October in Review

October has been busy with school, preserving the harvest, flu, school, making cheese, flu, school, flu, etc. Yes, we have had the feared H1N1 and survived without difficulty and WITHOUT the vaccination!!

All the children are doing well in school. Thomas had a rough time getting back into the routine after his almost week long bought with H1N1. He is finally starting to get back to normal. He only has 2 months left of his intensive therapy treatment. I'm very thankful for these three years yet I'm looking forward to life no longer revolving around Thomas's therapy schedule!! We are unsure as to what the future will hold for Thomas regarding therapy. Wisconsin passed a law that requires insurance companies to cover therapy for Autism. That sounds GREAT to those who haven't been able to "afford" therapy. However, the hope quickly fizzles when you realize that you still have to pay your deductible and in many cases a co-pay which can easily total $1,600 a month in order to receive 20-30 hours of therapy a week. I'm afraid that we have discovered that our insurance is one that is required to pay which means we are required to use the insurance rather than the Waiver. Depending on how all the details play out we may no longer be able to have therapy for Thomas beginning in Jan 2010. The Lord knows what is best and we are trusting Him for the outcome. I do believe that Thomas needs more therapy, however, we have a large deductible and a 20% co-pay which will most likely mean little to no therapy for Thomas.

Philip's lumpy limphnodes continue to decrease in size very slowly. He goes back to see the Dr. in December. Philip loves school and is really doing well. There are still many days that he wants to stay home with mom and home school. I keep telling him that someday he will be home with mommy for school but for now, he has to go to Mrs. R's class. I love the time of day when he comes off the bus anxious to hug mom and share a bit about his day.

Nathan is enjoying his 4K class. The teachers told me that when he was out with H1N1 the class was quiet and lacked its typical "spark" and "energy". He is starting with two 30 minute sessions of speech therapy. His greatest weakness with speech is clear pronunciation. The Speech Pathologist did four tests with him and he passed all them with flying colors except the one on phonetics and pronunciation. I really like his SP and I know with her help Nathan will make a lot of speech progress this year. I am also excited that I will get to play the piano for Nathan's 4K Christmas program. This will give me a good chance to get to know more of the folks in our school and town.

Eliza, Sam, and Caleb are doing well with their home schooling. They seem to enjoy spelling the most which is really quite funny since Eliza and Sam are really behind and Caleb is advanced. They like the program that we are using though so that is good! Sam and Caleb get to do a lot of experiments in science which makes that subject fun for them and challenging for mom..... I have to have the right stuff on hand for the experiments!! I think a nice science kit is on the Christmas list for this year!

Phil helped his team at work move their data center this month. It went very smoothly which brought on the praise of the WM board and Phil's bosses. I am so thankful for the job that Phil has. He really enjoys it and he is valued for his hard work! He is also putting in a lot of time on the farm getting it ready for winter. He's built a new stall in the barn for the goats, fixed up the cows stall and milking area and is constantly moving fencing so Rose can have fresh pasture. He is a hard working man!! In a couple weeks we'll be butchering a steer with some Amish Neighbors. Phil is excited about learning how to butcher beef! After that experience my hubby will be able to butcher everything we hope to raise on our own someday.

Me, I've been busy trying to keep up with this busy brood and the farm. I am enjoying making lots of food out of our good Jersey milk. We make cheddar cheese, Mozzarella, butter, cream cheese, sour cream, and lots of hot chocolate to name a few things! Elizabeth can now make Farmhouse Cheddar Cheese from start to finish without my assistance. She is a big help in the kitchen! My new hens are starting to lay which has increased our egg production from 8-10 eggs a day to 14-18 eggs a day. I'm able to sell the extra we don't need. We have finally decided to end our Turkey brooding business. Our Tom and the 3 hens will be gracing our table over the next few months. Our Amish neighbors have agreed to help me butcher them the week before Thanksgiving! I'm looking forward to Turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Last year just didn't seem like Thanksgiving without a turkey!

This week I'll be canning carrots, pumpkin, squash, and apples. With the help of my Amish neighbor I'm am slowly becoming more confident about pressure canning. I just don't have the freezer space for everything yet I want the food to last us the year, so pressure canning some of these foods is my only option. The Amish have done it for YEARS and thankfully Sarah is willing to answer all my silly questions!!

In the midst of it all I'm thankful for the beautiful Fall weather. God paints the rolling hill's and the edges of the fields that surround us with the vibrant yellows, red's, and oranges of fall. Most of the leaves have blown off the trees now as we hunker down for the slower, colder days of winter. We've survived out first year trying to be fairly self sustainable with good success. We've learned a lot through the struggles, successes, laughter and tears and we look forward to next year!

Tomatoes & Apples

This past week has been focused on canning the tomatoes from our garden. Elizabeth, Sam & Caleb have had to help me a lot because my carpel tunnel has gone from bad to severe after having to milk Rose for a couple weeks. Thankfully now our vacuum pump is working so I can give my hands a rest.

