Ducklings, Goslings, and Chicklings-Oh My!

Ok, "chicklings" isn't a real word, but in my dictionary it is. ;-)  So, I just had to share a few pictures with y'all of the new adorable members of the ranch that we got.

We've had chicks and ducks before, but never geese! So, we're very excited about them. :-)  Supposedly they are very mean unless you really handle them while they are goslings. We've been making sure we spend time with them every day if possible.  Right now they are friendly enough that you can stroke their chests and they don't move away.  However, even though they will be nice to us, I guess that we've heard that they might still be mean to others who haven't handled them. That would mean all of our friends. And because most of our friends have little ones still, we never did get geese before for that very reason.  This year, however, we are making a chicken coop and we will keep all of the fowl in.  Great way to keep the coyotes away, too. Paws off! ;-)

Ok, enough talk, onto the pictures!

 Sorry, had to share a few pictures of our adorable pups!! Oreo (the black one. See his white stripe?) just came and settled right in my lap. He's a darling. :-) No, I'm not biased.... 

 Bandit, or as we sometimes call him, Bandito! ;-) 

 Psst! Oreo you need to smile at the camera!!! 

 I guess the looks on both our faces are pretty funny. :-)

 Ha, I just noticed that the ducks and geese separated themselves for the picture! The three on the very far left (two greyish and one yellow) are the three goslings. The rest are ducks, except for the little chick right there on the far right. :-) Doesn't she look so small next to the ducks? And she is actually bigger, compared to the chicks! 

 Gotta love how they tilt their heads to look at you!! ;-) Becs had her MP3 playing in her pocket, so when she stepped outside, all of the ducks started look around. It was funny. :-)

My Lil' Bud.  This guy follows me everywhere! I actually picked him out because he was the one guy that really bonded with me out of all the other puppies. Course, I would have kept all of them if I could! :-) In fact, we are getting kittens today. I would have loved to have gone and helped pick them out, but I figured it would be wisest if I stayed home because otherwise I would take all of them home. =D

Ok, now for a few pictures from Monday on our way into town.  The storm was rolling in, and it just looked BEAUTIFUL!!! 

 The thin clouds (not sure I could call it a mist because it wasn't rain) rolling down the hills on the ranch. Yes, that's overlooking the corrals.

Our huge guard dog unconcerned with the coming storm. :-)

Reflections in the mirror...

 Don't we have some of the coolest clouds??

This is my favorite picture.  It's like the calm before the storm, the last ray of sunshine.... That is, by the way, a view of headquarters from the road.

 And this is what came of it... snow!  Thankfully it was warm enough that it melted very quickly and just let all the moisture soak into the ground. I'm just hoping my lilacs will bloom! They had started to bud right before this storm came in.. so far they look OK, but I'm just prayin' hard that they will finally bloom. They haven't bloomed for 3 years now, and it's rather sad. :-(

Oh, I will say that the drive back home at 10 pm was NOT a picnic, let me tell you.  It was just awful! Several times we couldn't see the road, the lines on the road, anything! and the semi trucks would just zoom by.  No wonder you see so many overturned semi trucks.. or semi trucks getting pulled over for speeding!

And, last but not least, I guess I'll show you a few pictures from Tuesday! Quiet, ROLL 'EM!

 Cindy Lou talkin' on the telephone.

"Call for Gram? It's for you, Gram."

"I don't know nobody what uses a telephone..."

 Cousin Clem is definitely eavesdropping... ;-)

 "Just because I'll be rich... and probably famous, doesn't mean I'm not your friend anymore."

"Oh Thank you Matilda. The bonds of friendship are strong indeed."

 So, do you think I look very matronly? I mean, I'm a proprietor, run the general store, and everyone loves me. ;-) Just imagine me with grey/white hair, and maybe glasses. :-)

 This is a good friend of mine. We have a blast trying to make each other laugh during practice. We can get pretty mean sometimes, too! ;-)

 I'm not really sure what was going on with my face at the time....

