9.30.2012

cheep fun


 Last weekend, 7 of the chicks hatched and we have been having fun ever since. 
There is a LOT of cheeping going on around here!

 It is an amazing experience to watch new life begin...and end also as one chick that tried to hatch did not make it.
Shortly after the first pipping began, I quickly realized that hatching chicks is recipe for OBSESSION! 
For 2 days straight, all I could think about was CHICKS! 
I was constantly in and out of the room, eyes peeled and watching the progress.
 
I wanted to see one hatch so bad but always just missed it. 
Then at about 10:30 on Saturday night, I decided I was going to watch a chick hatch that had been pipping for a while. By midnight, I just knew that it would hatch at any moment. At least I thought it would!? 

When 3am came around that little chick finally hatched. 
And I was 1 tired mamma when at 8 am I had no choice but to get up....
Plus, I had more chick watching to do!

My kids, especially Justin are LOVING them and have each picked their own out. Luckily they are all so different.
 Justin is holding 'my' chick...the one I stayed up WAY too late for! ;)
 

 Already, in 1 week they went from only fluff to fluff and feathers on their wings.
It's pretty cool to watch them develop. 
The kids are so excited to share the excitement. The chicks even got to Skype with my mom tonight. 
 
This is all great cheep fun for sure!

9.20.2012

FLASHBACK!

With a cool job for Patrick and lots of wonder of where the wind would blow us ,God would lead us, on July 21st, 2011 we officially began our journey to an unknown destination.


It was just about the craziest thing we have ever done!


Wait, I take that back.
It WAS the craziest thing we have ever done!



I still have a hard time believing I lived in a travel trailer with 4 young kids for 2 months,
but I have pictures to prove that I did!


Patrick loosing that telecomuting job 2 weeks after leaving Vegas while we were in Medford getting a new transmission in our car was NOT part of our plan, but looking back, it was meant to be.



Getting several interviews and finding a perfect job within 4 days was God's way of helping us find a place to settle down.



It was a MIRACLE and a huge blessing!
We didn't know where we should live, but He did!


It would have been a LOT easier if we would have had a bigger trailer but it's tooo late for that!

Oh, the contrast!

Fitting the basic necessities for a family of 6 into our little tuna can was no easy task, but it was actually pretty fun! 

Like a puzzle even!


I had to find a lot of solutions to lots of challenges that came as a result of living in such a small space, BUT I did get to sit on my bed while cooking dinner!


 Sleeping quarters were tight, but since the kids were all small, they fit just right!!


Each had a sleeping bag they tucked away in a basket each morning.
Each person got their own basket.

Patrick and I got to sleep with baby in even closer quarters.
It was more than crowded, but it was cozy being squished like sardines. 
At least I still had nice sheets!


Figuring out how to organize laundry for 6 people in a 12*7 living space was a challenge!
There were 7 outfits, 1-2 things to wear to church and 2 swimsuits each.


One pile of laundry out of place made a huge disturbance!

BUT I did learn the joys of having a laundry facility I could walk to and wash ALL of our clothes at once!



We also had to do the unspeakable.


EAT. 


3 times a day.......at least!
We did eat out 1 or 2 times a week for sanity, but we managed to still cook a lot of good food!

Talk about a puzzle!?!?



Then there were dishes!!!

Believe me, I had to get all sorts of CREATIVE!


Doing dishes outside when things got really bad was more enjoyable anyways!

 
There were more than a few challenges to deal with, but we also had a lot of fun!

We grew closer as a family.
(For obvious reasons.)



and THE KIDS WERE HAPPIER THAN EVER!



 Mostly. ;)





Within a stone's throw there were kids to play with!!!




 We made dear, lifelong friends and had fun with those that we knew for a spell.

 
On one particular day, the kids all gathered for a game of catch. I did have one ball, but they found something even better to throw: SHOES!


Devon didn't need balls either...he just improvised!

We never, ever stopped learning!


One of the MAJOR lessons I learned and I am still trying to exacute after years of having WAY TOO MUCH JUNK:

Less stuff makes life a lot simpler!

I did miss a few things I left on that moving trailer in Vegas (like my bed) but for the most part, I could barely remember what was on there!
It made it a whole lot easier to get rid of some things.

 


Beautiful practically rain-free summer weather here made life more bearable.
We just spent a LOT of time outside!


We still ate delicious, healthyish meals



And I tried my best to keep a smile on my face....
most of the time at least!

{I may or may not relate to the following picture when thinking about how I felt at the time....}



On September 20th, we moved out of our itsy bitsy teeny weeny trailer after nearly
2
very  long  months!



Anna's 5th birthday party....
It was the adventure of a lifetime but I was more than ready to have a little
S P A C E ! ! !


The cool rental "cabin" in the city AND right on the edge of the forest we lived in for 9 months.

Thankfully, we now have plenty of space!

And I'm not as picky as I used to be about what my house is like or how small my kitchen is.
 
Phew!
 

9.19.2012

day 18

Only 3 days left!!!
 
We are hopeful,
 but believe me,
we are NOT counting our chicks before they hatch
this time around!
 
 

9.17.2012

anna is 6!



 And we had a fun time celebrating!

It must have been her lucky day, because we even blew up some baloons and I bought real presents.

Anna picked our neighbor friends to invite for her 1 friend party after much deliberation.

As I went to put out the cake I rushed to find the candles. The only ones in the box...trick candles.
I'd say she was a pretty good sport about it!
Happy Birthday Anna!

9.04.2012

Labor Day

 
Patrick has an extraordinary love of his chain saw......
 
 
 Which means we all got to do lots and lots of Labor on labor day to clean up the aftermath!

We had a YW help work with us there was sooo much to do!
 
 It was sooo much fun that our neighbor even wanted to come help!

And now there's a cute woodpile to show for it all.....