Big Smiles

So, my last post was kind of a downer. Sorry. But your response to it was very kind and thoughtful. Thank you. I will work through it, in my own time. Well, I guess in His timing, actually.  Nonetheless, I do have very exciting news. Bren has had open ears lately to our conversations about the Bible and God. She is soaking in so much it astounds me. Well, we attend AWANA at our church every Wednesday night. It is a time where she gets to play, learn what the Bible has to say, and memorize verses. Jeff and I are small group leaders in our Jr.High while she attends her Cubbie program. 

Tonight, while driving home Jeff and I were recapping the night when Bren, out of nowhere, says "I prayed tonight". Thinking it was like any other comment, I silenced everyone and asked her what she prayed about. Her response floored me. She said that she prayed for Jesus to come into her heart. To live in her forever. At first I wasn't sure she knew what she was saying, or maybe repeating something she had heard. We asked a few questions and she was very sincere and seemed to understand what she meant.

I really can't even begin to explain how I feel. It has to be one of the best feelings a parent can have. It seriously brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. My baby just made a huge decision that will impact the rest of her life in ways she doesn't even know. I am excited to see what God has planned for her. 

Anyway, I just couldn't help but to share that with you all. I can hardly sit still and can't stop smiling. These are some happy tears over here. I am truly overwhelmed and give all the glory to God.

My one big struggle.

OK, so I know, two posts from me in one night. Is she sick or something? Obviously something must be terribly wrong... well, no. I am just trying to vent something that has been looming over me for a while. Over 5 years to be more exact.

So here it comes. We are called to live with great expectation of the coming again of Christ (1 Pet. 1:2-4). It should shape our lives, cause us to act and respond unlike any other people group, and ultimately be the end product of our thoughts/days/you name it. I also know that we are sinners at the time of conception (Ps. 51:4-6). And to top that, the only way to salvation is to confess with your mouth, repent and ask forgiveness of Jesus Christ , to be born again with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 10:9-10).

So here now is where I am struggling.  How am I as a mother supposed to have great expectation of Christ's return when my babies aren't going to be in eternity with me? I know that our purpose on earth and in heaven is to glorify Christ, but the human part of me, the mother part of me just wants to scream "WAIT!!! Don't come yet!!! My babies aren't ready yet...  I'm not ready yet..." 

Now I know that their are a lot of different views on this. I had been taught a good portion of my life that their was an age of accountability, that it didn't apply until... you fill in an age. Well, I feel as though there is no biblical backing to that. If we are born sinners and the only way to heaven is to confess and believe in your heart, well, my babies can't do that yet.  I can't have great expectation. I have tried. I have prayed. Fervently.  And I fear that I am doing an injustice to myself, my family, and least of all, my God. I have shared this with a few people, as it is my absolute most greatest fear. The fear that my children won't accept Christ as their Lord. Their Savior.  And believe me, it is the most talked about topic between me and God.

So now, I don't have an answer to my dilemma, my struggle, my one biggest fear, but I do know that God is holy, just, and sovereign. And while I find myself falling back to my screams of "NOT YET!" I know that He has the game plan, He knows the future, He calls the shots, He calls the audibles, He has ultimate authority and I need to rest in that assurance. As hard as that is for me.  I don't know if I will ever get past this. I do know that it drives a lot of conversation with me and the kiddos. I know they are soaking it in, even if there isn't fruit yet. I also know that it is my responsibility as a mother to live out what I believe and that it can speak volumes to them more than any sermon I could ever give (I'm boring anyway).

I just thought I would share. Maybe I am being over emotional... I am pregnant you know. But it truly has been on my heart for over 5 years and I hope that one day I will find peace about it. Complete peace that I couldn't explain to anyone.

Boys... Really?

I really do think that if anyone is having boy problems, guy problems, husband problems, some sort of issue understanding the male gene they need to just come to our house, sit back, and watch our roosters.I think it would explain everything. 


