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I LOVE MY CHICKENS :)!!!!!!

everyone thinks i'm crazy!!! but i just LOVE having chickens.! they are just fun and hilarious to watch peck....bawk....waddle....follow me like i'm their momma....and even fun to watch them roost at night!!! they seriously go into a trance(sp?) after dusk. they even put themselves to bed! they all head for "bed"(barn) at dusk, and all you have to do is shut the doors to lock out predators. during the day, unless you corner the silly things you can NOT catch them. but at night....go to the barn, and they DON'T MOVE! you can pick them up and pet them, and they barely even budge!
ok.....fact for the day. DID YOU KNOW......that you can tell what color of egg a hen will lay by the color of their ears??? ha! isn't that interesting and hilarious all at the same time????!!!1
anyway.....the white chicken below is our newest addition. i believe he is called a "white cochin". very feathery! just beautiful! this pic isn't great....i'll post a better one someday. thank you so much to my friend sarah springman for "fluffy"~ :)and the one w/ sophia and the cat.....well.....i just liked it! happy weekend!

most recent pics....

again....such a beautiful family.....(although you don't see them all here) very photogenic and FULL of personality!!! so much fun to capture for her momma! more later....

beautiful kids :)

more to come.....just a few from the weekend. some friends from church :)

you don't see this often!!!

it's not very often you see a chicken that is ALLOWED TO EAT NEXT TO THE ENEMY!!! jackson is such a good and polite dog....he doesn't care they are there :) he truly isn't even bothered by these chickens.... he never chases them or even acknowledges they are around....

Sheep Showmanship!!!!!

oh my goodness!!!! we couldn't have been more proud of our little girls this summer :) they had an awesome year at showing sheep!!! olivia won champion showmanship of her age division several times and reserve champion too! then at the end of the year, they gave awards for an "overall"......and she won Reserve Champion Showman (2nd) overall for the entire showing season!!! now, of course, we don't expect every year to be quite so good.....but she obviously does well......and will have good years and bad.....but we couldn't be more proud of her :)

then there was sophia.....! ha! that little girl had a sheep just her size, and that thing loved her, and she loved it!!! and she showed it like a champ!!! she too will follow in her big sister's footsteps w/ showing......sophia won peewee showmanship EVERY single time she showed :) WHAT A FUN YEAR!!!

the above pics are just of the awards banquet held at the state fair grounds in august, where they distributed the awards for "overall". the good mom i am.....never once took my camera to the shows!!! stupid i know....but i was always so busy working w/ the sheep and watching, i didn't have time for that!!! so if i get their pics from someone else, i will post them :) btw- nathan says sheep are stupid and he wants to show pigs!!!!! LOL

Memories.....

so you are probably wondering why on earth i am posting a picture of a basket of clothes!!! seeing this triggered a wonderful memory of mine. when i was little, i had the pleasure of having a grandmother just down the road. grandma marcella johnson......now let me explain what that has to do w/ the price of eggs!

one day this week, all the kids were gone, the windows were open, a refreshing breeze coming through, i was listening to the radio, and just "working" in the house. of course, one of the things i was working on was laundry. and all of a sudden that memory hit me! i have the fondest memories of getting to spend as much time as i wanted with grandma johnson. all i had to do was call, and she said "i don't care....come on down." anyway, one of the things i have burnt into to my mind, is watching grandma work in the kitchen from the time she got out of bed, until she went to bed. and folding laundry at the kitchen table was something i saw her do all the time. she had a special chair she sat on with a basket of clothes beside her. and of course she had on the radio most the time as well. and therefore, i felt like i was getting the pleasure to do as she did, which delights me thoroughly!!!

School is in session!

this is n&s's best friend delaney kate! they go to church together and now school too! they are all 3 pretty tight at school :)

we always have so much fun during the summers.....and for the most part.....my kids play pretty well together! but it DOES always feel good to get back into routines!!!! this year nathan & sophia are attending preschool at Little Stars in rushville......and so far THEY LOVE IT!!! so 4 days a week i have 2 1/2 hours ALL TO MYSELF!!! and this time next year, ALL 3 KIDS WILL BE IN SCHOOL ALL DAY!!!! YIKES! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!! while i'm no excited at all about that...(cough cough).....it is sometimes scary to think about how fast time really does fly by...... it's easy to want to "hurry up" and get through certain stages in life....especially when they are challenging. but then you realize you never get that stage back! so right now as i'm typing, it's easy to sit here and enjoy my kids........but ask me again about 6 oclock tonight!!!