HOOVER FARMS & THE HOOVER FAMILY

Welcome baby Anyrah!

2012-01-28T11:13:00.003-05:00

This is our first grandbaby Anyrah Grace Millirans born 1-25-2012 6 pounds 4 ounces.

SMALL BUISNESS

2012-01-22T05:46:00.001-05:00

Facebook page

2012-01-14T06:22:00.000-05:00

I cannot figure out how to get the page on my side bar so I will share the link http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=hp#!/pages/Bring-Dean-Home/309839815724389

Update On Nephew

2012-01-14T06:12:00.003-05:00

Alot has been going on. My nephew has not woke up yet so that is our main concern and prayer request. We are also trying to bring my nephew home to Michigan. It is put alot of finacial strain on the family to stay there. To bring him home we need to raise $5,000.00 and find a doctor in the nero surgical unit at University of Michigan Hospital. We serve a big God and nothing is impossible with him. We have started a facebook page with all the updates and donation information if anyone would like to help. I will put the page link up on my sidebar. Thank you for all the prayers Rebekah

UPDATE ON NEPHEW

2012-01-10T19:52:00.002-05:00

Update on my nephew: Ventilator has been turned down twice, swelling in his face is better and they say he knows what is going on. Keep on praying!

PRAY FOR MY NEPHEW

2012-01-09T18:45:00.002-05:00

This is my nephews truck who was in a wreck yesterday morning. He needs lots of prayer. He has alot of broken bones and the ventilator is breathing for him right now. He does not have any head trauma they can see. I will keep you updated as I find more out.

Noodles

2012-01-05T16:07:00.003-05:00

Thought I would share a picture of what my daughter made for our supper. She asked if she could make noodles and I was not going to say no. Now I can't wait to eat them!

God is My Helper

2012-01-03T06:56:00.000-05:00

Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is with those who uphold my life. He will repay my enemies for their evil. Cut them off in Your truth. I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good. For He has delivered me out of all trouble; And my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies. Psalm 54:4-7

New Year

2012-01-01T11:12:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year from the Hoover Family!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T07:43:00.001-05:00

Hope all is well with everyone today. I'm heading out to milk and do chores then in too start fixing food. We are staying home today and I'm glad. We had the family over for Thanksgiving Sunday. So today is going to be a day of just relaxing. I will fix enough food for all day. So I'm cooking once today! The guys will do lots of hunting today. Remember count your blessings today and never take for granted what God has gave you.The thing I think of today is just how lucky I'am to have a warm house to celebrate in and food to eat some people are not so blessed today. So today I'm very thankful for a Saviour who loves me and I will spend eternity with, an awesome hardworking husband who loves me, 4 great kids who love their mom and a big farm with lots of animals. .
Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone! Hope you have a great day filled full of God's blessings!

Our Building Project

2011-11-21T10:57:00.001-05:00

Here is a picture of our building project. We are fixing the old barn as you can see. We just have to wait for the cement to cure then on to the rest of the fixing.

Here is also pictures of our baby calves Ella which you hae seen and Grace which is the other new calf.

Have a great week! Rebekah

Godly Homemakers

2011-11-20T05:55:00.001-05:00

You must go read this article it is awesome!
www.agodlyhomemaker.com/2011/11/contrast-everything-with-gods-word.html

Welcome Baby Ella

2011-10-25T19:55:00.002-04:00

This is baby Ella our new jerse heifer. She was welcomed to the farm yesterday.

The Movie 180

2011-10-11T07:22:00.000-04:00

Spam

2011-10-06T06:30:00.002-04:00

Please do not post spam on my blog. This is my personal family blog not a place for you to advertise your junk! Thank you!

Psalm 143:8

2011-10-02T06:37:00.000-04:00

Cause me to hear your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You I do trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift my soul to you. Psalm 143:8

Checking In

2011-10-01T18:32:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone, Just thought I would stop by and say Hi. Things have been moving fast on the farm as usual. I cannot believe summer is gone and fall is here. Where has the time gone! Fair went well for the kids this year. They won 1st, 3rd and 4th in their market classes with their animals. My daughters candle entry won best of class. Farmers markets are winding down I have till the end of Oct then we will be done with all but one on Saturdays through the winter. We have our silage all chopped, hay is done for the year and corn & beans are next to harvest. We have had alot of rain here in the past week so that is holding things up. I now have a candle-soapmaking-craft room. The kids switched rooms and freed one up for my stufff. See pictures below. My dining room is a dining room again and we can now have company over! We had a early doe season here in Michigan , the youngest son got two and the middle son got one so more meat for the frezzer. They are sure looking foward to regular deer hunting season.The most exciting news right now is my son and his girlfriend are going to have a baby in Feb. so a new addition to the family. My babysitting of the nieces has went down to one the oldest one is in kindergarten all day but I sure do miss having her. I guess that catches you up for now. Have a great weekend!

Busy Days of Summer

2011-07-24T13:24:00.003-04:00

Green beans ready to can.

First picking of green beans from garden 2001 and the flowers my daughter grew.

Morning reading lesson while Mom cans green bean

Round bales of straw all tarpped and safe from the weather.

Well it seems like with the busy days of summer it is flying by all to fast. Since I posted last some things have happened here on the farm so I will update you. We have since done our second cutting of hay and cut our wheat. We have lots of straw tarped and ready for winter use. I picked my first picking of green beans. They are in the canner as I write. Farmers market is going well and keeping me very busy. Been working very hard with the daughter on her reading it just is not easy for her. She is working very hard and beginning to read very well. On a sadder note last week my son lost his beef steer for fair. He does have a back up just not as good. We took it to the vet to have some warts off and he died that night. We really don't know why. So we have a steer to get ready to be fair worthy in only 21 days. Yes we have our work cut out for us but as a family working together we can get it done. It has been very hot here! My dad lives with us and is older therefore he cannot handle the heat so he put 2 air conditioners in for us. Well I have you caught up on what is going on at Hoover Farms so have a great Sunday.

Happy 4th

2011-07-03T20:50:00.002-04:00

Yes I'm still here! Just very busy with markets, soap making, lotion making and baking. Also my family and the daily things around the farm. Stopped by to wish everyone a Happy Fourth of July. We will be staying home and doing fireworks as a family. If anyone is interested we have Coconut and Lemon Eucyulptus Lotion which is a natural bug repelent at our website. Have a great night from our farm to you!

STOPPING BY TO SAY HELLO

2011-06-05T10:59:00.003-04:00

Well today is a down day so I thought I would pop in and say hello. Summer is here and yes life has got busy. I started all my markets this week. I have market on Wensd, Thur, Fri, and Sat. I bake on Tuesdays all day so I have Sunday and Monday off. Our week was quite exciting we had a grease fire in the house the hubby received a few burns he is doing fine and the house is fine. I do have a new appreciation for fire. We are trying to get hay done if the rain would just stay away. The son is cutting today so we are keeping our fingers crossed. The hubbys last day of work is tomorrow so then he can help with the hay. We have had a breakthrough with the daughters horse. He decided she can ride him now and lead him around mind you a year after having him. We have 10 meat chickens now and four turkeys hoping they all make it so we can sell them at the market. My soap is selling very good at the market which I'm so happy about. I'm so glad to provide people with natural things to use on their skin. Well guess that is about all for now. If you have not checked out our facebook page for the farm do so we have monthly drawings to win our products. Have a great day from our farm to you!

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T08:00:00.001-04:00

We want to wish all the Mother's out there Happy Mother's Day from our farm to you.
The Hoover Famliy

Field Work

2011-04-30T18:52:00.003-04:00

Well the first field work of the year took place today. The guys been itching to get in the field and they did. I'm so looking foward to warm weather, farmers market and fair week with my family. Have a great weekend from our farm to you.

