Thankfulness Abounds

I've been posting Thankful posts on my facebook during the month of November.  Most of them are the run of the mill, thankful for my family, friends, faith, etc.   You know, the important things in life.  Well, today is the big one for us.  Fourteen years ago, we were in foreign territory.  We were sitting in a hospital room with our 2 1/2 year old being told they had found leukoblasts in his blood.  I swear I probably looked white as a sheet when the doctor told us.  They didn't have to even says what they meant.  A mother's gut is never wrong, I knew what leuko meant and it wasn't going to be good.  The big fat "C" word had just hit me in the stomach and I wasn't ready for it. 

Let me rewind a bit and start at the beginning.  We had moved to northeastern Nebraska right out of college for my husband to start a career in hog management.  We moved to a little town of about 1500 people and found a rental in the country.  We were ecstatic to be able to live in the country and have room for our 18 month old little boy to run around and just be a boy.  I decided to stay at home with him and enjoy being a mommy.  The summer went by without any issues and we were starting to head into fall.  Our son was now 2 1/2 and his health was starting to concern us.  He was tired all the time and didn't want to walk up the stairs to his room.  We just thought he was being a toddler and wanted to be carried and not want to become a "big boy."  Every symptom was able to be explained away without ever thinking it was something more serious.

He finally got sick enough that I was genuinely concerned.  He had croup and a friend had said to put him into a steamy bathroom to help break up the congestion.  I tried that it didn't help.  This was a Sunday afternoon.  I still wasn't concerned enough to take him to an ER, but I had decided the next morning, we would get him an appointment with his doctor.  We let him fall asleep on the floor on a big pillow so we could keep an eye on him a little closer.  About 10:00 that evening, he woke up gasping for air.  That was it!  I wasn't waiting till morning.  We loaded up in the car and drove probably much faster than we should have. We were terrified and wanted someone to tell us that everything was fine and he will get some medicine and be better in the next couple days.  A mother knows when things weren't right, and I knew something was wrong.

The ER doctors and nurses thought all he needed was a breathing treatment and we would be on our way.  One nurse asked me if he looked pale.  Well, if you've seen me, you would have thought the same thing as I did.  "Well, I'm extremely pale, so I never thought much about it."  I told them.  They decided to take some blood to check it out.  Have you ever tried to take blood from a 2 1/2 year old?  Wow, they are strong.  It took three nurses and myself to hold that kid and get blood from his arm. They ended up putting in an IV line in case they needed to give him more medication.  They sent us up to a room for another breathing treatment and thought we'd be able to head home in the morning.

We went up to the room and tried to get some rest, but I had a million things running through my mind.  About 3 a.m., our friend's mom, who is the hospital chaplain, had come into the room.  I didn't have a good feeling about that.  Chaplains don't just pop in to say hello, especially at that time of night.  Soon after that, a doctor came in and dropped the biggest bomb on our lives.  Cancer.  Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia.  Wow, who would have seen that one coming.  We were first time parents and didn't know what we were doing.  The hospital felt that they couldn't provide adequate services for a pediatric case.  They asked us what we wanted to do.  We could go to Sioux Falls, South Dakota or Omaha, Nebraska for treatment.  They didn't push us in either direction.  They let us make the decision ourselves. 

We opted for Omaha, Nebraska because it was close for our family to come up and be with us.  Let me tell you, that was THE best decision we ever made.  The University of Nebraska Med Center has a top notch staff in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.  We were flown down there in a helicopter and a few hours later settled into a room.  Blood and platelet transfusions were started since his red blood cell count and platelet counts were dangerously low.  Several transfusions later, he was feeling better and being prepped for surgery.  They put in a porta-cath (sp?) and his first round of chemotherapy was adminstered. 

Three years, many more trips and scares later, we finished his final treatment.  He was 5 1/2 when he took his final treatment of chemo and he has thrived ever since. He is 16 years old now and you would have NEVER known he was as sick as he was back then.  He is a miracle child for sure. 

I will be eternally grateful and thankful to the doctors and nurses that had helped us through that horrible journey.  I has made us stronger as a family and stronger as individuals.  I am a believer in modern medicine and so glad we live in a time that can help so many families through these times with that medicine.  I'm not the type that will just put my kid on medicine because of a sniffle or upset tummy, but when it's something serious, you can bet I will be at the doctor.  It took us a while to get to this point.  Right after he was done with treatments, I did take him into the doctor, a lot.  I was paranoid that it would come back. Over time, we learned what to take him in for and what to just let him get through. 