 Copycat....

 And, of course, our adorable Mascot!!!! Isn't she the CUTEST!! She has the bluest eyes ever. Blond hair and blue eyes.. *sigh* could it get any better??? ;-)

On a final note, Here is a picture of the delicious, heavenly, superb crepes we had this morning. :-) YUM!!! 

Ok, well, I guess this ended up being a big picture post!! haha! Well, I think most of y'all enjoy seeing pictures.  Drop me a line in the comment box! I surely do enjoy readin' 'em! (Ooops, slipping back into my Gram dialect.. ;-)

Hope y'all are having a wonderful Thursday!!!  Is anyone celebrating the Passover this weekend?

In Christ's Service,

Sarah

A tribute to a very good dog...

Ok, it may seem really odd and ridiculous that I am giving tribute to a dog, but really..... A family pet? Man's best friend? Where can you go wrong?  Seriously, though, this is a tribute and goodbye to a very good dog.  Our family dog, Lady. Why did we call her that?  Well, we had a dog named Tramp. Need I say more? =D

Many of you may have seen pictures of Lady floating around on my blog here, or my Mom's blog, or my Sister's blog.  In any case, you probably know who she is since I have more than likely mentioned her on here before.  Actually, I should back up and say... Y'all should know her since I posted about her puppies! ha. Ok, there we go.

We got Lady from a lady (not the same lady) who rescued dogs off the streets and whatnot.  She was just a puppy at the time, and very adorable.  I held her in the car while we drove home and well... let's just say she got car sick and my coat was not any better for it. ;-)

We brought her home and she settled in.  She absolutely LOVED it out on the ranch! If there was one thing she enjoyed it was running after the pickup truck, chasing antelope, and running coyotes off the place....... in her dreams.  She was actually a rather sedate dog and didn't like running around too much. ;-)

She was a rather funny little dog... amazingly sweet and docile, didn't mind little kids hanging on her or using her as a pillow... and she loved to pose for the camera! If you don't believe, just take a look at the pics below....

(That ^ Is her 'romantic' look....) 

(^She heard mom say 'all the lovely ladies in for a picture!'...)

(^Wasn't she just adorable? Who could resist those eyes?) 

Almost two years ago, she got pregnant and had her one little puppy, Dottie.  A month or so later, as most of you know, Little Dottie died.  She was a pretty special little pup, I mean, since she got all the attention (and milk) to herself.  So, imagine our surprise when just 5 weeks ago, Lady had her second batch of pups and had 11.

She was an extremely good mama to them.  Amazingly, all of them survived and had enough milk to make them strong and healthy.

Just two days ago, Lady was looking rather droopy.  Then, an hour later she could barely stand.  Her condition got worse and worse until we figured she would die at any moment.  We did everything we could to save her... then, she started getting better.  She was even able to stand, although rather woozily, to get water.  We were all very thankful that she was going to live!  But, Friday morning, she was worse and then died.  It was extremely sad, as many of you may know.  Losing a family pet of any kind that you have poured your love into is really tough.

(^Don't really know what that look is saying...) 

(^Hangin' out with friends.. yes, she loved the cats!! and the cats loved her..) 

Even though she had her real puppies, we were her 'puppies', too, and she took care of us kids.  If we ever went on a walk, she was right there with us (even in her last days of pregnancy when she didn't really want to move), if we went on the ranch, she'd hop in the back and ride along with us.  Any where we kids went, she went too.

(^That day was particularly cold, so we let her have a blanket.  Yes, yes, we pampered were very kind to her)

She was a very good dog and I know we'll all miss her.

Happy 11th birthday!!

Wow.... eleven years gone by already! I just can't believe it!  Where did time fly?

So, today we are celebrating my youngest brother's birthday.  Caleb had a very interesting start in this world.  His birth story is a miracle in itself, but the fact that he reached this age is also a miracle..... Ok, ok, it isn't that bad.

