Tuesday, June 30, 2009

New Chicks in the House

Our new chickens: Tawny and Pepper (for obvious reasons!)

The limb that fell off the tree next door. Can you see the hollow inside?

Silas and Micah in front of our tent.

No, not actually in the house. But we were given some chicks - 6 week old ones. We don't know yet if they are hens or roosters. We have been talking about whether or not to get some chickens. Last Monday, a lady from church called us and said she didn't want her two chickens, and asked if we wanted them. So here we are. Our plan now is to get a few more when Jeremy builds a bigger coop. Two chickens won't provide enough eggs for our family - especially if one ends up being a rooster!

I had some more pictures I wanted to share with you. We camped one night on the way to our conference last month, and really enjoyed ourselves. By the time we got into the campground and set up the tent, we didn't have time to build the fire and let the boys roast marshmallows like we had promised, so we did it after breakfast the next morning. Nothing like a lot of sweet early in the morning!


Our church will be having VBS in July starting on the 13th. We are getting ready for that. We are doing Son Rock camp (I think that's what it's called). We might even set up our tent for decoration. So far, we have enough workers that I won't need to be involved. I don't mind helping, but trying to lead or teach is difficult when I have so many little ones that can't go. But I think we have all of the teachers we need.


We are planning a big 4th of July picnic here at the church this year. Jeremy has been making big plans, and from what I hear everyone is excited about it! It will start at 10 am with a ping pong tournament inside the fellowship hall. Around noon, there will be a BBQ/potluck. The church is providing the meat and buns with the church family bringing sides, etc. During the afternoon, Jeremy is planning on having lots of different games available for people to play - like croquet, kick ball, frisbee golf, etc. Then in the evening, they will be showing a movie outside (with the movie being projected up on the outside wall of the building). I think they will show WallE or something like that. We are hoping for a big turnout of church people, and hopefully they will personally invite their friends to come as well.
Jeremy's mom and sister came to visit us a couple of weeks ago. We really enjoyed our time together. On Jeremy's day off while they were here, we took a hike behind the park in Eureka (Robby ended up with a tick), and then we walked around old town Eureka. We had a good time. The day before they left, part of a tree right in front of the business next door cracked and crashed to the ground. It was quite an interesting sound. We are grateful that it didn't hit the church or our house and that no one was hurt. When we went over to investigate, we saw that the inside of the tree was completely hollow.
Annalee has gotten her first tooth. I can't believe how time flies. I don't know that it's ever easier to see how quickly time flies than when you have a newborn baby. It seems like she was born just yesterday! She is not crawling yet, but rocking back and forth on her hands and knees. And she loves her homemade baby cereal. We started making her cereal out of brown rice flour and white bean flour. We mix them together, then cook them in a dry pot until slightly brown. Then we keep it in the freezer. It cooks in just a minute in the microwave, then we add fruit. Not only does Anna really enjoy it, but also Micah and Zeke. They are constantly asking Dad if they can have some, too.
I posted a recipe for dishwasher soap a while ago and mentioned that I also had a recipe for laundry soap. Well, I had someone email me and ask me for the recipe, so I thought I would post it for anyone else that might want it. I have been using this laundry soap for 4 years now.
Laundry Soap
1 bar Fels Naptha
1 cup washing soda (not baking soda)
1 cup Borax
Grate the Fels Naptha soap into a pan; add 4 cups of water. Cook over medium (or low) heat until soap is dissolved. Pour into a 5 gallon bucket and add 3 gallons of hot tap water. Stir in washing soda and Borax. Stir until well mixed. Let set up over night. This only takes about 1/3 cup or so per load. I don't measure it - I just use an old laundry scoop. I find Fels Naptha, washing soda and Borax at WinCo (can also be ordered online).

1 comment:

Bobbi said...

It sounds like you guys are doing awesome!! I hope your 4th of July goes spectacularly! Talk to you later!