I feel like I've taken a bit of a sabbatical from my usual blogging while we raised Jolly's 2016 litter of mini schnauzers.  Now that they are all off to wonderful new homes, I plan to get back into regular blogging again.  I decided to kick it off with a list of reasons why I choose to blog during a season of life wrapped up with lots of "little people busyness" (my children are ages 5, 4, 2, and 1).

1. Communicate with customers
 
My blog was born when I wanted to give our puppy customers a glimpse into how their puppies were being raised and cared for here at Russell Homestead.  Because I enjoyed posting pictures and writing about the puppies so much, I decided to continue blogging even after our litter of puppies were off to their new families.  I still use my blog to communicate with new puppy families, and plan to continue to do so in the future.
 
2. Have a voice in preschool world
 
This is perhaps the biggest reason why I choose to blog during this season of life.  My days are filled with lots of lively and fun preschool chatter.  But sometimes it is nice to have adult-to-adult conversation.  My blog provides an outlet for me to express myself to adults (and I enjoy when those adults “talk back” in the comments section).
 
3. Hone my writing skills
 
We all know practice makes perfect.  My writing skills aren’t perfect, so I guess I’d better keep on blogging!
 
4. Not for money!
 
Okay, so I know this isn’t a “reason” why I blog, but it seemed to fit here.  I do not blog for money.  I don’t receive a cent from blogging.  Please notice that my blog is not plastered with ads.  You will find a myfarmpets.com ad on my blog page to promote our small home business of advertising family and farm raised pets.  No one pays for that ad; it is an ad of my design and choosing.
 
5. Encourage others
 
I hope my blog is a breath of fresh air for my readers.  I strive to post wholesome, informative, encouraging, spiritual, or humorous content that is family-friendly.  I want my blog to be a safe and uplifting place for you.
 
6. I like reading blogs
 
I enjoy learning from other people’s blogs.  So, this is my “pay-back” for the knowledge and wisdom I’ve gained from others’ blogs.
 
In conclusion, blogging is hard work.  It takes time, but I feel it is time well spent for me.  I truly appreciate all my loyal readers and would be honored to add you to my growing list of followers.

7 week old puppies don't like to sit still.  At all.  All the cute noises I made to get them to look at the camera the previous 7 weeks are now old & boring.  There are NEW things to do - like run, play, sniff, run, chew & bounce!  All that to say, my weekly update pictures aren't very good this week!  Dolly completely refused to sit, but I got a nice side view of her so you can see their thick, full coats.  Blaze was the only one who would sit long enough for me to get a picture, but he was much too interested in his siblings playing on the floor to look at me.  So, here they are...

The puppies had their first bath this past week.  The first bath is always fun because they are too surprised to react and struggle.  And they smell so wonderful afterwards!

The puppies are so playful.  One cute incident happened this past week as I was letting them run around the laundry room.  Blaze found a sock of mine and was SO proud.  He pranced around latched onto that sock for dear life - just daring his siblings to come after it.  It was so cute because he KNEW he had found something.  I tried to get a good picture, but he was prancing so proudly it was hard.

This will be my last weekly update for these puppies as they will begin going to their new homes next week.  They go to the vet this evening for their check up.  To those families who are getting a puppy, we will be in contact with you via email after their appointment and to finalize pick up details.  In the meantime, you may find it informative to read my past post on paper work at pick up time.
Thanks for stopping by!

6 weeks old & full of life!  The puppies are becoming more & more active.  They just love to play with each other & with any person who will give them attention.  Their coats are becoming fuller, and they are growing!  They are basically eating on their own now with only an occasional "snack from mom" when they can get to her.  We are beginning to replace some of the goat milk with water and reducing the soaking time of their Purina puppy chow - all in preparation for being on dry food in two weeks.
Below are some snapshots from the past week.  As you can see, we took them out in the warm weather to explore.