We have two roosters. One, Two. Two. Two roosters that were supposed to be hens. What am I supposed to do with two roosters? Well, not a lot, I guess. They are good-for-nothing strutting featherballs that torment the kids and the hens. I am not saying all roosters are this way, but ours are. They seem to think their job is purely to let us know they own the place, yet they go running once I enter their domain. When I manage to catch one... I know, funny word picture, huh? Pregnant short lady waddling around chasing a rooster (who are incredibly fast, mind you), cornering one only to have it escape by running between her legs. Anyway, once you are done laughing keep reading... Again, when I catch one they always glare at me like I just took their man card. They struggle. I tighten my grip. They glare. I win. I always do.  Yet when I let them down they run off to a safe distance from me, spread their legs and stand tall, and get this... CROW! Like they just won a huge battle. Really? I totally had you in submission two minutes ago. It baffles me. But so does my husband at times...


Anyway, really it comes down to the fact that I won. Me. Yours truly. Why? Because they are getting butchered tomorrow. Take that roosters! Booya!

Facebook

OK, So the recent facebook changes have caused me to accelerate my decision to become friendlier with this thing I call my blog. I hope that I will be better at updating this because now it is the only media portal to our lives. So subscribe and join us in our adventure of life. I will do better updating, because I think I am getting past the feeling that I have to add pictures every time I post. Which was making it more of a chore than a fun update on us. So, every post will not have a picture (that was more for me than you) but hopefully they will be more often!

Feel free to let me know your blogs too and I would love to subscribe and keep up with you. I hope to not "loose" friends by this decision, but feel that the phase in life God has me at it it more important to give my children more of my love and attention.... and not facebook.

Thanks for still being a friend to me even though I am not a facebook junky.

Chicken Coop and Run

So, it's been a while... a long while. I apologize, but really, I am just bad at this blogging thing. I can admit it, take it like a man.. or woman.. whatever. I suck. Anyway, now to the stuff you all didn't already know. Chickens! In the last post I mentioned that their would be a chicken update soon... well, that was back in February. Evidently I have a 2 year old's concept of time. So, here it is. I am sure you were all holding your breath waiting. They can take you off life support now.

We currently have 16 chickens, 14 or 15 hens and 1 or 2 roosters. The second rooster is still up for debate. We are patiently waiting for eggs... OK, maybe the patient part was a lie, but still, they aren't here yet and I am waiting.... any day now... gotta be. I will try to get pictures of the chickens up. I haven't been good with the camera lately, like you would have no idea that we have been swamped this summer with trips because I have no proof... no pictures. Like you already know, I suck.

The chickens are basically full grown and the rooster is a mean booger who is going to be dinner once our killing cone gets shipped. I had no intentions of killing our own, but I recently found out that our local hatchery's owner passed away and the family is selling it. Trying to have a good attitude about having to have a blood bath on our property. ugh.

Anyway, so easily distracted... the chicken coop and run. I had intended on calling it the Banty Shanty, but the kids keep freaking out when I call it that and refer to it as "the Chicken House". Real original, huh? So, I guess we have a Chicken House housed with, you guessed it, chickens.
The Coop is almost finished. We mainly need to side it and paint the said siding. Also the pop hole ladder is temporary. The stuff we are going to make it out of is currently underneath hundreds of pounds of siding. Then the coop is finished. The run is completely enclosed now. We had to put up aviary netting because the hawks were circling everyday and I swear I heard them forming a plan of attack. So, I asked Jeff nicely to put up aviary netting.... like that? Translation... I freaked out that my chickens were going to be eaten and had a close-to mental meltdown and Jeff caved and bought me aviary netting. That is pretty much how it went down.

Anyway, there is still much to do in the run. We need to put up shade structures and put the food and water outside on the north side (back side by the ladder in the picture).

I totally just added all the pictures and am beyond frustrated at the layout of this blog thing. It doesn't preview the way I see it. It has them all in different order and the text is way whacked out. Just thought I would clue you all in to why my written voice may get slightly frustrated at times. Because I am ... frustrated that is.

There is a picture in here of Scooter, the rooster. He is black and white. Mean. Plump. You get the gist. He's standing by the pop hole door. Not sure where the picture will be. I am sure you can find it... That's another thing. It keeps changing fonts on me in the middle of typing. No wonder I don't blog more. Good golly.

Anywho, on the back side by the feeders is where the entrance to the peafowl shack will soon be. Because I am that crazy. So that is my blog for today. Taking bets on how long it will take me to post again. Not that I don't have it rigged or anything.

Littles Update

So, I figured it was time for a Calla update. I forget to do this, because, well, frankly, it is hard to find the time to really do anything productive when you have three littles at your feet. So anyway, for the grandparents and great grandparents sake, here is an update.

