A-Okay

Hey friends! It's been a wild and crazy week here on the Homestead. We have been busy trying to get our tests done before our official "spring break" started this week. Carlie is home and just found out that she will be here until May 1. She is bummed because of the unlikelihood of graduation happening on June 15. My sweet Makena Faith is a little bummed too. There is still a little hope that her homeschool graduation will still happen on May 16. She was supposed to have her Senior Sunday on May 3rd, but as of right now, we are just in a state of not knowing. We haven't ordered graduation announcements yet, because I am unsure what to put on them?  Do I send them without a date? I mean technically the ceremony itself is not what matters, she will have a diploma.  I just want her to have "all the things" like Carlie had last year.
Trey is just being Trey: funny, trying-to-get-out-of-schoolwork, Trey. He has been spending as much time outside as he can (his allergies are giving him fits and the buffalo gnats are awful- but outside is his jam). Going for Ranger rides, fishing, feeding the animals, and making Tik-Tok videos have filled his time and I presume it will more of the same this week. He has to take a pre algebra semester exam and then he can be on Spring Break!
We have pretty much cancelled everything we had coming up for the next month.
Carl is still working because farming is essiential, although it's too wet to farm right now. He has stayed busy with busy-work and hasn't complained. I only complain when he is sent in stores to pick up things and I have to wonder if those "things" are worth his (and essentially, our) health.
I find myself constantly going between not being fearful and full of anxiety and having good 'ol common sense.  Over all I feel pretty good: my anxiety is in check, we have our physical needs met, I am healthy, and I know God is in control.

This actually happened last Saturday but I am just now talking about it.

We spent the better part of the day cleaning our storage shed and barn: burning trash and old unwanted things. I had found some t-shirts that Carlie was looking for, so I brought them up to the house to go through them and stick them in the washer. As I am sitting in the floor, Carl came in the house and says, "I think I got shot". He was not really in pain and wasn't upset.  I was like,  "are you freaking kidding me?!". He showed me his upper stomach and said he threw a bag of trash from the camper into the fire and was about 5 or 6 feet away and something went off and hit him. It was, in fact, a shell. There was a hole in his short from where it hit. He wasn't gushing blood or anything but it was oozing something clear (which kind of freaked me out). We had no choice but to go to the ER to make sure there was nothing still in there. He said he felt something fall after it hit (he looked but we couldn't find it). We had to know for sure. So off we went. Of course the hospital was on lock-down, due to COVID19. We had our temperatures check and were allowed to go in. Carl went and had scans, we had to talk to the cops (considered a gunshot), and it was determined that he had nothing in him...only muscle trauma. He got a tetanus shot and was prescribed pain meds and we left. He was in minimal pain for the night but was super sore the next day. We are thankful that he is okay and that there was no one else in the ER with us (small town perks😊). 

A closer look.

Carl brought this old grain bin home from the farm. It is going to be a chicken coop. We have lots of work to do on it, but maybe it will get finished soon. I have lots of ideas for it and can't wait to expand! The FiveMungers chickens will be thrilled to have more room and hopefully our flock will be growing also!

Makena Faith and Toby.

During all of the craziness Makena found out she has a roommate for college! Her name is Megan and she is from Texas. They have texted each other ever since. I am excited for her! We are scheduled to attend early enrollment at OBU on April 18th, but I am pretty sure that is not happening.  We haven't received the official word from the college but they did send their current students home for the rest of spring semester. Maybe we will do it via Zoom? 

Hennifer Lopez is happy as can be.

Makena's cap and gown 

Out of sheer boredom we went riding Friday night.

It was good to just be out of the house. Carlie was with Caleb, so it was just Trey, Carl, Makena, and myself.  Trey loves these rides because he gets to drive. 

MJ the barn cat thinks he is the boss of the chickens. If I am at the coop,he is right there beside me. When the chickens are free grazing, he is watching them. He doesn't want to hurt them. It's as if he herds them along. Silly cat!

Every time I go outside this is how I find him🤣

Attempting to make a nutritious snack, I found a recipe that uses all of those nasty vanilla Thrive shake mixes. I love all of the other flavors but I cannot make myself choke down the vanilla. These Trive bites (basically protein balls) are super yummy and easy!

Earlier in the month I unsubscribed to many things in attempt to save money: Netflix and Hulu are no more. I did keep Amazon Prime because my music and Kindle books are included in that. Instead of watching a bunch of junk, I am proud to say that I read two books in a week. Both of them were by the same author and are considered thrillers. 

I read one of them on Kindle and one of them on Hoopla. If you don't have Hoopla you should definitely get it. All you have to have is a library card with your local library (and they have to participate in the app). You get 4 books free to read every month. It is not only ebooks, but also includes tv shows and movies, music, and audiobooks.  Awesome and free!

They were both very good. 

Now that I have given you the run-down on our life in quarantine,  I think I'll go give Trey that test and help him clean his pigsty room.

Everything is a-okay here on the homestead. We're just here... doing our thing.

Much Love,

Beth