our first week with the goats

We are so attached to these goats already. And I know they are farm animals and not pets, but honestly, how do you tell your head and your heart not to get attached? It just happens. And we are all attached.

Our first week went smoothly except for the ten minutes that did not go smoothly at all. And those ten minutes are what I want to write about now.

We got our goats to help us with our grove maintenance. We want them to feast in our grove. We want to be able to walk through our woods again. We want to have an Oak Savannah again, and our goats are our plan. Which means we might have been a little eager to get them out and into the grove first thing. Thankfully Rory had spent the morning building a fence from the barn to the cabin. And thankfully the previous owners had goats back in the day so that there is a fence surrounding the grove, though we have cut openings in it for various projects and parts are down due to branches or trees that have fallen down. 

Rory wanted to get the goats to the smaller pen he had created out of electric fence, and had made leashes for the goats to walk them there. Well. Goats aren't super big into being walked. Or dragged. Or pulled. And at some point the knots came undone and Rory calmly stood with two concerned goats, not sure what this strange man wanted them to do next. The big kids and I were sitting in lawn chairs on the other side of the electric fence waiting to watch the show. Hattie was thankfully napping. (Hattie is awesome like that.) 

So Rory picked up the baby goat, knowing the mama would follow. He got the baby in the electric fenced area, but the mama circled on his wrong side, panicked because she was separated from her baby and charged the electric fence. 

And that was right about when we knew we were in deep, deep trouble. 

The Mama was zapped by that fence, by two lines, and bucked up and went bananas. At this point in the story I need you to add in your own audio track of two goats bleating their hearts out, a human-like noisy cry, incessant, and worried, "maaaaaaaaaaa! maaaaaaaaaaa!" I grabbed the kids and got them safely in the barn while Ivar sobbed, "Oh no! We lost our goats already! We'll never have goats again!" Rory spoke fast, "get me another rope." And all the while the two goats were running pell mell around our grove. 

At the same time our neighbor's dogs started barking, adding to the chaos. I kept waiting for the goats to head to the neighbors or for the dogs to come to us, but they never did. Rory got the goats to head towards the cabin and they came right up to the fence he had just erected that morning, where I stood on the other side. And then they turned towards the back side of the barn and my heart sunk. They were heading for the opening that was blocked only by electric fence...something they clearly had no regard for. One good run and they'd be in our field where they'd really be free. 

So they ran around the barn on the back side and I took off to catch them before they made it to the open field. And as I ran I thought, "Sweet Jesus! Make me bold so I can jump on that goat!" 

That was for real my plan. I was going to jump on the mama and go for a ride. I knew she had to be caught or we'd be chasing goats for the rest of our lives. Also noteworthy is that I only call Jesus 'Sweet' in moments of serious peril. I have a short list when my mouth has said Sweet Jesus! And every time it has been completely reverent, with all sincerity asking Sweet Jesus for some Sweet Supernatural help. Like right away. I said it when I watched Rory drop from the roof in front of the kitchen window when he was cleaning out the gutters and came upon a wasp nest. And I said it when our old barn came down. And now I said it again while gearing up to jump on a goat.

I came around the corner of the barn and watched in horror as they ran right towards me. I got myself ready but at the very last second, they turned right into their pen. Praise Sweet Jesus! Rory was on the other corner and I climbed through the electric fence (which must have been grounded and not on...we think the mama goat broke the circuit, lucky me, because I was just going to "run through it real quick" so I could get the door closed behind them. Ha!) 

We closed the door and stood in the pen with our two goats. I got the kids and went back in the house and then I got the giggles and laughed about it all night long. I told Rory the Good Shepherd could not have taught us more lessons in a shorter amount of time. It was actually quite the productive educational experience and there are about 14 mistakes that we will never make again. 

So we've spent the last few days building up trust with our goats again, and thankfully they seem to be rather forgiving.  The electric fence is now right next to the physical wire fence, their first open space is right outside the door to their pen so they can walk in and out as they please, they have been given actual dog collars and next up we will be mending the fence around the entire grove.

Truthfully, if you omit those ten minutes of intense goat school, it has been going great and we are glad to have mammals in our barn. The past few days they have been fed each morning and evening, but other than that, they're pretty low-key. And good thing because Rory's honey bees come tomorrow morning. Wouldn't want to sit still around here...

the magical forest

Before my parents left on Mother's Day I told them they should stop by the county park right by our house to see the wild flowers. I had a feeling they would be in full bloom because the ditches by our house are stunning this week. As they left I gave them directions how to get there. But while I waved goodbye I said to Rory, "actually, that's what I want to do...I want to go to Stair Step Forest too."

So we packed the kids up and drove half a mile to our favorite, magical place. We parked our car close to my parent's car and took the many steps down into the forest valley and then took the trail assuming we'd meet up with them on their trek back at any turn. But my parents hiked an impressively long hike, and therefore we did too. The funny part was how excited we all were to surprise them, even though we had just spent the whole day together!