If you've never had to deal with a serious illness with your children, count your blessings!  It's something I wouldn't wish upon anyone.  It has strengthened our faith and our marriage.  If you ever do have to go through something like this, find a support group, a good friend, someone that you talk to.  It's a life-saver, both mentally and physically.  They can let you vent, let you cry and help you through the piles of dishes, laundry, or whatever else you may have to deal with.  It really is a blessing to have that support.

 

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Stocking Up

This weekend was a stock up weekend.  Friday night I came home from work and got my applesauce canned.  I had it all ready earlier in the week and ran out of time.  It was put into the fridge for a day or two to wait.  Friday I actually had the time to get it done.  I ended up with 8 quarts.  Of course it was 1 quart too much to fit into my canner.  Oh, well!  That means it must be eaten soon-and it was.  Wow, nothing compares to homemade applesauce! 

The apples we used were JonaGold.  We made our apple-picking trip late this year, so there wasn't much of a choice in apple variety.  That was fine with me.  The apples still were delicious!  We picked 60 pounds of apples this year, so we are in apple overload!  We also picked about 60 pounds for my mom. She was busy that weekend, so we picked for her.  I love going out to the orchard to pick the apples.  Nothing is better than picking your own fruit and eating it right then and there.  The warm fruit is beyond compare.

I also love dehydrated apples.  The rest of my family isn't as keen on the idea, but as I type this, I'm snacking on some.  They are almost addictive!  I have a tiny plastic dehydrator that my mom bought several years ago.  We don't use it much, but I dry herbs and apples with it.  It's nice that it's so small, but a larger one would be nice, if I could just utilize it like it should be.  Maybe one day.  Two batches were made and I will probably leave it at that.  They will most likely be gone by Christmas, but that will keep me wanting more for next year.

 

Between apple drying and sauce making, we finally got the wood put up from the front yard.  Earlier this year we had to cut down the oak tree in our front yard.  We think it got hit by lightning a couple years ago and each year the leaves fell off in early summer.  Branches kept falling out when the wind blew and finally the bark at the base of the tree began to come off in large sheets.  We knew it had to come down.  In late September my husband took the chainsaw to it and made several cuts to make sure it fell the direction we wanted.  We probably let it lay in the yard longer than we should have, but it was still warm and neither one of us really wanted to cut wood in the heat.  Saturday was cool and there was no wind, so we decided to get it loaded up.  The top branches were already dried, so we loaded them up and stacked them on the side of the house. 

 

This pile will probably last a good 6-8 weeks heating our home.  Not nearly enough to get through the winter, but a good start.  We have another pile of seasoned wood out by the silo to burn too.  Probably still not enough, but we have some other wood cutting sites that should get us stocked up. 

The trunk of this big oak wasn't dry, so we cut it into large slices.  Oh my, those were huge.  It took three of us to roll them to the splitter and up our make shift risers to get it onto the splitting area.  We ended up with a full trailer of wet wood to stack up for next year and there is still more in the front yard.  Hopefully we can get it loaded this week and stacked up in it's new home.

 

Our wood of choice to burn is hedge or mulberry.  Oak is a nice dense wood too and should do a good job of heating the house.  We are overrun with cottonwood and elm trees at our place, but we only burn those in the outdoor fire pit.  They are not as dense, so they don't burn as hot and they leave a ton of ash behind.  Hedge can be a tricky wood to burn though.  It likes to spark.  Our fireplace is completely closed up except for the small vent in the back, so not many sparks make it out.  My husband said that a nearby city will not let you burn hedge because of the sparking hazard.  Glad we live where we do so we can burn it!

What type of wood do you prefer to burn in your fireplace?

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Weekend Review

What a whirlwind weekend we had.  It started out with a snowstorm hitting on Friday.  Middle of October, in Kansas and we have snow.  It never amounted to much, but there were half-dollar sized flakes coming down most of the morning.  The ground was still warm, so it melted as soon as it hit.  Kinda makes you wonder what the rest of the fall and winter will be like.  That's what we expect in  Kansas-crazy weather!

Our daughter was supposed to cheer in a mini cheer clinic at Friday nights home football game, but it was cancelled due to the cold temps and wet weather.  Thank goodness!  I'm hoping the next home game will have nicer weather for them to cheer. That was one thing I could check off my crazy weekend itinerary!

Saturday morning, we got out of bed, bundled up and went out to dig our sweet potatoes.  It frosted overnight, so we needed to get them out of the ground ASAP.  This was an experiment crop for us this year. We planted approximately 10 slips and seven of them made it to harvest.  We didn't get very many potatoes from the plants, but that was fine.  We aren't huge sweet potato eaters to begin with, so I'd rather eat what we have and not worry about a bunch of excess.  Sweet potatoes are one of those foods that I didn't really care for as a kid growing up, but if I had some now, I would eat them.  It's amazing what happens to our palates as we grow up.  Things aren't "gross" anymore.  We just suck it up and eat it as adults. 

