Yesterday afternoon, Melita started pacing the pasture and under the "barn". She would stop and let out occasionally little whines.

Pic of her "babies in her tummy"!

Round' 7pm Melita kicked out a nest.

(See her using her hoof to dig?)

Laying down, she is either stretching her back (to get babies in place)

OR having a contraction. She was whiney and would stop chewing her cud to be still (like the above pic) for bout' 2 minutes, then start back on her cud again.

She then would turn her head around and TALK to her babies!!!!!

IT was SOOOO sweet!!! She would move her head up and down and talk....encouraging them, I guess....we are just as impatient as she is! ;)

MY dad loves me SOOOOOO much,

when he woke up at 3am he went out and checked on Melita.

He told mom, "If something happens to Melita or the babies,

Jess will be SO sad.";)

Thank you dad! I love you too! <3

When mom and I woke up, we checked on her and she was ready to start the day (and get out of her stall). No babies yet.

We will keep you posted.

Homeschooling...how we learn...

My family only has one student left (I graduated when I was 17 in 03' and my other brother at 17 in 04')...my "baby" brother (17) spends 1 hour (little more, little less depending on day) sitting and doing a unit study with my mom, it's been this way since he was 9. HE LOVES doing school with mom. And he loves the unit study they do. He loves to learn. It was suggested recently he give up his unit study and just do life skills alone and he said, no thank you, I like how we are doing things.

When he is done with school for the day, he does his choring around our "farm" and is off making things, removing trees off the property, making bow and arrows, climbing trees, wrestling (hill billy kung fu style) with my brother, Justin (20), training his mandarin ducks, digesting tons of history books, reading God's Word, doing pullups, running laps and doing all sorts of things around our home. When out and about, he is constantly passing out gospel tracts and being gentlemanly to my mom and I (opening doors, lifting heavy bags, etc.).

To us, learning isn't just books. It's life.

When I did school I could stay all day in what I was learning and would find myself more activities and research to do. I worked on my own and used Far Above Rubies unit study in my highschool years.

Justin hated school (thanks to his first couple of years in public school) and didn't apply himself to books. What he has learned by experience (building things, working with my dad, etc.) has far exceeded what any book could of taught him. You do not need homeschool curriculum to learn, all us children are a testament to this fact! :)

We met a homeschool family this past year that spent $1,000 on their homeschooling curriculum (for 3-ish children) PER year and mom and I's mouth dropped. That is a lot of money. Mom homeschooled for 10 years so far and we have not even spent $1,000 on our education.

No matter how long you spend doing school each day, I believe, as a family, it's important for learning to be fun. Learning should not be confined to the pages of textbooks. Learning cannot be a forced thing. SO many homeschooling moms stress out when lil' ones are not grasping concepts. They FORCE and push their children to do school work and get angry when the children don't perform like they want them to.

Homeschool momma', if your life is busy and hectic....examine what your doing. ARE YOU rushing away your children's precious years of learning with too many homeschooling functions, sports and social events? Are you too busy? Do you prod your children through their work? Do you get upset with them when they score and test badly? Do you compare them to other children who are doing better?

If yes to any of the above, examine yourself....it's not your children, it's you. Momma, if your like this, you are no better then public school.

*Note I am not saying if you tell your child to do something and they don't you shouldn't have them obey....when I say "force children to do their school work" I simply mean that some homeschool families have a rigorous schooling schedule and if lil sally is behind and does math too long, momma gets upset she isn't comprehending and pushes Sally harder to keep on track.

IF you tell your child to do something and they don't do it, you have a heart issue on your hands, not a learning issue. http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/ (great child training advice!)

Melita update

Melita is getting closer to delivery day! Her udder is filling out more and she is really, really wide! Pretty soon we will have some goatie kids here!I think she will have 3 babies. :) I already have names for a boy and a girl. I love the name Rosh Johanan for a boy (which sadly, if I get a buck kid, will be putting up for sale...) and for a lil girl...Eliana Cassia or Eliana Tikvah. I also like...Adriyel for a buck which means "Of God's flock" and Avichayil for a lil girl which means "gives joy". :o) Rosh Adriyel would be nice. :) Are u laughing at me? Don't worry your not alone...my family has to put up with my goat's names too...I told my parents that Rosh is a nice name for a future grandson (and I am serious) and dad always says, "What did u say...rash?" ;)

Most everyone always names their children names that sound nice but lack meaning. Ain't that boring? Least' I will get the pleasure of naming my "kids" (goat ones atleast!) meaningful, hebrew names! :o)

Currently...
Melita Zipporah means "Honey, sweet beauty"
Milcah Jael means "Queen mountain goat"
Chava Noelle means "Life,Christmas"

Chava's middle name is not hebrew..I thought it sounded pretty together. Melita first name is greek and is from her last family. What is so neat is they live up to their names! Melita is SO sweet! Milcah while currently not the queen is the ONLY goat I have that acts like a mountain goat....she climbs on top of everything and stomps around the yard like a lil queenly goat! ;) Chava is VERY full of life and is SO spunky! (not sure where Christmas comes in at... ;) hehe

Pics of Melita's ever expanding belly to come soon! Aren't babies exciting? (goat kind and human!) :o)

Thrift store find!

