Scattered

I have a great sister-in-law.  Two, actually.  But one lives here.  And she's great.  Each year, to celebrate the Girls' birthday's, she takes them on an "Auntie Date".  Well, the auntie date used to be a day, and it has now turned into a weekend.  Each of the Girls eagerly awaits the arrival of their special weekend away, and will dream about the activities and snacks that they will eat.

Over the last month or so, Auntie Frieda has gotten "caught up" on her auntie dates with the Girls, first with Hannah, then Ellie Mae, and this weekend, it was Molly.  As much as I absolutely love that they have this amazing women who loves them like I do, and is even more protective of them than I am, I miss them dearly when they are gone. 

On Friday, Hannah had a birthday party/sleepover, and Molly was gone on her date, so it was just the four of us.  And I must admit, I felt a little bit lost.  I am so used to the hustle and bustle and noise and activity of the four Girls, that when there were only two, it seemed like a part of my body was missing.  It was much quiet(er).  And I only had to check one room instead of two before bed.

Yesterday, we went to the rodeo after we picked up Hannah.  And I did my usual counting of the heads....one, two, three.....four?  "Oh yes,"  I would remind myself, "Molly is away."  And I was sad.

Molly should be home any minute.  I find myself waiting to hear the van drive up.  I will hug her and kiss her and tell her I missed her, and she'll say, "Me too!  But guess what we did!!"  And I will feel like my body has been restored.  That's it's all in one piece again.  Until the next time that we are scattered.

Technical Difficulties

I am in the process of having a new computer, which makes my life (temporarily) more difficult.  I have forgotten just how much I use my computer for.... and when it's not all up to snuff, I must admit, it makes me a little bit cranky!

I hope that you all enjoyed your long weekend.... we sure did.  Art had to work on Saturday, but on Sunday, we had a "Goerzen Family Adventure", which was a lot of fun!  Once my computer is all back, I'll post a few pictures.  We even had a special guest along with us....Auntie Frieda!  We were excited that she was able to join us!

In the course of the weekend, I have become exposed to something new....and yummy....and addictive...

 Cranberry Lemon scone (mine had icing all over it)

And a Mocha Coconut Frappuccino.

Let me tell you friends, this little snack was heaven on earth.  And I don't even like coconut.  Or coffee.  But hello, Mama, it was delicious!

Normally, I'm kinda a simple girl.  A little bit picky when it comes to my drinkage, but this has made me high maintenance.  It's yumminess incarnate!  And now, sitting here typing this makes me think that I need to go to town and get one right now, which we all know is not going to happen.  But I can dream.... Maybe tomorrow?  Hmmm....what excuse can I come up with about why I need to go to town..... I'm sure I'll come up with something! 

No Soup for Us!

Five chickens.  Five Eggs.  You know what that means?  No chicken soup for us...they'll all live to see another day....

And look at this little lady....she's starting to get her feathers, and therefore looks like a gangly teenager...

The little stinkers are getting fast...and harder to catch!  This is the best picture I could get for now...

Country Living

Yesterday, I was sitting outside in the yard, basking in the sun, in my most favorite spot here

It started to get a little warm....and warmer...and warmer.  Well, since we live in the country, I decided that I would strip down a little bit, since no one is around.  So, I am sitting outside, shirt-less, and enjoying the sun.  "Ahhh!" I thought to myself, "Country Living.  I love it!"   

Finally, I decided that I should probably my shirt back on, since I saw my neighbor drive up her driveway.  I put it back on, and not 2 minutes later, the UPS man drive down my driveway.  Good timing!  I think....he may have gotten more than he bargained for otherwise....  And here is the moral of the story:  if you are planning on popping by for a visit in the summer, you may want to give me a heads up....I don't want to scar you for life!

I could almost...

This morning, I woke up early....well, early for me! It was about 7:15, and I decided to go for a walk. I quietly snuck out of bed and down the stairs, being careful not to wake any of my sleeping household. I got my shoes and headed out for an hour walk. Let me tell you, it was beautiful outside! There was still that early morning feel in the air. The birds were singing, the wind hadn't picked up yet (we've had crazy winds over the last few days here!), and it was quiet. In fact the only other person I saw for the first part of my walk was a farmer, heading out to his fields to work.

