Little Lambs

One cold day during Spring Break, I took the kids to my friend's farm to see the baby lambs. There were about 20 babies, four of which were born the night before to a very happy mom!! The babies were so cute. Kaden didn't like the lambs at first, but warmed up after awhile. Logan and Meagan liked to chase the mommy lambs around the field, but I put a quick stop to that---those poor moms trying to out run wild kids while being pregnant. And Jessie and Jason, my great helpers, had fun keeping track of the lamb that we had outside the fence. Meagan holding the lamb while Jessie, Logan and Jason are around her. Kaden finally warming up to the lamb. Kaden really warming up and chasing the lamb so he can pet it.

Where did she come from??

No matter what I do, I can't get this post to do anything but post one big paragraph. So, I thought I would change colors to show where the paragraphs are to be. If anyone can help, that would be great! About two months ago Jessie's teacher, Mrs. Hallgren, selected her to attend the Young Writers Convention. They only take one girl and one boy from each class, so Jessie was really excited that she was chosen and couldn't wait for the day to come. The day came on Friday, and each student had to bring a short story or something they had written to share with the group. After sharing their stories, the group discussed ways they could improve. The teacher/leader of the group told Jessie that he was able to paint a picture in his mind while she read her story. She was so happy to hear that. Her dream is to be a author and publish a book. In fact, she has started a book that is already 29 pages long. My question is, where did she come from? Keith and I like numbers and figuring things out. Give me a problem with numbers any day, just don't make me do anything English/writing related. I tried to stay clear of those classes because it took everything I had to write a paper in high school or college. Give me Algebra or Calculus any day. I guess her passion and ability for writing filtered down from a grandparent or great-grandparent. So, here is her story and you can see if that picture is painted in your mind. Your Five Senses in a Barn This is my uncle’s big farm. Right in the middle of the farm is a really big red barn with white trim on the door and windows I love visiting the farm because every time I do, I go into the barn and my five senses get to work. All around it are brown barn swallows swooping in and out, looking for food, cows roaming about the fields, and chickens running all over the place. When you enter the barn you feel the calm. You feel love, and warm, very happy, and excited to be around all the animals in their big stables. You feel playful, restless, and wonderful because there is so much to do, and you feel sad once you have to leave. And if you want to rest, you can climb up the prickly yellow rope, climb up to the top of the hayloft and lay down in the yellow cozy hay. You will feel spectacular! If you look down after getting up on the hayloft, you see everything below. You can see old boots used in the muddy fields, pitch forks used for stacking hay, and harnesses for horses. There are a lot of tool is the barn. You may see hammers, nails, a monkey wrench, screwdrivers, nuts and bolts, and other tools along with a tractor that is used to cut the corn. In the Spring and Fall, apples, blueberries, wild cherries, and strawberries are harvested in big brown baskets and brought to the barn from the fields and orchards. You might even see vegetables in buckets during harvesting time. You’ll see the barn swallows feeding their young in their nests they made in the rafters of the barn. The geese are conversing with each other, the cows chewing their cud and mooing at the sheep in their large stalls. The sheep are trying to ignore them while eating. Look, there is my cat with a fish bone in its mouth! She is going to her favorite spot over in the large horse stall, and by the way, I think she is going to take a catnap. Well, maybe not now because here comes the dog!! Run cat run! That dog better stay away from that goat. He looks rather mad. Hooey! What is that awful smell! Looks like that pig is lying in the manure. Wow, that is really disgusting! Some of the bad smells in the barn are the fish that my cat takes into the barn from the pond and lets them rot, the muddy boots, bird poop, and rotten goose eggs. At least there is a couple good smells to! Like the smell of new hay, new rope, grain, grass, the berries, apples, and more. Wait, listen! The chickens must be eating because I hear the pecking of their beaks on the hard wooden floor. The pig is probably mad at the chickens with their loud pecking while he is trying to sleep ‘cause he is squealing, real loud. I hear the barn swallows swooping down for food! The geese are honking and the horses are stomping their hooves, the cows are mooing nonstop; the chickens are clucking back then here comes the dog to join in! So much commotion starts to happen when a chicken starts to eat. There are a lot of things to taste around here in the barn when it is harvesting time. I like to eat the berries that are picked off of the trees. It is delicious! If I am really thirsty, I can get a bucket, and milk the cows and drink the milk. It is sweet. Sometimes there may be a bucket of peas! So I may have a little snack of peas. There might even be some squash and cucumbers, or tomatoes, lettuce and other vegetables. They are yummy. I think I want to go for a horse ride on the fields, so good-bye and I will see you next time on the farm!! By: Jessica Lynne Gray

Just for fun

Well, I am trying to figure out how all this blogging works. I have started a new blog and as I learn how it works, please be patient with me. This is just a random picture of Jessie, Kaden and Brenna. I love Kaden's smile. Whenever the camera is out, he is there waiting with a bright smile on his face.