tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-113784312024-03-07T17:33:52.947-05:00Country Girl Always and Forever...A journal of my day-to-day life on the farm, raising my 2 beautiful children, and spending as much quality time with my beloved husband and family, and a time table for me to keep track of when things actually happened!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comBlogger398125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-32318016002913858902010-01-11T06:45:00.000-05:002014-02-25T15:34:33.896-05:00Starting anew...Wow, it certainly does not feel like the first day of a new year...a new decade at that, but I certainly need a new start! 2009 was certainly not the best of times, but I want to move forward from the negatives of the last year and look to the possibilities of the future ahead. I am not totally clear what the Lord's plan is for me, but I do look forward to working more closely with Tony to build a successful business, maybe find something part time until spring, and just spend more quality time with the kids.<br />
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We managed to stay up until midnight last night, as Gabe and Sophia had their cousin <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Jaxxon</span> over to spend the night, Tony and I can't remember the last time we stayed up to watch the New Year start! We did share a bottle of sparkling cider with the kids (something we remember fondly doing when we first started dating).<br />
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I need to work on rebuilding some family relationships that have become broken over the past year.<br />
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I also want to continue to study the Bible and learn about my short-comings and how to improve myself, my first Woman's Bible Study starts in just a few weeks and I look forward to learning more about the book of Psalms.<br />
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We finished cleaning up all the Christmas decorations and I think I got most of the pine needles vacuumed from the living room carpeting, we finished building my new desk and I am looking forward to my new computer arriving on Monday.<br />
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The kids and Tony and I built a new stand for the tables in the veggie house I will be working PT prepping the veggies for Chelsea to pack and the tables were too low before <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">and</span> it would hurt my back and neck so now that should no longer be a problem!<br />
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So hello 2010, and thanks for giving me a fresh start!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-61166656534629110052009-12-11T06:46:00.000-05:002014-02-25T15:32:59.895-05:00FIREDToday was my last day at a company that I helped to build from the ground up...<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">working</span> late into the nights when I was pregnant with Gabriel, keeping him in the store while I worked and Tony worked in the processing plant, back in the days when we weren't sure the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">company</span> was ever going to make it, but it did make it, and 8 years later Tony and myself are now gone from the company that we knew from the inside out, it is pretty devastating!<br />
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The creamery is fine, but Tony left for his reasons and I was fired. This is not the first time my family has fired me (I guess I am a sucker for punishment)...I worked hard, was honest and did my job to the best of my ability, I took great pride in my work but it was never appreciated. I don't wish any ill-will on South Mountain Creamery, but it is time for me to move on.<br />
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Being that it is a family business, I currently have no family, how do you have a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">relationship</span> with the very people that accuse you of being dishonest and trying to ruin the very business we built from the ground up?<br />
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I was in such a dark place all afternoon and I had to find some peace so I started reading the book of James, it spoke volumes to me! I realized that I said some pretty horrible things to my family and I need to apologize, not that this will heal the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">relationship</span> because frankly it has been shaky for many, many years, but at least I know that I am right with God and I am trying to change my wrongdoings.<br />
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Here are a few versus that spoke to me;<br />
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"My dear brothers and sisters, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Your anger can never make things right in God's sight." James 2:19-20<br />
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"So also, the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And the tongue is a flame on fire. It is full of wickedness that can ruin your whole life." James 3: 5-6<br />
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"So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. wash your hands you sinner; purify your hearts you hypocrites. Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor." James 4: 7-10Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-12292098845664234952009-10-13T09:20:00.003-04:002009-10-13T09:46:35.198-04:00Highlights from the Nashville WeddingTony was "cavity searched" at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">BWI</span> airport because he forgot that he was carrying his box cutter on his belt.<br /><br />We flew Southwest Airlines and did not realize that it was a "free for all" seating, we were some of the last to board the aircraft and therefore did not get to sit together on our way to Nashville.<br /><br />We upgraded our rental car from a Ford Escape to a brand new black Chevy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Camero</span> (very fun, and it got us LOTS of attention in downtown Nashville)<br /><br />Had an outdoor picnic at Beth and Jeff's on the first night where I got bit by a mosquito (?) and then my entire wrist swelled up from it and it is not FINALLY not itching anymore! My allergies to bug bites seem to be getting worse!