I can't believe this week has come to an end. Its really true that time goes faster as you get older. As a child I use to think certain times would never arrive. Now I can't believe they come and go so fast. William is heading to Oregon. We got some of our projects done before he left but have many more left undone. I will trim the goats feet a couple a day till I get all of them done. I am also working on our annual family Christmas weekend. Its the first weekend in December so I only have a few weeks to get stockings stuffed, food ready, gifts wrapped, and help William prepare for the treasure hunt. I have to find the Christmas carols I printed out so we will have the words when we go on our hayride Christmas caroling. I love getting everything together and having every hour planned so we don't waste a second of all of us being together. Maggie, if you read this don't forget your Happy Birthday Jesus book. She is our reader of the Christmas story and the kids love it. They also write birthday wishes and then burn them so the wishes will float to heaven then we have a Happy Birthday Jesus cake. Our Christmas weekend is busy but so much fun and I will take lots of photos to share. This year it will be at my daughter Maggie's in Tennessee. I will be nervous leaving the animals but have several people going to check on the hired hand while we are gone. Hopefully Diva and the girls won't be too mad at me when I return. Everyone has their swap partner information and I even have my stocking finished and ready to mail. William and I spent a afternoon trying to get Christmas photos of the goats for our Christmas cards. Maggie is designing and making them for us. Diva did really well posing as did Sonya and DiDi. The other goats didn't care much about posing as a reindeer. We have had lots of rain all day with a few thunder showers thrown in. Tomorrow we are suppose to have lots of rain with high winds and lighting. I am looking forward to Sunday as the temps are suppose to drop and by Tuesday we will have some cold winter weather. I have been trying to declutter drawers and cabinets throughout the day. I still have lots of decluttering to do. Every little bit helps. There is no reason to keep it if we don't use it. The baby chicks (3 now) are doing really well. Sister is still sitting on eggs so I have the chicks in the house. If I put the chicks with her she would come off the nest to care for them and not hatch the other eggs. I can keep the chicks as they hatch until she is finished then put them with her. She takes them right back and is a good mommy. Am hoping all the other eggs hatch within the next few days. The chicks are soooo cute! They like to snuggle in my lap and they also like to push each other around. I am using my finger to pat their beak when they bother each other. I only do it once and they run away from the other chick and start pecking at their food. They know my voice and will start peeping when I talk to them. I will have to take some pictures tonight to show how sweet they are. There is laundry waiting on the sofa to be folded and put away. There are gifts to wrap, dishes to wash, rooms to clean, and a cup of tea calling my name. Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy those blessings.... everyone of them no matter how small.
While the kids are playing and enjoying their new stuff the adults move into the livingroom to open their gifts.
Of course since the girls all think they are my favorite daughter I had to get them ornaments that said: Oldest daughter (you are my favorite) Middle daughter (you are my favorite) Youngest daughter (you are my favorite) They really got a kick out of those. We had to come up with something for the guys to play a trick on them. Thus the matching shirts. They opened them and loved them until they saw the other guys had one too. It was such a hoot seeing their faces.
I was bad and didn't get pictures of everyone opening their stockings. I was trying to get dinner on the table and enjoy opening my own stocking. Megan filled mine and Williams. It was a nice surprise. I loved all my gifts and will show photos later in the week.
The race was on when the teams put their clues together and knew where to find the treasure chest!
Each pirate found a treasure bag with their name on it. The men got fishing reels, 2 of the ladies got enamelware bowls and the other two got perfume. The kids got pocket knifes, tablets, and candy. Their small treasures were gold coins (chocolate), gold nuggets (rocks), pencils, balls, ornaments, candy, games, etc. They all decided this would become a annual event.
