Here a "Naa", there a "Naa", everywhere a "Naa, naa"

Well, I've been saying for 3 weeks that I would post pictures of the newest additions to the Ton Tenga family, and finally, here they are. Twins!



And then 24 hours later another set of twins.



These guys are so cute and they have such a good time playing together all over the pasture. They especially enjoy the goat version of 'King of the Mountain'.



Larry was out of the country when they were born, so he missed all the excitement, and was a little late beginning to bond with them.



Last weekend, while Larry & I were in Mississippi, another set of twins was born, but unfortunately we lost one of them three days later, right after Larry left for Haiti. He's missed a lot, and Allison & I are getting pretty good at taking care of the goats. But we still have 2 more who are about ready to deliver, so maybe he hasn't missed all the fun (and the work)!
ckc

Jason, Kelli, Abbey, Maddie & Naomi were at Ton Tenga last month soon after they arrived in Memphis for a 10 month stateside assignment. We enjoyed some wonderful family time, and the cousins had fun on the farm, riding the Kubota, feeding the animals and just being together. Everybody got their height recorded on the measuring post down at the barn.
Shelby, Darby & Emma, Papa will measure you again when you come in December!

We've been telling some of you about our "new" car, and we wanted you to see it, because our descriptions just can't do it justice! It's a 7-passenger, '09 Ford Flex. It's very roomy -- lots of leg room and head space -- and has all wheel drive, so it just kind of floats up the hill to our house!

Larry's Tractor

Over two years ago, as we were driving back home from Mississippi, Larry spotted an old Farmall Cub tractor for sale on the side of the road. He had been wanting one for a long time since his grandfather had one just like it. We stopped and he bought it with the intention of restoring it. It's just been sitting around, first in the garage when we lived at Cherokee Lodge at WinShape, and then out in the open near the barn at Ton Tenga. Larry had really wanted to work on it himself, but that hadn't happened in two years and didn't look like it was going to happen anytime soon. Then a couple of months ago, he met a guy who restores tractors and decided to get him to work on it. Here's what the Cub looked like when he came to pick it up:





Now it's back home, and Larry is the proud owner of a beautifully restored momento of another Cox farm in Mississippi two generations ago. ckc

Shutters!

The "entry side" of our house has a new look! A word of explanation to those who have not been to our house: When we were building the house, we had to quit saying "front" or "back" because it was so confusing. What would normally be the front of the house and where you enter our house is actually on the back. And what you see when you're driving up the hill to the house is the back with huge windows to enjoy the view. So since the front is on the back and the back is on the front, we just say the "entry side" or the "view side". You'll have to come to see us to fully understand! Anyway, Larry has added shutters to the windows on the entry side. He made them, painted them (deep orange, to match the door), and then Marshall came out to help him put them up.





Don't they look great? Good job, Papa!
ckc

Lessons from the Farm

A while back, Larry bought four new goats to live at Ton Tenga. They are pretty little brown goats -- very sweet and gentle, but not very intelligent. You know the old saying, "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence"? Well, these little goats just cannot resist the grass that is out of their reach, and they very frequently end up like this:



They can easily get their heads through the fence, but then they're stuck because of their horns, and they make a lot of noise to let us know that they're stuck. Larry got tired of wrestling with them to get them unstuck, so he came up with a solution using a piece of PVC and some wire. They look so strange that the kids started calling them "alien goats".



So, the lesson from the farm (and the goats) -- to be content with what I have, where I am, and resist the temptation of that greener grass!
Philippians 4:11-13

Change in Weather

Strange after a post about the snow to be talking about 70-degree weather, but nevertheless, Ton Tenga enjoyed a change in temperature last weekend. This had to be one of the most beautiful days I can remember, and so peaceful on the farm. Pictures below may not be of interest to anyone but Larry and Cheryl (who missed the change in weather), but they give a sense of the recent lazy days at Ton Tenga. Included are pics of the new goat, who is cuter than a puppy and very energetic. —AJ

Change in Weather: More Pics

Snow!

It doesn't snow very often in our area, but last Friday (Feb. 12) we got 2 or 3 inches. It was beautiful, but it was hard to get up and down our driveway -- actually, impossible in my car, but not as hard in Larry's truck. The best situation is to already be at home when it starts snowing and stay there, but that didn't happen on Friday. I was already in town when it started, and by the time I ran my errands and picked up Caleb & Collin to spend the night, the ground was covered. The car just couldn't get up the hill, so we parked it at the barn & walked up in the snow. It didn't last long -- most of it was gone by Saturday afternoon, but Larry got some really nice pictures before it started to melt.







Caleb enjoyed eating the snow ice cream that Papa made, but Collin wouldn't even taste it because he heard me tell Larry to watch out for yellow snow!



Good to the last drop!