Need Your Input

I will be giving the eulogy for Ms. Fran next saturday. If any of you have any thoughts or sayings I could add I would be happy to. So many of you sent cards and notes that brightened her day and made her a part of you. She would love to have you take part in her celebration of life. I am making a dvd to show of photos from her childhood right up to the day she left with the angels. I am setting it to Amazing Grace as that was her and my favortie song to sing together. You can leave a comment or email me and I will work on adding those into the eulogy.

On a different note please keep William and I in your prayers. After being home for 4 months William got back on the road only to have his truck break down in MO. Its going to be a major and VERY expensive repair. He had to get another driver to take his load on to delivery and is having to sit till Monday to find out about the repairs and what his company will do with him. I know things happen for a reason but please pray that things fall into place in repairing the truck and the cost is low and affordable.

Have a blessed weekend!

This and That

Ain't nothing like a drink of nice, cold, fresh well water!

I was trying to run water to wash dishes but Whiskers had a better ideal.

I have been tagged by Nen for a meme. Here are the rules:

1. Write your own six word memoir

2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like

3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post

4. Tag five more blogs with links

5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

My six word memoir:

Goat lady with sense of humor.

I won't tag anyone as I don't know who has or hasn't been tagged but please feel free to play. Let me know if you do so I can check it out.

King of The Mountain

Going out to check on the goats one evening I found the babies could do What Diva and Sammi have not been able to. Climb to the top of the "mountain". They really thought they had done something great. I kept watching Nickle on the top as he kept looking down as if he was afraid to jump. I walked over to go in the pen to help him when he just jumped down, pushing his sister Gabby out of the way. They are eating grain and hay more often now and nursing less. They are running, jumping and playing games only kids understand. I get so much pleasure just watching them.

Frances West Irving

Frances West Irving, 80 of Fayetteville, NC went home to the Lord Monday, March 24, 2008 after a short illness. She left this world as she lived it. Loving God, fearless of death and at peace, surrounded by family and best friend.

She was a retired nursing assistant, a career she was gifted to do and loved dearly. She was born September 16, 1927 in Duplin County, NC to the late Thomas and Mildred West and grew up on the family farm.

Along with her parents she is preceded in death by her beloved husband, Gordon Irving;son, Ronald Irving; and brother William West.

She was a loving mother to Vicky Richards and husband Charles of Fayetteville, NC, Wendy Coggins of Fayetteville, NC, Rebeca Williams and husband George of Silver City, NM, Gordon "Tom" Irving and wife Theresa of Pace, FL. She dearly loved her grandchildren Debra Bolton and husband Dana, Katherine Cox and husband Kevin, Franny Bingham and husband Brian, Georgeanna Jaurequi and husband James. She was a devoted Grandma Scrap to her nine great grandchildren and dearly loved her three nephews.

She was a beautiful, loving, kind, caring,and understanding lady who gave of herself to others. She enjoyed reading her bible, working in her yard, feeding the birds, and spending time with her family and friends. She will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.

Her celebration of life will be held Saturday, April 5th at 2:00PM in the Rockfish Community Building. Chaplain Jane Jones will lead the celebration.

Memorials may be made to: Liberty Hospice Care, 2175 Village Drive, Fayetteville, NC 28304

Birthday Surprises

Saturday a package arrived at my back door. I was so excited I didn't take a photo of the beautiful wrapping and packaging so just take my word for it. Pea outdid herself ! I love the perfume decanter. It is so delicate and beautiful. I have it sitting on my antique dressing table and it just fits right in perfectly. The tea candle stand is right next to my computer desk so I can see it every day and think of my special adopted Sis. The rooster canister is right at home on my kitchen island! Leave it to my dear Sis to know exactly what to send to make my birthday special. I especially love the card she sent with the gifts. That really touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes. Pea never had a sister and my sister passed away in 1976 so since we have so many things in common we adopted each other and I am very blessed to have her as my Sis! Thank you Pea so very much for bringing smiles, comfort and love into my day. Fran's granddaughters Debra and Kathrine gave me a beautiful picture of Fran taken 2 months before her stroke. I have it sitting on my dining room table for now so I see it each time I pass in or out the back door or into the kitchen or hallway. I love being able to see the sparkle in her eyes and the smile on her face. That was the way she always was until her stroke.

