YEAH We Have Chickens Again!!!

I have a cousin who has chickens and guineas. He has had several escape theirs pens and has not been able to catch them. So my brother went to help him. While Michael was helping catch the chickens he mentioned that we would like to have some. So he not only sent Michael to my house with 5 chickens (3hens and 2 roosters) but also with 150 feet of chicken wire. We were thankful for the chickens, but couldn't believe the generosity of the wire.

We have been talking about getting chickens and even had a dog house to convert into a chicken house, but hadn't had the time yet. So Randle and Michael rig something up so that they would be safe for the night. When they had finished we came in and Michael and me played the Wii, but that is a different story. The chickens appeared to be safe so after Michael left we went to bed.

The next morning Randle took the chickens some water and then left for work. When the girls and I got up we noticed on chicken was missing. We looked around for a while and finally say her. We couldn't catch her so we got ready to go to the dentist appointment. Harley went outside to check on the chicken and saw that she was on top of the house. While I was helping the girls get dressed we saw the missing chicken on top of the van. When we went out to the car we realized that there were two out. I was very frustrated, but we had to leave.

When we came back another had gotten out. We tried throwing feed out on the ground but they didn't care. I told the girls before we could try and catch them they had to clean out the van. We had both sliding doors open to let air through. One of the chickens hopped right into the van. The girls tried to get it, but couldn't . So she flew off.

They finally finished with the car an d went in to change into play clothes. When they came back out we chased the chickens all around the house. We couldn't even get close. One of the girls had run into the house for something and left the door open. About the time I realized it I saw a chicken on the front porch. Not wanting a chicken in the house I went to close the door. Only the chicken was faster and went straight into the house.

We have all hardwoods, tile or linoleum. It ran into the living room and stopped I tried to sneak up behind it,but it saw me and ran to the kitchen. It was standing under the table facing my room. I went to shut my bedroom door afraid of what might happen if it got on my bed. Natalie stood on one side of the table and Harley on the other ready for when she ran. I got on my knees to try and get her only to have her take off into the living room. I scrambled up and tried to run ahead to close the other doors. It hit the living room and started sliding all over the place, but somehow stayed out of reach. It ran into the girls' room and I caught her just before she ran under the bed.

All of this lasted about 15 minutes. I have never laughed so hard in my life. You never know what will happen at our house, but I would never have dreamed of a chicken chase in the house. Luckily as scared as she was she didn't poop anywhere in the house.

Today we had to catch two others, one of which we thought has been eaten because she hadn't been seen since Friday morning. It turns out that "she"has spurs and may be a boy. We are going to have to do some research.

The Traumatic Zoo Trip

Yesterday was supposed to be Randle's first day of work, but because it was a holiday it was delayed until today. Natalie was out of school, so we took a family trip to the Birmingham Zoo. The girls had a lot of fun. We got to pet the sheep and goats, as well as vote for the President of the Zoo. Natalie and Harley voted for the Lion, Kwanza, I voted for the Macaw, Nut Nut, and Randle voted for the Beaver, June. I am calling tomorrow to find out who won. The first thing we did was go to the Sea Lion feeding. It was very lame. The people had the sea lions do a couple of tricks, but they didn't explain anything to the kids. The show at the Fort Wayne Zoo is much better. After that we went to the Laurakeet exhibit. We paid $1.50 for a little cup of nectar for the girls to feed the birds. Randle only had $2 so he got 2 cups for the girls to split it.. Before he could even pour a little into the second cup 2 birds had landed on him. He finally got it poured an then handed the cup to Natalie. She jumped when the first bird landed on her, but soon got comfortable with it. Harley decided she didn't want Randle to let go of the cup. She finally realized it was safe, and took the cup. About the time she took the cup a bird snatched it from her. I got the cup back and she got to hold it again. She hadn't had the cup very long and a bird landed on her head. She almost threw the cup at Randle, and dropped to the ground. She stayed in a squatting position laughing s hard as I have ever seen her. I got photos, but wish I could have taped her laugh. It was great! It was definitely the best $1.50 we have ever spent!! The zoo has this really cool section called Alabama Wild. 　It is a section of the zoo filled with animals found throughout Alabama, hence the name,. At the end of the trail there is a creek and we could hear some frogs. I got the girls to stand really still and listen.Just as we all turned and started walking off Harley started screaming and dancing around. Randle and I didn't know what was going on. We though she had been stung by something, all we could tell was it was something in her jeans. I finally got her to speak where we could understand and we found out that she was saying that a frog had jumped in her pants leg. Well, as much as we tried not to, we laughed. Randle picked her up and I pulled at her pants leg　There was nothing there. I told her that her pants leg was empty, but she wouldn't believe me. Randle picked her back up and I ran my arm as far up her jeans as I could but she still claimed it was there. I finally got her to agree that it was her jacket that she had tied around her waist that had bumped her, but then she felt it again and freaked out on me. She walked the rest of the way to the entrance bent at her waist holding the knee of her pants as if she were trying to keep something in that one spot. We finally get to the bathroom,and I put her on the changing table and pull her jeans down to show her nothing was there. Then she calmed down and when we got to the van she decided it must have been the seam on her jeans. I haven't laughed so hard in a very long time. While she was scared to death at first once she realized she was safe, she even laughed. We ended the day at the zoo and went to dinner at a Thai restaurant. Natalie really liked it, but Harley would still rather have McDonalds. Unfortunately I do not have pictures of the frog incident, but I will add Laurakeet pictures tomorrow when I update with who won the Zoo President election!

