Meet My Family.....

Just in case you missed it I have now introduced you to my entire family. Yes there are fourteen members in my family. Yes we are all the same family. No there are no twins (though two girls share a birthday).

Just in case you missed...

My dad--Tim Sr.
My mom--LeeAnne

My sisters--
Christin, Grace,
Sara, Linnea,
Emma Joy, Liberty Faith,
Dixie LeeAnne

My brothers--
Tim Jr., Noah,
Judah, Seth,

Yes, as I wrote this and the posts were published online I did have at least one person come up and say "You know when you said ____ about me on your blog post about me? Well do I really do that?" or "I think you exaggerated when you said ____." and the one that almost everyone said "I hate that picture that you used for me!"

And then there was my dad who didn't know I was doing these post until we were in the hospital for mom to have Dixie and he asked me what I was doing "Introducing my family to the blog world, don't you think it's time?" was my answer. He replied with "Everyone? How long have you been doing this? Have you done me yet?" "Ahh, yeah first, WAY back in February!"

When I live with my family everyday as I do it doesn't seem like there is that many people here. Now as had happened in the last few months is when I meet up with the family and see them as the rest of the world sees them (minus one person of course). It's overwhelming and I tend to stand there for a few seconds thinking "I can NOT believe there are that many of us! It looks like a small army!" and then of course I walk up and ask them "Do y'all know what we look like? I know why people stare at us!"

Meet My Family--The Baby

Meet Dixie LeeAnne!

Born Monday evening at 7:06, weighing in at 7 pounds and 11 ounces and measuring out to be 21 inches long. Emma, Liberty & myself were there with our parents to welcome her to the world.

I've already told my mom that I think I might start praying to be out of the house by the time she hits three as, she will be spoiled rotten & I don't want to be around 24/7 to see that. lol In truth I would love to be here to see her grow up, so it's not something I'm hurrying up to start praying about, even if she's ends up being more spoiled then Liberty.

At the grand age of four days old I do believe that this poor child has already worn more pink then I have in my entire 21 years. (Oh, wait I'm the oldest and was a girl, hmmm....Forget that though!) Even though I am trying to even her out a wee bit by bringing a gift for her in the hospital..A baseball, And I will be teaching her the ins and outs of baseball. As well as when I dress her it will NOT be in pink! Pastel colors? Yes! Pink? No!

Meet My Family--Noah, Judah, & Seth

Meet the three younger boys, Noah (hiding behind his brother), Judah (Hanging upside down), & Seth (Below, The one on a saddle being a ham). No, they do not get their own post, you have to group them all together, as that is how they live their lives currently.

For two years Noah and Judah were the dynamic duo, now the combo of three boys is the terrible three. Who are bound & determined to break any & all ER trip records, give me gray hair & be oh so cute all at the same time.

Noah's the one that by the age of two had all ready been to the ER four times & sent his brother their once, while Judah had been there twice & sent Noah there once as well. So far Seth has not gone to the ER for an injury, only for going for pneumonia.

Where ever Noah is, then you shall find Judah & where ever Noah & Judah are thou shalt find Seth. The hang around each other and play with each other like nobodies business. You can tell from the way that they act they LOVE each other & wouldn't know what to do without out them. (Seth was a wee bit lost while in the Hospital a month or so back.)

These boys are so caring & giving. Always giving gifts and trying to help mom, dad, Chris, Grace or myself. On the other hand it seems like they are always teasing or picking a fight with Emma on down.

When Seth was born & there were three boys under the age of three I thought for sure I would go crazy, (no comment from the peanut gallery PLEASE!!) and though I have found a few gray hairs and I have lost some sleep thanks to them and their always wanting to sleep with "K K". I am so grateful that God has blessed my life with them & I can't even imagine life without them!!

Meet My Family--Liberty

Meet Liberty the former youngest girl in our family

Over seven years ago God blessed us with a wonderful addition to our family. There was only one drawback--she didn't want to be born on my birthday, it was as if she was telling us she wanted to be different and her own little person.

