Random Fall Hike, Hunt, Herefords, and Sweet Baby

Oh this weather is sweeping me off my feet!  If only I had time to sit outside and read or take more hikes in the woods or just sit and be still in meditation on the Lord.  But life doesn't slow down for those luxuries every day it's gorgeous out.  And we've had some pretty ones lately!  

On Sunday my parents called to see if anybody wanted to go for a hike to one of the local parks in Kendallville.  It's a nice little park that we enjoy hiking with a couple good elevations of hills to climb, but short enough to not get so tired.  Some of us decided to go and take Titus along.  Alegra captured some pretty sun shots through the trees.  We also had the joy of watching a pileated woodpecker flying through the woods too.  Those birds are just a delight to watch.  

 These two young 'uns ran up and down the hills.

 A nice hike and visit with my mom.

 The two adventure boys going off trail and bringing up the rear AND the ones who sighted the woodpecker.  Good job boys!

That same evening we had squash and sausage and a mixed greens salad from the garden.  As I was cutting the greens the girls came running over to watch.  They've grown to love kale (only the leafy part.  They leave the thick stem on the ground) and that's the only way we can hand feed them at this point.  Next year, it looks like I'll be planting more kale just for the cows.  ;)

 Iris is sweet and comes across more timid.  

She's got lovely thick fur and one red eye patch on her face.  

Rosie has 2 red eye patches and her build seems much stronger and sleeker.  Maybe it's because her fur isn't thick.

She comes to the fence much quicker but is still cautious at quick movements.  

 We noticed this evening that Rosie has one hoof that is reddish brown like her coat, where as the other hooves are jet black.   She's a beauty of an animal.

We recently got a bull to hang out with the girls.  We were having hard time catching them in heat, so this will allow us to not have to watch them so much and worry about how to catch them to do it the artificial way.  They are sure enjoying having that bull out there.  He sounds scary to me, so we all keep our distance and enjoy them from afar now.  :)  

The last highlight in our home lately is that Alegra has started babysitting for a friend's baby 3 days a week.  She comes here to the house, so we are getting accustomed to having a little, little one in the house again.  I must say that everyone enjoys her, and I'm glad to take my turn feeding her and snuggling her.  She's a delight and has the best smile!  Kinslee is taking over the "cute" status in our house, but as soon as she leaves, we still hear plenty of cute comments that go out to our 2 littlest.  

 Welcome Kinslee!  

And I'm sure Alegra will take pictures of her every week.  

One can't take too many pictures of babies you know.  :)

Hadassah has been getting those comments the most lately.  She is growing and getting such a personality.  With all the other children looking like a Bovee, I still just can't believe how much she looks like a Murphy.  So many Murphy expressions.  It's fun to watch and see my baby pictures in her face.  She's becoming so big and expressive, understanding more and more every day.

She is precious, and we are so blessed that our girls can begin learning to care for others, not just their own siblings.  I'm letting Alegra do most of the work with her (accept when I want my turn to feed her or snuggle her :) ).  It's been fun seeing what she decides to do when she fusses or how she puts her to sleep.  My girls are growing, and I am blessed seeing how they are turning out.

Then we had the fun of Benaiah going hunting with Grandpa and Grandma.  It was the perfect evening for him to sit with them.  He was the one to spot the buck coming and remained quiet unlike last year when he blurted out that there was a deer, scaring it away.  I believe our boy is growing up too.

 No tracking needed with a perfect shot that dropped the deer.

We all enjoy helping with the finding and watching all the excitement of getting a deer  Even more exciting and memorable when one of the children can be a part for the whole hunt.  These are great memories for our children and wonderful lessons that they are learning.  So thankful that they can experience the country life and all it entails.  A good hunt, Grandpa Dan!

Fall is in the Air

Oh these days have been so incredible.  We've been soaking up every little bit of sun and warm we possibly can.The children might say we were making them work too much, but hey, I remind them it's better to work when we have this weather than when it's freezing or raining.  AND they've been able to play around too.  Alegra practiced some photography with the amazing light she had yesterday.  It sure is pretty out there with the changing of colors in the trees.  We need to remember that Indiana truly is a beautiful place to live during these months.  Others from areas in the states that don't have the changing of colors would love to live in a place where this beauty happened.  I pray that I not take these scenes for granted and just enjoy the views as they are infront of me.  

Hillbilly Chili Date NIght

A friend and I hosted a Hillbilly Chili Date Night.  Well, she did most of the work, but we let the party take place at our shack.  We had so much fun, way too many laughs that caused sore cheeks, and some delicious foods.  I'm thinking that some of us with children weren't sure how to properly act without children around.  Haha!  It was a fun night and I believe most had a good time.  Here's some of the shenanigans that took place.

A photo booth where everyone had to wear Billy Bob teeth.  :)

We had a chili cookoff and dessert contest too.  

The food was amazing and fun to taste each kind. 

 Let eh games begin!!!!

The first game was Ready Spaghetti.

One player took a spaghetti noodle (actually I used fettucine noodles so they'd be thicker) and had to put one end through the tab of an empty can of pop.  After they got it through, the other player grabbed onto the other end to take the can across the line.  They couldn't use their hands and if the noodle broke, they had to use whatever pieces were left.  We timed them and for how many cans they got across, we deducted time off their final score.

The second game was Penny Hose.  There was a penny in each foot of a pair of panty hose.  One arm from each couple had to reach in and get the penny then get it back out and on the table, without using their other hand.  It was a challenge and some accomplished it, in interesting ways.  :)

 The third game was the Wrap Around.  They had to unwrap a roll of crepe paper on their spouse before 1 minute was up.  I honestly didn't think about people getting really dizzy.  It was comical and some were quite creative so they wouldn't get dizzy.

 Then the grand idea of playing phone with the Billy Bob teeth in.  Oh my goodness was this ever funny.  What do adults do when there's no children?  We let go and have fun!!!

Thank you everyone who came to enjoy a night out!  Thank you to Casie who did so much to put it all together and make it actually happen.  We must make this a regular thing.  I'm sure we all got healthier from all the laughing.  Such good medicine!  Good food and fellowship and wonderful friends!