<br /><br />Tony and all the groomsmen went bar hopping and got home sometime after 2:00 am. Tony got a new nickname from the guys of the band "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">TAGSBRUSCO</span>" (because they did not know who he was prior to the wedding, but they would see our email address on <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">correspondence</span> back and forth when the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">bachelor</span> party was being planned)<br /><br />Beth and all of us went to a really trendy bar called Patterson House (which from the outside you would NEVER think was a bar), what makes this place really special is that all the drinks are made from scratch (they fresh squeeze the juice, and make all their own syrups)...even the ice in our glass was special as mine was a globe shaped ball of ice. I really hit it off with another girl (Erin) from MD that knew Jeff from college and we hung out the entire weekend together.<br /><br />Friday, Tony and I shopped at 2 different malls where I bought a "<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Nashville</span> outfit" as we both felt so <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">under dressed</span> walking around town. Everyone in Nashville seems to be dressed to the nine's all the time, so my outfit is my <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">souvenir</span> from the trip the only think I didn't get was a pair of cowboy boots (because you wear them with everything) and then walked around the beautiful <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Opryland</span> Hotel. (we had been there before when we were dating and it has changed <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">alot</span>...definitely a place I would want to stay if we travel to Nashville again)<br /><br />We attended the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">rehearsal</span> and then it was off to the dinner at a place called "Rumor's East"...where they had a tent set-up outside for about 60 people. We sat with 3 of the band members and their wives/girlfriends and really had a wonderful time. We were introduced to some southern favorites like fried okra and shrimp and grits...very yummy! All of the wedding party stood up to say kind words about Beth and Jeff and there was not a dry eye in the room. Tony even shared a childhood story about rescuing Jeff from a test hole at their house in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Darnestown</span> by using a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">vacuum</span> cleaner.<br /><br />Saturday we hung out at the hotel as Tony had to be at the church by 3:00 pm and the ceremony was not until 6:30, so I had lots of time to kill. I got a ride over to the church with Jeff's parents.<br /><br />The ceremony was beautiful, there were 12 girls and 8 guys in the wedding party. The ceremony took about 25 minutes and then we waited for the pictures to be taken afterwards.<br /><br />The reception was held at Cannery Ballroom. It reminded me of an old warehouse that was converted into a reception hall. Dinner was served <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">buffet</span> style and then they had a live band of guys that they travel with while they are on tour. At about 11:00 pm the band wanted a break, so The Lost Trailers played 3 songs for all of us (it was AMAZING).<br /><br />When it was time for Jeff and Beth to leave we all got sparklers (like the ones you use on the 4<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">th</span> of July) and we lined up outside in 2 lines with the sparklers lit as they came out to get in their antique car to drive away!<br /><br />We headed out to the airport early Sunday morning and were able to score seats together on the airplane home! <br /><br />Our trip to Nashville will be one we both remember for a very long time!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-87318433418844294042009-09-01T08:35:00.004-04:002009-09-01T08:57:17.179-04:00A bad start for Sophia...Oh my, our drama queen <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">strikes</span> again...it all started with the outfit she had on this morning, she did not think the pants matched the top so we went round and round and finally I gave up and let her change her clothes (it was black pants that apparently did not match the pink shirt she had on, however the brown ones do...go figure on that one!)<br /><br />Next it was the chocolate milk I didn't make right...we were out of chocolate milk so I told her I would make her "magic milk" (white milk with chocolate syrup)...we were almost out of the syrup in the bottle so I poured the milk into the bottle and allowed her to shake it up...things seemed fine at this point...then I squirted all the now chocolate milk into her cup and she totally lost it...she WANTED to do that part...<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">OMG</span>!!<br /><br />Now onto her lunch...<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">yesterday</span> because I was not feeling well she packed not only her lunch but Gabe's too, and she apparently does it in some way that I don't, because today when I PACKED it her sandwich was <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">mushed</span>! She realized this when we were sitting at the bus stop (why we need to open our lunch box and inspect our lunch at 8:00 in the morning is beyond me) and again she lost it, she had her lunch thrown all over the backseat of the car...it was totally ruined in her opinion, at this point I was about to lose it, and I spanked her bottom and told her to get over herself and put her lunch back in her lunch bag and back in her backpack. When the bus arrived she was in "rare form" and I had to practically carry her kicking and screaming <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">acrossed</span> the street and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">onto</span> the bus...our bus driver is so sweet...she told me to put her on and she would get her safely to school...I am curious to hear how things turned out...<br /><br />I also called the school to give them a heads-up that she was coming and was not happy about it...they said no problem they would make sure she had a good day...so glad she goes to such a wonderful school!<br /><br />On a completely unrelated note she calls a fly swatter a fly slapper...thought that was cute and needed to be remembered!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-76005101047383225672009-08-16T19:27:00.003-04:002009-12-12T11:18:50.895-05:00Shopping at the Columbia Mall....I can't tell you the last time we as a family have walked the mall and freely bought whatever our hearts desire was...well today we did!!<br /><br /><br /><br />Sophia got new sneakers at L.L. Bean, (I wanted a new pair too but they did not have my size) and her Halloween costume and lunch bag at the Disney store.