4 years...

Today, about 4:30pm, marks 4 years of wedded bliss. And it only gets better. Marriage to the greatest man on the planet is a wonderful thing. I love you, Randy!

To celebrate... well, we may make gingerale this evening... if we have time after the bare essentials are done. On Friday we'll prep for Slaughterfest XI and on Saturday we'll laugh gleefully as we axe the head off the rooster that's been crowing at 4am for months now. Along with about 20 meat birds who are just beginning to cackle, but usually wait until 6 or so to begin. Some, hopefully fertilized, chicken eggs are sitting in the incubator now with our 3 muscovy duck eggs. We should have some hatch on or around August 9th. I hope we get something from keeping that rooster all this time!

We've gone through an entire trailer load of compost and still no wood chips. I'm going to call other tree guys today to see if someone's got something we can have. My tomatoes are getting big. Charleston Belle green peppers only had a 10% germination rate while the Sweet Chocolate peppers had 100%. Go figure. Got 100% on some Blacktail Mountain watermelon, but zilch up on Sugarlee watermelon. Cukes, collard greens and beans are all up. I'd say I can hold them back maybe another 10 days before I'll need to get them in the ground. Come on, Pappy (my tree guy), don't fail me now!

Chuck is getting to be quite the handful. He almost escaped the pasture yesterday. I'm glad I was out there and watched his beginning attempts so I could at least make it more difficult. We were hoping to wait until September to slaughter him... do it when Randy's home anyway with Nathan's birth, but we just may need to take a Saturday and do him in early.

We've also decided to dry Annabelle off when Nathan's born. She's giving very little milk and it tastes awful. VERY goaty. Noel and Fudge still give great tasting milk though the quantity has waned some. Annabelle is loosing her hair too. She's just looking very old. We're going to try to trade her for a buck to begin our breeding cycle. To get the doe's kidding spaced as we want, we'll need to keep a buck on hand for 6 months. So... since most people only have goats for pets anyway, we figure Annabelle could have a very nice retirement where they'll enjoy her cuddliness and not try to make her work for her supper as we do.

Our okra is really producing. We eat it several times a week... as there's nothing else green out there to eat right now! We read that luffa leaves could be cooked and eaten like spinach... tried it. Yuck! Cowpeas are doing great... and I'm VERY glad to have a little girl who loves to shell them. We have 3 different varieties going right now: purple hull pink eyes, California black eyes and Mississippi Silvers. The purple hulls went in first so that's what we're getting in abundance right now making it hard to tell which is more prolific. All taste fine. Mississippi Silvers are supposed to be the best, but honestly, I really like having the purple hulls to make harvesting easier. I've passed right over a LOT of silvers and californias just because the pale yellow that they fade to doesn't stand out the way the dark purple almost black does.

And some VERY good news... Randy spotted a HUGE black snake on the shady side of the house a few days ago. Its quite relieving to hear that after a neighbor thought they saw a pygmy rattler. We inadvertantly killed our black snake with the electric fence over a year ago so its comforting to know another has made the Palace home. For those of you who don't understand the glee... black snakes are very territorial and will eat invading rattlesnakes. :->

And again, happy anniversary to the world's greatest superhero, Husband Man! (Also known as Superbabinator Man to his younger superhero fans)

This is dedicated to the one I love

Three years ago today, my beloved husband, Randy, swept me off my feet in wedded bliss. It has proven to be the greatest blessing, second only to Jesus' blood and Spirit, that I have ever experienced. I know the depths to which God loves me and how highly He thinks of me by choosing me to be Randy's helpmate. Many viewed our coming together as rather inauspicious- not previously dating, engaged only 9 weeks, pregnant only 9 weeks after marriage. In the first year we had new careers- Randy went from grouting tile to engineering and I went from teaching to staying at home. We also had a new house and a new baby before our first anniversary (not to mention the chickens and fruit trees!) Yet Randy never flinched at all the changes. Wise beyond his years and rock solid in his faith, he never reacted under the multitude of pressures that had been placed on him. Instead he has continued to rejoice in it all.

I never really knew what a wild ride I was in for until our honeymoon where he made me laugh continuously the whole week. He has the enormous job (and does it WELL) of keeping me from getting too serious. Despite his maturity, he's all boy. He plays with our children like no one I've ever met. He loves being a kid and it eminates from his playful smiles and cheery eyes.

Randy completes me. In an age where feminism abounds, I proclaim the LIBERTY I have BECAUSE I'm submitted to my husband's faithful leadership. He allows me to be, in entirety, who I was created to be. He has given me the world- yet I choose, every minute of every day to stand by his side, wherever God chooses to plant us.

I've had a lot of "lives"- childhood as a happy little girl, high school as a celebrated student and musician, college as a budding Christian working on a farm and flitting around Europe and the Middle East, and China where I had a multitude of adventures with a multitude of amazing people. And now, here I am, a "normal" housewife. Living in my hometown. Doing what many people view as insignificant. Yet this is my best life.

Thank you, Randy, for blessing me beyond measure. Thank you for being obedient to the Holy Spirit. Thank you for loving and protecting me. And thank you for being the greatest father to our children. I love you forever.