Here it is nearly the end of the week and I'm still trying to find my way. What a busy weekend and first of the week we have had. Friday night found us at David's graduation . There was 138 students that graduated that night. Thank goodness, it didn't last that long. Saturday found me going to another graduation. Brian's girlfriend graduated from Hickory Flatt that afternoon . Sunday found us cleaning up around here . Kc and the men worked on his building spot and Emily and I washed clothes and grocery shopped. Monday found us doing the same thing as of Sunday . JB and Abbie came over and Abbie and Emily got into the pool . We grilled out that afternoon and the evening found the men getting into the hottub to work out their sore muscles. I have been going and gathering things up for the benefit horse show which is next weekend. Also been trying to get things together for the rodeo that is this Saturday night here in Pontotoc. Brian and me are both signed up to ride. My garden is coming up beautifully but really need to get out there and use a hoe. Noticed I had grass growing in between the rows. Sure do wish one of the kids would act up so I can put them out there.lol The weather has been nice but a little hot but hey, it's summer!!! This post is going to be short and maybe one day I can actually post some pictures and catch up with everyone. As for now, this is a busy time for us so please forgive me if I haven't drop by and checked on any of you. Hope you and yours have a blessed week

...AIN'T CHANGED THAT MUCH!!!!!

From the crib to the desk, that smile always gleamed,
on through his life, his size could hide the mischief unseen.
As the years trotted by, his passions, they grew.
Always love of a farm, ponies, dogs and mules.
All dirt and grins, whats he done now and such,
But ya know... he ain't changed that much.

He siled through junior high and on into a cap and grown,
All the parties and 'pullings' and crusing the square uptown.
He's not much bigger now, in his stature, as he stands
From the first hop on to the school bus and now
with diploma in hand.
I watched him grow, he rarely knowing the hearts he did touch,
But ya know, now I think about it...he ain't really changed that much!

Now his caps cocked to the side-he's graduated-
Now off with the clan.
He walked on to the field a boy
Now he jumps into the truck a man.
He has a 'rep' to uphold
And moments he has to prove,
But thank the Man up above,
His heart and courage, they never moved,
He's now a fine yound man and his heart-still that gentle touch,
But ya know....all throughout...He ain't changed that much!!

In a world of chaos, where nothing stays the same
And lots of misplaced luck,
I'm really glad, my David, really hasn't changed that much!!!!!

This week has flown by for me. I sit here and wonder where did the week and weekend go. I have been busy with the planning with benefit horse show and now I'm having to milk twice a day and bottle feed the little ones. I was hoping to use my daughter's camera this weekend and get pictures for ya'll but will have to wait till another date I'm afraid. I did plant some more eggplants, squash, cucumbers and also got some flowers planted around the edge of the garden. Saturday found all of us cleaning our vehicles and getting things loaded up for the rodeo which was 1 1/2 hours away. We got home close to midnight Saturday night and believe I was ready for bed when we pulled into the driveway. Got home and Emily and Lamar was in the hottub. I thought about getting in but was scared I would go to sleep so I went on to bed. Today found me at the laundry mat for my washer has tore up. I had 6 washers going then it took 5 dryers but I did get all our clothes washed and dried, now I just need to put them up. We did get our little billys banded today. Thank goodness we only had 3 to do. We put all the goats into the pen and had David catching them. It didn't take long at all. When I went out to feed, it had started raining and there was a big beautiful rainbow over behind the barn. We had potroast, mac-n-cheese, and cornbread for supper. Maybe this coming week won't be as busy as this past week and maybe I can catch up with everyone. I sure have miss everyone. OH, went to the mailbox Saturday and in the mail I recieved a shirt, sticker, and a nice little not from Meg over at www.maryjanesfarm.org. That really made my day. Thanks Meg and Mary Jane for all that you do. I sit down and read your books and magazine and I feel like I personally know each and everyone of you

