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!!

Seth & I

I love this picture...

Living On A Dairy...

While we are milking Seth will come into the dairy with his cup and start saying "Goatie, milk!  Goatie milk!" while pointing to the goat, then his cup and then himself. 

He knows where his milk comes from and not only does he come in and ask for it, but we have to be careful or else he will start milking the goat into his cup!  And I didn't think his little 22 month old hands could do it.  lol

Seth Is Growing Up!!

I remember when Seth was born and well I should I was there!  :D  Being there when a baby is born is something always amazes me.  The very fact that this is a living thing and that if God so wills it will grow up and can do many great things, from being the parent of a large family to the president of the United States of America.  All is in God's hands, from the baby being born, to what will happen to the child as it is grows, and then what it will be as an adult in this world of ours and finally when the person leaves this world, it's all in God's hand. It never ceases to amaze me!

Among those things that amaze me are the changes that the child goes through it it’s first two years of like.  It goes from an infant who cannot even support its own head, who can only cry when it is hungry or needs its diaper changed, to within weeks smiling, cooing, and recognizing people (even to the point of knowing who feeds him).  And those smiles and coos they give out when they see a person that they like are priceless and something that I wish I could bottle up and have forever.  (Thanks to cameras and video recorders I do have that an extent.  :D  ) 

By the time the infant has reached six months he can scoot, maybe even crawl, and is even learning to throw a fit!  Don't even try and tell me that infants are perfect!  At so young as a few months you can tell that they are sinners in their attitudes.  Even with the fit throwing that is starting you are also seeing many other things, such as the smiles when he sees something he likes or the look in their eye when they spot something they want and the 'struggle' they put up just to get to that one object.  It's a miracle that I am always amazed and blessed to see (at this point in my house 8 times already!)

Now Seth is growing up, he's come to and passed the baby coos and smiles, he's all ready hit the scoot stage.  In fact he had it a lot longer than any of my other siblings, he was scooting for so long that we thought he would never crawl, (much to my mom's concern), he even got the nickname "Scooter" since that's all he did for a few months to get to anything he wanted. He's got the eating solid foods down; in fact he's also got the hot chocolate and coffee drinking from a mug down as well.  He's got the walking down pat, he's now running with the best of them (Noah and Judah) and is climbing on EVERYTHING!!   

But the thing that gets me these days?  Is not his ability to climb, nor his running ways.  No it's not the fact that he prefers coffee to water most mornings, or that he knows where his milk comes from and has on more than one occasion been seen caring his cup to the diary.  The thing is amazing me about Seth is his talking!  When he wants water he says so, when he wants coffee he lets you know.  If he wants outside, on the computer, to watch TV, or even take a nap he will let you know and I here I am still think of him a as a little baby who cries when his diaper needs changing, for me it seems like he was born last month and 21 months ago!

Oh, how I love watching them grow up!!  But I sure miss those baby days! :D

Toddlers

Toddlers never cease to amaze me. For that matter, what people believe that they can and can't do also always amazes me.Seth is 18 months old. The things he does and is starting to say are amazing; he will try and make you laugh by tickling or sneaking up on you. He's one of the best cuddlers around, when he's tired he'll just climb into your lap and fall asleep.

Seth can run, yell, play, and fight with the best of his brothers (and if you know my brothers, then you know who I am talking about). He LOVES following his bog brothers around and copying everything they do.

He is also very gentle and loving. If you need a hug he knows it, he is starting to find the best ways to get smiles from everyone and he is learning what to do to get a smile from almost anyone. At the same time if he sees an animal, he has to pet it pick it up cuddle with it. He loves his family and animals!!

And while he is all the things, he is also proof that we are born sinful. I've never seen an 18 month old throw a fit like Seth can throw! It's this age that always surprises me when they look at you when you tell them no, and they reply with no and go right back to doing what they were doing.

Or, when they find out they have teeth or fists!! Or the fact that he knows what no means and uses it all the time.

Now, to go control Seth since he is running up and down the hallway with a Tonka truck, maybe he'll calm down enough to cuddle, since he’s in a great mood today. :D

Oh, Boy!!

Seth has reached that age where the best toy in the house are the books. And it's not for reading them, rather it's for the fun of taking them off the shelf and throwing them on the floor!!

Now, this might not be a big deal if it weren't for the fact that the only rooms in our house that have less then two bookshelves are the bathrooms and kitchen, so he has plenty of rooms and place to go to make a mess. On top of that there are some of us who would rather give up our beds then our books, so throwing them on the floor is something close to a crime!

Now, to teach him how to put them back on the shelve! lol

This Week...

Let's see, it seems to have been a busy week, but when I sit down and think about what we did it wasn't that much. :D

Sunday--We had lunch at church and then went to a farmer's market down town. Once we got home, even chores were worked on, then dad and I sat down to watch the Braves and Phillies.

Monday--Started with me making vanilla bean yogurt as soon as they were done milking. And then cleaning up the dairy and making a batch of soap for my conference next week. That evening I spent an hour doing my best not blow a gasket over the fact that I couldn't watch the Astros. And we had a farm visit from someone who had some questions about how to take care of her goat.