After just having two years of getting used to a boy in the house, it took a little getting used to when we had another girl, but we were VERY happy to have another girl. Little did we know that she would grow up for the next seven years as the youngest girl. In our house it's not the youngest that gets spoiled it's the youngest girl. :D Libby is the youngest and boy does she know it! She thinks she can flash a smile on that cute chubby, freckled covered face of hers and get whatever she wants. And most of the time she is correct. lol All she needs to ask is "Mommy, I want these pony tails because they are pretty can I have them?" with a cute smile and she's got them. lol Or "Daddy, if I get one more quarter I can buy coffee the next time we go to Central Market, can I go get some from your car?" with a kiss, it's hers.

Even with being on the edge of being spoiled rotten she is a very loving and caring girl. When ever someone is hurt, upset, way to busy to do anything, or even angry, she is there to help you in what ever way she can. To make your life easier and more enjoyable. What ever you need doing to get it there she will do. If it's scrub the bathroom she'll do it, if it's watch the toddlers she'll do it. It it's to just sit there and hug ask her and it's done. She is a blessing and sometimes shames me greatly by showing me what I should do and how I should be treating my siblings. I sometimes think she should be in my spot as the oldest, because she does a much better job of it at the age of almost eight then I do at after 20 years of being the oldest!

What we also didn't know before she was born was that pink and frogs can mix wonderfully, at least they can for Liberty. The idea that if you kiss a frog and he will turn in to a prince has been proven a myth time and time again, because princess Liberty has tried many a time with her frogs and has yet to come up with one true prince. (Maybe it's an age thing.) Be that as it may she still loves her frogs. Ask her about frogs and she will give you an ear full! Be careful after a hard rain or you might end up with a frog in your face and a demand to kiss it! And if you are ever visiting you will make her week if you bring her some frogs (Ask some good friends of ours!).

She loves her animals to death (if you didn't already catch that with the frogs) she will help you tend the animals almost any time it is needed with no questions asked. She loves her goats with a passion and again will one day better me in another area--Goat keeping. Even now she is great with showing, milking, feeding, and enjoying them. She loves them and is truly a farm girl!

Truth be told, even with frogs being stuffed in my face (thankfully, I have yet to find them in my bed!) and her getting neigh unto everything she wants, I am thankful that God blessed us with her, I don't know what life would be like without her, she is a blessing in more than one way and I enjoy sharing my days with her. :D

Meet My Family--Timothy

Meet Timothy, just in case you missed it he's the first boy in the family. Mom had six girls before he was born and to be totally honest I thought that is that there would be for siblings--Sisters!! (And no I'm not complaining!!)

I was a grand age of 11 years old when we were blessed with him. Up to that point I was really the only child who cared about baseball and was oh so happy to have someone with the potential to pass on the love of baseball to. And I have, he's in his third year of little league & loving it, he collects baseball cards right along side me (when I let him) and he's started keeping track or players in the majors. It's tons of fun watching him growing up loving baseball.

He also like Emma is a great mimic, not as good as Emma but good enough to be Scary! lol Also he's the "class clown". Not like we have a proper class room, but I know if he was in a class room he would be the class clown. Though I do I think I've heard stories about him in Sunday School & as one of his former teachers I can vouch that at the wonderful age of three he was a nut.

Living on ten acres without a lawn mower can be a little difficult. At least it was until Timothy decided that he enjoyed mowing the lawn and begs to do it (that is when he's not playing baseball). I do enjoy having him do as I get the smell of fresh cut grass without having to do the work!

Timothy loves being outside whenever and however long he can be. But he also enjoys learning, and like the rest of us history is his favorite subject, right along with math.


Timothy is a wonderful big brother, he loves taking care of and playing with his brothers and does a very good job of protecting Liberty. Now being a younger brother he does have his days of being annoying. (Don't' they all?) But he's still lovable and great to have around!

