is held. The festival has dozens of vendors and displays all featuring some aspect of fiber processing. It's a feast for the eyes and a source of inspiration for new projects and ideas. Last year was my first time at Rhinebeck. We had hoped that Wayne would be able to attend with me this year, but the ride is too much for his back. He encouraged me to go without him.

Rhinebeck, NY is on the other side of the Catskill Mountains and the Hudson River. The drive is beautiful anytime of year, but yesterday it was gorgeous with the fall colors. If I had had a camera with me, it would have taken me a lot longer than the 2 hours because I would have stopped to take dozens of pictures.

I arrived right around 9 a.m. The line to the fairgrounds was about 1/2 a mile long, but they moved the cars in rapidly. By the time I left, the parking area held 100's of cars and at least 12 buses. I was glad I got there early!

It took a great deal of self-control, but I only bought 1 pound of fiber to spin, a book, and a couple of things for the girls for Christmas. It was a wonderful day of being with fiber people and I have all sorts of ideas for new projects for the months ahead. Now to find the time!

On the Wings of An Eagle

We have the privilege of living in an area where bald eagles are a common sight. Lately they've been flying over the house more often and Matt was able to get this picture. God has used the eagles to remind me in the midst of the struggles with Wayne's health and workers' comp frustrations of His promise in Isaiah 40:31..."Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary." Whenever I look up and see one soaring overhead, gliding in the air currents, I thank God for the strength to face whatever comes and look forward to a time when we'll soar and not be tired and weary. What a hope...what a blessing.

Cooks in the Kitchen

Nathanial had a four day weekend for Columbus Day. He invited a fellow dorm resident to come home with him since Sam couldn't go home for the long weekend. Sam is from India...not a trip to be made in a long weekend!

Sam told me that he likes to cook and he would enjoy cooking for our family. He made a delicious shrimp dinner for us on Sunday and then another wonderful chicken dinner on Tuesday. We have been thoroughly spoiled by having authentic Indian food! Sam is preparing Tuesday's meal in this picture and Nathanial also pitched in with the prep work.

Our kids surprised us...they ate the Indian food and actually enjoyed it! (Are these the same children who are so picky over some of my experiments with new recipes?!)

Leaves, leaves, leaves

The kids have been busy raking the leaves and having fun in the process...

Gourd Harvest

With the killing frost we received the other night, it was time to harvest the gourds. It was like a treasure hunt discovering the unusual shaped gourds hidden under the leaves and intertwined in the cornstalks. Maybe next year we'll get those trellis frames built for the gourds to spread out on, but this year they made their way into the corn and up into a birch tree that is near the garden. Here are 2 of the biggest gourds we harvested.

And this is what Matthew has been working on with last year's crop. This is his "practice gourd" where he has experimented with different woodburning tips and techniques.

Autumn Days

The autumn days are filled with preparing for the cold winter months. We clipped the goat's hoofs, gave the alpacas their shots (and decided for another day to trim toenails since I was tired out from the wrestling match with Mystifier during the injection), groomed the rabbits and trimmed their claws. In the afternoon Matt helped me dismantle the potato tire garden. We were very disappointed to only find a handful of potatoes in one of the 3 stacks. I think we should have layered in some straw with the soil and compost to help with the moisture since the bottom 2/3 of each tower was very dry. We'll try again next year. I'm very thankful that we didn't plant all our potatoes using this method.

We found another group of tomato plants hiding under the gourd plants...they were rogue plants, but the tomatoes are beautiful. So-o-o we'll be making more batches of salsa this week. We're really amazed by all the gourds we keep finding hidden under the leaves and in the cornstalks. Some of them are huge. When we harvest them I'll post pics of our crop.

Wayne did some carding of alpaca fleece for me this week so I'll have a steady supply for spinning. This is Flashdancer's fleece. Jonathan thought it was great fun to help Dad.

The kids have been enjoying the fall weather and leaves. They rake up big piles of leaves which the 2 youngest love to spread all over the lawn again.