Moisturizing Herbal Salve

2011-04-21T18:09:00.001-04:00

Buy Local

2011-04-18T06:19:00.003-04:00

As the opening of your local farmers market approches Lets do just as this picture says. Remember farmers market is so much more than food you need to also support the ones who are bringing handmade items for your pleasure. Have a great day!
From our farm to you Rebekah

Facebook Page

2011-04-12T10:00:00.002-04:00

Just letting everyone know if you go to our farm page on facebook and like it when we reach 100 likes we will do a giveaway. The badge for our page is right to your left just click on it. So let your freinds and family know. From our farm to you Rebekah

Soaps

2011-04-11T14:03:00.003-04:00

I have had some questions on where to purchase my soap. We have milk soap from the raw milk of our cows, goat milk soap from the raw milk of our goats one with lard and one with all vegetable oils and we have an vegan freindly soap with no animal products. So here it is you can go to our webpage at www.hooverfarms.weebly.com and all our products are there for sale. There is also a list of the farmers markets we do if you are local. So go on over and check it out. From our farm to you Rebekah

HELLO

2011-04-10T14:12:00.002-04:00

Well thought I would write a little update since I have a little time. Things are starting to get busy here. I had a craft slash garage sale I set up at yesterday. It was a good day. The kids weighed in their beef steers next on the list is weighing in their dairy starter calves. So now comes the time to start working with the fair cattle always the highlight of my year. We are pretty filled up on cattle right now. The hubby bought 8 more little ones a couple weeks ago luckily we can feed them all in a trough. Other wise I would have 14 on buckets and that would be too much. I'm milking three cows and seven goats now. So between milking, feeding calves and washing milking equiptment it takes me 1 1/2 hours to get done. I'm way working on cutting this time before farmers market starts. Before long it will be time to start attending the markets which I look so foward to. We will be contributing to 5 markets this year. The other day our seed for spring planting was deliverd so the time is coming close. Seems like once it gets warm the time just flies by. It will be cows calving, farmers market five days a week, plowing, planting, spraying, baling hay amd more hay, combining wheat, baling straw, taking a week to be at fair with the kids, more planting, spraying, cutting silage and bagging it, harvesting then the summer is gone. Wow I'm worn out just thinking about all of it. This is the life of a farm wife and I love every minute of it. Would not have anything different about my life I'm so very blessed. From our farm to you Rebekah

BACK THEN VS BEING GREEN

2011-03-25T09:51:00.002-04:00

This is a repost from my freind CMarie over at www.cmarie-daybydaycmarie.blogspot.com
Maybe you have already seen this email making the rounds but if not - it is kind of clever ...

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that plastic
bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized to her and
explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."

That's right, they didn't have the green thing in her day. Back then, they returned their milk bottles, Coke bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, using the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But they didn't have the green thing back in her day.

They walked up stairs, because they didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks.
But she's right. They didn't have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby's diapers because they didn't have
the throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts - wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that lady is right, they didn't have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house - not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a pizza dish, not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn't have electric machines to do everything for you. When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used wadded up newspaper to cushion it, not styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
Back then, they didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the
lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by working so they didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right, they didn't have the green thing back then.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty, instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled pens with ink, instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But they didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar and kids rode their bikes to school or
rode the school bus, instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi
service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of
sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But that lady is right. They didn't have the green thing back in her day.

Vegan Freindly Soaps

2011-03-13T15:44:00.002-04:00

Well here is the debut of our vegan freindly soaps.
The pink ribbon is Irresistiable Apple with natural apple pie spice.
The black ribbon is Black Licorice with anise seed.
The green ribbon is The Energizing Bar with dried lemongrass & eucaylptus.
From our farm to you Rebekah

Black Licorice Soap

2011-03-10T20:24:00.003-05:00

I decided to make some vegan friendly soap for those people who do not want animal products in their soap. This is the first one and I love it. I just unmolded it today it smells great! I even decided to wash with some it suds great and it is so mild I did not even get zapped when I washed with it. This one is black licorice with anise seed. My next one to do is apple with natural apple pie spice swirl.
Have a great night! From our farm to you Rebekah

Soap Article

2011-03-07T06:17:00.001-05:00

I was asked by a freind on facebook to write a article on soap for their blog. Of course I said yes! Go check it out at www.mikemarlow.com
From our farm to you Rebekah

The Winner Is

2011-03-06T07:12:00.002-05:00

Good Morning, My son drew the name out for our winner. It is Tonja at Woods Olde Homestead. So just go on the left side of my blog you will find my email there. As soon as you send your address I will get the package right out to you. A big thanks to everyone else for entering and as a thank you I will send everyone else who did not win a bar of soap just send me your address as well. Have a great Sunday! From our farm to you Rebekah

GIVEAWAY!

2011-02-28T20:03:00.003-05:00

We are having a giveaway! Included in the giveaway is a bar of our handmade lemon poppyseed milk soap, lemon e.o. lipbalm, lemon souffle bath salts, lemon hand lotion and lemon souffle 100% soy wax candle. Just leave a comment and we will be happy to include you in our giveaway. We will draw a winner on Saturday. Good luck from our farm to you Rebekah.

Prayer

2011-02-23T05:41:00.003-05:00

Well today my post is about someone else. I was just reading a post over at www.ourcrazyfarm.blogspot.com and believe me you need to go there an read it. Teri is who writes at this blog. I had not been on in a few days due to power outage. I was over there checking out her blog when I found out their 12 year old son went home to be with the Lord. Her posts about this tradgey are such a testimony about her faith and so encouraging for us all. I would appriciate it if you will keep them in your prayers. Their son Trents funeral will be tomorrow. From our farm to you Rebekah

DISPLAY

2011-02-20T18:13:00.003-05:00

Thought I would share the pictures of what my daughter did for me. This all started because we had someone come over and look at our soap. Which meant us opening up 19 containers so they could see and smell the soap. This way the candles & soap are out on display so they can see and smell them. I was so thankful for her doing this and she did a great job. As for us and the farm things have been busy. We added five new baby calves the other day and four more bigger ones coming soon. Still have a few more batches of soap to make so I'm ready for market. Still have some candles I nee to get stocked up on. Lots of product labeling to get done before market. Then as you know it will be time for the garden, canning and kids going to fair. My husband has rented more land for farming so this will add to the busyness. I'm so happy for him though because he has wanted to expand but rent prices are high so we could not afford to. This was just one of those things that was a blessing from the Lord. We are all very excited though to add onto our farming. Have a great night from our farm to you. Rebekah

Happy Valentines Day

2011-02-14T06:26:00.003-05:00

Well as the title says Happy Valentines Day! Hope you all have a fun and Happy Valentines day! Things have been busy here on the farm. As you can see in the pictures above we welcomed two new baby goats yesterday both girls Ya. Today will consist of labeling candles, making soap, doing laundry, making strawberry pie and cooking a speical dinner for my husband. It was funny because last night I told my husband I was going to make the meal he had been asking for he looked rather surprised, he said well I was going to take you to the chinese restaurant to eat my reply I would just rather stay home and cook for you. He said that is fine with me I would rather stay home. I think that made his valentines day great. I love making my husband happy. Have a great day from our farm to you. Rebekah

WEBSITE

2011-01-29T11:22:00.002-05:00

We now have an offical web page for the farm, soap and candles. It is www.hooverfarms.weebly.com I just listed all my soaps and they are now available for you to purchase. If any one needs a webpage for anything go to www.weebly.com. I found them through the Baking Homesteader and by the way check out her new herb page she also has soap. It is www.wiseleyusedherbs.weebly.com Back to the site it is very easy to use and very easy to list your products for sale. So go on over and check them out. Have a great weekend! From our farm to you Rebekah.

BASIC LOTION RECIPE

2011-01-28T09:28:00.002-05:00

This recipe came from http://www.asonomagarden.wordpress.com/
1 1/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup emulsifying wax
1/4 cup olive oil
24-36 drops essential oil
Melt the emulsifying wax and olive oil together temp will be around 155% set aside Warm water to
125% mix with wax/oil mixture at this point it will turn milky white. Add essential oil. I then put in my blender and blend for a few minutes. Then put in containers of choice. If it does not set up like lotion just reheat in the microwave till hot. Blend again and pour into containers. There are things you can add a little of and will not effect the consistency of the lotion. Some examples are vit. E, glycerin, cocoa butter. Below is a list of oils that can help preserve the life of your natural hand lotion.

