My mom sent us a recipe on how to make Resurrection cookies. It was great! Every ingredient had a corresponding Bible verse and represented a part of the Easter story. It was a bit long for the littlest one, but definitely a good tradition to start. Here is actually a picture of me - thanks to Jubi. The children will wonder if they even had a mother since I am always behind the camera. :)

We broke down and bought a dozen white eggs from the store to decorate. We have been selling our eggs, so we didn't want to just boil them for ourselves. Daddy does a deluxe decorating job.

More chicken news

And if you haven't noticed, there is a lot of chicken news. I feel like I have gained yet another child. Two of our chickens have developed a foot infection. This is our first go 'round with chicken sickness. I find it kinda interesting. Chickens don't have insurance, and so we search for how to take care of things ourselves. We are dealing with bumblefoot we think. So I have been learning give antibiotic injections, cleaning and bandaging a chicken's wound. (Flinstone bandaides just don't do the trick.)

Jeff's Eggs

Here is the proud chicken farmer, showing off his diverse egg colors. Our Americanas (sp?) chick from November is now laying our green eggs. Dr. Seuss must have had some back yard chickens - the shells are green, (not the yokes, like his illustrations). :)

Easter Egg Hunt

We had a hunt a few days after Easter so Daddy could be with us. Our grass is long enough to actually hide the eggs in it. We bought a pack of plastic eggs and everyone got to hunt for their color. Jubilee hunted for pink, Hosanna, purple, Zachary blue, etc. that way everyone comes out even.

Obviously very thrilled!

I love laundry photos. I think I could collect painting of hanging laundry - just seems so homey. :)

This little guy loves to smile for the camara - he's a cutie!

Chickens Can Give God Glory

This is my story of how God uses a chicken for His glory - yes, it can be done! About a week ago, Jeff brought home another rooster. This is not just another alarm clock, but he is supposed to be a the same breed as one of our hens. The point of the rooster was to have he and his wife make more of their kind. Well, Jeff left for his five-day-on shift at work. That night the rooster did not find its way back to the chicken barn. Oh, dear. I have lost my husband's precious rooster. So, I called him to confess that his dear chicken was probably dead. That same morning I began teaching the children about the resurrection. After our devotional time I thought that I would pray that God would bring back our rooster. Pretty bold considering that chickens are easy prey at night because they become very docile when sleepy. They are almost in a daze. Well, I went to the car to grab something for our homeschool lesson. It was pouring rain and my hands were full, so I decided to just run to the front door and have one of the kids open the door for me. I rounded the corner to the front of the house and there he was. The rooster was sitting on the front porch!!! I couldn't believe it! Had God really answered my prayer in less than half an hour? Well, I dropped my homeschool materials, and grabbed the chicken by his legs. I came in the front door with my "prize" to show the children how God had answered prayer. Jeff got a phone call after the rooster was put back in the barn - the chicken is not dead, but very much alive.
But that's not all...because somehow our friend didn't feel convinced that it was God's will for his life to live with us. So, the next day he escaped again! I couldn't believe. Oh, no. We just went through the whole thing that God helped bring Daddy's chicken back and now he's gone again. Jeff got another phone call that his rooster was again, probably dead. Two days went by. Now it's Easter afternoon. I have just dealt with Jubilee's favorite hen and her foot infection. Feeling pretty successful with my novice vet procedure, we sat on the grass in the back yard. A few mintues later, I popped up. "Are you sure that chicken is not just sitting in the barn?" I asked Jubilee. "Yes, Mama. I checked everywhere." Ok. Well, Zachary and I are going to check once again. Sure enough - no rooster. I said to Zachary, "let's pray that God would bring him back again." So we prayed again. We left the chicken barn, walked out the gate, and there he was - in the neighbor's horse field. I yelled, "Look what God has done! Look, everyone! God has brought Daddy's rooster back again! God has done this!" Now the hard part begins. A rooster in an open, muddy field with the five of us. So I prayed that God would help us catch the rooster since He was so generous as to bring it back to us again. Jubilee was told to watch Jonathon. And the three's and I grabbed sticks and went in three different directions in an attempt to scare the rooster back to our barn. I have to give credit where credit is due. The three's didn't a mighty fine job running with sticks. :) I got the rooster right out of the muddy field and into the nieghbor's barn. He flew right out the window. He seemed to take a moment's rest. That's my chance. I grabbed him by his tail feathers. He squaked in rebuke and flapped pretty good, but I was more determined than him (and bigger, and maybe even stronger). After he settled down, I held him by his feet again, and we had our victory march back to the barn. Now he is in his "time-out" pen until Jeff comes home tomorrow and shows me how to clip his feathers. But God got a whole heap of glory from one run-a-way rooster. God is good!!!!

Playmates

There were actually a lot more chickens around Hosanna right before I took this picture. She was singing to herself - and her playmates. Talk about free-range birds.

Our chicks

Such an amazing thing happened about a week ago. Our broody hen did such a good job, that chicks have hatched. One night Jubilee and Hosanna were feeding the chickens and came up to the house with two peeping chicks. The next day there was another. Until now we have 6! Tis exciting to have your own chickens make more! Five are black with white wing tips and one is yellow with a brown stripe down its back. We think that is an Orlaf - or however your spell it. :)