I was ask by the family to write the obituary for the newspaper. I feel very honored to do this for such a special lady. I have written it over and over in my head but tonight I will do my best to put on paper all the wonderful things about a wonderful lady's life. Being given the honor of doing this is a special gift in itself.

Goodbye My Friend

Fran passed away this afternoon at 4:45. It was a very easy, peaceful journey for her. This morning I told her I wanted to see her blue eyes for my birthday present and she opened them right up and looked at me. She stayed awake most of the day. She was tired and dehydrated to talk but she kept her eyes on us and would try to talk. Her daughter, granddaughters, William and I had a wonderful day talking with her. Her family gave me the greatest gift. They let me sit, hold her hand and talk her through the end of her earthly journey. I got to look into my friends eyes and tell her of the wonderful place waiting for her, the family, friends waiting to see her. I was blessed to hold her hand till the angels took her on her heavenly journey. There was no pain, no fear, no rattled breathing. She kept looking into my eyes as her heart started to slowly stop. Her breathing was easy and soft till she took that last breath. God called a very special lady home and I now have a very special angel watching over me.
Her family gave me the scrapbook I made for her with all the cards from all of you. There is a stack of cards that didn't get opened this week but I will add those to her book. Thank you so much for the cards, prayers and thoughts for Fran. You made her last months very special. She kept repeating how she loved the cards but that each of you had to be the sweetest, most special people to write such wonderful things to her. Thank you for the birthday wishes. I really appreciate each one and I got the best gift of all when Fran got to go home to be with her momma.

Checking In

Am spending time with Ms. Fran. Hospice has been called in to help keep her comfortable. She hasn't eaten or drank anything in 4 days nor had any of her medications. Fran has decided she is ready to go and all we can do is be with her, love her and talk with her till she begins her journey home. I spent the night last night and most of the day with her. She slept most of the time but when she is awake her eyes are bright and she smiles. I cried while talking with her this morning and she shed some tears. I promised to be with her till the angels came so won't be posting again till my sweet friend has gone to heaven. Keep her in your prayers and pray for a fast easy journey home to be with her momma.

Babies

What else would you do with a old wheelbarrow bottom? All 8 babies took a nice nap together. You can see their disbudding is healing nicely and the hair will grow back soon on their heads so you won't see anything was done at all.

Happy St. Paddy's Day

Fran wanted to know if I had dressed the goats for St. Paddy's Day and if I was going to bring her a hat to wear. Talked William into getting into the fun with us. Fran wanted to keep her headband on for the day.

Ms. Fran's Miracle

Kids and grandkids have arrived. Ms. Fran is very tired but very happy having a housefull. She told me it was the best Mother's Day present ever.

Happy Birthday Julie

I have been so busy the past few months with goats and spending time with Fran that I have been late on every one's birthday wishes. Yesterday was my granddaughter Julie's birthday. She is having a slumber party tonight to celebrate. Julie hope your birthday was super and that your birthday weekend is filled with lots of fun, laughter and surprises! Love you! (BTW that's the wrong date on the photo. It was taken this past fall)

With all the family visiting Ms. Fran I have tried to stay away to give her time with them. Last night her daughter Wendy called and ask if I would give Fran her medication. She has been a little stubborn about taking anything the past few days. With a little coaching she took it and I sat and talked with her for a few minutes. When talking to her I always call her Ms. Fran and she brought tears to my eyes when she ask me not to call her that anymore. I told her I wouldn't but what did she want me to call her. She looked at me with those beautiful eyes and said call me momma. She has been like a momma to me over the years. I love and miss my mother dearly but I am sure she is smiling down on Fran and I and won't mind at all if I have a "momma". Fran and I talked about angels again. I told her I truly believe that when our time comes to leave this earth that God sends some very special angels so we don't have to make the journey alone. I ask her if she wondered why I believe this and she said no. If I believed it then so did she. I told her about my sister before she died talking about all the beautiful flowers and angels she was seeing. Told her when I was talking to Mother in her last few minutes about angels coming for her and how she opened her eyes and looked over my shoulder and when I ask if she could see the angels she smiled and took her last breath. She ask me if I would stay with her till she died and I promised to be with her every second I possibly could. She ask if she had enough money to take care of things and I told her her granddaughter had taken extra good care of her money and she had plenty. She ask me to make sure the family knew she wanted her daughter Wendy to have the house. She didn't want Wendy not having a place to live. Her 4 children haven't all been together at the same time with Fran in years. She said that would be the greatest gift she could ever have but it would be a miracle if it happened. They are all going to be there tonight. When I told Fran she had a tear run down her cheek. She doesn't really believe it will happen but if I have to hog tie all of them and duct tape their mouths they are going to give Fran her greatest gift ever!

