Adoption Day

December 21st was adoption day!  We had a great trip.  It was the best Christmas present to be able to make our family completely officially ours!  It's pretty amazing to drive halfway across the state to attend a hearing that takes less than 10 minutes.  It was an incredible day for the whole family.  I really think Abby and Sean are more secure in our home now that they know they are staying forever!

Sean and Abby

We're in the midst of final preparations to travel in the snow storm across the state to Sean's and Abby's adoption day.  We're praying the van holds up and does well in the snow, especially through the Laurel Highlands.  We are so excited to be able to finalize their adoption before Christmas.  What a fantastic Christmas present this is for us.  Sean keeps asking us if it's really going to happen, will he get presents and candy, if we're late to see the judge.  I don't know how a 5 year old brain can process his life so far and what's happening to him on Monday.  In some ways I think he's excited, in some ways, I think he's nervous.  I don't know if he can understand what permanency means, but we will have to walk through that with him until he feels secure.  Abby doesn't know that she ever lived anywhere else.  Her past placements are distant memories, that I think she sees in her dreams sometimes.  I think she views them as imaginary.  I am so excited that Sean and Abby will be officially Louis' Monday!

Organizing

When am I finally going to learn to do one job at a time instead of running all around the house as a cleaning and organizing mad-woman?  Dave hates it when I clean...Maybe because it's too much movement for him.  Right now I have my hand in 4 or 5 projects while trying to pack so we can make a quick trip across the state tomorrow to officially adopt Sean and Abby on Monday.  I am so thankful for the time my dear friend, Lisa, spent with us last week.  She helped out SO MUCH and got the ball rolling for the stuff we have been able to get done this past week.  Starting a remodeling project 4 weeks before Christmas may not be a good idea.  BUT, we do have room for the Christmas tree, now.  Even if the remodel is not done and the house isn't perfectly organized on Christmas morning, we will still have an amazing first Christmas with our 2 new additions who will be OFFICIALLY OURS by then.  Now, back to that cleaning and organizing to do list...

Chickens

The idea of raising our own eggs really appealed to us.  We knew nothing about chickens when we got started.  We rescued 4 chicks from being eaten by lizards at a reptile show last spring.  We raised them from hatchlings.  We cared for them in the house.  The boys (just Evan and Sam at the time) helped with all the chicken care.  Then, we got Rosie, a full grown Rhode Island Red hen.  We absolutely adored her.  She took care of the chicks when we put them outside.  We were novice, inexperienced "micro-farmers" and had no idea what we are doing.  We put them in an insecure structure, and two of our precious chicks were eaten by raccoons who got into the pen.

Rosie and the other 2 chicks did very well for several weeks.  Rosie as laying 1 - 2 beautiful brown eggs a day.  She was so tame and a wonderful pet.  Then, Strauss (RIP), our lab mix, got into the pen and killed Rosie.  Tipper, our other lab mix, got one of the chicks who ran away.  

All we had left was Foghorn Leghorn, who we affectionately named at the time.  We got 2 more adult chickens, Rosie 2 and Sally, and had them for several more weeks.  Our last original chicken, Foghorn, was killed by a raccoon another night.  Finally we figured out how to secure the chicken pen and eventually traded Rosie and Sally for the flock we have now.  

We have 8 chickens, 3 Buff Orpingtons, 2 bantam ornamental mixed chickens, 1 buff orpington mixed chicken, and 2 Aracaunas.  So, we have 4 brown egg layers and 4 green egg layers, YES, I SAID GREEN!  They started laying eggs this week, since we got them as chicks.  Now all of our hard work is finally paying off.  We got 15 eggs in just a few days.  Go Hens!

This is a small intro to our life with chickens.  We really enjoy them, especially now that they are producing!

 

How to begin...

After a phone call with a good friend, I decided it would be fun to start a blog about my journey as a homeschooling, adoptive, stay at home mom who is learning how to cook from scratch, raise our own food (yes, we have chickens), and bake bread!  My life is very different now than it ever was before.  4 kids in 2 1/2 years who are now 3, 4, 5, and 6.  Raising chickens, learning to cook wholesome food and be self-sufficient.  I hope you enjoy reading about daily life in the Louis Manor.  Blessings to you as you prepare for the celebration of the birth of our Savior!