It is crazy to think that we have no puppies right now. We are waiting for the arrival of our spring litters...and it feels so empty. In God's timing, it actually is a blessing. We are in the final stages of getting the rest of the kids' show animals. This is no easy task. Next week, we will be anxiously waiting for a phone call from the USPS. Jackson wanted to show chickens, so we purchased a wide variety of egg layers.
The heifers the kids plan on showing from last fall's crop were weaned on February 4th. They have been in the barn for 3 full weeks & have come such a long ways. With the warm weather, they have been getting washed, dried & conditioned on a daily basis. We have the first spring show set for April 14 and you better believe I have been reminding the kids of it.
All of Sydney's pigs have arrived. I think there are 5 in the barn...maybe? I don't really know. Jackson really wants a Chester, so Wade is on the hunt. I told Wade to just get any pink pig, such as a Yorkshire. Jackson won't even know that his ears are up & not down. But, he says no...so he is watching for a sale.
The last thing we are waiting on is rabbits. This is Jackson's first year in regular 4-H. That means he can actually show & compete for placings. Rabbits have been shown in a much lower key fashion than anything else we do. Well this year, that all changes. We are looking forward to learning & helping Jackson along the way.
Dog obedience practice will be starting this month as well. Jackson & Junior have been working for short periods of time every day. When I take Junior on a walk, I make him halt, heel & sit every five or six telephone poles. It really helps him to get into the mentality of focusing & listening to commands. When we start running, he literally pulls me so I have to start running faster! Win win for both! Sydney is still on the fence about weather or not she will be showing a dog...little does she know I am not giving her a choice.
Waiting for the comment section on that one...me forcing my kid to do something. Guess what? I made her do it last year & she won. She was named the Top Junior Dog Handler and Dolly was named Top Dog. I mean, really, am I that bad of a mom that I push my kid to do something knowing she has the ability & talent for it? I remember when someone told me that they thought I would be good at it. It was something I would have never thought of doing on my own, & I took their advice & I was. It is all a learning process & I am hoping to help both my kids learn along the way.
As I head into the month of March, I am really going to try to embrace this season. This is a time of crazy, busy insanity & sometimes I get so caught up that I feel so very overwhelmed...hence God's timing to have no puppies for us this month. I am going to focus on the growth that my kids show everyday & help them to see things they can work on just a little bit.
Here to a whole new season,
Elly
