Saturday, December 26, 2009

Seasons...

It's been quite some time since I last posted, has it not? It has been a busy season since the post and I needed to take some time off to focus on the tasks and to think. Combining fall cleaning, working on large projects (such as quilts), two holidays, visitors, and the normal everyday life of the Castleburys' (which has somehow become more busy of late... I'm not sure how, but has managed to do it again!) makes for a very interesting time. A time where one has to focus on the important thing - that being ones family and what you can do to help them.

It's been a wonderful time though... I thought I would give you a quick glimpse into the highlights of the past six and a half weeks!!

Feedin' Rex and Meetin' the Cows...
Towards the end of October Mrs. Franco and the kids were able to come visit for a day or so!! We had such a wonderful time with them... I think the highlight, for the kids at least, was going out to Bull Run and feeding the cows as most ALL of the cows are taller than they are!! Or maybe it was building a fort in the woods with Sayre... hmmm, maybe that was it! Bethany posted some pictures from their visit HERE.

Victoria, Haviland, Sawyer, and I - with Bethany in the background and Buck wanting in on it all!
It was a terrific time spent went them; a time of renewing friendships (we don't get to see them very often), a time of good discussions, and a time of working together!! We hope to see them again soon!

Finished!!
As soon as the fall cleaning was finished, Momma and I started working on our quilts. I had bought my quilt top at a yard sale well over a year ago now, and I was oh so anxious to see it completed. It took almost two weeks, as we had guests and other things that needed doing, but it's now finished and draped over the bench inside the back door!!! Oh I love it and am so pleased with how it turned out!

Being goofy...
Sawyer has been our entertainment of late!!! In the above picture he had just gotten knocked into the sink and we were all laughing at him!!! His comment upon being 'rescued' was "Oh, now my pants are wet!" which sent us into even further peals of laughter!! I love his smile... his eyes glow or 'dance' when that smile of his comes out!! Its the sweetest thing ever! Yes, he wears a hat most of the time - it just adds to his cuteness! :o)

Still in the works
Trevor has been working on the chicken coop, every chance he finds, with Sayre's help. The above picture is where the construction is on it right now. They have one full side plus a partial side of the coop to put the siding on, and then they'll move indoors putting in widows and doors, building nest boxes and roosts, and then I'll move the chickens in!!! I can't wait till that day!

The Chicky-y-doos
Speaking of the chickens, we are now getting anywhere from 11 to 13 eggs a day!! Thankfully we have a source that WANTS as many eggs as we can spare, otherwise we'd have a bit of a problem on our hands! :o)
These birds are an absolute blast!!! The ones that fly the fence have become rather bold and are up near the house scratching in the dirt... I have to count the birds each evening just to make sure that everyone is back in. I have to wonder if I don't have chickens laying outside of the pen.

A FIRST for us!
The best and most exciting part of the past few weeks has been the addition of a new calf to my herd of cows!!! She arrived last Sunday evening and is the cutest little thing ever!! She's highly curious and rather energetic for a new calf, I think. I have two more heifers that are due any day which is giving us allot of suspense and anticipation here!! It's going to be so neat to see all three of the calves running around out at Bull Run!

My Family~Winter 2009
In Front left to right: Sawyer, Momma, Me, and Thelma - Trevor's wife
In Back: Sayre, Daddy, Tristan, Trevor, and Collin.


Over these past weeks I've been doing some serious thinking in regards to my blog, and I've come to the conclusion that it is time for me to close this season of my life. There are so many things that I want to learn about or research, projects that I need to do, and new things that I want to delve into; as I've stepped back and looked at this area, the question that has kept coming to my mind is "What would the Lord have me to do during this time of life?". I'm here to serve the Lord by serving my family... this is a time of learning from my Mother... this is the time to learn things that I might not have the time to learn about years down the road... and I could go on.

I do not make this decision lightly; I've prayed about it, talked about it, and thought about it for quite a few weeks. But this is the right thing for me to do. I'll be leaving the blog up, but not posting (well, maybe I'll pop in every so often with a new post, but I'm not going to commit to anything).
I have so very much enjoyed blogging - from getting to know some of my readers through comments they leave all the way down to the encouragement y'all have been to me! It's been a wonderful time!! Than you for making it so!

To all my readers I wish you a Happy New Year! :o)