Meet My Family--Linnea

Meet Linnea, the one child who is WAY to close to me in personality. We both want things cleaned & when we start a project do NOT get in our way, as we will either put you to work or run you down trying to get the job done well and quickly.

To a point where she does it way to well. If she's cleaning the kitchen and you walk in to get your coffee--pour your coffee turn around to grab the sugar & milk--if your not fast enough or said something about it she's taken the cup poured out the coffee, washed the cup, and has it to out to dry in no time flat, as in before you've even turned back around.

But with this cleaning comes the wonderful bonus that if you share a room with her (which I did at one point) you will always have a clean room and only have to make your bed. Just be careful that you've put your stuff away when you take it out and all will be happy with a clean room to boot.

Same for a schedule we are to follow. It says eat at 8, 12, & 6. She has the food on the table and ready at those times, if not we have to wait and if you miss dinner for any reason even if your milking or saving an animal's life then oh well to bad, it says we eat at these times & if your not there your not eating!

And the topic of eating, she is a wonderful cook! She can make the best foods and has her spacial meals. About the only thing she can't cook are biscuits. Other then that anything and everything she puts on the table from Spaghetti to pies, coffee to cider is some of the best you will have!!

Oh she also has this thing against pants. She firmly believes that females (of any age) are not to wear jeans. She is so firm in this belief that if you don't do your laundry yourself and make sure that your there to move the laundry from the washer to the dryer to your room then she just might go through it, take your pants and hide them. I've lost more jeans & shorts this way then any other way! (Even when the dryer started eating my clothes!) It doesn't matter how they look or what our parents say (as they feel it is O.K. for us to wear pants as long as they are modest & in good taste). She feels that all pants are immodest and should never ever be worn by any females!!

Linnea is one of our War Between the States buff. She thinks she knows everything about the war and don't try to telling her otherwise or else you'll be in an all day battle to see who's knows the most. Now I will say that for someone her age (just turned 14) She knows a ton more then anyone else I know. (Well, that is except for Chris & myself when we were her age.) But ask her about the Ancient Greeks or American Revolution as she will most likely look at you blankly and say "Come again?".

She loves to reenact and pesters to death when she wants to go to a reenactment, she has her own black powder replica pistol. Given to her by one of our milk costumers. She's also got more reenactments outfits then myself, courtesy of Chris and I making them for her and none for us. She's even talked about wanting to do reenactments on her honeymoon, when asked "Ummmm...Don't you think your husband should have a say in that?" She replies with "Well, I will only marry him if he's likes reenacting, if he doesn't then I won't marry him and if he does then it won't be a problem!"

Of us girls she's got what I say has to be the most ridicules list of what her husband has to be for her to marry him.....He must be southern, but born in Scotland, he must be related to Jackson, own a big ranch and want to live and ranch said ranch.

Meet My Family--Sara

Sara, the current 16 year old in the family is also the rabbit person & other Nubian person in the family. She's shown both animals & won with both animals at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. It's thanks to Sara that we now need not only verbal permission but written permission as well to enter any raffle or giveaway that has something breathing as the prize! As it was Sara who won Miss Muffet at our annual goat show three years ago.

If pictures are needed ask Sara, she's great with a camera--She's the one who has taken almost half the pictures you see on this blog--just don't expect to see the camera back any time soon. She comes very close in tying me for most photos taken. My mom was a wee bit exasperated with us back in November on our trip & between the two of us we took over 1,000 photos. :D

She like the rest of my older siblings are very good with children & animals alike, as long as they aren't cantankerous. lol She can take the three younger boys for hours on end & keep them happy without a TV or computer. And for the first two milking years of her goats life that goat would only allow Sara to milk her.

Sara's an avid reader, there are times when you can't find her, go look in a certain closet, by the pond or any other great spot to sit and read. She can take a 200 page book and be done with it in a week, and unlike some of us enjoys reading books over and over again.

Of all of us she's the best at math, it's a wee bit scary!! She can to math problems that I had trouble with, and do them in a matters of seconds in her head!! While I sit there trying to grasp what she did and how she did it so quickly. But please don't ask her who Charlemagne was or who was the 14th of the US was, as she might be a little lost.

