His little lamb

Leah's Sunday school class has been learning Psalm 23 this summer. A verse or two every week.

For a few weeks in the spring and early summer, she was having real trouble with the dark. It came out of the blue. Even with lots of night lights and discussions about having nothing to fear, something was really bothering her about the dark. 

And then she learned in her class that the Bible says that there is nothing to fear when Our Shepherd is near. Even in the dark valleys, the shadows, scary stuff... Our God is with us and He comforts us.


And because she has been learning in BSF that everything the Bible says is absolutely true(since infancy)... guess what happened?  She trusted in the truth of God's word and no longer fears the dark! She knows who her shepherd is and what He promised. 

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And while we are on the subject of sheepy-things, here is a pic of a shepherd's crook pretzel stick we found during lunch...





And another one of Leah chillin at the sheep barn this summer...


"I will fear no evil, for You are with me."


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A little haircut (and a memorial post)

My sister knew that Danny the Shearer would be coming trough town in April and she was on the list to have him come by and give her little flock a haircut.  We were surprised to get a call one Tuesday morning that he had had a cancellation and was there at the barn ready for shearing.  Kindly, he waited for Leah and I to get there after BSF so that we could be a part of the event.  As soon as we could we flew out the door (bringing a couple of visitors with us) and headed over to witness this exciting event.  

Wickham was first. Not only she was the woolliest and therefore the hottest, but she is the easiest to wrangle. 



Now that Wickham is all naked she is feeling much more comfy. 



Naked sheep crack me up



Re-establishing trust...





3 down and 1 to go......

And then Danny would have to show Leslie how the Shepherd's crook really works...

There was alot of entertainment that day...

Look at all that fleece!  You have never felt something so soft!

While he was at it he clipped toenails...

And he had his little farmhand help to administer some vaccines and vitamins.

As you can see I was dressed for Bible teaching...
not for farming and shearing. 
But I always keep my barn shoes in the car. 

I just like this picture of my shepherd sister. 

The whole process was quite exciting for Leah...
for the first couple of hours. 

We think this one could dance for the Rockettes. 

Shearing day was a fun one!  Because Cormo sheep (Corriedale/Merino hybrid) are bred for their extra-super-duper wooliness, they will have to be sheared again in late summer so they can survive the crazy, unpredictable Texas weather. 

And on a very sad note... Sir Brandon the mooing sheep with the British accent and the freckle nose passed away in May. He died as a result of a blockage in his urinary tract. Apparently this is a common complication for male sheep, and tragically the symptoms are not obvious until its too late. My sister loves her little babies and, as she always does, she took excellent care of Brandon while he was ailing. She was able to be with him when "he counted his last sheep."  She is still extremely sad about this loss and we are sad for her too. But she knows the Good Shepherd and when she is sad she rests in His comforting arms, trusting in His perfect plan for her.

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A Little Bo Peep

Little BoPeep gives treats to the sheep.


Organic animal crackers,


And alfalfa.


And a treat for herself of course.



Donuts are just fuel for the gusty morning of kite flying ahead.


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you thought a quivering duck butt was weird?

Remember 3 years ago (I know you don't...its ok) when I posted about a back-ordered-red-neck Christmas present for Kevin? If you would like to refresh your memory click here. Well, I eventually cancelled the quiver duck butt order because it was taking so long. This worked out well because we found one on BIG TIME sale after the season ended. That was the strangest Christmas present I had ever (almost)purchased... until this year.

My sister, the shepherd, asked for a bat house for Christmas... and I obliged. Go ahead and let that marinate for a minute.... A bat house.... is a place where bats sleep... She wants bats to come and sleep at her barn... So much that she is going to put a little house up for them so they will feel welcome.

Turns out she is not 100% nuts... there is actually no better mosquito control in all the world than a bunch of bats. Apparently bats eat like zillions of mosquitoes at every meal. And you know how if you have a dog, you get it a dog house. If you like birds you put up a bird house in your yard. And if you enjoy creepy little blood-sucking Halloween mascots... you install a bat house in your barn! If you build it, they will come. We did it pre-fab style!

