The Morning After

I remember when we purchased our dog, Daisy She was just a few weeks old. The first night we had her home I felt as if I had just given birth to a newborn. She whimpered all night long, not to mention the time it took to potty train etc., I thought "what did we do!"

Last night was a totally different experience, the only thing that kept us awake was the sheer excitement of our new little friends.

The kids were allowed to stay awake extra long so they could visit with the chicks. Later in the evening, after the kids had been in bed, I noticed Mike was no longer lounging on the sofa reading. After popping my head in almost every room, he was no where to be found, until I looked one last place. I walked up to the third floor, and there was Mike, like a big kid, watching the chicks with excitement. See, this whole thing would not be happening if it weren't for Mike's lifelong ( at least adult life) dream of having his own chickens. I was fine just purchasing my eggs (free range, organic that is...) from the grocery store. I was just fine visiting these cute creatures at the petting zoo's and local farms, besides, how on earth could we raise chickens, and in the city!

It wasn't until God changed my heart and united it with my husbands, that I agreed to this "crazy idea." Mike has done much research on this topic, both in the past and recently. In the course of two weeks I watched as he breezed through two 500 or so page books on the topic, talk with local chicken owners, email friends etc. All the while, I did my own research and felt my heart turning towards my husbands dream.

I watched last night how excited the kids were as they observed these cute little birds hop around, chirping, pecking and picking. I watched their eyes widen, their faces light up and the questions arise, something modern toys, games and electronics could never evoke. My prayer is that we don't simply have chickens just for the eggs or nostalgia, but that we allow our Creator to teach us through something so pure and so perfect.

Tomorrow Morn, We'll Be Wakin' Up With the Chickens

Tonight we go to bed a happy family. There are four young chicks living in our loft. The pick-up at Destiny Farm was an adventure in itself. We will tell more about that experience later. After much research, discussion and conversation with other chicken owners we made up our minds. We have selected 2 Road Island Reds and 2 Isa Browns, a breed which promises over 300 eggs a year. They are healthy, hearty and will be ready for our chicken tractor ( still in the works) in about 6-8 weeks.

Madeline anticipated the trip to the farm all day long. She and Michael have been working really hard with Daddy setting up the brooder box. She could hardly focus on her school work today just thinking of the little chicks that she would soon cup in her hands. Michael was equally excited, and exclaimed "this is sweet" more times than we can count. Miles seemed to be really happy as we gathered in the farmers chicken coup this evening. He loved all the sounds and fluffy life all around us. On the way home from the farm this evening, our 4 little birds chirped in the back seat, anticipating a warmer area to snuggle up to. Half way home, Michael said "Please close my door tonight Mom, so I don't hear them "chipping" all night." Mike and I on the other hand, cannot wait to be lulled to sleep by the "chipping" of our new friends.