State Fair

Gary and I went to the State Fair last week. I wanted to observe the goats being showed, but they did not have a dairy goat section. (sad) We did see the Boer goats being showed, however, and that was fun! There were so many, about 50 in the first section. I found out my goat, Lizzie, has a daughter that placed as Reserve Grand Champion in the MS State Fair! I NEED to get her in the shows. I'm still learning all about it.

My daughter came over last night with her two beautiful ones. We made Halloween costumes for them: Pebbles and Bam Bam. They were very cute.

My goats have been getting out. There is a hole in the fencing. I'll have to get that fixed. However, I have not been able to spend as much time as I'd like (all my time) with them. I have had so much counseling paperwork to do. My schedule is picking up -- I guess a lot of people are worrying these days. Anyway, I've been in my office a lot.

Gary and our friend, Jimmy, put corn out on the other side of our pond yesterday. They are trying to make a spot so that Gary can hunt out the back door. I can see the spot from my window in my office/craft room. We actually went hunting for the first time this weekend. We took our grandson across the road on the pipeline. We didn't see a deer, but a lot of deer tracks.
I don't know what we'd do if we did kill one. We'd have to get help.

Pictures of my Clan (of Animals)

Okay, so this is my grandson, not my "animal clan". Isn't this picture of him in his football uniform cute? This was his first game. He'll probably come to stay with "his DeeDee" this weekend. I think we will go to the State Fair and watch the poultry show.







Speaking of poultry: here is Sassy (I think she is a Polish pullet), Lacey (she is a Silkie -- very fluffy), and my goose.

Butterfly on zinnia ---

Duck ...





Lucy (the one that was hurt earlier). As you can see, she is now enjoying my roses again. See how pretty my rosebush was?

This is Jasmine. She is the oldest critter on the farm (not counting the human ones, of course). She is about 7 years old, I think. The roosters have the upper hand on her, but everyone else knows she is really the boss.

This is Maylee, and she is a great mouser! She has captured two so far. We got her in June.

I agree with Spinner, yes, the goats will eat all your flowers, bushes, roses, plants, trees, weeds, dead grass, live grass, okra, tomatoes, cucumbers (yuck! -- That tastes bad in goat milk), my one little bleeding heart plant, zinnias, calla lillies (which surprised me), lantanas, ...

but, hey, if they will just gain some weight and be healthy ...

I have them in a pen. But there is no vegetation in the pen. My husband and I plan on fencing in a large area full of brush for them in the future. For now, I just have to let them out and forage.

My new chickens are doing great. I have not let the roosters in with them yet. They crow constantly!

Bonnie and Clyde Trade Days

Today my husband, one of our friends, and I went to Bonnie and Clyde Trade Days in Arcadia, LA. I was able to get 7 new chickens, three of which were Silkies. They are so cute! We are having fun getting settled in.

Just wanted you to see what will be at the bottom of this blog a little later. My family will be able to view birthdays, events, etc. by checking here.

My Daughter, Amanda's family

Amanda (our Mandy) is a brilliant finance professional! She is also beautiful, as all my other family, and she is also very independent! (She reminds me of me, but don't tell her that.) She up and moved away from all of us, to better herself, and moved to Tennessee. It is in a beautiful place, although it is so far away. I hope she will move a little closer one day. I miss them terribly. She is so funny, too. When we visited her this summer, I really thought I saw a side of her I had not ever seen before. She and I were in shops in Gatlinberg, and when we came up on a bunch of hats with hair attached, she just grabbed one and said "take my picture, quick", put it on and posed. (Where did this side of her come from?) You know, she's always been a very smart, talented, and wonderful girl. But I had not been able to just relax and participate in her funny side very much! It was great!

Her son is Coley! Coley is a precious, cute, smart, adorable, loving, (did I say cute?) baby! He is growing up so fast. He loves his piano we got him for his birthday. Maybe he'll take after his papaw Gary and play the piano when he grows up? Coley is another one who can make you laugh and get everyone around tickled. I have a family of clowns, don't I? His hugs will make your day!

My Daughter, Kristi's, Family

My daughter, Kristi, is a professional photographer! She is very good at her profession! She loves taking pictures of special occasions, and makes everyone look good. You should see what she did for me and Gary. Kristi has a wonderful sense of humor! Her laugh is completely contagious! She has a lot of energy (although with two children, she sometimes thinks she doesn't). She is a great mommie and her children love her, you can see it when they look into her eyes!

Kristi married Andrew -- he is a professional chef! We are very proud of him -- he is representing Louisiana in Walt Disney World! He will be very famous very soon. And his food is scrumptious! He really knows his stuff!

Makayla is the very definition of beauty! Her eyes will blow you away! She is so fun and loving -- when she sees her DeeDee she runs as fast as she can into my arms! Oh, how fun!

Carson is -- well, you can't really describe him. He is so full of energy and fun. He cracks us up. The other night at a restaurant, he had a bowl of jello. He would plop it in his mouth, and then with a noise you can only imagine, he plopped it out! Well, Kristi and then I tried to correct him --- but when he looked at you with that twinkle in his eyes and plopped the jello right out -- I'm sorry -- but I busted out laughing. Okay, that just set things in motion. He laughed out loud, Makayla laughed out loud, and Kristi could not help herself, either. We all knew it was bad, but it was SO FUNNY! (Sorry other restaurant customers!)

Aren't they great?

My Son's Family

See! I told you they were great! I really am so proud of all my children and grandchildren! Bet you wish you were me! My son, Eric, is a bricklayer! Very talented. He really knows what he is doing and all his houses look beautiful! He comes from a line of bricklayers in my family, but he actually did not even know this until long after he had learned his trade. He's got it in his blood.

Melissa is his very beautiful wife. She is also a fantastic mother! She is so wonderful to all of them, my son, and their two children, (well, two and a half -- one is on the way)! Melissa and Eric have had to draw on their very deep inner strengths to brace themselves when their angel Jayce was born. She has toxoplasmosis, and has had to show us the way in her world. She has blessed us so much with her presence, and she is so beautiful. Her pictures do not do her justice -- she is so pretty.

This brings us to Carter ("Carter-ino" as we call him in our special song). Just ask him and he will roll his eyes, but then absolutely expect us to sing it! Carter loves everyone and every thing, and is wonderful!! He plays football, he loves his sister and his mother and dad. He really loves his DeeDee (that's me!) and papaw Gary, and his other family members! He is very special!

I guess you can tell I love them all a lot. We can't wait to meet our newest member, the new baby boy, due in February. We are all trying to come up with names. Any suggestions?

My Kids (the human ones) and Grandkids

I am finding out it is taking longer than I thought to edit pics. In the meantime, I got all caught up in making a movie. It is so fun to do this. I just have to figure out how to record it to a DVD. Anyway, I'm working on these things.

My niece, JADA FREELAND, won 3rd runner up in the Miss ULM contest! This was her first pagent ever, and I am SO PROUD OF HER!