Travel

I got to spend a couple days in Lafayette, LA where I taught a class on Wednesday. When I arrived Tuesday morning, I could not help but notice that the airport was small – only three gates. So, I made a mental note to time my return to the airport for my flight back to DFW for somewhat less than the recommended two hours prior to the flight. That would help since my return flight was scheduled for 6:10am. During the class one of the participants assured me that I would not need to be at the airport the full two hours early. He never had and had never had a problem. The class went well. Lots of interaction. Lots of good feedback. I was packing up and heading to the hotel – a full two minutes away – by a little after 4 pm Wednesday. I had found a church online to go to that night, but I could not find the church when I went to look for it. So, I spent the evening in the hotel getting packed up for the trip home early Thursday morning.

I set my alarm for 4:15 am but was awake before the alarm went off. I had everything packed and ready to go so I was at the airport by 4:30. Check in gave me a bad feeling about what lay ahead. There were seven or eight people in front of me and when I took by bags to the area required so they could be dropped off for scanning, there were at least seventy bags jumbled together waiting to be sent through the x-ray machines. That did not look right for such a small airport. Security was upstairs and when I was moving up the escalator I was greeted with a disturbing site. There were at least one hundred people in line to go through security to the three flights that had all been scheduled for around 6 am.

I queued in and began to put everything I could into my carry on or my computer bag so I could get through security as quickly as possible. While I was emptying my pockets, I discovered that I had not dropped off the keys for the rental car, so I got out of line, went back downstairs to get the keys taken care of and hurried back to the security line. Fortunately, only about five people had entered the line in my absence. The line continued to slowly inch forward, but it was highly questionable if the people in front of me – scheduled for the flight at Gate 3 to Atlanta – would make that flight. When the announcement was made that the gate to their flight would close in five minutes there was a noticeable panic. We were still about twenty-five people away from even beginning the process of being checked in through security.

To her credit, the young lady that had taken over reading the boarding passes to begin getting us into the final queue started to get the boarding passes from people in line and scan them so we could go straight to the belt to get our things scanned when there was room for any of us to fit. I was about ten people out when she began walking the line to scan boarding passes and check IDs. When the lady of the couple trying to make their flight to Atlanta was walking into the body scanner, it was announced that the door had closed to their flight and would not be reopened. She pitched a fit. It was 6:05 and my flight was fully boarded. And, wouldn’t you know it, I got pulled aside for a full body search. In the waistband. Up the crotch. Wiping down the hands. The full experience. While I was waiting to be released, I watched my items come through the x-ray device, so I was not too far behind even with the extra-personal TSA experience.

The attendant to the gate for my flight came over and announced, “All Dallas passengers. I need you to get through security right now, so I can board you before I have to close the door.” I would have happily complied but was still waiting for the harried TSA staff (clearly this was an unusual situation for them also) to allow me to proceed. It was still a couple minutes later that I was able to slip on my shoes, stuff my computer into my bag, collect my phone and wallet and hurry onto the plane. I did not take time to put my belt back on until I was out of the plane in Dallas. As I understand it, there were about eight people that did not make the flight. What did the TSA people have to say when they heard all the complaining? “We opened at 4 am. You could have been here a lot earlier.” It is hard to argue with that.

Lesson learned: Go ahead and plan on getting to the airport two full hours before your flight time. You may spend a little more time sitting in the waiting area, but better to do that than be in the security line while your flight is taxiing away.

Brittany’s scare, goats to Bowie, rainy day

Last week, Brittany called Mama to tell her about troubling report she had gotten from a doctor. I am a little short on the details leading up to the visit or the classification of the doctor, but one particular doctor read some lab reports that did not look good. That doctor recommended a series of follow-up lab work to confirm his suspicion that Brittany had a thyroid problem that might require urgent treatment. She was obviously concerned and let Mama and I know so that we could be praying about the situation. A day or two later, she went to see her primary care physician who was shocked by the report Brittany was giving her outlining the diagnosis she had been given. Her doctor did some quick investigative work and was able to determine that the doctor in question had read the lab report for someone other than Brittany. Britany, her primary care physician assured her, is fine. Praise the Lord! We can certainly pray for the person whose lab report did reveal a serious health issue, but that person is not someone we know. That was good news to all of us – especially Brittany and Andrew. I am not sure how often that happens, but I am glad the error was quickly addressed and corrected.

Friday evening Mama and I loaded two of our goats to take them to Bowie, so they could run with Rick’s buck. One of the two was supposed to be bred and we were watching for her to deliver this month, but that did not happen. Dolly was bred at the same time Lilly was bred. Lilly has five-week-old triplets and there was no way Dolly could have been any later in delivering than this week if she had been bred. So, she and Millie went off to the breeder. While we were there, Rick offered to sell Millie for us, but Mama does not want to part with her. She may not be friendly, but she has given us two sets of triplets. She would sell Dolly if Rick had a buyer – and she was sure to let him know that. Mama also let Rick know that we have two other little females we are trying to sell – Kia and Yukie. Kia is old enough to breed but Yukie is only six months old. Rick offered to sell both of them for us. We happily accepted. They will go to his farm Friday evening since I will be traveling tomorrow through Thursday. It will be a huge blessing to sell them.