Oh, Sara is also the only girl of us children to have surgery. Make that two surgery and all before she hit the ripe old age of five! One on her crossed eyes, which did nothing and the other on her brain which did wonders! Yes at the age of four Sara had a brain tumor and thought it was thankfully it was all taken out, we still to this day have to pay a little price that she had a brain tumor. For that day when she had surgery not only did her brain tumor leave, but much of her depth perception went with it. lol

Oh, and like our entire family she is very prideful, and the main thing that Sara is proud about? The fact that she is taller then any of us girls and mom. (For once I'm not the tallest!) And those days she wears any type of heel, makes me feel like a shrimp!! lol


There you have it, Sara the math wonder, avid reader and photographer, wonderful child & animal care taker, but slight crossed eyed and lacking in depth perception which is slightly scary considering her height.

Meet My Family--Grace

Grace is the closet to me, which is a laugh considering how different in personalities we are. Grace is very quite, laid back, and has a wit that could kill.

Those things aside, we are very alike. We both like chocolate, coffee (though she does drink more tea then I do), baseball, the same style books, clothing, food, TV shows, & music, and generally get along very well.

Grace is the horse lover, she wanted horses when we lived in the city. In fact she was SURE that she would one day own at least one horse. It took her two years once we moved to the country but then she went all out. With in ten months of owning her first horse she owned three, one of which was a pony that she was either going to have to send to a trainer or break herself. Being the passive aggressive type that she is, she said she was saving money (and she was) but not as fast as she could since "other things just always seem to come up". She ended up doing what she wanted to do in the first place---Train him herself and has done a very good job of it so far.

Being the very direct person that she is, she always has an answer for that question that most young people don't have at her age or have a hard time answer--"What are you going to be when you grow up?" Grace: "At this point I am training to be a Vet tech, but if I KNEW--As in God told me--that I wasn't going to get married and have a family I would be a Vet. But since that takes so much from your family at this point I am just trying to be a Vet tech, which will help me with any of my animals and be an opening into a job if I ever need one."

Yes that's Grace always ready with an answer for any question you might have for her. Sometimes it's not always the most series answer to the question. As I already mention she has a wit that can hurt. I've sat there watching her talk to someone and have her crack a joke about them or herself that from anyone else would have been insulting, but from Grace it makes everyone laugh and makes you know she likes you a lot. :D (I pity any man that comes around to call on her that she might not like!!!)

Miss Grace is not only very good with animals, but with children as well. She can always make them laugh and is very willing to stay up with cranky or sick children if they want her to. She's spends many hours playing, reading, or generally taking care of them.

Be warned though, if you ever meet her it will take awhile to get her out of her shell. If you know her now and she cracks jokes, teases, or even talks to you you know if you've made the cut in her estimation. (In fact not only do I pity any man that she might not like that comes calling on her, but comes calling on any of us girls!! lol )

Oh, and PLEASE!! Never say anything bad about her horse, family, or product (as she is the one during all the pasteurizing and cheese making currently) I would highly suggest that you stay away as she can give you a look that could boil water!! And if it's late at night I would again highly suggest that you either not talk to her or offer to cover what ever she's doing so that she might go to bed as she's worse then a momma hen with chicks!!

That's Grace--Quite, laid back, yet oh so caring, considerate, funny and lovable. But very dangerous when tired, or offended (With wit her main choice of weapon). She's one great person to have as a friend!!

Meet My Family--Christin

Next in the "Meet My Family" series is Christin. Since I figure y'all all know me by now---
Christin is the closet to me in age & yet she's the farthest from me in personalities. Where I would be happy sitting in a room reading, she has to be outside jumping from a tree. Where I'm happy watching a baseball game she thinks it's oh soooo boring and "can't you find a real sport?"

Christin is very talented; from a very young age you could tell that her drawings were something special. She could take a science and make it fun or somber all in her paints. When for years her gifts were one drawing, painting, or sketch of something that was important to you.

