What’s New With Us?

Hi Everybody,

I thought since it’s Christmas-time again, I would give y’all a family update.

As many of you all ready know, Josh married Caitlin in September of this year. They are now living in a small house in Troy, about 20 minutes from the Ranch. Josh is doing odds and ends construction, and Caitlin is being a awesome wife  and sister in law.

Daniel is living in a nearby fire station and is really enjoying a firefighter’s life. He is also still doing construction.

Amy is working on her last year of high school. And she is learning to play the violin from Caitlin.

I am now in high school with hopes of going to college to become a veterinarian. I am really enjoying helping run the Ranch. And, in case you haven’t guessed my favorite part of farm life is working with the animals. I have also been learning to play the guitar with Daddy and am really enjoying it.

Faith has thrown herself wholeheartedly into farm life. She  has her own brood of ducks and loves it.

Abigail and Samuel are simply enjoying the great outdoors. They love being together outside. They have discovered that work is fun when your doing what you love .

 

 

 

 

 

Mom and Dad are both doing well. Dad is working hard on the Ranch and helping with the schooling of the 5 of us that are still at home. Mom is kept on her toes with cooking, cleaning, and schooling.

 

We have been amazingly blessed this year. And we thank God for all He has done in our hearts and lives this year.

Merry Christmas from the Andersons!

Blessings, Grace

Please Join Us

Hi everyone!
Some dear friends of ours here in the area recently had their 11th! child. A little girl, named Hadley Mae. However, shortly before her birth day, the doctors told them that their precious baby girl had a condition known as Trisome [try-so-me] 13. This is genetic disorder which usually results in multiple anomalies and severe apnea. Nearly all babies with this diagnosis do not survive delivery. If they do, they are given a 5-8% chance of living more than a few hours.
Hadley Mae was born Sunday, August 11th. Not only was she born alive but today, she celebrates her 118th day of life!

Her Daddy is self employed, which makes it extremely difficult to provide for his family and be able to spend time with his baby girl. On top of that, he was just diagnosed with a severe case of double pneumonia, making it nearly impossible to work which has increased the financial strain for his family.
Would you consider joining us in supporting this dear family?
Please click here to read about Hadley Mae and donate whatever the Lord lays on your heart!

~ Amy

P.S.
Leave me a comment to let me know you’ve been by! 🙂

Bacon Seed

We got piggies again!
This time we got seven, though not all for us.
The boys are raising 5 of the them as ‘consignment pigs’. By this I mean that the boys are getting paid to raise the pigs for some friends that don’t have the land or desire to do so themselves.
There are 5 male pigs and 2 females (or sows). 4 of the males are castrated and the remaining one we hope to use as breeding stock along with 1 of the sows.
While at first we did not plan to name our animals, we decided it was easier for identification purposes. But, we try to name the food animals with food names. This being said, their names are Brat (the boar), Applesauce (our sow), Pork Chop, Sausage, Hamsen, and Little Miss, (her name is still undecided).

It’s a good thing photos don’t convey scent because they don’t smell very good!

~Amy

We’re Still Here!

To everyone who has been asking about us, we really are still here!
We did get moved in in the 24th and were able to sleep in our own beds, thanks to some dear friends who came over to help put together our beds.
It’s been a little hectic here with all the unpacking and getting ready for our first Christmas in the new house!
Also, our computer is still in a box and the internet is not up and running.
In the meanwhile, here’s a teaser picture. (The front porch in progress.)

~ Amy

Sill Plate Installation

Our men spent Saturday installing the sill plate so as to be ready for the house set on Monday. A sill plate is basically boards that go between the top of the concrete walls of the basement and the bottom of the walls of the house. The sill plate serves two basic purposes, 1: It enables the house to be bolted down more easily. (It might be a little difficult to bolt it into solid concrete!) 2: To act as a moisture barrier to prevent water from seeping up the walls of the house.

Countersinking the bolt holes in a sill plate board so that the bolt heads do not stick out above the board.

Josh positioning the next board.

Josh drilling in a bolt while Daniel holds the board down.

Daddy is hammering the bolts thru the pre-drilled holes in the sill plate and the concrete wall.

Sill plate in progress (The pink roll is Sill Seal. It acts as a barrier between the concrete walls and the boards of the sill plate.)

Daniel traversing the wall.

Almost done!

Josh is drilling in a bolt while Daniel is keeping the nut from spinning.

The completed sill plate

Just remember, TOMORROW IS HOUSE SET DAY!!

~ Amy

House Delivery Part 1

We found out Friday morning that we were only going to get two of our three trailers that day. Why? Well. . . apparently, when the workers went to put the countertop on the cabinets they did not have a man supporting the weak spot where the sink space was cut out so the countertop cracked. They were not able to fix it in time so they told us that the last (and biggest) trailer will be delivered Monday morning. (The same day as the house set.)

Also, the house company ended up parking the dormer trailer at the gas-station down the street from us Thursday evening so they could detach the truck and bring it back with the first house trailer Friday morning.

The dormer trailer parked beside the gas-station.(In case you’re wondering the dormers are laying on their backs with the windows towards the sky.)

Mr. Horne brought his bulldozer in case one of the trucks got stuck coming up the hill.

Our first view of the front of the house coming in from the road!!

Josh and Daniel taking pictures.

Crossing the creek! The man in the blue shirt beside Josh is our builder. (He was watching the wheels. They got really close to going over the edge of the driveway.)

The front door!

The back of the pod. (The white is shrink-wrap.)

The dormers crossing the creek.

As of today, (Saturday), the plan is still to set the house this Monday!

~ Amy