<br /><br /><br /><br />Tony and Gabe got a new remote controlled helicopter from Brookstone.<br /><br /><br /><br />I bought a bunch of new kitchen gadgets at Williams Sonoma and Chef Imporium, as well as a box of chocolates at Godiva, and a new make-up brush at bareMinerals.<br /><br /><br /><br />We finished up the day with a yummy lunch at P.F. Changs.Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-82499318324120946642009-08-15T19:31:00.002-04:002009-12-12T11:18:34.072-05:001st Annual South Mountain Creamery Company PicnicTony and I went all out on this one, we had LIVE music, more food than anyone could care to eat, fresh cut french fries, a dunking booth, horseshoes and volleyball. We had a wonderful turnout, and everyone commented on what a great time they had, the event ended with a hayride to our farms on Marker and Mt Church Rd. We look forward to celebrating our successes again next summer!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-37286039458865322732009-08-13T19:47:00.005-04:002009-08-22T19:45:29.462-04:00William Ausherman Sowers 9-11-28 thry 8-8-2009This week as pretty much been a blur to me and my family...my beloved Pappy passed away on Saturday evening at around 6:15 with my Grandma, my Dad, Uncle Phil and Uncle Matt around his bedside. Tony and the kids and I were in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Williamsburg</span> on a vacation of sorts when we got the call and immediately came home.<br /><br />Pappy had been battling kidney cancer since around January of this year, he tried a few rounds of chemo but only having one kidney made this too hard on him so he decided to quit the treatments and ultimately pass away in his home surrounded by family.<br /><br />Being that the last time I lost a close relative was when I was 4 and it was my Dad's brother Doug (and I don't remember anything about it, except for the fact my nose bled the night it happened all over my bed), this last week has been extremely tough and exhausting. Who knew all the arrangements that go into a funeral? Who will be the pastor, what will Pappy wear for all Eternity, what music will we sing in his honor, who will carry the casket from the church to the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">grave site</span>, how will my kids react, how will I react? This was all so new to me...the heartbreak of watching my Grandma bury her <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">soul mate</span> and now will be living alone, I can't even begin to imagine that!<br /><br />Gabe and Sophia seemed OK until the day of the funeral, when we all walked up to the casket one last time, it hit them hard that he was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">truly</span> gone from this earth, I think that was the worst part for Tony and I...and also to see my Daddy cry for his Daddy was pretty rough too.<br /><br />Oh, Pap (my nickname for you) and you called me "your girl" I miss you so much, you made me the person that I am today, you LOVED everyone you met, you loved all of your grandchildren and great grandchildren, you worked hard to provide for Grandma even on your deathbed you bought a new stove for Grams because you did not want her to be cold this winter (like we would EVER let that happen)! Your beautiful garden never got planted this year because you did not have energy to plant and tend to it. You loved to feed my children candy and send them home with candy (even though they had not had their dinner yet)...so many of my memories of you are sharing what you had with others, be it the vegetables from your garden or the fresh clean water from your spring house you were always doing God's work...I hope that I can be half the person you were.<br /><br />I will always love you, may you no longer be in any pain, and be <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">in comfort</span> up alongside the angels in heaven, I WILL see you again!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-57478545703088055332009-04-12T07:06:00.002-04:002009-04-15T07:38:02.409-04:00Happy Easter!<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-i6DcK9xRTMJ433j6gRQWgOSwpyWUXuVuGNHq8Hm4sTkUuqO9nl-RVEvZlNiE2MSxM_1LjYOg-062sG7ntCULIFEzGB-6N8DTxb9ARfeTrWMLc2EXgbWSgLutJLwRrvWA19yB/s1600-h/Starred+Photos.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-i6DcK9xRTMJ433j6gRQWgOSwpyWUXuVuGNHq8Hm4sTkUuqO9nl-RVEvZlNiE2MSxM_1LjYOg-062sG7ntCULIFEzGB-6N8DTxb9ARfeTrWMLc2EXgbWSgLutJLwRrvWA19yB/s400/Starred+Photos.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />Easter kindof snuck up on us this year...I guess with everything else going on it was almost forgotten entirely! Spring Break started for us on Wednesday of last week, as long as the weather was nice the kids came outside with us for most of the days. On Wednesday night we dyed eggs. On Thursday night Gabe got invited to spend the night at Aaron's house (a neighbor up the street), so then Sophia wanted to spend the night someplace so I took her over to Grandma and Granddaddy's house.<br /><br />While Tony was running errands earlier in the week I had him pick up a few goodies for the kids' baskets, and I went ahead and ordered candy from <a href="http://www.seescandy.com/">See's</a> for all the grandparents and great grandparents (plus a box for Tony and I) the candy is so good I just couldn't resist! Tony surprised me with this lens for our camera!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnDRJ7JFDVYYPvR12fjlGiNohJN1K0xijmLUyq_uHUH19zY8uOU7BDGpXpG8ehZFWf3Fsobxp2h5KrXtsHQYYhWBMFWGZhdWDx5s9x8_6Wk_qm8exTOT5TXSOtko6S_THO4khW/s1600-h/41Xedpi5HFL__SL160_AA115_.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324880684433704738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 115px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 115px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnDRJ7JFDVYYPvR12fjlGiNohJN1K0xijmLUyq_uHUH19zY8uOU7BDGpXpG8ehZFWf3Fsobxp2h5KrXtsHQYYhWBMFWGZhdWDx5s9x8_6Wk_qm8exTOT5TXSOtko6S_THO4khW/s400/41Xedpi5HFL__SL160_AA115_.jpg" border="0" /></a> Mom and Dad had house guests in town (relatives from WV) so Sophia and Gabe had cousins to play with...we even let Sophia spend the night at Nana and Poppy's house on Easter night so that Kendra and her could spend somemore time together.<br /><br />On Easter morning I went over to get her and then when we came back home she hunted for her basket and the eggs they dyed earlier in the week, at around 11:00 am we headed over to Gram's to get ready for Easter dinner. All the cousins got to play together and the adults chatted.<br /><br />After we got Grams' house was cleaned up we came home and moved a few loads of wood.Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-63514197903423374882009-04-10T18:13:00.003-04:002009-04-12T18:24:31.269-04:00History in the making...Today our creamery celebrated its 8 year anniversary so Mom went and got a sheet cake, nuts and sodas to serve to all the customers who came into the store today! Who would have ever imagined that we would be such a HUGE success today, it is such a enormous blessing!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPQkkKSjMKy4NW2C53ftjl3QcfG8LI7jvJ7L3naJT3REKdM-ifC9hNXCdPmkoYRgC9SjzIO7Opx9ecjEXJ1f4a7vQ_BAAsHfGnrx22tOO2AmdlaGgIg8gVH3GGN9RIxN8qwEp/s1600-h/April+2009+459.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323932555177941458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 268px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPQkkKSjMKy4NW2C53ftjl3QcfG8LI7jvJ7L3naJT3REKdM-ifC9hNXCdPmkoYRgC9SjzIO7Opx9ecjEXJ1f4a7vQ_BAAsHfGnrx22tOO2AmdlaGgIg8gVH3GGN9RIxN8qwEp/s400/April+2009+459.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Today we also had our first ever training with our new crew from Virginia Beach. Lisa our GM drove up with our first driver Nathan (who drove for Yoders for 8.5 years)and we gave them the grand tour of our facilities, talked to them about our history, should them how to use the admin side of the website and gave Lisa her laptop and both Lisa and Nathan company cell phones. When they left at 3:00 pm Nathan was driving our first truck to its new home at the Virginia Beach Farm Market (until we get our lease signed at our store front and commercial storage facility). Mom and Dad will be driving our first shipment of milk down on Tuesday afternoon and will be assisting with deliveries on Wednesday as well as taking care of getting papers signed with the city.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfw_V_bhlhr9p-uHfrRBH6XEfJxB1UsH6THjX7iEfkFkCruahFGRG0rv39U8xmTmJoBXPt943YNcmvx7c-sjXXAZIEGKq5CeS2R_Bwsz49UXnWYGigGOlJiyd8dcAEQVAiZXhZ/s1600-h/April+2009+455.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323932557999268658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfw_V_bhlhr9p-uHfrRBH6XEfJxB1UsH6THjX7iEfkFkCruahFGRG0rv39U8xmTmJoBXPt943YNcmvx7c-sjXXAZIEGKq5CeS2R_Bwsz49UXnWYGigGOlJiyd8dcAEQVAiZXhZ/s400/April+2009+455.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2vV4lfC3tTxm9aMLE-gMm7B83rpHWofR6IuPAX8lkvn_Yx9wItexqg_mBKH6EkCMUdCUtH7VoM8SmfICfCs3OjlMp5ozgt9kXNkX0sRYt6uSO1AL7xvj7ZsdxYWQ2ZMOJ8GsT/s1600-h/April+2009+463.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323932546497737266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 268px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2vV4lfC3tTxm9aMLE-gMm7B83rpHWofR6IuPAX8lkvn_Yx9wItexqg_mBKH6EkCMUdCUtH7VoM8SmfICfCs3OjlMp5ozgt9kXNkX0sRYt6uSO1AL7xvj7ZsdxYWQ2ZMOJ8GsT/s400/April+2009+463.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />As I watched our truck head down the road I couldn't help but feel excited and a bit apprehensive of what the future holds for us...<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiQhFpfcWLzcPQi-Vae3o5TtffToTVtr90jYUVl51QWcJOgkyMS7ZILj9ODkFIDnU8_qFGRpIooF_FdIc8mZQXGQlgjuEfUyfzKBM2XZdJumrg_jfc1NHE5KAa9aly-ATU9i2A/s1600-h/April+2009+470.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323932540713626306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 268px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiQhFpfcWLzcPQi-Vae3o5TtffToTVtr90jYUVl51QWcJOgkyMS7ZILj9ODkFIDnU8_qFGRpIooF_FdIc8mZQXGQlgjuEfUyfzKBM2XZdJumrg_jfc1NHE5KAa9aly-ATU9i2A/s400/April+2009+470.jpg" border="0" /></a>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-6917260851031625592009-04-09T10:12:00.000-04:002009-04-13T17:33:23.210-04:00Feeding the steers at Old Hagerstown<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6I5nMGMihpmTaERFt3DGnuZk_OVHnak3MkmNm41_dJLTAdLQ1iDZuLocesolOSbgExo-uoL0Hg0CadznNPWkUNNTIT_2bym_hO4yTzgaqPIffg2jA8-cG8bz2BMAmvoIBaE6u/s1600-h/Recently+Updated.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6I5nMGMihpmTaERFt3DGnuZk_OVHnak3MkmNm41_dJLTAdLQ1iDZuLocesolOSbgExo-uoL0Hg0CadznNPWkUNNTIT_2bym_hO4yTzgaqPIffg2jA8-cG8bz2BMAmvoIBaE6u/s400/Recently+Updated.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />We farm in total about 1200 acres of which about half we own. We refer to the different farms by their location. Old <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Hagerstown</span> refers to the road name of the farm that we rent. We keep all of our beef steers at this farm to finish them off before they go to become the beef that we sell <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">thru</span> our home delivery and dairy store. We raise Holstein and Brown Swiss cross cattle.<br /><br />Each evening my parents go to the farm and feed the steers, sometimes Sophia or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Jereamiah</span> will tag along to ride with Poppy in the skid loader. My Dad will take 3 large scoops of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">ensilage</span> (chopped corn, and corn stalk that has fermented in a pit) to feed in the bunk and then later he will also feed some cracked corn and soybean meal on top (that we raise and mill on our farm). <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Thru</span> the winter this, along with bales of hay makes up the majority of their diet...but come springtime the steers will spend more and more time out in the pasture eatting lots of green grass and we will have to feed them less and less out of the bunk in the barnyard.<br /><br />The rolling fields of the farm at Old <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Hagerstown</span> Road provide quite the workout for the steers as they travel down a large hill to get to the main creek that runs <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">thru</span> the farmland, and then they have to climb back up the hill to get back into the barnyard, this exercise provides nice leg muscles that produce a nice meaty lean steak!<br /><br />Brownie, is a Swiss/Holstein cross that is overly friendly and quite a pain,he pushes everyone out of the way so that he can get the best spot on the bunk, he also will knock you over if you are out in the yard with the cattle and he wants to play!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-17584458221673219122009-04-05T18:30:00.007-04:002009-04-13T17:07:12.878-04:00The Maryland Science Center & Barnum and Bailey Circus<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUlgHM6oahSdgj0Bv4tUpBu36a0mCv-upM1AiseckyeU6DH4B6gaHfdUyr5TIKDmpd6yTb7JEs0owAbIOd-73lByCVHhMyUOspwLgLfZzvk003gUjapFOkjJzCHGiZ5CMKCgpB/s1600-h/April+20091.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323943184697503026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUlgHM6oahSdgj0Bv4tUpBu36a0mCv-upM1AiseckyeU6DH4B6gaHfdUyr5TIKDmpd6yTb7JEs0owAbIOd-73lByCVHhMyUOspwLgLfZzvk003gUjapFOkjJzCHGiZ5CMKCgpB/s400/April+20091.