Posted by: Maddy
I must say, this year was probably one of the most interesting years of my life. The year started out for me in Colorado and ended in Missouri!
In summer of 2013 my family made their first trip out here to Missouri to look at property and meet with people who were farming the way my Dad wanted to. Then in the fall and winter of that year they made some more trips out here to look at property. My Dad wanted to have our house sold and be in Missouri by the end of November of 2013. But that didn't happen. Secretly, I was happy about that. The whole time this was going on, I was against moving. As the oldest in my family, I don't like change. I had grown up in Arvada my whole life, so to move at the age 14 was not something I wanted to do.
This year started with our house on the market and just waiting to be able to move. This was not a good start to the year as far as I was concerned. I knew that any day we could get an offer on our house and then we would have only a couple of weeks to move out, and then we would be gone. In March, our house did sell and we had 2 weeks to get out. So we lived with our Grandparents for 2 weeks while we were waiting for the people to move out of the house in Missouri. I was allowed to stay in Colorado till the end of May to finish up a class I was taking, so that was good news for me. But it didn't last long and then I was down here. Actually, the first time I was down here was when Dad brought the moving trucks here and filled the garage up. Then we went back to Denver and stayed there for 2 more weeks with my family.
At first, I didn't like it. But after living here for almost a year, I have gotten very used to it and have learned to like it here. The summers are hotter, and the winters are colder, but I will get used to that in time. I do miss the mountains... but Missouri has nice hills!
We really learned a lot this year about animal husbandry. Raising sheep was the biggest learning experience out of all the animals. When we first got them, they were in horrible condition. At first, we didn't think they were. But after a few months, we looked back at pictures from when we got them, and we were quite surprised! They had scours and were really thin. After de-worming them for the first and last time, and learning that giving minerals to them keeps them from getting worms, they look so much healthier!
To the left are pictures of the same sheep. The first picture is in July when we got them. The last picture is that sheep now. She is now our largest ewe. She is pregnant, but the other ewes that aren't pregnant are almost just as big as her!
We also have learned the importance of having good fields to put the animals on. The field directly behind our house is in the worst shape of all of our fields. We had our rams on that field from August to September and they didn't gain any weight. In October they were moved to the next field, which is the best one we have, and they gained so much weight! They were the healthiest they had ever been! So when they were done with that field, they were ready to be processed.
I really can see why the Bible compares us to sheep. They are really stupid, and I really didn't like raising them at first. They were difficult to move because they didn't know us yet and it was a nightmare when they would get out. But after working with them for a few months, I didn't mind raising them. Once you get them to trust you, they aren't that bad. And when you take them the the butcher, you sorta feel like you betrayed their trust. Anna still always freaks out when sheep get out and she doesn't enjoy raising them at all. I think the rams were more friendly then the ewes are (other than when they would try to headbutt you when you weren't looking). We have also learned how to trim sheep's hooves thanks to the family who we get our milk from.
One thing that was a big learning experience for me was learning how to cut up chicken meat. Just learning how to separate the breast, tenders, wings, and thighs, was interesting to me. I know I will get lots more practice next year with our meat birds.
This year we even had dogs for the first time in forever!!! We haven't had a dog since I was really little. And we have cats for the first time period. When we first got our kittens, my little sisters thought that they needed to keep them in a cage while they weren't watching them so they wouldn't run away. I could totally tell that we haven't had many pets before!
We also learned things about people down here. One thing we learned about Ozark people is that they like to leave trash piles around on their property. Unfortunately, we have a trash pile on our property that we found after moving in. We cleaned parts of it up this summer but there is still a lot more to clean up next year. Its so cold out now, we don't even want to be out there if we don't need to be. We have found interesting things out there, including 2 credit cards with the same name on them. It almost makes me want to find out who that person is and make him clean the rest of it up. It really is stupid that people out here do that. It drives my dad nuts too. Here is one example of how Ozark people are. There was a house that burned down just down the highway from us in July. They cleaned it up in early December and most of it they just buried right there. I just don't get them.
We also added a member to our family in October! Katherine Virginia came into the wold in late October and my grandma on my mom's side of the family came out to visit around that time. We have so enjoyed having a newborn in the house again!!!
