The Goat Lady Chronicles: The Beginning

The Beginning

 Every adventure has a beginning. My goat adventure started as it does with many- in a book! I had been reading about homesteading, most especially the Back to Basics book and I noticed goats for the first time. I mean, I'd always known about goats, but never knew just how incredible they were!

 From there my interest was peaked, so I grabbed all the books I could from the library on goats and I fell in love with the creatures!

 Tilly Mae- first day at Dozen Acre Farm

 From then on, I prayed, asked my father, talked to my good friend Lori and the Lord provided the things I needed to be a goad lady: permission from my Dad, a place for my goat to live, a friend to join me in the journey and the funds. Thus Tilly Mae made her way to Dozen Acre Farm and has been quite content since!

 Little Ginny- her first day on the farm

 Marshall feeding Tilly some grain

 Caleb getting friendly with Tilly

 Goats have personality, production and are relatively easy to care for. Of course, it may be a little easier for me as they aren't on my property, but I haven't heard Lori complain too much about problems. Maybe she's keeping secrets from me.....

 Jersey Rae- her first day at Dozen Acre

Goats can be best described by my friend Tyler,"They're like productive dogs." They're as fun and enjoyable as any cat or dog, yet they contribute to the farm and family economy by providing milk, manure for compost and clearing away brush. I'm so thankful that God has enabled me to be a part of this adventure and would encourage any who are able to join in!

Pinspiration!

 Pinterest can be a HUGE distraction for me at times, but it can also be extremely helpful. From recipes to craft ideas to sewing projects, ect. it's something that I use at least weekly, if not more often!

 Here is a small sampling of what I've done so far, via instructions from pinterest: A bow tie for Marshall as the Ring Bearer in Natasha and Brent's wedding.

 A headband with a flower on it for Esther and Abbey- also for Brent and Natasha's wedding!

The Goat Lady Chronicles

Goats have become a major part of my life. A new adventure. And, just like every adventure in life, we want to share the experiences of the journey. Thus, The Goat Lady Chronicles. So, to all three of my blog readers, I will be posting weekly about what's happening in the life of this new goat lady- be it births or just chewin' cud! ;) I hope you enjoy!

Protecting Marriages

Photo credit to Mishayla Denny

One of my dearest friends is getting married tomorrow. It has been wonderful to have had the past 9 years getting to know her and love her. I've grown to view her as a sister, especially over the past few years as we've gotten to spend extra time together for family events (we share nephews and now a niece),  road trips and visits for fun. Tash is beautiful, helpful, has a servant's heart, is compassionate, hard working and mature. She's going to make an excellent wife for Brent. I know all of her other girl friends and sisters feel the same way about her!

So, with all of the wedding planning and excitement, I got to thinking about how important marriage is. As a picture of Christ and the church, I as a single lady also want to be a part of supporting, honoring and guarding the marriages of others. How can we do this as unmarried women? Well, I came up with a list!

1. Dress Modestly

Imagine what it would be like if men didn't see a woman's body until his wedding night? That would be amazing! It would also protect either of them from comparing themselves to others. With this thought in mind, we can help husbands focus on cherishing and appreciating their wife's body by not exposing ours! Men are visual and we don't want to provide anything inappropriate or distracting in their visual roladex. So ladies, let's be ladies and dress in such a way that will glorify God and not draw men away from their wives!

Say to wisdom, "You are my sister,"
And call understanding your nearest kin,
That they may keep you from the immoral woman,
The seductress who flatters with her words.
...I percieved among the youths,
a man devoid of understanding,
passing along the street near her corner,
and there the woman met him,
with the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.
..immediately he went after her...
he did not know it would cost his life.
~ Selections from Proverbs 7

2. Accentuate the Positive

We all have brothers in Christ that we enjoy talking with and relating too. Some of them are not married, others are. When we interact with our married brothers, we should be careful not to take up too much of their time or attention. I'm not saying that you can never talk to a married man if his wife is not part of the conversation. What I am saying is use wisdom and discernment about how, why, when and how much time you spend in a one-on-one conversation and be cautious about what topics you address. Point him toward Christ and his family. Also be sure to say positive things about his wife directly to him. Remind him of how blessed he is! We want him to be thinking about how much he loves her!

Nevertheless, let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself,
~ Ephesians 5:33a

3. Eliminate the Negative!

If you catch your married friends doing too much complaining about their husbands, don't feed into it! Help to gently remind her of his good qualities and why she married him. Even if you don't know him well, you can ask good questions to provoke her thoughts about his positive traits!

and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
~ Ephesians 5:33b

4. Single Sometimes Equals Babysitter

As much as some people begrudge the fact that assumptions are made about singles being automatic candidates as kid sitters, there is some truth to it. We have a bit more flexibility. Using this to the best of our ability, we can help build the marriages of our friends. If you offer to spend time watching their children, you will free them up to spend time alone together, whether it be on a date or giving them time to work on a project together. This is something tangible we can do to invest in their marriage! And, you get to spend time with kids playing games- it's pretty much a win/win here, folks! :D

Give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.
~ Luke 6:38

5. Pray Daily

I don't do this enough. I tend to forget because I get focused on praying for people who want to get married or for things that seem more iminent and important, but this IS important. Marriage is the floor plan for the family. It's the structure of the building based on the foundation of Christ. It is becoming grossly misrepresented in our culture and very weakly portrayed in the church. We need to pray daily for the marriages around us- the ones in the beginning stage, the ones who've been married for 20 years and even those who've been married for 50 years! Satan is always on the prowl to rip man and wife apart. We mustn't forget this!

