Another type of new addition...

We have thought about becoming foster parents and adopting for years.  In fact, I think I even posted about us applying to be foster parents just before I was approached about coaching for BMC.  When I decided to take the coaching job, we put fostering on hold.

The Lord has kept bringing this up before us, and most recently we felt like the timing was right.  In March we got another application packet and began working on it.  During the month of April we went to certification classes, and things have just now come together at the end of June.

We got a call a few days ago, and we will be getting our first placement tomorrow!  Because of privacy issues, I really can't say much about it all, but she is a beautiful 12 month old girl, and we are all looking forward to meeting her.  

We haven't had a baby in our house in a LONG time, and we had way too much fun in Wal-Mart last weekend!

 I think we have most everything we need... I am sure I will remember things forgotten as we go, but I at least have the basics.  So many people offered to help by loaning us a crib, high chair, and other things... It was touching!

 Baby K comes tomorrow at 3:00, and we can't wait!!

New Additions at Daily Bread Farm

It's summertime on the farm... and that means lots of babies around here!  We received our order of 100 meat birds and 25 laying hens in the mail!  Yes, in the mail... You can order chickens online, and they get mailed to your post office.  The post master calls us as soon as they arrive, and we go pick them up. Crazy... you can get anything online these days!  

 The above chick is a meat bird.  They are all some type of Cornish Cross Broiler breed... I forget the name exactly.  Below, the little brownish chicks are the Rhode Island Red hens.

 In addition to the baby chicks, we have baby goats!  Our two does, Sally and Linda were both due at the end of June.  As of now, July 2, we are beginning to wonder if Linda is actually bred or just incredibly fat and full of milk.

Sally, on the other hand, came through for us.  One night I went outside to plug in the heat lamp for the chicks.  Strangely, Linda was out of her fence and under the shop, and Sally was no where to be seen.  I went down to the barn to check on her, and sure enough, there were two BRAND NEW babies in the barn!  I mean BRAND NEW!!  What good timing!  I ran for my headlamp and Hannah was awake to know what was going on.  She came out and jumped right in with the clean up.  It was so neat!

 The baby goats are about 10 days old now, and they are frollicking, playing, and grazing with their mama and "Aunt Linda."  Every morning I walk outside hoping that I will see two more babies in the barn!!  Meanwhile, I might need to research false pregnancy or overdue goats.

 The chicks are actually growing quickly also!  It is hard to believe that the broilers will be full size at 6 weeks!  The hens are growing more slowly, but they are definitely getting stronger and bigger too.

June

 We spent the month of June keeping busy with this and that.  I got some fun pudding cups from a yard sale and we had our first (and only so far) summer banana pudding.

One week I had to lifeguard at BMC during basketball camp, and the kids enjoyed going with me and getting to swim.

 Savannah came over one day and we made sourdough pizza... This is the most delicious stuff ever.  Savannah left a jar of starter for Hannah, and she has been keeping us stocked with sourdough rolls ever since!

 I had a big plan to earn school book money by teaching running camps this summer... well, I have enjoyed the running groups, but the crowd was a little thinner than I hoped.  We made enough to take our animals to the vet for shots and buy fire extinguishers, but that was about it!  :)  Oh well, it needed to be done in order for us to be foster parents!  (Next post)

Below is the XC camp group enjoying some watermelon after their end of the week time trial and ultimate frisbee match.  

 Hannah is quite creative in the kitchen, and she loves to find stuff on Pinterest.  This is a strawberry lemonade concoction... it was DELICIOUS!!!

 Sarah started a project making kids' quilts to send on mission trips with people.  Her friend Colleen came over one day to help her complete some... Colleen is currently somewhere in Asia, and hopefully a quilt has been given and made a little girl happy!

 They just sewed jelly roll strips together and then made a border around the edges.  It turned out really cute!

 For Father's Day, I actually cooked dinner, which is pretty special in the summer time, especially.  We got Scott some special freshly cured bacon from the Neon Pig for his gift.  He loved it!

 Sarah and Hannah have been taking turns babysitting this summer.  Although getting up early and putting in 40 hour weeks is not their favorite, they are both enjoying a paycheck.  A paycheck which helps them buy things like Chacos or Wonder Woman Converse!

 Hannah the foodie having fun with watermelon and instagram...

June has been hectic, but a good month!  In addition to the pictures, we have been going to the Farmer's market to sell bread on Saturday mornings.  We all really enjoy this time visiting with other local producers, and I often come home with a little bit of money and a lot of things like jam, coffee, blackberry bushes, etc.

On a sad note, Scott's grandmother, Mary Sue Duley passed away this month.  She was doing well and getting around fine, but a fall led to a broken hip which led to an unexpected stroke.  She was 87 years old.  Scott and the three younger kids went to Florida for several days for the funeral and to be with family.  Hannah and I had to stay at home because of two running camps and farmer's market.

Toward the end of the month we went to Atlanta to visit Stefanie, her kids, Katie, and Avery (Jack and Jackie's daughter).  We had a quick visit but really enjoyed getting cousins together!

Above:  Avery, Hannah, and Rebecca having fun!

Early Summer Happenings...

This summer got off to a busy start.  Before the kid's school year was even over, we went to Memphis for Brian Duley's graduation from the University of Memphis.  The graduation was postponed because the Grizzlies made it to the playoffs, so the crawfish boil came before the graduation ceremony.

 Above- Scott and the kids enjoying some crawfish
Below- Brian and his Hannah enjoying the day

 Hannah Duley loves crawfish, but she hasn't mastered the art of peeling them in an expedient manner! It takes her forever to pick the meat out!

 Scott and Brian outside the FedEx forum before graduation.

 We also celebrated the end of the year at Excelsior.  The different classes made presentations of things they had learned during the year.

On Memorial day weekend, our annual trip to the river was postponed by a day.  The boys went on to the river with my parents, but the rest of us stayed behind, because Sydney Morris got married!  Hannah made mini poundcakes for the reception, and they were delicious!  

 Scott performed the ceremony, so Hannah, Sarah, and I sat together in the audience.  The wedding- ceremony, reception, everything- was probably my favorite wedding other than my own.  It was truly a celebration!  Scott did a great job, and it was a fun evening.  In fact, we stayed so late at the reception that we ended up waking up before dawn and heading to the river early Sunday morning.

When we arrived at the river, we had our usual fun swimming, boating, and riding on the screamer.   Of course good food under the pavillion and lots of soft drinks are always a sure thing...

 As well as naps in the afternoon...

 And I just love Adam's cheese...