June 11th, 2020

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Moving Right Along

We have been busy during this quarantine and able to get a lot of work done on the house. Lots of changes coming to the homestead and family: a new baby, Isabel going to college, and soon a move-in date! Thought we would recap the highlights of the past few months.

First..family!

Baby #7 is due in early July. Dawn has been feeling great and the kids are so excited to meet their little sister!

The Fantastic Fair

This past year the kids did an amazing job at the state fair. In order to participate in the Champion Youth Program, Isabel had to compete with a different species. (She had won the maximum time for goats.) She convinced us to let her invest in sheep. She placed 4th for sheep and went on to finish 2nd overall in the round robin contest earning a spot as a State Fair Ambassador for another year.
​This was Melina's first year as a senior competitor and she did great! Placing 2nd overall for goats. We were so blessed to see them reap the harvest of all their hard work in preparing for the fair while keeping up with challenging school, dual enrollment, music, and their other commitments.

House Happenings

The house building is coming along! We finished everything on the outside and have moved onto the inside. As of June, we have completed the rough plumbing, rough electrical, insulation, and are almost done with the tongue and groove ceiling. The work has been hard but it is looking great!

Outside:

Plumbing and Electric:

Insulation and Ceiling:

The Farm:

It has been a great year with 13 baby goats born on the farm, the addition of the sheep (we decided after the fair to keep the sheep and add a ram so that we will have lambs next year) as well as the reaping the harvest from the gardens. We have enjoyed making pickles, squash casserole, and more in addition to our goat cheeses.

Garden:

Goats:

Sheep:

We have enjoyed this time of Gabe not traveling and us preparing for the new baby and house. Life is good and God is great!