Who's My Mommy?

What a day on the homestead. We had to move some hens first thing this morning as they were tormenting some of the chicks. Got them all rearranged and found one of the tiny baby bunnies had his foot hung in the wire bottom of the cage. He is a tiny thing compared to his siblings so it took almost 20 minutes getting his foot out. Went back out after breakfast to find that Bonnie the goose was jealous of Crackers the duck and was fighting her for her eggs. Bonnie's eggs didn't hatch so we cleaned her nest and hoped she would still have time to hatch some this year. Bonnie decided it would be easier to fight Crackers and take hers. We ended up giving some of Crackers eggs to Bonnie and got Crackers settled back down in her nest. Hopefully both of them will hatch ducklings around May 24. Cleaned the rabbit pens and raked up the poo before heading in to check on Tessa the turkey. Remember her eggs didn't hatch so we gave her chicken eggs. She hatched one chick a few days ago and I was going to take the rest of the eggs out today only to find another chick pecking and peeping to get out of its shell. Will leave the eggs a few more days to see how many chicks she hatches. You never know what kind of baby a animal will have around Hidden Haven. We are a mixed up but happy herd here. While working in the front yard I decided to check the birdhouse. A bird started checking it out a few minutes after we hung it a few weeks ago. The photo shows what I found. There is one baby bird hatched next to the momma bird and there are 3 teeny tiny eggs I hope will hatch soon. The top lifts up on the birdhouse so I was able to get a picture without disturbing momma bird. Getting ready for the huge yardsale this weekend. Can't wait as I have the livingroom piled full of boxes packed with goodies waiting to be sold. It will be so good to get rid of clutter and also make a little money. There is so much stuff that needs to go so a simple life can be had again.

Megan is doing really well. She is back at work and enjoying watch Q playing baseball or taking him to practice. Sheri's husband still has a long way to go and is having problems remembering things. I leave you with what she had to post about him. Please keep him in your prayers and Sheri too. She is exhausted and under alot of stress.

Sheri's Post:


is Ward better physically? a little bit- he can sit up by himself, but not stand on his own yet, and even though they haven't removed his feeding tube, they are allowing him anything he wants to drink CAUTIOUSLY with supervision. he chose and enjoyed several sips of ginger ale- the first thing he's had to drink in three weeks.

is Ward better mentally? yes and no. when I got there today he smiled and called me Angel Pumpkin and his little Boxfish (ya- we're a creepy old mushy mushy couple), but continued to be easily frustrated and agitated.

here's what I figured out. If he wants to do something he's not allowed to do, like get dressed and leave the hospital (which he insists on doing every five minutes or so), saying "no dear- you can't do that yet" even if followed by a rational calm explanation gets scowling and cursing. saying "yes dear- we'll do that as soon as..."and the exact same rational calm explanation will elicit a sigh of acceptance...for about five minutes when it starts over again.

we watched Land of the Lost, with Will Ferrell, and he laughed at all the right parts, was happy to see Alec when I retrieved him from work at Doggy Daycare (altho he doesn't remember Doggy Daycare at all and the whole "Alec is working at Doggy Daycare" thing sorta went over his head) and seemed content to stay with tonight's sitter, Myrna, altho he said "See you in a little bit" in response to our "See you tomorrow".

baby steps.

Updates

Megan is resting comfortably physically at the moment though her mind is racing 100mph. Hopefully this hospital stay will get her strength up and stress down. As for my friend Sheri and her husband. I copied and pasted her post for you to read. Your prayers are really helping all and I ask that you please continue praying and sending good, positive thoughts their way.

Sheri's post:

I held my husband's hand for the first time since Sunday night a few hours ago.

talked to the cardiologist- apparently after this surgery his heart went wild and they thought he had a heart attack. all the tests point negative on that, which is not really comforting, since I know the heart can get stronger from an attack, failure is irreparable.

the next 48 hours will remain critical. he's in congestive heart failure and the clot is back in his heart- he said from the calcification he doubts it was completely gone. so they need to give IV nitroglycerin to calm his heart, and they need to give him enough IV lasix to get the fluid out of his lungs, but not so much that they stop flow in the tiny brand new vessels they just attached in the new graft.

they can't even thiink of waking him up yet since he'll think he's drowning (and be right)

yet another disconcerting thing- the cardiologist kept saying "his xrays here from '07 and '08 show no failure, so this must've been in the last year" , assuming he went into the first surgery compromised, till I said "NO- HE HAD A CHEST X RAY HERE LESS THAN A MONTH AGO- DID YOU LOOK AT THAT ONE???"

no. he had not.

guess what? the xray taken one week before his April 5th surgery showed NO heart failure. None. Nada. Zip. Zero.

meaning the strain of 2 major surgeries in 8 days but MAINLY (in my humble know-nothing opiniin) the 6 days of physical drain he had while they held him hostage in CrazyTown caused heart failure. (Sheri's husband was given medication that made him go wild and have to be restrained)

so now he's very very ill.

