What we've been up to lately...
I feel like it's been so long since I've posted, so I'm going to catch you up on what has been going on in our neck of the woods...
It was so nice having Ace home last week for Thanksgiving break. The week started off pretty bad though when we found our baby goat, Hopper, dead in the pasture. I'm not sure what happened but we were devastated. I had noticed on Sunday that she was sitting by herself and not following her mama and I mentioned it to DH and he thought maybe she was just getting older and more independant.
The next day, however, when he went to get something out of his workshop he noticed her in the same spot. So he went to check on her and she was already dead. There were no signs of her being atacked by another animal (we had problems with coyotes a few years ago). I didn't know what happened until I heard the mama crying like crazy and I ran to the back door and asked DH what was going on. I knew something happened to Hopper, that is the only time the mama cries, especially like that. DH had buried her and as soon as the mama couldn't see her she went nuts. She cried like someone was killing her all night long. I cried so hard. I know animals don't feel like we do but this mama knew her baby was gone and I felt so terrible for her. It was so sad. I get sick to my stomach every time I think about it.
A friend of ours who has goats said she lost 4 of hers in the past few weeks and she didn't know why. She said they got sick and their legs got wobbly and then she would find them dead shortly after. I'm wondering if that's what happened to Hopper and that's why she was sitting by herself that day instead of following the others. We'll never know I guess...
We spent the rest of the days playing outside and going on walks. We helped DH put up the last of the Christmas lights outside and we made a big pot of hot cocoa and snuggled together to watch It's a Wonderful Life.
On Thanksgiving Day, Ace and I went to our local homeless shelter and helped serve Thanksgiving dinner. It was his first time at a soup kitchen and I was really curious to see what his reaction would be. Unfortunately when we got there, they were almost finished serving so we only got to serve for about a half hour. After that we helped wrap up food for the residents who would come later that evening for the next dinner time.
Ace was sort of quiet at first but once some of the people started talking to him he opened up and then we couldn't keep him quiet. He made me promise that we would go back and help again soon. I'm hoping to start going once a month at least but sometimes my hopes aren't followed by much action. I did make plans to go back in 2 weeks which is a start. I really love volunteering but unfortunately I let life get in the way and I make excuses on why I can't go more often.
Ace & I both finished our NaNoWriMo too. I wrote over 51,000 words in November! I'm so excited! The story itself is a disaster since part of the rules were you couldn't edit anything. So I have a lot of work to do this month with it. I am guessing at least half of it will be deleted, but the point was just to get it written. Ace wrote 167 words. His goal was 150 and when I asked him what he wanted as a reward, he said a green tea frappuccino from Starbucks. Those are the only thing I drink when I treat myself to Starbucks and he loves to steal a sip or two when I'm not looking. :) So last night we went to the TGIO (Thank God It's Over) celebration and he got his reward.
I loved watching his story evolve and he will recieve a free proof of his book, which we're both really excited about. There were times when I wished he would work on it but he didn't want to and I honestly didn't know if he would finish or not but I didn't want to push him. I wanted it to be something he wanted to do on his own. And luckily, he did. He met a really sweet little boy at the TGIO party too and meeting another child who was interested in writing encouraged him even more.
Check back later on this week as I will be posting my reviews on Katherine Bolger Hyde's new children's book, St. Lucia: Saint of Light and Barbara Shukin's Journaling Throughout the Liturgical Year.
I will also be posting sign-ups and details for our annual Orthodox Children's Christmas Swap. This year we'll be swapping homemade ornaments.
Stay tuned!! :)
