No ugly mug here

Do you remember when DW got that fancy new coffee pot?  I have been obsessed with that thing since she got it.  It makes some seriously good coffee...hot and thick just like me.  (Snow White I hope you are reading this!)

I decided to put the Keurig on my Christmas list this year.  Guess who must have been a good girl?  Santa aka my in-laws blessed my coffee-drinkin' heart with this gift.  I was beyond excited when I saw that X-large box sitting under the tree with my name on it.  I just knew it had to be my very own Keurig.

You all know that I have a favorite coffee cup.  I call her C.C.  I feel like the combination of the Keurig and C.C. is almost more than my little heart can bear.  I love waking up in the morning to a fantastic cup of coffee brewed especially for me.  It's the simple things in life. 

In the words of Grammy, "Life is too short to drink coffee out of an ugly mug."

Where are they now? The Failure Edition

The Ducks?  They are dead.  Sorry, I can't sugar coat that one.  I don't know what happened to them but they didn't make it. 

The 4 Wheeler? It got ruined when the pull cord broke off.  Pop sold it.  Maybe there will be another one in our future.

The Cats? Well, we are down to one...The "Lone" Ranger.  Everyone else is missing.  Even Coal the mean cat.  He must have finally used up his 9 lives.  We think we still have some barn cats but they don't let us near them.

The Dogs?  They are still trucking along.  Even Daisy the dunder dog who I ran over and then nursed back to health.  She and Huckleberry are still happily living the farm life.  If only they could learn to control themselves when it comes to the trash.  I don't want to discuss with you how many times I have cleaned up poopy diapers from the front lawn.  Somehow those sneaky little buggers get into the trash even though the bags are in the carts.  I think they get a little help from Ranger.  Perhaps they share in the loot.  That is majorly disgusting when you consider that the "loot" is doo doo from baby diapers.  Seriously, find a new hobby.

Blessed is me

Four Sisters Farm is proud to announce the birth of cowboy number 3! Little Q made his way into the world January 15th at 3:15pm. He weighed in at 6lbs 8oz and 19 inches long. His arrival was a whirlwind for our family and we could not be more thrilled! EJ and I have been praying for more children through birth or adoption. God answered in a big way!

We were honored to be chosen by his birth mother. She has given us the most incredible gift and we will forever be grateful to her. We had the opportunity to spend several days getting to know her. The video and photos will be an important piece of the puzzle for Q as he grows up. The time with her was priceless.

Q is such a sweet baby. He is so loved by our whole family. We just can't stop praising God for his life!

Psalm 139:13-14 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

On Monday, January 11th, we got THE CALL.  We had been chosen!  Thursday, the 14th we traveled to meet Q's birth mom.  We stayed over in order to go to a Dr. appt with her the next day.  At that appt they decided to induce labor.  That means we went from finding out we were having a baby to having him in our arms in 5 days.  Now that is fast!!! 

You won't see pictures of Q's mom because I want to protect her privacy.  In my excitement, I want to share photos.  I have a deep love for her!  I wish you could look into those beautiful eyes and see the love she has for Q...but...I won't.  Unless someday I get permission.  We hope to stay in contact with her through the years. 

EJ and I have prayed that adoption would be a part of our family's heritage for a long time.  For a period of time, early in our marriage, we thought perhaps adoption would be the only way our family would be created.  God surprised us with Bubba and Wubba.  We were overjoyed!  The desire to adopt didn't go away.  We have prayed for guidance in this area.  We have asked the Lord to go before us and show us when, where and how he would add to our family.

In August of 2009 we decided to put our paperwork in.  In some ways we just "re-applied" after five years of having an inactive file.  In September, we delivered our profile and then waited.  We waited and prayed that God would give us a heart for our little one's birth family.  That he would change their lives and ours for the better.  That he would prepare the new baby for us and us for him.

While we prayed for our little one, God gave us verses that comforted us. 

He gave EJ this one...

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

He gave me this one...

Luke 1:45
Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

When I held Q in my arms for the first time I recited my verse into the video camera and then I said..."Blessed is me!"

God prepared the hearts of our older boys.  He started this about a year or so ago.  Bubba was always asking me for a baby.  He knew he and Wubba grew in my tummy yet every time he asked about a new baby it sounded like he was talking about adoption.