I won't be posting very much while I spend time with Fran but I will be posting the winner of naming Diva's kid and show their prize. I haven't forgotten just behind as usual. Please keep Fran in your thoughts and prayers that her passing will be peaceful and her time with her 4 children will be special for her.

Ms. Fran

Ms Fran's daughter is arriving today from New Mexico along with 2 of her granddaughters. One from GA. and the other from FL. Ms. Fran wanted to look nice for their visit so Debra (granddaughter) washed and rolled her hair for her and this morning I brushed it out and sprayed it so she would be all ready for their visit. As you can tell from the photo Fran is no longer smiling. She is only taking bites of food when given her medication. And only very few sips of any liquids during the day. The food, liquids and sleep are the only things she can control. She went from a very active lady to having to have someone feed her, change her, put her to bed, get her up, bathe her, etc. It is not the way Fran wants to live. She has said that the Lord has been to visit her several times the past week and she is going home soon. I think she is waiting to see her daughter and granddaughters. William and I have talked with her other daughters and granddaughters and they know she is wanting to give up life here and move on. Its very hard for them and they even considered putting her into the hospital and having a feeding tube put it. Ms. Fran has a living will and its not something she wants so they agreed to abide by her wishes even though its breaking their hearts. Please keep Fran in your thoughts and prayers that she will have a easy passing. Keep her family in your thoughts and prayers. I know personally how hard it is to say goodbye to parents and know they are going through a lot of emotional, stressful times. Ms. Fran still has her sense of humor and told us this morning she was going to Magnolia. And when ask if she was going looking for a man she replied "I just might do that!". When William asked her a question last night and then kept talking she told him to hush so she could answer him. Made us all laugh including a small one from her. She is telling everyone how much she loves them and thanking them for all they have done. I think Fran is wrapping up things here on earth and looking forward to being with her husband and family members waiting on the other side. She is a very wonderful, kind, loving, devoted, remarkable lady that I am proud to have for a friend and neighbor. I will do everything I can to help her tie up her loose ends and make her comfortable till she begins her next journey.

Hidden Haven Visitors

Sunday brought visitors to Hidden Haven and lots of fun and attention for the baby goats. Debra (who I met in the blog neighborhood) and her family came to visit Diva, Sammi and their babies.

Of course since it was getting close to feeding and milking time we had help with the chores!

It was a fun afternoon for everyone and I sold some of my soaps. After supper we received a call from a couple that was driving by and saw our sign. They wanted to purchase some eggs. Once they arrived and saw we had goats they and their two granddaughters spent time with the babies. I think Diva and Sammi were very happy the kids had so much fun as they slept really good last night! It was nice having visitors and the weekend ended with our selling 8 dozen eggs and lots of soap!

Sammi

Been so busy I forgot to post some photos of Sammi's kidding experience. I won't post the graphic ones like I did of Diva last year. Diva's last 2 kids were breach but her whole labor and delivery was so fast and easy compared to last years with Frosty Dan and Brown Robyn. Sammi on the other hand had a very long and rough labor. Her kids came out in right position and fairly easy but she was very very tired and weak from the labor. Both girls are doing really well now and so are their kids. Sammi doesn't have enough milk for all 4 of hers so has decided to abandon Gabby. We give her and Sweet Pea a bottle several times a day but also hold Sammi and let Gabby nurse just a little. Its sad to see Sammi push Gabby away when she comes near her mom. But have to realize its just instinct with her.