Saturday afternoon brought a Tae Kwon Do Black Belt test for our son.  He received his first Black Belt back in April, but had to test again to get his 1st Dan.  It's the next level of Black Belt that you can get.  He was very excited to get this belt.  It's his "official" Black Belt.  The first one was a "probationary" belt.  Now he is a full-fledged Black Belt and will receive a special certificate stating so.  He will be receiving it in a couple weeks. 

Sunday brought with it a set of mixed emotions.  We had to say goodbye to Bella, our new puppy.  She was born with a defect that we and the breeder were unaware of.  She was getting worse and worse each day and the medication our vet gave us didn't help.  Saturday night, she passed away.  We were hoping to have more time with Bella, but I think it was probably best that it happened so quickly.  You could tell she was getting frustrated with it and we were holding out hope that things would just level off and she would be able to live.  It was a very sad day, but made brighter with the addition of Sophie, our new little girl.

 

 

 

Sunday afternoon we made a flying trip to the opposite side of the county for our 4-H Acheivement Celebration.  This is a time to celebrate all the hard work our 4-Hers have put into the past year working on projects and activities.  Our son had a long list of acheivements this year.  He is also a part of the 4-H Ambassadors.  This group has been a lot of fun to watch.  They help promote 4-H to anyone they see.  They go help at functions around the area and learn about leadership and citizenship. 4-H has been a wonderful program for our kids to be in.  It's been an asset to their everyday lives and will be with them for years to come.

 

 

 

 

So that wraps up a crazy weekend at our place.  I don't think I've recovered either.  Another set of late nights are coming my way, but you know what-I wouldn't have it any other way.  I guess I don't have a simple life, at least not in my eyes, but I love it!

 



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Sad News

Our little Bella, that we just got a little over a week ago, will probably not be with us very long.  She came home with us and as far as we knew, was a healthy puppy that was eager to start a new life with our family.  We took her into the vet for a visit just to see that things were developing like they should.  As far as we and the vet knew, she was healthy.  We would get her out and take little walks around the farm, go out to the pond, play and just enjoy the time with her. 

A couple days ago, we started to notice she would run circles to the right.  It was like she couldn't see correctly.  At first it was just a little bit, so we decided to keep an eye on her.  A day or two later, it was all she could do to walk straight or even find us when we called to her.  She would run into walls, or her fence and couldn't keep herself going straight. 

We decided she needed to be seen by the vet again.  After he looked at her and did some puppy development tests, he thinks she has fluid on her brain.  Her head is dome-shaped and his diagnosis doesn't look good.  If the fluid keeps building up, it could eventually kill her.  Not, something we wanted to hear after finally getting her.  She is healthy otherwise-gaining weight, eating well and trying to be playful. 

We don't blame the breeder for any of this.  I'm not sure how often this occurs, but we felt this was just a freak incident that neither side could have expected.  They are being very understanding and offering us a second dog.  Hopefully by next week, Bella will have one of her sisters with her again.  This could help her in the long run too.  A companion may help her and improve her quality of life. 

We are going to keep her and help her live as full a life as she can.  Maybe she will surprise us and live a nice long life.  Until that fateful day, she will stay Our Bella.

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Our Bella

Meet the newest member of our farm family-Bella!  

She is a purebred Great Pyrenees.  She is such a doll with a shy, sweet personality.  She's not too shy though.  We are hoping she will be a predator deterrent, guarding our animals from the coyotes and other animals that might think our chickens and ducks are and evening snack.  Hopefully we will be able to borrow a couple lambs to socialize her with, so she can practice herding and guarding them as well.  We get 4-H lambs each spring and it would be nice to have a buddy for them to hang out with that will also keep them safe.  Luckily we've never had to deal with a predator killing a lamb, but I don't want to deal with that-EVER!  I know, I'm dreaming, right?! 

I've had a couple people ask if she's going to live in the house.  Umm, I don't think they realize how big a Great Pyrenees will get.  No, she will not be living in the house.  I don't have anything against other people keeping dogs in their house, but I'm not THAT kind of dog person.  She is about the only dog I will let kiss me too.  I think there are two kinds of dog people in this world.  People who own working dogs and people who own the little lap dogs.  Call me a dog hater, but I prefer the working dogs.  I have had so many bad experiences with other people's indoor dogs, I'd prefer to not deal with those situations in my own home.