My mom was taking pictures of every kind of wild flower, eager to look them all up when she got home. The forest floor was covered in white and purple flowers, but Mom was finding even more that we had been walking right past. We walked a little further with them and for our first time made it out to the river! We were so proud of our kids for making the trek and were rewarded by a stunning view and celebrated by throwing rocks into the water.

The day was so lovely. There were no bugs in the forest, something we were all keenly aware of because we know they are coming. It was a lovely hike on a lovely day with my lovely family. And Hattie and I were quite impressive in our trail hiking agility.

a happy mother's day

I've got to admit I don't always love Mother's Day. It's sort of like my problem with adult birthdays: a whole lot of expectations...and that never really works out well in the end. So this year I made a special decision to just go with the flow (let go of the expectations!) and relax and enjoy my kids. Which is probably what the day was supposed to be in the first place, but you know how social media has hijacked our happiness based on what the Jones' are up to...

And in the end, our day was magical simply because I was so relaxed and enjoyed the glorious day. My folks came for a picnic lunch with fried chicken and strawberry shortcake and I got out the new kite I recently bought. We hung out with the goats, tried out the new swing, ate ice cream cones, picked lilacs and tulips and ended with a hike through StairStep Forrest. And later, Rory and I ate Ben and Jerry's in bed while watching Waiting for Guffman. That was the perfect ending to a lovely day. 

Rainbow bird was a tricky bird to fly. We did a little repair on the string, but I think a windier day would have been helpful. But it wasn't for a lack of effort! I was about to give up for the day, but my folks wouldn't have it. So they tried to launch the kite for a while and watching my mom throw the kite in the air and my dad running through our lawn was awesome.

The day left me feeling so grateful for my family, and so blessed by my parents and the way they love me and my family. And happy that I get to experience the same love for my kids that my mom has for me.

I'll save the pics from StairStep Forrest for tomorrow...it's such an enchanted place!

we got goats!

Wednesday we loaded up the family and drove two miles away and came home with two adorable goats. The woman who sold them to us was awesome. She's a high school math teacher by day and a farmer by night, grew up in the suburbs of Georgia, married a Minnesota farmer and has figured it out ever since. She was so supportive, so encouraging and loved her animals so much. We made another friend and I'm so grateful.

We got a mama goat and her baby, a female. My sister-in-law Lisa thought we should name them Lilac and Tulip because those flowers are in full bloom on our farm this week, and I loved that idea and calling them Lila and Tulla. But Rory couldn't remember those names and kept saying, "what did you name them? Lyza and Minnelli? Flora and Fauna?" Rory makes me laugh.

Ivar didn't like Lila and Tulla either, so he decided the little white goat should be called Precious. And Rory is still coming up with the Mama's name.

Animals are so fun. We went to bed last night and Rory commented that it just feels so good to have some animals in that barn. And Ivar has been by Rory's side the entire time. Early this morning Ivar asked, "Dad, am I your first farm hand?" And Ivar found a place in the electric fence that needed to be looked at because the baby could burrow under the wire. Everyone was quite proud of Ivar for spotting the weak part of the fence!

Today the boys are mending the wire fence that runs around our property from the previous owners. That way if a goat escapes the electric fence, we'll have a second fence to catch them. Worst case scenario would be an escaped goat! A double fence feels like a good precaution.

They are very sweet in temperament so far, more scared than aggressive. So we've spent lots of time sitting by their pen, talking nicely, hand feeding them their hay and cracked corn. It's a real life petting zoo, right here in our barn and it's really, really fun.

a sweet memory

On Sunday I sat in our church service with all three kids. Rory was out for most of the service talking with a friend, so I held Elsie on my hip and Ivar stood on the chair next to me wanting me to hold his hand. Then he went to kids church but Elsie decided to stay. I took Hattie out of her car seat and before I could put her on my lap, Elsie had climbed on my lap so that I had both girls on me, Elsie proudly "holding" Hattie. We stayed seated and sang songs and clapped our hands and I felt blissfully happy.

Then the Lord brought a sweet memory to my mind. When I was little I lived for Sunday mornings so that I could go to church to see all of my favorite babies and toddlers. I had some serious favorites: Christine, Jonathan, Sarah and Joel, and topping the list was Naomi. Those last three were the kids in the other pastor's family and I love, love, loved them. Naomi in particular was basically my best friend from her birth until age five or so when they moved away. And I must have been nine or ten when she was born. (Her mom was also my piano teacher, and Naomi was my greatest reason for sticking it out during those years.)

Anyway, God reminded me of this season of life and how every Sunday I would watch the mom's with little babies all throughout the church service. I even followed a mom I didn't know very well out of the service once, when her baby was crying, and offered to hold it for her! She declined, but I was so earnest. I remember dreaming about having my own baby or even just that my brother or sister would have one that I could hold during the service. I just wanted a baby in my hands.

So this past Sunday, while I sat in church with my own redhead on my lap, with my baby stacked on top, my heart completely burst open. I felt so grateful and happy. And  I worshiped the Lord with so much gladness.

There is no season I can imagine that is more fulfilled than this one. I am tired. My patience is tried each day. But this joy and gladness for these little lives in my care cannot be topped. I have waited for this season for a long, long time and I am so glad it is here.