Essential oils are the most natural antimicrobials you will find.
Preservatives for Cosmetics by David C. Steinberg, essential oils that have demonstrated antimicrobial activity include;
caraway,
cinnamon,
clove,
cumin,
eucalyptus,
lavender,
lemon,
rose,
rosemary,
sage,
sandalwood
thyme
Grape fruit seed extract
Re-posted from http://www.making-sense-of-scents-aromatherapy.blogspot.com/

Zesty Lemon Soap

2011-01-25T20:14:00.003-05:00

Pictures of my latest soap. Zesty Lemon Soap With Lemon Peel. All my soaps are for sale if anyone is interested $3.00 each or 4 for $10.00 If interested you may email me it is on the left side of my blog Thanks. Hope you are all having a great week. From our farm to you Rebekah

ROAD TRIP

2011-01-22T06:28:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone, This week held a road trip for the family. On Thursday we set out for Sterling Heights which is a suburb of Detroit. I found a man over there that sells lye for my soap making at a dollar a pound. Which I was paying $6.00 a pound so big difference. We were able to see the bridge which takes you into Canada so the kids thought that was pretty neat. After our 2 plus hours to get there we headed back South an hour to the candle supply store to pick up fragrances for soap and candles. By now the guys were having a grand time. Really they were pretty good about it but you will see why they were. This trip was not only for me there was something in it for them. We then headed south 30 minutes to Dundee where we at a great pizza buffet. Then on to Cabelas for the guys shopping. My daughter had a great time taking pictures of all the animals and the guys were able to find a few things they needed. So we left around 8:30 a.m. and returned home around 5:30 p.m. a long day but lots of fun. Hope everyone has a great weekend! From our farm to you Rebekah

WOOD CUTTING

2011-01-17T16:07:00.004-05:00

Well wood cutting was the name of the game here on the farm today. Me, the Son and Hubby went to cut today. We were able to cut a truck and trailer load. Lots of wood to help keep us warm. The guys just got done unloading it all and son is off to take care of a raccoon at the neighbors. My daughter is not feeling well today. She seems to be running a low grade fever hope it goes away quick and no one else gets it. We have chores and 4-H meeting so the day is far from done. Wanted to let everyone know I have a new blog it is www.homesteadsoapandcandles.blogspot.com. I will post ideas links and tips there for candle and soap making. I will not post there as often as I do here. I mostly wanted to do it as a reference and information page. Another reason is I don't want to junk our family and farm blog up with that stuff all the time. As I said on the blog please be patient with me as it will take some time to get it all together. Hope you can all check it out. From our farm to you Rebekah

HOW THE SOAP TURNED OUT

2011-01-14T17:57:00.002-05:00

Below are pictures of my latest soap. As you can see it turned out great. The peppermint did not set up like I wanted so I grated and redid it. It still turned out great. They all smell wonderful. I really feel the orris root helps hold the smell. The second bonus about the orris root is I don't feel you need to use as much scent. Enjoy the pictures and have a great night. From our farm to you Rebekah.

The front soap on the left is cool citrus basil with basil leaves, on the right is peppermint with peppermint candy. In the back on the left is cucumber melon with dill weed, on the right is warm vanilla sugar with raw sugar for scrubbing.

Granola

2011-01-13T10:23:00.002-05:00

Well today I'm making granola. My son loves yogrut and granola. The yogrut turned out great yesterday. I have 2 gallons and one quart. I will share my recipe for granola.
4c.oats
2 tsps cinnamon
1/2 cup honey or brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil or butter
1/2 cup water
1 Tbs. vanilla
You can add whatever else you like. We put fruit of our choice in our own bowls when we eat. Other ideas are coconut, nuts, or sunflower seeds. If you use coconut or sunflower seeds cook it with the granola. Bake at 250% till browned.
Have a great day. From our farm to you Rebekah.

Yogurt and Butter

2011-01-12T10:23:00.003-05:00

Well today I'm making yogurt and butter. The butter is all done and was great on my crackers. The yogurt is cooling then into the cooler for 12 hours and you got yummy homemade yogurt. The best part is it is from my own raw milk. I feel so blessed to be able to do all the things I do. I will share my yogurt recipe,super easy.
8 cups milk
1/4 cup plain gelatin to an 1/8 cup this depends how thick you want it.
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sweetener note if you want plain omit the vanilla and sugar.
1/2 yogurt starter just yogurt from the store then you can use your own once you make it.
2 quart jars
Heat your milk to 185% take off heat add gelatin, sugar, vanilla. Bring the temperature down to 110%. Add your yogurt starter. Then you will need to incubate yogurt for 12 hours. The temperature for incubation has to be kept between 90 to 110%. I do mine in a cooler filled with hot water to the rims of jars.
Have a great day and if you try this let me know how it turns out. From our farm to you. Rebekah

SOAP AND MORE SOAP

2011-01-09T18:24:00.004-05:00

Well today I took my hand at soap making again. I found a recipe that makes just 8 bars. I love it cause I can try new things and if I don't like it I only have eight bars. The kinds I did today is cool citrus basil with basil leaves, cucumber melon with dill weed, peppermint with candy cane pieces, warm vanilla sugar with sugar for scrubbing. If anyone would like to try it the recipe is as follows:
2 cups lard
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbs Vaseline I used cocoa butter
1 cup milk or water
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs lye
dissolve lye in water get temp around 110% then warm first three ingredients to 110%.
Pour oil mixture into lye stir till trace or it looks like thick pudding. Then add fragrance and any other additives you want to. Pour in to molds and unmold in 24 hours. I do not insulate my soap. I also use orris root in my soap it is considered a fixative and helps hold the scent in.
Hope everyone is having a great Sunday. From our farm to you Rebekah

Homemade Deodorant

2010-12-29T10:48:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I took my hand at making homemade deodorant. My intrest was peaked as another blogger talked about making her own. She was of a lot of help to me as where to look so I googled it and so the search was on. I found one simalir to what she said she used. So today is day two of using it. I'm happy to report so far I love it. The best part it is safe for my 11 year old daughter to use. Also with store deodorant I itched bad with this so far I don't. I will tell you though it is not the same consestiency as store deodorant but it is still nice to use. I will share the recipe it is as follows:
1/4 cup baking soda and corn starch
2 tablespoons coconut oil
whatever you would like to use as a scent.
mix all together until incorparated then pack in an old deodorant container or in a dish and just rub on with fingers. Have a great day! Rebekah

FELTING SOAP

2010-12-27T09:39:00.004-05:00

I was asked by Melodie to post about felting soap. So what I'm going to do is post a link that will tell you step by step how to do it and color pictures. It is very fun my daughter who is 11 has done most of ours. Beware though it does take practice so don't get frustrated just keep trying. If it is not perfect like the pictures believe me it still washes fine. I will tell you one thing I have noticed is when you get ready to use it letting it soak in water for a few minutes helps before you use it.Here is the link www.mielkesfarm.com/felt_soap.htm Hope this helps Melodie. Have a great day everyone. Rebekah

Christmas Morning

2010-12-25T16:54:00.003-05:00

Our Christmas in pictures. It was such a nice day. Time to relax and enjoy the day together with nothing else to do. Let us remember what today is really about a babe born in a manger to grow up and die on the cross to save us from our sins. Thank you Jesus we can live eternally with you if we chose to do so. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!Merry Christmas from the Hoover Family! From our farm to you.

Becky Kelley - Where's the Line to See Jesus - OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

2010-12-19T18:22:00.000-05:00

CHCOCOLATE PEPPERMINT SOAP

2010-12-19T15:27:00.003-05:00

Hello Everyone hope you are having a great Sunday. Thought I would post pictures of my chocolate peppermint soap. Yesterday I tried my hand at hot process soap making. As you can see it worked great. I loved doing it and will for sure do it again. The soap smells just like a piece of mint chocolate. The best part is it is ready to use now. Hope everyone has a great Sunday. Rebekah

NEEDED EGG NOG RECIPE!

2010-12-18T08:49:00.002-05:00

I'm needing a good recipe for homemade eggnog. I would like one someone has tried and knows that it is good. I'm not wanting to have to do alot of experimenting with this. My quest for a recipe is because my husband loves eggnog. So at Christmas time I always buy it for him but when I went to walmart and had to pay $3.00 for a quart I decided I have to learn how to make it. Thanks Rebekah

Anuual cookie bake and tea.

