Who'd have thought?

8 years ago who would have thought that I would one day be drawing blood for pregnancy testing for 25 goats? I certainly didn't think so. In fact if any one had told me that I would some day be doing that, I probably would have thought them just slightly odd. :) And yet that is what Emma and I were doing today. Drawing blood for a bunch of goats pregnancy tests. Some of the goats were really easy. They were content to just sit there and wait patiently while we worked ( for the record, it can take a goat farmer with experience as little as 30 - 45 seconds to draw 5 cc of blood.). While some of the other goats kicked up a big fuss. "What!?! You expect me to just stand here and calmly let you take my blood? I don't think so!" And then it would take three minutes just to get the goat to hold still. Which can be hard when that particular goat is a full grown Nubian weighing in at a healthy 150 lbs. Star, our biggest and fiestyest Nubian backed Emma and I into a tree. Thanks a lot! We're just trying to help you and any baby you have grow well. Emma and I are relatively "new" at drawing blood. I learned how to do it a couple months ago and Emma was taught how to 3 weeks ago. But all in all it went well. There is never a dull moment with Emma around. She always makes me laugh with her jokes and goofiness. At one point she looked a goat in the face and said "You should fell very lucky. It's not every goat that gets to have it's blood drawn by Emma Joy." What a silly little goof she can be at times. :) She and I have "herd health" as our job this month and we are enjoying learning together the ins and outs of how to keep our herd healthy and in tip-top condition. It is a lot of fun.

Rosemary

During the Christmas season, we do Advent. Advent is basically a bible study about the first coming of Christ. From the prophecies foretelling His coming to His birth. We have two books that are the backbone of our Advent reading. Besides the Bible of course. One of them is a book that we have had for I-don't-know-how-long. The front cover is pretty dinged up and more than one page is stained with hot coco from years gone by. The title is "Family Activities for the Christmas Season".  For each day during the four weeks leading up to Christmas there is a Hymn,scripture reading and then a story. Usually the story is a legend about a favorite Christmas tradition or some thing that has in some way to do with Christmas. This is one of my favorite readings from this book.


  "This legend is about the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt to escape the evil King Herod. The legend says that they stopped to rest on a hill side, near a quiet stream. Here Mary washed baby Jesus' clothes. She spread his tiny garments on a sweet-smelling bush to dry. God rewarded the sturdy bush for helping Mary and the Christ child. He called it rosemary. Then He blessed the rosemary with fragile blossoms of the same heavenly blue as Mary's cloak.

Long ago in the Middle Ages, people spread rosemary on the floor so that their houses would smell good. They also used it to decorate the alter at Christmastime. They believed it would bring special blessings and protect them against evil. Later it was used in England to give flavor to the boar's head that was served at the Christmas feast. Today, rosemary is still used as a food flavoring. It also stands for friendship. Rosemary reminds us of our best friend, Jesus Christ. He is the one who brings us special blessings. He is the one who protects us from evil if we keep Him in our hearts."

Merry Christmas!!

A Christmas Tradition

We at the Carlson household have a lot of traditions that we observe around Christmas time. Who doesn't have a lot of traditions during the Christmas season? One of my favorite traditions that we have is called "Christmas buddies". At the beginning of December every one old enough to participate draws the name of a family member. No one else knows whose name you pulled, it is a secret. Through out the weeks leading up to Christmas you do special little,or not so little, favors and jobs for that person. Some times it is as simple as bringing them coffee every morning. Other times it can be as big as doing their daily farm chores. You should be so nice,sweet, and helpful to this secret buddy that when Christmas morning rolls around and you tell every one who your secret buddy is,every one should say "I could'ave told you that".  It can be pretty funny trying to do some one else chores for them. Like the time Linnea drew my name and tried to do my chores for me. I'd be sitting at the table enjoying a cup of tea and look out to see her feeding the animals. For some reason it never clued in that I was her "buddy". I just thought that she was bored and trying to fill up her time. So I would go out there and try to take over for her.  It is really funny watching the younger kids trying to take care of their buddy. They're so excited about helping that person that they let the secret out. For instance when Noah drew his partners name he tried to tell us who it was. He was SO excited!! It is a lot of fun!! So now I get to figure out how to help my buddy. What fun!! :)

Hi!

So here is my blog. On my blog you might read about my latest sewing project,the book I'm reading, or maybe something that a sibling said, or something that happened on the farm that day. Or just about anything else that might strike my fancy. So read on and enjoy!