And, while we got that bit of good news, we also got a call on one of our little bucklings. Since we have had no success advertising the little ones locally, I placed an ad for them in Little Rock. Mama and I are currently looking at properties in that area so it seemed a good place to sell goats. The caller negotiated with Mama over the course of the day Sunday and I think they arrived at a price and delivery method, but I am not certain. I do know Mama was working on both of those items late into the evening Sunday. She was even texting back and forth as we were eating chips and sandwiches after church last night. She does not know I was watching her talk with the wife of a missionary couple sitting with us, deal with Cheyenne as she picked through her selections from the banquet while playing with Aliza and text back and forth with the buyer. All at the same time. She is pretty amazing.

Saturday, it rained pretty much all day. It was a pleasant soaking rain. We needed it and the ground happily drank in all of it. Mama and I used the day to clean up different areas of the house. That, and work on paperwork for our business.

Sunday afternoon we kept Yilin, Cheyenne and Aubrey. Also, Sunday afternoon we had a buyer come by to pick up a pup. We are now down to three – all males. Mama is ready to rehome the pups now. Saturday afternoon the pups got into the sunroom and chewed up some of her plants, spilling the contents of the pots the plants were in all over the sunroom. I made such an impression on the pups that they would not come to me Sunday afternoon when the buyer arrived.

Smart dogs.

Farming, coaching, living

Mama had quite a day yesterday. She took off early from work to get an MRI done in her knee. I think we started on the left knee last time and we are taking the same approach this go around. Doing the MRI is never an easy exercise for her because of the time required for her to lay in a position that strains her already hurting sciatic nerve, but the attending technician lavished her with praise for doing so well throughout the imaging test. She had allotted an hour of her day for the test but it took over two hours in total. She left the doctor’s office about 3:30. We had swapped vehicles at lunch, so she would have the truck to take run Muenster to get feed and that is where she headed after the MRI was done. Forty minutes each way. Ten to fifteen minutes to pay and get the feed deposited in the truck.

I had spent quite a bit of time with the cows getting alfalfa to them instead of cubes. (We keep bales of alfalfa in the loft of the goat barn.) Daisy is still losing weight so Mama and I will have to doctor her at some point soon, but for now she is getting by well enough to allow us to investigate what to do for her weight loss. I was just stepping into the house after feeding the cows and the two sets of goats when she drove into the driveway at 5:30. She spent almost her whole paycheck on feed, but we should have enough to carry us through the end of May. By the time we got the feed unloaded, refilled empty feed barrels at strategic spots on the farm and finished the tedious part of watering and refilling feeders for all the baby chicks, it was time to leave for our coaching session.

Our coaching session was very encouraging. As I learn to pay close attention to what Theresa is saying – and she talks very fast – I am picking up on some very clever and helpful insights on how to make this business work the way we need it to. Mama and I are very confident that we will be placing bids on at least three properties next month. We cannot be sure we will get the properties we bid on, but we will at least be confident enough to place the bids. There are so many more properties to investigate that we will probably spend the next month in one state evaluating the after-auction properties list of those counties before we move elsewhere in our searches. Right now, we are concentrating in Arkansas, but in our next coaching session, we will begin to look at Florida. Our coaching sessions are from 8 pm to 9 pm. That is a strain on Mama sometimes but, so far, we have managed to make it work. More often than not, we leave the sessions charged up about getting this business going.

It was a good thing we left the session energized last night because we had to spend some quality time at Walmart before heading home. Mama has been in a hurry to get home after work each day because she worries about the big dogs and the puppies. The big dogs need to be let out of the house and the pups need to be let out of the kennel. Both having been cooped up for the day while all of us are at work. Because of that, and the fact that she has been getting the mission house at the church set up for the missionaries we will be hosting for the Mission’s Conference this coming week, she has not gotten the shopping done for the extra meals we have to prepare for Mission’s Conference. So, we squeezed that shopping trip in last night. We ended up getting home at a little after 10pm.

It was a little after 10:30 before we got in bed; the non-perishable groceries still sitting on the table. We were worn out.

Another pup sold, progress on the business, missionaries, Maggie

A couple came to the farm last night to pick up a puppy. We were originally scheduled to meet them at a Buck-ee’s Store about an hour from us, but they were too excited to wait until Saturday. (I need four more buyers like that.) Mama had scheduled the pickup so that I would be home to give the puppy it’s first shot before the new owners arrived, but early enough that the exchange would not interfere with us getting to church. The sale of each puppy is a fun transition to observe. Mama is so reluctant to hand the puppy over and the buyer is so anxious to hold their new little one. It is never a tense moment, but it is clearly discernable. This owner was a very sweet woman who was buying the pup as a surprise birthday present for her 14-year-old daughter. I can only hope that the daughter is as excited about the puppy as her mommy was. After a mini-tour of the farm, they left with the dog and Mama and I got ready to leave for church.

To give you an idea of how well this buyer understood Mama’s attachment to the puppy, she sent a video to Mama showing the puppy with their one-year-old German Shepherd at their home. It was priceless to see the older puppy bring her toy to the very young puppy. Everyone was excited and the pup we had sent home with them was happily scampering about underfoot of the new owners. That should work out well for all of them. As for the puppy count. It stands as three down, four to go.

Mama and I have a coaching session tonight. We are at the point of contacting a realtor in the area we are researching houses to get a “boots on the ground” perspective of the properties we are interested in buying. It is almost close enough that we could go ourselves except for the constraints of our jobs. I have to admit that it is nice to have these coaching sessions to get our questions answered as well as to keep us moving steadily forward in the business.

I got an email late yesterday that let me know that the paperwork required to set up the business accounts is on it’s way to us. I will still have to a lot of forms to complete before forwarding the paperwork to the bank we will be using to administer the accounts, but we are that much closer to the goal of having the corporation ready to make the purchases of properties for our business. I am relieved, excited and terrified as we quickly approach our humble little start-up.