My favorite conversation went like this...
Bubba, "Mom, do you want a new baby?"
Me, "Yes, I sure do.  We will have to pray and ask God for one."
Bubba, "Mom, I'm going to ride my bike to Jesus and get a baby.  Then I will ride my bike home and give the baby to you." 
Then he looked into my eyes and touched my arm and said, "You do want a baby right?"
As if to say, "If I am going to ride my bike all the way to Jesus, you better be serious!"

The day we got the initial call about Q, Bubba came to me with a request.  Now, keep in mind, I hadn't received the call yet.  He insisted that we needed to pray for our baby RIGHT NOW.  We bowed our heads and we prayed.  Not much later, I got the call.

God is so good!

I will close for now and go back to enjoying the baby boy who is sleeping on my chest.

Clearly I have underestimated you

I guess I didn't realize just how many of you read this 'ol blog.  My in box is overflowing and blogger only allows 100 readers.  So...we will just keep on keepin' on as is.  Who am I to keep the people from reading about our goofy family, farm and animals?

Keep your eyes open for some new posts. :)

Going Private...

Dear Friends,

We are planning to take the Four Sisters Farm blog "private."  We wanted to give you all the opportunity to be added to the list of readers who have access to the blog.  Please send me an e-mail to...

foursistersfarm.farmchick@gmail.com

Thanks so much!
Farm Chick

"There is blood!!!"

Bub screamed from the front porch. I grabbed some tissues and tried to stop the bleeding that was coming from his lip. Then I hollered for his momma (DW).

DW calmed Bub and then asked the obvious question. "What happened?"

Bub said, "Bubba told me to throw Ranger (the cat) in the air! He scratched me when he came back down."

I guess when 4 and 5 year old cousins get together you never know what little experiments they will conduct. This one obviously failed.

Happy Birthday Pop!

We surprised Pop with a little birthday dinner last night. The super heroes couldn't make it because one of them got too close to kryptonite (aka a cold virus). We missed them but we did our best to make it a fun party. Pop was definitely surprised to see all of us when he got home.

Grammy made a delicious dinner and a very tasty cake! After Pop and the kiddos blew out the candles he picked a spot on the cake and let each of the kids stick a finger in and get some frosting. Who is this man? The kids LOVED breaking the rules!

Pop was excited about his present. It is going on top of the barn after the restoration. It's going to be beautiful!

Happy Birthday, Dad! We all love you so much!

To Infinity and Beyond

Farm Chick and EJ went to the city and left the Cowboys with Pop and Grammy. We had a great time and even had drop-in visits from aunts, uncles, and cousins...even the satellite internet guy dropped in unannounced. Go figure...anyway...

It hasn't been all "farm" stuff out here while they were away. Check it out.

Sorry the videos have no sound...I can assure you it was loud, raucous and totally fun!

Not so much...

Remember the rooster...he didn't fit in so well...he didn't taste good either...not so much. Even in a new recipe with rosemary, garlic, and onion. Goodbye Rooster...Good Riddance. Yuck.

Secret Agents

Pop and Grammy distributed badges at Christmas this year. I guess they figured that superheroes would probably need super clearance. The above picture shows Pop, Grammy and Special Agent 009 aka Super Girl.

On the front:
Four Sisters Farm
Special Agent Identification
Child's name and photo
Special Agent 001-009 (depending on which number of grandchild)
U.S. Department of Fun
Four Sisters Farm Division

On the back:
This card entitles the identified Special Agent access to the following:
All FSF Properties
Tree Houses
Hay Forts
Ponds (with supervision)
Barn
Trees Worth Climbing
Pop's Candy Jar
All Available Animals (except the old mean cat, Coal)
Tire Swings
Preferential Treatment at All Times
Smoochies and/or Bandages for Ouchies
All Pop & Grammy's Love Forever

Cowboy Boots...Who Knew?

Pop and I don't usually get each other Christmas gifts - we're the practical sort and don't want our gift-giving dictated by a day on the calendar and we generally have more than we need at any given time. Anyway...Pop got me these boots for Christmas this year. I have worn one of these two pair nearly every day since I got them. They apparently have some kind of "super happy power" and they make me smile...they feel good on my feet...they make me walk like I own the place (which I guess I sort of do anyway) and they remind me that Pop loves me enough to figure out what I need. Thanks Pop! I love you, I love the farm, and I love my boots.

The Year of the Super Heroes