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />We decided that we were going to spend the day in Baltimore, the weather was beautiful and we had tickets for the circus later in the day. We started out at the Maryland Science Center...it had been about a year since the kids were there before...honestly not much had changed in that period of time, but with Sophia being a year older I think she learned more this time around. The third floor with the water room was still the favorite...since it was not very busy both kids got to take part in an experiment in the wet lab where they learned about DNA.<br /><br />At around 2:00 we met up with Jon and Michelle and had lunch at PF <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Changs</span> at the Inner Harbour...we LOVE the chicken Lettuce wraps that they have there <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">and</span> the closest one to us is in Columbia so we don't get to eat there very often!<br /><br />We got over to the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">arena</span> in time for the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">pre</span>-show which was super cool because we got to be down on the actual <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">arena</span> and got to interact with the clowns and other performers before the show actually started. Thanks to Ron (one of the security guards at <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">the</span> Baltimore FM) we got free parking and super seats this time. Tony and I know that we attended the circus as children but neither of us had memories of it so this was a great experience for us to share together and with our kids! I think my favorite parts were the elephants and tigers!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-49099624274479478032009-04-04T18:21:00.002-04:002009-04-07T07:15:59.756-04:00Spring Soccer Starts<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnmovd4rk8MloSnY2YbqKdZmEduo47Fz4IP7S0ujDR66JxC7Y7ITkRAWDDxqMZ-_ZxZdk0OIY_DMOT8GIdnxHhrYHmsnv9zPjzIMmWWZL8yetPCjnYF6t4HZykzmcfxGLmwwsq/s1600-h/April+2009.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnmovd4rk8MloSnY2YbqKdZmEduo47Fz4IP7S0ujDR66JxC7Y7ITkRAWDDxqMZ-_ZxZdk0OIY_DMOT8GIdnxHhrYHmsnv9zPjzIMmWWZL8yetPCjnYF6t4HZykzmcfxGLmwwsq/s400/April+2009.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />Our first game of the season was on a VERY windy day...but that did not stop our team the Jaguars from playing an AWESOME starting game of soccer. Tony took the day off from the market and we stopped at Subway on the way home for lunch!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-17922042920861238562009-03-30T17:03:00.002-04:002009-04-12T18:36:25.938-04:00Our Farm<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbgfMz01whOIsqQnpHemozkeqHVhfea882uZRDSdzeuzxtoyXqi1TWpiQpq2A3ROHiGBtOR6Vl5R7NJs7UA5n01QNeXT8XHWT8NF-zQOZXtIQROg8HWgKdJaS15zyO0dwUtR49/s1600-h/March+2009.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbgfMz01whOIsqQnpHemozkeqHVhfea882uZRDSdzeuzxtoyXqi1TWpiQpq2A3ROHiGBtOR6Vl5R7NJs7UA5n01QNeXT8XHWT8NF-zQOZXtIQROg8HWgKdJaS15zyO0dwUtR49/s400/March+2009.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />This was our first real photo shoot of the farm, and Tony got alot of great shots...many of which will now be used in advertising brochures that will be taken to Virginia Beach, the photos will also be in rotation on our creamery's home page (www.southmountaincreamery.com), as well as on our new ice cream containers...what a great investment we made in getting our camera!!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-85751700892073999382009-03-29T19:12:00.003-04:002009-03-29T19:41:24.551-04:00Stressful time...Between the launch of the new business, the sudden decline in my Pappy's health and the mysterious stomach flu that Sophia has had since Thursday it has been a "roller coaster" weekend.<br /><br />We decided to make a real go at the business expansion into Virginia Beach, VA. There used to be 2 dairies servicing the Hampton Roads area but in recent years both have gone out of business...one due to family issues and the other due to unwise business decisions that lead to recent closing in December 2008 leaving all of the staff and drivers that had worked for them for at least a decade without work and the customers without milk! When the first article went out on the 11th of March showing our initial interest in expansion we got about 50 sign-ups and some of the former employees contacted us saying they wanted to help us make this work, so then we heard that BIG TIME dairy out of Chicago; Oberweiss came in and bought the customer list and trucks we were at first a bit deterred but then after speaking to Yoder's former General Manager and actually having her drive the 4 hour drive to MD to meet with us we decided we wanted the routes more so now that Oberweiss thinks that they are going to ship milk 900 miles to deliver to these customers who are used to a more natural product straight off the farm. Well once Oberweiss got wind of our decision they called up Tony and told him that they had never head of us and that we should "back out" because there is not enough business in VA Beach for 2 dairies...well as you know it it is "game on" and we hired the former General Manager and we are hoping to be delivering to VA Beach by the first of May! In the midst of all of this we have our festival on April 25th and 26th...Tony and I are traveling to SLC for a conference at the end of April and we are also going to have the Veggie business delivering by the first of June...talk about STRESS!!!