Now as she's grown older her gifts have changed from sketches to full out outfits. This is defiantly a case of the student surpassing the teacher!! I few years ago I taught Christin how to follow a pattern and she took off from there! She might see a shirt and a skirt pattern that she likes & turn it into a dress. She might see a dress in a toddler size, look at it & turn it into a dress for herself or me. She is very talented, but beware, if you have an item of clothing that she REALLY likes. When she asks to borrow, you should probably double check that's she's not going to take it apart before handing it over! lol

Christin LOVES to work--On tasks that only she can do and do well. Need a fence put up? Christin can do it and do it well! Need a bike fixed? Give her 24 hours and she can tell you what parts you need, where to get them and most likely how much it will cost. Need goats checked for babies? Well, she'll do that anytime after 7 am and before 12 am, other than that you had better get up yourself. But at least in that time if she finds a kid she'll tend to it and the mother's needs.

NEVER, EVER get in an argument about any of the Narnia books or movies, you’re bound to lose! Want to be challenged in a test on the War Between the States? Yup, she's one person who can give you a run for your money. Oh, never arm wrestle with Chris as she might break your arm, when she gives you a hug is prepared for a MAJOR bear hug.

FYI--Chris can cook, but she will readily tell you she's not to keen on it and not the best in the family, (unless it's southern style biscuits, then she's the queen of it!). She's not a coffee drinker; much prefers her tea over coffee ANY day. She likes sour, tart, or weird tasting things but won't get within ten feet of licorice unless she has to. She does not like chocolate, unless it's our chocolate milk. And she's one of the most disorganized people on our family. She's the one that owns the alpacas, that has three bags of alpaca fleece stuffed under my bed, and she's notorious for being late, no matter what the circumstances, time of day, month of the year, be it just her or the entire family going 98% of the time she's the last person in the car.

And that's Christin for you...More surprises in one package then there should be in any package but then that's my family for you. :D

Meet My Family--My Mom

Now that I have more time on my hands, it's time to get back to normal farm life (if there is such a thing as normal farm life). It's also time to get back to normal posting and hopefully in the near future (meaning before the baby is born) I will be able to finish introducing all my current family members. So to continue from where I was...

Meet my mom...My best friend. The lady who gave up her dream of being a midwife to raise us kids. A woman who has spent more time caring, tending, and nurturing us and doing a wonderful job at it.

Yes, my mom is my best friend and yes my mom and I are two peas in a pod. Ask my dad, we both tend talk the same way, think the same way, and even sigh the same way. May sound great but we are both stubborn and hard headed (me being the worst of the two). And that is one of the many reasons that we get along so well. Now come upon us when we don't agree and that's something different.

But I love my mom dearly. She's the one who has spent countless hours teaching us endless amounts of subjects--history (even if some time frames took us three years to get through), math, English (or the best she could with a difficult child), spelling, science, animal husbandry, child care, and the joy of reading and learning. I can remember her spending hours trying to get me to spell correctly and to have my English half way decent. Now she still continues to do so, but she gave up long on the idea of me ever being able to do a blog post without having to call out "How do you spell ____?".

My mom is the one that after one try at fixing something computerized will give a call "Katie, come work your magic on this machine I've HAD it with this machine!!". She's the one who got me hooked on medical shows and has taught me all that I know about midwifery and continues to teach me.

My mom is the one who pushed me to start my business and who still pushes me when I am having low times, am out of creative ideas for my soaps and candles, or just need some help. Even to the point of sitting me down and saying "Katie the very next batch of soap had better be made SOON and it had better be ____!!"

Yes we do tease my mom because there are tons of times when it feels like the goats get more attention then we do....

Kid: "Hey mom I think ____ might be off, but she's acting normal so I would worry to much!" Mom: "What's her temp? How do her eyes, gums, ears, feet, etc look? Has she been eating and drinking? Is she up to date on her hoof trimming, pre/post kidding stuff, does she need some minerals, more alfalfa, how about upping her grain, or should we dry her off?" ect.
Vs. Kid: "Mom I'm not feeling the best." Mom: "Go take some Tylenol and lay down for an hour or two and see if you feel better then."

