Catching up

Well....... it's been about three weeks since I have posted and a lot of things have happened at the Walker home.

Easter was DELIGHTFUL. A good friend invited our family and my cousin's family to their home for Easter dinner. She said that PG women didn't need to worry about cooking dinner - wasn't that SWEET?!?!?!?! I contributed a couple of little things; Lynde also contributed some salads and appetizers but the main bulk of everything was carried by her and her girls. What a wonderful day of fellowship, fun and great food!!! We enjoyed our celebration of Christ's Resurrection!!

Judah' birthday followed that next Wednesday. I cannot believe he turned five - it just does not seem possible. Where does the time go?? We enjoyed celebrating his bday with our home-group after study with cake and ice cream and a few tools. That was his request for a present -- he said he couldn't build things like Sammy-Stuart-Sprocket-Springs (a literary character)unless he had his own tools :)

That same evening Lyle and Bev brought out our nephews from California to visit. It was great to see them !!!! We had a busy week of playing, hiking, building (of course Judah had to try out his new tools) and of course visiting. It was a wonderful time together. Goodbyes had to be said so the boys could return home -- Bekah kept saying do they really HAVE to go?? We all enjoyed having them here!!

That brought me to about a week ago when I embarked on my battle with the state DEQ department, trying to finish our boundary line relocation. SMALL project-- HUGE hassle -- LONG and very irritating story. I won't go there - it makes my blood start boiling but I would appreciate prayers if you think of it that we will find favor and be able to complete this quickly.

Friday, Elijah went to feed the animals and our doe Bonnie decided to freshen. This was a bummer - first of all because we didn't want her bred, she did that herself. She is SUPER flighty and difficult. We were waiting to butcher her out for Easter when Gabrielle noticed she had swollen teats and was dripping milk. BUMMER!!! We had no idea when she was due. Friday she dropped one baby in the snow and wouldn't even finish passing the second one. I am grateful that Elijah found them and that he so aptly handled the situation. He finished pulling the second baby, broke the birth sacks and got them going. He and Gabrielle worked for about an hour or so trying to get the doe to take the kids but to no avail. So....... we ended up with two kids of the four-legged variety in a large furniture box downstairs. Tim handled it well, although he joked about living in a petting zoo between the baby chicks, geese, turkeys, and now goats in the basement. The goats had to be fed every three hours round the clock. Again I was proud of my kids who took on the responsibility and got up and did the nighttime feedings so I could rest. I am proud to report the kids (Luke and Lea named after the Star Wars characters) are doing very well. They have been out in the kid pen during the day for the last few days and transitioning outside (hurray!)

Saturday (the 25th) we had a hugely busy day. The two older kids and Timmer got to participate in a shooting competition in Butte (about 1-1/2 hours away) learning to shoot with military personnel who helped train them with the guns for competition. They had a great time, but were super tired. They left the house at 5:30 am to arrive in time for the shooting.

While they were gone Josiah and I handled milking Bonnie (what a rodeo that was!) Thankfully Mom had a great solution which made it a lot more do-able to get her milked out. Josiah and I also found that another doe decided to freshen early and dropped two more kids. She is a great mom and is doing well with her little ones. The kids are still debating names for those two -- that line is themed musically (I know we're weird). The doe is Melody, last year's kid was Harmony -- where to we go from there. Gabrielle is hoping for Symphony (Finney) for short for the doeling and Percussion (Percy Jr. for short after the buck we used whose name is Perseverance) We'll see where those go.

Then to culminate an already eventful day we had our first-ever ConfiDance Regalia. We had over 100 people attend at the MT Club ballroom. What a fabulous evening of fun. The costumes were SOOOO beautiful, the room and the ambiance fabulous -- what a great night!!!

Sunday and Monday I was pretty zomped and spent time catching up my house which I regret to share was woefully behind with all our busyness. We had a few other events of note - doctor's visits, dentist visits, and our 20 week ultrasound. Yes, we are halfway there!!!! The ultrasound is always so miraculous -- it was a phenomenal thing to see. Baby is doing well. All signs/markers are good. It will be fun to meet Walker Baby #7 in a few short weeks!!!

Friday Elijah and Gabrielle helped deliver another doe who was almost a week late actually. Two more little bucklings rounded out our herd. Only one other doe is due to freshen this year and she is not due until July. No names for those guys yet. It is great to see my children becoming to capable and confident.

Saturday Elijah and Josiah attended a fly fishing clinic learning from pros how to cast and working on technique (with Boy Scouts) and then cut firewood as a fund-raiser (again for scouts). Then Tim took me out on a dinner date and bought me some new maternity clothes as a surprise. SUPER sweet, made me cry actually. I married a good man!

Now, you are caught up on events (at least all the major and/or busy ones) to this morning. I am looking forward to a quieter couple of weeks. The baby goats are sleeping through the night -- don't I wish it went that fast with baby people!!! After our church time this morning Tim, Zachy and Judah went to run errands, Elijah, Gabrielle and Josiah are building a pen for the turkeys and geese so everybody can be outside (can't wait for that to be finished!) and Bekah and I are over here to say hello. The older boys and Tim are going to cut more wood this afternoon leaving the girls (and Judah) at home to entertain ourselves. There is always a lot to do and I doubt we will be bored.

The Regalia inspired Gabrielle to work harder at learning to sew. She almost has a new skirt finished (she needs some help with the zipper) and she made one that matches for Bekah already. She started her blouse last night. I love seeing her embrace those wonderful traditional skills.

Hope your week is fabulous!