Tuesday--Started out with pasteurizing milk for that night's market, as soon as I was done pasteurizing, bottling, and labeling. I loaded up all the product, got ready to go and helped a little with getting the younger children ready to go. We--Mom, Sara, Emma, Liberty, Noah, Judah, and Seth--all headed out with a goat and three bunnies for the market. Where we were REALLY busy.

On our way home we stopped at Central Market and HEB for some stuff for our yogurt and Seth's family birthday party that night and Emma's and Seth's non-family birthday party this Saturday.

Once we got home, dad and I unloaded product while they finished the finally touches on the birthday cake. Then we had some birthday cake and ice cream and then crashed.

Wednesday--Started with pasteurizing 18 gallons of milk, only to be reminded that I needed to save some milk for a costumer who has been our costumer and picking up milk from us for at least a year. I can NOT believe I forgot that!! For, some reason I was think it was Thursday (I was even planing what I would do with the milk as if it were Thursday). About half way through bottling a Friend called to see if she could take me and a sister out for lunch. Being very busy I had to say no, but they ended up going out with Chris and Grace. :D

While they were gone, I bottled and cleaned the processing room and then headed out to the trailer to make some soap. With the dairy I have fallen behind in my supplies for Swede Farm Naturals but with my conference coming up next week I am in fast mode making sure i have all my products ready to go.

Wednesday is also the day we got our new herd sire from South Fork. This is our fourth goat from her and we have LOVED them all, very sweet tempered goats, lovely and all around great. :D

Alamo, is a very cute little guy and looks kind of like his half brother that we got three years ago. :D I love that coloring on goats. :) (He's the ear less one. lol )

Thursday--I had to make some chocolate milk, once that was done I headed out to the trailer yet again to make another batch of soap. While I was soaping some friends came for some goat help. They are new to goats and we are helping to learn all there is to goats, just like other people did for us four years ago. :D

That night we had pizza while watching "It's A Wonderful Life". W movie we watch ever Christmas season, but with the Dairy and new markets and family visiting we did not get around to it, so they decided to 'break the rules' and watch it now. :D

Today (Friday)--I got to sleep in late. :D I was not out of bed before 9! :D That felt nice, plus the extra cuddle time with Judah. I had to pasteurize again, this time for the chiefs that buy from us. While it was pasteurizing I bottle some raw for a costumer who was coming out today. :D With that done I am now sitting here typing this while Noah and Judah are supposed to be napping.

That's how it has been here this past week. Plus the added stress of getting ready for a new market tomorrow, making sure we have enough product, ice chest, frozen water bottles. everything is labeled, etc. Very busy time. :D Plus I am slightly stressed since this only my second conference, I am also trying to make sure I have everything, that everything is made, labeled, and packaged correctly.

Along with those things is the fact that we have a birthday party tomorrow afternoon for Emma and Seth and Easter Sunday. :D

So, there you have it yet another overview of a week at Swede Farm. :D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Today is Seth Logan's first birthday.

It's been tons of fun with him around. I am so glad that God gave us him!

It's been so much fun to watch him grow, from knowing who were are, smiling at us, learning to scoot instead of crawl, pull up, take books off the shelf, pick his favorite sister, trying to escape out the front door, saying please in ASL when ever he sees something he wants, Loving on his goats, playing with his big brothers, or cuddling with his big sisters.

I can't imagine what life would be without him! :D

That's Just NOT Right!!!

So, a few minutes ago I was playing with Grace, Sara, Noah, Judah, and Seth. :D

Grace and I were on my bed with Seth sandwhiched between us and a blanket on top of us, protecting us from the "monsters". While the monters (aka Sara, Noah, and Judah) where attacking us trying to get Seth from us.

They decide to do a mass attack, Noah on one side, Judah on the other, and Sara at our feet to take the blanket. So, Sara rips off the blanket and I look up, just in time for something to hit me in the nose. (Square on! He couldn't have aimed better.)

When I open my eyes enough to see what it was, I realize that Noah has just thrown my purse at me!! I guess that's what I get for carrying a 300+ page, hardcover book around in my purse! lol I thought it was supposed to be the other way around!

Well, I sit here printing labels.....

And thought I would post some pictures I took yesterday.

While I was taking pictures of my garden (or lack of one) for the blog, I noticed some goats on the FDA required cement slab and decided to take a picture.



<--Here are our lovely milkers.









I then went inside the dairy (milking room)
to snap some pictures of the girls while they
were milking and found Judah (2 year old)
'helping' them milk.-->






<--Sara, showing Judah how to milk.











The milkers eating their dinner-->














<--Chris kissing a goat!










Seth enjoying the goat's snack (animals crackers).-->










There you go, another day on Swede Farm!

Just For Grace

As I was talking with Grace a few minutes ago, she was asking about her favorite sibling......Seth. I figured I should be as mean as I can right now since she can't hit me or throw something at me! lol

So, here is my favorite 11 month old.