<br /><br />My Pappy Sowers, was taken to the ER on Friday by my Grandma because he wasn't eating and he was having pain in his groin area, so he was admitted...found out he has a urinary track infection and he only has one kidney because he had cancer in the other one which was removed in 2002 and the cancer is back where that kidney once was, he has cancer on his liver and in growths on his neck. He is currently on a 10 day treatment on antibiotics and will be in the hospital for at least that length of time and then it will be decided if he is going to undergo chemo. Tony and I were into visit with him last night and he looks good in spite of all that is going on with him, he has had lots of visitors and his spirits are good so at least he is not suffering (besides for the horrible hospital food :))<br /><br />Sophia has been complaining of stomach pain on and off for 6 months or more, there is no rhyme or reason to when she complains about the pain...I give her tums and most times the pain seems to disappear...I just figured she has my acid reflux issues...as of last Thursday she was complaining for hours at a time and I decided we should go and get her checked out...so we saw the dr Friday afternoon and they decided to start her on a round of Zantac to see if it would help...I was told to call the office if she started running a fever or vomiting...well I gave her the 1st dose in the parking lot of the dr office and by the time we got home she threw-up (I looked up the side effects of the drug online and vomiting was a side effect) on top of that I was thinking maybe she just has a stomach bug...plus she started feeling better after that and actually wanted to eat some dinner. I tried to give her a 2nd dose at bed time we did not even get it in and it was back up. Saturday she laid around on the couch all day complaining of pain but by early afternoon she had energy and wanted to go outside to play. We left the kids with Nana and Poppy so we could visit Pappy in the hospital and while we were gone she had diarrhea and she vomited in the Bronco. We bought her some fruit juice Popsicles to try to keep fluids in her and she slept all night and woke up this morning fine. By mid-morning the pain started again and we went out to run errands and we went to lunch, she ate some plain rice and drank some spite...we went to the grocery store we were hardly in the door and she started crying out in pain and said she was going to throw up I took her outside and she threw up in the parking lot. We got home and she rested for a bit and then felt better again and came outside to play at the farm...I just don't know what to make of it all...when her belly is hurting you can see it in her eyes, but she does seem to be eating and drinking, and she doesn't throw up all the time...I would think if it truely was a stomach flu it would be more constant...the only good thing about going to the doctors now is that we reached our deductible already so the rest of the year we will only owe the co-pays!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-55100182398693442942009-03-26T16:43:00.002-04:002009-03-26T16:50:58.929-04:00More Excitement on the Homefront...After much thought, family meetings, and even a visit from one of Yoder Dairies former managers (Lisa made the 4+ hour treck up here to MD to meet us in person and get the grand tour) we have decided to move forward with the expansion of South Mountain Creamery into Virginia Beach and the surrounding areas. We have placed advertising in at least one source that will be distributed to around 63,000 homes early next week, plus we are hoping to have one of the local papers run a story on us (which always yields lots of excitement!)<br /><br />We will be offering the former manager of Yoder's a position in VA Beach to run the show for us there (setting up a distribution center, hiring drivers, admins...etc). At first our plans we not to start service until June, but a large dairy out of Chicago (Oberweiss Dairy) as purchased all of Yoder's delivery trucks and the original customer list so we figure we need to move fast to get our "foot in the door."<br /><br />Between this and the start-up of South Mountain Veggies and a few other things we have in the works (more on that later...) life is certainly never dull or boring around here!!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-39260116457181627042009-03-23T14:53:00.005-04:002009-04-14T07:20:55.346-04:00SundayWe really accomplished alot today...Tony had to get up at his normal time to separate milk so we then got an early start on splitting wood...we had 2 loads cut, split and loaded/unloaded by 11:00 am (the kids were actually really good help!) We came home to change and shower and then headed out to lunch at Red Lobster and then to Home Depot and the grocery store. We then came home and Tony crashed on the couch and the kids and I planted some herb seeds and played on straw mountain. Once Tony got up from his nap we headed out to take photos of the farm for the creamery's website...it was so nice out that I did not want to go home so we rode over to the Marker Road farm and then up to Andrew and Trisha's house before coming home for the night. (the house is about a mile off the road literally straight up the mountain!!)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWw-BjlkXAQMk9mgunTVaK4VPSq-5KSkhl-4bQy3On3lBElA_M1WYfzGdV3wlIEqHEhIfjXXV1AOMCxEzAj2tHT87ZlhAhmT3_tCWCodt5k_Nt5KZFl7cUJkGPn3PYJPitxVOh/s1600-h/April+2009+540.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324505136278708050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWw-BjlkXAQMk9mgunTVaK4VPSq-5KSkhl-4bQy3On3lBElA_M1WYfzGdV3wlIEqHEhIfjXXV1AOMCxEzAj2tHT87ZlhAhmT3_tCWCodt5k_Nt5KZFl7cUJkGPn3PYJPitxVOh/s400/April+2009+540.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Ever since we visited Andrew and Trisha's house...Sophia has insisted that she wants to spend the night...the only problem is that Trisha works as a L & D nurse at Shady Grove and has weird hours...so I don't know when she may get to spend the night..Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-1995415350088711302009-03-23T14:49:00.004-04:002009-12-12T11:18:02.949-05:00Random...Sophia calls her private parts her "privacies"...the other day she asked me if her belly button was part of her privacies...and now when she changes her clothes she has to close her bedroom door so her brother won't see her!<br /><br />Jereamiah is scared of Chuckie Cheese, but NOT Chuckie Cheeses'...he just "hates that rat!" Apparently the Easter Bunny takes a close 2nd to Chuckie Cheese...unless he has candy and then he is not quite as bad!<br /><br /><br /><br />The other day someone told Sophia that she looked just like her Daddy...she did not miss a beat when she said "except Daddy doesn't have any hair"...LOL!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-39098218468555733442009-03-18T15:29:00.003-04:002009-03-18T17:00:00.753-04:00SOPHIA (our little entrepreneur)...Our child generates money at the creamery by either singing or doing tours. Literally on Monday, Wednesday and Friday's when she gets off from school she spends the afternoons out in front of the creamery with homemade signs charging people for either a tour or for her singing/dancing show.<br /><br />The signs typically read: <strong>"Sophia's Show $1.00"</strong> or <strong>"Tours by Sophia $1.00" </strong> she used to work for $.10 but she learned fast that she liked the paper money better...today she has earned almost $5 (as some customers give her the change they got from the store or what is lying around in their cars).