Firsts

I don't think I can even better these photographs with words.  I look at this moment captured in photos and a little laugh, pride, thankfulness, and a smidgen of a sob combine into one sound that is indescribable.

Words.

Words can't capture what took place on an evening a couple weeks back.

It was growing up, emotion, and life lessons.

These moments of watching Joel teach our boys how to be men stretches my heart.  Here is love.  A love that teaches what it means to be a man, a good man.

It is a job I could never do. 

I am so thankful.

Thankful for a man who desires to be involved and who as the years have marched on is displaying a great love for his family.

And to my beautiful (yes, beautiful, you will always be beautiful to me) Jacob.  How you keep stealing my heart over and over again!  You are an amazing young man.  I am so proud of you and I love you completely!

Sweet Bess Gets a Name Change

At the end of August I purchased 6 new hens from a friend.  They were about 2 months old and she warned me that I could very well end up with some roosters.  It's hard trying to separate the girls from the guys at that stage in the game.

We did our best, as we raced around her chicken run, to pick out the ones that looked like they weren't standing up to tall and lean like a rooster.  If we spied a more low-breasted specimen we went for it.

I was pretty proud of our endeavors and quite certain I had gotten all hens, so much so that Lauren and I commenced to naming them.

One of our favorites is Bess.  She is a beautiful Barred Rock and I have always wanted one.

Alas ... a couple of weeks ago we came to question Bess's "hen-ness".  Her tail feathers were suspiciously looking more like a roosters. And she was standing up quite straight and regal like.

The day came two weeks ago when we decided we needed to give Bess a name change.  It was inevitable and really we couldn't keep calling that poor rooster Bess.  Plus we had two more hens that weren't hens.  I apparently did not do as great of a job as I thought I had. 

I came up with Hank and Charlie for the two Silver Laced Wyandots. But, "Bess" proved more of a challenge.  We tossed around names, but none seemed to fit until Lauren randomly said among a string of 5 other names, "Mr. Moore".

Mr. Moore made us laugh and so it stuck!

So now we are not a hen exclusive ranch.  No we are equal opportunity fowl purveyors.

Welcome boys!