(my five-year-old granddaughter, Katie)

 Hello!

To paraphrase a verse in Lamentations, "His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness."  What an awesome promise to begin the New Year with.

Winter hit with full force here in the TN mountains when it came. Our heat pump froze up Christmas Eve Sunday afternoon- thankfully we had our family Christmas the weekend before. Dana was able to go to church that morning for the first time in over three months. Christmas day passed by in a blur as for two days and nights I toted wood, emptied ashes, and filled the wood stoves every couple of hours sleeping on the couch at night in order to have heat.  Then last weekend, due to the continual frigid temperatures, the water in the radiator of our vehicle froze.  Dwight worked on thawing, draining water, and adding more antifreeze. So I was unable to get to church the first Sunday of the year. Such a crazy time!

On the farm end, besides still toting wood etc. I've also been busy keeping the heated water dishes filled each day and putting more straw out for the chickens and ducks to make sure they stay warm enough. I let the five half-grown guinea hen chicks out with the rest of the chickens in the hen house as I didn't have another heated water dish to keep their water from freezing and they are doing just fine. At first the chickens didn't know what to think of five small dark bodies racing around trying to snuggle under their feathers was all about. You could tell where the guinea hen chicks were by the hens suddenly squawking, jumping up in the air, and flapping their feathers, but things have settled down nicely once more.

So glad we are having a bit of a break from the arctic temperatures this week, but winter has just begun. 

Stay warm on your end and I'll keep the fires going on mine.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

PS: We didn’t take a family picture at Christmas this year like usual as Dawn’s husband, Randy, was unable to come as he had to stay with his father, who is dying of cancer.  Here are the grand-kids, who are growing so fast. 

William, Annette, and Case with Katie in the back.

 

One of the half-grown chicks that was hatched out of an egg this summer.

  The half-grown guinea hen chicks.