WE love to go thrift storing! :)

Look at one of mom's finds today....


Pretties! :) We call our good eatin' ware "pretties"! We have a special shelf for pretties and Jasi (my 3 year old cousin) even puts her little porcelin tea set pretties on the shelf. ;) hehe

She found the Johnson Brothers Hearts and Flowers tableware...6 dinner plates, 8 teacups, 8 saucers, 4 cereal bowls, 9 bread and butter plates....for guess how much????? Just under $12!!!!

GUESS how much they are for replacements online??? For ONE dinner plate it is $22.99!!!!

Doesn't that make ya want to go thrift storing right now!!! :)

What's fer' dinner?

My cooking, I will admit, can be dangerously funny, as well as educating!

My first cooking attempt was when I was 12. I made brick biscuits more then once. Dad said they were so hard, they could be used as lethal weapons to drop on enemies. I learned there is a difference between baking soda and baking powder.


When I was 18, I once made brownies that contained a broken kitchen-aid piece in them (it fell in unknowingly to me!) and served them to a dear friend! She bit on the brownie nearly broke her tooth (okay, that's a lil exagerated...)...I learned the value of true friendship (Thanks, Angela, for still eating my cooking!)


When I 19, I once didn't wash the lettuce I cut from the garden good enuf and as we ate our taco salad, I picked up on my fork an interesting lookin'....leaf?....worm!!!!!!!! We all lost our appetites and I learned to take my time with washing lettuce.


When I was 20, I left the kitchen-aid on 10 (I like to run things to their fullest capacity...the sewing machine included....that is one reason why I have yet to learn to drive ;)...anyway I left the kitchen aid on 10 and went out the door to grab the laundry off the line thinking I could be faster then the mixer....when I came back in, mom and Jon had come down the stairs at break neck speed and were wondering if I was okay...."Yah' I am ok....why?".....in the floor lay the kitchen-aid...it had wobbled off the counter and crashed! :) Thankfully, it was fine (just left a cut in the vinyl floor) and my bread dough was unharmed! :) My lesson was to make sure when I run the kitchen aid on HIGH it's on a level surface!

I use to hate to cook. I think it was due to all my bad experiences of plundering recipes. Mom forced me to learn to love it! (Thank you mom!) 2 years ago, mom said I needed tweaking in the cooking department....Mom just told me tonight, now your ready for marriage....all you need to know now is to learn how to play the piano better....then you will be accomplished. I got this feeling though....once I get the piano down (I am thinking I will get it down this month! ;) hehe...she will come up with another task I need to tackle....hehe I know her sneaky ways (she is sitting beside me as I type this grinning ear to ear....that confirms it! ;)

Okay, tonight I made some lentil burgers! I call them Make-do Burgers as I lacked ingredients, so I came up with my own. You can substitute too and add on to my recipe or change it if your family isn't fond of certain things! That is the fun thing about cookin'!


Make-Do Burgers

Make-do Burger served with broccoli and not so healthy fries!

2 cups dried lentils
8 cups of water
2 cups of finely crushed natural crackers
1 large onion tinsily diced
4 heaping TBSP of horseradish
3 cloves of garlic minced
3/4 TBSP soy sauce
4 TBSP Mustard

Cook lentils in water 40 minutes (or until soft) on low/med. Drain and then add rest of ingredients. NOW comes the fun part....squish (with your clean hands) the lentils and other goodies and make sure everything combines! This would be a fun thing for younger children (with clean hands) to help with! ;) IF time allows, stick in fridge so it isn't so wiggly. Put butter in a skillet and using an icecream scoop, scoop mixture and plop in pan (then using the back of scooper shape into a patty). Fry on each side 10 minutes. The burgers harden as they cool (they are a lil' smooshy, but the taste is better then any veggie burger u buy in the store and cheaper too!)


Note: My dad and Justin (brother) ate 2 each and liked um'!


Sandwich Buns

2 cups hot water
4 1/2 tsp yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 TBSP salt
1/3 c. oil
1/3 c. milk
1 cup wheat bran
3-5 c. unbleached white flour

Prepare like normally like you do bread, except shape into patty size rolls and let rise 45-1hour in warm place. Bake 375* for 15-20 min.

IF your looking for the piggy post, scroll one down and then come on back up here! ;)

Found the below info. on a board that I am on...THIS is important! We should not have to tell the goverment what animals we own. Communistic? Yah' sure is! (And I do know where it's leading...one world goverment in the long run...just like the BIBLE prophesies, but that does not mean I have to take it sitting down. :)

"USDA plans to use breed associations to force NAIS registrations, beginning as early as March 2008, less than two months from now. USDA's Business Plan calls for breed registries to start using an official Animal Identification Number, or "AIN" in their registry. And since you must first register your property in NAIS before you can obtain an AIN, this could effectively implement the first two stages of NAIS for anyone in those registries!The breed registries for cattle, horses, sheep, and goats are potential targets, but the Plan does not indicate which breed registries have agreed to implement NAIS.Take Action: Contact your breed association or other livestock registry and find out if it will be implementing USDA's Plan.

