First day of spring???or maybe NOT!!!!

I don't think it's looking much like spring around here...

Or FEELING like it, with -15 wind chills Wednesday morning, and temps hardly reached the mid teens-boy, winter just does not want to let go this year.

We are all ready for some warmer weather, and green grass again.

Buying a farm, and moving in the winter has made this feel like the longest winter on record for the Waughtals, and we have had more snow since we started moving than we had all last winter all together:)

Hopefully, it is a huge help to the ground water, drought conditions we have experienced in the past 12 months, but for the morale...not so good!!!

WHAT"S NEW????

WE MOVED!!!!!!!

I don't have any good pictures yet of the whole place, but this is the view out my kitchen door-a few weeks ago, before the last series of snow storms:)

And the house pictures I found, I am so glad Kendell took some of our moving process, because I have been so busy doing the move, unpacking, etc, that using a camera has been the last thing on my mind.

They are very accurate as to the mess we lived in while moving-boxes, and stuff, EVERYWHERE...and still, it just felt more roomy, and definitely lighter than where we were before.

AND, the children managed to settle in and dig out some of their toys and found ample places to sprawl out and enjoy each other while they began the "getting to know you" time of their new home.

I am amazed, in looking back, how far we have come in 1 month.

The house DOES look more homey now, less cluttered, and more organized, and there is a full basement, that we completely remodeled and finished off, that is our main "holding tank" for stuff that still needs a home, but our hope is that it will be the main play area once we have shelves up and "STUFF" is off the floor, and out of Isaac's path of destruction.

While there is still "little boy" mess in here, it seems so much more manageable when it isn't right around me and under me ALL the time. I feel I have more space to move, more space to put things, and THEY have much more space to play and push trucks, and ride trikes, and wear off energy than we had in 1 little room where we all were, ALL the time.

The next 2 pictures were our "temporary" sleeping quarters, while we waited for the 2 bedrooms to be complete.

The girls slept on mattresses on the floor in Kendell's room, and the boys slept on mattresses on the office floor.

They are all in their own beds now, but we don't have any pics of that yet-maybe Kendell will find some time soon???

It was all pretty cozy for awhile, but it sure beat the driving from 1 farm to another to milk the cows, and then going back after chores to fix meals and be mama.

Our cows have been here for over 6 weeks now.

We pieced a herd of 33 cows together from several sources, and while they aren't all going to make it thru the long haul, they are a good starting point, and they are putting milk in the tank, thus there IS a milk check coming in 2x a month:)

AND, we love having cows again.

We really ARE farmers at heart, as we just really love having cattle around again, and my 2 14 yr olds just love having the responsibility of milking each evening.

Things are going very well in the barn, and the increased activity level has been very good for Mama and Daddy's bodies too-WOW-pounds really drop, and muscles develop again, and THAT feels soooo good-so, an added BONUS to all the hard work that goes into making a farm work:)

We have mostly Black and White Holsteins-they make a lot of milk, and are easy to come by...



We have 1 Red and White Holstein-she is a favorite of Kendell's and Dad's, and we will try to find a few more...

We have 4 Jerseys, and we really like them-they are so little, and give such rich milk

and they come in different colors too...

She is SOOO dark compared to the lighter one above-can you tell we like variety??

and then, we have our beloved Brown Swiss...the breed we began farming with18 years ago, they are still my favorite...:)

Overall, I have to say, the adjustment has gone very well.

We had some grieving issues with Isaiah and Lili-they both really seemed to have some issues after the move, much like when we brought them home.

Isaac was soooo aware of what was going on, if Kendell would say, "do you want to go home?" he would get alll excited, clap his hands, and go running for his shoes.

He recognizes the road we turned onto each trip between farms, and he complains when we go past it now on our way into town-so cute, and so impressive that he is aware and comprehends-if only he had some words to express himself....

Actually the 3 little ones all recognize the roads, and they all have a bit of a time when we drive by our turn-off road-we are only 15 minutes away from the other farm, so we made that trip MANY times in the 2 months we took to move and start milking cows there, and while we always said, we are going to the "NEW" home, and they always got excited to GO, now that we STAY, it brings issues, and loss, and we have had to dig deep for added measures of grace in the midst of our physical tiredness and emotional stress to help them adjust.

Rose seems to have taken it all in stride. She likes the newness of the new house, and she doesn't seem too shook up about the move-sadly, I think it indicates HOW MANY times in her young life she has been moved from place to place.

Tyler misses all the adventure of the 136 acre farm-the bluff, the creek, the spring, and all the places we had to ride our Gator, yet he is very happy for spring to eventually get here so they can fully explore the land around here. Though we only have 20 acres, there is lots of woodland around us, and I think once we get to know the neighbors, there will be plenty of land for them to ride on, go for hikes, and hunt for all their treasures.

BUT, he loves being outside and helping with the chores, even though he is probably more tired than he has ever been before.

Nick and Kendell have varied responsibilites outside, and though I miss Kendell's help with the littles, she is LOVING being outside with the cows, and has new interest in bloodlines, breeding info, and the record-keeping side of the herd that I think will be a real blessing as she learns how to do some of the bookwork that goes along with owning cows.

Nick is really handling his work well, and loves the variety of things he does each day. He handles much of the feeding, bedding, etc... as Daddy still holds down a job and is not here every day.

I had better close for now, as it is chore time, and I need to get outside.

As I have been writing this post, it has reminded me, again, of why I do this-it is such a great way to keep a record of the things that go on in our lives, and such a great visual reminder of our lives, our famiy, and our home.

I NEED to do this more often-but my, the time issue...

Blessings

Chris, for all 9 of us