our peeps arrived…

and all twenty survived. Yay! There are some Banties, Brown Leghorns, Anconas and Barred Rocks.

As you can see, they were all passed out asleep when they arrived.

If playing mother hen comes easy for anyone, it will be Abby. She jumped right in there and started taking care of them immediately.

Danielle’s method of petting them is more like paintbrushes on a canvas – fingertips only.

And Jadon still keeps his distance in fear of a good pecking (which they don’t peck and hopefully with enough early handling they won’t).

This itty bitty one is named Tinker Bell. It is about one-third the size of the rest. With a name like Tinker Bell, hopefully it will be a girl. :)

But the kids all love to watch them and take care of them. So far they have loved squash, peaches, apples, spinach and celery.

It will be interesting to see how they do at camp next week. All twenty will be going with all five of us! It should be a lot of fun!

And the best part will be the fresh eggs!! I can’t wait!!

This guy showed up yesterday too. He devoured some of the bread the chickens shared with him. He even came back today.

I loved this picture because you can see his tongue. Isn’t it weird to see a moist tongue amongst all that dry scaley skin?!

yoHO, yoHO…

…it’s a pirate’s life for me! Well, it was for Memorial Day anyway. :) We decided to get out and have some fun – and boy did we! :)

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This was a first for all three of the kids and by the last hole I’d say they pretty much had it figured out (in spite of each other).

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Bryan showed them all he knew…

…and I smiled and nodded while they both aimed like it was baseball and hit it off the green. :) But as we proceeded they quickly got the hang of it. If I didn’t know better I’d say there were a couple of trick shots in the last video!

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In the videos you will see how Jadon “won” every hole!

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I think he screamed and hollered at each one but the last one. He really thought something was wrong when that ball just disappeared.

And Danielle couldn’t quite figure it out either.

Luckily we beat the crowd and had a wonderful time! After our little round of put-put we decided to go for a bite to eat and our top three choices in restaurants were closed! Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either. It’s just one teeny weeny down side to small town life. But we ended up at Cracker Barrel and went home for a movie – you can’t beat that.

i suppose finding a snake skin…

is definitely better than finding the actual snake – a live one anyway. Of course it does mean that he’s still out there.

When stretched all the way out this guy is a couple of inches taller than me!

we prefer the functionality of our wellies…

…over fashion any day.

not a single one flew the coop…

…or sadly enough even had a chance to hatch. :( The eggs were there one day, gone the next. According to what I read it could have been a crow, blue jay, chipmunk, weasel, squirrel, skunk, raccoon, snake, small rodent, cat, or bird of prey.

Ummm, seeing as how this nest is right outside my bedroom window I would be really happy to know it was NOT at least four of those options!

i’d like to say…

…that my blogging absence is due to a lavish world vacation packed full of spa treatments, high class meals, and guided tours of the most coveted places. But I can’t. For some reason my conscience won’t allow me. :)

But just to plead my case, I have been doing a little spring cleaning, attempting to organize in general, finish the school year, plan next year, plan a birthday party, host a congregational get together, work on my flower beds and the list goes on!

But I have a lot to catch up on so hang tight! :)

we’ve got babies on the way…

…baby birds that is.

The awning outside our bedroom window has become the nesting place for a pair of Eastern Phoebes. If you look close, you can see a lot of horse hair they used on the inside of the nest. According to what I’ve read, it only takes a couple of weeks for the eggs to hatch and then a couple more and they’re gone (the babies anyway). They can have three or four broods before they leave again in the fall. It will be exciting to watch. Who knows, maybe we’ll get a cowbird egg in there. :)

the family farm…

…in Glen Rose made for an exciting year-end field trip! Thankfully the rains didn’t come pouring down until after we finished five of the six activities. We had four full hours of fishing for brim, playing with the animals in the petting zoo, swinging on the maypole, riding the cable swing, playing horseshoes, taking a “stab” at archery and finally winding down on the John Deere train.

Jadon was all about the fishing…

until he had to hold one!

Even the swans were eying the hot dogs we used for fish bait. I had no idea they had such beautiful blue eyes!

Awwwww, how sweet! But we’re still not getting one…not yet anyway. :) We might have to sell some of that fancy jewelry you’re wearing before we can get one. Ha-ha.

And you weren’t shy at all when it came to the animals, little missy. You exchanged pleasantries with most every one you encountered. It really was cute. You even got down on their level to talk to them. :)

And the boys! The boys LOVED chasing the roosters out of the pen while the dogs loved chasing them back in. Poor roosters!

But even though you loved chasing those roosters, you sure were good to your little sister (as you and Abby always are).

More pleasantries.

More chasing.

Okay, sweet rest for the roosters.

Then there was the maypole swing…

and this shot of Jadon that was totally intentional! Okay, maybe not. But I was going for something of the sort. :) It’s hard to get a good shot when they’re swinging around that pole!

And the favorite of the day was (drum roll)…the cable swing.

I think horseshoes tied for first with about three other things for Jadon though.

This was our little group of 4-7 year olds waiting their turn with the bow and arrow. Of course it could have been cooties, but I think Jadon’s isolation was more due to happenstance. :)

Did somebody say Robin Hood? Definitely a natural if I do say so myself.

While looking at these pictures today Abby declares, “That John Deere train wasn’t really my cup of tea.” And although you look mad in the picture and probably would have much rather been riding the paddle boats, I think it was more your hurry up and wait look. Of course it looks like it must not have been Jadon’s cup of tea either. Ha!

But it was awful cute! :)

Whew! What a day!

living in the “barn” in rowlett, texas…

brought the familiarities of home just a wee bit closer.

Spot and Chance were not at all shy about coming to the window for a snack!

In one way it was a little cowgirl’s dream come true! :-)

While Bryan was preaching a meeting in Rowlett, TX last month our accommodations consisted of a nice one room apartment they call the “barn.” The name actually has nothing to do with the horses though. It is called the barn simply because it is part of a shop that looks like a barn on the outside. It belongs to a sweet couple who keep it open for visiting preachers, church functions, or someone in need. Not only did we enjoy the amenities, but the people were kind, generous and a joy to meet.

i canNOT believe…

…this is my little baby!! She was just born yesterday wasn’t she?!?! This sweet little girl looks way too big to be my baby!

And she’s playing soccer already?!? GET OUT!! (By the way, do you see all that poison ivy in the background? Like I said earlier… EVERYWHERE!)