Christmas this year was pretty fun! My sisters got into the decorating this year and helped out with that more than they ever have before. Ashley put the lights up on the outside of the house, and my other sisters helped Mom decorate the inside of the house. I didn't help with that because while they were doing that, I was Skyping with Julianna, one of my friends from Colorado (which is even better!).
This was our Christmas tree this year. Izzy went out in our woods, picked it out, cut it down, and brought it in. It looked like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree! It was about as tall as my mom and missing branches in some spots. Mom decorated it and it looked pretty good actually! It was a cedar, so it was really prickly, and by the time Christmas came, it was really dry. So on December 26th, we had a little fire (little compared to other ones we have had out here!) and used the Christmas tree as a fire starter! It was fun!
Christmas baking kept me pretty busy the last couple of weeks. Izzy helped me with the sugar cookies, and then I made oreo truffles, oreo cheesecake, and cowboy cookies.
I must say, this year was probably one of the most interesting years of my life. The year started out for me in Colorado and ended in Missouri!
In summer of 2013 my family made their first trip out here to Missouri to look at property and meet with people who were farming the way my Dad wanted to. Then in the fall and winter of that year they made some more trips out here to look at property. My Dad wanted to have our house sold and be in Missouri by the end of November of 2013. But that didn't happen. Secretly, I was happy about that. The whole time this was going on, I was against moving. As the oldest in my family, I don't like change. I had grown up in Arvada my whole life, so to move at the age 14 was not something I wanted to do.
This year started with our house on the market and just waiting to be able to move. This was not a good start to the year as far as I was concerned. I knew that any day we could get an offer on our house and then we would have only a couple of weeks to move out, and then we would be gone. In March, our house did sell and we had 2 weeks to get out. So we lived with our Grandparents for 2 weeks while we were waiting for the people to move out of the house in Missouri. I was allowed to stay in Colorado till the end of May to finish up a class I was taking, so that was good news for me. But it didn't last long and then I was down here. Actually, the first time I was down here was when Dad brought the moving trucks here and filled the garage up. Then we went back to Denver and stayed there for 2 more weeks with my family.
At first, I didn't like it. But after living here for almost a year, I have gotten very used to it and have learned to like it here. The summers are hotter, and the winters are colder, but I will get used to that in time. I do miss the mountains... but Missouri has nice hills!
We really learned a lot this year about animal husbandry. Raising sheep was the biggest learning experience out of all the animals. When we first got them, they were in horrible condition. At first, we didn't think they were. But after a few months, we looked back at pictures from when we got them, and we were quite surprised! They had scours and were really thin. After de-worming them for the first and last time, and learning that giving minerals to them keeps them from getting worms, they look so much healthier!
To the left are pictures of the same sheep. The first picture is in July when we got them. The last picture is that sheep now. She is now our largest ewe. She is pregnant, but the other ewes that aren't pregnant are almost just as big as her!
We also have learned the importance of having good fields to put the animals on. The field directly behind our house is in the worst shape of all of our fields. We had our rams on that field from August to September and they didn't gain any weight. In October they were moved to the next field, which is the best one we have, and they gained so much weight! They were the healthiest they had ever been! So when they were done with that field, they were ready to be processed.I really can see why the Bible compares us to sheep. They are really stupid, and I really didn't like raising them at first. They were difficult to move because they didn't know us yet and it was a nightmare when they would get out. But after working with them for a few months, I didn't mind raising them. Once you get them to trust you, they aren't that bad. And when you take them the the butcher, you sorta feel like you betrayed their trust. Anna still always freaks out when sheep get out and she doesn't enjoy raising them at all. I think the rams were more friendly then the ewes are (other than when they would try to headbutt you when you weren't looking). We have also learned how to trim sheep's hooves thanks to the family who we get our milk from.
One thing that was a big learning experience for me was learning how to cut up chicken meat. Just learning how to separate the breast, tenders, wings, and thighs, was interesting to me. I know I will get lots more practice next year with our meat birds.
This year we even had dogs for the first time in forever!!! We haven't had a dog since I was really little. And we have cats for the first time period. When we first got our kittens, my little sisters thought that they needed to keep them in a cage while they weren't watching them so they wouldn't run away. I could totally tell that we haven't had many pets before!
