Thankful Be. an autumnal novel

 Hello friends

Seems I'm not around blogland much these days,

but I AM so THANKFUL for YOU!

Here's my novel.

Life on our farm has been very busy and immensely blessed lately.
(Guess I'm well on my way to 1000 gifts!)

I thought I'd share a few of my fav pics from the last few months...

  I went on field trips with both Jack and Sarah's classes.

Jack to the pumpkin patch and zoo, Sarah to the nature center.

Some poor little girl threw up on the bus w/us to the center...

Although she had already been sick that morning, her mommy had said she could go if she felt up to it...

Thus began our TEN DAYS of gross sickness here.

NOT thankful to that mom.

Except maybe that it gave me a chance to just  veg on the couch watching Harry Potter movies with the kids? :-)

 We went to a paint your own pottery place.

Contrary to their dying expressions, it was fun.

Sarah made a pink n purple unicorn to match her pillow pet.
Jack made me a black cat for my Halloween collection.

I made a plate with their handprints that reads;

You are my sunshine.

Sadly, it didn't turn out as bright and clear as I'd hoped.

As I often mention; I am a frustrated, wanna be artiste!

But more in keeping with my strengths...

I took several of my students to a cross country course to practice.

 Much fun was had by all. 

Especially with the wine n cheese party in the barn afterwards! 

 I rode a 4 yo ex racehorse new to life off the track. Sarah rode Piglet.

I was thrilled with everybody's efforts.

Especially 7 yo Sarah and 5 yo Piglet!

The Farmer was thrilled to finally get all his corn harvested and rye planted between rains.

He worked  l o n g  days n nights with just us family "helping!"

I was a proud farmer's wife driving this!

Guess not too many farmers take pictures of themselves with a pink phone in the tractor cab...

Oh well, I was so excited to be planting.

Until I learned that I hadn't...

A chain had broken and the seed hadn't gone in.

I was a sad farmer's wife then.

But our kids were happy (scary?) children of the corn!

Sarah really does wear her "Laura Ingalls" costume from last Halloween around the farm.

 all. the. time.

I wore that gingham dress nearly 20 years ago at my cousins country wedding.

yes. I am a hoarder who resists fashion change.

I just knew that sweet gingham would find another use. 

 After the early SNOW we played at Halloween parties dressed as
Winnie the Pooh n Kanga too.

 Can you believe several people thought she was Scooby Do?! 

So much for my costume design!  ;-P

Then Sarah got to wear Jack's old costume as a duck in her school performance...
"Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that type."

There is nothing cuter than 70 second graders.

 Each in their own unique homemade farm animal costume.
Nothing.

Jack initiated, completed and transported his own awesome craft.
He told me he had made a letter J out of wood up at Daddy's shop
(that's up a long drive).
He really wanted me to see it early the next morning.
I finally caved and allowed him to run up to the shop n bring it down before school...
I had no idea how H U G E it was.

I can't believe he wrestled it out and all the way down the drive by himself!
A piece broke off but that didn't deter him from painting it as soon as he returned from preschool.
My boy is determined and focused.

My family joined me to watch The Blessing of the Hunt performed by our own Pastor Helen.
It was a perfect day.

The Farmer volunteered that he'd really enjoyed it and could see himself hunting with me one day...
Praise be!

 The kids (big n small?) enjoyed using the manlift to remove a big bird's nest from the chimney.

The Farmer bought this used off Ebay 10 years ago and I must admit it's a very handy toy that has paid for itself more than once over!

We're now full into woodstove mode.

Both kids help us keep track of the temp and load firewood.
And make cocoa. And pudding.

We are snug. We are messy. 

We have zu zu pets n real pets. But apparently no matching PJs.

We are so blessed.

Wishing you all a glad Thanksgiving!

THANK YOU Veterans!!!

We are privileged to have had many friends and family who served. 

We are even more privileged to live in this Blessed Country.

THANKS to ALL who have served!

Round 'em up!

Jack LOVED this!

Cows + remote control trucks = 5 yo farm boy heaven.

Happy Halloween

 Okay, these perfect pics clearly aren't mine... They come from my dearest friend Lori's spankin' new blog.  (She promises to start uploading more of her great work. Especially if some kind comments prod her into action!) These are her adorable kiddos. She's hoping to start her own photography biz very soon. If you're in Michigan look her up, she's really talented and affordable!

Now, obviously, these are mine. They're worse because they are old and I couldn't edit them.  And I have no talent.

These were taken four years ago!

3 y.o. Sarah as Dorothy at the cellar doors

 1y.o. Jack as a (?) spider...

We're off now to the historic town down the road as Kanga n Pooh!

Happy Haunting friends!!!

Mad Moms March for Milk

What follows is an email alert I received.

