GET ALOOOONG LITTLE DOGGIES!!

Wow! What a month! I didn't realize how busy of a month we had until I downloaded the pics to blog! To start the month off, we went to the Chuckwagon in Sudan for "mancakes." The most ever eaten at one sitting has been 4. So we thought we'd take the boys and see what damage they could do...seeing if they might break the record. After all, they already almost eat us out of house and home. (Can't wait to see their appetites when they are in high school!)

Sierra and Delray were really getting into the spirit! Below are pics of Benny, Noah, Hagen (Xavier's best friend), and Sierra with their order. All the boys got 2 mancakes, and Sisi got one.

Poor Hagen was making himself sick trying to finish his plate. With every bite, his mancakes seemed to grow. Finally I took his plate and sent it to the kitchen. Sisi finished her mancake before anyone at the table. Thatta girl!!

The boys had a pep rally each Thurs. afternoon before their games. The cheerleaders would cheer, the school song would be played and sung, then the boys would file past high-fiving students and parents. This specific picture is the only I got the whole season of Xavier in the line. I tried and tried, but he always eluded me. Then the boys rallied to encourage each other. It was pretty cool to see. Benny and I are flying blind now that Xavier's in Jr. High. I feel like the Rookie mom again, just as I did when he started Kinder. There's so many new things we are having to learn about. They didn't win much this season, but they sure gave their hearts!


They found these masks at the Goodwill. Any guesses who's underneath?

Our niece Ally was baptized last month. It's a wonderful feeling to see the faith of a child. It's wonderful to see the babies we love invite Jesus in their hearts!

It's a running joke that we operate the "farm of death." Benny and the kiddos love animals. You've probably learned that from the previous blogs. A friend gave us a dozen hens & roosters. We're excited about the hens, because they're old enough to lay eggs. But the roosters are another story. The two in the picture above are twins. Benny named them "Lunch" and "Supper." They haven't lived up to their names yet, but I'm sure they will in time. With new "inmates," more guards are needed...that's where "Dug" comes in. She's Benny's new patrol dog. It'll take awhile to train her, but eventually she'll be as good of a dog as Milkshake.

Nancy's picture here is at her "congratulations" party for her new job. She finally got to come home, and we were sure glad to have her back. Please continue to pray their house in Del Rio will sell.

Last but not least is the picture of my birthday breakfast in bed. Benny made sure the kiddos didn't forget my birthday morning since he was at the fire station. Looking above, you can know without a doubt that Noah is our "mini-Benny." Noah asked me to get back in bed and pretend to be asleep. After a little bit, I heard Sisi say, "Noah, you're going to burn half the house down."

Noah replied calmly, "I have it under control." Those are words a mom never wants to hear while she is forced to play possum! There are 34 candles on 1 small waffle. Thank God that He has angels to save us from ourselves, huh?

The next day was Benny's birthday, and we served him breakfast in bed. He had frozen turtle pie and egg nog. Not the normal breakfast, but then again, we've never been accused of being normal!

THE TRUE SUPERMAN

JUST FINISHING BUSINESS

TICKLES ARE ALWAYS ABUNDANT!!

LOVIN THE DADDY HUGS!!

WAITING FOR WORK!

READY FOR ACTION!!

ALWAYS READY TO CARRY HIS BRIDE

TEA PARTY WITH THE PRINCESS
HELD WITH ONE HAND!

HERE'S OUR MINI-BENNY

DADDY/DAUGHTER DANCE

STILL HOLDIN' ON!

BABY BIKER BABY!

It's been quite awhile since I've blogged. Sorry to keep you waiting. I've known what I'd post this time, but had trouble getting it in.

This post is dedicated to My Superman. When Benny and I dated, he signed everything "Superman." It's been a running theme throughout our marriage. Benny truly is a FANTASTIC husband, lover, provider, protector, and best friend. He's also a father who is making memories the kids will cherish forever. This post won't be long, mainly pictures to enjoy. Thanks for visiting my post again. It's a pleasure to blog.

Honey, since you'll be the first one reading this...

THANK YOU FOR BEING YOU!!

I love you and don't tell you enough how much I admire and appreciate you!

SHMILY,

Me

Creepy Crawlies

Wow! I can't believe it's time for school again! What a summer! The two pics above are the last swim & playday before school started. It's been awhile since I've blogged. Life seems like a roller coaster, ups, downs, and it never slows to let us off.

The creepy and crawlies are really on the move. Seems like everytime we go outside the boys catch something. Most of the pictures are self-explanatory. At least I don't have to worry about the kids keeping them. We have found horny toads, snakes, crickets, a baby MOLE, lizards, and of course there's Hammy. There's never a lack of creepies to be hunted around here. But I can sleep better knowing the boys can't keep them. Eventually they have to be released...unless they go AWOL and we never find them. We do have a couple of snakes that have gotten away. When the kids were smaller I picked up Noah's sleeping bag to roll it up after a sleepover. It seemed too heavy, and I figured out that was because there was a HUGE toad inside. Noah had slept with it in this sleeping bag. We're absolutely sure that we named that little man right.

