Milkin' Molly and Direction

 

It's quiet. Too quiet I'd say. It's early morning and all are sleeping. Although I'm not a "morning person", waking up super early (the rooster isn't even crowing yet and it's DARK...5:30, yep) has been such a blessing lately as I have had time to fit in a few extra things before my crew wakes up and chaos starts. Bible study and research time, plus time to get chores done have proven that waking up early has been so valuable to me. I cherish my time with the Lord and have been able to listen to some online sermons on the power of prayer as well as study spiritual warfare more in depth. It has been a blessing.

 

I have to say that I am honestly feeling DRY at the moment as far as blogging. Hmm.

 

There are so many wonderful blogs out there that do the same things that we do (farming, home education, etc.) that I never want to reinvent the wheel. If you're looking for inspiration about how to educate your children in a more natural, soft approach or how to garden, milk animals, process your farm-raised meat, bake bread, make herbal remedies, sew, decorate, talk about adoption or learn how to advance your relationship with God Almighty, well, those blogs and websites are out there.

 

They have already been done and I don't want to reinvent the wheel.

 

Quite frankly, running this farm and family doesn't leave me too much time to blog about what we are doing, but I don't want to leave you all in the dust either! So many of you have prayed for our family as we embarked on this adventure and are curious as to what we're up to, how we're doing things, how we coped with trial and how we are enjoying the blessing.

 

The Lord has brought some ministry opportunities to us and we are learning SO much about tough love, prayer and spiritual warfare. We are learning about the struggles of the flesh, the world and the supernatural. We are learning how to decipher between the three as we minister, so humbled that the Lord would use us.

 

For the DIRECTION of this blog, well...

 

I will probably just be sharing random (really random) things from time to time. I'm lucky if I remember to take pictures as we buzz around here, then to upload them to the computer to share.

 

But, here are a few glimpses as to how we milk our Molly girl (Mabel is due in 4 weeks, but we are "on watch" in 2 as Molly went 2 weeks early).

 

Step 1: Grab your rockin' Ryobi radio and turn it to Moody Radio. Janet Parshall is on at 5:00 everyday and that's when we're milkin'.

Step 2: You'll also need to grab a milkin' buddy. Mine is two, blond and has the cutest blue eyes.

 

Step 3: Clean your cow's udder well, hand-milk a few squirts out of each quarter, turn on your milkin' machine and hook her up. I love leaning into Molly's soft, furry body as we milk. I love knowing what she's eating (and not eating...ah-hem) and how FRESH and unpastueurized the milk is. How it is loaded with probiotics for my wee ones.

Step 4: Talk with Molly's stall-mate, Mabel, because she wants attention too.

Step 5: Adore your helper as he swings on the gate.

 

Step 6: Bring the milk inside.

 

Step 7: Get your jars ready as well as your T-shirt filter. Then pour milk into jars and place in freezer for 1 and 1/2 hours to chill quickly. Then remove, label with date and put into fridge.

Step 8: Clean milking machine.

 

Step 9: Keep record of milk quantity.

 

 

Step 10: Air dry machine and say a prayer of gratitude, thanking God for the delicious milk and raw, healthy, dairy products you are able to provide for your family.

 

...and that's a wrap!

 

(Yes, those are Jersey cow knobs on my cupboard doors, courtesy of Hobby Lobby. It was just fitting, don't you think? {wink} )