Leslie was thrilled to receive this gift. So we decided on a time to meet and get the thing installed so the winged creatures in town could start spreading the word about the new bat digs that were now available.

Now... our dad is the kind of sweet, wonderful, chivalrous (sexist) guy who thinks its a man's job to climb on ladders, drill holes and install things. So when he heard this was what we planned to do he headed out to head us off. Sometimes this annoys me... I am a doer. I love projects. I love power tools. I laugh in the face of danger. But today, it was really cold. And I was really glad he was up on the ladder getting it done quickly while we supervised.

Good job Pops!

Leah also supervised the sheep. And fed them a few snacks while we were there.
Aunt Leslie was so happy about her new mosquito control system!

I wish you could see this next picture up closer. Leah looks SO MUCH like her Aunt in this picture!!

If this works... we may build a bat sanctuary in our backyard next summer!

A little shepherd

We came out to the barn for some drenching and shearing and hoof trimming... and maybe a wee bit of playing.






For certain chores... you need a red head lamp.

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Sheep Spa

Leah and I headed over to the barn to help Aunt Leslie with some shepherding chores.


This was the first time to wear her new barn boots...


First, a few treats...


While Aunt Les and I chased the sheep all around the pen trying to catch them... Leah was carefully choosing some rocks for Grandpa. He had two handfuls by the time we were done.


Our chores weren't easy... but by the time we caught the last one we felt like pros. Leslie sat each one of them down, gave them their meds and a little pedicure.

Easter Morning, Noon and Night

Some people might think its lame to get a new toothbrush in your Easter basket... but not this girl! Just look how excited she was! What better compliment to chocolate bunnies? (Excuse the bottomless jammies and our unmade bed, if you please.) She got some other stuff too.... like some camouflage "farm shoes" for when we visit the sheep. Two fistfuls of jelly beans will make a girl smile. (Starburst brand - thank you very to my friend Shannon who introduced me many Easter's ago - if you haven't tried them, you should)And I guess I should comment on the skeleton jammies. I almost didn't notice she was wearing them. These are her favorite jammies. She's been wearing them since October. They glow in the dark, so every night that she wears them her daddy takes her into the darkened bathroom where she stands on the counter top and they do a "bone dance" in front of the mirror. It's pretty funny actually. She requests her "bone jammies" every single night. When they aren't clean she asks "Mommy, can you wash them for me so I can wear my bone jammies?"

Church on Sunday morning is the norm, and so is checking out the fish for a while before we can leave.Bibby and Pops invited us to our favorite rib joint for Easter brunch. We arrived to the restaurant early and Leah entertained herself by acting silly and running around... And around.... And around... You get the idea... But this went on for about 30 laps before the rest of the family got there.

After we filled our tummies with prime beef and fixins, Leah needed a little Pops time. When I suggested she get back in her own seat she was beginning to protest......until she saw this bowl of ice cream arrive at her own seat!!! This is the bowl of vanilla bean ice cream that comes with a kids meal. :) Looks daunting... but don't worry... she conquered it.After brunch we headed home for a quick nap (2 hours of Leah telling stories to her babies and singing loudly in her bed) and then out to my Grandpa's for the Cooper side of things.The hunt is on...
When the basket gets too heavy, she gets some help from sweet Bronwyn.Below are all 5 of the Cooper-greats. Check out Jayden snagging Leah's Easter eggs. Not long after this pic was taken he'd practically emptied her basket into his. :) See! And Leah could care less... she's trying desperately to get someone to give her permission to eat her piece of candy... while Jayden is making off with all her other eggs.

Some of the cousins checking out the 4 new, woolly babies in the family.

Leah's favorite Aunt

"Night night sheep!"Think of this... without the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, not one person in the whole world would be celebrating Easter. No baskets, no bunny, no candy, no eggs!

Thank you, Jesus, for your sacrifice. Thank you for your mercy. Thank you for your love.