Its Raining

So I have been working in the soap shop and just cleaning and rearranging. I stop and read some blogs and then do more cleaning. Found this on a blog (can't remember which one) and spent 10 minutes trying to get back to my 60 words a minute from high school. Guess that will never happen :)
55 words

Happy Birthday Melody

Today my favorite middle daughter is 32 years old! She was the peace keeper growing up but now she loves to tease and stir the pot. I love her sense of humor, kind heart, devotion to family and love of life. She has finally saw the light and joined the frugal bandwagon. I love hearing about the new frugal things she is doing. Besides being a wife , a mom to 5, working fulltime as a family advocate, she has gone back to college. Don't know where she gets all the energy and still finds time to be at all the kids school and sports events. Melody I am very proud of the beautiful young woman you have become. Wish I could make all your birthday wishes come true but know I love you and wish for your birthday to be as special as you are!

A Beautiful Day

Photo is of Diva checking the first of her 4 babies. The goats around here like for me to get a shower, into my PJ's and have a wet head before they decide to go into labor.

Today was a nice warm sunny day that we spent working outside. We cleaned Williams truck out and repacked it for him to go back out on the road the first of the week. We moved some goats around. Checked on our cabbage, onions and lettuce. The rain storm we got last night may have brought trees down but it sure helped our garden grow! The animals are loving the warm weather. Our hens have given us over 20 eggs each day the past week. We moved Diva and her babies back to the goat pen. They are sharing it with Leonard. Sammi and her babies are still at the maternity pen till the babies are dehorned then they will join Diva's family. We won't need the maternity pen again till July for BossyToes and Blinkin. I trimmed the butterfly bushes today, worked on my fairy garden and cleaned one flower bed. Have lots more to get done. We scrubbed the cushions for our patio chairs and swing. They are drying on the clothesline. I plan on getting the wicker set out for the front porch over the weekend. Spring is on its way here. I know we will have more cold weather but the worst such as it was is behind us. It was a mild winter and am hoping for a mild summer without droughts! Ms. Fran had a fairly good day. She was ready for us to put her to bed and when William kept talking to Fran's daughter instead of helping get Fran to bed she told him to hush and get busy! We all laughed and got busy getting her to bed. Nothing really exciting going on but each day is a blessing that I am happy to have. Hope your day was blessed!

Disbudding

Not everything is smiles and fun in raising goats. Sometimes there is pain and unhappiness, especially at dis budding time. To register our Nubian's the American Dairy Goat Assoc. requires we dis bud (burn their little horns off) them. Some can be horned and registered but if they are show goats they must be dehorned. Since our kids are descendants of a state champion show goat (Nitro) and we put that in our ads to sell our goats we need to disbud. We started out with a buzz cut around their little nubs.

This they didn't mind at all. The vibration seemed to lull them to sleep except Padro. He cried the whole time but only because he couldn't move around like he wanted to. Next I gave each one 2ml of owie ease, a herbal pain medication.
It doesn't taste that good but works really great for the pain they have to endure. We gave them an hour for the tincture to work and then we had to do what we really really dread doing. We had to heat up the dis budder. It looks like a curling iron with a hole on the end. It has to be super hot so it will burn the skull around the nub to stop it from growing. You also have to be extra careful not to leave the iron on the skull too long or it can cause brain damage. If you don't leave it on long enough then the nubs will grow into horns and will have to be surgically removed. This happened to us last year with Frosty Dan and Brown Robyn. William tests the iron's heat on a piece of wood to make sure its hot enough.
Then its time to dis bud the babies. I held the body still. Larry our handyman held the head and William did the dis budding. None of us liked our job and I kept my eyes closed while it was actually burning.
The kids cried a little but not as much as I expected. After all were done Mom checked them out, let them nurse and then they went to sleep. Later they were up running and playing like nothing had happened. The bad part is we have to do this again next week with Sammi's 4 kids. Anyone want to visit and help?

Sweet Pea is so sweet! She has beautiful markings and is very loving.
Robyn Nickle loves to sleep so much he sleeps thru feeding time and then pitches a fit till Sammi seems to scold him and after a few minutes lets him nurse.
Gabby is living up to her name. She loves to be held and carried around. If no one does her bidding she voices her opinion very loudly. She too loves to sleep instead of play.
Samson loves to hang out with Diva's boys. Whenever you can't find him with his siblings just check and he is sleeping or playing with Dynamite and Pedro.
Today we will be disbudding Diva's babies. Its a painful thing that has to be done in order to register them. Then next week we will have to do the same to Sammi's. Hope everyone has a blessed week.

Sunny Sunday Afternoon