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
~ James 5:16

These are just a few things the Lord placed on my heart while musing. If anyone else has other ideas I would love to hear them! Tell me how YOU invest in the marriages of others, as an unmarried lady!

Schooling from Shakespeare

 Jenny reads "Green Eggs and Ham" to the kids in Spanish!

I look forward to SMASH every year. It's one of the highlights! I enjoy interacting with the teen, younger kids and the parents. I learn from watching them, from Pastor Sam's teachings and from problems and situations that tend to pop up when producing such a great show!

Yeah, we get pretty worn down by the end of a show weekend!

Ethan playing one of the "Charlses" and Elijah as Oliver

This year was exceptionally busy for me as I had my regular "to-do" list as Producer of the show, but also ended up with the job of Costume Mistress. Thankfully I had wonderful helpers in Kelci and Traci Albee. I enjoyed working with them and getting to spend extra time with them. Not to mention the fact that Kelci has great ideas and they both are excellent seamstresses!

Apparently the romance in the play rubbed off on the littles- Selah and Eli <3

This year we performed Shakespeare's As You Like It. The teens and kids did an excellent job. I was so proud of them- there were a lot of new elements in the show and some roadblocks to hurdle, but they did all this with great, positive attitudes!

John as Orlando and Ethan and Darby as the Charlses- below is the effect of Ethan and I playing around and joking. One of John's nicknames is Captain America, so we wanted to have fun with it! :D

Normally I learn a lot from the play itself, but this year the lessons I was taught came from what was happening behind the scenes and interacting with the wonderful people involved. Here are some of them:

* No matter how hard you try, you can't please everyone. If you try to, two things will result- 1) you will get sick and drained and 2) someone will inevitably be upset.

* It's alright if someone gets mad at you. Not everyone has to think you're the bees knees. This gives you a chance to practice loving when it's not easy and building thick skin and a soft heart.

* The word "no" should be used more often, because when you take on too much the people around you suffer. So it's not just about me, saying "no" when you have to is also for the benefit of family, friends and those involved in the request.

* If you have to say no, don't worry, if God wants something done, He will provide the means to get it done!

* The teens in this show dispell the stereotype of adolescents in how much they can handle AND prove that homeschoolers are NOT socially handicapped! ;)

* No matter how many you get, there's no such thing as "enough hugs."

Millie as Celia, Ben as Touchstone and Meredith as Rosalind

So, if you're considering a great creative outlet for your home educated children and you want godly teaching in the area of arts and literature, there's no need to "stroke your chins and swear by your beards" just head over to http://smashmaine.jimdo.com/ and get yourself informed! :D

The Goat Lady Chronicles: You've got to be kidding me!!

Trimming hooves. Don't be deceived, I'm not a pro, I have to ask Lori "how do we do this again?" every time! :D 

Life is full of adventures. Big or small, everyday has at least one! For the past year, one of my favorite adventures has been becoming a goat person. Last year, around June, I bought this beautiful, fawn colored Nubian goat and named her Tilly Mae. She lives at Dozen Acre Farm, which is about 3 minutes away from our house, with Jersey (an Alpine) and her half sister Ginny (Nubian). Goats are herd animals and love company, so it's always best for them to have buddies!

If you want to meet the whole gang, you can go here:   http://www.tractorsmith.com/2012/07/introducing.html
Be sure to also visit the Dozen Acre Farm page, because it's fabulous! ;)

Learning about goats has been interesting and fun! Books on the subject have been helpful, but I think the best information we've gleaned has been from other goat owners. Truth discovered: goat people are soo friendly and helpful!

Eli holding Mattie

The latest goat adventure has been kidding. In November, Lori called me and informed me that Tilly was in heat and we needed to get her to a breeder quickly. So off we went to Jamie's to breed her to one of the top LaMancha's in Maine- Dill.

Special moment with my girls! :D

Everything went successfully and we continued to wait and prepare for April, when Tilly would kid. We transitioned Tilly into the kidding pen about 5 days before her due date. The very next evening Lori called me and told me that she had been showing signs of prep for birth all day, which meant I should be ready to come when I got the phone call. I hung up the phone and 15 minutes later, Lori called again and said, out of breath, "You gotta come over here and bring the extension cord. There's already a baby goat in the pen." I dashed in my car, with a jumble of extension chords and hurried to the farm. When I arrived, there was an adorable little doeling! Praise God!

 Tilly is a wonderful mother. Though I really wanted to be there for the birth, I'm so thankful that she was able to give birth, clean up and care for her kid without any prompting! It is truly amazing how God has wired His creatures with instincts such as this- a testament to His might. Who could think this sort of thing evolved from a blob??

Most farmers have a theme for the livestock born during a certain season or year. Our theme is "M" this year, so my doeling's name is Mattie. I realized later on, after talking to some friends that Tilly and Mattie are both nick-names for Matilda- total Providence!

Mattie is going to a great home in May, but until then we get to watch her grow a little and experience the joys of kids for a little longer! Lord willing, we won't miss Jersey when she kids soon! :D