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http://radecology.com/

Avik Maitra is in Malawi trying to make a difference. We are so blessed!

The Ladies are laying like crazy!

They are laying about 3 dozen eggs a day! I am giving them away, they are so good, fresh eggs beat store eggs hands down.

We received letters from David yesterday. I was so excited and so happy. It made my day. He is doing well according to these, however he did call us Saturday night and by then he had a nasty respiratory infection and was on antibiotics. I MISS HIM!

Jacob scared spitless!

Yesterday morning, Jacob hurried out to feed! It was still dark, and his brothers were hurrying to get their coats on to follow. The door burst open and Jacob's eyes were as big as saucers. As he had approached the haystack, he saw a dark shape, thinking it was Juba, and that he had managed to escape his stall, Jacob kept on walking. Not until he was a few feet away did he realize it was the moose we'd noticed several times in the previous days. I had watched him, while blowdrying my hair, the previous evening he'd been standing on the driveway, while we waited for him to move...lol.

I handed Jacob my camera, thinking the flash would chase him off. Actually, it didn't but a flashlight did!

He is a beautiful boy, chocolate brown and has developed a taste for the hay. I am a bit worried that he is around so much. Moose can be very dangerous and I don't want the children to think of him as a pet, but he is fun to watch.

Many little Miracles

After I got done with my last post, I noticed that David's blog has been updated. http://darragon.blogspot.com/ I was surprised! I opened it to find the highlight of my day. David had had a chance to blog while he was at the USO. I had been missing him so much and I was so grateful he'd posted.

Then on Thursday morning, he was so heavy on my mind. As I was picking up, I noticed a stack of photos on the arm of the couch. All of David, when he was in elementary school. I asked Jacob if he knew where they had come from and he said that they had fallen out of a book that he had taken off the shelf. Little miracles! That are actually huge to me.

I cannot wait for the first letter from him, the children all have teary moments, as they miss him. I know he is doing what he really wanted, fulfilling his dream and that does make it a little easier.

Then Thursday morning I was styling my hair, there is a window right next to the window and I noticed a moose eating the lower branches of the aspens. It was fun to watch, lifted my spirits. He is probably about two years old.

Gary and I are listening to a book on CD. It is called "The Shack" written by William P. Young, http://www.theshackbook.com. If you want to read it, do so with an open mind and heart. I have loved it. The message is beautiful and liberating. If you have a Sam's Club, they sell it there for under $10 and it is also at Barnes and Noble.

The ladies are laying like crazy again. I saw a robin on Wednesday and then we got another foot of snow...mmm. I am confused!

Jacob

I have mentioned Jacob several times in my blogs. He is my second eldest son. He was born December 16, 1991. He is the fourth of the 9 children and the only one with blue eyes. Jacob wants to be a veterinarian, he does so much work on this ranch and is so absolutely amazing. He is a junior in the Sugar Salem high school and is very talented. He plays guitar, sings, is an actor and has the most amazing gift with animals.

He is very protective of Gary and loves to spend time with him. He, Gary, his brothers and little sister, Miriam all took Hunters Safety last fall and love to shoot together.

He has a great heart and everyday asks me what he can do for me. I love you Jacob and want you to know how much you are appreciated.

Photos of David

Joseph and David

David and Me

Gary and David, I love this photo

Hanna, Andy, Xander and David

David and Gabriel

David and Miriam

Rachel, 14 weeks pregnant, Justin and David

David with Jacob, on the left, Joshua wearing glasses and Caleb

David left yesterday.

What a tough day! David, my eldest son, left for the Marines yesterday. My family is amazing, all the children and spouses, and my parents came to see him off. Sergeant Quinn was wonderful and explained what would happen during this next week. I was really bummed because we don't have a landline and David would need to call collect to give us an update. Well, this morning I got a call from Montana, Sergeant Quinn must have let David use his cell. He made it through MEPS and is on his way to San Diego to boot camp. He is nervous and excited. His worst days will be Thursday and Friday this week. He will do another fitness test on Thursday and if he gets through that, he continues with whatever platoon he has been assigned to, if he does not, he goes to a fitness division to get "fixed". David has lost 30 pounds preparing and has been going to the gym everyday with Sergeant Quinn for weeks, so we will see how he does. I think he will do fine. Friday is the day when the stress them out, to see who will stay. Gary has really been preparing David for this. He told him to remember "what they are trying to do and don't lose your cool, don't let them get to you. Remember that they want to break you down and build you into what they need, what you will need to be to survive combat." Good advice!

The first photo is of David with my mom and the second is of David and my dad.

I am so proud of him, he has worked so hard and I am going to miss the texts and calls. Good luck David, our prayers are with you, we love you.

Farm catchup

We have been busy, digging out of snow again. Here is a photo of one of the bunnies, he obviously dug out! The ladies all quit laying, so cold even the cayenne doesn't work. They deserve a rest but I dislike store bought eggs. They are tasteless! Yesterday I made breakfast burritos for the freezer and cleaned out the fridge,the pigs had a feast.

I thought I would post my recipe for laundry soap. It is much cheaper than store bought laundry soap and does an amazing job. I buy the "ingredients" at Broulims, our local grocery store.

1/3 bars of Fels Naptha, grated with a cheese grater
1/2 cup Washing Soda, Arm and Hammer, but not Baking Soda
1/2 cup of Borax, 20 mule team.

Bring 6 cups hot water to boil and add the grated Fels Naptha and stir till dissolved. Add the Washing soda and Borax and stir till dissolved, add it to 10 cups hot water and stir thoroughly. Add another gallon of water and stir thoroughly. Leave overnight and it will thicken. Stir alot so break up clumps, or use a hand mixer to break it up. I keep mine in a two gallon water container, that has a spigot on the bottom. I use a half cup for each load, so it is easy to dispense. This ends up costing a penny a load and my laundry is lovely and clean. I have an HE washer and it works well in it because the soap is low sudsing.