Mothers to Break Raw Milk Transport Law

On November 1st 2011, a group of mothers will break the law against interstate transport of raw milk, then distribute the raw milk in front of the FDA headquarters in Silver Spring, MD. The FDA has already stated they will have federal enforcement agents present.

Contact: Liz Reitzig, Co-founder Farm Food Freedom Coalition LizReitzig@gmail.com 301.807.5063 http://www.FarmFoodFreedom.org/events.htm

"Don't Make Us Criminals Over Milk!" Demand Moms

Washington, DC-A group of mothers from across the country who feed their children raw milk will hold a demonstration on November 1 outside the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in Silver Spring, MD to protest the FDA's crackdown on raw milk production and distribution, arguing that the government's campaign not only criminalizes raw milk, but criminalizes American citizens who buy and consume it.

Recently the FDA has conducted undercover sting operations and raids against farmers and buying clubs. "Not only are the FDA's actions a shameful use of force, they are also a serious threat to my freedom and my family's food supply" says Karine Bouis-Towe, Co-Founder of the Farm Food Freedom Coalition and Grassfed on the Hill, a DC area local food buying club. "Moms everywhere are disgusted by the FDA making us criminals for feeding our families nutritious food just because that food happens to come from a farm in a different state!"

Leaders in the local foods and foods rights movements will join mothers from across the country for their demonstration. Prior to their peaceful demonstration, a caravan of mothers will cross state lines with raw milk and invite the FDA to witness what the agency wrongly considers to be a criminal act. Media are invited to ride along as embedded reporters to report on how the FDA responds to what it wrongly terms a violation of the law.

Under FDA regulations [21 CFR § 1240.61] implemented in 1987, it is illegal for anyone to transport raw milk intended for human consumption across state lines. That includes individuals purchasing it legally in one state and crossing into another state where they live.

Information about farm raids at www.FarmFoodFreedom.org

Yours for food freedom,

Deborah Stockton, Executive Director
National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association

Our purpose is to promote and preserve unregulated direct farmer-to-consumer trade that fosters availability of locally grown or home-produced food products.

NICFA opposes any government funded or managed national animal identification system.

Here's just one wonderful blog from a great dairy farm that sells raw milk.

 http://familycowfarmstand.wordpress.com/

If you're local, check out their website and explore raw milk yourself! 

Here's an explanation from their site~

People have been drinking raw milk for thousands of years. If harvested with care from clean, healthy cows, it is not only safe, it’s a whole, nourishing, living food. Around the beginning of the 20th century, dairy farms associated with alcohol distilleries started to appear near major cities. These were large, dirty factories where cows were confined to filthy conditions and fed only swill, the hot acidic byproducts of distilled grain. Workers, often sick themselves, sometimes inoculated the milk with human diseases. This “swill milk” was implicated in human illness and death. Instead of cleaning up or regulating the safe production of milk, widespread pasteurization kept low cost, low quality milk on the market. Raw milk has been stigmatized ever since. No food product is totally safe from contamination and the laws of the land reflect fear and bias against raw milk. 

In Vermont perceptions are changing! Rural Vermont, a family farm advocacy organization, led the effort to reform the state’s raw milk laws. Farmers are now allowed to sell more raw milk (up to 40 gallons/day) and deliver. We are inspected by the Agency of Agriculture, but we don’t mind because we are proud of our clean process and healthy animals. Read the presentation below for even more information.

There are many others to be found on google too!

Just.Not.Right.

Snow

Before Halloween

In  M A R Y L A N D !!!!!!!!!

No, it's waaay too early to say "awww, how pretty."

Don't.even.try.

YESTERDAY I took these.

 

Today these...

Yes, we are all snug.

Here's  a hint of our Halloween...

 Vintage kitties from my Great Grandma for my black Cat collection

  

Our entry

 This is ME.

 Jack will be Pooh Bear, Sarah's Kanga!

Hope yours is H O T!!!

Naughty pony!

We adore "cheeky" little ponies and kids with gumption here...  Our own young Piglet tries some of these moves on Sarah and even sweet Neil Diamond has his moments! So of course were thrilled to see this YouTube clip. What a great boy and naughty pony. If you haven't see this make sure to read n watch Ross's other clips too. He's a great little rider who clearly loves the ponies.

Tomorrow we take the kids to the church in costume for a Halloween party then come back and load up a bunch of horses for a cross country school at a horse park down the road. It's cold n crisp and there may or may not be some similar cowboy riding! I think I'll have all my students read this great quote I saw at another of Ross's videos ~

To succeed, you must first improve, 

   to improve, you must first practice, 

   to practice, you must first learn, 

   to learn, you must first fail.

      ~Wesley Woo 

Hope your weekend's not too wild a ride but still spooktacular!