Little Sweat, Big Difference

Hey, a little sweat can take a small change and make a huge difference...

Daddy was away for a day-long fishing trip.  Mommy was suddenly inspired to do a DIY project in the kitchen.  (You gotta understand, I come from a long line of furniture rearranging, power tool wielding women.)  Check out the next picture for my "Before."  (You may recognize the shot from our 2014 Christmas Tea Party.)  The tall pantry cabinet  keeps the laundry room door from opening all the way.  There is a separate cabinet for the microwave and the table is squished in the corner. 

Check out the "After!"  I moved the pantry cabinet over a few feet so that we could turn the table to better accommodate the six of us.  (Yes, that's Rory dozing under the table.)

 

Additionally, I was inspired by Jenn from IHeartOrganizing to put my microwave inside the pantry cupboard.  I built the shelf and it all fit perfectly.  (Victory yell!)

It's so light and roomy.  I've fallen in love with my kitchen all over again.  (I was pretty smitten before this, so that's saying something.) 

(Have no fear.  The shelf is sturdy and the pantry cabinet is secured to studs in the wall.  No one was hurt in the wielding of the power tools.  My husband even complimented me on my increasing power tool prowess.)  After the Blossoms helped me mound the contents of all the cupboards on all the other countertops in the kitchen, they promptly slept through the sawing, drilling and pounding.  Um, wow.

 Daddy pronounced his approval and now family mealtimes are more relaxed because we have more elbow room.  Since family mealtimes are such a big deal to us here, I call that a major improvement!

Just Duckies

Everything is just ducky here!

Blossom2 is happy as a duck, since she is now the proud owner of Pongo & Perdita.  They are a pair of Khaki Campbell ducks, an excellent dual purpose breed.

 

Additionally, Blossom1 now owns two Sebright Bantams chicks, named Reepiceep and Susan.  To make things fair, LG belongs to Blossom3, which made her rosy cheeks squish into a happy smile. 

I've wanted ducks for quite some time.  Blossom2 apparently shared this desire and is SO HAPPY to own the cute little things. 

LG, Pongo, Perdita, Reepiceep and Susan all are housed together and make up quite a little Motley Crew.  It's sweet to peek in and see all of them sound asleep in the wood chips.

 

 These delightful duckies actually follow Blossom2 through the grass, peeping insistently!

 

Their antics in shallow water are highly entertaining - plopping down, scurrying out, furiously wiggling their tails, scurrying around some more and intermittently jumping to catch bugs out of the air... then, doing it all over again, while weaving in and out between the Bantam Chicks and the Pheasant Chick.  It made for good Sunday evening entertainment!  (Critters beat TV any day!)

Micro Farm spring sure is fun! 

Caught the Bug

 

 I think she caught the bug!

 

To Explain Away a Miracle

When I wrote "Choosing to See," I was expressing my surprise over reactions to LG and the miracle of his hatch.  The thing is, this is something that I've heard time and again.  I think it runs deeper than one might think.

God answers prayer. ---> God does miracles. ---> God cares. ---> God is there.

These are all things that are easily dismissed when we attribute a miracle to something else, like a soul-less Pheasant.  I've had the healing of my husband's shoulder dismissed to "time," as if the body could heal itself if God wasn't involved.  I've had God's miraculous protection dismissed to "coincidence" or "close calls," as if His angels and His hand had nothing to do with it.  I've had God's timely provision dismissed to the "nick-of-time generosity" of others, as if they gave to me out of the blue without God's prompting. 

Sometimes, it's just really convenient to explain away a miracle because it explains away God.  If God isn't there, you certainly aren't responsible to Him.  You don't have to serve Him.  If He isn't there, you don't owe Him anything. 

To recognize a miracle is to recognize the Almighty God. 

What would come after that?  Dare we ponder that our lives are owed to Him?

Choosing to See

Two weeks ago, I was knocking off items from my to-do list.  I loaded my sewing machine into the truck the night before our weekly co-op day.  Nonchalantly, I threw in the power strip that my machines are normally plugged in to.  By the next afternoon, I greeted my daughter's puzzled expression with a look of horror.  I had unwittingly unplugged the incubator that housed 19 Pheasant eggs - a homeschool project and family micro-farm venture. 

#mamaistired

(The Blossoms evidently felt compassion on my remorse and took it remarkably well.) 

My Mom said to pray over them and while I normally pray over many things, on this particular day, my faith was more in the arena of I-will-smile-and-be-pleasant miracles instead of hope-for-Pheasant miracles.  In any case, I did eventually pray, and evidently, so did Blossom1. 

Nine days later... yes, NINE days later, the Blossoms came tearing up the steps to inform me that an egg was wobbling and cheeping.  A short while later, "L.G." (short for Little Guy or Little Girl, pending our discovery of its gender) emerged. 

And, the Blossoms can't stop telling people about the miracle.  The responses have really flabbergasted me.  (seriously)  One person said, "That pheasant must've really wanted to hatch." 

As opposed to our version, in which, an Almighty God had mercy on a tired mama and anticipating children and caused them to see the miracle of an egg hatching, even though it was long past the hatch dates. 

We chose to believe in the miracle, rather than the "determination" of a soul-less pheasant. 

We chose to see. 

Today, wherever you are, you can look around you and choose to see the order and beauty created by a loving God, or you can choose to believe in an accident or some other such nonsense. 

What will you choose to see?