My Sexy Handy-Man

Argh! I'm so behind on this thing!! I had two reasons why I dragged (drug? I done did know my Engrish once) my feet so long about creating a blog. 1) I'd have nothing to say or 2) I'd get so behind I'd want to tear my hair out, and the two people who faithfully follow it (love you, Mom and Dad) would want to tear my hair out, and it would take me two days of straight blogging to catch up!

Well, I don't have two straight days to commit to blogging, so I'm going to have to take it in bites.

But, for today, I just had to brag on my man.

Wow. :)

So, we've taken on some really big projects here at the Schwegler Homestead. For us, HUGE. All totally out of our element. All totally in the category of "learn as we go." All completely foreign with big possibility of failure. (None of these categories are my strong suit, at all.) But, Sam has just jumped right in and been totally amazing with everything. Seriously. He just dazzles me with how he's always planning and improving. Given his stress level and time constraints, the way he's moved and the things he's accomplished...it's nothing short of miraculous.

We've had to overhaul our barns to accommodate all our animals and the ones who will be joining us as our does finish kidding over the next few months. So, what does this mean? Tearing out leaking roofs and re-roofing, building more shelters and stalls, digging holes and running lines for fencing, enclosing our current stalls to protect the animals from the elements, and wiring for electricity for both light and heat. And doing this in October, in Illinois, when your time, light, and good weather are limited...well, that's a challenge, to say the least. (And, if you've ever seen me with a hammer, you know I've been about zero help, despite my best efforts.)

I've watched with swelling admiration as Sam has totally risen to the occasion. I know this may not be as impressive through the pictures (in fact, they don't do justice at all), but I have to record it for myself, and for posterity.

These fixtures? Not there before. And, he didn't just put up the fixtures like he did in our kitchen.





This was just a ceiling fan before. Now? Light! Woo! (Seriously? Who doesn't light their eating area?)


In the barn? He did it all! He pulled the wire and the casings and drilled the holes (and I'm totally unable to use correct terminology) and NOW! Woo! The entire front pasture is lit! It's so awesome! He has no previous electrical experience! None! He's taken this


and several conversations with the very helpful staff at Rockford Home Depot (shameless plug) and Wow! My baby's an electrician!

I'm not gonna lie; I find that extremely hot! (Yes, folks, my husband's handiwork turns me on. Get over it.)

And isn't this cute? Yeah, he built that without plans from scraps in an evening.



And these! I'm so proud of these!! These are the kidding pen, or "birthing suite," if you're fancy, which we're not


and the kid pen (where the babies live after they are born). You can see cute Dexter peeking out there.

They are so cozy and sound! I just love going in here, knowing what it used to be, and seeing how Sam has completely altered it to fit our needs. It's awesome and I'm totally proud.

I love how my husband has taken some aged, under-utilized goats and some worn-down barns, and turned this into something on it's way to being amazing. I never thought I'd ever be a part of anything like this. But watching my husband go, and seeing him succeed in following through with his goals, even though he never saw himself here either....well, that just makes me overwhelmingly proud to be a part of the Rock Chalk Enterprise.