2010-12-12T06:32:00.003-05:00

Well Friday was our annual cookie baking and Christmas caroling with the homeschool group. We made 14 plates and were able to hand them all out. It was a great night and alot of people were blessed by our singing. Now I suppose you are wondering what tea has to do with all of this. After cookie baking and lunch the moms sat down to have tea well the children played outside. This is the tea I had and it is wonderful. You have got to try it. It has a strong cinnamon taste and it is just one of those teas that actually taste good. Hope everyone has a great Sunday. From our farm to you. Rebekah

PREGNANT TURKEY

2010-11-22T15:11:00.001-05:00

PREGNANT TURKEY Last year at Thanksgiving, my mom went to my sister's house for the traditional holiday feast. Knowing how gullible my sister is, my mom decided to play a trick. She told my sister that she needed something from the store and asked if my sister wouldn't mi...nd going out to get it. When my si...ster left the house, my mom took the turkey out of the oven, removed the mixed stuffing, and inserted a Cornish hen into the turkey cavity...then re-stuffed the turkey. She then placed the bird(s) back into the oven. When it was time for dinner, my sister pulled the turkey out of the oven and proceeded to remove the stuffing. When her serving spoon hit something, she reached in and pulled out the little bird. With a look of total shock on her face, my mother exclaimed, "Barbara, you've cooked a pregnant bird!" At the reality of this horrifying news, my sister started to cry hysterically. It took the entire family almost two hours to convince her that turkeys lay eggs.See Morehttp://www.mikeysfunnies.com/See More

FARMERS GETTING ALONG

2010-11-14T16:29:00.002-05:00

I'm going to approach a subject that I know can get heated. I do feel it needs to be approached though. Grass fed versus grain fed is all the rage. Well I feel you need to do what suites your needs best. I have not researched it so I really cannot say. I'm writing this from a farmers view point. I'm sick of being attacked for doing things the way we do. A side note my father is 76 ate grain fed meat his whole life and drank milk from holestein cows he is healthy. But as for farmers fighting against each other as to what is best is stupid. We as farmers should be supporting one another. I was watching a farm program with my Dad the other day the host read a piece a grass fed farmer had wrote and it was just slamming farmers who feed grain. As he said the in biting among farmers needs to stop. I totally agree! For us to make a profit and keep going we can not take our land make it all in to pasture. We need to raise rotationally crops on this land that make us a profit and the cattle are locked up. Our cattle pasture some land we cannot plant but not all of them. Even though they are locked up they are very well taken care of. They have a clean place to sleep, plenty to eat and drink. Their health is always our top priority. The reason this really burns my butt is because my husband works daylight to dusk taking care of our farm and animals with not much pay at all. Still has to work a real job to make it. We need to be supportive of one another get along and help each other out regardless if we grass feed or grain feed. I know there is people who will not agree with me that is fine but if you leave a comment be respectful of others because they will be reading it. Thanks have a good day.Rebekah

RANDOM THOUGHTS

2010-11-11T20:34:00.002-05:00

Well it has been a long day. I had my little ones to watch today and the 9 month old has now decided to start pulling up to things but don't know how to get down. This makes things real interesting. My husband and son got some of the cows wormed today. I did school with the daughter this morning then set out on my project of making candles. The last craft show I did a lady approached me asking if I would be interested in showcasing my candles and other things I make at the salon she manages. So tomorrow I go in and meet with her to take my stuff. Hoping this turns out to be a good thing. The excitement on the farm today was my son left my gate open and our jersey decided to go on a adventure. My husband found her out back wandering around. Hope everyone has a great night. This farmers wife is headed to bed. Goodnight all Rebekah

NEW BABIES ON THE FARM

2010-11-07T10:00:00.005-05:00

Well here are the new beef cow babies I talked about. We also have other new baby calves which I will post later. For now here are these two and we just love them. They are so cute and sweet. Lincoln loves it when you rub his neck for him. Lexi on the other hand is a bit wild,.

Here is Lexi

Lincoln doing what he does best eating. By the way this is his grandmother not his mother.

Lexi and her mom

Lincoln trying to take a nap till some lady stuck a camera in my face.

Lincoln again

Have a great night everyone. Hope you enjoy the pictures. Rebekah

SOY CANDLES

2010-11-05T15:50:00.003-04:00

We have 100% soy candles available for Christmas and the best part is they are only $5.00. They burn almost gone with virtually no waste and no black soot. We would be glad to ship them. Scents are as follows, waterfall, lemon chiffon, watermelon, lilac, love spell, apple pie, passionate kisses, cinnamon stick, cucumber melon, pine, baby powder, cranberry, peppermint and ecyulptus, lavender, lavender vanilla, very vanilla, Christmas hearth, blueberry pie, pumpkin souffle, strawberry shortcake, pineapple colada, fresh brewed coffee, orange clove, sunwashed linen, fudge brownie and gingerbread.

Things are starting to slow down here on the farm. The hubby and son baled the oats an we got 91 round bales. That is going to make some good feed for winter. I'm down to two markets a week. Been making soap and candles. Sure hoping to get alot stockpiled through the winter so I don't have to do markets an try to get things made. We had two new baby beef calves last week. They came kinda late so mama and babies are on my side with my animals. It was a mother and daughter that had them and they had them on the same day. The older mother is feeding hers and the daughters. They are so cute black and white. The kids are fighting over who gets the boy for fair. We named them Lexi and Lincoln. We have been getting some snow here in Michigan today. I'm ready for snow helps me get in the mood for Christmas but first Thanksgiving to celebrate all we have to be thankful for. Well that is all for know. Hope everyone has a great day. Rebekah

COMPUTER BUDDY

2010-10-25T06:40:00.003-04:00

Thought I would share these picture. Every time I sit in my chair it is a given combine has to get up and lay on my legs. I'm so glad he was spared when going through the combine he is so sweet and we all love him lots. He definitely is a spoiled kitty. I'm taking the day off and going to visit with a friend today and the daughter will get to play with her friend. So looking foward to this day. Hope you all have a great day. Rebekah

God's Blessings

2010-10-24T06:17:00.004-04:00

Beautiful land we are so blessed to be able to care for.

God's promise in the sky.

Pets who make us smile.

Beautiful smiles that brighten anyones day.

Beautiful fall leaves.

CHOPPING SILAGE

2010-09-11T19:20:00.005-04:00

Well hello everyone we have one more job accomplished here on the farm. That would be we have our silage bags filled for the year. It is so nice to know we have feed for our animals to last the year. We might cut hay again but that has not been decided for sure. The next job will be harvesting corn and beans.

We got rid of some pigs Wednesday that was sure a relief. We have just a few now enough to supply people with pork. Our meat has been selling great at the farmers market. We are very glad to be able to provide people with quality meat from our farm to their table.

I had a day off of farmers market last week for labor day. I was able to get 55 candles made.

The kitty we found in the combine is growing big and doing great. He is definitely the hubby's cat he spoils him so bad.

I will be holding a giveaway within the next two weeks consisting of the things I have made. It will be a soy candle, lotion bar, a bar of goats milk soap, bath salts and a crocheted washcloth.

Hope you all have a great week. Blessings from the Hoover farm to your home. Rebekah

LIFE ON THE FARM

2010-08-29T06:01:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone, Well life has been busy here as I'm sure life is busy with everyone else. I will try to bring you up to speed with what has been going on here. Last week was fair week and boy that was a whirlwind. The kids had such fun did not win much but that does not bother my kids. They feel they get to go have fun with friends and sell their animals. For them that is what it is really about. Avery did place 6th in showmanship out of 23 kids so that was great. I was so proud of him but then he is used to working with cattle so guess he should be a natural. I will post pictures of them at fair soon. Back home and the work starts right back in. I started right back in at market as soon as we were done with fair. The garden was also waiting with a bushel of green beans. Now to get them canned in all my busyness. We are now selling packaged beef and pork raised from our farm. It is so neat to be able to sell our own products. The new chickens have started laying eggs and I'm so excited about that. Hubby just got done with the fourth cutting of hay. Now it is time to chop our corn silage. We are so blessed to be able to raise all our own feed for our animals. Well guess that is about all in a condensed version. If I gave you the full version of all that has been happening here on the farm I might be typing all day. Have a blessed Sunday. Rebekah

AVERYS FUNNY VIDEO

2010-08-01T09:13:00.002-04:00

This is so funny Avery had his sisters hat on. When he figured out she was video taping him man it came off fast. Listen closley at the end you will hear him say got me. I think we laughed fovever. Enjoy and have a great day. Rebekah

DAY WITH FRIENDS

2010-07-30T20:41:00.003-04:00

We got to spend some time with friends yesterday. The kids all made t-shirts. In the following pictures is Kassandras shirt she made. I had my nieces overnight last night needless to say I did not get much sleep. I'm sure glad my kids are older. I'm definetly moving to a new season in life. I sure love them little girls but glad they go home at night. I will be going to market in the morning. The guys are busy trying to get there tractor ready for pulling at the fair. We have like only two weeks to fair. YIKES! I'm not ready where has the time went. Well hope everyone has a great weekend! Rebekah

DAY AT CHARLTON PARK

2010-07-25T16:41:00.004-04:00

Love this picture! Don't get Avery smiling very often but it took me like three pictures before I got this.

