February has brought many things on the farm for our family! Here are just a few highlights I want to remember:)
Freezing cold mornings–waking up to feed the animals. Parker is my faithful morning worker. This kid wakes EVERY morning and feeds the animals without complaint. Things I want to remember about this season…4th grade…sweet heart…I know the day is coming–but I have still never heard him raise his voice at me or his daddy. He has developed a love for reading this year, and he loves homeschool.
We traded in the van of 10 years and got one with more room…so everyone could have a friend. I’m still learning to park!
Our donkey…Donkey HO-TE turned MAD. He started acting like a bull and charging people. And then…he killed our black precious goat. We got rid of him the next day. We gave him back to the seller for free–free as long as he got him in 24 hours…after that–I was considering digging a very large hole. (Animal rights activists…ONLY KIDDING…but at the time–I wasn’t so sure!)
I’m still recovering from the donkey nightmare. It was awful and we saw him take out our precious pet. It was a sad day. We were left with our pet’s twin–who mourned…so we let her stay close by for a few nights. YES…inside;)
Homeschooling in the freezing cold–ready for warm weather. But one day at a time over here…
Did I tell you I got to meet LeCrea? LOVE me some LeCrea! A little C4C love right here…
We are super excited what our friends are doing with LeCrea and others to bring a school to the 5th most dangerous neighborhood in the country–right here in Atlanta on English Avenue. READ ABOUT IT AND JOIN US IN MAKING A DIFFERENCE RIGHT HERE…
Sugar, our goat, was depressed. So we found her a new friend–MEET BOB.
Okay…can you believe yet that THIS is all an ONE MONTH UPDATE?!
Cousin and bestie Emma Loo-Hoo came for a weekend of fun!
We took the kids for a UGA basketball game in Athens…
The kids helped me prep for a rocking Created for Care retreat for the first 450 mommas coming for rest and encouragement.
I really rocked my Bon Jovi look don’t ya think?
Bob started warming up to Sugar…and us…
Laney Loo continued growing in her prank skills. This doesn’t look like a ton of baby powder. BUT once you turn the hair dryer on–TRUST ME. It is something else!
Another year–YEAR 5–of Created for Care serving foster and adoption moms with my sidekicks Christy Elphick and Angie Carley. These two…my heart! Couldn’t do this without them! And certainly wouldn’t without them!
Mom sweet mom came to help Rico Suave with the kids during the February retreat–and she even came by to see how things were going. Thankful for a supportive mama!
My bestie from 7th grade–she’s never missed a C4C retreat…and although she isn’t a foster or adoptive momma…she volunteers EVERY SINGLE RETREAT. LOVE.
And then…there’s my adoptive momma side-kicks…who make me normal. Who I love dearly…and who are sweet gifts in this journey…
We said good-bye last week to our beloved gerbil that lived FIVE weeks under our front porch. He jumped to his death off of the Lego table. Internal bleeding. Rest in peace Spark…
Valentine’s brought a homeschool party–because while I struggle with homeschool…I will never struggle to throw a good party. (Just being honest;)
Craft fun with some of our homeschool besties…
Then one of your children tells you that they think it was their fault the gerbil ran off the Lego table…and he will never be trusted again. So you pray as a momma. And you find yourself in a pet store…buying not 1 but TWO Dwarf Hamsters. The pet guy tells me gerbils often have this fate but hamsters are like velcro–I believe him…and I buy them…and it is good. And I surprise my boy–and I get knocked down. And he names they Nay and Ray–both that mean GRACE. Double Grace. Just because…
And that night as I drive out to see friends…I’m reminded of more grace. On our farm…
A new game from Walmart–QUELF…hysterically funny. But definitely for older elementary and middle school ages…(“All hail to the Chinese Cheese Biscuit!”)
Movie night…with a hamster–ya’ll…I do NOT do rodents…but I do just about anything for my kids;)
And then we got the call. For 2 baby goats whose momma died during kidding. They were pretty fragile when they came…
But they are doing well now and they are 2 weeks old this weekend!
One is blind but precious
THEN..the ice storm came…
And while that looks pretty–the back pasture…not so much…
And with freezing temps these guys are inside…
READY for warm weather because I’m cleaning A LOT and this is more work than a newborn baby!!
THEN…we were left with a long wait list for February and March foster and adoption mom retreats. And I couldn’t sleep. I knew He was calling me to more. So we are having ANOTHER retreat–just for those moms…just 40…and we are the “Fabulous Forty”…who will be HERE in a few weeks!
Laney had her Daddy-Daughter Dance on Friday!
Saturday the boys left at 5am to volunteer and work the Wiphan WARTHOG Waddle Race for Wiphan’s school in Ndola, Zambia! SILLY FRANK! One too many warthog snouts!
THEN Saturday night we celebrated the Chinese New Year with other adoption families. How precious is this bunch all HOME…
And our daily looks a lot like this…
and this…
and this…(this is Georgia checking out the live goat-cam on the Beekman farm in NY)
We start each day together in this season walking through Lent (see my last post if you want to join us!)
AND THEN…today–we went to the Compassion Change Tour…And my heart sailed into my throat again–as I entered very real stories…and they joined me. How sweet it is to spend a morning shepherding my children’s hearts into these experiences…
And that’s 3 weeks of our life…with 1 more week to snuggle into February. And I have to say–that what is coming up THIS weekend…I can’t WAIT to share…the most adventurous of ALL! Oh boy–when I said I wanted a life of adventure–I just had no idea. It’s really true–God writes the best stories. Come see us on the farm some time! Life together is the best of all.
Blessings!
Andrea
