The house is making progress. We are so tired of waiting on people. Paul has started doing more of the work. I help when I can get down there. All walls have been primed, except the Living Room and all ceilings have been primed and painted. A REAL electrician has been out and trying to sort through the mess left by others. We do have working lights in parts of the house now. I literally can walk in, flip a switch and lights come on!!! It is the bests invention EVER!!! The electrician will be back out this week to hopefully finish hanging lights and to have all the electrical working. Paul, the amazing man that he is, started installing the base cabinets in the kitchen and all the appliances. He got to use his all time favorite tool....the "Level".
I believe he has a bad case of OCD when it comes to making sure things are level. I was able to go up there Sunday, after church, and help him set the sink cabinet and the refrigerator cabinet. I am not sure how we got that refrigerator cabinet in place without breaking it. I followed my orders, but it was a monster trying to maneuver it to the kitchen. It looks so good to have the living room and dining room cleaned out. They have both been full of cabinets and appliances for so long. The floors are really beginning to bother me with the sheet rock and paint dust all over them. Hopefully, we will be able to take care of it in the near future. It's been almost a month since Paul has been in Hartselle. I miss him through the week, but that light at the end of this extremely long tunnel is beginning to flicker ever now and then. We were introduced to snap chat at Joshua's Birthday dinner by Brantlee and Hanna. We were at a big table and started taking pics with filters and sending them to each other at the table. Paul and I learned we can record a video with a filter and voice changer and then text it. We have been sending those to each other through the week. I really can't tell you why, but it just cracks us up...must be the stress we have been under😂
The Animals
We said "Happy Trails" to Iris and Waylon in early January. We wish them the best in their new homes. 
We have heard that Iris was having some behavior issues. We hope she settles down and starts acting better. Waylon was doing great. Last I heard, he was walking on a lead really well and enjoying rubs and scratches.
We have heard that Iris was having some behavior issues. We hope she settles down and starts acting better. Waylon was doing great. Last I heard, he was walking on a lead really well and enjoying rubs and scratches.
Candy and Heidi are doing really good, except for the eye infection Candy got at the end of December. Her poor little eye was all red, puffy and runny. I bought some eye spray and sprayed her eye as well as I could. She would walk backwards trying to avoid the spray. After no improvement in a day or so, I called the vet. Our vet said he was covered up and would not be able to make a farm visit. He asked me to take pictures and email them. After viewing them, he prescribed 2 shots for her and walked me through what I needed to do. His last comment to me was, "Just make sure the shot goes in the cow!!"
By the time I had email pics, waited for response, talked to doctor and got the meds it was too dark to give the shot to Candy that night. The next morning Paul had to go to work. That left me all by myself with this shot to give Candy. Her eye looked much worse and was turning cloudy. I really didn't think waiting for Paul to get home would be a good idea. I coaxed Candy to the corral with food, although we did have to pause for her to do a little head butting with Iris and Waylon as we entered their field to get to the corral. Even with a bad eye, Candy won that head butting contest. Once she was in the corral, I coaxed her into the shoot with more food and headed her toward the head gate. I got her in the head gate and even closed the head gate with no issues. All the hard stuff was over now...easy peasy from here on out....right?? Nope, not the case. Candy is known for her drama. A vet once said, after giving her a shot, "Well, isn't she a little drama queen!!" When I gave her the shot, Candy fell down to her knees on her front 2 legs. When she got up, I brushed her and rubbed on her to make her feel better. Since her eye looked so much worse, I called the vet and left a message. I thought if he wants to come out and look at her today, I don't want to have to catch her again. So I opened the head gate backwards so she would have to back up and go back in the corral. Not one of my better ideas!!! Candy refused to go backwards. Went forward instead and got stuck...in the head gate. Because the doors were opened backwards, her hip bones caught and she couldn't get out of the head gate. I grab her horns and pushed with all my might. She didn't budge. I grabbed her tail and pulled with all my might. I even put my heavy on. (that's something Brantlee use to say when she was little.) She didn't move, not even a millimeter!! I was on the verge of panic mode, so like any good wife, I called my husband to see if he had any suggestions. He asked for pics and then probably for the first time in his life, he was speechless and had no suggestions at all. I later found out that what was going through his mind was, "I told her to wait till I got home!!" I hung up with him and just looked at Candy. We stared at each other for a bit. I told her, "You really just need to take a few steps back and you can be out of this predicament!!!" She just continue to stare at me in defiance. So I prayed, " Dear Lord, I have no idea how to fix this. She cannot stand here all day until Paul gets home. Lord, what can I do? How do I get her out of this head gate?" As Candy and I continued staring at each other, a thought popped into my head....."She backs up when you spray her eye with eye spray." OH MY GOODNESS, Thank you, Lord, that's the perfect solution!!!" It took me forever to find that spray, but when I did, I walked across that field, walked up to Candy and with a smile on my face, sprayed that bad eye like it had never been sprayed before. Literally within a couple of seconds she was out of that head gate!!! Candy's eye is all better now. The shot and the heavy dose of eye spray worked wonders.
