Aah Chickens!

Not going to lie.  Up to this point, chickens are my least favorite farm "animal." I find them to be loud, dirty and down right mean (ok, maybe that is the rooster).  I was dreading the day that we would have them enter our farming lives but knew that it was coming soon.  Exhibit A above.  50 sweet sounding, innocent baby chickens resting comfortably in our shed.  My brother-in-law had not planned on getting chickens so soon so his coop was not ready (when you can purchase them for 10 cents each, you jump on the chance to get those little chirping bundles of joy). They need heat and other "amenities" to survive this early stage.  Evidently Burnett Lane had all the amenities a one week old chick needed so they came to stay with us for a few days until Troy was set up and ready to go.

So, they were cute and sweet.  But what was truly sweet was the expression on my children's faces as they saw them and even held them.  I had just about forgotten the true joy one can experience when seeing one of God's creatures up close and personal.

Now, this city girl has never fed chickens.  I eat them and run from them but never fed them.  So, I was very proud of myself because I fed those little peepers.  I filled their water and put feed in the feeder, sometimes twice a day. I made sure that the temperature was right so they weren't too hot or too cold.  I morphed into this mama hen role rather quickly which I found quite shocking (remember, I DON'T like chickens).

So here is what I learned:

• I can do this.
• I actually found some joy and even a sense of purpose in feeding these little jewels. 
• They do poop alot!

and...drum roll please..

Once our home is built, I would like a hen house nearby so that me and the kids can have our own chickens to care for everyday.  Fresh eggs and meat and knowing where they come from is pretty empowering.  For Emily to say to her friends that we just go right out back to get our eggs and not the store would be pretty amazing.  

Oh, but I haven't changed my mind about roosters.  I will NOT be hugging a pet rooster anytime soon.

Just a paper

Farmer's wife and daughter tackling the big city.

It is hard to believe that we have been living in Vincennes for over 9 months.  I will say that in many ways it has flown by and then there are other instances where I feel like we have been here forever.  When Emily and I were back in Indianapolis this past weekend to drop off beef, it felt like we hadn't been back in years. So much seemed different, like we were truly visitors, no longer residents of that great city.  Without really realizing it, we had become more than just transplant residents in small town Indiana.  We had settled into a new life without realizing it.  Somehow, I had missed the fact that we were now home - a new home that will be ours for the rest of our lives.  When did this happen?!  Contentment snuck up on me in between ice storms and blizzards, changing diapers and helping with homework.  Stripping our lives down to what we need vs what we want uncovered what was really our truth.  That in the end, we need each other, our families, and God.  Everything else will fall into place where it should.

One of the simple pleasures that our family enjoys now is reading the paper.  Our dear Aunt Phoebe purchased a subscription for us a few weeks back.  I am embarrassed to say that we are just now enjoying the Vincennes Sun-Commercial.  We had talked about getting it for months (story of my life, say I am going to do something and things and life just get in the way).  I had no idea how much joy I would get from touching and turn a newspaper.  Family warned us that there isn't much to the paper but they are wrong. Treasures are hiding around every page turn.

Stories of local happenings and events, card "parties" for 50 year anniversaries, who is getting married, births, pictures of local sport teams and my ever favorite section of local arrests.  Note to self and my children:  you mess-up, everyone will know about it.  I love that I can read about the historical society championing the restoration of a building downtown or about our local high school's charge to win another state basketball championship.  To see Tony and Emily working on the crossword puzzle together is just precious.

Even the little boys like flipping through the ads.

We slow down, sit and just read.  We live in small town, middle America and the Vincennes Sun-Commercial shares that.  It isn't always exciting but I am learning that I like that. I have to say I have even had some proud moments seeing family names and pictures buried in the pages.  You gotta love the small town paper.