End of Goat Camp, Unusual Swim Test and New Boots

Goat camp ends today and what a funny week it was.  I was very open to being the one who did all the milking.  I had been told by all my kids that they were NOT doing it, but ironically, I ended up having to fight to milk the goats as they were often the ones fighting over who would get to milk them.

My 9 and 12 year old boys became "expert goat milkers".  I couldn't believe how fast they were at it by the end of the week.  I had big plans for the goat milk so it was super frustrating when the goats would accidentally put one of their goat legs in the milk.  After that it went to the animals, which made them super happy.

I did end up making goat cheese, but got some wrong information and it didn't turn out perfectly as I had hoped.  I think I managed to salvage it, but I could really use another week's worth of milk to get it ideal! 

When you make goat cheese you are left with tons of leftover whey.  With that you can make ricotta, it's amazing!  So I got all "homesteady" and made ricotta cheese, too.  There is still tons of leftover whey and that can still be stored for 6 months in the fridge.  That can be used in tons of things from drinking it for all the good bacteria to using it for fermenting vegetables.  I will hopefully do that this week coming up.

This week was also a very unusual swim test for my 20 year old son.  Gone are the cute little days when you have to do a lap of front stroke across the pool and then tread water for a minute in the deep end.  This week he had to swim to the bottom of the beluga whale pool, 30 ft. deep, in 10 degree water (in a wet suit, but it still took his breath away he said).  Then he had to swim the length of the pool, while holding his breath the whole time.  That doesn't sound so bad except that this test took place WITH ALL THE BELUGA WHALES SURROUNDING HIM THE WHOLE TIME!!!!!  Beluga whales are not known to attack humans, though they have the teeth to do so, but it was still a little disconcerting for me to think about what he was doing that day.  Fortunately he did some research on how to swim deeply so that you don't pop your eardrums, so he knew how to do that.  He had never done it in such cold water before.  He is apparently the first one to ever pass the test on the first time.  Impressive.  He said swimming beside the belugas was pretty wild as you don't really know how big they are until you are right beside them!  You don't say!  I have no interest in learning that first hand!

If I had known he'd be doing that kind of a swim test years ago, I would never have been nervous about the little tests he took when he was six.  What a difference a few years make.

Yesterday he was hosting a bonfire for a few friends from work.  As a nice supportive family we tried to tidy up the property during the day so it would look decent for his friends.  I was the main weed whacker as I can't seem to get the kids to do it to the level that I want.  I walked around wearing brand new-to-me rubber chicken-printed boots.  That's a story in itself.

For weeks I had been wishing I had a pair of boots that weren't my kids' boots!  That may sound strange, but I couldn't bring myself to buy any.  When it seems like every dollar counts, I was ok to keep wearing my kids' boots.  I would look at the thrift stores, but never saw what I wanted or needed.  It was no big deal.  I would be fine.  Meanwhile, I either wore, like I said, my kid's footwear or my worn out birkenstocks.  Not ideal.

One day I showed up at my sister's to visit with her, my mom and the cousins.  My mom came in holding a bag, which I assumed was a gift for one of the kids.  She said, "No, it's for you!"  Inside was a brand new pair of boots, bright yellow with chickens all over them - super cute.  She said her friend had bought them and never used them and she wondered if I could (or maybe if my mom knew of someone who could use them, not sure).  All I know is that I had never mentioned this seemingly insignificant request to anyone.  But suddenly there I was with a pair of boots, probably exactly what I would have needed or wanted.  These kinds of stories happen to us regularly and often with shoes involved!  Someone will show up with exactly what we are needing in our size.  I know, I know....coincidence.  But not to me.  As always, I find it a personal reminder just to me, to no one else, that God cares about me and even what I wear on my feet.   Yesterday as I walked around in my new boots, I felt blessed.  God had given me a new pair of boots!  I hadn't told anyone, but someone out there thought, "Hmmmmm.....I'm not using these.  Someone could use them.  Who?"  And my name, not anyone else's name, came into their mind and they ended up on my feet.  I love that.