Countdown to fair!!!

 

The state inspector came out today to test the out of control chicken population we have now for fair!! He was shocked at the fact we have 16 chickens now. I believe they will all test fine but it is a requirement for them to enter the fair. The kids were in school so I had to chase down 8 hens and 1 rooster, hold them while he stuck a cotton swab in their throat and then stuck a vein under the wing to get blood. I was cover with blood afterwards! One day my kids will love me for the little things I do. :)

 

We have a busy couple weeks ahead. The kids have a Critter Crew 4H meeting tonight to vote on officers, Brooke has a district 4H meeting Thursday and this weekend hopefully start the dreaded science project of Brooke's.

 

Next week is full of drill team, mandatory fair meetings, 4H meeting, open house for school, District 4H officer training, coastal cleanup and shaving sheep and goats for sheep and goat show. Me and Tony have homework and tests to fit in somewhere and maybe try to sleep at some point!! Love this time of year though because it is so much fun. I love my busy life because it means my kids are having fun!!

 

 

Horse Judging

The horse judging went really well. Brookes team backed out at the last minute so she had to judge by herself. She was able to go for an individual score. She didn't mind at all and she had a really good time.

The had 8 classes total that they had to judge. She scored perfect on 3 of them. this was her first time judging and I thought she did really well for her first time. She had a total score of 394 out of 450.

The most exciting thing was that one of the horses they were judging was a horse that we had owned! It is Danny. We had started breaking him so that Brooke could have him but we discovered he had a disorder called HYPP. It caused him to have really bad seizsures so we gave him to a home that was going to put him to pasture. Apparently that didn't happen! He looked really good.

Kittys Last Show

Last weekend brooke went to her 4H horse show and showed Kitty for the last time. Brooke won all 3 of the classes she went in and had a good time. She will continue to ride her in drill team and trail ride her till I finish my classes in May. At that point we will take her to my moms and bring home Stan, Brookes new horse.

 

This is Stan. he seems to be a really good boy. Brooke has been going up and riding him at my moms and just waiting to bring him home. He needs alot of riding and working with so that is why Brooke has to wait till I finish my classes. I have the whole summer off so we will have plenty of time to really check him out. I am hoping this horse works out this time!!!

 

 

Ashlyn has already gone to her first horse show with Willow. She is so excited to go to another one. I think she will be going in April. She doesn't seemto be as serious at it as Brooke but we will see if it starts to grow on her! She loves to just ride and have fun. Thats fine with me if thats all she wants to do!

 

We are off to our first weekend of State Fair Saturday. Brooke has horse judging contest for 4H. She seems to really enjoy doing it. Be back next week for updates!

 

Long Time No See

 

So it has been a while since I have posted! I tried the whole Facebook thing but to tell you the truth I don't like it so much. I started it so I would know what I was doing when Brooke got it but she doesn't want it now so I am going to start backing away from it. I just don't feel like I can relax about my stuff on there!

Anyway, things are getting busy around here. I am on week 4 of school and it is really tough. Anatomy just is not an easy class to get through! I am done with all the classes I needed for Radiography program so I am just taking classes to keep my student status with the college till I get accepted into the program. I am taking classes that go toward an AA degree since I may not get in the program first try.

In January I started couponing and it is so amazing! I can't believe how much money I have saved in 4 weeks. I calculated the costs and I saved $365 and only spent $347. My cabinets and freezer are really getting stocked on top of that! I can't believe how much I save and how much more food I have. It is really so easy that I wish I would have started this a year ago! My sister has helped me and pointed me in the right direction and I am so grateful for that.

This weekend we head to state fair for Brooke's horse judging competition and the following weekend we go for 3 days for the sheep show. Both kids are so excited and it will be like a mini vacation for us. My mom is going with us so she can experience all the fun with the kids.

Well that is all for now! I will try to come back more often to keep everyone up to date on whats going on with the kids!

Miracle Puppy

 

 