The day started out just like any birthday around here.  The birthday person gets breakfast in bed.  So, at Caleb's request, we brought him a bowl of Captain Crunch (couldn't believe he would pick that over traditional monkey bread, but then... he is a unique person!).  Lately, Caleb has been asking for a Parakeet.  He really wanted a little pet bird.... and, he really thought he was going to get one, especially after Mom and he looked up Parakeet stuff online!  But, after going shopping one day, we told him that we had 'not' gotten him a parakeet.  Although I could tell he was slightly bummed, he smiled anyway and said, "I'll be happy with whatever I get." So sweet!!

This morning we got up and wrapped his presents.  Mom and Dad got him a jump rope.  Becca, Josh, and I got him... bird seed, parakeet treats, a cuttle bone, and some little toys that go in a parakeet's cage.  When we served him breakfast in bed, we only gave him the jump rope.  We sang, got pictures of him unwrapping, etc.  Since it was cereal for breakfast, he didn't get to EAT it in bed... we made him come out to the table.....

When he came out, he found-much to his surprise!- five small gifts, sloppily *ahem* Neatly wrapped on the table.  The surprised look on his face was so cute! As he began unwrapping each one, his expression became more and more puzzled. Finally, he opened one that said parakeet something or other.  His eyes lit up, then teared up as he looked at his and said, "You DID get me a parakeet!"  He was so happy! It was really fun to see him get that happy about something.....

And then the next thing happened.... we were eating our cereal, but Caleb was just sitting there.  Mom kept telling him, "Hurry up and eat so that we can head into town to pick out your bird!".  Well, he couldn't eat.  Why?  He had a loose tooth that was just about to come out and it hurt to chew! Poor guy... so, for about five minutes he sat there watching us enjoying our breakfast. hehe. And then! *POP* out it came!  So, he had a couple of special things happen to him today.  (I will post pictures of the day later on or tomorrow...)

Caleb at 6 years old

Now I get to do the fun part.  It is tradition at our home to, after eating the birthday supper, go around the table and each person gets to say what they like best about the birthday person. (Yes, we even do this if we have company, so beware on what days you come over! haha!)  Although I will get to say these tonight, I want to share a few with you.....

Considerate
Artistic
Loveable
Energetic
Bubbly

Caleb all ready to serve our valentine dinner!

Those, of course, are only a few words that describe Caleb.  One of my favorite things, though, are his hugs.  He is a GOOD hugger.  I love hugs. If I am ever sad or upset about something, I can be sure to get a goo hug from Caleb, along with some comforting words.

He is an amazing helper.  He works hard, doesn't mind helping, and keeps up a good conversation.

Is he adorable or is he adorable?

He loves to laugh... and boy is that laugh infectious!  Once he starts laughing, just about everyone else starts laughing, too!  And His smiles a beautiful.  They display such joy that comes from deep down.

 Headin' out to film a LOTR spoof with some very good friends!

Then....he is a joker. Caleb LOVE to joke and tease.  Sometimes it can't get a bit interesting, but it is so much fun to have some little joke going on all the time.

Doing the hobbit and the Nazgul scene.. he played Sam.

Caleb is very animated, so his storytelling always is SO interesting and funny.  He expressions are hilarious and his mind is a quick worker, jumping from one subject to the next.

He's flying!!!! Just another one of his great expressions...

He is an amazing piano player.  He has an extremely good ear.  He can listen to a song from a movie or something else and then go and pick it out on the piano.  He has also composed several of his own beautiful songs.

 Jumpin' around before filming..

Caleb is very kind and caring.  He loves animals and is gentle with them.  He takes good care of his chickens and will do a good job of taking care of his Parakeet.

 Back flop landing...

Now, I could go on, but people are tugging at my sleeves anxiously wanting to go to town!  So, I had better close.  However, if you don't mind, please drop Caleb a birthday note in the comments section. He will really appreciate it. :-)

In Christ's Service,
Sarah