Quack

Meet Poppins (yes, after Mary)...

...Sir Francis...

 (he's a drake, which means boy, I've learned; girls are called hens; 3 or more together are called a bevy, not a flock)

...Lily...

...and Sniffy Jo! (Berea picked that name)

Our neighbors moved and asked us to take their ducks. So here we are, giving it a shot! They seem to be really good egg layers- each one is laying an egg a day. I'm still pretty weirded out by the idea of eating duck eggs, but I was also pretty weirded out by the idea of eating eggs from my own chickens. So I expect I'll be branching out one of these days. The rest of my family have all tried them and say they don't taste any different from chicken eggs. 

It's fun to hear quacking, though. Who needs to go to a pond now?

And you can officially call Christian a Duckboy (a really funny book)- I'm sure he'd laugh. Really.

http://duckboy.com/

Life, Art

What these pictures can say about life...

This picture shows that we've been sick again and I'm catching up from laundry (aren't I always?). BUT it also shows empty couches- we're starting to get better! Which is good, because in a week life is going to start getting crazy with lots of family coming into town!!!

Life is still very dry. And hot. And windy. BUT we still have more color and life than in winter!

Peter saved and saved and saved up enough to buy this laptop (used, of course)! 

The kids are done with school and tuning in more to their creativity...

This picture is dark. Our house is dark, trying to stay cool, since our only methods of cooling are oscillating fans. It was 102* yesterday! Very very warm for where we live. Very warm for this time of year- we haven't "technically" even hit our last frost date! BUT look at my new curtains! I love them! We'll save the old 90's plaid ones for Christmastime when they can pass as slightly less annoying. :)

 The kids are painting this morning. T. is my bright-colors, cover-the-entire-paper (several times) girl. Don't bother her with details, just give her lots of color.

B's my think-outside-of-the-box girl who doesn't particularly care about art. So if she has to paint, who really cares about colors?

A is my van Gogh type- lots of colors, some details, but fairly sketchy.

E is my frustrated realist- he sees a picture in his head that he wants to create and just hasn't learned to connect the picture with his paintbrush. So he'll give it a good shot, get frustrated and leave, then come back to it and turn it into something else!

P is my engineer-type- he has to draw everything out in pencil, with a ruler, before he can paint. Incidentally, he has invented a World War 2 conquer the world game that actually works fairly well!

Welcome, Wednesday

I'm needing to remember to be thankful today, so here it goes...

I'm thankful the twins usually love each other. Even if they physically cannot both look at the camera and smile at the same time. I'm also thankful that I saved these African dresses from when they fit Anne.

 

I'm thankful for God's strength enabling me to "run" 27 minutes out of 30- so far! I'm "training" for a 5K next month to benefit a friend who's battling cancer. I've never been a runner, but used to dream of running when I was pregnant with the twins. I enjoy it and am really learning to rely on God for each step! I guess that I can be thankful for my tendonitis in my ankles for that reason, too...

I'm thankful for our "new" couches! 

I'm thankful for the stomach flu that has hit our house, because....

It reminds me that I really do love my kids very much even when I have a complete FAIL moment when I snap and yell loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear that I hate being a mom. 

I'm thankful for failure. It humbles me like nothing else can. It makes me cry out to God to forgive me, change me, and not let the enemy have victory over me. So while I HATE failing, I am thankful for it in the end.

I'm thankful for this kid. I am. I need to take more pictures in my heart of the many sweet things he says and does. And I need to get an automatic erase function for the many hurtful, selfish things I hear- not just from him and not just directed to me.

I'm thankful that God is not finished with any of us.

 I'm thankful for growth outside as well. Spring has the tendency to stress me out with the high winds and late freezes that can decimate the new, green life I get so excited to see. But I'm thankful for the life that makes it!

 

 I'm thankful for an innovative husband who doesn't let a little thing like not having a permit yet stop him from going forward in gardening. 

I'm thankful for the boots I got for Peter for $1 at Laura's yard sale.

I'm thankful that one of the twins can now pedal in the right direction! One step closer to being able to go for family bike rides!

 I'm thankful that the dress I made for Anne worked out well without too many issues! 

I'm thankful for the patience God has taught me through sewing. Every time, I now expect to run out of bobbin thread about 3-4 inches before I want it to. So when it does (so far, every time), I'm able to laugh instead of grumble.

 I'm (*wince*) thankful that my dishwasher is broken again. My kitchen is never cleaner than when my dishwasher's broken. I absolutely HAVE to keep up with the dishes if I don't want to completely lose my sanity after the next meal. When I have a functioning dishwasher, I have a tendency to load it and save the big stuff for later and later.... So, I'm thankful.

My verse for the day:

Lamentations 3:21-23

"But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end;

They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."

Welcome, Wednesday!

Kitties

The kittens have adopted the bottom nest box as their favorite place to sleep

Though sometimes they'll sneak onto the shelf, behind all the crates for a snooze...and if they're really out of it, we'll think they're lost...or eaten by a hawk...or hit by a car...that was a rough 15 minutes of a Sunday afternoon.

Mo the fluff ball

 The kids have high aspirations of Cory turning into a ninja kitty (click here to see the inspiration) I think Mo is too fluffy to be a good ninja kitty. But they have killed a mouse! So there's hope. :)

 They can actually still baaaarely squeeze through one of the squares of the chain link!

 You can see how big the chicks have gotten! 

The kittens and birds all seem to get along just fine, in case you're wondering.

Even the chickens are sun/dirt bathing in the nice warm weather.

MY Jackson wheel barrow. Not Christian's. MINE.

New Little Niecey!

We're so excited for Gary and Faith in the arrival of little Felicity! Grace and I (and G/A's boys) got to take a quick trip down to Phoenix to visit, thanks to my amazing man who took all our kids to church by himself (and went shopping and made lunch and had a friend over for tea...)!

Here she is! Less than 24 hours old!

 Me with Faith's first-born...

 Faith with my first-born! 

Both babies delivered by the same midwife, just a week (and a few years) apart !

Auntie Grace is ready for twins, right?

Faith is a mama!!!!

Sisters and cousins

Judah the love bug

 

 The Fam. :)

Congrats, guys!