Ask the registry:-Do you plan to require members to use the USDA's 15-digit Animal Identification Number (AIN) to enter or maintain animals in your registry?
-Do you plan to require members to use the State's or USDA's premises registration system in order to obtain a breed registration number?

-Can you please confirm the registry's intentions in writing?

Tell them that you do not want them to be a tool for implementing the government's plan for NAIS!

Next Steps:If they plan to force their members into NAIS, consider finding another association to meet your needs if possible. If you do leave your association, be sure to tell them why. Spread the word! If you find out that your breed association plans to force NAIS on its members, tell all the people you know who are in that association or considering joining. Post to the online groups that focus on your type of animal. Let people know how the association is working against the best interests of its members. Email us to let us know what your breed association says. We'll post a list of organizations that are requiring NAIS and those that aren't.More Information The USDA published its Business Plan in December of last year. You can download the Plan at http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/Government-documents. The Plan sets aggressive targets for implementation of NAIS. One of the strategies for achieving those goals is "harmonization" among various systems that already use individual identification. Harmonization involves changing the existing programs so they use the NAIS-compliant Animal Identification Numbers (AIN's). (Plan, pp.28-29). As part of its harmonization strategy, USDA lists having breed registries begin using NAIS AIN's in March 2008, less than two months from now. (Plan, p.52). The AIN is a 15-digit internationally unique identification number. It starts with "840" which identifies the animal as coming from the US. (Plan, p.30). In order to get an AIN under NAIS, you have to register your property ("premises registration" under the NAIS plan). The legal effect of this registration is unknown, because there has been nothing like it before - permanent federal registration of citizens' property, linked to an issue (animal ownership) that carries potential liabilities. With this harmonization strategy, USDA plans to use our private associations to force livestock, poultry, and horse owners to register their property and tag their animals under a government program, despite the continued protests of animal owners across the country."

Elderly Virginians Arrested for Selling His OWN Pork!

Yep, you read the header right. Butchering your own pig meat and selling it in VA is against the law.

Think about it...

WHO would YOU rather BUY from?

A small farmer who sells fresh and natural pig's meat locally to local people on his OWN land and cares for each animal individually. The to-be bacon lives in the open in a natural environment rooting with it's snout looking for things to eat. (Pigs LOVE to use their snouts to root!)

OR

A CORPORATION whose object is MASS-PRODUCTION MEAT. The to-be bacon lives in giant, warehouse-like sheds, until they reach a slaughter weight of 250 pounds at 6 months old. They live on concrete packed in with many other pigs or in tiny lil' metal cages until butchering day.

Which pig would you like to eat?

Which pig is healthier to eat?

Free range piggy...

Mass production piggy...

And ya know, it doesn't stop with pigs. The eggs you buy in stores are processed the same way, as is the turkey and the chicken.

Below is my family's free range happy pets
that give us healthy eggs everyday!

USDA and FDA approved housing conditions at an egg factory!

Would you like that scrambled or fried?

What is it the the meat industry and keeping our food in tiny yucky cages and dark stinky warehouses?

Why is it the USDA and FDA think that it's okay to keep our food in unsanitary and unnatural conditions? Yet, the small guy with that serves his community, by offering an alternative to the hormone injected meat from Walmart, is treated like a criminal?



Article on the elderly couple arrested for selling illegal piggy....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/19/AR2007101902757.html

Picture gallery of more commericial food...(NOTE: I do not support the animal rights movement, I do think animals should be treated humanely, but they are for comsumption. So the agenda on the below link is not my own. :)
http://www.factoryfarming.com/gallery/pens3.htm

WHAT did we do on Christmas day (and the weekend before)?

THE GOAT BARN!

<---Before the guys added on~ (horrible pic :) In the process of putting windows in....
Almost completed "barn" :o) Dad, Justin and Jon did good huh? Painting was done by me! :) I will barter paint jobs for dairy goat supplies! ;) If your out of state, you must be willing to move your painting job closer. ;)

Side view of the new add on...we have trim, a gutter and rain barrel to add on and also a moveable stall to create.
Pregnant Melita inspects the new barn. :)

How much did our add-on cost us? $50 so far! Dad is a deal guy and finds slightly warped wood at lowes and they sell it to him 10cent on the dollar! (plywood sheets, 2 by 4s, etc!) Us Terry's are deal and treasure finders, if I do say so myself. ;) The shutters on the windows are from a barn we, as a family, treasure hunted in (see blog archives as I think I mentioned the barn treasure hunt before).

More posts to come soon.
Jessica