We went to a picnic for farmers union today at a local park. They have a living history village which we got to go through today. Fun day spending time together as a family. Getting ready to do chores. As soon as we got home the hubby went right out to finish mowing hay. Hoping to bale Tuesday got more rain coming Wednesday. Have a great night! Rebekah

This picutre took Dad telling him he better smile. Got love those teenage boys! He is 14 going on 20.

FINALLY PICTURES!

2010-07-22T13:18:00.005-04:00

Thought I would show you what has been going on at our house. This is our new addition combine. His name is the clue to how we got him. My husband got ready to do wheat came in and said come out I hear kittens in the combine. So we tore apart what we could but to no avil could not find them. So he went out to run the wheat and he came through the auger droped to the bottom of the bin. as you can see he is fine but three were not. Don't know why the mom chose here. We did not even know we had a mommy cat around. Suprise!

Here is what I have been up to baking for farmers market and I love it!

Getting ready to head out to market in a while. Just wanted to share the pictures been soooo long it seems like since I could put pictures on. Have a great day. Rebekah

FARMERS MARKET

2010-07-16T20:54:00.002-04:00

Hello, everyone seems like it has been so long since I posted. The summer just seems to be flying by.Farmers market has been going good. I love going there look so forward to it. I have recently started making lotion bars. So I'm also selling those. I have 6 batches of goats milk soap curing now. Cannot wait to take that to sell. If you ever want to try a new craft try soap making it is so fun. I also am starting to take bake goods because now in Michigan we can sell them without a certified kitchen. I still don't have no pictures. Actually I have them just lost my usb cord. The kids have fair coming up in about only three weeks. NO! we are not ready but got to get ready I guess. The hubby and son are still working in the field. We are planting sudex/sudan grass back on the wheat ground. Tomorrow is my dads birthday he will be 77 and still going strong. Well hope everyone is doing well. Have a great night. Rebekah

HAPPENINGS OF SUMMER

2010-07-04T09:06:00.002-04:00

Hello Everyone, I bet you were thinking I was gone forever. Well I'm here just been busy. I have started vending at our local farmers market 4 times a week. Plus babysitting, being a mom, being a wife and keeping up the everyday chores here at home. I do have a camera now but cannot find the usb cord to download to my computer. As soon as I find it I have pictures. Some of the things we have been doing. We went to a tractor show in Indiana and the guys found weights to put on their tractor. This will help them when pulling hopefully to get farther. I have been making soap. The kids are working on their fair animals. We only have about 6 weeks to fair. Friday Me and the hubby went to Indiana to eat with some couples from church. Our 15th anniversary is Tuesday. Baled our second cutting of hay and just keeping up with the everyday here on the farm. Hope everyone has a great INDEPENDENCE DAY.
Rebekah

Hello

2010-06-18T06:02:00.003-04:00

Hello Everyone, Well had a good week so far nothing too exciting just kinda the usual. Went on a road trip with the hubby Tuesday. The son did not want to go so mom got elected. Was nice to spend time together alone. My daughter has had her cousin here staying the week been nice for her to have somebody to keep her company beside me. We also had a bonfire for the first time of the year had to have smores they are the best. Wednesday me and the son took a couple of steers to auction so dad could do some other farm business. Went and picked up a new jersey heifer and got a load of bread for the pigs. Yesterday we went and picked up the beef we had butchered. I feel so lucky to be able to have our own meat. The family is ready for steaks on the grill now. Last night we went to the in-laws house to pick strawberries. That has been great we were able to pick all we needed for the year there. We also went and checked out a farmers market. Wanting to go sell my candles and things we have produced from the farm. After all that the hubby took us out for ice cream. Nice ending to our night. Going to haul an freeze strawberries today. Fold some laundry that is so desperately needing to be done and put away. Saturday we are heading to the beach for my great nephews b-day. Looking so forward to a day of relaxing. Hope everyone has a great weekend. Rebekah

WEEKEND HAPPENINGS

2010-06-14T06:25:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone, We had a jam packed Saturday the hubby pulled his tractor in the antique tractor pulls. I do not have pictures because I layed my camera on the truck while we were loading the tractor. You probably guessed by now yes I forgot it so driving down the road I remembered it but it was to late just as I remembered it went flying in the air. Yes of course it is wrecked so now I have to get a new one. It stinks but nothing I can do now. Then we attended mt nieces graduation open house after chores. It was nice and no cooking for me always a bonus. Sunday was nice I took a three hour nap and the kids got to go fishing with their oldest brother. Today I'm going to see about getting some labels made for my candles. Hoping to get some time to help kids work with their fair steers. We only have two months till fair. Where is the summer going. Hope everyone has a great week. Rebekah

PICTURES

2010-06-11T09:05:00.002-04:00

Avery and Kassandras fair steers

Extra dairy starter calf

Averys dairy starter calf

Extra dairy starter calf

Kassandras dairy starter calf

Kassandras baby goats

Thought this was so cute. The pigs will get in the window and look for us.

Our new jersey heifer calf. Her name is Teacup

Strawberries for 2010. 18 quarts in the freezer

Baby Makiya and Mayce.

SUNDAY HELLO

2010-06-06T09:25:00.003-04:00

Hello, Thought I would update a little on what has been going on around the farm. This week was quite busy. I did not babysit this week so we tried to get some stuff accomplished well I could help. Tuesday we took a cow and pig to be butchered. Did some other errands well in town. Came home only to find our 6 bigger pigs had been running around the whole time we were gone. So got them back in finally after about an hour. I went and got some stuff for hubby to spray hay. He was trying to get that done before we had rain. That was pretty much that day. Wednesday we went to the weekly auction. Took 3 steers to sell. We were able to buy some cheap hay. We did not really need it but when it is that cheap it helps to keep hay stocked up. I finally got my new vacuum pump and milk cans. We bought them from a guy at the auction. I'm so excited cause when we get the set up going I can milk both cows at once can't wait. Thursday we built fence, moved cows and chased cows for hours. After all the work was done we took the kids fishing. We all needed the break it was so relaxing. My legs were so sore that night and hurt terrible. Friday the guys replanted some corn that did not come up. I baked bread, cookies and Amish friendship bread. Then went to town to do some banking and errands. Pretty much my week in a nut shell. Leave a comment about what you did this week I would love to hear from you. Hope everyone has a great week. Rebekah

MEMORIAL DAY PARADE

2010-05-31T11:43:00.006-04:00

Here are some pictures from our towns parade. My daughter walked her goat along with her friends who took a dog and puppies. Me and my friend walked along with her girls who were riding horses. I do not think we will ever forget this parade. By time we got to the end and was going through the ceromony it started pouring rain. By time we got in a vehicle we were all soaked. Then to top it all off I left the windows down in my tuck so it would not get to hot. You probally guessed yes my truck was drenched inside by time I got to it. What a great time though and memories made. Have a great Memorial day! Rebekah

SOY CANDLES

2010-05-24T08:26:00.005-04:00

Here is what our newest project was making soy candles. We did some thirft store shopping and found some cute tea cups to do a few in. These are my favorite.

Here is all the rest of them. We had lots of jars around the house to use.

So today we are going to make a few more. They are so easy to do and fun. They also smell great. This is what I'm planning on for Christmas gifts.

It is going to get pretty hot here today. Really humid that is the worst. Avery is mowing our hay for the first time today. Summer is for sure here now the haying season starts. We have had two goat kids since the last time I posted. Also a new bull calf. We still have 5 cows to calve. They are our late calvers. I will get some pictures of the babies around. The goat kids are so cute. They are from my daughters goat and they were so little. Two girls I told her how lucky.

Yesterday a nerby town was having city wide clean out. So me and the kids went after church to pick curbs. We had so much fun and got two loads of metal. We also got some other goodies. I can not believe the things people throw out. We really live in such a wasteful society.

Have a great day! Rebekah

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

2010-05-09T19:42:00.004-04:00

Happy Mother's Day all. Hope you had a wonderful day. I had an awesome day with my family. God has blessed me with the best kids in the world. Also I think I have the most loving,kind and caring husband he was great this Mother's Day. We enjoyed time together at church this morning, then had family over for lunch. Here is a picture of my daughter and two great nieces.

Here is my great niece thinking she can sit in the doll carrier too cute.

My present I recieved for Mother's Day a cooling lap pad with speakers for my laptop. I love it just what I wanted! Also reciened a candle from church smells wonderful.

Me and my most precious gift I recieved 11 years ago. What a wonderful daughter God blessed me with. Such a joy to watch her grow into a young woman.

PSALM 34

2010-05-06T08:29:00.005-04:00

I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked up to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,
and delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
The righteous cry out and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and saves such as have a contrite spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones: not one if them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.

