Here I Am

Well, now this has been a week and a half, figuratively speaking. I tried a couple of times to post from my phone, but for some reason the browser or something won't recognise me on any blogger site. I have found it challenging to get on my computer. I guess that power post on Tuesday blew me apart. Kidding.

Dory has received her third dose of Regumate, a horse hormone to induce monthly cycles, so we can inseminate her. She seems even more antsy than before, but tomorrow she gets to go outside for a bit. Hopefully that will give her some peace. I wear double rubber gloves when handling the stuff. Directions say to avoid contact with skin. Erin says it could mess with my femaleness. Yikes.

Wednesday evening we had another calf, a sweet little heifer. We did need the vet but Drew and I are learning more and more how to do things on our own. This little lady needed just a bit of help. Her little feet popped out a couple of times but kept slipping back insider her mama. We have pulled a calf when the feet were already protruding; using baling twine wrapped around the hooves. We now have real obstetric chains which work the same way only they have handles to pull from instead of wrapping the twine around your hand. The twine can really be painful and makes it harder to pull effectively. But anyways, this latest heifer did not have her feet outside of her mother. She was twisted just a bit and needed a small tug. Israel, our vet, showed us how to reach inside and find the feet, attach the chain and get the calf heading in the correct direction. She was a perfect size, small but not too tiny; and not so huge as to put her mother out too much. Another lesson learned on the Kimmel farm.

Thursday was a normal kind of day; I had lunch with a friend, napped, took Jer to tutoring, Randy to the store, spaghetti for dinner, and sleep. If something more exciting happened its a shame 'cause I have forgotten it.

Today proved a bit more eventful. Ben has been having some recurring eye pain similar to what he experienced several years ago when he was first diagnosed with MS. His right eye was affected then, and now his left eye was giving him problems. The residual effects from the first episode has left him with very limited site in the right eye. Typically optic neuritis, the medical term for the eye problem he has usually corrects itself over time. Ben's never did. Now with the other eye offering like symptoms we have all been a bit unnerved. The pain can be quite intense and beginning yesterday his eyesight became affected. After several phone calls and discussion I took him to see an opthamologist just after noon today. He verified what Ben knew and I could not accept that his right eye is very bad. The optic nerve in the left eye is under pressure and causing some interference with his sight. Tomorrow he will begin a three day steroid IV drip to hopefully reduce the inflammation and restore the sight in his left eye. The right eye is pretty much a done deal. I am praying for complete healing in both eyes.

Also, we were not approved for a septic tank and leach bed system. The soil scientist will be out Monday to make sure we will meet the requirements for a sand mound system, three to four times the cost and ten times the aggravation.

Please pray for healing for my son, and grace for Drew as he comes to terms with even more government in his life. And maybe my complete and utter abandonment to the Grace and Glory of our Gracious God.