Meanwhile, Cori and Nate did their final interview with BIMI and are approved to take up their ministry on the field. They still have a couple meetings to present in and all the required packing, selling and downsizing to restart their lives as fulltime missionaries, but they are ready to get going. Plans are to be on the flight to Honduras early next month. Again, we are relieved, excited and a little bit terrified by it all. And I am sure they feel pretty much the same way. Other than the language, which they will soon master, they are perfectly suited to the ministry where they are called to serve.

Pray for Maggie. She called us a day or so ago to solicit advice on how punishment should be used when discipline is not successful. It is always a challenge to stay consistent with discipline in the home especially when a child is not responding obediently. My dad’s philosophy on discipline in the home was to set up as few rules as possible but enforce those rules fairly and consistently. Maggie and Aaron are doing just that but have a strong-willed child that does not seem opposed to receiving the punishment that comes from disobedience. It is hard in those instances not to feel like you have failed in some way, but consistency will eventually win out. The Bible makes us this promise: Train up a child in the way that he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 We told Maggie to stick with it, don’t give in and eventually the will of the child will conform to the will of the parents; hopefully, for a lifetime of good results - when we are faithful and consistent.

God will keep His promises.

Deliveries, diets

I took a few minutes yesterday at work to compose a list of chores I could get done over the evening once I got home. It was not to be. Mama called about 3:30 and asked if I would go with her to deliver a puppy. The meeting was scheduled for 7:30 pm at the rest stop just north of Gainesville, TX. The buyer was coming from Oklahoma City. I did manage to get some watering done before we had to leave but the other items on my list will have to wait – probably until Friday evening.

The pup being bought was a female Victoria and Mama were calling Dakota. I only remember that because I watched the buyer – who was very excited about getting the pup – write it down on the box he had brought to carry her home in. She handled the trip there very quietly. However, we had not even made it out or Decatur before we had to pull over and clean up the little dog carrier I had her in. She emptied her belly into the carrier and soaked the towel we had in there for her. It was mostly clabbered milk where she had nursed just before we left the farm. Mama used the entire store of napkins I had accumulated in the truck to wipe out the portion the towel did not soak up. Other than that, we made the trip without incident; except for getting to the rest area.

The rest area was only accessible from the southbound side of the highway. We were heading north so we had to go a couple miles past the rest stop to make the turn around. It was one of those turn arounds placed under the overpass just at a river or other body of water. Not unusual for Texas. It caught us by surprise, but we made the U-turn and headed back down the service road toward the rest stop. Instead of getting back on the highway for the short distance we lacked, we stayed on the service road. That was not the best decision. The service road did not connect to the rest area parking lot, so Mama and I had to park on the side of the service road and walk to the rest area with the puppy to meet our buyer. With Mama’s knee problems it was a bit of a chore, but we succeeded in getting the puppy and her new owner united. We got home later than I had hoped, but it was worth it in my book to move out another of the puppies. Tonight, we are expecting a family to come to the farm to buy a puppy before we leave for church. That will leave only four puppies to find new owners for. I always anticipate that day.

Mama has started looking at a new consumption method. I hesitate to use the word “diet” because of the negative connotations, because everything we eat is our “diet”. This method has a particular focus on limiting foods that cause or exacerbate inflammation. It is a very workable food regimen. One that will work for us if we choose to follow it. A common theme in all suggested normalization food plans is the elimination of sugar, the reduction of carbohydrates and the promotion of dietary fiber. Added to this diet is the restriction of foods that are highly suspect in promoting inflammation. The article that Cori sent Mama struck a cord with her when she finally did the calculation for the stress in pounds that is added to the knee and hips for each additional ten pounds of excess weight. Mama’s number was high enough to alarm her. It was not that the information was new to her. I have told her how to make the same calculation several times in the past. This time, when it was presented to her, she as willing to know the answer.

I have no problem following whatever she decides to do. I am on a restricted diet that I will continue to follow for the rest of the year. Supporting her in her change of eating will further help me. We just need to decide to do it – and follow through.

Crazy spring weather, business news

We are in that special time of year when we run the heater in the morning and the air conditioner in the afternoon on a typical day. But the reverse is also possible. We have started our mornings with warm breezes out of the south and ended the afternoon scrambling to find the jacket we left at work on the last normal day. It isn’t so bad, but it presents a peculiar challenge for Mama and Victoria. Both of them struggle to determine whether to leave the heaters on for the pups or the heat lamps on for the chicks. Can they turn on the fan before leaving for work or is it still too cold to do so? How soon will the 85° air follow the 55° air? Will the little ones get too cold waiting on it to warm up to the point that the extra movement of air will feel comfortable? This morning is not so bad. It was 61° at 6 am and will travel quickly to near 90°. Fans will probably be turned on this morning to produce an hour or two of shivering followed by the relief of the added air movement later this morning into the afternoon. It is certain that it will be hot by the time we all get home.

I did have time to get the gas logs working last night. I had to disconnect the lines in the back of the unit to purge them with propane and in doing so, I discovered that Norman had installed a shut off valve in the line as it entered the fireplace. That would have been nice to know as it was probably the only reason I could not start the flow of propane the other night. Anyway, the gas logs are operational now and, who knows, we might have another cold night before the long summer sets upon us. Mama was both happy to see the fire burning and disappointed that the display was not as vibrant as she was expecting. I may have to rearrange the “logs” on the burners to get the flame spectacle she would like – but last night was not the night to get that done.