I hope that you all had a wonderful Mother's day. I enjoyed my day very much. Didn't do very much but cook and wash clothes. Kasey is in the process of building a house here in front of us, so all the guys helped with getting the dirt work done. We borrowed my Dad's bulldozer and have really made a big dent of the hill that has to be leveled off. Monday found us trying to get back in the groove of our routine like every Monday does. I'm trying to get up a benefit horse show for this couple that has been hit hard with medical bills. The husband has been in the hospital off and on for 2 weeks, last Friday he had surgery where they removed some of his colon and now is with a bag. He will need further surgery in about 6 to 8 weeks. They have no insurance so me and some of my family are trying to help them. So yesterday and today have found us doing some phone calling and trying to get the plans in motion. I have rented the ag center here in Pontotoc for June 7 for the horse show. We will also have an auction and a concession stand all money will be given to the Daniels family.
Brian and I got the garden completely planted yesterday. Woo-hoo Was glad to get that done. Brian also helped me with all the feeding and milking while David worked his ponies. David will graduate from high school next week. For those of you who don't know, David is 19 and isn't 5 feet tall and weighs 70 lbs. He looks like he is 12. David is my special special kid. He has been in special classes since the 2nd grade. He has trouble reading and writting. I'm very protected when it comes to him. When David started school and I seen he had trouble, I denied it. I wouldn't accept that something was wrong with him. Let me tell ya, when you have a child that isn't like your other children it is a hard pill to swallow. My faith has been tested with him and his problem and I have learned how to have patience. I do push David more and sometimes don't cut him any slack but I know that I want him to thrive and have a life. I know that the world and life is going to be hard for him but I want him to understand that no matter what kind of disabilities one has, one can make it. I want him to have and live his 'normal' life. People outside the family is mean and cruel, there will always be stares and comments but I want David to show them that he is normal and can make a life. I have seen my child cry and not understand why he is treated this way. Going through school without friends, not being able to do like the other kids, and it's not only kids it's adults too. I wasn't able to go on school property for 6 months one time cause at a ballgame I got into a fight with another mother. She made a snide comment,"What's wrong with that kid? Is he retarded or something?" I was sitting in front of her and when she said that I just turned around and said no, but you are fixing to be. I was able to get a few good licks in before we got broke up. Was I sorry I did that? No!!!!
Life is hard and cruel no matter who one is.

I had a barrel race today in New Albany. I think I should have stayed at home. I knew this morning when my feet hit the floor today was going to be an off day for me. I got up at 5 and went and feed my little babies. Came in and dranked some coffee. I then started making a cake for we was having a fundraiser with the barrel race. Got the cake in the oven and looked outside and my new mare was in the backyard. I thought that there was no worry for she would just stay right there and graze. Well, I started some clothes in the washer and in about 15 mins I went to check on the mare. She was nowhere to be seen. I knew she hadn't went far. I went into the barn and there she was in the feed room but she had guest. There was about 5 goats in there with here. I got Jazz( yea, weird ain't it, I got Dass and now Jazz) back in her stall and let me tell ya, those goats wasn't moving for nothing. I finally got them back into the pasture and went into the house. It was getting close for me to leave. I ended up carrying some soap, strawberry cake, strawberry jam, and a rug. I got to the barrel race and my head and neck was really hurting. I rode Dass for alittle while and then went and tied her up at the trailer. When it came my time to run, Dass threw her a fit. She didn't want to go into the gate. Well, I finally get her headed toward the gate and she wheels back on me. Going into the first barrel, we had it going on, was doing good going into the second barrel but the third we plowed it. I mean ran all over it and my foot came out of my stirrup. I ended up with a no time and when I got back to the trailer, I told Brian and Tessa that we would be working the barrels everyday from now on instead of a couple days before hand. Dass knows how to work, we won't run them during the day just working of getting off them going into our turns. I looked at my cell phone and noticed I had a text, it was from the weather station. We was put under a tornado watch until midnight tonight. They are saying for us to be prepared for some storms like we had last week. Don't know about any of all but I'll be glad to see this stormy season gone!!!! I feel like Dorthy in the Wizard of Oz.

TORNADIC THURSDAY........

This morning when I went out to feed my little newborn baby goats the weather was very warm and quite sticky. I knew I had heard on the radio that we could have some more bad weather but I didn't know it was going to be like last Friday. I went on to work this morning and someone said that the weather was getting bad so I stepped outside to see. I actually watched the tornado form above us. I was just in shock. I just stood there. My sister Teisha then said that we was under a tornado warning but the sirens here never went off. The radio was giving off tornado warnings for Pontotoc (where I live) and for Tupelo. Then we heard that it(the tornado) was on the ground at the airport. It jumped around for awhile. Scruggs the place where I buy everything from my clothing to feed to tack was hit. There is some damage in Tupelo but as of right now there is no injuries. Thank God. I recieved a text message that was sent to me with the tornado hitting scruggs. Talk about something scarey yet amazing to watch.
As I was sitting at work, I got to thinking about how we rush around trying to get to work or just to here and yonder and I felt like a hamster in a wheel just running my legs off and not getting anywhere. A co-worker next to me was talking about how she wished she had stayed at home with her kids instead of coming to work. Got my mind to spinning again. This is one of the ones that I posted about earlier and I just looked over there at her and asked her exactly why was she working. She said so she and her kids to have things. Seems like we(myself included) is too busy making a living that we make no life. We think that we have to have this and that and our kids have to have more than we did growing up. We end up spending all our time working and not enough time with our kids and family. Do our kids really want that new video game or do they just want our time? Or are we buying those things for our kids to keep them occupied or to cover up our guilt of not just spending time with them? This storm really made me stop and look at things alittle differently.

