Holy Pigs!

Although I had been worried about the small size, and late purchase date of this year's swine project, things had been rolling along really well....they were gaining weight, and looking very much like the prize winning county fair hogs we would like them to be. Until this week!

This week, Stinkerbelle, Mallory's hog, started limping. He is better now, but we were very worried about his leg! I really think it is because when the water is turned on he runs and flops and jumps and slides like he is a little kid instead of a 250 pound hog! Luckily, his leg seemed much better this weekend!
And the other trauma of the week? Sarge, Colin's hog developed a hole in his jaw. It wasn't gross or bloody, just a hole. If you look close, you can see a pink spot on his black jaw. We think that he was bitten - either by a spider or a rattlesnake. It was a very mysterious hole, and we were panic stricken since judges probably don't want to see pigs with holes in their heads! We consulted our friend Brian, as well as the town vet, and decided a few days worth of antibiotics would be worthwhile. After 3 shots, his hole is closed completely, and all that remains is a pink spot on his black jaw! We hope he will be completely healed by the county fair, which starts the middle of next week. So needless to say, it was a little bit of a nervous week, but it would seem things are getting better!

Jim took the kids to Branson for the weekend to spend time with his family. I stayed home, and kept Harper. I have heard a lot of tales from the kids about all the fun they had, although they aren't home yet. I am so amazed at how quiet the house is when it is just Harper here! She played with her toys and says very little! She did occasionally go to the stairs and yell up for Madison.....which was kind of sad! She also helped me with donut duty at church this morning. I had a total moment of panic when I was refilling the juice container and turned around to find her missing! She had crawled inside the huge cupboards under the sink! When I found her she squealed like she had really outsmarted me! (And she had!).
Anyhow, I miss the other kids, I love our chaos and I am happy they will be home to terrorize my household!