Battlefield Break...Babies at the Fair

The Texas State Fair is a magical place!  And this past week we got to experience it through the fresh, innocent eyes of this sweet little one...

Even battle-weary soldiers can feel the joy... heading off with excitement for adventures new... 

 

 

And meeting new friends around every corner...

 

Little ones that tickle your fingers...

And Texas-size Big Ones!

 

 

 

Not so fond of Big Tex...his loud voice was "scary"!

 

nor very fond of the caurosel horses either...

 But then we found the real thing, and it was so much better!

 

 

Mesmerized by the beautiful cowgirls and their dashing steeds,

that is, until they dashed off in a rumbling gallop into the arena for their show...

crying may, or may not, have been involved :-(

So we pursued the fair for smaller game and found these sweet chicks...

 

...and this gorgeous mama Frizzle hen!

 

 

(note to self and Farmer husband: Get Frizzles for the Lake Place soon!!) 

And so, a day well spent with this happy little charmer.

Renewed, Refreshed, and Rejoicing in sweet Blessings.

May you find just such joy right where you are this day.

Letting Grace carry the burden...

Love Always, Jane

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And then there were three!

Life has taken on an absurdly hilarious, hectic turn for our beloved daughter and her husband...

Their fostering journey has been a walk of pure faith... it is a choosing to believe despite the hard nights and long days, the teething and tantrums, that this is a work God delights in... when the giggles and snuggling and first steps mingle sweet midst the tears, the joy simply takes wing.  These are the blessings that can't be bought...

18 months ago, a little girl was placed in their arms and has surely taken up residence in their hearts.  Love has blossomed and become a thing of beauty in this family wrought by the hand of God.

And just when life was full and fabulous with Baby P, the caseworkers called with news that had them on their knees.  Twin boys, 8 weeks premature... P's brothers, born too soon, a mother's drug addiction running thru their veins...  A whisper.  A plea... would they take them in?  Keep the siblings together?

Not a moment of hesitation... no doubt of the insanity before them... just a deep breath... Yes!

 

And now there are 3 little ones tumbling around this happy, hectic home!

 

 

We have so enjoyed helping/baby-sitting/loving these 3 whenever we can.  It is a balm to this Grandma's soul.  For nothing speaks love louder than a soft, downy head nestled perfectly sweet, right over your heart.

 

And, let me tell you, with 3 in diapers, the following comic really took on a life of its own in this household.  I'm sharing it here for all those who need a laugh to end this week... Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

May your weekend be filled completely with love
(and no diaper loads of any kind!)

 

All My Love,

                Jane

 

The Babies of Summer...

Sweet Baby Faces!  They're everywhere!

First peachick of the spring, growing into his fluffy peeps!

 

 

And purring fuzzballs charming everyone...

 

 

 

And then there's the baby goat kids...

 

 

Impossible to hold still, leaping and bounding their joy.

 

 

Oops, wrong end... let's try that again.

 

 

And again...

 

 

Almost had it.

 

 

Too close...

 

 

Ahhh....just right!  Sweet little goat babies!

 

 

Mama Dove, what are you hiding under your downy fluff?

 

 

 

 

Precious, little ones...

 

And our most favorite baby face of all???

 

 

Sweet Aubree Claire, bathing beauty extraordinaire!

 

 

 

Sometimes the smallest are simply the sweetest!

 

May your summer days be gracing you with the most adorable of joys...

          Love and Hugs,

                              Jane

 

Scary Sounds in the Goat Barn...

Just when you thought it was safe to go out in the dark...

Dogs bark.  Cats hiss.  Something is rustling in the Goat Barn...

Last night as the Halloween moon waned over the Farm, fearful eyes peered from around trees and under straw beds as moans escaped the corner goat pen and hung on the chilly night air.

Hair raises on my neck and my breath hitches as I open the door...to...find...

 

Our Newest Additions!!!

 

We named them Spooky and Boo!!

 

 

 

This sweet Halloween treat actually began as a "teenage" trick last June!   The teen-ager in question would be Elvis:

 

 

Yes, you!

 

What?!

 

One warm June night, exactly 5 months ago (that would be perfect goat gestational timing), Elvis scaled two fences and slunk into the girl's dormitory for a wild night of partying...Big Time Rebel, Elvis just wouldn't listen to reason and wait until August breeding season began...Oh no, Elvis was in a hormone-induced haze.  He started the party early!  And after all, he snorted, it was just one night...

 

One night is all it takes.  (Now I sound just like my mama!)

 

And do you think those teen-agers listen?  Of course not... they can't see beyond the next feed pail.  Do they even consider the consequences?  More children to feed, the end of sleeping in, not to mention saying good-bye to that girlish figure...

 

So, here we are 5 months later, under a moon-lit night... falling head over heels in love with Spooky and Boo!

 

 

No mistakes here...

 

Elvis, you may have rushed our man-made timing,

but there's nothing rushed with God's Grace-Filled Timing...

 

Gift of soft, warm, cuddly, goat-baby fluff... times two!!

 

A bit of Heaven for this Happy Goat Herder,

Love and Hugs,

            Jane

The Wait is Over!

Welcome our newest little peeps!

Two safely hatched from a clutch of 3.  We could hear the peeping this morning, but mama peacock had them safely tucked under her wing and wasn't budging!  Late this afternoon she unveiled her brood to admiring fans:

I feel that we should somehow alert People magazine for the exclusive first pics... Brad and Angie move over.  There's some new peeps on the block!

