Family Farm Fun

Everyone, please say hello to the newest addition to our farm family: Festus. He was the kids' Christmas present from us. We picked him up about a week before Christmas, and so far he is settling in nicely. He enjoys cuddling with the kids and definitely enjoys his meal time! Right now, he is inside when we are home, and in the garage in a pen when we are not home. We are also working on harness and leash training to get him outside more. I cannot believe how smart he is already. He picked up on litter box training after just a day, and he already spins for a treat! On the ride home Snuggled with Boo Getting treats from Bubs Napping on Bah If you don't know much about mini pigs, there is a huge misconception about them. Everybody thinks that a mini, micro, or teacup pig will stay tiny its whole life. However, a pig is considered "mini" if it is under 300 pounds! So many people out there starve or stunt their pigs to keep them small due to

Sometimes, I find myself getting so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season that I get stressed out. Between buying gifts, attending parties and keeping up with our advent calendar, it is easy to lose track of what is important about the holidays: spreading the love of Christ. Since the kids are getting older, it is a great time to begin talking to them about community service and giving back. This year, I made it my goal to develop two different kindness activities that the kids can participate in. Nursing Home Visit The first act was not necessarily "random," but it has a great lesson with it. On a fairly regular basis, we have discussions in our house about being thankful and about people who have less than we do. These conversations are strengthened through missionary work the kids see happen through the church. However, I wanted to take it a step further this year and talk about how people who have less than we (not just financially) but in terms o

My girls just LOVE crafts. They get so excited when a new crafting kit comes in the mail or when we are home all weekend so that they can craft. Recently, our town's bookstore ( Inklings and More ) came under new ownership, and they have created an entire back room just for crafting supplies. 💕 This may not seem like a big deal, but anyone who lives in a small town knows that conveniences like that don't come along all of the time. Sadly, they hadn't quite stocked their shelves in time for our crafts, and I had already ordered from Amazon, but we will definitely hit them up for our next crafting adventures. This year, we set up 4 different crafts to complete over Christmas. The first one is our yearly homemade Christmas gift, but I can't give details (or show pictures) of that one until after Christmas. Gift Tags This one is pretty simple, but I thought about adding personal touches to the gifts we got people this year. Usually, I buy those little sticker to and f

Who doesn't love a delicious Christmas cookie? Over the years, the girls and I have developed our 3 "go to" Christmas cookie recipes. Our favorites have to meet a few different criteria: They have to have a flavor that we all like. They have to be fairly easy to make so that the girls can help. They have to store easily so that we can share them with our friends and family. Candy Cane Cookie The first cookie we make each year is the Candy Cane cookie. This is Boo's favorite cookie because she gets to help so much. This also makes the perfect companion to hot chocolate as you can hook the cane on the side of the cup. I have always used a recipe from the Christmas Cookie Gooseberry cookbook, but last year our cookies flattened out, so I wanted to try a different recipe. I found a similar recipe at The Kitchn  that used powdered sugar instead. It also called for peppermint extract rather than almond, so we tested it out too. Blending the two recipes together

Happy almost December! I don't know about you all, but I just love the holiday season. Each year, I try to create a "25 days of Christmas" activity calendar to keep us in the holiday spirit. It consists of parties and gatherings, traditions, cooking, and crafts. Many of the ideas have been passed down (like traditions and recipes), but I also find wonderful new ideas on Pinterest. Some of our traditions happen before December even starts though like decorating the house, taking Christmas card pictures, and some online shopping. We usually begin decorating the day after Thanksgiving. The kids are at such a fun age that they really enjoy helping. They have their own tree that they can decorate however they want: Kid tree All done That means Mom gets to have a pretty tree all to herself. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we usually reserve for taking either family or just kid pictures. This year, I

Since June of this year, the girls and I have been discussing adding a mini pig to our family. Boo has been obsessed with piggies for years, and Bah went through a phase when she was 2 or 3 where she was in love with pigs too.  After a TON of research and discussion, we put a deposit on a litter whose babies would be ready in December. The breeder we chose is Colorado Cutie Pigs . The owner is very friendly and knowledgeable. We especially liked that the pigs would be familiar with children, too. We have been anxiously awaiting their birth, and it finally happened on October 30th - an "almost" Halloween piggy. Baby will stay with its mom for about 8 weeks, and then we will go get it.  Babies and their mom - photo courtesy of Colorado Cutie Pigs The timing is perfect that he will be a family Christmas present. For the next few weeks now we are planning and preparing for his arrival. Must buy items on our list include: Extra large dog kennel Rubbermaid conta

Now that beet harvest is FINALLY over, corn harvest is kicking into gear. While all harvest is somewhat stressful, corn harvest seems much more relaxed after the crazy hours of beet harvest. Beets can only be harvested in optimal temperature. If the weather is too hot or too cold, the piler where the beets are collected shuts down. Corn, though, can be picked in most temperatures as long as the crop is dry and the ground isn't too muddy. Combine in the field On our farm, corn harvest also does not require quite as many workers. For beets, we usually have 6 people working harvest; for corn, we can make it with 3 or 4. The main pieces of equipment used for corn harvest are a combine, grain cart, and semis. First, the combine goes through the field. The corn is planted in straight rows, so the header fits between each row. The header pulls the corn cobs off of the stalk. The cobs are then sent through a threshing drum where the kernels are beaten from the cob and sent by an au

Now that Pumpkins and More A-maiz-ing Farm is closed for the season, we seem to have more time on our hands. With extra time, comes reflection. Each year, we try to begin the holiday season by getting into the spirit of kindness and generosity. This year, I decided to start a thankful tree. The process was really quite simple: 1. Get a branch from the yard 2. Find a large vase 3. Strip kernels off Indian corn for filler 4. Cut roughly 100 leaves from construction paper 5. Gather something to hang the leaves (I used fishing wire, but twine or ribbon would work well too) 6. Put the branch in the vase and use the corn to hold it in place Our Thankful Tree - the beginning Now each day, we will write something we are thankful for on a leaf and add it to the tree. By the end of November, our tree will be full and so will our hearts remembering all of the blessings in our lives. What "thankful" traditions have you started with your family? UPDATE: Trying to get caug

Two weeks ago it was a full moon and the official start of our Haunted Maze! 2012  One of my favorite parts of Halloween is dressing up in different costumes. Normally, I don't wear much (if any) makeup, so I like to go all out for Halloween. Each year, I experiment trying different strategies without spending too much money on supplies. During our Haunted Maze at Pumpkins and More A-maiz-ing Farm, my role is usually to collect admissions. This makes it difficult to wear a complex costume, but I still like to have one. My "go to" is some type of zombie or walking dead girl. It has to be something I can throw together quickly since we are usually busy with customers all throughout the day. I also like something not TOO scary since some nights our kiddos stay out there with us. 2013 Two years ago, I read online about using unflavored gelatin powder as a liquid latex substitute. I used it to create this look: 2014 Last year on Halloween night, our friend