We also learned things about people down here. One thing we learned about Ozark people is that they like to leave trash piles around on their property. Unfortunately, we have a trash pile on our property that we found after moving in. We cleaned parts of it up this summer but there is still a lot more to clean up next year. Its so cold out now, we don't even want to be out there if we don't need to be. We have found interesting things out there, including 2 credit cards with the same name on them. It almost makes me want to find out who that person is and make him clean the rest of it up. It really is stupid that people out here do that. It drives my dad nuts too. Here is one example of how Ozark people are. There was a house that burned down just down the highway from us in July. They cleaned it up in early December and most of it they just buried right there. I just don't get them.
We also added a member to our family in October! Katherine Virginia came into the wold in late October and my grandma on my mom's side of the family came out to visit around that time. We have so enjoyed having a newborn in the house again!!!
Christmas this year was pretty fun! My sisters got into the decorating this year and helped out with that more than they ever have before. Ashley put the lights up on the outside of the house, and my other sisters helped Mom decorate the inside of the house. I didn't help with that because while they were doing that, I was Skyping with Julianna, one of my friends from Colorado (which is even better!).
Ashley's light job
Christmas baking kept me pretty busy the last couple of weeks. Izzy helped me with the sugar cookies, and then I made oreo truffles, oreo cheesecake, and cowboy cookies.
Izzy makes one mean cookie!
We also made a gingerbread house!
Ashley and her frosting gun!
The final product!
(it was big!)
On the 20th, Ashley turned 14!
Mom did a really good job on the cake!
Christmas Eve, Ashley, Anna, Dad, and I went to go see The Hobbit: Battle of the 5 Armies. I liked it, but it was sad too. It has a good moral to it! We also stopped by Krispy Kremes too! Its cool having one near by now!
Our Christmas dinner was full of locally-grown and raised food.
The green beans and the potatoes we got at a produce auction 10 minutes away from us. The chicken and lamb chops were raised on our property, the venison was given to us from some friends who love hunting (which we plan on doing next year) and my mom made the jello!
My buddy and me.
Havi got a new hat for Christmas and I am wearing Joe's because his was a little too big for him!
My grandma on my mom's side flew out from Denver to have Christmas with us too. After Christmas, we went to eat at The Bass Pro Shops in Springfield. This store is 3 times larger than the one in Colorado! I still haven't been through the whole store yet. We don't go there too often.
Everyone in front of the huge tree!
I thought this door mat was pretty funny!
By request, Isabelle wanted me to post about a stray puppy that we found on our property last Monday and still can't find her owner. I think she is a boxer. Izzy really has gotten attached to her and takes her on walks around the property every day. We have to keep her tied up though, because she is the type of dog that would try to eat chickens, and she has already tried to eat Ashley's rabbit! She is pretty cute though!
Looking back at this last year I really can't believe that today is the last day of 2014! It went by quickly, and we really did get a lot done this year! We only lost 1 laying hen to a predator (hawk) this year. We heard a lot about other people loosing all their sheep to coyotes, and lots of people lost chickens and turkeys this year too. God was gracious to us this year!
We did loose 3 sheep this year. The first one got its head stuck in the fence and got electrocuted to death. So after that we switched to poultry netting. The 2nd one died because we hadn't de-wormed them yet. Right after that, we did de-worm them. And we really don't know why the last one died. She was healthy and then all of a sudden sick. We lost 1 chick. I don't know exactly why about that one either. And when we first got our turkey's we hadn't pinned the pen down that we had them in, and a huge gust of wind came up and lifted the pen up and smashed 3 of our turkeys. So we have 12 now. And my parents decided to wait to process the turkeys until they are larger. They are heritage breeds, so they don't put on the pounds like a Cornish-cross would, so we are waiting 'till like March or something. I don't know exactly.
Now, after living here for almost a year, I am glad we moved. I know it seems like we just picked up and left, and I guess we did, but there are many reasons I am glad we moved. I won't go into detail about all the reasons, but I will say that this move needed to happen. It will be interesting to see what God in our lives next year!
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