Dr. Doolittle vs. Dr. Ford

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

I hate Goats..... Pictures.

Bruno, one of our billy goats

  

Ok, well, let me just say, God answered prayer. 

Yesterday, had all the potential for evil, as well as good. 

It was a great day.  The weather was perfect, beautiful to be outside all day.

We started off by having a big breakfast, and discussing as a family, stewardship.  How does God want us to be good stewards of what he has blessed us with, time, things, gifts, talents?

Ray then, handed out job lists to everyone, and we headed out.  Each had their part, whether is was mowing, so we could get the fence put up, feeding animals, herding them here or there, or handing Ray the tools he needed to fasten the fencing.  (a few of them picked blackberries along the fence as well, not part of the job list, but oh so fun.)

Good day of work

For those of you that have ever worked at Kanakuk, it felt just like work week to Ray and I.  The coolness of the day, the hard work we were doing, the fun we were having just being together and accomplishing something.  It was a great day. Certainly not because of me, I am naturally a griper.  But God, gave me a joy, working side by side with my husband, on a project.  It is not what I would choose to do on a regular Sunday, but it was exactly what we needed to do, and we really had a great time doing it, all together.  Obedience is better than sacrifice.


No, the fence is not complete, we still have some work ahead of us, this week, but a huge part was accomplished yesterday.

Working hard on the fence

Joshua by the post hole digger!!

Jesse on the mower

Anna helped some, but mostly picked blackberries.

Ruth and Esther

Enjoying frozen lemonade at the end of the day.

I hate Goats, or at least when they are on my porch!!

OK, I am in confession mode, and frustration mode right now.


We still have goats, I will soon post pictures of what spring has looked like out here on our little farm.


But, yes, we have goats, about 12 or so.  Our little heard has been doing fine in the back of our property, where they have been eating and having a great time, and I have been having a great time, because they are not up on my porch, or in my flower beds eating my plants.


Well, as of this past week, the goats had eaten most of the GREEN stuff in the back, sooooo, they broke through the fence, and are eating the GREEN stuff up by the house.  Which means, they are on my porch, pooping, and basically taking over wherever they want to.


I have been reading LOVE and RESPECT (highly recommend it for married people!!!) this spring.  A wonderful book, with lots of interesting thoughts on marriage, and how important it is for husbands to love their wives, and for wives to respect their husbands (UNCONDITIONALLY).

We have been having a great season in marriage this spring, (last year was rough!) But part of it, I am sure, has to be with how I have been applying the Love and Respect ideas in my marriage.


Well, when I woke up Wednesday morning to goats trying to ram through my glass doors on the front.  (I have double glass (storm) window doors on the front, and the goats see themselves in the reflexion, and try to butt themselves!!!) It scared us to death, like someone had a battering ram, and was trying to knock the front doors down!!! 


I screamed, yelled for Ray to get up and save the house from the goats, then proceeded to steam in my frustration of "why didn't he have the fence fixed better in the first place, to keep the goats in?!"


He ran outside, and I ran to the bathroom, so mad, knowing that this just meant more work for us, in fence repair, and/or new fence to be put up, and also, more goat poop on MY PORCH!! I know you are laughing right now, but believe you me, I was not!!
In the bathroom, I began to formulate the lecture that I was about to give Ray, then my heart stopped, as I heard the Lord begin to whisper in my ear, respect him, no matter what.


Without giving you the long boring details, Praise the Lord, I was able to march back out there, and give him the respect that God has called me to give, even with goat poop on my porch.  (we all have some kind of goat poop on our porch, in our lives, don't we? It just comes in different forms, shapes, colors.)


But, sadly, the rest of the week was hit or miss.  Literally, wrestling with my flesh, on a moment by moment basis!! Some moments, the Lord would win, and I would surrender to Jesus, and show great respect, join him in helping build the fence, encourage him in his work, remind him of all the great things he is doing with and for our family, and then....... sometimes, my flesh would win, and I would carry on like a spoiled, angry, frustrated wife, who was not getting my way, and who was sick of the poop!!!


Right now, this morning, we stayed home from church, to be together as a family (we have been going crazy the last few weeks, with spring football, volleyball, wedding stuff, out of town) and also stayed home to work on the goat fence!!! Again, what is more pleasing to the Lord, Obedience over Sacrifice.  We have a wonderful opportunity today to work together, hard work, but treat each other with kindness, respect, laugh as we work, or, we can be mad that the goats have kept us from church, gripe and complain about the fence, the poop, etc.  What, I ask myself again, is more pleasing to the Lord?
I am about to put my boots and jeans on, and head outside, to work side by side with my husband and kids.  I will be praying, moment by moment, that my heart will be to respect, encourage, and laugh.  Not to be bitter, gripe and complain.
I do have much to be thankful for.  Give thanks in all things, right?
God is good all the time, goats, not all the time, but God is still good.
If you want a great book for your marriage, read Love and Respect.


In Him,
JJ aka, fence builder