You might be a redneck if the neighbor comes to get supper in a tractor. Well, at least we're in good company. Odd recognizes odd!

We do have a new resident. Rastus joined the funny farm last week. Pay close attention to his eyes. They remind us of a tired old man. His eyes seem hazel, and unlike the other pigs' eyes. He's only a couple of months older than the girls, but he weighs close to 100 lbs. He is ALOT of pig! He had had a long trip here , and was so tired when he got here, we had to literally dump him out of the kennel. The three little pigs are no longer the three musketeers. Now they remind me of the nursery rhyme of the pig that squealed "wee, wee, wee" all the way home. A friend gave us a bunch of apples, and they each make sure they get more than their fair share. One evening this week, we threw apples to them, and Rastus was after an apple that Porkchop wanted. She jumped him and and latched onto his ear. I believe we could have had a hippie hog with an earring if we wanted to. But we don't want him to get a complex, so we'll just stick with the traditional notches in their ears. Rastus sleeps across the dog house, and the girls sleep behind him. They don't seem to mind, unless we're yelling "Soo-wee." They're learning to come to call. Their ears flap when they're excited and running. Benny weighed the girls. Porkchop weighed 60 lbs, Sausage weighed 70 lbs, and Sowly weighed 80 lbs. I've truly never had animals who grew so fast. They're sure little porkers!!

Xavier started football this year. He's having a blast! His position is the strong-side guard and outside linebacker. I haven't seen Benny so excited about anything in the past. I'm glad he is. It gives him and Xavier something special in common. He looks just like a little man, and I can't stand it that he's growing up so fast! That little toot! Can't keep them young forever!

AWOL & Getting Even

This week has been like most of our other weeks. Some good...some bad...and some ugly.

We woke Monday morning to sobbing and frantic searching. Sierra's pet hampster "Hammy" had escaped. He had gone AWOL and was nowhere to be found! (Sisi is like the girl on the animaniacs who says, "I'll love you ad hug you and squeeze you and call you George..." Here's a picture of her with our poor five year old Poodle Champ who has been a good sport WAY too long!) We looked and looked, but to no avail. We put a little bowl of food and water out, and set Hammy's wheel on the floor by Sisi's bed. The rest of the day was tragic, and Sierra mourned her loss.

Last weekend brought more rain. We've been praying for rain for the crops at Circleback. God has opened the heavens, and Rusty and Billy can't remember a year their crops looked so good. On the flip side, though, our driveway is hard dirt. When it rains, it's soft dirt. When it floods, it's nothing short of mud pie. Monday afternoon, I got our van stuck in the driveway so deep, the mud came up to the bottom of the van doors. No one could visit, and no one could escape. Since Benny was at the fire station, we got to wait until he came in to pull me out. One word of advice...always follow the ruts...don't try to make new ones!

Things rocked along until this weekend. Enter the ugly part... Benny's dad ordered cattle to run out on the land he bought from Pop. Being a Baker, Deck is the culprit who passed the "Baker luck" to us. His cattle came 11 hours late. They had to unload in the dark. He didn't get as many cattle as he ordered, and 15 were bulls instead of steer. In order to sell them for beef, they needed to be castrated to fatten them up. Weekend before last, Benny and Deck tried to bulldog the cattle against the fence, but they were too wild. So last weekend, Deck and Dexter built a chute to pin them in. This weekend, the plans were to castrate the steers and tag all of their ears. Benny, Deck, Nancy, Xavier, Noah, and Bo (a cousin) took the challenge. A few hard knocks and a FULL day of work later, all the steers sang soprano. Noah got bucked off the four wheeler and shot a few FEET in the air. He also got a couple of cattle that backed against the closing gate he was holding that put goose eggs on his head. He's a tough one, and hung in there. Benny got kicked in the knee, and that sent him over the deep end. From what I can tell by the stoires, he picked a 300+ lb. bull up off the ground and threw him in the chute after it kicked Benny in the knee. Both are quarantined today with the mad cow disease, but expected to make a full recovery!

Church went well today. We had a good crowd. Everyone was feeling better, and it was a good worship service.

We all got naps and aren't as cranky now. After we had some wits about us, we noticed a piece under the edge of the couch chewed up. Because of the fibro, I have trouble getting in the floor. So Benny lifted the couch, and I held it there. Guess who we found?!?!?!? HAMMY!!! He was curled up under the couch in a pocket of lining. Needless to say, Hammy's in solitary confinement again, and Sierra's once again happy to have a pet to pamper.

So all's well at the Baker house once again. Hammy's safe and the kids are hornery as ever. We have 349 hours and 4 minutes until school starts, and counting down! Have a great rest of the summer!

THE PIG RODEO...

WHAT A CRAZY MONTH!!!

