Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Fords!!! We have had a very good holiday season, celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus. What a gift we were given, and how grateful we are. He is our reason to celebrate. Without Him, it is all empty and vain.
Well, the last few weeks have been very exciting around here.
We had a great Thanksgiving with some of the Ford family from Oklahoma. They came down and stayed for a few days, and besides food, football, and puzzles, Ray taught them some of the finer things about fixing one of our male cats. Yes!! That is right. Since he does this for a living on humans, he figured, "How hard could it be on a cat?" So, after a little googling online, and gathering the needed materials, he fixed our female a few months ago, but waited until Thanksgiving weekend to fix our male. We have a new niece who married into the family, born and raised in Richardson, who was a little shocked at how the Ray Ford Family passed the Thanksgiving Holiday time away. :)
After Thanksgiving had come and gone, Ray injured his back again, causing us to rethink the possibility of having another back surgery. During this consideration time, someone approached Ray about buying ALL our goats. Hallelujah!!!! Finally, rid of the goats!
He felt like it was a provision, not knowing how this back surgery might effect us and his ability to work the farm, so he sold them all, lock, stock, and barrel!!
Wow, did it seem quiet on the farm, no goats to run off the porch, no poop to avoid on the driveway, no gates to keep closed. I have to say, even though I was relieved, it did seem a bit sad.
Well, only a short 2 weeks later, we bought them all back!!! (Too long of a story to explain why, but needless to say, we got them ALL back, plus 12 babies that had been born during that 2 week period!!!)
We picked them up and moved them back to our place on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas Ray!! :) I have to say the babies are adorable, and my husband is sooooo happy to have them back home. We will face tomorrow's challenges if and when Ray has back surgery. But for now, we are back in the goat business!!
Along with the goats, you know we still have a few egg chickens left that have survived the neighborhood dogs. We also have a duck, Mr. Sader, who was purchased as a duckling and came in the mail through the US Postal Service, along with our chicken chicks. (You haven't lived until you get a phone call from the local Post Master letting you know you have a very loud package waiting for you down at the post office!! :)
Anyway, I guess because he was raised with the chickens, he thinks he IS a chicken.
He runs with them all day long, and then likes to swim in our pool because that is what God made him to do. It is so funny to see the chickens watch him when he gets in the pool, they can't figure it out, and to watch him, when they roost, he looks down at those two webbed feet, and for the life of him has no idea how they do that!!
Well, to top off the Ford Farm, Santa Clause added a new member to our animal family. Delivered Christmas morning was an appaloosa horse named Simon. Esther, our middle daughter has loved horses for as long as I can remember. She takes after her grandmother, "Babe", and has had "horse" at the top of her Christmas and birthday list for ever. Well, Santa finally felt like it was time, so welcome Simon. Esther was so excited!!! She said he fit right in, because his hair looked like mine, "White and Red mixed together!!" and because he already had a Bible name.
Esther getting Simon Christmas Morning in the rain, love at first sight.
One more funny story from our holiday adventures..... Ray has really enjoyed duck hunting during some of his time off. On New Years day morning, we did a family duck hunt. So at 5:30 we all headed (minus Jesse, who had spent the night with some friends that were actually going to celebrate the New Year by staying up till midnight, we went to bed at 8PM, Wooohooo, Party!) Anyway, we headed out bundled up for a duck hunt at the ranch. We had a great time, and actually got a few ducks, despite loading issues, mis-firing, and general loudness that always accompanies the Ray Ford Family.
Well, Esther is the animal lover, and one of the ducks only got wounded before Moses retrieved him for us. Esther begged to save the duck, and that is it, in her arms. She rescued him, and he now lives in our pond.
Another morning, when Ray went hunting by himself down at the ranch, he had missed so many, and only came home with one. He was shocked, when he got home, to see that his daughter, Esther, the duck whisperer, had managed to catch, not shoot, 2 wild ducks on our property. Unbelievable!!!
Oh the life we live. It is never boring, and always exciting to see what will happen around here next. Have a great beginning of 2013, JJ
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