Since last Sunday we have made 14 quarts of Spaghetti sauce, 7 pints of pizza sauce, 14 quarts of diced tomatoes, 9 quarts of tomato sauce, 11 pints of BBQ sauce, and 37 pints of salsa. I couldn't have done it without the kids help. My hand goes numb and get very painful after only a couple minutes of holding a knife. We probably have another 150 pounds of tomatoes to pick and process over the next week or so. We'll be making more spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, salsa, and probably more BBQ sauce. I'm already at the point where I dread having to look at tomatoes for another day. I know that I will be glad when we have all this wonderful organic food in the root cellar, but I think I will be more glad when we are DONE canning tomatoes!

Friday we went on a field trip to a local orchard with Nathans 4K class. The kids and I learned a lot about how to care for an apple tree. They are writing a report about what they learned. The woman who gave the tour asked me to mail her the kids reports. She said she wished more older kids came to the orchard because there is so much to learn!

This week we will be busy with school and canning. The week will end with a mini vacation for ME! Yes, I am actually going to leave the premises for 24 hours. I'm going on a ladies retreat with some ladies from my church. I'm very excited about getting a day away for fellowship and spiritual refreshment.... I just hope they don't serve tomatoes! :-)

The Second Week of School

This week was the first that I allowed the littles to ride the bus to school in the morning. I was concerned that being on the bus for 30-40 minutes in the morning would be a struggle for him. Thankfully, I was wrong. Thomas has done a great job. He even rode all by himself on Wednesday because Philip still wasn't well enough to attend and Nathan doesn't go to school on Wednesday.

Elizabeth, Sam, Caleb and I did home school each day this week. None of them have all their subjects but we consistently worked on the ones they do have. I am really liking Spelling Power. The kids are really having fun with spelling this year and I know this systematic way of doing spelling will help Elizabeth and Sam to catch up to their appropriate grade levels while it is challenging enough for Caleb so he isn't bored.

Elizabeth got to go to a sewing class on Thursday. One of the missionary builders at our church taught all the girls at our church how to do some basic stitches by hand and on the machine. She also gave them a history lesson that included quilting before teaching them how to do a nine patch quilt. Elizabeth really enjoyed the day with her friends from church learning to quilt and sew!

Philip ended up missing two days of school this week because he was still too weak and tired. He still isn't back up to his old energy level. If he hadn't just had a mono test three weeks ago I'd be taking him to the doctor for a mono test. Especially since this is the second time he was sick in 3 weeks.

We are going on our first field trip tomorrow to Ledgeview Nature Center, about 2 miles down the road. They are having a "Health & Harvest Day". It will count as health and probably science for the kids. Plus they were able to color a picture which they will submit for a free ice cream while we are there. Phil will be gone to a men's retreat, so it will just be the kids and I. I'm sure it will be and adventure!

And the Cow Jumped over the Sam

The past couple mornings Rose has decided that she wants to walk home to her Amish farm. She acts like she is willingly walking to the pen until she gets the pen in site then she turns around and bolts for the road. The first morning we were able to catch her right by the garden. The second morning was much worse. She bolted away from Sam and by the time we caught her she was down the road a ways. We ended up tying her to the hitch on the back of our Minivan and pulling her home. I decided to park in our neighbors drive and walk her to her pen. As soon as we got to the gate she bolted dragging me along behind her. I would've held on longer however.......... my pants were falling down! :-( UGH! When I let go Elizabeth and Samuel caught up to her and were jogging on either side. Sam decided to try to throw all his weight on her to see if it would slow her down. It did only because Samuel slid under her body and the cow tripped over him with her back knee landing fiercely in the middle of Sam's back. Sam stood up, gasping for breath that wouldn't come. His face was beat red while his lips were turning blue. Finally he fell to his knees then passed out. Thankfully he was only unconscious for a couple seconds. When he woke up his breathing was not labored so I was pretty confident that he didn't have a punctured lung.

So I ran for the van and up the road to catch the cow again. This time we backed her right into the pen while she was still attached to the van. We pulled the van out enough to get the gate closed then we finally untied her. By this time Sam was looking much better and able to help us. He was complaining of pain when he breathed deeply. After talking with Phil we decided that he wasn't in any great danger but we wanted him checked out by a doctor that knew the spine. So I took him to our Chiropractor that afternoon. Dr. Nick found that Sam's spine and ribs were sound, no fractures, however, he had 4-6 vertebra's that were severely out of place. He adjusted Sam and thankfully Samuel felt instant relief, being able to breath much easier. We are very thankful that Samuel's first lesson in cow ridding didn't end with any severe injuries.

Yesterday I didn't take a chance and hooked her up to the van and put her in the pen with the aid of the vehicle so I wouldn't have to chase her. This morning Phil was here and she didn't give him any trouble. Hopefully she is starting to realize that this is her new home.

Many people have asked me, "She really wouldn't walk home would she?" I think that because the Millers lead her here by hitching her to the back of their buggy. She really does know the way home. Usually a cow is hauled to a farm in a trailer which means they loose all sense of direction. Rose however, walked here so she thinks she can just walk home!