I have been running on about 3 hours of sleep here the past couple of days. My toggenburg goat Lady went into labor Monday night about 8 and stayed in labor until 2 am Wednesday morning. There at one time I honestly thought I was fixing to loose her. I had to help her deliver her babies and that's something I don't like to do. I try to let them do it theirselves but there was no way she could. ONe of the babies was turned wrong and after 2 hours of pushing I was finally able to see that the first goat was turned wrong , so after I turned it she delivered. The first little one was a lil billy but he was dead, then out popped a little nanny and the third one was a nanny. Boy I was shocked for the past couple of years she(Lady) has always had just one. She is such a good little mama. She just kisses on them and then runs to me and gives me kisses. I'm having to milk her out and give them a bottle for her tits are way to big to go into their mouths. Hopefully in another week they will have growed and able to suck on her.
Tessa and me made another batch of soap. I don't even know what the name of the scent was that we used but it reminded me of summer. You know, how that sweet fruitty kind of smell. It turned out really nice and has a yellow color to it. Then after I got the kitchen cleaned up I had to put up my strawberries. I had a gallon of berries that my Mom got for me yesterday at the Amish so I made jelly out of some of them. I ended up with 7 jelly jars of that. By that time it was already after 9 and the babies had to have another feeding. I finally made it to bed about 11 after I got through feeding and cleaning up the bottles and myself. The next thing I knew the alarm was going off at 4;30 this morning. Just another day to to start all over again.

The reason I posted the earlier post was because there was some of us girls talking today and they started fussing and *bitching* about how things were probably fixing to get and yet they still go out get their nails done, go clothes shopping, eat out every night, well, you know the kind. When I made the comment about spending money like they do they looked at me like I had a second head. I told them how I was raised and maybe one way to save money was to start cooking, spend only what you needed to and how I thought they could cut back. When I told them I had a garden every summer and that I canned, they laughed and then started making snide comments. I tried to explain to them that I enjoyed and loved the way of life I lead. So they started asking questions and when I answered, OMG, did they get defensive. I got told I was a little backwards and I needed to get with the program and move on. I was stuck in a generation that no longer existed. Sorry to tell them, but yes it does exist. I told them to get on the computer go to www.maryjanesfarm.org and just take a look around and then tell me that it (going back to simpler ways of life) doesn't exist. I can't wait till tomorrow and see what they have to say for I know there will be 2 of them that will look up the site. HMMMM..... you think they may convert to our way of thinking.?lol

I hear everyone talking about how things are going to be and what they are going to do if we have another depression or resession. Well, someone forgot to tell us here at 2lmzfarms that we wasn't in it anymore.lol Today I just stopped and thought about my life where I came from, and where I am at today. All my life I have lived on a farm. We grew all our food it came out of our garden and we even slaughtered our own meat. We had a t.v and could only pick up one channel but who had time to watch t.v. When I was a teenager and in high school, I would listen to the other kids talk about going uptown and riding around. I done my riding around on a tractor or a horse. My days were filled with farming during the summer, crushing corn and feeding in the winter. Then I married a dairy farmer. My days then were filled with milking cows, tending to the calves and having kids. When that marriage dissolved I found myself doing the same ole things I had done all my life. Tending to animals and growing a garden. When I got remarried, I married a man that didn't really know squat about farming so I took hold of the wheel and carried on. I stop and look back and wonder did I miss not having all the coolest toys or the right clothes or even having a new car. Did I screw up my kids lives for not buying every little toy or game that hit the market? As I hear people talk about they just don't know what they are going to do or even how they are going to buy food for their family. I just sit back and smile. I know things are going to get tougher but there is one thing about it. Thanks to my raising, I'm going to survive. I know how to doctor on my animals, know how to plant a seed and watch it grow then put it up for the winter, how to sew, how to make homemade bread, how to make soap, how to take my ponies and harness them up and hook them to the wagon, even know how to do my goats the same way. I know that I'm a survivor and I'm passing it on to my kids. they don't need all this material stuff to entertain them. So... the question is did I miss anything considering the way I was raise? No, but sorry to say I'm afraid some of the people are the ones that missed it.

BARNYARD BUDDIES......