Mama and I came to the office last night for our coaching session, but we left early because she was not feeling well. We will pick up that session on Thursday night. I believe we are still on track to buy our first property sometime early in May. If that does work out, we should be able to sell that property by the end of June. That is exciting. That would keep us on track for meeting my target date of October to move fulltime into the business we are pursuing. There are still a lot of moving pieces to get the business completely set up and funded, but we are close enough to plan for that time frame. Mostly now, I am trying to get the paperwork signed and notarized, so it can be filed properly. Then we can set up accounts, fund the accounts and start making purchases through the corporation. I knew it would be an involved task to get all this done, but I am still surprised by the amount of paperwork required.

We are currently linking the business to the trust Mama and I set up a couple years ago. Mama still struggles with the need to address our deaths when we are just starting out in this business, but it is a necessary part of doing things right. Still, it is kind of awkward. Everything should be in place by the end of next week. Right now, everyone is waiting on me to get my part done and get the paperwork back to them.

I am struggling to find the time to get my part done.

Cleanup, lagging sales, failed installation

Saturday was a cleanup day at the farm. It is always amazing to me how much we are willing to put up with as things accumulate in different areas of the house. The sunroom is one of those areas of accumulation. It is a transition area between the outdoors and the house. Right now, it serves as the transition area for the dogs – both large and small. Added to that, we had moved some shelves and other items around to give Norman access to the fireplace to install a set of gas logs for us. Saturday, I had had enough of the mess and began to fill trash bags with gallon jugs, discarded footwear – some of those had been gnawed upon by past litters of pups. There were containers that we had taken plants from to be repotted, broken toys, old towels and blankets now in service to the dogs, and at least ten pairs of boots. Rubber boots, leather boots, large boots and small boots. When I was done, Victoria and Mama got in and swept up the spilled potting soil, the leaves and hay, and the general dirt that the adults, children and the dogs had tracked in. For right now, the room looks pretty good. Now I need to spend a week in other areas of the home and farm.

For all the advertising, all the phone calls, we sold only one puppy this weekend. Mama got several calls on Friday and three people expressed interest in the pups, but in the end, only one showed up to buy a puppy. I did not meet the buyer. He was getting to the farm at the same time I was leaving for bus calling, but both Mama and Victoria said he was delightful. The other buyers did not show up. So, we still have six puppies to sell…and we still have two adult goats and two kid goats to sell. I am a little frustrated that Mama and I have never been able to sell things with the same level of success that others seem to have, but it has been a lifelong lack for both of us. Admittedly, I am less concerned about selling the goats than I am about selling the dogs. I can accommodate keeping the goats. I will not keep the puppies.

About three months ago, Norman started installing a set of gas logs in the fireplace. It has sat for quite a while waiting on a part or a fitting. Mama and I were never sure. With the recent cold snaps, there was a renewed interest in getting the installation completed. Mama called Norman to see what was lacking and he came over Saturday to make the final connections, only to find that he did not have the parts needed to make that connection. When I understood where he was in the process, I took over the installation I ran to the hardware store to get the fittings but did not have time to put them on the line because Mama and I had a date to eat out with the seniors from the church. [We went to the Chinese restaurant. The church wanted to support Yilin and Cheyenne’s family.] After eating with our group, Mama and I went to the office to do some more research. We did not get home until after 8:30 pm.

When I did get home, I hooked everything up but was not able to get a flow of gas to the fireplace. When Norman and I pulled the old line up out of the place where it had been tucked into the sunroom floor, we suspected that the line might have some debris in it, but we could not easily determine if our suspicions were correct. Hooking up the line was the best way to find out. Oh, well. Mama and I were looking forward to having a fire in the fireplace. We are closer than we were a few months ago, but still not there. Now, I will have to disconnect the logs from the lines in the fireplace and blow back through towards the supply side of the lines. I do not bend as well as I used to, so it will be a challenge for me to get that done. That was the reason we had Norman do the installation in the first place.

I may have time tonight, before our coaching session. We’ll see.

Teaching, recuperation, scrimping

I spent the last two workdays teaching classes. Although I like to teach, those days are pretty hard for me. Standing for roughly seven hours of an eight-hour class hurts my back. Speaking at a higher than normal volume so that my voice projects to those in the back of the class puts a strain on my voice. Add to that the inescapable stress of teaching a class and you can begin to see the strains it puts on me. It takes me two days to recuperate – in a good week. I feel better this morning. Just a bit more stiffness than normal in my lower back, but I took a muscle relaxer last night. I normally will not do that except on weekends.

After teaching all day Wednesday it was a challenge for me to lead the singing at church that evening, but we got through it. Erin Echeveria, who plays the piano for our church, sensed the difficulty I was having with my voice as I softly sang the invitation song and played a little bit louder than she normally would. That was a big help. The class yesterday was a smaller class in a smaller room, so I did not have to speak as loudly but my voice and back were already strained from the class on Wednesday, so I was starting off a bit behind. One night is not generally enough to allow me to recover, but by Saturday evening I should be okay once more. Last night there was a lot I needed to get done at the farm but my back was hurting so miserable that it was painful to walk. So, I rested a bit after getting the dogs and the pups taken care of while I waited for Mama to get home from her doctor’s appointment.