I'm more than a little annoyed.

his brothers saw him last night, and this morning, and in the wake of "the next 48 hours are critical" pronouncement are going home this afternoon *~*
they never asked how I'm doing. or how Alec's doing. or if we needed money. or made a move to even touch me let alone give me a hug. or said anything about even "hey- it's lunchtime- before we go let us take you and Alec out to eat since we're sure you know a good place".
I was gonna give them a quick primer on the workings of the parking token machines, which are nightmares, but decided to let them figure it out for themselves.

bleah. enough of that.

the GREAT NEWS (which I saved for last- only our REAL trooper friends will have made it this far into the post :LOL:)

when I got there, I took Ward's hand- said "It's me, honey- I'm right here with you. I'm better and when I can't be right here I'll still call and bug you every few hours on the phone- Alec and I aren't leaving Houston without you- it's your job to rest, get strong, keep fighting, and my job to be here and give 'em all hell".

*he squeezed my hand*

I told him "Alec can't see you in ICU, so he opted to stay at the hotel by himself alone for the first time- I told him not to start anything on fire".

*his one remaining eyebrow shot straight up*

he's in there.

and lord help the hospital staff, I'm out here

Prayers

Seems like today is a day of staying on knees in prayer. My daughter Megan is being admitted into the hospital as I type this. Please keep her and her family in your prayers. Its been and is going to be a very rough road for them for awhile. A homestead forum friend who I have become close to and she and her family visited here a year ago has so much going on. Her husband had cancer and lost a eye, also has heart problems and is a diabetic had surgery for a skin graft over the cancer surgery. He is now in ICU on a ventilator. He is in heart failure. Sheri has been throwing up and running a fever so she isn't allowed to be with him until she has gone 24 hours without being sick or having a fever. She is beside herself. She and their 10 yr old son are staying in a motel next to the hospital but she is so wanting to be with her husband. They are far from home with no friends or family close by. So if you are a praying person I ask you to please keep these wonderful people in your prayers. I know they feel they are at the end of their ropes and have no where or no one to turn to. With all of us praying it will be some comfort for them and God always hears and answers prayers. Maybe not in our time or our wishes but he will hear and be with them.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!!

This morning I actually saw snow flurries. Just for a few minutes but a few snowflakes are better than no snowflakes. The temp was 39F and that is our high for the day. The temps are suppose to keep dropping and the winds are suppose to pick up. With the windchill factor its suppose to feel like 20F today. I love it!! A nice warm fire in the stove. The kettle singing along on top. All the animals all snuggled down in their fresh straw beds napping. Diva staying warm in her sweatshirt. All the goats grow a nice winter coat for winter except her. For some reason her hair stays short so I have always put sweatshirts on her. She seems to like them and the other goats don't try to eat them. I buy them at thriftstores but with being pregnant its getting kinda hard to find them big enough! Yes, around Hidden Haven we are enjoying the cold weather and hope it is here to stay awhile. I have a pot of homemade veggie soup simmering on the back of the stove. I filled my woodbox after morning chores so have plenty of firewood to keep the stove doing its job. I have a couple batches of soap to bag and tag and a batch of soap to pour. Have a couple of soap orders to take to the post office. Tons of paperwork and a desk to straighten up. Lots and lots to do to get ready for our family Christmas weekend that is 2 weeks away! I am also going through photos for a Hidden Haven calendar. My daughter works at Backhome Printing and gave me a awesome price for printing them so I want to get them together ASAP. Lots of things to keep me busy on this wonderfully cold day! Some of my blog friends are in need of our prayers and good thoughts. Some are having problems with their children, some are taking on the care of their parents, some are having medical problems, some are having financial problems, some are dealing with depression or broken heart. Some are facing big changes in their lives. Some are having to deal with loss of job. We all have problems in life but during the holiday season it just seems to make those problems grow. Lets pray for all our blog friends and whatever problem they may be facing today. Lets not say we will pray and then forget as we go about our day. Lets really really say a prayer that whatever our blog friends are dealing with that God will answer each need and they will know God is with them. If life never gave us problem then we would never need faith. Have a blessed day!

Prayers

Edited to add Melody came through surgery fine and is back in her room resting. Megan says she is hurting right now but I am sure they will or have given her something and she will sleep most of the afternoon. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts!

My son-in-laws grandmother died this morning. She was a very sweet lady that reminded me a lot of Miss Fran. She still drove herself everywhere. Kept a beautiful home. Loved playing with her great grandchildren and had a wonderful laugh. She never met a stranger and was always friendly and nice to everyone. There is one big celebration going on in heaven right now because they just got one very special angel. Please keep Brian, Megan and the rest of the family in your prayers. They are having a hard time dealing with her death.
Melody is at the hospital right now. Her surgery is this morning. She is in great spirits and ready to get it over with. Megan is going to call me as soon as the surgery is over. Melody just has to stay overnight and will be able to go home tomorrow. She had plenty of leave days saved up at work so will be able to take the time to rest and heal without worrying about the office. When I hear from Megan I will update this post but in the meantime please say a prayer for Melody.

