Gold Nuggets...

in my life this year...a very difficult yet amazing year! Our daughters Lauren and Katie turned 21 and 23 during their Daddy's hospitalization.
Lauren graduated from Gardner-Webb University with her Associate Degree in Nursing and continues working on her BSN online.
Missing from her nurse's pinning and graduation were her Dad and Grandpa (my father). Her cap was in honor of her Dad and in memory of her Grandfather who passed away in August 2010. (Yes, Dad, we are Champions!!)

Katie graduated first from North Greenville University with a Bachelor's Degree in Math. She is continuing her education online at Liberty University as she works at The Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site.
In January after Rothey became sick we had to have our beloved Belle put to sleep at the age of 17 1/2. This little cherub (Ha!) above is Dixie...Lauren's graduation present.
Katie with little Cinderella, our surprise lamb from the last post.
...first place Shetland pair at the NC Mt. State Fair...Sprinkles and Solitaire...mother and daughter...
...fleece show at SAFF...color champion from Abby.
Katie pleased with that big purple ribbon!

Just a few of the nuggets in our lives this year...and...Rothey will be able to come home from the hospital before Thanksgiving...11 months since necrotizing pancreatitis changed our lives...God is good and faithful and He has done great things!!!

A Cinderella of a Surprise...

What a nice little surprise awaited Katie when she went down to the barn on June 5th!

It all started in January...Katie had been getting into a routine of feeding sheep and getting help with that since Rothey was in the hospital. Well, the barn door wasn't shut and locked...the only thing separating 2 ewe lambs (2010) and a breeding group was a chain link gate whose latch wasn't the strongest...and the next day they were all found together...well...maybe no one was bred...maybe it was April the larger of the 2...well...nope...after shearing we realized Heartthrob had quite a round belly and an udder starting to form...oh my...she is a small ewe and Rothey is still in the hospital...we really didn't want to go through lambing again in June!

Once again the Lord answered our prayers. We had her due date around June 9th so we weren't really starting to watch for her to lamb. Katie went down to give the other mothers hay and there she was...Cinderella...yes, a single ewe lamb...licked clean, dry, nursed...in with everyone else. And boy is she precious!!
What a nice little surprise!!

It has been a very difficult year but we still see many blessings around us!

Waiting No Longer...

God answered our prayers...with my husband so ill we have been praying that lambing would happen with the ewes doing all the work. God answered our prayers when He allowed my husband to be home from the hospital for 10 days as lambing occured. The hospital he was at and has since returned to is about 50 minutes away. I was a little stressed about being here and there all at the same time...they did it themselves with a little assistance for the last lamb!

Above is our oldest daughter, Katie with her favorite girl, Nala. Our youngest daughter, Lauren selected a Disney theme for this year's lamb names.

Our stats for 2011: 10 rams and 3 ewes. 3 singles and 5 sets of twins. Like I mentioned...we prayed for safe deliveries and healthy lambs! Thank you, Lord, for taking care of us!

All of the lambs except the last one born were sired by Mapleton Thunder, a moorit and white yuglet flecket.

On April 2, Electra, a first time mom, gave birth to a black ram lamb. Then we waited a week and...

On April 10th, Lucy gave birth to a ewe lamb and a ram lamb. Nala is a smirslet katmoget. Not sure of what color to call her...light grey or white? Simba is a moorit with a few white hairs on his head.

Then on April 11th, Amelia gave birth to two ram lambs. Above is Buzz, a moorit boy.

Below is Woody, a fawn katmoget.

That afternoon on the 11th, Camille gave birth to look alike lambs. Above is Peter Pan and Tinker Bell wouldn't allow me to photograph her. She is a darker brown but both have sugar lips. So I guess they will be musket? These two came from a first time mom and they are our tiniest lambs of the year.

At daybreak on the 12th of April, Charlotte gave us adorable lambs. Above is Slinky, a moorit and white yuglet flecket ram lamb that is mostly white. His sister is below. Jessie, is quite a pip!

Jessie has a real perky personality. She is a moorit smirslet sokket.

Later that day, Gina gave us these two beautiful RAMS. On the left is a moorit and white boy named Donald Duck. To his right, Mickey Mouse, a black and white yuglet flecket.

For the past 3 years, Shania has given us ram lambs. We sure would love a beautiful spotted daughter before she is retired! On April 14th she gave us a moorit and white yuglet flecket ram.

Here is Prince Charming (Charm). He looks just like his father.

Last but not least is this little guy sired by Rare Find Farms Cory. He will be a little musket guy and is unnamed as of yet.

Needless to say...all these precious boys are for sale. Choosing ewes to keep was made quite simple this year!!

I would love to spend more time with the sheep but the hospital calls. Please keep my husband in your prayers as he continues to battle pancreatitis and its effects. Possible surgery next week and hopefully home before too long!!

Shearing will commence next weekend! Yippee!!