Mama is going to get an MRI done on her left knee. She is at the point that she needs to do something to mitigate the continual pain. She has another six weeks of school this year, so scheduling the scope or any recommended surgery will not be an issue, but it will take the majority of the summer to recuperate from either of those two eventualities. She will probably not be going back to work at the school next year. The amount of standing required has been hard on her. Plus, we are working toward her being able to do our business fulltime from the time she finishes this school year. We are optimistically planning on me being fulltime in our business by the fall of this year. I am, emotionally speaking, too ready for that to happen. But knowing that we have that in the plan makes it a bit easier to continue with things as they are.

Since we have not had any success selling any of our goats, we are trying to stretch our incomes to meet the bills of the home, the business and the farm. We will have a calf to sell by late next month and we have four goats to sell right now – not to mention the seven puppies Victoria is selling. So, we are not far from having the resources we need to keep feeding the animals without it coming out of my paycheck, but financial matters are getting challenging. We will make it. We always do, but it would be nice to have a little extra stashed away once more. Don’t get me wrong. I am not complaining. I mostly wanted to record the situation for future reference.

Mama and I normally would have gone to the office last night to continue our research, but I was worn out to the point that my mind was not functioning clearly, and I took the lazy path of just sitting still and doing things that did not occupy my mind. I let myself unwind for a couple hours. When we finally get internet service at the house, I will be able to work in small intervals on the research at the kitchen table or at my desk, but that has been difficult to arrange. The cost of the two failed attempts to get reliable service at the house have left me extremely hesitant to try again but I will have to get something for Mama to use when she is working our business.

One of the disappointments with the iPhone Cori gave me when she upgraded, is the poor connectivity I am getting. With the Android device I was using, even when signal strength was poor, I was able to get apps to open and use the hot spot for internet service – such as it was. That is not the case with this phone. I get nothing. Because of that, Mama and I have to travel to get connected.

Disappointing, but workable…except when you are too worn out to make the extra effort.

Rearranging chicks, coaching, the twins

As soon as I got home yesterday afternoon, Mama and I put the large cage we use while chicks turn quickly into chickens in the west side of the cop and took the chicks that we are raising for ourselves and put them from the totes they were in into the cage. That allowed Mama to separate the chicks into two groups of ten. Getting a heat lamp set up for them turned out to be a bit of a challenge but I rigged up one lamp to be shared between the two compartments. The temperature this morning was in the low forties, but Mama was worried that we did not enough heat for the chicks to be comfortable. She will make the determination this morning and we will make any adjustments when I get home this evening.

The chicks we are raising for Kim Cantrell, we put into the Banty house. When we moved the kennel to the birthing center, we placed the Banty house at the front of the coop. that allowed me to run a heat lamp into the top of the Banty house through the nesting area. Again, we are not sure if the heat we provided was enough for the little chicks but all of them are at least grown enough to have a good start on their feathers. With the feathers at the point where they are now, the chicks were able to fly out of the totes very easily. I had to cut some pieces of fencing to cover the totes to hinder their escape, but that would not have worked for much longer.

One group of fourteen chicks are still in the garage in a tote. That group is about a week behind the other two groups of chicks and the difference in their size is noticeable, so we cannot mix them in yet. Besides, eleven of the chicks in the garage are the Banty chicks that were hatched out on the farm. With those chicks, there is a vast difference in size which will continue throughout their lives, but we have found that the Bantam’s are very hardy and a bit aggressive. The other chickens, though much larger, pretty much leave them alone.

Mama and I had another coaching session last night. I was able to get things ready for the session, so we could steer it towards some of the questions Mama and I needed answered. In our last session we started looking at the state of Arkansas. Mama and I continued with that research on the two nights we were able to get to the office to further the research. (We had a Soul Winning Training Conference Wednesday through Sunday.) In the process of studying the lists we found three properties that we needed a little insight to investigate further. I had those ready for review last night. Mama and I were excited because the two properties we took notice of were on the top of the list our coach was compiling for herself. Our coach was excited also and quickly shared the information Mama and I needed – including a title search and pictures of one property. We left encouraged.

Mama has been a bit more diligent to share with me the updates Brittany puts together for her. Right now, the twins are starting to show an interest in becoming more mobile. They are starting to explore the process of crawling. They are not there yet, but Brittany feels they are getting close. Like all parents before her, she is anxious to see them succeed – knowing the consequences of such mobility. When the two of them finally figure out how to get to the things they see and want, they will quickly discover more things to see and want. Tabletops must be kept clear of breakables or potentially harmful objects, drawers must be guarded, and cabinets locked closed. You have to be mindful of every step you take and careful to close every door behind you; opening the door carefully on your return. Stairs must be gated, and steps seen as a hazard to those moving about on their bellies. Oven doors and dishwasher doors become dangerous ledges and must be kept closed when not in use. The list goes on and on. Some of the hazards they will identify in advance; other’s they will find when a minor injury occurs. With the house she and Andrew have, they will have a challenge on their hands. A fun challenge, but a challenge none-the-less.

Even with that ahead of her, Britany is coaching the girls in their efforts to upend her life with their independent movement. I remember doing the same thing.

On the road again, forgetful

Nate, Cori and the kids left the farm Saturday afternoon, but it almost did not happen. When they left for Honduras last week, Nate and I took their vehicle to Roger to have him repair the a/c. Though Roger had the vehicle all week, he did not get started on it until Friday morning. Mama and I still had a high degree of confidence that Roger would get it done on time for them to leave by noon Saturday, but just to make sure, we all packed up and went to Bowie to visit Grandma and Grandpa Saturday morning – and to check in with Roger.  