Captain was so photogenic that I had to include this cute pic of him. Last night Jonathan fell asleep on the loveseat. Captain decided that Jon had picked a pretty comfy place to rest so he climbed up and fell asleep too.

Our Fireman

Jonathan loves everything about firemen and firetrucks. He has mastered the fine art of becoming a fire siren in a split second...often at less than desirable times!

Our friends the Wyckoffs learned of his fascination. Today, John gave our Jon a treasured gift...his old firecoat and helmet.

Jonathan is going around the house with his coat and helmet on saying "I'm fireman Jonathan. Don't play with fire!" He eagerly shows off his new wardrobe to everyone and explains that "Mr. John gave me my fire coat!" Ian was happy to take up Jonathan's "toy" helmet so now we have two firemen in the house...hopefully, we'll only have the one "siren"!

Apple Picking

On Wednesday we (Marc, Rachael, Katelyn, and I) went apple picking in Leonardsville. The day was beautiful...perfect for picking apples.

Katelyn didn't enjoy the lon-n-ng ride. When we got there she asked us if her face was as green as she felt. Once we got out of the car and into the orchard she felt a bit better.

Last May/June we had hail storms. Unfortunately the orchards were heavily damaged. The apples were left with deep scars. The orchard reduced it's prices drastically to try to salvage the remaining crop. We came home with a trunk full of delicious apples.

The scenery was an added treat.

Boys and the Goats

A favorite activity these days is to go hang out with the goats. Marc is so proud of his new farm stock.

Jonathan and Ian think it's great fun to play on the logs with Little Creek. He jumps and skips around with them making them laugh so hard. It's such a blessing seeing our little boys enjoy life on the farm.

Wonders of Nature

Wayne found a caterpillar and Jonathan was fascinated with it. They looked it up in our caterpillar field guide and found the moth that it would become. Jonathan loves watching butterflies and moths. He was so happy to get up close with the caterpillar for a bit and then let it go to become a moth.

Captain gets a haircut

Today I tried my hand at

dog grooming...Captain was my first 'victim'. He did a great job and was very patient with me. At least now we can see his beautiful eyes. Katelyn told me that I cut his 'eyebrows' too short, but other than that I did 'okay'. Matthew tells me that it's true that sometimes dogs and their owners look alike...Katelyn usually has long bangs and her hair hangs down by her face--just like Captain. If that's true, maybe it's time to trim Kate's bangs again.

Tarp Crop

The tarps had to come out of storage this evening to cover over the veggies in the garden due to a frost warning. The tomatoes, broccoli, green peppers and 2nd planting of lettuce are under this cover. More tomatoes are covered on the other end of the garden. Pumpkins were harvested today. There are LOTS of gourds hidden throughout the garden. We're going to have lots of fun discovering the unusual shapes and sizes once we can see under all those vines. I'll be sure to add some pictures when those are harvested.

The wood that Wayne's dad cut up for us while visiting in August has made its way into the new woodshed. There's still some to be stacked, but the kids have worked hard to get this much split and stacked this afternoon.

The past couple of weeks have been filled with salsa making and canning, dehydrating tomatoes and summer squash, harvesting/blanching/freezing carrots, and digging potatoes. So far we've harvested a couple bushel potatoes. We still have to harvest our experimental potato tire garden. In the spring we read that you can stack old tires as the potatoes grow and keep covering them over with soil/compost. At the end of the season you're supposed to harvest more than you get with the traditional method. We'll let you know the results when we dismantle the tire towers.

The goats are doing well. Little Creek was 'disbudded' last week and is busy rubbing his head on anything that'll hold still. His dying little horns must itch like crazy. He looked pretty strange where the vet shaved his head before using the disbudding tool. We all enjoy watching the little guy's antics on the logs in the pen. Jonathan loves to go into the pen and play with him. At least we know where Jonathan is when he's in the goat pen!

Kids on the Farm

There's a lot of entertainment on the farm these days with the newest kid on the farm...