Mama's giving me the evil eye for getting too close to her precious chicks!  But they just beg to be cuddled!  No?  Well, maybe another day...

Precious new life, these farm babies make me smile...

May your weekend be filled with the simple joys that lighten your heart,

                                   In Grace Always, Jane

The Pause Button

Sometimes we just need a Pause Button for life.  No matter the crisis, the agenda, the to-do list, the cancer chaos - we just need to hit Stop and breathe in slow.

Today I was given the most innocent of tasks, to hold the cherub babe while she slept.  Oh, and to rock her just so, while she dreamt...

Simple Bliss...

She nestled sweet into my arms, and time slowed.  I counted feathery eyelashes and watched her rosebud lips soften into sleep.  The old rocking chair creaked as we rocked, keeping rhythm with my rusty lullaby.  My pulse relaxed, her breathing sighed easy and moments suspended...

No thoughts of grief, nor of pancreatic cancer.  No worry over dad and the desperate missing he feels.  Not even the hurt of knowing mom will never rock her... Nor whisper her beautiful name.

Just this little one and me.  Watching her sleep.  Sweetness intensified.  Time stilled.

The Pause Button.

Do you suppose that's what God intended all along?  He speaks it plain...

    "Be still... And know that I am God."

                                            ~Psalm 46:10

A supernatural Stop.  Be still.  Don't speak.  Don't justify.  Don't do.  Just. Be. Still.

I haven't done that enough, as of late.  The Be Still part.  This cancer has sucked our lives into a roaring vortex, where sometimes all we heard were words; test results, prognoses and treatment plans.  The dying and grieving has only layered on more. 

I didn't realize how much more, until I held the cherub child today.  In stillness.  In quiet.  Watching, listening, running a soft finger across her just-from-heaven-kissed cheek. 

Deep, deep inside that stillness, I knew that He was and is and always will be.

For who but a Mighty, Creator God could bring such innocent beauty out of the mess of our lives?  We need the still moments to remember just who Holds each of us.

He is Mighty.  He is Creator.  And He is Bigger than all the noise we make.

Today, I needed this time.  Time to Be Still.  Time to Know that God is.  And that is enough.

Praying you may find the perfect Pause Button for your life today.  May it be the sunset, the beauty of a child's laugh, or the warm hug of a loved one.  Take time to be still and breathe slow... Savor that moment.

Finding Grace in the Stillness this day, Jane

A Blessing in Pink

Such sweetness wrapped up in downy beauty...

Angels danced in heaven's throneroom as

Aubree Claire

graced our arms this very day!

She arrived at 1:27 this afternoon, bringing such joy we can hardly stand it!  And despite the enormous excitement generated by her arrival, she appears innocently oblivious to all the fuss!

Perhaps you will indulge me a few pictures :)

Mother and Daughter say Hello

Simply undone at first sight...

A family of three grows larger in love, hugs and kisses...

Oh, I just want to touch her!

Heaven in my arms!!!!!

I didn't know my heart could sing with such freedom again.  But this little one is such a precious promise that life continues and is Good.  So very, very Good.  For today, we taste a bit of Paradise on earth and thank the One who orchestrates such Miracles as this...

Ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes, sweet button nose and simply perfect little rosebud mouth!  Our Aubree Claire, you are loved beyond reason and with all our hearts!

                               So much Grace this day I scarce can take it in...

The Stretchmarks of Love

We're officially on Baby Watch!

Our beautiful angel-in-law, Kelli, is just days away from giving birth to our second granddaughter.

What excitement at our house!  The anticipation of seeing this precious baby face and counting all those fingers and toes can't be measured.  She and Travis are busy preparing the nursery, stocking diapers and packing overnight bags for the hospital.

In the meantime, Leroy and I are keeping busy with another kind of Kid Watch.  Our cashmere nannies are growing heavy with kids as well!

There is much to do in preparation on the farm for their anticipated arrival.  While winter days in Texas are usually delightful, the nights can be chilly and sometimes downright bitter, so our job as Happy Goat Herders is to make ready the stable:

Fences to keep the predators out...And the babies in!

Heat Lamps for Warmth,

Mangers overflowing with fragrant Hay, and, of course

Alerting Daisy, our faithful Goat Guardian to the impending arrival ...

Soon the birthing pains will begin.  As mothers we endure the unthinkable, bear the unbearable to bring new life into this fragile existence.  I watch Kelli cradle her belly, the dwelling place of her baby sweet.  Her frame is distended, skin drawn taut in protection of the unborn.

All mothers experience this miraculous stretching, expanding of self to make room for the frailness of love.  We acknowledge the pangs of birth, embrace the stretching, the pulling of ourselves to the outer edges of all we think possible...

The pain leaves stretchmarks.  On skin and on soul.  We will never be the same, the marks, the scars are but a breath-taking signature of life's design.

I know mom bore the stretchmarks of leaving us too soon.  She held to life when medicine and science said it shouldn't be.  Mom stretched in a gift of grace, letting God extend Himself in her life.  Even through the pain and brutal weakness the cancer caused her, she endured to the outer edge of selflessness, bearing love and hope to each of us.

Never deny the beauty of the stretchmarks in your life, the work of stretching, expanding, enduring.  They are the signs you are full to bursting with Love and Grace,

                                       Always in Grace,  Jane