Monday's Mirth

Some things which brought me joy today:

~ stepping on the scale and seeing 154.8 this morning...yippee! 2.2 pounds lost!!! 14.8 more to go :)

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~ see the flowerbed below? isn't it beautiful? what??? not really? oh, that's because you don't know about all that I planted there this morning...33 gladioli bulbs, plus seeds for larkspur, zinnias, and pansies...in my mind's eye, I can already seem them blooming; and if all goes well, later this summer, you too can see the beauty! :)

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~ taking some time between Josiah and David's lunch and quiet time to sit outside on my birthday swing and read books together (one book we particularly enjoyed today was Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt)

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~ Jeff brought home a treat for us tonight: 6 chicks from one of his co-workers...we've been interested in having chickens for a while now, so when Monica was getting overwhelmed by her chickens' fertility and offered us some, we were eager to take her up on it...I had forgotten how incessantly chicks peep--they're really quite noisy--hence the name "peeps" or "pee pees" (which always cracks my boys up because that happens to be our euphemism for a certain...ahem...body part)...but the chicks really do go, "pee pee pee pee pee pee pee, " constantly

~ Josiah holding a chick the way the chicken farmer suggested

~ Josiah wanted to take a picture of me holding a chick, so I handed him the camera and gave him my biggest smile...too bad you can't see it because he didn't manage to get my head in the picture...oh, well, you can take my word for it about the smile :)
~ even Tobin got to check out a chick...this was, by the way, Tobin's first time in this highchair...I brought it up from the office basement last evening, thinking that Tobin would surely enjoy sitting in it while we eat supper; but alas, he isn't strong enough to really sit up in it so he quickly slumped over and, not surprisingly, grew discontent in it...in a few weeks, he'll probably be ready for it...speaking of Tobin, I put him on a blanket on the ground outside while we ate supper on our patio (we've been doing that a lot recently in this beautiful late spring weather)...when it was time to bring him in, Josiah and David were with me; and we started playing peek-a-boo with Tobin by putting the ends of the blanket lightly over his face and then uncovering it...he laughed and laughed...between that little game and the gentle tickles I gave him on his tummy, he just cracked up...it was the most sustained time of laughter I've ever had with him...and of course, when he laughs, it makes all the rest of us laugh, too :)

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~ the only pet I was really looking forward to having when we moved here was a dog, but Jeff had even higher aspirations...because of him, we now have fish, chicks, and rabbits (and calves in the pasture...and, yes, a dog)...a few years ago, we had the pleasure of watching a litter of rabbits grow up; but eventually all of those were given away or died, so over the winter we didn't have any rabbits at all...a few nights ago, however, Jeff and the boys went to get some free rabbits that were advertised locally, so now we have cute little bunnies again...they got 3, but the golden one escaped within the first day, I believe...I'm really glad we have them: not only are they as cute and soft as can be, they also are great "garbage disposals" for kitchen scraps :)

~ David feeding them some grass

~ hello, beautiful! aren't you sleek and shiny?!

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~ we are fortunate to have 4 calves in our pasture...they keep the grass down, we feed them some grain (provided by the farmer who owns them), and in the end, we even get a little money (pasture rental)...it's a sweet deal...it's also a fun experience for the boys to be involved with their care; they have their own little cups that they use to scoop up grain to pour in the feed trough and they also help me fill the water trough by getting the hose in place and turning on the spigot...one of the calves in this bunch is blind...we call him Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46) and were initially quite concerned about him, but it's amazing how he's learned to make his way around the pasture...he always finds the food and water with no trouble (even if he is the last of the calves to get there); and although he's still scrawnier than the others, he's doing surprisingly well...David has the habit of, as we walk up the hill to feed them, calling out "Bartimaaa--eus" in a loud sing-song voice...if Bart is far from the feed trough, it seems to help him find his way better if he can hear our voices :)

~ after we watered the calves this evening, Josiah started to wind up the hose...when I told him he didn't need to do that but could leave it out on the ground, he said something like, "But I'm doing this as a gift for you!"...smart boy...did he already figure out that one of my primary love languages is acts of service? ;)

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Ah, the joys of life. The simple life. The country life. For this period of our life, I wouldn't have it any other way!