It's been so long since I've done something like that....oh wait, I probably never have! (I'm not much of a morning person!). But I have found myself lacking in the "quiet department". With 4 kids, homeschooling, running a business.... There's not much opportunity for quiet around here!

It was a great way to start my Sunday morning, just being alone. And quiet.

I had left a note for my family, since I knew that they'd be up before I got home, and I knew that they'd be wondering where the heck I was! When we were talking about my walk later on the in the day, I said to Art, "I could almost become a morning person!"  He couldn't actually believe those words came out of my mouth....

The Girls asked if they could come with me tomorrow. I actually contemplated it....for a second...and then I remembered. Quiet. Being still. That is the purpose for me to get away....from them. And it is good. And much overdue.

P.S. We got 3 eggs today...

Multiplication

I realize that this blog has been rather lopsided on the content as of late, but oh well...these are the things that are in my world.  To add to the lopsided-ness of the content, I will tell you about our excitement this morning....

The Girls went out to let the hens out this morning, and there were 2 eggs.  Not just one, which we've gotten faithfully all week, but 2.  So, we've multiplied...the eggs at least.  I'm looking forward to when there will be 5 every morning, which will hopefully be in the next week or two.

In other news, Hannah got a tooth pulled at the dentist this week because she had an abscess on her baby tooth, which could affect her adult tooth.  She left her tooth for the tooth fairy with a note that read:

"To: Tooth Fairy
From: Hannah
Here is my tooth.  I lost it by getting it pulled. 
PS.  I know the tooth fairy is fake.  I caught you once. :-)"

What a stinker.  Here's the funny thing....she actually still isn't quite sure if the tooth fairy is real or not.  Her reasoning tells her it's not real, but she isn't 100% sure....it's quite funny.  What a stinker!  Enjoy your weekend!

Another Package in the Mail

You may remember that I wrote in the fall about how I lost my wedding rings.  And then, just before Christmas, I got a little package in the mail.  Well, the other day, I finally received my other bands....

And I love them!  It feels nice to have all 3 bands together now, and I must say, "I love them!"  I am still praying that I find my old ones sometime this Spring..but in the meantime, I am fairly thrilled with my new set.

And yes, I have old lady hands.

A(nother) First

Saturday was my birthday.  It was another pretty much perfect day.  We started off by going to breakfast at a local butcher/meat shop, where they also have a restaurant.  They use their own meats, farm fresh eggs and homemade baked goods in the menu.  It was delicious!!

 Of course, being the day before Mother's Day, it was packed!  We waited a good 45 minutes to sit down, but let me tell you.  It was well worth the wait!

 Hannah had the Mother's Day special.  And ate almost all of it, minus a half a pancake.  I almost got sick watching her!

 Art had yumminess as well.  It was a very special treat, since we rarely (ok, never) go out for breakfast.  They got me some flowers as well as homemade cards (which made me cry!), which were lovely.  But the best gift?  This.

It was our first egg.  From our first chickens.  Laid the day after we got them.  And it was glorious!  A little on the small side, but still, pretty darn exciting!  Did you know?  Brown chickens lay brown eggs.  And you don't need a rooster to get eggs...just to fertilize them.  These are things I didn't know.  But now I do.  Yay for me!

Miss Molly

Today is Molly's 6th birthday.  We had her party of Friday night - a very fancy weiner roast.  She had a few friends and their families here, and it was beautiful weather.  We ate cake, s'mores and hot dogs.  The kids quadded, scared the chickens, and hung out.  It was great!

 Here's Molly with her lady friends....

 ...and her button cake (random, I know!)

Opening presents....

too bad she had a tummy ache and went to bed before her guests left (but still not until 9pm!)

Miss Molly is a beautiful little lady who loves to laugh and joke around, play with her sisters, ride her bike, read and sing.  Happy Birthday, Miss Molly!

It Is Finished

I first wrote about our new project here and here.  However, I am happy to report that our work is done.  Here's our finished chicken coop...

