Updates 2014!

I can hardly believe it's already February 2014. I've been really thinking this year about what is important to me & my family.
About every other year we seem to get really involved in outside activities and then the next year pull back a little to keep up with more around the home.   Finding a balance can be tough. 
Some changes around here are our ducks are now laying eggs and we are enjoying them very much.  Also we got 2 Hampshire hogs to raise up.  Saturday we are going to get a pair of Berkshire hogs to raise & hopefully breed when the time comes.
This spring we will also be adding something I've wanted for a long time, dairy goats.  I hope to use the milk for drinking, cheese making, soap making, etc.  I'm very looking forward to this!
It's time to plant potatoes & the garden is tilled up but we've been having lots of rain recently.  I'm hoping to have them planted by Valentine's Day.
We've also been starting to think of what we will plant in our garden this year.  The usual, but I'd also like to plant some green peas. I'm also making plans for a small herb garden in the front yard. I want to make it like a little raised, decorative bed by the porch.
It's been really cold here for Louisiana lately. The central heat is running like crazy.  This makes for some high propane & electric bills that we usually don't have much in our mild winters. So when we can we are using our fireplace & freely using the dryer and forgoing the line. (I don't think the clothes would dry well in this cold anyway & the dryer also helps to warm the house a bit.)
On the homeschooling front we decided to change curriculums after the Christmas holidays.  My daughter is now using A Beka 9th grade materials, except for math.  For math we're sticking with Teaching Textbooks.  As much as I liked the concept for the Far Above Rubies, it just wasn't working well with her learning style & I felt like a lot was being left out.  I will say I adore unit studies for younger grades but with her being in 'high school' now I feel like preparing for college is more of a priority. I would never want my children to come to me and feel like I didn't prepare them well if they chose to go.  We are still both enjoying the co-op & science classes and will continue that until the school year is over.
I'm guessing that's about it for updates at the moment.
I really hope everyone out there is having a great 2014 so far!