Birthday Chicks

Chick Momma

Although her birthday is not until July, Evelyn has been talking about getting chicks for her birthday and having a chickie party. Since we were all stuck at home together, we decided to get chicks sooner rather than later to "free up" summer (at the time we had no clue these restrictions would last so long). But all the mail-order hatcheries were sold out for months, The Grange had canceled all chick sales for the year, and the smaller feed stores were sold out too! So what's one to do but hatch chicks oneself!?!?

Our incubator was finally delivered on May 5th and we had 6 eggs in it that very day! We waited...

The kids talked about the eggs often. We candled them and saw development. Burns was sure we would have 2 chickies and one lizard...I guess he thought the last three eggs were duds. 

Finally, on Monday morning we came downstairs to the sound of peeping!! One chick had hatched! The whole day was filled with checking the incubator! We watched the progression as the other eggs went from chirping to having tiny cracks called "pips", to lots of tapping all the way around, to wet floppy chicks pushing the shell apart into two perfect pieces! Within 12 hours of hatch the floppy wet chicks were active little puff balls. SUCH a fun experience!

A little ugly at first

Doesn't get cuter than this though!

We spent all day here

4 hatched, 2 to go!

Like I said, all day

Now the chicks are outside in their brooder box. They're doing well and have lots of opportunities to go on "field trips" to the grass or around the porch with the kids.  

Ev asked me to hold one so she could take a picture

My Experience as a Volunteer Provider

In the enclosed nurse's office where I could take my gown and gloves off.

**late post from May 17, 2020**

Dusting off the bin holding my scrubs, I reflected back on applying for my Washington nurse license. "Would you like to register as an Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioner?" the application asked. "Sure" click. It felt like a role I'd never be called on to fulfill. And yet, here I was, after one phone call, preparing to head to work the next day. I was pulling out my scrubs, freshening them up, and seeing how they fit after a season of neglect.

That was a month ago. I have now fulfilled my assignment, today was my last day assisting a facility to make it through a very difficult season. When I walked in on that Saturday morning I felt the weight, the grief, and exhaustion of the employees. I watched as the staff focused on the tasks at hand, knowing that many would succumb to tears again as they got in their cars to head home. I saw the shadow of what the facility had been, remnants of the cheer and fun...but now the halls were quiet and the elderly residents did not understand why they were not allowed out of their rooms. This virus was taking the lives of these beloved residents and although the staff was accustomed to end-of-life care, they never expected to be providing so much at once. 

Now things are different. The facility is still not back to "normal" but there is definitely a sense that the darkest days are over. I feel grateful to have had this experience, grateful to have had a chance to serve in this way and grateful for my husband who made it all possible by spending his weekends with the 4 creatures we call "children" after he already home-schooled them all week!

COVID19

So many words to describe this time: unprecedented, uncertain, stressful, depressing, disaster, pandemic, uncertain, unnerving, scary, critical, crisis, tragic...the list goes on. And yet...and yet in the midst of this world-wide health crisis, our little homestead is thriving. We are so blessed that Daniel was able to take time off from work and I am able to work from home. We are so blessed to have been forced into a season of together. With all activities including school canceled, we are here. We are home. We are together. It is not to say that we are ignorant. We understand the rest of the world is in the throes of a crisis. We understand the gravity of the situation and we understand that not only will many become sick, but some will also die, and the world's economy will be gravely impacted. We are not sheltered from the fact that this is a historic time. And yet...

So how can I bring generous into this season? How can I be generous when I can't even spend time with my neighbor? Well, I can bring them groceries. I can be generous by staying home to prevent the spread. I can be a word of encouragement. And I can be generous RIGHT HERE. In this family, in this home. These two and a half weeks have brought so much joy, so much together time, I am so thankful for them. When I was coming to a point where I wasn't sure I liked my kids at all, when everything bugged me about them, when I tried to be patient but it just wasn't working, and then BAM we were together 24/7 and life changed. Now I love being around them, I love learning with them, I love being reminded how special they each are. It's going to rain this week so maybe my opinion will change a bit as we spend more together time indoors but I am still thankful. Thankful for the wake-up and for these crazy kids. 

Here are some highlights of our Corona-cation as we are calling it:

Day 1- get piglets and introduce them to Mars, our dog.

Next, get dirty...

...by helping not-so-helpfully...

...but also very helpfully...

...to build a fence.

Fit some homeschool in here...

...and there.

Answer some life-questions like, "how does a toilet flush?"

Add some popsicle breaks.

And you have yourself a Corona-cation

Generous

Yes, February is half over and I am finally posting the word for the year. I have a million excuses, a million "reasons" I might prefer to say. But those are for another day, or never at all. Who wants excuses?

After spending 2019 in REFLECTing, I moved into 2020 with a new enthusiasm, new assurance of the direction life is heading and how to be every day obedient. I'll continue to hold this sense of reflection, just as I hold all the words from past years. Rather than "moving on", I seek now to add to the collection. The collection of words, foci from years past, growth areas. This year I seek to open my hands. Stop holding all that I have, all the gifts, and release them. Be generous with time, money, resources, words. Generous in my home as I serve my family, generous within the community, generous as I fill my role in this crazy world.

Will you join the ride?