She is a working dog, and working dogs don't want to live in the house.  They have an instinct that says they need to live outside.  She will be able to get out of the rain, snow, or whatever bad weather comes our way.  It just won't be in my house. 

We've been without a dog for about 7 years now, so it's an adjustment having one around again.  Our last dog, Annie, was a Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix.  She ended up dying at the age of 13 or 14.  She was just getting slower and slower each year.  Before we moved to our farm, we had neighbors who's Blue Healers came over and attacked her.  (Don't get me started on that one!)  She healed up fairly quickly after that, but about a year later, she died, peacefully.  It was hard on my husband since she was his dog.  He raised her from a puppy and she moved with us all over when we were first married. 

Now that we have Bella, we will be busy once again, teaching her to come, sit, shake, and all the other obedience skills dogs need to learn.  I'll try and post pictures as she gets bigger!

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Surprises

Look who I found the other day when I went to check on my girls!  This little puff ball was hiding under mama.  I had let the chickens out one morning and when I got home that evening, I went out to feed and water.  I saw the barred rock still sitting on her little nest and decided to see how things were going for her.  As I got closer, she ruffled up her feathers and was "growling" at me.  She wiggled a bit and I swore I could hear little peeps coming from underneath her.  About that time, I saw this little guy poke his (or her) head out.  I was so excited! 

We started the mama out with four eggs, but one by one, they started to disappear.  I figured she rolled them out as she realized they weren't viable.  Not sure where they went though.  I know my chickens have had egg eating tendencies in the past, but these were completely gone.  No empty shell or anything. 

This mama was in the corner of the coop sitting on her eggs like a trooper.  As all the others would wander in and out during the day, she faithfully sat on her clutch, only getting up for a short period of time to eat or drink.  Then, back onto the nest she went.  One afternoon, my husband came up from the pond with a duck egg.  He slipped it under the mama, but I'm not sure that one is going to hatch.  We've never hatched ducklings before, so this in an experiment.  It's still sitting there, so I'm afraid it wasn't fertilized to begin with. 

Now that baby chick is here, all the other girls have been kicked out of this pen.  Luckily I have two smaller pens inside the big coop.  I've locked mama and baby in one with their own food and water and all the others have to share the other pen for a while.  They still have plenty of room to move around when they get shut in, but for the most part, they are wandering in and out during daylight hours. 

I'm really hoping this little one does well.  We haven't had a mama chicken hatch babies since we've lived here.  I'll try to post pictures of his/her growth progress!

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Timber!

This weekend we finally said goodbye to an old friend.  Well, we've only known this friend for about 5 1/2 years-since we moved here, but it was old none-the-less.  We had an big oak tree in the front yard that we think was hit by lightning a couple years ago.  Over the last three years the drought has stressed it out and it finally decided to die.  It was very sad.  I loved it's big branches that shaded the yard.  It was so pretty in the summer covered with leaves and it always had that soothing rustle when the wind blew.

We started noticing something was wrong three summers ago.  That year it leafed out and we were hit by 100+ degree weather for several weeks in a row.  The heat together with very little rain stressed out a lot of plants and trees in our yard.  The oak lost it's leaves by early August and we thought that was strange.  That's when we think it was hit with lightning.  The next summer only about half of the tree leafed out.  We knew something was not right when that happened.  Watering and feeding just didn't snap it out of what we thought was going on.  We were just hoping it was trying to stay in it's dormancy state due to the stress.  We don't know much about trees, so we were just guessing at this point. 

Throughout the winter, we started noticing that the bark was falling off the branches at the top of the tree.  Smaller branches started to fall out when the wind would blow too, so we knew it was done.  By the time spring came around, the top branches were bare and falling apart.  Only one small branch tried to put on leaves.  They only lasted about a month and then turned brown.  We knew it had to come down before falling branches hurt someone.  Luckily it was a fairly straight tree and we could cut it down so it wouldn't take out any other trees or power lines.

My husband took the chain saw to it and cut a wedge out on the side that he wanted it to fall towards.  He started cutting on the back side of the tree and it finally popped and fell.  He was a little off on his wedge and the tree fell more towards our large sycamore tree.  It only took off a couple little branches from the sycamore.  Nothing too severe. 

Now we have this big open spot in our yard that I want to fill in.  I'm thinking another oak needs to go back there.  This time I'd like one that turns a prettier color than drab brown.  It does need to be a sturdy tree though.  We get lots of strong south winds in the summer that cause trees to lean.  One sycamore tree in the front yard is leaning to the north due to the wind when it was small.  No matter what we decide to plant, it will be nice to have a replacement out there that will grow into a big stong tree for the next generation. 

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