Nate and I visited with Grandma, Grandpa and Norman for a few minutes, then took our leave to go to the shop. When we got there, their vehicle was in the shop, so it was being serviced. That was good. When we got into the shop, Roger began apologizing. He had been so confident that the leak was in the rear a/c condenser unit that he had ordered the parts earlier in the week, but when he got the back unit exposed, there was no evidence of a leak. He was really embarrassed that he had not started on the repair earlier, but at that point, there was little he could offer other than to assure Nate that the leak was in the unit under the dash. That was a repair that would take him two days to make and he knew we did not have that time to offer him. We went back to Grandma’s and let everyone know the prognosis. The bottom line was that the a/c was not going to get fixed, but, on the bright side, we had about two hours to kill – so we went to lunch with everyone.

Nate and I left from Golden Chick to get the vehicle after Nate had said his goodbyes. Roger charged them $60 for the time he had spent on investigating the leak. I could tell, he hated asking for even that much, but he had used over a pound of Freon to find the leak – so the money was to replace the chemicals used. We all headed back to the farm. Nate and Cori packed up the camper, hooked up the camper and headed out for Houston about 2 pm. Not too much later than they wanted, but still without a working a/c. We all gathered and prayed before they left, and the older kids realized that this really was goodbye. They are not planning to see us again before they leave the country – at least, not at the farm. No one was crying. We made a game of hugging one last time, one more last time and so on. Cori said that Savanna is beginning to understand the separation and the fact that she may never be back to Grammy’s farm again. She is struggling with that, but we have pictures and videos that will preserve those memories for her – and for us. Such is the life of missionary children.

In the process of doing normal chores on the farm, Savanna and I had gone to feed the cows Friday evening. With Daisy still in the corral, I have to keep vigil on her feed and water – especially her water. The issue is that the yard hydrant at the barn does not completely shut off. The amount of water it allows to leak through is significant, so I installed a shutoff valve at the well. That means that every time I need to fill the trough, I have to open the valve at the well. When I have filled the trough, I shut the valve at the well. Well, Friday evening, Savanna and I were in a big way of talking and I forgot to shut that valve when we put the feed buckets back in the well house. I did not go back to check on Daisy until late Saturday afternoon. The water had been on the entire time. The corral was a mess. The stream I had created flowed all the way to our stock tank. I was pretty upset with myself but, what, what can you do? The ground will dry out. The well will recover, and Daisy did not run out of water.

Such is the life of a hobby farm owner.

Play time, setting up for goodbyes, progress

As I left for church last night, Mama, Victoria and the grandkids were in the back yard playing with the puppies. The puppies are growing very quickly. So much so that even Savanna noticed as she pulled one onto her lap. She loves playing with the puppies. For now, they have that puppy smell and are softer than even Kobe – who made it home in the early morning hours after she had gotten out. Victoria has one pup sold already and the others are advertised for sale. Hopefully, they will all be rehomed in a couple weeks. They are all eating dog food – as though they are starving to death. Which is clearly not the case. Victoria still wets their food down with warm water, so they do not choke on an unchewed piece of hard dog food as they inhale it and typically, they do not eat everything they are given. Victoria is very generous with them. No worries though. Kira, Kobe or Bella will eat the leftover wet mush with almost the same gusto. It’s really kind of gross.

I would like to have stayed and joined in the play but felt that I needed to support the pastor and our church in the ongoing conference. I do not fault Mama for wanting to stay at the farm with the grandkids. Last night and tonight are the last two nights she will have with Mykenzie, Grant, Blake and Savanna. Cori and Nate will be back in Houston this evening and will drive to the farm through the late evening into the night. They should arrive sometime after midnight. Tomorrow, they will get fully packed up and head down the road to finish deputation. They are not planning on coming back to the farm before they leave for Honduras. The camper and the vehicle have been sold to one of Nate’s uncles. It will be picked up in Florida sometime in May. Tomorrow will be goodbye. Mama and I wanted to go with them to help them set up in Honduras when they did make the flight to relocate, but for now, that is not possible. Fortunately, technology keeps us much better connected than in bygone days, so Mama can be assured of not being forgotten. Cori, like Maggie and Brittany, keeps us abreast of new developments in their lives…when Mama remembers to tell me what she has heard.

Today the house will be cleaned up. All the Lego sets, books and blankets that belong to the kids will be collected and prepared for repacking. All the shoes, socks, jackets, pillows and blankets will be gathered up so they can travel with their respective owners and Monday or so, Mama and I will take what was forgotten and pack it to be mailed to Nate and Cori so their belongings will be complete. Standard procedure when children are involved in your life. If I were a betting man, I would bet Mama is not going to go into work today. After all, it is her full last day with the grandkids.

We have not had much time to work on the business this week, but when we put God first, I believe all the other things in life have a way of working out better. So, our pursuit of the business will continue Monday. We did get our incorporation papers yesterday – along with an embossing stamp to use in our business. Now I can set up the accounts with the bank and conduct business under our LLC.

We are slowly inching forward but we are making progress.

Extra day, success, wisdom

I left work yesterday after being there only an hour or so. I was hurting too badly to sit. When my diverticulitis pains me that much there is little I can do except be ready to get to the bathroom every time the cramps require it. That is unpleasant while at the office. At home, it is not pleasant either, but it is less stressful. The pain started to abate in the early afternoon. I have found that if I can find something to do that keeps my mind and body active, I can deal with the pain more effectively. So, yesterday, I changed and started doing some small things around the farm.