Calla is 8 months, yup, 8. Time has flown with her. Maybe because there is so much to do or maybe because time just does that. She is the most happiest baby I have ever met. Everyone seems to say that about her. She has the biggest most contagious smile I have ever been around and I love it. She is army crawling around the house these days. She is a VERY good eater. Loves to play with her big sis and brother. Screams at people to get them to look at her and then charms them with her toothless grin. She has been sleeping through the night for quite a while now. She shares a bedroom with both Bren and Ikee. They all do great. Really she is a very content baby and I have to remember to spend one on one time with her because she rarely demands it. It goes without saying that her name fits her perfectly and she has won me over.

Isaac turned 2 before Christmas and had himself a tractor birthday, or as he calls it "GaGa". He is such a fun boy to be around. He is getting his two year molars which has been rough, but almost over. I find it hard to believe how much he is growing to be like his daddy everyday. He is at the oh so very cute stage where everything he does has that adorable factor to it. I will purposely give him cereal and milk just to watch him put the bowl up to his mouth to drink the milk. It makes me smile every time. He is talking more and more. His sentences are becoming so much more complex. It has been a relief to be able to communicate with him now. He is enjoying learning about the Bible in BSF and has mastered his answers of "Church", "God", "Jesus", and "Bible". He is beginning to pray for meals with the family and loves to shout AMEN and throw his hands up in the air. He is becoming such a little man. Currently his life is consumed with tractors and construction excavators. It is pretty much all he thinks about.

Bren is 3 1/2 and becoming a little lady. She goes to preschool two days week, and BSF once a week. She is also involved in AWANA and loves to say her verses. It amazes me how much she is absorbing and how she is connecting the dots to so much in life. And to think I was worried that she wasn't talking much, boy, I didn't have anything to worry about AT ALL. She is very talkative and will pretty much tell you how it is, at least in her mind. I have enjoyed her growing personality, and though it has it's rough days, she is very much like me. She has really taken to her sister and adores her. I have to be pretty watchful because she will try to pick her up and carry her around, precariously, I might add. We are starting to raise chickens and she has been very aware and excited. She has pretty much gone up a rung in development that I am having to adjust how our days go. She's even lost her baby face and looks like a little girl.

I am one proud mommy and wouldn't trade them for anything. Though there are moments, days, whatever, that I may throw my hands up in the air in frustration and joke about posting them on craigslist I love them dearly and they are my life; as chaotic as it may be. Well, that's that. Another day in the lyon pride. Stay tuned for a chicken update. Coming Soon!

Order Up!

Today we have officially committed. No turning back. The chicks have been ordered, reserved, and paid for. Jeff said I could get 10... I ordered 12... Jeff doesn't know this yet... Please pray for me :)

In my defense, it turns out that some breeds are very hard to determine the sex, they are called straight runs. Unfortunately 6 of the 12 chicks that I ordered are straight runs. So there is the possibility that I could be receiving 6 hens and 6 roosters. AND we won't know it until they start crowing at 8 weeks... ish.
Aren't we lucky? You may be seeing some craigslist postings for roosters come June.
This is why I internally justified ordering12. I couldn't help it. I know this also means that I could be receiving 12 hens, but the odds are not too high.

So, I thought that maybe you would all be just as enthusiastic to see what kind of breeds I ordered as I was to order them. So, of the 12, only 3 have names at this point. We are still working on that. I might wait to see what kind of personalities they have. Nonetheless... in order of arrival...

March 30th
2 Golden Campines











April 6th
1 Brown Leghorn




Noted as a prolific layer. I am thinking the name "Omelet" may suffice here.









1 Silver Wyandotte














1 White Crested Black Polish




She, if it is a she, will have the name "Lady Gaga", per Jeff. I thought it was a stroke of pure brilliance. Safe to say I am gaga over this one.





April 13th
1 Buff Orpington











2 Black Australorps
















1 White Australorp














April 20th
1 Rhode Island Red











1 Barred Plymouth Rock














1 Araucana















All pictures have been borrowed from the internet, with the majority coming from www.backyardchickens.com. A wonderful website, if I don't say so myself.

Stay tunes for when we will have our very own pictures. I am sure they will be much cuter than these, coming from a mother.... hen.