Thank Heaven for Little Boys

When I was pregnant for the third time, I could guarantee how most conversations with strangers would go. 

Stranger:  Do you know what you're having?
Me:  No.  We let it be a surprise.
Stranger:  Oh, that's great.  That's how it should be. 
(Then I would wait, knowing exactly what was coming)
Stranger:  Well, are you hoping for a girl?

And my answer was always the same: "No."  Which would be followed by a shocked look from the perfect stranger, because obviously, after two boys, I should be begging for girls.  Even people I knew were always bugging me about having a little girl, and more than one person couldn't understand my desire to have another little blue bundle of joy.  Needless to say, when Canaan arrived, I was the first one to anxiously check and then happily announce, "It's another boy!"  We disappointed a lot of people, but not ourselves with his arrival. 

Not that I don't like girls, or that I think girls are bad, or that I would have been mad at having a girl.  We would have been pleased with a little girl.  I babysat a little girl for five years, so I understand the joy (and drama) that a little girl can bring. 

But there's just something about little boys--dirt-stained, creature-loving, rough and tumble, ants-in-their-pants, dancing-around-naked, going-potty-outside, scraped-knee, loud, obnoxious boys.   Even though they like bugs and frogs; even though they are fearless dare-devils; even though they can get dirty even in a bath tub, and make everything into weapons, and eat everything I have in the house, and try to drink out of the toilet, there is something wonderful about them.  They love to explore the world and experience new things and they always get their hands (and feet and faces) dirty in the process.  They are more often than not human tornadoes that destroy everything in their path.  They love to pretend to be cowboys and superheroes and knights and other brave and valiant men.  They follow their daddy to the barn and the garage and under the car and probably to the end of the earth if he asked them.  They like to get out all of their toys, spread them across the house, and then five minutes later ask to do something else.  They are hurricanes dressed in capes and cowboy boots.  They are creative, inspiring, messy, adorable, active, messy, hungry, ornery, infuriating, messy, non-stop, wonderful, messy boys.  But the thing I love most about them is underneath that rough and tough exterior is a soft, tender heart that loves their mommy.  Because if my boys finally hold still, it's probably because they wanted to come give me a kiss, or a hug, or tell me they love me.  Because at night when Gideon lets me hold him and says, "Sing to me, Momma," it cancels out all the times he makes me want to pull my hair out.  Because no matter how much of a mess they've made, when they look up at you with those twinkling eyes and smile that toothy grin, you can't help but laugh even if you want to cry.  These are the joys of having little boys.

Maybe one day God will bless us with a sweet little girl, but if He doesn't, I won't mind.  Because even though I can't braid their hair, or sew them dresses, I have three little creatures called boys, and they are everything I need.

Budzi's Surprise

On Sunday morning (2/26), Budzi was showing many signs of beginning labor.  All day long we continually checked on her so that we could be present at the birth.  The poor thing was so huge, and was so uncomfortable that she could barely walk.  We have said for several weeks that we really thought she could have triplets, but sometimes a goat will look huge and only have one baby, so we weren't really counting on any more than two.  By Sunday night, she wasn't progressing in her labor and we were a little worried.  Greg checked her, but couldn't feel babies in the birth canal, so we knew they weren't stuck and we just would have to wait it out.  We checked on her late in the night and still nothing.  Early Monday morning Greg went out before work to check on Budzi.  He called from the barn to say that one baby was out and another one was on its way and for me to hurry to the barn!  Gideon had woken up and so I dressed him as quickly as possible, grabbed towels and a few other things and we ran to the barn.  After Greg helped pull out the second kid (it was a whopper and backwards), Budzi wasn't showing signs of immediately giving birth to another kid, so we brought the babies in the house to get them cleaned up and get some colostrum in them.  About 30 minutes later, Greg went out to check on Budzi again.  He called to say another baby had been born.  We were so excited to have triplets!  He brought the newest baby to the house and a little while, went back out to check on momma again, only to find another kid!  Now we understood why she was so huge and uncomfortable!  Quads are always a possiblity with goats, but they aren't the norm, so it was a special surprise for her to have four kids.  The biggest kid (Jupiter) weighed a whopping 9 pounds 14 ounces, while the smallest, (Venus) weighed 9 pounds 5 ounces.  We couldn't be happier with our four healthy goats, and we're working on nursing Budzi back to health, as the babies took almost every ounce of fat she had.  Here's our babies:

Here's the four of them when they were just an hour or so old.  (Yes, they're in my bathtub.)  From left to right they are Jupiter, Galaxy, Saturn, and Venus (the only girl in the bunch).

Here they are up and walking around.
(They had graduated to the laundry room by this time)

Lincoln is inspecting the goats and their new pen in the garage.  If you can't find Lincoln, check the garage.  He keeps sneaking out there to watch the baby goats!










Gideon dropping holding Galaxy. 

My favorite of the quads: Saturn.  I think he has the prettiest coloring!






And, a week later Sassy gave birth to twins: a buckling, Pluto and a doeling, Mercury. So we have five boys and two girls.  (Of course we would have all those boys around here!)  Even though we love our new cute and cuddly kids, we're so relieved that kidding is over until next year!  And, in the meantime, does anyone need a pet goat?