An Even Bigger Surprise...

This morning Katelyn went out to the barn to do her chores and came back in with a quizzical look on her face. "Dad, did we get another goat yesterday that I didn't know about?"

"No...why?"

"I think Mavis had a baby during the night." Wayne got his coat on and went to the barn.  Sure enough, we had a new kid in the barn cuddled up against 'Bit of Honey' the merino/cormo ram. 

The 2 youngest are discussing names, but from what I hear, Marc has decided on a movie character's name "Dwalin" (from the Hobbit). 

By all accounts (especially the blat!) this little guy is strong and healthy.

I think we better go check on those other goats to see if any other surprises may be arriving.

Surprises...

Each Monday Jonathan has adaptive aquatics (swimming lessons one on one for special needs children) with his instructor Sandy.  Ian wanted to have swimming lessons, too, but since he has always had an aversion to water in his face, we weren't ready to invest in swimming lessons until he could get his face wet without screaming.  Sandy told him to come with Jonathan each week and she'd let him spend time in the shallow end of the pool to 'get used to the water' while she worked with Jon.  Over the weeks Ian would get a little braver and try some of the suggestions Sandy made.  A couple of weeks ago Sandy had her underwater camera at the pool and took some pictures of the boys.  As you can see, Ian isn't having any problems with his face getting wet!  This last Monday while working with Jonathan, Sandy asked Ian if he'd like to try touching the bottom of the pool while using the 'fireman pole'.  Ian agreed and did his best, but his ears bothered him as he went down.  Sandy then suggested that he try swimming to the ladder (about 6 feet away) while staying along the edge of the pool so he could grab hold of the side if he needed to take a break.  He swam to the ladder and asked if it was okay for him to try to swim to the end of the pool (at the 11 foot deep end!).  She nodded and as I watched in amazement, Ian swam to the end of the pool with just a couple of stops to catch his breath.  He's now telling me that he thinks he's ready to try the diving board!  I guess we don't have any more excuses for him not to take 'official' swimming lessons.  (I can't seem to get the picture to load right but you can get the idea...)












On Valentine's Day we received another surprise.  Wayne had been talking to the salesman we have purchased our last few vehicles from about the possibility of finding a replacement for our van.  I have put a LOT of miles on the faithful van and we were beginning to see a need for more frequent garage 'visits'.  The salesman had a van that was a year newer than our current van with a LOT less miles and features that would make our many trips more comfortable and less 'worrisome' for Wayne when I was out transporting children here and there.  They had a perspective buyer for our current van.  By the end of the day, the decision had been made...we were getting the new van and by Friday evening the new van was in the driveway.  I asked Wayne how he was going to top this gift next Valentine's Day. 

January passed...and then February...

I had hoped to have new pictures of a freshly painted and cleaned shop by now, but that hasn't happened.  After a month of waiting and scurrying to get all the necessary paperwork to the insurance company, the landlord's insurance company contacted us Thursday and denied any coverage to any of the artisans displaying their wares in the shop. (It's a long, discouraging story that I won't bore you with.)  If you're in the market for insurance, we can tell you which company NOT to do business with!

Soooo that left us with a store full of very dirty inventory needing to be removed asap so the store can be cleaned.  Today several of the artisans and some friends converged on the store and removed more than half of the inventory.  Tomorrow afternoon there will be another group finishing the task.  Our garage is full of furnishings needing to be cleaned, the porch has merchandise to be sorted and considered for potential cleaning, the mudroom has boxes of office supplies and pottery to be sorted and cleaned, and the laundry room is busy washing fabrics used for displays and clothes dirtied from working in a sooty store all day.

It would be very easy to view all of this through 'soot-tinted glasses' but last night we met with the majority of the artisans and were blessed by their positive attitudes and encouragement to learn from our mistakes and move forward--together.  There have been tears and frustration, but the laughter and hugs of support have brightened the difficult days.   The masking tape sticking to the rubber gloves while trying to secure protection around a framed print had us all laughing as the poor victim couldn't get her hands apart.  Removing a dust mask to have a clearly delineated area of the soot from the protected area gives a source for many jokes.  Locking the keys to a borrowed neighbor's truck IN the truck...on the front seat...in clear view left me a bit chagrined. (the other set of keys were with our neighbor who was out of town for the day)
 Now at the end of the day, the neighbor's truck is back in its garage, the day is winding down, and after spending the afternoon with a great bunch of people, I can say, we are truly blessed.  More hard days are ahead, but as one of the other ladies stated today, "This is a blessing in disguise and we will see that blessing in the end."  Until then we'll keep pressing and finding the things to laugh about in the midst of the soot.