HELLO

2010-05-03T08:58:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone, the corn planting is all done on our farm such a relief. Now we will be on to planting the beans. I'm thinking it is time to start my garden. We are scaling way back on the garden this year. I'm going to have tomatoes, beans, zucchini, lettuce, onions and corn. My husband planted the corn as I was telling you in my last post with the corn planter. He planted two rows out in the big field with the field corn. So therefore the kids are going to have corn to sell this year.

My hubby has another two weeks off work and I'm loving it. Saturday we went to a big farm auction
for the day. We were able to get a grain truck we have been needing. I also got a chicken brooder, a water er and some tub feeders. So it was worth going.

Sunday we attended church and in the afternoon my aunts came to visit. It was such a nice quiet day
of peace and rest.

Today I'm taking the oldest son to get his truck legal so he has his own way to get around. I'm very excited about this!

We have about 6 ducks and 1 bantam chicken sitting on eggs so lots of babies soon.

Have a great day and God bless. Rebekah

TOUCHING BASE

2010-04-29T06:37:00.002-04:00

Thought I would touch base and let you all know what has been going on. It is planting time at our house right now. So the guys are busy in the fields. Until that is done everything else is on the back burner. Tuesday I went and got 4 new calves from a local farmer to add to the herd. The moms and baby's are out on pasture it is so fun watching the babies play. I love this time of year seeing everything bring new life. Yesterday was a whirlwind of a day started out at 4:00 a.m. as usual. I will give you a little diary of what went on yesterday. Started out with doing chores then in to do three loads of laundry and get it hung on the line to dry. Then get the spot ready where we are going to put the chicks I will be picking up later. Off to town with hubby to take cows to the auction and go pick up a check. Home for about an hour then to the auction to watch our cows sell and pick up our check. Then we head to farm bureau to get sweet corn seed, lettuce and pumpkin seed. Yes it is time to start planting the garden also. My husband always plants our sweet corn with the corn planter which is so nice. On to the farm store to get lights feed and a water er for chicks. To the mans house where I'm picking up a hundred chicks. Get them all caught head home put them up. On to chores mind you the guys are in the field so it was up to me and the daughter to get all the chores done. She is so sweet she did all the milking and my side of the chores well I did the guys chores. Got all done with that in the house to have supper which Dad fixed for us sure glad I did not have that to do to. Little computer time then go pick up hubby from field on to the house for the night. Bed finally about 10:00. So hoping today will slow down a little. Well that is what has been going on around here. Hope you are all doing good. Leave me a comment and let me know what has been going on around your home. Have a great day. God bless Rebekah

NEW BABY CALVES

2010-04-20T21:10:00.002-04:00

So sorry I have not been posting but I have just been so busy. Here is a few pictures of our two new heifer calves that were born yesterday. We have three heifers now. One bull came premature lost him. Then we had a heifer try and calve it was a bull he was humongous she could not have him so we lost that one. We still have seven left to calve. The kids are hoping at least for a couple bulls for their 4-H calves. We also have baby pigs but not been able to get pictures yet. We got a new stock trailer and hay mower which we really needed. I should rephrase that they are not new but new to us. Around the farm there has just been alot of cleaning up, hauling manure and now getting ready to put crops in. I don't know if I'm ready for summer but here it comes ready or not. Well I think for now you are up to date. Have a great night and God bless. Rebekah

FOXNews.com - Obama's Decision to Observe National Day of Prayer Privately Draws Public Criticism

2010-04-15T13:49:00.001-04:00

FOXNews.com - Obama's Decision to Observe National Day of Prayer Privately Draws Public Criticism

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THANK YOU

2010-04-14T19:22:00.003-04:00

Thank you Catherine your so sweet and such a blessing. Scroll down to the bottom to read my post. Computer messed up and I do not feel like redoing. Thanks

A big thank you to my blog friend. I was having a very stressful day today. When I arrived home there was a package on the table. I opened it there was this beautiful rooster towel and five bars of wonderful smelling soap. This just made my day so much better. So neat how the Lord uses people to lift others up when they are down. So this is a good example for us all when the Lord lays it on our heart to do something for someone better do it. We don't know how much it will bless them. Have a great night. Rebekah

NEW BABIES

2010-04-13T19:15:00.003-04:00

A little up date on what has been going on around the farm. Yesterday we had another momma calve. She had it all by herself ya! The only problem now is she would not take the baby. So off to catch the mom so we could put her and the baby together. We tube fed the baby twice to get her going. Today they are together and the baby is sucking. Hopefully we can turn her and the other mom out in the pasture tomorrow. So ready to see cows out there grazing. The other mom and her calf are doing great. We also have six new baby pigs. They are doing great. I went and picked up a baby pig for payment from some friends for using our boar. Got some cows moved around yesterday. It was long overdue. They went through the fench twice before they realized da we have to stay in here. Today we went on our monthly visit to the nursing home. Then took the kids to a hands on museum. So much fun for them. Great place to learn, imagine and play. Well guess that keeps you up to date on the happenings of the farm. Have a good night. Rebekah The proud momma.

Here are the new baby goats. One boy and one girl. The girl stays mom is a real good milker.

Here is our momma who lost her baby. She how good she is with the baby we gave her. I love this cow she is so sweet.

Here is our sweet new baby. Believe me her mom is not sweet. She would kill us if she could. You would not know by her color but momma is all red with black tint.

LONG DAY ON THE FARM

2010-04-11T20:23:00.002-04:00

Well to start off I went out to do chores this morning and found two new babies. I thought this mom goat was never going to kid. Then on to my husbands barn to get grain for night chores. I figured well I was over there I would walk back the lane and check on the brood cows. Most of them are getting ready to calf. So I seen one acting kinda funny and my husband went to check. Yep she tried to calf while we were in bed but could not. So we had to pull the calf he was already gone. Such a bummer especially because she showed no signs of being ready to calve. Unfortunately that is how farming goes it is not always this little fun fantasy world like some people want to make it look like. Farming is fun but also alot of hard work and disappointments. Anyways we had a little calf we just bought so we gave him to her and she took right to him. She loves him and has a baby after all her trauma. We had friends over for lunch and fellowship. Such a good time of relaxing and just enjoying friends. We did night chores and moved some cows around. Went back in the field to check cows tonight. Nobody looks like they are ready and I hope nobody goes while we are in bed. My husband and son have been working on the cleanup of the farm. Going good but a long ways to go. So there is my day in a nutshell. I'm tired and ready for bed. Have a good night. Rebekah

RE-MADE SOAP

2010-04-10T13:40:00.003-04:00

Here is what me and my daughter did yesterday. We took some soap I made years ago and remade it. The balls we did are lavender scent rolled in lavender flowers smells so heavenly. The cupcake looking ones are pumpkin spice coffee. It was so fun and easy. I have even done this with the little pieces of soap you have leftover. Just save them till you have quite a few then grate them up. All you have to do for the molded ones is grate a pound of soap put in your pan add enough liquid to help it melt. Do this on high stir always or it will burn if not melting you need more liquid. It is o.k. if you have a few chunks. Once it is melted add scent if you want and put in molds. Put in the freezer for about an hour then pop out of mold. For liquid you can use herbal tea, coffee or just water.For the balls you grate a pond of soap , put in scent if you want then add enough liquid just so it sticks together. Shape into balls pack and roll as tight as you can. Do not add any other ingredient because it tends to make the balls crumble when dry. You can roll them in some pretty flowers crushed up if you like. Let both soaps which ever you do cure for 2 weeks. Go ahead and try so fun an fun to do with the kids. Have a great day. Rebekah

DON'T LET FREEDOM SLIP AWAY!