Leah is a true miracle! Sunday morning we woke up and Leah had no control of her back legs. She was swaying all over and if she tried to run she would fall down. She could not walk on the kitchen floor without falling. We decided to take her to Deland Animal Hospital. When we got there they looked her over and had asked if we had found any ticks recently. I told them no. I rub her everyday and have not felt anything. They were stumped over what it could be. The Dr said it could be GME. That is an immune disorder and the only way to find out is to go to the University to have an MRI and a spinal tap done. He sent us home and said to just watch her. We decided we would go to our Dr Monday morning and have him look at her. As the day progressed, she got worse. During the night she became completely paralyzed and her breathing was getting bad. I called my mom at 4AM and asked her to come watch my kids while me and Tony take her back to the hospital. I was convinced that she was going to have to be put down and I wanted to be with her when that happened. She is not as close to Tony as she is to me and I knew she would be scared. I then began to wake the kids up at 5:30 to explain to them that she was very sick and if they wanted they could come sit with her because I wasn't sure she would be coming back home. That was very hard!!!! I told Tony I wanted to sit in the back with her so I did. She layed on my lap and I just began rubbing her to comfort her. We got a few miles down the road when I felt something. It was a tick!!!! That's when I began to have a feeling of maybe she doesn't have to die today. When we got there we told them we found the tick and they immediately pulled it and began her on IV fluids, steroids and antibiotics. They said they would keep her till the next morning. We called at noon and they said she was not any better. I just had a feeling of doom! At 4:30 Tony called to check on her and the said oh yes you can come get her. Tony then asked if she was better and they said she can stand but is wobbly. He asked if she could walk and they said no. Another girl said she is really not any better than she was when you brought her this morning. We decided we were just going to get her and bring her home. So we got there and waited for along time. Finally they brought her in the room and she was running around!!!! Totally not what I was expecting from the phone call 2 hours prior! We took her outside and she ran all over their yard. It was a miracle.

I am so glad I sat with her and found that tick! If I had not done that we would have put her down. When we brought her home and she ran in the house the kids were so excited! They couldn't believe it. I have a huge vet bill but I don't really care. I have my puppy!!! She is so much part of our family that I can't imagine her not being here. Thank you Lord for allowing us to continue to enjoy her!

 

 

Summer is Over!

The summer is over and the kids are back to school. Most people are really happy their kids go back but not me, I have been very lonely! They are having a great time and love their teachers so far. Brooke has a huge work load this year. She is taking Algebra 1 honors, advanced civics, advanced science and spanish 1! She will be a busy girl for sure. All of these classes are high school credits and she is only in 7th grade.

We didn't do much for the summer but the kids ended the summer with a chicken clinic for 4H so they could learn more about chickens. Pretty much it was just to go because I don't think we really can learn anymore!!! Brooke got a new chicken that is only the size of a pigeon. She is so cute but has to stay in her own cage because the other chickens try to kill her. Her name is Lemon.

New chicken- "Lemon" sleeping during class

 

My friend Karin had to find a home for her 2 chickens so we offered to take them also. They are cute! They are Cochins and are only 5 months old but they are bigger than our laying hens so they will be giant for sure. I have a picture but for some reason it won't post right! It is sideways but here it is anyway! HAHA!

Weird I know but what can I do! Spotted one is Bobalena and black one is Cozy! I did not name them!!!

I start back to school on Monday and I am really nervous about this semester. Two of my hardest classes on top of fair time! I hope I can dissect that brain and eyeball without throwing up! I just keep telling myself it is only 15 weeks but that seems like a lifetime.

So not much else going on. Brooke starts the new show year September 8th and Ashlyn will start December 1st at her show. So I am praying it will all go well and they will be safe. Fair will be in November so it will all be a very busy few months.  I will try to keep up with posting but I'm not sure how good I will be at that!

Busy!

It's been so long since I last posted! It has just been a tough month and a half!

The babies are growing fast. We had a little set back though. We found out that they are not pure bred chickens so the kids can not show them! Becky made a mistake because she thought there had been enough time passed when she took the other rooster out of the pen but there must not have been. She gave the girls 2 pure breds of hers and ours went to live with my mom.

On Father's day Brooke's new horse, Summer, got sick. She coliced for 2 days and the vet said she needed surgery. We just couldn't afford to do it so I was going to put her down. They wanted me to wait but everyday she was sick was vet bills that were rising. The vets husband said he would take her and try and save her so thats what I did. She ended up living but we don't own the horse anymore. It was a huge blow to us! With purchase price, vet bills and other things done to her we have nearly $6000 in her that we have lost! I am still paying on the vet bill she incured while she was sick and I owned her so every week I have to pay on a bill that causes me to just be ill. I am just ready to move on and forget the whole thing. In the mean time we have brought Kitty back home and hopefully we can make her work for Brookes shows right now. There is noway I can get her another horse right now.

On top of all of that my truck blew its engine!!! I have been without it for 2 weeks now. They are putting 2 new heads on it this week I hope and maybe it will be done by next week. The guy that is working on it has been really good at trying to get us the best price for the fix. $1600 is what it will cost and we have been told that it is a good deal by other people.

So our summer plans have been really pushed to the side with all this set back. Now I am focusing on getting what the kids need for school. They start back August 20 and I start back August 27. It seems to be right around the corner! It has seemed like a really rushed summer and its getting b use so quick.

The kids bought a pool with their gift cards from Christmas so we have been chilling in there. Its nice to be able to cool off when its so hot!

I will try to post back soon!