<br /><br />She is not the least bit shy and she makes up the songs as she goes...and no one is allowed on her stage (which is the top of the picnic table that sits outside the creamery)Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-3986393020347111902009-03-17T12:08:00.003-04:002009-03-18T15:38:27.389-04:00Poor Gabe....he has not been well for over a week, I sent him to school last week thru Thursday (when he came home he told us he declined lunch because he wasn't hungry)and then decided things were NOT getting better and ended up taking him to the doctor on Saturday morning after he was up most of the night coughing. After waiting over an hour past our appointment time we were FINALLY seen by Dr. Fleming who checked him out and ruled out pneumonia and diagnosed him with Acute Bronchitis, and since this has been the third time this season with Gabe having Bronchitis he did not want to go the antibiotic route this time as he is thinking Gabe is ultimately asthmatic and wanted to try a round of steroids...so we are having day #4 on the steroids and I am worrying that things are not improving as quickly as they would had he been placed on an antibiotic! Part of Gabe's problem is the fact that he has never learned to blow his nose (how exactly to you teach your child to do this, because apparently Tony and I have failed at this task)so he sucks all that mucus back in and then gags on it, which in turn causes him to cough and the whole process repeats itself! I think he may also have a touch of viral pink-eye (which is not contagious) but is causing his eyes to be swollen and watery. I feel so bad for him but do not know what else to do, we have him on like 5 different meds for all the different symptoms...I am hoping that with just 2 more days on the steroids things have to go up from here....<br /><br />**the teacher announced to the class that Gabe was very sick and that he had Bronchitus, 2 of the girls from his class went home and told their mom's that gabe had breast cancer, so they called me to get the scoop...isn't it funny what 2nd graders hear??Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-61676865045666969222009-03-15T10:21:00.002-04:002009-03-15T10:42:23.370-04:00Life update...I was thinking the other day that it had been quite some time since I had written...but I can't believe almost a month has past...!<br /><br />We launched the new Veggie Website the first week of March (www.southmountainveggies.com), and we got almost 1000 customer sign-ups and we knew that we had to select only 350, so that was some hard decision making on Tony's part...it ultimately came down to the areas with the most density of interest and then it was divided out into 5 routes, and then we sent out the emails to everyone letting them know if they made the cut or not...most people were understanding...others not so much. At this point we are awaiting a decision from the bank on our loan and then we can move forward with buying a truck, setting up the bank account and cleaning up the space we are going to be renting to use as the warehouse and loading dock...our plans are to be making the first deliveries by June.<br /><br />I have been having trouble with my stomach again and was in alot of pain and was unable to eat, so I got back in with the Gastro Doctor and had the Upper GI study done again (it has been almost 2 years since the last one) and although there was no ulcers there were many legions (basically if I would have let things go I would have ulcers again) so I am back on a bunch of meds again and I am feeling a lot better.<br /><br />Gabe finished his winter indoor soccer season with 5 wins and 1 loss, and we invited the whole team out to the creamery for ice cream and all the kids played on straw mountain for awhile. Gabe has also been busy earning academic badges and pins for cub scouts and this weekend we have been trying to get all the achievements completed so that he can move up to the Bears in the fall. I also had another conference with his teacher and he is ready in all areas but his writing (meaning punctuation and grammar) to be moved to the 4th grade next year, so it is up to him at this point if he can improve enough in this important area or not.<br /><br />Sophia just finished 8 weeks of gymnastics and I signed her up again for another 8 week session for the spring, she is really getting good and loves going. She is also reading now, and is very proud of herself! I got her signed up for Kindergarten and they sent home a packet of items that the kids needed to know before they started in the fall (ie matching capital letters to the lower case ones, counting to 20 and placing the numbers in the correct order when they are mixed up) and she took one look at it and said "that's so easy" so we sent the packet back to school and figured there would be another child that could maybe use it since she won't be needing it.<br /><br />Tony has had his hands in a lot of new projects...we are getting ready to expand the creamery, because the milk price is at an all time low he is also trying to line up lots of wholesale accounts (something we really did not want to do before) but since we want to sell as much milk as we can thru the creamery versus sending it to the co-op we are now open to the idea. An article ran in a newspaper down in Virginia Beach, VA about us and now we have some interest in that area (which is 4 hours away) to do delivery and if we can get 1500-2000 customers we are honestly considering it. We have landed at least 2 ice cream accounts so we will be making ice cream every day starting next week to keep up with the demand not only for our store but for a store in Ocean City and one in Silver Spring.<br /><br />All in all I would say life is treating us really good at the moment, we have alot to be thankful for, it is a nice place to be in!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-76916372405044602222009-03-03T07:02:00.002-05:002009-04-12T18:29:21.903-04:00Kindergarden Registration, Spring ConferenceAfter delivering milk all day with Curtis (since one driver broke his ankle and the other one has kidney stones) all available employees were dispatched to deliver milk today. We got back to the farm just in time for me to get to the elementary school to get Sophia registered for school in the fall (can you believe my baby will be going to school?)<br /><br />While I was there I decided to see if Ms. Perrel could conference with me (since my scheduled conference on Monday was cancelled due to the snow). Things went well, Gabe is above grade level in every area but on his writing. He needs to improve on his sentence structure, his capitalization and punctuation and spelling. He has gotten interested in my blog and so I set him one up under my account and he has been typing on that...we will see how long this lasts...Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-84097229512289258192009-02-24T03:14:00.002-05:002009-04-12T18:28:25.677-04:00Notes...Sophia took her first real shower by herself...she was super excited about it. I helped her wash her hair as she still got soap in her eyes.<br /><br />Gabe was "Camper of the Week" in his classroom. He had 6 letters to read from Nana Sowers, Daddy, me, Aunt Marcia, Grandma Beachley, and Nana Brusco. He also took in photographs to share with his class.Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-67280312337467151872009-02-22T17:52:00.004-05:002009-02-22T18:03:16.167-05:00Pinewood Derby, Blue and Gold Banquet<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3aVw2KU3Xp5JPdeopH3HQvKXNnmipO_rTf9JyyYtUiLr84KMJP5lKac-kwA7SjfiGU0gU0XUSNyGRx5-nZhT4Skna0JMjwiPy0Ro1f0GKSmvRgakT5ScwBkojXZAiMGpU9pS/s1600-h/DSC_0124.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3aVw2KU3Xp5JPdeopH3HQvKXNnmipO_rTf9JyyYtUiLr84KMJP5lKac-kwA7SjfiGU0gU0XUSNyGRx5-nZhT4Skna0JMjwiPy0Ro1f0GKSmvRgakT5ScwBkojXZAiMGpU9pS/s400/DSC_0124.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305760231977161938" /></a><br />We had BIG plans this year we were REALLY going to plan out the ULTIMATE derby car, and then reality set in and we were putting the finishing touches on the car this morning...so much for organization!<br /><br />Sophia had a car too this year as they have a "sibling race" after all the cub scouts race their cars. Sophia's wheels came off her car and caused her car to fly off the race track and flip over on its side. I was afraid she was going to get upset...she took it all in stride and laughed about it, I told her after the fact how proud I was that she did not get upset about her car crashing...she laughed and siad that it was funny but EMBARASSING too!! (great so we can already be embarassed about something at 4?!)<br /><br />Gabe also received 3 belt loops and 4 pins for achievements earned.Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-49054479105302922392009-02-19T17:43:00.003-05:002009-02-19T17:51:12.337-05:00Sophia is FINE...We had our appointment with the Pediatric Cardiologist from John's Hopkins (Dr. Brenner). He did yet another EKG, and a full check-up of her heart, and asked Sophia and us a bunch of questions and then taught us how to take her pulse to get a normal baseline of her heartrate, that way if/when the palpitations occur again we will know how to see how high they are. A normal heartrate would be around 100 bpm(beats per minute)so if she would have an episode where she was at say 200 bpm or higher then we most likely will need to see him again. So all in all good news!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11378431.post-21804907451558364782009-02-19T10:00:00.005-05:002009-02-19T17:52:30.426-05:00ER visit for Sophia...For the past 3 weeks on and off Sophia has been bringing to our attention that her heart is beating really fast...(times when she is resting and should not have an elevated heart rate), honestly I brushed it off and moved on...well yesterday while at Nana's resting on the couch watching TV, she suddenly comes running out to the kitchen where mom and I were talking grasping her chest and crying saying it hurt really bad and again her heart was beating really fast (considering she was simply watching tv). She had gymnastics and so I asked her if she still felt like going and she wanted to go, and as we got ready to head to the class I heard no more about it, she attended the class and everything again seemed fine...Gabe had a Cub Scout meeting in Myersville so we planned on meeting up with Gabe and Tony at the McDonald's for dinner and then were all going to attend the meeting together. As we were finishing up our dinner Sophia again started to complain about pain not only in her chest but now also in her stomach and she was again crying, so I took her home and the boys headed to the meeting. I decided to call the doctor on the way home to see if they thought she should be seen, they said they did not have the proper equipment to see a child for a chest pain and said she needed to go to urgent care. So my mom takes me back to Myersville to meet up with Tony so the two of us head to Frederick with Sophia and mom takes Gabe home with her once the meeting is over. We arrived at urgent care and they turn us away saying chest pain is something that needs seen at the ER (granted by this point Sophia is acting totally normal the only pain she is now complaining about is her stomach), so we head over to FMH to be seen there. We arrived around 8:00 pm and actually were thru triage and in a room by 8:30...they did an initial EKG which came back with some abnormalities, and a chest X-ray (now granted they are now telling us that obviously they will treat to the best of their ability Sophia's condition BUT that they are not a "Children's Hospital" and therefore depending on how things progressed may send us somewhere else...<br /><br />The ER doctor has now called a pediatric cardiologist at Hopkins to consult over the phone...they decided they want a 2nd EKG and Sophia is no longer thinking any of this is fun, they had to reapply the stickers to get the 2nd reading and now she is stressed so who knows what the reading will show...they fax both EKG to Hopkins and come back for Cardio Blood work which Sophia completely FLIPPED OUT over it took 3 of us to hold her down while the nurse took her blood (4 vials of it) and then got an IV line started.<br /><br />Now it was a long time before the Dr FINALLY came back to our room to discuss with us how to proceed next...basically they found nothing urgently wrong but again they reiterated how they do not have the facilities for children and that we should go see a specialist in the morning just to be sure...we got home and picked up Gabe from my parents at around midnight.<br /><br />She is acting normal today except her only compliant is where they had the IV line in her hand it is still sore. She is telling everyone that she is no longer allowed to have caffeine as that is what makes her heart race. In fact as she was reading her cereal box this morning it was taking about so many "calories per serving" and she thought since the word started with a "C" that it was caffeine and that she wasn't allowed to eat the cereal...<br /><br />Gabe was talking to my mom last night and told her that he doesn't understand how anything could be wrong with Sophia's heart because she doesn't smoke and she doesn't drink (they are learning all about heart disease in school).<br /><br />I was able to get an appoint with a specialist from John''s Hopkins we have an appointment with him this afternoon...Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101853697406151646noreply@blogger.com