Why Am I So Happy? Read Below!

Jackpot

I believe we have solved the mystery as to why our hens weren't laying eggs for well over 2 months. People served up opinions such as it was too cold or too dark (we don't have a light set up in their coop), but we knew that wasn't the case. Our hens had been laying quite nicely up until that point, well into the winter when it was very dark early and the winds would howl.

Our problem? Roosters. They are problems in more ways than one... I admit, we have too many. When we made our initial order, we only wanted a handful of chickens. The minimum order was TWENTY FIVE. Yes, that is 2-5... They also threw in a couple males for warmth. So, we ended up with more than the two roosters we'd originally ordered. So far, we have been too busy to "off" them, and we aren't exactly experienced with that sort of thing. Dave did go help our friends the Terrys butcher some chickens last year, though, so at least he has some idea!

Needless to say, whenever we'd put the hens back into the coop for the evening, all 5 of the roosters would jump on them. The poor things have feathers scratched off their backs and heads and when you touch them, they would crouch down in fear. Dave got sick of the roosters terrorizing the hens, so he threw all 5 into our movable chicken pen. There. They can have at it. They have been in there for a few days and so far they are all still living. They will remain in there until we decide when we will make some of them crock pot material. WHEN, not IF!

Meanwhile, the hens, in utmost appreciation for ridding the coop of those mangy beasts, have rewarded us with 4 eggs yesterday and two already today! We are back in business with nice, fresh eggs! So far, it has only been Auracana eggs, but we'll take what we can get. ;)

Ultrasound Day

Yesterday, I had my 20 wk. ultrasound, you know, the "BIG" one where you can find out if the baby is a girl or a boy. I felt bad because Dave couldn't come along, and I instead brought a 14 yr. old girl along for the ride. I was bummed that Dave wouldn't be the first to find out, but he insisted that he was not upset.

I always love these ultrasounds, for several reasons. The first one has to be the ability to find out what the baby is. Call me snoopy, but I sure love to find that out if possible! :) Yes, yes, they may make a mistake. So far all three of my boys were very obvious. This one was very obvious, too, as the technician was able to get a peek 3-4 times and she was very certain of the conclusion she came to. The second reason has to be that you don't have to drink as much water as the first ultrasound and your bladder doesn't feel like it is going to burst all over the room!

What conclusion did the technician come to??





IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





After three boys, this is a treat. Of course, we would be happy if the baby was another boy, but this is fun. Dave is excited and so am I. Everyone seems very excited, in fact. The only reservation I have is the inevitable comments about "Well, now you have your girl so you can stop!" I pray that I will have the grace to respond lovingly and be a good witness if and when those comments do come...

All in all, it was a really fun day. Now I look forward to checking out (and even making!) some cute dresses/tights/socks/etc. On a more serious note, it makes me start examining how I am as a wife and mother and homemaker-

How do I treat my husband? Do I honor him and speak to him respectfully?


How do I take care of the house?


How do I treat my children?


For goodness sakes, can I make bread that doesn't come out like a lead ball?!


I want to raise Godly children, but now I start to realize that this child is going to be a future woman and what pair of glasses do I want her to step out into her life with? A worldly pair or a Godly pair? It is amazing how being pregnant and having a child of your same sex can fill your mind with these deep thoughts... They are a sobering thoughts, and far more important than cute dresses or tights with those little ruffles on them. The dresses are still pretty cute, though. ;)

Farm Show Adventures

This past Friday, I loaded the boys into the van and met my friend Leah at the Oakdale Mall for the annual farm show they have there. As I was loading the boys into the van, my stepdad came pulling into the driveway to deliver some plywood we're using to cover the floor in the old kitchen. He asked me where we were going, then proceeded to say, "Did you know that they're forecasting around a foot of snow?" Hmmm. I didn't know they were forecasting that much. I didn't want to ditch Leah at the mall, so I decided to proceed... As we drove closer to the mall, the snow got thicker and more intense... In retrospect, maybe we shouldn't have gone, but we still had a lot of fun (at least while IN the mall)

The drive home was a different story. I must have gone about 50 MPH the whole way home, and sometimes even less than that. I was praying hard the whole way home, while passing 4 or so accidents and numerous state plows with unforgiving sharp edges. Never was I so glad to be home...

Here are some photos from our day there. The boys had a lot of fun and got some freebies like milk, cheese, candy (what a combo!), and coloring books.

Stephen took time out from watching all the animals to chat with a couple of babies in a stroller. I take this as a good sign he will be nice to the new baby on the way!

Petting Zoo

Snow, Chickens, and Ground Beef- Oh My!

The boys and I have been enjoying the last bits of snow around our house. Well, the boys have been enjoying it! I have been cringing over the mud and trying to remain thankful (Mud must come before flowers! Mud must come before dips in the pool! Thank you, Lord for mud!) For the past few days, we have spent around 2hrs. each day outside, just playing around.

The man who lives next door is this quiet Mennonite guy who JUST recently started talking to me (we have lived here 1.5 yrs!!) He is so tickled that the boys love to play on the piles of snow he makes with his tractor when he plows our driveway and his. The boys found this neat pile of snow to sit on. Matthew kept calling it a mushroom. Then, they wanted to eat the mushroom! Uuugh. I think despite every parent's effort to dissuade their children from eating snow, they will do it! I have to remember I have fond memories of playing in (and eating!) snow while I was growing up, and I am still alive and kicking.