We Just Think We Are Having A Rough Time

I may get down and bend God's ear a lot over things that I think are important. Then I read about what others are going through and I ask God to forgive me for taking up his time with my whining. (click on the prayers for Gracie button to read about her)

And a grandmother has lost her grand baby: http://agardenofmythoughts.blogspot.com/2008/09/in-memory-of-poppy-josephine-hart.html

My burdens are not so heavy after reading about what these families are going through. Life at Hidden Haven is a wonderful blessing to be very thankful for. Even with a few rough patches along the way I am very blessed with the journey God has given me to experience. Please say a prayer for these families. And please don't forget to count your blessings and tell the big guy upstairs thank you.

Fall Weekend

This weekend will be the ending of summer and the beginning of fall. We are already having some cool nights and cooler days though I can't wait for them to get cold. The leaves are falling and if you are out in the back yard very long wear a hard hat to protect you from the acorns falling. Man do they hurt! Time to get out Diva and the other girls sweatshirts to wash and repair. When old man winter shows his head the girls like to stay nice and warm. The boys and a few of the girls grow a nice heavy winter coat for winter but Diva and Sammi don't and will stand and shiver when the wind blows. I put their sweatshirts on them in late afternoon and take them off when it warms up in the morning. Diva loves hers and will walk over when she sees I have them in my hands. Yes, its official I am a crazy old goat lady!

On a more serious note. I would like to ask you to keep my daughter Melody in your thoughts and prayers. The doctor found a lump on her breast, a spot on her kidney. She went back for more tests today. She also has had some pretty bad problems this past year that is resulting in her having to have a hysterectomy. Besides being a loving wife to Joseph she is a busy mom to 5 kids, works full time and also goes to college. She isn't complaining about all this happening to her just planning on how things will get done when she has her hysterectomy. So please take a minute to say a prayer or have good thoughts for her.

Below is a email that was sent to me that I want to share with you. This young man was killed not far from my hometown.

A young state trooper was killed in Haywood County, North Carolina Tuesday. Trooper Shawn Blanton left behind a wife and son. His son, Tye, was born 7 weeks premature and has been in serious condition since his birth May 31st. Tye was placed on life support this afternoon and is now very critical. The NC Highway Patrol is asking everyone they can possibly reach to please remember Shawn's son in your thoughts and prayers. If you feel led to do so, please pass this prayer request along. For the service, dedication and commitment that Shawn displayed and these folks show us every day, this I can do.Thanks for your prayers.

Julie K. Conway Office Administrator

Antioch Baptist Church 828-627-1200

I want to also ask you to keep my brother Don in your thoughts and prayers. He will be having surgery again next week for cancer. He has been doing great after his last surgery and treatments partly because of all the prayers and thoughts for him.

I have received 2 awards this week from 2 Philips! Thank you guys so much for thinking of me.

Tossing Pebbles gave this award:

Crystal at Memoirs Of A Mommy created this award in honor of the donor that saved Noah's Life. Noah is her son and he had a heart transplant when he was under one month old. He just turned one earlier this month!! Her hopes are that in passing this award around, we are creating more awareness of the importance of organ donation.

City Mouse Country Mouse gave me this award:

Here is what Phil had to say:

Peggy is the kind of country person that I always feel I should be striving to emulate - She's doing her thing, she's an individual, and everything is done with kindness. Hidden Haven is a really neat look into her world of living simply, raising critters, and enjoying the land.

Thank you guys! I get so much from both your blogs. The photos you share. The ideals, information, and dreams are a inspiration.

Lastly I want to share a video that I got from Jules blog. This will bring you to tears but in a wonderful way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0r_FbARIn8

Have a Blessed Day!

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!

Faith of a Mustard Seed

I'm asking for all you to pray again for Patricia http://jaimefits.blogspot.com/. The doctor couldn't get a heartbeat on Friday. She will be going to another doctor Monday for a second opinion to see if she has miscarried the baby. With every ounce of faith you have please pray they find a heartbeat Monday. Patricia has gone down some very very rough roads to be able to be a mom. All the things she has endured has not weaken her faith. In fact her faith in God has carried her through. I believe in miracles and I am going to keep praying for a heartbeat.. please join me.

Pray, Pray, Pray

Patricia is a very very special lady. I have been reading her blog for a long time now. I think of her more than a blog neighbor or even more than a friend. She is almost like a daughter though I have never met her in person. Without going into a lot of detail I will say that she has been on a very rough road to motherhood. She got to see the baby's heartbeat for the first time today. Its beating too slow and the doctor says it has a 50-50 chance of making it. Please as you go about your day lift up prayers for Patricia and "little bean". With all of us praying throughout our daily activities God will hear and "little bean" will grow stronger and one day be smiling in the arms of a very special mom. You can leave a comment for Patricia at her blog: http://jaimefits.blogspot.com/ if you like but please, please keep her and her baby in your prayers!