Mama and Victoria took the kids to Gainesville to visit the zoo. They had a great time there. While they were out I put down fabric on the ground between the fence and the driveway. Mama and I have talked about covering that entire area with gravel, so I started yesterday. It was mostly light duty work. The tractor does a lot of the work. All I had to do was put prepare the area for the gravel. There is so much gravel to choose from in the gravel yard nearby that it took me a while to stumble upon the form of crushed stone I was looking for. While doing so, I found a pile of rocks the size Mama is looking for to landscape the circle entry to our property. I also found a plie of fine gravel to help with the project. Getting to the pile will be a challenge, but I think we can work something out when the time comes.

To cover only half of the area I eventually need to cover took four bucket loads of the gravel I had selected. The pile was a bit further into the massive gravel yard than what I had gotten over the weekend to fil in the area opened at the shop when we moved the fence. Each trip took about twenty minutes, so I was not exactly setting a blistering pace throughout the project – but I did get off to a good start. At least it looked like I had done something big by the time Mama, Victoria and the kids got back from their outing.

Cori and Nate reported that they had found the house they wanted to start off with in their ministry in Honduras. I have not seen pictures yet. Those are on hold because, as I understand it, the house is a tad rough. Victoria explained that Cori and Nate want to give the presentation of the home to the kids with lengthy explanations of how each room will be finished, furnished and decorated and which of the children will stay in each of the rooms. I will share pictures as I get them. What I would really like to do is go with them to get the house rehabilitated – but, at present, I cannot see that happening. Now Cori and Nate will get the paperwork, the payments and all other pertinent items taken care of so that they can occupy the house in only a few short weeks. They will fly into Houston tomorrow and be home late that night. All will be packed up from the farm and they will head down the road for their final meetings Saturday afternoon. They will probably not be back to the farm again before they relocate to the field. It has taken a little less than two years to get them to this point, but it feels like it happened very quickly.

We are in a Soul Winning conference at church which will continue tonight and Friday night. We desperately need to do better in that area of our faith but there is still a strong disconnect between wanting to be a good witness and being a good witness. Prayers for God’s wisdom have been a continual request on my part and God has generously answered those prayers – especially as I have been faithful to go out witnessing.  Proverbs 11:30 says, “The fruit of righteousness is a tree of life, and he that winneth souls is wise.”

I have always wanted to be wise. Here is a clear thought on how I can be.

Seekers, wanderers, a bonus

Cori and Nate seem to have gotten off to a good start yesterday. They sent a video of a house they were looking at somewhere in the town where they will be serving. It was definitely a Latino abode. The walls and ceilings were all painted green – not an ostentatious green, but not a pastel green either. Once the overwhelming sensation of seeing so much of one color was past, it was a fairly nice home; tile floors throughout, two bathrooms, three bedrooms with a decent kitchen and a fair-sized living area. What was uncommon for the area was the large yard. It was fully enclosed with prison wire across the top of a brick fence.  Somewhat intimidating, but not unexpected. Today they are scheduled to look at another, even bigger house. Either way, they are having success seeking out a home to move to in just a few weeks.

Meanwhile, back at the farm we are having some minor issues in the combination of children, gates and dogs. Each time the kids have been with us there has been an incident where one of the gates to the back yard has been left open and the dogs have gotten out of the yard. On this visit, it happened last night. When I got home – after having to go to Walmart for items Mama needed for dinner – the kids were playing some form of tag. Since they were barefooted, they were using the sidewalks that encircle the house for their boundary. Of course, there are two gates on that sidewalk; at the garage and at the west end of the house. Each time they raced through those gates in their game, each gate had to be opened and closed. In one of those passages, the gate at the garage was not closed and Bella, Kobe and Kira got out.

I had made an additional run to the grocery store in Chico right after I got home because we still needed one item to complete Mama’s dinner plans and when I got home, Kira was just exiting the yard. Fortunately, Sam and Sasha belayed her exit and I was able to get her back into the yard. I guess she was a little late in discovering the open gate that Bella and Kobe had run through already. We could fuss at and scold the kids, but they already know better. So, we called out to the dogs and waited. By the time Victoria got home, neither dog had returned. It was well after dark, sometime just before 9 pm that Bella came back. As of this morning, I am not sure if Kobe has returned. I told Mama, if this continues to happen we have to expect that at some point the dogs will not make it back.  Between predators, hunters and fast drivers on the road, there are some significant dangers the dogs face once they are out of the yard.

On the brighter side, all eleven of the chicks that the broody Banty was sitting on hatched. Mama and the kids gathered all the remaining chicks yesterday morning. They are growing safely in a tote in the garage – warm, watered and well fed.

Those eleven chicks were a bonus to the farm.

Coaching Session, escapees, farm chicks

Because we are one vehicle short, Mama had to drop me off at the office yesterday. That made it an early morning for her, but she told me that she got all the kids ready, all the animals fed and all the prep for lunches at school done in record time. They even made it to school on time. Something that is hit or miss for Mama on a regular day. I was stuck at work for lunch, but it was not too bad. It made me realize how much I enjoy the break away from work each day. Today, Mama will be at home with the kids. The school is doing their annual testing and our Pastor’s wife always administers those tests. With her there at the school, Mama is not normally needed. She laments the loss of hours but is excited about a couple days off to spend with the kids. She was holding Savanna last night and whispered to me, “this one may be too big to do this with the next time we get to spend this much time with her.” True, that. Maggie, Brittany and Chase all sent pictures of their respective little ones decked out for Easter. All those pictures ended up on devises I do not normally access, so I do not have them to share, but like the grandchildren that are with us, they are all growing up so quickly it is a little overwhelming. Mama and I are praying that this business will allow us the opportunity to travel enough to see our grandchildren more often.