I still really am enjoying having a Jersey cow and if the Millers offered to sell her to us, I would buy her in a minute. She is very mild mannered which makes her very easy to hand milk. We are really enjoying her creamy milk and the first batch of cheddar cheese curds are almost gone. Today I'm making cheddar cheese curds again, and either a block of cheddar for aging, or some mozzarella so we can have pizza this weekend. Our first batch of butter will be made tonight and I made some mildly tart creamy yogurt a couple days ago too! I love the versatility of cow milk and of course, the flavor!

School Days

School has begun again. The three littles started at New Holstein Elementary last week and overall had a very good week. Thomas, who is in grade 2, is adjusting well to being in the classroom again and is excited to try ridding the bus this week. We have his IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meeting on Tuesday at school to outline the areas that we will target this year with his behaviors, therapy (speech & Occupational Therapy) and education at school. Philip is in kindergarten and having a great time! Nathan and I went to his class for a shortened day on Thursday, then on Friday he went by himself and rode the bus home. He loved it!! He will be getting evaluated for speech which will allow him to receive speech therapy soon.

The older kids and I took the first week to get used to our new spelling program. We are using Spelling Power which allows each child to be at their own level, while progressing as quickly as they master the current word list. They are all doing great and are really enjoying it! We also did their math testing so I could verify which level each child is at while getting a good picture of their strength and weaknesses in Math. We ended the week by hanging a bulletin board, white board and classroom clock. The kids also wrote a Journal entry about their first week of school. This next week we will add a couple more subjects for each child, depending on what curriculum's have arrived by then. We are still waiting for all our school materials to arrive.

This year they each have their own crates to hold their school materials, and they have their own "space". Elizabeth uses the table, Caleb the school desk, and Sam, the old computer desk. They really like having their own "desks" this year! Within the next couple weeks we will start them on Piano too. I want them each to have a foundation in music and piano is the best way to attain that. Once they each have a good understanding of music theory and the treble and base clef notes then we will look at getting them each an additional instrument to learn.

This year's schooling will be a lot more structured than last year and I am enjoying the change. The kids seem to be really liking having a guided lesson for each subject too. We are using Alpha Omega Life Packs for science, history, and language arts this year. I'm sure it will be another year of learning what works and what doesn't!

Philip

I think I've posted about some of the health problems that Philip has been having. When we lived in Pembine and he was in 4K he missed one week a month because he'd end up being sick, running a fever, swollen glands and tonsils, and just feeling miserable.

Since moving his boughts with illness had become less and less. He started only getting sick every other month, then every three, etc. He was sick in November then was in very good health until 3 weeks ago. That is why when his neck remained swollen when he wasn't sick we got concerned. Exactly three weeks ago he spiked a fever and was in bed for 2 days. Yesterday it started again. He spiked a fever and spent yesterday in bed and he is already in bed again today, after going out to watching milking and visit the puppy. Thankfully these last two incidences seem to be much shorter than before. They only seem to last a couple days instead of an entire week.

Phil and I are trying to figure out what is lacking in his body that will help his immune system to fight off these little bugs. What is not balanced??

The biopsy of the growth in his neck came back fine, no cancer cells or abnormal cells of any kind. The ultra sound showed several growths between 1 & 2 centimeters in size on his neck. He sees the specialist again on the 28th. Until then we'll just make him comfortable when he runs the fever and pray for wisdom as to how to help this little boy gain full health again!

A Rose Amongst the Thorns!

This morning was quite the milking adventure with Rose. We had decided to try to use our goat stantion in reverse for Rose. We didn't take into account that the stantion weigh's very little and our 800 pound cow would just jerk it around while trying to get the vegetables and feed we have on the platform for her. So this morning Rose was milked in the barn, in the driveway, and in the front yard! I'm sure all the cars that drove by had a nice laugh, since you don't often see a Jersey Cow in someones front yard with a long haired red head milking her into a 3 gallon bucket! About half way through the milking process when we were chasing Rose down the driveway, Phil said,"Honey, I think your dream come true has turned into a nightmare!" Thankfully we both have a sense of humor and really want our own cow which made the morning very laughable!! After chasing Rose around getting her milked we enjoyed coming into the house to have last nights very whole milk, the jar was almost 1/2 cream, over a bowl of cereal!

We aren't getting as much milk out of her as the Millers were. I think it is because we cannot get her to stand still and relax while I'm milking her. She is also used to being milked with a machine. Rose is actually more difficult to milk than our goats. The goats have a nice firm nipple and they let down their milk well. So far, Rose hasn't been comfortable enough to let her milk down easily and her two back teats are VERY small. Like even smaller than our Brownies teats. Phil is going to work on getting the vacuum pump working so we can use it for Rose. I think once she settles in we will see her milk increase again! So far we've only gotten 2 3/4 gallons out of two milkings. She should be closer to 4 gallons a day.

I must say after chasing Rose around for 1 1/2 hours it was quite relaxing to milk Curley, the goat!

Today Phil will stop at Tractor Supply to get a lead rope and a hook to mount on a beam in the barn so we can tie her up during milking time. He is also going to get a bit of new fencing so we can put her in a pasture area along side the house. She'll be our lawn mower for the fall!