Terri has an awesome giveaway going on over at her blog right now!  She is giving away a gift box full of cheese made right there in Wisconsin where her hubby works!  We have been the lucky recipients of this cheese and let me tell you it is AMAZING!  We are kinda cheese "snobs" here at our house and love our cheese.  I make a lot of it and didn't think about flavors changing, but I can see why the Green Bay Packers fans wear cheese hats, they know how to make cheese!  It was the best ever! While you are there take a look around Terri's blog and read her story, careful though, it may be convicting!

One of my favorite gifts this year was by far the homemade farm sign that my Father-in-Law made for me!  I is from an old piece of wood that came from Grandma Mc. house after she passed away.  Dad Mc. wasn't sure what she had planned for it, but it is now hanging over the door in our dining room.  I love it!!

As my girls have grown up, I have been excited to share my love and passion for fiber arts, yarn, spinning and all the stuff that goes along with it.  They both have talents at 12 and 15 that I did not acquire until I was in my 20's.  I tell them all the time how much farther along they are.  My oldest daughter has taken an interest in spinning and mastered her first skein of yarn using a drop spindle.  I am excited as to what is on the horizon for that talent for her.  She can knit and crochet also along with using the sewing machine. She had her biggest accomplishment this year when she started and completed (that is a biggie around here as we don't all finish what we start, even I am bad at this!) a beautiful knitted cape for her best friend for a Christmas present!  I am one proud Mama.

I hope everyone has a blessed Christmas!  We are having a wonderful, peaceful day here at home with a Tail Spin Farm raised 19 pound heritage breed turkey!  Hubby and I got the kids a quad for all of them (us:) Hubby and I just back back from a ride:)) and it has been an usually calm, peaceful season for us. 

The grass is green here in Michigan and has been pretty much most winter so far, so much for the hard winter they predicted for us. Of course, the beginning of last year brought us 2 huge blizzards back to back. We aren't complaining to much because animal chores have been made simplier.  Last year we pick up our three goats and three days later we got 20 inches of snow in a blizzard that we haven't seen since I was a kid.  Hubby and I spent most of that night checking on animals and having "Little House on the Praire" snow storm moments where we couldn't even see where we were going! Looking forward to some snow though!!

What do you get when you take 9 teenagers in costume, an entire kitchen island full of food and 12 hours straight (other than food and potty breaks) of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy?  A very long, but fun filled day!  Our three oldest and some of their friends were here yesterday to do just that.  The kids had been planning it for a while now.  Our two youngest weren't allowed to participate (a whole other blog post:)) so our youngest son had 3 of his friends over (siblings to the others) and  youngest daughter and I had a Christmas movie/game playing day.  I am so thankful to be able to open up our house, now that the remodel is finally almost done!  I am also blessed to have kids that enjoying being here at our house!  That has always been one of Hubby's and my goal is to make sure the house is open to all the kids and their friends (after they ask for permission of course!) 

When the eldest got his senior pictures done this fall, my mother-in-law, who is a professional photographer, wanted to get family pictures done again.  It has been a few years since we have had this done and everyone has grown up a lot the last couple of years.

Look at what was waiting for me in the mailbox tonight! I have been following and reading Jenna at Cold Antler Farm  for a couple of years now.  I love what this young lady (she's in her 20's I'm not, she's young:)) has done and what she has to say.  I love that she is a fellow fiber nut, and that she has completely described me in the whole "sickness" of Barnheart.  She has created something that this entire nation needs to stand up and take a look at.  Getting back to the basics, buying local, and producing and creating more things ourselves. I pre-ordered this book and got it autographed to boot! I am especially excited to dig into this book with all the things we have happening with our little farm right now.  I heard from the designer that I sent my yarn off to today and I am now an "official supplier" for her boutique and line of items.  I have a little tweaking to do in my spinning method (we all have our different ways of d...