A True Dumpster Diver Needs No Dumpster (as per Randle's requesr)

So last Saturday we were headed to Randle Sr.'s house when we realized we needed to stop and get some cash. We still have our account in IN so we have been using Wal-Mart instead of ATMs where we get charged. So we took the long way around to pass a Wal-Mart. While we were driving down Hwy 119, Randle gets excited and says, "Hey was that a turtle shell on the side of the road?" I wasn't paying attention, and I really can't understand why a grown man is excited by a turtle shell. He makes a quick U-turn and we go back to look at the turtle shell. When we get there I realize he is talking about the kind of turtle shell that your strap to the top of your car to carry luggage. So we pull into some drive way that has a locked gate with a HUGE house inside. He gets the dog (Grace) out of the car, shoves the shell inside the middle of the van, puts Grace underneath part of it and then we leave. I can't tell you how embarrassed I am at this point. I just thought "At least it is over." We pull out of the drive way and head to his dad's house, or so I think. He then pulls into Sonic, and orders us drinks while he takes out the dog and shell and straps the shell to the roof of the van while sitting at Sonic. It takes like 20 minutes to get it on, and finally we leave. Oh the odd things men do sometimes! So now we have a new (to us anyway) turtle shell for the top of the van. Only we find out while strapping it on that it has two cracks. When I pointed this out Randle informed me that he can fix that easily with some Bondo. I think he is nuts, but maybe the bondo will supply me with another blog entry!

Alabama

So I haven't posted in way too long. We have finally moved from Indiana to Alabama. We were very sad to say goodbye to our friends, but also excited about out new adventure. Now that we are here, have a house (which we didn't have until the day before leaving) and mostly unpacked I can breathe. Natalie is going to school at Mt. Laurel Elementary, yes this is a public school. We had a lot of explaining to do with Natalie. St. John where Natalie and Harley attended in IN was set up as an extension of the churches outreach and ministry. So far in the Birmingham area we have not been able to find one Christian school that has any kind of scholarship program or financial aid. So Harley is waiting for next year to go to preschool again, and Natalie is attending a public school. She loves her teacher and already has 2 good friends in her class. She is adjusting well, and we start each day praying over her for safety in body and spirit and that she will be a light of Jesus to her classmates.

We have an amazing house that we are renting. It is bigger and nicer (on the inside) than anything we have had so far. It has three bedrooms, although one is used as an office, and two bathrooms. The girls' room is painted pink and orange and they got new bedspreads and shams. (we found them on clearance at Target) We are out in the country which suits us, but are about 30 minutes from all major shopping. (Wal-Mart, Winn-Dixie, Target, etc.)

At Christmas time I had given Emma Rose away because it was too cold for her to be outside all the time in IN and the house we were living in couldn't have pets. It turns out the house we are in now allows pets and I was able to get her back. I was ecstatic.

I have also started my own business with Ameriplan and will hopefully get some results in the next couple of days. Randle is still looking for a job, and as such we are looking for a second car. I may also be babysitting for a cousin as well. Harley is very excited about that.

Our parents are very happy we are closer to them. We have seen my parents almost 2 or 3 times a week so far. I'm sure it will slow down once we are more established in the area. We are attending New Life Assembly of God. It is where Randle and I attended before and right after we were married. It has a lot of children Natalie and Harley's age and great Sunday School, Children's Church and Missionettes. We are about to start a small group next Sunday.

So that is the short (ha ha) version of our life's updates. I will try to get some photos of the house to upload soon.