2010-04-09T09:26:00.001-04:00

Truly is the Greatest Country in the World. Don't Let Freedom Slip Away

By: Kitty Werthmann
What I am about to tell you is something you've probably never heard or will ever read in history books.
I believe that I am an eyewitness to history. I cannot tell you that Hitler took Austria by tanks and guns; it would distort history. We elected him by a landslide - 98% of the vote.. I've never read that in any American publications. Everyone thinks that Hitler just rolled in with his tanks and took Austria by force.
In 1938, Austria was in deep Depression. Nearly one-third of our workforce was unemployed. We had 25% inflation and 25% bank loan interest rates.
Farmers and business people were declaring bankruptcy daily. Young people were going from house to house begging for food. Not that they didn't want to work; there simply weren't any jobs. My mother was a Christian woman and believed in helping people in need. Every day we cooked a big kettle of soup and baked bread to feed those poor, hungry people - about 30 daily.
The Communist Party and the National Socialist Party were fighting each other. Blocks and blocks of cities like Vienna , Linz , and Graz were destroyed. The people became desperate and petitioned the government to let them decide what kind of government they wanted.
We looked to our neighbor on the north, Germany , where Hitler had been in power since 1933. We had been told that they didn't have unemployment or crime, and they had a high standard of living. Nothing was ever said about persecution of any group -- Jewish or otherwise. We were led to believe that everyone was happy. We wanted the same way of life in Austria . We were promised that a vote for Hitler would mean the end of unemployment and help for the family. Hitler also said that businesses would be assisted, and farmers would get their farms back. Ninety-eight percent of the population voted to annex Austria to Germany and have Hitler for our ruler.
We were overjoyed, and for three days we danced in the streets and had candlelight parades. The new government opened up big field kitchens and everyone was fed.
After the election, German officials were appointed, and like a miracle, we suddenly had law and order. Three or four weeks later, everyone was employed. The government made sure that a lot of work was created through the Public Work Service.
Hitler decided we should have equal rights for women. Before this, it was a custom that married Austrian women did not work outside the home. An able-bodied husband would be looked down on if he couldn't support his family. Many women in the teaching profession were elated that they could retain the jobs they previously had been required to give up for marriage.
Hitler Targets Education - Eliminates Religious Instruction for Children:
Our education was nationalized. I attended a very good public school. The population was predominantly Catholic, so we had religion in our schools. The day we elected Hitler (March 13, 1938), I walked into my schoolroom to find the crucifix replaced by Hitler's picture hanging next to a Nazi flag. Our teacher, a very devout woman, stood up and told the class we wouldn't pray or have religion anymore. Instead, we sang "Deutschland, Deutschland, Uber Alles," and had physical education.
Sunday became National Youth Day with compulsory attendance. Parents were not pleased about the sudden change in curriculum. They were told that if they did not send us, they would receive a stiff letter of warning the first time. The second time they would be fined the equivalent of $300, and the third time they would be subject to jail. The first two hours consisted of political indoctrination. The rest of the day we had sports. As time went along, we loved it. Oh, we had so much fun and got our sports equipment free. We would go home and gleefully tell our parents about the wonderful time we had.
My mother was very unhappy. When the next term started, she took me out of public school and put me in a convent. I told her she couldn't do that and she told me that someday when I grew up, I would be grateful. There was a very good curriculum, but hardly any fun - no sports, and no political indoctrination. I hated it at first but felt I could tolerate it. Every once in a while, on holidays, I went home. I would go back to my old friends and ask what was going on and what they were doing. Their loose lifestyle was very alarming to me. They lived without religion. By that time unwed mothers were glorified for having a baby for Hitler. It seemed strange to me that our society changed so suddenly. As time went along, I realized what a great deed my mother did so that I wasn't exposed to that kind of humanistic philosophy.
Equal Rights Hits Home:
In 1939, the war started and a food bank was established. All food was rationed and could only be purchased using food stamps. At the same time, a full-employment law was passed which meant if you didn't work, you didn't get a ration card, and if you didn't have a card, you starved to death. Women who stayed home to raise their families didn't have any marketable skills and often had to take jobs more suited for men.
Soon after this, the draft was implemented. It was compulsory for young people, male and female, to give one year to the labor corps. During the day, the girls worked on the farms, and at night they returned to their barracks for military training just like the boys. They were trained to be anti-aircraft gunners and participated in the signal corps. After the labor corps, they were not discharged but were used in the front lines. When I go back to Austria to visit my family and friends, most of these women are emotional cripples because they just were not equipped to handle the horrors of combat. Three months before I turned 18, I was severely injured in an air raid attack. I nearly had a leg amputated, so I was spared having to go into the labor corps and into military service.
Hitler Restructured the Family Through Daycare:
When the mothers had to go out into the work force, the government immediately established child care centers. You could take your children ages 4 weeks to school age and leave them there around-the-clock, 7 days a week, under the total care of the government. The state raised a whole generation of children.. There were no motherly women to take care of the children, just people highly trained in child psychology. By this time, no one talked about equal rights. We knew we had been had.
Health Care and Small Business Suffer Under Government Controls:
Before Hitler, we had very good medical care. Many American doctors trained at the University of Vienna . After Hitler, health care was socialized, free for everyone. Doctors were salaried by the government. The problem was, since it was free, the people were going to the doctors for everything. When the good doctor arrived at his office at 8 a.m., 40 people were already waiting and, at the same time, the hospitals were full. If you needed elective surgery, you had to wait a year or two for your turn. There was no money for research as it was poured into socialized medicine. Research at the medical schools literally stopped, so the best doctors left Austria and emigrated to other countries.
As for healthcare, our tax rates went up to 80% of our income . Newlyweds immediately received a $1,000 loan from the government to establish a household. We had big programs for families. All day care and education were free. High schools were taken over by the government and college tuition was subsidized. Everyone was entitled to free handouts, such as food stamps, clothing, and housing.
We had another agency designed to monitor business. My brother-in-law owned a restaurant that had square tables. Government officials told him he had to replace them with round tables because people might bump themselves on the corners. Then they said he had to have additional bathroom facilities. It was just a small dairy business with a snack bar. He couldn't meet all the demands. Soon, he went out of business. If the government owned the large businesses and not many small ones existed, it could be in control.
We had consumer protection. We were told how to shop and what to buy. Free enterprise was essentially abolished. We had a planning agency specially designed for farmers. The agents would go to the farms, count the live-stock, then tell the farmers what to produce, and how to produce it.
"Mercy Killing" Redefined:
In 1944, I was a student teacher in a small village in the Alps . The villagers were surrounded by mountain passes which, in the winter, were closed off with snow, causing people to be isolated. So people intermarried and offspring were sometimes retarded. When I arrived, I was told there were 15 mentally retarded adults, but they were all useful and did good manual work. I knew one, named Vincent, very well. He was a janitor of the school. One day I looked out the window and saw Vincent and others getting into a van. I asked my superior where they were going. She said to an institution where the State Health Department would teach them a trade, and to read and write. The families were required to sign papers with a little clause that they could not visit for 6 months. They were told visits would interfere with the program and might cause homesickness.
As time passed, letters started to dribble back saying these people died a natural, merciful death. The villagers were not fooled. We suspected what was happening. Those people left in excellent physical health and all died within 6 months. We called this euthanasia.
The Final Steps - Gun Laws:
Next came gun registration.. People were getting injured by guns. Hitler said that the real way to catch criminals (we still had a few) was by matching serial numbers on guns. Most citizens were law abiding and dutifully marched to the police station to register their firearms. Not long after-wards, the police said that it was best for everyone to turn in their guns. The authorities already knew who had them, so it was futile not to comply voluntarily.
No more freedom of speech. Anyone who said something against the government was taken away. We knew many people who were arrested, not only Jews, but also priests and ministers who spoke up.
Totalitarianism didn't come quickly, it took 5 years from 1938 until 1943, to realize full dictatorship in Austria . Had it happened overnight, my countrymen would have fought to the last breath. Instead, we had creeping gradualism. Now, our only weapons were broom handles. The whole idea sounds almost unbelievable that the state, little by little eroded our freedom.
After World War II, Russian troops occupied Austria . Women were raped, preteen to elderly. The press never wrote about this either. When the Soviets left in 1955, they took everything that they could, dismantling whole factories in the process. They sawed down whole orchards of fruit, and what they couldn't destroy, they burned. We called it The Burned Earth. Most of the population barricaded themselves in their houses. Women hid in their cellars for 6 weeks as the troops mobilized. Those who couldn't, paid the price. There is a monument in Vienna today, dedicated to those women who were massacred by the Russians. This is an eye witness account.
"It's true..those of us who sailed past the Statue of Liberty came to a country of unbelievable freedom and opportunity.
America Truly is the Greatest Country in the World. Don't Let Freedom Slip Away
"After America , There is No Place to Go"
Please forward this message to other voters who may not have it.