Wilma has a very active baby in her. I have seen it moving around in her belly quite a few times.
I never saw that with Britta or Candy. Hoping Wilma will have her baby by the end of February.
We bought a Highland Bull in January from North Carolina. He is a white 13 month old Purebred Highland. He loves treats, getting brushed and I was told he loves baths!!! Si, will be the herdsire to the Highland and British White ladies. Si has been in quarantine for the last 2 weeks. We were monitoring for any health problems and just getting him use to us before turning him loose in the fields. Sunday was his get out of jail day. I brushed him out so he could make a good impression on the ladies.
Apparently, our welcoming committee needs to work on their welcoming skills. Si, has definitely got his hands full with this group of ladies. It was 2 against one and then they started tag teaming him. This initiation lasted awhile. Si hung in there, even though the girls were rubbing his beautiful pink nose all in the dirt. He held his own, but I bet he slept good after that workout. Izzy & Brista showed no interest in him at all, but Dixie, Millie and Britta gave him a run for his money. All seem happy and getting along just find now. I can't wait for his babies to start arriving!!
Some Interesting Facts I have learned about cows in the last 2 years:
- They stick their tongue all the way up in their nose!!!🤢
- It's easier and quicker to work on their timetable rather than mine.
- Size does NOT matter, they can run, jump, kick and get excited just like any other animal!!
- All cow moo's are not the same. Each moo is unique and we are pretty good at telling which cow is mooing most of the time.
- Highly, Highly....Highly motivated with food..If they are not eating, something is wrong
- I get really obsessed with looking at their butts when its close to calving time
- You determine the coat color of a highland by their nose color. If the nose is pink, they are Red, Blonde or White. If the nose is grey/black, they are Black, Dunn or Sliver. NO dilution gene is Red or Black, 1 dilution gene is Blonde or Dunn, and 2 dilution genes are white and silver.
- Pooping is their favorite pastime 💩💩💩💩
- They are herd animals, meaning they like being with other Bovine, but that pecking order is brutal!!!
- A highland bull’s horns will grow outward (points are pointing to you, if your facing him), while a highland cow’s horns will grow upward (points are pointing to the sky).
I have been doing the BIOY devotions by Nicky and Pippa Gumbel for the last 3 years. I can't say enough nice things about their writings. It seems all the devotions lately have been centered around going through difficult times. I have read about Joseph's life, Job's life, David's life, Ruth's life and Esther's life. The common theme all these people seem to have is holding onto God during difficult situations. None of them were perfect. They all had doubts, fears, and frustrations. My devotion the other day was titled... "Does God Always Answer Prayers?" Initially, I thought no. The article went on to say that He does always answer prayers...It is just sometimes he answers No. God hears all our prayers and will answer in one of three ways: YES, NO, or WAIT . Rick Warren says, When the request is not right, God says "No". When the timing is not right, God says "Slow". When you are not right, God says "Grow." But when the request is right and timing is right and your are right, God Says "Go". I have often wondered what in the world Paul and I are doing wrong? Why won't God allow us to get that house finished ASAP? Why does everything have to be so hard? I know I have been praying for a lot of things with us transitioning to Tennessee. So many variables with teenagers, blended families, and work. I have seen some things lately that makes me wonder, maybe the wait is getting others things lined up for a smoother transition. When those bad days hit, leaning into God, by reading the Bible, praying and singing praises refreshes my heart, mind and soul. It reminds me, God's working in our favor and as my Paul loves to say often...."All is going to be OK." Even Jesus is pleading to God for us. Hebrews 7:25 says, "Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them."
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