A tumor surgery (on my mom),

2 VBSes,

4 sleepovers,

a broken laptop,

a bad sunburn,

and ALMOST having two fewer children (due to fighting) later...

I blog again!

A week or so ago, Benny found a queen cell on the hive. He knocked it off. I have included a picture. It is truly cool! God is amazing! He created so much more than we can imagine!! His wonders never cease to amaze me! But I guess Benny missed another queen cell. George decided the hive was too small to accomodate all of the bees. Benny went to check them the other day, and they had swarmed...onto the peach tree. Ben got his bee vaccuum and sucked them up. He put them back in the hive, but they stayed on the entrance in a ball. Later, they were back at the peach tree. We won't know if our tenants checked out, or went back to the hive that time. Benny will check it next week, and we'll find out then.

I went out to the pigpen with the boys today, and the pigs are GINORMOUS!! The term "eating like a pig" must have been coined by a pig farmer. They lay in the trough to keep the other's from eating, and I guess that makes it "dine-in." We let the pigs out in the pasture today. The weeds are so tall, we can just see the weeds moving. Noah's pig is the most venturous. It's been shocked several times, and now I know where "squealing like a pig" came from! When she gets shocked, she just runs full speed ahead until she runs into something. Our little Pippin thinks she's a pig now. Poor Pippin! She'll never realize she's a barbado!

Xavier followed the pigs into the goat barn, and discovered our game rooster having trouble breathing. We don't know if he was choking on something, or if he'd been sick before. One thing I did know is that I refuse to try CPR on a bird!! Things turned bad for him in a hurry. After a minute or so, Xavier had to put him out of his misery. Xavier stepped on his head and pulled his body to break it's neck. Took three times. I don't know who I felt the most sorry for... Xave or the rooster.

In the meantime, Noah mounted the llama. Kusko was determined not to move. Noah was able to sit on him for about 10 minutes, and got a small ride. But nothing major.

Oh yeah...remember those pigs grazing? I didn't remember them. They ended up out in the pasture with the barbadoes, and we had to have a pig rodeo!! By the time we were through killing the rooster, riding the llama, and chasing the pigs all over, we were all tuckered out! What a day! And all after Benny went in to the station at 4:00! Things always happen when he's gone! Imagine that!

Benny said there are only 2 women in this world who will do some of the things we do, or did. One gave him life, and the other's his wife! The kids are fighting, and my bubble bath calls! Calgon take me away!!!

THE GIRLS HAVE ARRIVED!

MY! MY! What a week!! Our farm has been thrown into utter confusion! Last time I wrote, we were waiting on three sows to arrive. Benny and the boys left at 7:00 a.m. last Tuesday morning, and got home about midnight. They drove all day long, and were tuckered out when they got in. Let me give you an update for the last few days...

* Got the "Girls" adjusted to their new home

* Benny's worked 48 hours overtime

* I lost the diamond in my wedding ring (no clue when or where)

* Had sleepover at our house with 8 kiddos

* Came home and Henny Penny was on our sidewalk with a broken neck

* Had to give Bounce (our boxer) away; she was the reason for the broken neck above

* Popped firecrackers with Grandma & Papa

* Took Champ (poodle) to Chris (vet), and his kneecap pops in and out of place; common for small purebred dogs

* Benny refused to talk to George, and now they're giving him the silent treatment, go figure!

* Got eyeliner tatooed

* All three kids got their brown belts in karate

* AND GAVE THE GIRLS THEIR FIRST BATH!

The pigs we got are called "Red Waddles." There aren't many in the U.S., so they're somewhat rare. Benny's pig is named "Porkchop." She's the smallest of the three. Xavier's pig is named "Gabby." She's the talker of the bunch. She yells and squeals, but strangest of all, she squeaks. Sounds like a squeaky toy when she's happy. Last but not least, Noah's pig is "Sowly." (Pun intended!) All seem healthy and happy. Sowly is the fattest, Gabby is the loudest, and Porkchop seems like the leader. The others follow her.

I think Benny's in love. He called the other morning, and first thing asked how his pig did in the storm we had the night before. The kids and I were still in bed when he called, so I wasn't completely awake. I ask Benny each day what I can do to make his day better. He wanted me to wake one of the kids up to check on his pig. What's up with that?!?!?! He's found a new love, and truly, I'm not worried. She looks, smells, and screams like a pig. This crush better pass!!

We have a great pyranese named Milkshake. She is a wonderful dog (now), and is already taking care of them. Porkchop got out Saturday, and Milkshake was trying to herd her back into the pen. Between me and the 8 kiddos, we got the wire fixed, and we've had no more escapees. All are present and accounted for.

I've been in the field all day, and tonight I'm pretty tired. I have a rheumy appointment in the morning, gotta leave here at 6:30 a.m., so I'm going to sign off. Sweet dreams!!

P.S. Included a picture of a web. Everytime I see one out at the pen, I think of Charlotte's web! It's even got a picture of Wilbur in the background!!