This is this last week for the blog-a-thon that Tina over at www.gardengoose.blogspot.com is hosting. We have discussed everything from gardening, crafting, and now we are down to the barnyard buddies. I have pictured below some pictures of just a few of the animals that call 2lmzfarms their home. In the first picture is Ginger my Nubian who I milk with her two little ones. Then there is a picture of Domini Jack a.k.a Trigger then there is Lady my other milk goat. I recently have increased my herd of goats and hopefully soon I can post some pictures of the ones that have joined us here. I raise boer and boer-crossed goats. We show these goats and also sell to the public. I do have some 4-H kids that come and pick out the goats they want to show in 4-H. I also have two milk goats that I do milk by hand and use their milk to make soap and we also use their milk to drink and cook with. I also have horses that I barrel race with and we have also added 4 cows to our herd just the other day. I trully enjoy raising goats. There is just something about sitting outside and watching the little ones play and jump around. I also have learned that raising goats I can make a clear profit from them then with the horses and cows. Each and everyone of my goats have a name and each has their own personality. Ginger is just a big baby, and such a drama queen, Lady is the queen bee around here. If someone or something gets in her space, believe me she will let you know. Lady is also one of the easiest goats to milk, and loves to give kisses. If you ignore her she will butt you and then hold her head up to you and smack her lips , that's her way of telling you she wants a kiss. Yea, I know they are all spolied around here. Same way with the horses, my mare Dass gets very jealous if I go to one of the other horses before I come to her. She will stomp her foot and then when you do get to her, she turns her head and acts like you aren't even there. You have to do a lot of kissing up to her before she gets over her mad spell. My animals around here are more than just animals to me , they are like family. I get very attached to each and everyone of them. Let's see if I can name them all,: Ginger, Shelby, Wheezer, Lady, Joey, Dixie, Oreo, Brownie, Wattles, Deer, Taco, (ok, I can't name all the goats) horse,: Dass, Jass, Trigger, Ben and Jerry, then there is Annie, Clumsy, ChiChi, Cee Cee and then 4 cows that are short bred. If you would like to connect with other farmgirls to talk and chat about the farm life regardless of whether you live on a farm or just dream of it, drop in at www.maryjanesfarm.org I'm positive you are going to love it and the farmgirls and Mary Jane.

OH WHAT A NIGHT....

All day yesterday, the weatherman was saying our neck of the woods could be in for a rough night. There was storms all over to the west of us coming across the Mississippi River and these storms could and would produce tornados. At 2 yesterday afternoon, we was put under a tornado watch. Now remember, back in 2001 we had a F5 come through Pontotoc and there was 6 people that lost their lives and the tornado hit my Mom's house, my sister's house and our house took a direct hit. There was 5 people on the next street that lost their lives. So, I have already rode one tornado and personally don't care to ride another one. I was nervous as a long sore tail cat in a room with rockers. I stayed glued to the tv watching and waiting. Even the animals knew something was in the air. Then it started. It showed New Albany was being hit. My middle sister lives there. I started calling and Jennifer then told me that she was headed to our Mom's house and that her husband was staying home. Later she called and said that Barry watched the tornado come thru. They didn't have damage other than trees down but not to far from them there was major damage. Wasn't too long after that, BAM, here comes another one. And this second one traveled the same path nearly as the first one. I don't know right now of any injuries. About 2 this morning we got hit. I was scared, I'm not going to lie about it. We lost power for there was trees down on our street and it took out powerlines but thank God that was it. I finally laid down at 4 this morning and was back up at 6. Northeast Mississippi took a pounding last night and I know that it could have been worse. As always after a storm there is a rainbow. This morning is beautiful, sun shinning, birds are singing, and we all are feeling very blessed to wake up this morning and continue on with our daily lives.

Yesterday was another beautiful day but today they are saying we have a 90% chance of rain and we could have some bad storms move in late this afternoon and tonight. Yesterday found us trying to catch my ponies. One of the ponies, Jerry, thinks getting caught is a game. He loves to run and wants you to chase him. He will run away from you then turn and look at you to see if you are chasing him. We started at 2:30 and by 4 we was tired but not Jerry, he was just getting his second wind. So, me, JB, Kyle, David, Jon Micheal, and Josh saddle up the horses and thought no problem we could just rope the little snot. We also had my Dad, Tessa, and my nephew Toby on foot to help us. One would think that many people would be able to catch a little 34in pony. Nope, when there is 40 acres of wide open spaces, it just makes it more harder. Let me tell ya, that little snot can run and he is quick too. One would have though there was a steer wrestling going on for Kyle and Jon Micheal was running up on each side of him trying to rope him and Jerry looked over and seen the big horses catching up on him and off he went. We tried everything possibe by trying to coax him into the round pen with feed and even in the stall with his partner Ben with feed but no he didn't want that. At 6:15 we finally penned him up close to the barn and got him into the stall. Now I won't go into details on how that was done for I might offend someone , and gosh forbids if I offend someone of my blog, just use your imagination. For those old-timers that have dealt with animals you might have an idea what I'm talking about. Can we say, ROCK SALT? I am willing to beat that now when one calls him and shakes a feed bucket, his little tail is going to be scooting for the barn. Yup, just another exciting and funfilled day down on the farm.