We had our 4th annual party today with 15 girls invited! Unfortunately, sickness and sports kept about half away, but everyone who was able to make it had a blast and the mom's were able to enjoy some time together too!  My two little nieces were able to come and enjoy the fun.  They weren't too sure what to think of the really loud older girls!

Last night when my little kiddies should have been heading to bed we were outside playing in the snow!  We got dumped on here in mid-Michigan about 9-10 inches.  I took the camera out to play with some of the settings and to see what kind of neat pictures I could get. I stood out in my yard and realized how different and beautiful everything looks in the snow.  It is so peaceful and serene.  Now this morning doing chores in it wasn't so much fun, and we have some fences to repair because of the weight of the snow, but all is well with the animals. I am just waiting for the questions to come at me "Do we get a snow day too?" as all the public schools are closed.  We will continue our work and take some extra time outside to play today!  Maybe this is incentive to get their work done a little quicker today. There is a lesson in everything.

When we turned this little farm into a "hobby farm" a few years ago we only wanted one thing...for it to at least pay for feed for the animals.  Well, it hasn't always done that, and I have often questioned if this is what I was supposed to be spending time and energy on.  Just when I think about selling all of my angoras and just being done, God opens doors. My dream for my fiber farm (mainly angora rabbits) was to spin yarn to sell, create things to sell or sell the rabbits.  We have done a bit of all of this, but never much.  This week I was contact by a designer from New York, who has her own line of angora items.  She found me from our local harvest site, and she wants to purchase ALL of the yarn I can get to her to create her line with!!!!  This is exactly what I have always wanted (alright, I would rather have my own "line") and wanting to be wife, mom and homeschooler has to come first right now, so this is going to be a perfect fit for me! I sh...

And the winner is...  Amy!!! Your hat will be in the mail!

Okay, the snow is flying outside and I am feeling like it is time for another Tail Spin Farm giveaway!  Here is what you do: 1.  Become a follower of my blog (if you are already go to #2) 2.  Blog about the giveaway on your blog (If you don't have a blog, you should:), but you can facebook       it also! 3.  Leave me a comment here. What you can win: This warm, fuzzy, hand spun, hand dyed (no we don't have weird colored rabbits) 100% hand made in Michigan at Tail Spin Farm by yours truly, Angora rabbit winter hat. We will pick the winner next Friday, November 25, 2011.

I have mentioned quite often here about Hubby's "side job" in a ministry called Christian Devotions  where he hosts a Internet Blog Talk radio show called Speak Up!  He has been able to interview and "meet" some very awesome people.  He is very good at what he does and has a very good stage presence when it comes to interviewing people.  Me, not so much.  This is WAY out of my comfort zone.  I did help him about a year and a half ago and co-hosted with him, but didn't say too much. Why do I mention all of this?  Well I will be stepping WAY out of my comfort zone on November 29, because Scott is going to be interviewing a very dear "bloggy friend" Terry  .  I know a lot of you know who she is, and the faith walk her and her family have taken the 10 months.  I will be joining Scott to interview Terri.  I think this interview will have a grand impact on a lot of people and I hope some of you will join us and see where God is leading ...

WOW! Time sure can fly around here. Both Hubby and my youngest Sis reminded me how long it has been since I have blogged anything! I have been struggling through some health things (sinus/allergies and a tooth that had to be surgically removed), and honestly just haven't felt like doing much of anything extra! I find when I am not feeling well, God has a way of putting things into perspective for me as to what is most important. Although on the days when I was feeling good I got a lot accomplished. We have been making soap again. The more we make it, the easier it gets and the more creative we get! So I have 5 batches all cut and sitting with 2 or 3 more planned this week. I have also been able to dye some fiber today for a Christmas present I want to start working on. November is a big birthday month for our family and even more so this year. Our second son Cameron turned 16 on Friday and Hubby's birthday is this Thursday. Our oldest, Nolan, turns 18 Thanksgiving weekend! Oh...