After we came in and had lunch, we went into the living room to play. Matthew shouted, "Mama, there are two chickens running around the yard!" Normally, if our chickens are let out, they are, well, CHICKEN. They just stay out back, near their coop and peck around. These two are a bit different, though. They are the two meanest roosters, both Auracanas, and they were chasing each other around and around. It was so hilarious! I knew they were being mean and I was glad I was inside, but, boy I needed a laugh! All of us started laughing at the fool chickens. I did manage to get some video footage of them fighting each other, although I didn't get the initial chase scene. They went around and around in circles, waddling faster and faster. This is our entertainment in the country! :D

On other news, I have been very busy with lots of secret research on the internet... I cannot divulge it all right now, but it might prove to be pretty exciting for the family! (What a cliffhanger, huh??)

Now, I must go and brown up a huge package of ground beef. It has been staring at me in the sink for a few hours and it is rather intimidating. I think it is about 14lbs! Dave got a great deal at our local discount store. I am going to do something I have never done before and brown up a quanitity of meat and package it in 1 lb. containers so that I will be prepared for future meals. Ah, preparation. It is a good thing!

The boys slogging their way to the creek out in back of our house...

I thought this tree stump was quite beautiful. The boys thought it was great to climb on!

Tackle It Tuesday... I Mean Thursday!

I read somewhere, on some blog, about "Tackle It Tuesday". My tackle it energy, however, came on today (Thursday), when I decided to take on our horrific pantry. It has gotten out of control in the past few months and has taken a back seat to all of our work on the "old kitchen", etc. I am embarassed to show you all how nasty it was! Today, I got tired of tripping over the gazillion boxes and sneezing every time I entered it to get a can of peas. So, vacuum cleaner, broom, pitching arm, and wet cloths in hand, I spent over an hour on this beast. Here are the results:













It still isn't perfect, but it is a lot cleaner and the dust has been cut down a whole lot. The dust mainly came from the old kitchen where it was lath and plaster walls and old cellulose insulation! We are having guests over tonight... I hope I don't fall asleep in my spaghetti! :D

Air Painting

Genesis 1:6- Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." (NKJV)


For an introduction to homeschooling (more for mama to get used to homeschooling than for the kids, I think!), we are doing Weaver's Interlock. I find we skip quite a bit since the boys understand a lot of it already. Today, we continued learning about air and wind. The above verse is the boys' memory verse for the week. I thought it was pretty applicable, since for the past few days we have been having horrendous winds around here. Last night, I woke up in the middle of the night (I am pregnant, remember! LOL), and heard the winds howling. I could hear our trellis on the front porch banging against the porch, threatening to fly away. This morning, we found it flung off, stuck in the snow at the end of the house. My husband put it in the garage. At least it wasn't damaged too bad. Spring can't come fast enough! :)




The photos are of "air painting" the boys did. You were to take paint, dab a straw in it, put your thumb over the top of the straw, put the straw over a piece of paper, then take your thumb off the end. You could also blow into the "thumb end" of the straw to make it more interesting. I also watered down the tempera paint a touch to make it easier to blow around. I think it was a pretty neat idea, and something that kept the boys occupied for a while!




We also talked about clouds and how there are different types in the sky. Unfortunately, the wind blew them all out of the sky today, but we still had fun pulling cotton balls apart and gluing them onto our watercolored skies.

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In other news, I decided to finally call and make an appointment to have my teeth cleaned. I am ashamed to admit it has been a few years since I saw the inside of a dentist's office! It makes it a bit hard with children and no one to really watch them. I called Dave and asked him what he thought of me making an appointment for Matthew, too, while I was at it. He said go for it since Matti will be turning 5 in May. When I called, I was told that the earliest we could be seen was May! So, mama and Matthew have appointments in early May. Dave is going to meet me and the boys there, so we will all squish into the room for a show! :D I pray that Matthew will handle this appointment better than his last well-child checkup when he was about 2. He wouldn't even stand on the scale, he was so scared and he cried and cried. He does have a Berenstain Bear book about visiting the dentist, so I think we will be sure to read that more often to him as the day approaches...

Late Birthday Photos

This is for Rebecca: YES, I have flipped my lid. I have gone off the deep end. I am posting photos of my children. :D

These are some photos from January 21st of our little man Timothy. As you can see from the top photo, he turned one!



Timothy wanted the candle on the cake so badly!



I cannot believe he did not like the Haagen Daz! :)

Where's the Couch?

That is the question on my mind. It seems like we have been running ourselves ragged these past few days, visiting people and going all sorts of places. This weekend was no exception! On Saturday, Dave helped a man from our church out at an auction which lasted all day. I dropped off all three boys at my mom and stepdad's, then got my hair a MUCH needed hairtrim, went grocery shopping and came back to their house to have a quick lunch. After that, two out of the three boys went for naps, and Matthew, my stepdad, and I went to Lowes and another store to price windows for our new kitchen, plus get light fixtures and some neat pine beadboard planking for the ceiling of our downstairs bathroom.


I have to admit, it is exciting to have a room down to studs with all the possibilities of what you can do floating in your head. However, it is rather tiring to think of all the possibilities all the time! I suppose that is why people hire interior decorators and contractors! Not us! We're frugal! :) Dave actually won 2 bags of R-19 cellulose insulation for $1 total and a replacement window for $12 at the auction! I was beyond pleased, considering the cheapest I had found a replacement window for was $130! We looked at each other and declared we will make that window work!



This morning was spent ripping up old vinyl flooring in the old kitchen. My very enthusiastic oldest son Matthew wanted to bang apart an old wooden chair. I thought that was a great idea because it was too cold and windy to go outside and run off energy! As he took to the chair, Stephen and I went to work on the floor. Matthew joined in after a while and we're proud to say that we got most of the old tiles up. We need to get this up before we put down new flooring. This preparation is nowhere near as exciting as actually getting up drywall and installing cabinets and flooring and light fixtures. I try to remind myself that everything is a step in the right direction, though! :)

Needless to say, we're all tuckered out from pretending to be Bob Villa all morning. This was while Timothy was taking a nap, too!