Along that line of thought, Mama and I met with our coach last night. When we called in to the meeting, Mama and I were working on a list of properties that will be auctioned off the middle of next month. Since we were already looking at a couple properties of interest, our coach went right along with the course of action needed to do the full research on one of those properties. As it turned out, Mama and I had been investigating a very good one. Our coach was excited by that. As we walked though her approach to determining the value of the property, Mama and I learned a couple new techniques for getting that value. I am more comfortable with the approach Frank taught us, but it is always good to see a different methodology – in case we need it to share with to someone we are training in the business. Different people solve a problem in different ways so is always good to capture those ideas as we go. Mama and I are thinking about going to the auction next month. It may be too high a bar to set for us right now, but we are strongly considering it.

Tonight, I will have to spend some time setting up a different connection from the birthing center to the kennel. The one I threw together – that I thought would last a week or two – is not containing the puppies as they exit the building. They are able to get themselves up high enough to tumble over the sides of the connecting walkway. They are big pups and they are getting more ambulatory every day. To contain them I will need to build something larger and more substantial.

But they are not the only escapees. Certain of our chickens are still getting out. Tonight, Mama and I will scour the property to find out if those that are always out are out because they do not go back into the coop to roost, or because they have a found an escape route out of the coop. As with the pups, it is not a big deal but I would like to have things done right so we can reliably contain the chickens and the pups when we need to.

As I was coming back from the garden through the little shed we have built onto the well house, I heard the unmistakable sound of chicks peeping. When I investigated further, I found the hen that has been sitting on the eleven eggs under the shed, did indeed have chicks under her wings. I called Mama and the grandkids over. When everyone was ready, I lifted up the hen and we found five newly hatched chicks. Not being sure how to feed and water them if we left them there, we gathered them up and put them under a heat lamp in a tote in the garage along with the other forty we have there. Whether we did the right thing or not will be evident in a day or two. Meanwhile, we will keep check for new arrivals.

Coria and Nate are safely in Honduras. Keep them in your prayers.

Two good days of work – one casualty, Easter

Last weekend was good. Good weather. Good success with projects and repairs at the farm. Good time with Nate, Cori and the kids. With a bit of help from Nate I was able to get the coop wire finished, get gravel put on the bare ground opened to the driveway when we moved the fence at the shop and able to do some cleanup of the flowerbeds Mama has been agonizing over. On Saturday, while Nate, Cori and the girls were on their way to Bowie to meet Victoria and drop off their vehicle to Roger – the a/c is out – Blake and Grant were playing in the rocks in the goat area. I did not think much about it until I heard Blake’s blood curdling scream. Grant was moving some of the larger rocks and flipped one onto Blake’s hand, smashing his finger in the process. It flayed the skin completely off the first knuckle of the ring finger on his right hand. I called Cori and asked them to head back to the farm to evaluate the injury. I thought it was bad enough that an emergency room visit might be warranted. We might have been able to get by without it, but on my recommendation, they went to the hospital to get the wound cleaned and dressed. It is always such a frightful expense. The finger guard they gave Blake is a badge of honor for him that he was able to show off at church yesterday – and it does protect his finger from getting banged around. We are changing the medicated patches and the gauze nightly while Cori and Nate are in Honduras this week.

It was a full two days of work at the farm. The baby chicks arrived Friday morning and Mama and I set up totes in the garage to accommodate the forty we are keeping. Zack and Alissa came over fairly early to get the dozen they had ordered. So far there has been one casualty. Fortunately, it was not one of the expensive breed Mama ordered. When Blake was injured I was working on repairing the kennel, so a tarp could be put back over it to shade the puppies – and that came out very well. When I finished that, I set up for Nate to help me get the wire on the coop – until I ran out of materials. To open the sidewalk from the garage into the back yard, I took some thin, tall rods and attached them to the raised bed in the back yard to support the blackberry bush that is thriving in that bed. When I got it set on the supports, I found a runner that had sprouted a new blackberry plant and I dug it up to be replanted. When I had exhausted all the materials I had I went to the garden and rebuilt the small raised beds into one deeper bed, so I could relocate the berry bushes from the back yard as well as the one I had taken from the raised bed in the back yard. That came out pretty well. I will know in a week or so how well the plants will do.

When Nate and Cori returned from the hospital, Nate and I took their vehicle to Bowie, so Roger could get the repairs made to the a/c. While we were there, we stopped and picked up some TEF and alfalfa from Rick. At the farm, we loaded the bales into the loft of the goat barn and I swapped the hay/pallet forks on the tractor to the bucket and went to the gravel yard next door and hauled enough gravel to cover the spot by the shop – four bucket loads. I drove the tractor and Nate spread the gravel. Having rested my back a bit while I was on the tractor, I spent an hour or so on the back of the shop leveling the gravel I had put there as well as lining out the west corner and roof supports for the little shed I am adding onto the shop.

Easter Sunday was great. We had Mykenzie, Grant, Blake, Savanna, Yilin, Cheyenne and Aubrey all dressed for the day. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures on my phone. Three Easter egg hunts later, our house is overrun with plastic eggs.

Nate and Cori left from the restaurant to drive to Houston where they will catch a flight to Honduras. Please continue in prayer for them.