Our family has definitely been busy the past few weeks. The first order of business was the erection of the chicken house. Let me just say that when my dad sets his mind to build something he does an extraordinary job. Over the years he built three sets of bunkbeds that could also double as bomb shelters. The chicken house was no exception. It's more the size of a tool shed than a chicken coop and I've definitely seen numerous tool sheds that had half the space. I'd post a picture but I have internet issues.
My six-year old brother, Isaac, picked out the only white chicken and named it Ice Cream. We've been trying not to name them but Ice Cream seems a decent name. Later on, we can have Ice Cream for dinner.
Speaking of dinner, one evening while we were eating the evening meal, we noticed Isaac slowly raising a bite of chicken stew to his mouth solemnly saying, "Poor chicken. Poooor chicken." Then he'd chew it up and swallow and then repeat the process. "Poor chicken. Poooor chicken."
I've also been volunteering again at Spirit Reins Equine Center. I definitely enjoy being around the horses and the children. One of the kids we work with is a real trip. He was talking about his seventh birthday and how he thought he might live to be two-hundred. "Ben*," I said, "If you live to be two-hundred I don't think I'll be able to make it to your birthday party." Ben grinned and said, "Yeah. 'Cuz you'll be dead." This immediately elicited an outburst of laughter. Ben raised his eyebrows seriously and concluded, "Am I right?" At another session, the therapist apologized to the same child for being hoarse. "I have a frog in my throat," she said. He looked at her calmly and said as if it was the most natural answer in the world, "Well, spit it out."
This past weekend our family was a host home for DNOW. To be honest, I wasn't even certain what DNOW was but we found out. We had eleven girls, total staying in my little cabin. Some of these girls, including the college leaders, were absolutely terrified of bugs. Guess what?! We had more bugs indoors than I've ever seen in the cabin, ever. I rescued a June bug and attempted to rescue a moth but the moth was refusing to be caught and then twenty-one year old college leader was screaming, "Don't try to rescue it! Just kill it!" The teenage girls interspersed throughout the room were in a tizzy and we were trying to settle down for Bible study. The best course of action was to kill the poor moth. I broke my perfect record right then of never having intentionally killed a moth. C'est la vie.
*Name changed