Yep, that's my mom. Panics when any of the animals even looks off, but knows her kids well enough that for certain ones of us she doesn't really think about if we complain that we are sick and for the others tells us to take a break. Though being her kid and living with her you sometimes feel slighted, esp if you not feeling well. That is until your better and realize how much she knows you and cares for you. :D

My mom is Mrs. Competitive (and yes, dad is Mr. Competitive) never ply a board game with the two of them, and please always be careful in what you challenge them to do (and they wonder where I get my competitiveness from!!).

I would advise you to stay away from her before a goat show and NEVER, EVER get in between her and her goat while one of us is showing it. (She doesn't show, as she doesn't feel comfortable doing so...And for some weird reason she thinks I do!!!) Please don't get her hooked on a new game, TV show, or even face book! As she might spend hours trying to better other people just for the fun of it. And I won't even mention Ebay snipping. lol

That's my mom, friend to many, midwife for others, Aunt for more then just her sibling's kids, Our mom and best friend!!

Meet My Family--My Dad

Meet my dad--Tim Carlson Sr.

This is my dad, I do believe that though I have never properly introduced y'all to him I have written a post or two about him and the wonderful things he has done for me or my family. :D But here is a little on him to give you a good idea of who he is and how he has affected my life (besides being my dad), what I mean to say is all the things he's done to help make me the person I am and all the wonderful things he does

This picture was taken a year or so after we moved out to the country; he still had his city job. At that point we were sill in pre-dairy age. Dad would drive 50 miles there and 50 miles back so that we could live in the country and have goats, chickens, bee hives, and a large garden. And all this from "Mr. Do I look like I can live in the country".

Yup, that’s my dad I’m talking about! Not once, not twice, but many, many times over the years that my parents were married and we lived in the city (and that would be the first 19 years of their marriage.) Whenever someone would say that we needed to move to the country for all of the kids, or so we could save on the food bill with a garden and chickens my dad would laugh and say--

"Do I look like I can live in the country? No, sir not me! I'm a city boy through and through, I LOVE living ten minutes from the zoo, museums, Ball Park, and church. I love the city and got here as soon as I could, thank you very much!!"

But then his heart was changed, for a couple of reasons we moved out, since then what we do out here has changed. Including my dad. :D

My dad has gone from "Mr. City" to "Yes, I'm the farmer!". Through it all he has still been a good dad for us.

When we lived in the city he would take me to almost any Astros' game I wanted to go to. All I had to do was name the date and he would somehow come up with the tickets (I think that might have had something to do with the fact that he could get two tickets for $5 lol), if I wanted a book, he'd look for it until he could find it for me, be it from the library or a book store. And then there were those times when I was in need of discipline, he would hand it out to me as well, because I needed it.

This is the person who held me when the Astros' lost in the World Series, telling me that it was O.K. there was always next year we always have a chance the following year I just needed to pray that I didn't end up like him being the fan of a team that went 86 years without winning a World Series (nice guy huh?).

This is my dad, the man who takes time to read to us, give us book ideas, help us to love reading and history. This is My dad, the man who would do anything he could to help us learn more and to grow up and do things that we believe in or want to do, including driving an extra hour a day to allow me work for a campaign. This is the man who stays here and milks the goats with us, so that we can all have a family owned and runned business. The man who shows trusts in us, from allowing us to help him with the dairy to allowing us to work part time jobs that we enjoy by ourselves.

Some people know him has a good friend, some people know him as their bus driver, while others know of him as goat farmer or "That crazy man with a LOT of children". But I know him as my dad, the man who has been there for me whenever I need him, helped me when I wanted or needed it. Someone who backs me up when I need it or who tries to talk sense to me when I not. He's one of God's many gifts to me, and one I am oh so grateful for.