Perfect birthing weather, staying positive, giving

The night that Aspen’s twins were born (Saturday night) was forecast to be near freezing. That did not happen. The temperature got down into the mid-forties. Perfect birthing weather. So much so that Millie delivered her twins yesterday morning. Again, one boy and one girl. Both of the girl babies are solid black. Aspen’s red boy, Julian, is beautifully marked. It is hard to tell at this point, but he may have blue eyes. That would be a huge selling point. I did not take any pictures last night as Mama and I tended to them. I should have. It was just fun to stand and watch the babies play on the rock pile we have in that paddock. All the little ones seem to have full bellies and plenty of energy. Especially when you consider that they are only a couple days old. Lilly and Dolly have not kidded yet but that should be happening soon for Dolly. Lilly may be a few weeks out still yet.

Mama and I purposely fed only enough to allow the goats to produce twins. Millie proved that out by having her first set of twins instead of triplets. Rick had warned us that heavier feed produces heavier babies or more babies. So, Mama and I were very measured in feeding our expectant nannies. It is better, we decided, to have healthy twins than to risk losing triplets again. By the time we breed again, next June (Lord willing), Midas will be ready to go. He is not related to any of the nannies or their offspring, so he can breed them all. That will be fun to have happen on our farm for the first time. Of course, our feed bill is about to go up dramatically as our herd grows from seven to fifteen.

Being in constant pain and being stressed by finances is making it difficult for me to stay positive. Part of my sudden illness over the weekend has to be attributed to psychosomatic origins. Physical in response. Psychological in its roots. It was as if my body gave me an ultimatum. It demanded rest. And it got it. I have not felt good for some weeks now. Constant heartburn. Constant bowel pain. Constant back pain. As much as I try to tell myself that there is nothing that can be gained by worrying over any of the issues that trouble me, I still am who I am. Highly reflective. Highly introspective. A worrier by nature. But this I know. God is in control. He is bringing about His perfect plan in Mama’s and my life. I see His blessings. I feel His mercies. I stand amazed in His love. I am not able to change me. But He can and when Mama and I come through this trial, I really “shall come forth as gold”.

Mama and I looked at tickets last night. Tickets to Honduras. We found some for the end of January at an unbelievably low price - $202 per person round trip. Only $404 per person to fly business class. We did not immediately get the tickets, but we are definitely praying about it. At that price, it would be much more affordable than our last trip. That is a good thing since there are a couple things Mama and I would like to do the next time we are in Honduras. In preparation for purchasing the tickets, I applied to both American Airlines and United for credit cards that award miles for purchases. We will use only one for the purchases. Since both airlines offer competitive pricing, we will just have to weigh the options for travel to see which way to go. American always has a layover somewhere, but offers rewards based on segments. A flight with a layover is worth two segments each way. United has direct flights out of Houston to Honduras. With international flights, that would be preferable. That way we only handle our luggage once on the way down – when it is typically at its maximum weight. Maybe we will use American for domestic travel and United for international travel. Time will tell.

For now, we pray and wait. God does not give us money to consume it totally on ourselves. There are so many around us with far more urgent needs than ours. Mama and I help where we can. When we can. In whatever way we can. For instance, recently Mama overstuffed our upright freezer and it began to fail. Instead of letting the meat spoil she called a friend at BBTI and offered the meat to them. All in all, it was about sixty pounds of pork. About fifteen pounds of that was the bacon Mama had traded to get when we butchered our pigs. She really hated to lose it, but it gave ten struggling families a couple very nice meals. It was not much. What would have been our loss was instead a gift to friends. As Mama and I struggle to give while we meet our own needs, it was a pleasant opportunity to help. One we would not have come up with on our own.

Serving the Lord is uniquely thrilling in that way.