RAMBLINGS

2010-04-08T08:31:00.006-04:00

Hello to all my blog friends and family. Kinda cold here in Michigan today. It is windy, dark and just yucky. Some sun by afternoon. Not much has been going on here. We got a metal dumpster the other day so we are going to start cleanup here on the farm. It is amazing how much junk can accumulate in 15 years. My husband has gone to dehorn 6 cows for a friend today. I will be visiting well he does the work. Then we he gets home the cleanup begins and alot of stuff to burn. I went with my son yesterday and did some stuff. It was nice being able to spend some time with him. My daughter has enjoyed this week. She was able to go play with friends and stay the night. She went to a hands on museum yesterday and had a great time. A nice surprise our friends where we went to dehorn for offered to bring their kids and come pick up metal to put in the dumpster. Praise the Lord it is just about full. How nice it is to have good friends. My husband still has one more week off work so they are headed off Saturday to an auction at a farmers house down the road. I also Watched a video on soap making today well at my friends. They made it look fun and easy so hoping to try my hand at it soon. Well guess that is all the rambling I have for today. Have a great day and God bless. Rebekah

GIVEAWAY AT GRANNY'S BEST

2010-04-07T07:16:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone, Letting you know about a great giveaway. Brenda over at Granny's best is giving away a sampler box of her homemade cheese. She is looking for ideas for a logo to put on her cheese. Go on over to www.grannysbest.blogspot.com and give her some great ideas. Have a great day and God bless. Rebekah

GIVEAWAY AT DA BEAN SAYS

2010-04-04T08:46:00.002-04:00

Go on over to www.dabeansays.blogspot.com they are giving away the cutest stuffed goat. Plus it is a good way to support a young person who writes a blog. So get going! Have a great day. Rebekah

HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY

2010-04-03T14:54:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone yes tomorrow is Easter but it is really much more than that. Tomorrow is the day our Saviour resurrected from the dead so we could spend eternity with Him. I'm so glad Jesus died and rose again! My sins are forgiven and I will spend eternity with Him. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. Matthew 28:6 My husband has two weeks off work so he is able to attend church with us tomorrow. We are not doing anything big tomorrow going to church and spending time together as a family. Hoping we can go out to eat therefore I won't have to cook. Took my daughter shopping for a new Easter dress today. This was always me and my moms tradition was to get a new dress. It is times like this I really miss my mom. Have a very Happy Easter and a good day. Rebekah

PICTURES

2010-03-31T19:04:00.006-04:00

Here is a few new pictures of the little one. Starting to smile and coo.

As you can tell big sister loves her to death.

When it is time to eat you better get it fast!

Soooo Precious

Aunt Becky and Makiya taking a little nap. My daughter of course had to take this one. Enjoy and have a great night.

THE WINNER IS!

2010-03-29T10:41:00.004-04:00

First off thanks to every one who entered my drawing. I decided to go ahead and giveaway both afhgans. So I put the names for the orange afhgan in one and the scrap in one. As you can see above my daughter drew the names. She had so much fun with this so we will be doing another giveaway soon. The drum roll and the winner is for the orange afhgan blessings and the scrap afhgan c marie. Congratulations! Go ahead and send your name and address to my email which is on the side of my blog. I will get these out in the next few days. Thanks so much to all who entered or just left a comment. Have a great day! Rebekah

KASSANDRA'S 11TH BIRTHDAY PARTY

2010-03-26T21:38:00.004-04:00

This is how we spent our Friday celebrating my daughters Birthday. We had family and friends over for cake and ice cream. She turned 11 on Monday. Notice the cake that is really her horse on it. A good time of fun and fellowship was had by all. Have a great night . Rebekah

PECAN BARS

2010-03-25T10:14:00.002-04:00

CRUST:
2 c. all purpose flour 1/2 c. shortening
1c.firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 tsp. salt 1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla (I always put two)
FILLING:
4 eggs 3/4 c.sugar
1 1/4 c. dark or light corn syrup
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c.all purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla (I use two)
2 c.chopped pecans

Heat oven to 350%. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine all crust ingredients; blend well Press dough evenly into bottom of ungreased 15"x10" jelly roll pan. Bake at 350% for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
In medium bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Stir in corn syrup and butter; blend well. Mix in flour and vanilla; add nuts. Pour filling over warm crust. Bake at 350% for 15 to 20 minutes until set and golden brown. Cool completely; cut into bars. Yeild: 48 bars

These are so good. I think they lasted all of 2 days at my house. Enjoy and have a good day.
Rebekah

GIVEAWAY AT ANOTHER BLOG

2010-03-22T06:20:00.002-04:00

Giveaway at http://www.faithfulnessfarm.blogspot.com/. She is giving away some really great stuff and neat blog. Go on over and check it out.

FINALLY THE AFHGAN GIVEAWAY

2010-03-21T09:47:00.003-04:00

The giveaway finally so sorry it took so long. Take a look at the two choices and scroll to the bottom for instructions.

As you can see the first is a orange and brown with green and orange trim. The second is what I call a scrap afhgan and is all different colors. Just leave me a comment and which one you would like if you won. Then I will draw a name on March 29th and post it here on the blog. This is my first giveaway so lets make it a good one everyone. If this giveaway goes good I would love to do more in the future. Thanks in advance for participating. Have a great day, good luck and God bless.

33 Miles- One Life To Love

2010-03-21T08:44:00.001-04:00

GIVEAWAY AT BAKE IT AFTER ALL

2010-03-17T08:51:00.003-04:00

Just letting you all know there is a great giveaway at http://www.bakeitafterall.blogspot.com/ The giveaway is for your choice of a bamboo cutting board, pizaelle maker or a wine rack. Great recipes and great blog go on over and check it out. Have a great day! Rebekah

THE NEW BABY

2010-03-14T13:27:00.004-04:00

My new niece.

My beautiful trio of girls.

Well as you all see I was not able to get picture posted of our maple syrup operation. The time was so short this year. We only had a week of collecting sap this year. It got warm so fast and at night also that the trees just were not running. We tapped last Saturday and pulled them by Thursday. So it was a very busy week of doing syrup and other miscellaneous farm things. It seemed like the week had just begun and was already gone. I had my nieces again starting last week and oh it was so fun. The baby is so sweet and cute. her sister is just as cute and the stuff she says just cracks us up. The other day my husband told her he was taking her with him and she says my butt's not going nowhere. We have lots of mud here and I sure wish it would dry up. The animals are not liking it. Hard to work in also. They are saying we are going to get snow at the end of the month I sure hope they are wrong. We weighed the kids fair steer in Saturday and it all went well. My sons steer he is taking weighs 898 so that is a good start. The funny thing is our friends daughter who does it hers weighed exactly the same. My daughters weighed 682 so they both got a good start. We are off to a better start than last year. They are actually halter broke and walking somewhat. This time last year we could not have done that with my sons steer. I will be posting the giveaway soon so be watching just having a hard time deciding on what to give this time. Well that is about all for now. I will leave you with a neat little saying on the back of our bulletin.

When the day is done, do you lie in bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, "well do it tomorrow." And in your haste not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say Hi? When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift...thrown away...Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.

MAPLE SYRUP

2010-03-06T11:36:00.005-05:00

Well it is that time of year at our house, time to do Maple Syrup. Here is a picture of the kids heading out to start tapping trees. I will add more pictures on the whole process as we get more into it.

I just had to add this picture. It is my daughters new baby duck. Don't know if you can notice it but he has a little patch of hair right on the back of his head. It looks like a mohawk. My husband said why do you always get the reject ones. I told him he is not he is cute. I like to get the animals I feel nobody else would want to give a home. Probably he would not of been picked cause he was not the cutest duck there. So he is ours and I love him as much as my daughter does. But the quacking is about to drive me nuts! Hopefully he will settle down after a few days. That is all for today. Hope everyone is well out there. Have a great day and God bless. Rebekah

HELLO FROM THE FARM

2010-03-03T09:13:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone, Sorry I have not been posting my computer has not been working. Also just not much going on here. We are heading out to the weekly auction today. The guys are out trying to get the manure cleaned up while it is frozen before it turns to water. I have decided to have a giveaway trying to decide which afhgan I'm going to giveaway so be watching for it. Probably within the next week I will be posting it. Will share a great desert recipe I have found so easy and not many ingredients always a bonus.
Rhubarb Desert
4 C. Diced rhubarb
1 C. sugar
1-3 oz. strawberry jello
1-18 1/2 oz. box yellow cake mix
2 C. water
Put ingredients in order given, into a 9x13 pan. DO NOT STIR. Bake at 350% for 50 minutes. Serve with milk or ice cream. This is very good and easy! You can use any combination of fruit and jello to make it different. Have a great day and God bless Rebekah.

add on to stromboli recipe

2010-02-24T19:41:00.002-05:00

If you triple this recipe as I do not do it to the yeast. Leave the yeast amount as you would for only one recipe.