 Doesn't it look cozy?!

 Here's where we're starting the chicks....

 ....and the chicken run

 Early this morning, we headed out to Westlock to pick up the chicks...

 Oh.  My.  Goodness.  They are so cute!

 I had picked up a box at Superstore for the hens, and thought it was funny that they have chip boxes that say "Fragile: Handle like eggs"

 Hannah got to hold the chickens all the way home.  She was a little bit freaked out at first, but it all ended up alright

 The Girls all took turns holding the chicks

 When we got home, we had to transfer the chicks to their new home.  Only 2 chicks were dropped in the process (oops!)

 Here are the hens, taking a look around their new digs.  I think they like it!

I keep peeking in on them to make sure they're settling in....I wonder how long until we're collecting eggs?!

So, there we have it.  Today, one of my dreams came true.  We are officially chicken farmers...well, kinda.  Hopefully we don't kill too many of them!

Butt Shot

Before we went to Calgary (the first time), we headed out to Farmfair, and the Canadian National College Finals Rodeo.   I don't have any pictures of the rodeo, only the ones with whom I went.....

 Art, being the perfect cowboy gentleman, let the Girls stand on his knee to get a drink at the water fountain

 And, the butt shot.  Oh, how I love the butt shot...

Really, isn't this half the reason why we go to rodeo's?  To check out butts like these?

The Road to Hanna

When we drove to Hanna to pick up our "project", we made a stop in Red Deer at one of my favorite stores

 UFA (United Farmers Association).  It's fantastic.  Truly.  I could spend hours in there, walking around, looking at all the things made out of galvanized tin.  I love that stuff!

 We went through a beautiful river valley close to Big Valley (aptly named, I know!)

 And drove across a one lane bridge.  It was here that Molly realized that she had left her camera in the bathroom stall at UFA, so we had to drive back through Red Deer again on the way home.

 We did some of this....

 And this...

 When we got home, Art used the quad to pull the "project" off the trailer.  I must admit, I was a bit skeptical, since it took 5 guys to put in on the trailer....

 But, he's the man....he did it.  And here it sits, in it's place.

 Once again, being the "best Mom", I bought The Girls a few lead lines.  And a few buckets, which were pronounced the "coolest bucket ever!" by Hannah.  They have not stopped playing with the 2 since we got home.  They tie each other up, play "horse", and many other things.  Want to win the "Best Mom" award?  Buy your kids buckets and lead lines.

 And here's a few things we needed for our project. 

Now you know what it is!

Another First

On Friday, I had another first...of the season....a Garage Sale. Yup, Garage Sale Season has started, and I am so excited! I saw an ad in the paper, and so the Girls and I went on a little drive. We found 3 garage sales - all of which were in the country, and 2 of which were great. The first one was at a farm (yipee!! Always my first choice), and I found this old tool chest there that the farmer's father had made. I think that I will use it for flowers. Or decoration. Or as a gathering place for all my junk. We'll see... Cost? $5

 On to the next garage sale, where I found this cute little chair for the little girls room, as well as a fun muffin tin. Total cost? $4 And some gas, which really isn't cheap these days! But oh well...it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, we had some "Girl Coffee" to drink, and it was a great day for a drive in the country.

Here's to a great season of garage sales!

A New Project

Well, we've started our first project of the Spring.  This is a project that I've wanted to do for many, many years.  We've been researching and researching, and for a while, we didn't think it would happen this year.  However, I found the perfect starting place last week on kijiji.  So, on Saturday, we drove to Hanna to pick it up.  Hanna is about a 4 hour drive from here, but it was an incredibly beautiful day, and the drive was gorgeous.  I'll post some pictures in the next few days, but I'll start with this one:

Here's a picture of the start of the new project.  It's a little smaller than we thought (6 ft. x 8 ft.), but it'll give us a good starting point.  "Why, it's a kids playhouse!", you may say.  Nope!  Remember?  We already have one of those!  It's something else... and it's gonna be great (I hope!).  I'll post another picture with some more clues tomorrow....