Have a blessed and beautiful Easter as we celebrate our reason for living!!

Ladies-in-Waiting...

And waiting and waiting...soon...we hope! Our shearer, Anthony, came out to help Katie and I get the pregnant ewes ready for lambing a couple of weeks ago. Crutching, CD&T, deworming and hoof trimming were on the agenda that day. We love our mamas!! They are so friendly at this time. Above is Lucille Ball, grey katmoget, second time lambing. Bred to Mapleton Thunder.

If you follow our blog you know who this is. This is Shania. She is one of our favorites from Windswept Farms. She is also bred to Thunder.

Above is our precious Cara. She had a year off and is back in business. Cara and Rare Find Farm Cory give us "ghost" kats. Can't wait to see lambs this year. Her lambs end up being the friendliest Shetlands we ever have.

Here is Amelia Earhart, a fawn kat. She will be a second time mother and is bred to Thunder as well.

This is our Camille, a Cara daughter. She will be a first time mom that is bred to Thunder. She is one of our brown based "ghost" kats.

Not photographed were Gina, a yuglet sokket, and Charlotte Bronte, a smirslet sokket, and Electra King, a grey kat, all bred to Mapleton Thunder. Eight ewes in all, bred and in waiting.

Here they are...there are also 2 yearlings in the picture that we have kept here with the bred ewes. All of our other sheep reside at my nephew's house.

When do they begin? Friday will be day 146 for Electra, Gina- date unknown, and the rest will be the following Friday through Tuesday...one right after the other!! Katie and I can't wait.

So...where have we been since the last post...on January 4th (12 weeks ago today) my precious husband, Rothey, was struck with necrotizing acute pancreatitis...MEAN stuff...it became infected. He has been in the hospital for 85 days and is now waiting to go to reheb. He had mulitple organ failure and was in ICU for 38 days. He ended up being on kidney dialysis, had a tracheostomy, central lines, 8 different drains in his abdomen, 3 surgeries to remove dead infected tissue...on and on... The Sunday after this began, our dog, Belle, became very ill and we had to have her put to sleep...our plan was always for Rothey to handle it... Our stove died, the toilet was leaking, the blinker on the truck went out, lambing is coming...life continues...all this to say... My God is an Awesome God...my husband is truly a miracle (only 3 % of people with pancreatitis get it this badly and I don't know what the survival rate of that is)...My Jesus has been with us every moment...sometimes carrying us...sometimes holding our hand...and oh, the peace we have experienced!! He has given us strength and courage...and our faith has grown...and we have lived through it to tell others all he has done!!

History in the making...

The first white Christmas in Hendersonville since 1981...

I was just 16 years old at the time...nothing stands out in my memory about that day.

My Belle, a dachshund-terrier mix, is 17 1/2 years old and celebrating another Christmas as an "old girl."

Began a Shetland shawl on my triangle loom with the above yarn on the 26th, my wedding anniversary, as my husband was out with the tractor scraping driveways...

Completed 7 foot shawl in a record four days...

Finished product commissioned by my brother in New York for his wife...

Wow!! Much going on in western North Carolina over Christmas break!!

Hope everyone has a blessed New Year!

A Visit To America's Largest Home

Katie and I enjoyed a day at the Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina. Katie's first visit to this amazing home was when I was teaching 6th grade in the public schools and was pregnant with her. Now she is 22 and we could really enjoy it together!

It was cold enough to feel Christmas-like but not cold enough to be miserable.

Inside decorations for Christmas included a huge live tree in the dining room. Thirty something feet tall, I believe. It was adorned with huge ornaments including full sized presents among the branches. We were told that Mrs. Vanderbilt would have all the employees and their families in for a party. Children 11 years old and under received gifts each year that were actually in the tree. It was amazing! Of course pictures were not allowed inside.

George Vanderbilt bought acreage that totaled 200 square miles. Here you see the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Much of the land was sold to Pisgah National Forest upon his death. Wow!!

Here's my lovely Katie posing in front of Vanderbilt land. Her bag contains beautiful Christmas ornaments purchased in one of the shops in the old stable. We love to collect ornaments wherever we go.

Here is the greenhouse where amazing flowers grow. An orchid room was what pleased me the most. You will see many of the lovelies below.

OUTSTANDING!

We also visited their farmyard. They raise a flock of sheep and herd of cattle on the property.

Someday we will return and take a nighttime Christmas tour...

It's beginning to look a lot like...

CHRISTMAS! Snowy weather this early is quite unusual for us here in Hendersonville, NC. Last year was an unusually snowy year and weathermen are predicting a calmer winter for us (or so they say).

It was exciting to wake up to 3 or 4 inches of snow that was only to have been snow flurries and snow showers.

The sheep seem to have enjoyed a nice day in the barn. Hopefully these mammas are growing some sweet little lambies!

Merry Christmas! May you have a blessed season celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus!