Lucian

We decided on naming our new little guy Lucian and the good news is he does not need a plasma transfusion. His numbers where very good, actually! The not so good news is the tendons in his front legs are very tight and twisting his legs out-ward. To correct this he needs to wear a splint on each leg for two days at a time. While he has a splint on one leg we have to rub and exorcise the other leg. I did manage to get new batteries and take a few more pictures.

Adam exorcising the "free" leg on our poor little gimpy.

Walking is a little harder now.

But standing is all good!

Our Second

This morning we had our second cria! A boy this time and he came a week and a half early. We were expecting an early arrival as his mom, Olympia has done this 8 times before and has gone early every time. We did have a brief scare with this one as well, though.

We went out and thought Olympia was in labor only to see her deliver a perfectly intact placenta. Babies always come before the placenta so we went into panic mode and searched the field for a cria. When we couldn't find any sign of the cria Adam placed a phone call to our friends in Butler. As he was on the phone I noticed (for the 5th time) our dog, Rolo, sniffing under the feed shelf in the shed. Adam got off the phone and we frantically pushed the hay away to reveal the cria!

I was so worried it may be dead from hypothermia but Adam pulled it out alive, very wet, hungry and cold. He was stuck under the shelf for over an hour and he was too weak to nurse from his mom, so we had to supplement again. At least this cria knew where to go and how to do it, he just didn't have the energy. Our other cria had to be taught how to nurse. We could also easily get milk from the mom this time. It took the better part of the day to get his temperature up, but he seems to be doing well and nursing now. We are taking him to Butler tomorrow to have his blood drawn to determine if he needs a transfusion like Dandelion.

I have a limited number of pictures on my camera because my batteries went dead and I couldn't find new ones. Our friend Joe is here and he got a bunch on his camera. I will post some of those when I get them. We don't have an official name for the little guy yet, but it may end up being Lucian. He is all white with very bright, fine fleece.

Trying out the new legs.

Feeling strong enough to nurse.

Rolo checking him out to make sure all is well.

Tired out after a long morning.

Big Fish

We went fishing this afternoon with our friends Jim and Andy. We all had a great time and Josiah caught the biggest fish of the night and possibly the season!



Isaiah with his biggest fish.
Elijah's biggest catch.
Jim helping Jojo hold up the winning fish of the night!
Josiah was very proud of his fish, but didn't want to actually touch it.
Close up of the "Big One".

New School Year

It is indeed time to start a new school year. 2nd grade for Elijah and Kindergarten for Isaiah. This year my boys and I are embarking on a journey that is sure to be filled with adventure, fun, and a lot of nervousness. Adam and I decided to enroll the boys in the PA Cyber School program for this school year. This was a decision made last fall/winter prior to finding out we were expecting number 4. At that point it was too late to enroll them back into Evangel Heights - so we talked and prayed and decided to go through with the Cyber School. I will be their teacher this year and PA Cyber gives us the curriculum with all the lesson plans included. Elijah's actually came in the mail today and we are still waiting on Isaiah's and the computers they get.


Anyway, this is what all of Elijah's "stuff" looked like when I took it out of the box this afternoon. Needless to say, I felt very overwhelmed looking at his pile of books and manuals and materials. Then I started organizing it and reading the intro to the curriculum. The more I looked at it the more comfortable I became. I am still nervous, but it doesn't seem like it is going to engulf and crush me anymore. I am very excited now and ready to get started! I also have the help of an instructional supervisor for any questions I may have along the way.

I never in a million years would have dreamed I would be teaching my kids at home, but for now I am ready, able (through a lot of prayer and encouragement) and willing to take on this task. Adam and I decided to do this because we were unsure of how much traveling we would be doing this year. We did a ton last year, especially Adam, and it took a toll on our family. Now we can all go together and what a great teaching opportunity it can become!

Please pray for us as this is a huge change for the entire family. I know the kids will miss certain aspects of being at school and I will need the encouragement. It will also be a difficult adjustment for Adam since the boys will be here all day long now. Since he works from home this may prove to be hard on both he and the boys. I will post updates to let you know how it is going and how it all works out with a 2 1/2 year old tailing along for the ride and a new member joining our family in a few months!

Princess Dandelion

I just wanted to share how big Dandelion has gotten. She nurses off her mom now and even grazes on grass occasionally. That first week was a ton of work and I was not looking forward to having to give her bottles every 4 hours for 8 weeks. Now that she takes from her mom we won't have to. She enjoys watching the boys ride their bikes and often gets so excited she can't help but take a little jaunt through the field herself! Our other female is due on September 7th, so in about a month I will be putting up pictures of a brand new cria.

Home Sweet Home

I want to first start off by saying a huge thank you to Uncle Ray, Jay, Scotty and Pappy Joe. With out your help in getting our fencing finished we would not have even been able to make it to the beach. Thank you for so freely giving your time and hard work!

Next, I want to say that Tybee Island was awesome! We couldn't have asked for a better house, beach, or weather! Thank you Joe and Cindy you gave us all a great week! The drive down and back were long (about 14 hours) but smooth. Though we had such a great time there is nothing quite like the comfort of your own home.

I put some pictures together in a slide show to highlight our vacation - enjoy!

Tybee

We are in Tybee Island and having a great time! More to come...