My pets make breakfast.

I love being a chicken mama! 

(not our eggs...but soon :)

Michael and I eat 4 eggs every morning so we are really excited to get our own fresh eggs in the morning. It is also very important to us that we know where our food comes from. Well this is about as good as it gets.

 

We got our four chicks just a little over a week ago and I already love them. Our chicks were about 5 days old. I had no clue that chickens were so full of personality!
January of this year Nashville passed a law allowing homeowners to own domestic hens. You can learn all about that process here: http://www.ucannashville.org/
It is $25 a year for a permit and we are allowed to have 4 hens.

Michael and I decided to name the chickens after our relatives (mostly grandmothers). We have Faye, Matilda, Jean and Doris. I have no clue what I am doing with these chickens but I am learning as I go.

 Faye is the sweetest. She doesn't mind being held. I think she is probably the most friendly of them all. She is growing really fast! She is currently the biggest chick. 

 Doris is the trouble maker and the loudest. She chirps the most. She escapes out of the brooder daily. We can always tell when she escapes because she has a special "I escaped but I really want to get back in the box" chirp. She puts up the biggest fight when I want to hold her. And in some ways is the leader hen. We will see if she continues when they are older. 

 Matilda can chirp so loud! Like piercing ear chirp. She is very curious and is often the pillow for the other chicks. She also like to stick her neck out funny when she sleeps. 

Jean is our smallest chick and probably the most photogenic. I love that she has feathers on her feet! She is sweet and delicate. I like Jean. 

This is how we started. We went to the Davidson Co-op and bought 4 pullets (female chicks) for $3 a piece. We then bought medicated chick feed. We will be giving them medicated feed for one more week and then change over to non-medicated feed. We bought a water dish, a feeder and a heat lamp. I learned that a red light is better than a white light because it helps them sleep. Not sure how much of a difference it makes but we went ahead a bought a red light. We took a big plastic bin and layered the bottom with pine shavings. Do not use cedar shavings, apparently that is bad for chickens. 

Supplies:

-Chicks

-Plastic Bin

-Pin shavings

-Water dish

-Feeder

-Heat lamp and bulb

-Chick Feed 

They always fight over the same opening. It is so strange. And they walk on each other. I seriously could watch them for hours...

Poor Jean, all by herself. Here are all the chicks in their brooder (this is before we got the red light). 

So in terms of caring for little chicks...right now we just make sure they have fresh water and food every morning. We also change their bedding every 2-3 days just because chicks are prone to disease. They do take a lot of monitoring just to make sure their brooder is the right temperature. If it is too hot they will sleep far from the light and even start panting. If they are too cold they will huddle under the light. It is important to watch their eating and drinking habits and to be sure they are at the right temperature.
Their first week the temperature should be about 90-95 degrees. Every week it goes down 5 degrees.
They will live in the brooder for 4-6 weeks or until their feathers grow in. Then it will be time to put them in the coop. That will be our next adventure!!

I love my cuddle bugs!

Taste and see

"Taste and see that the Lord is good!"
So maybe the Psalmist did not intend for this verse to be about delicious cooking concoctions, but
I love food and I really love good food and I think God loves that I love food!
I believe He cares about our senses and seeing us so excited about the things we experience. 
We were given the ability to feel so many textures. And there's the smell of garlic and bacon cooking or Anthropologie candles! And some people cry over a pretty harmony in a song or a beautiful sunset

(I could not take my eyes off this sunset, pretty amazing!) 
But for me, I cry over good food. Yes, I am having a little Pocahontas "Colors of the Wind" moment,

 But I think life is so much sweeter when we enjoy our senses.
I think that is why I enjoy traveling so much, because everything looks different, the language sounds different, there are definitely unique smells, and of course some interesting flavors. I am so aware of my senses which seems to makes life fuller and more beautiful.
So when flavors go so well together and there is the perfect blend of yummyness and texture, I have been known to shed a few tears. I am very happy that God decided to make cabbage, kale, basil, vanilla beans, tomatoes, and strawberries (to name a few).
He is the most creative Creator.
And thanks to Him, here are some creations Michael and I made over the last month:
Now go and enjoy whatever makes you happy cry! :) 

 

1st World Pains

I thought I would be updating my blog and getting pictures up immediately, during and after my trip to Africa, but that was not the case. I made a decision to not take a camera with me on the trip, though I almost always have my camera at my side. The problem is I become obsessed with getting the right picture, the right angle, the right moment that I actually miss the moment all together. I didn't want to live behind a lens. So I am now relying on all my friends to get their pictures up and then I will share.

I also did not plan on having such a difficult time processing. On paper I am a "seasoned missionary" for my age. I spent my first ten years in Kenya and have since gone on 10 short term trips around the world. This trip should be just like any other, right? Not at all. I forget that my last trip was right after I graduated high school. I was hardly an adult. I did all the wrong things. I wanted to take pictures with the kids so I would have a new profile picture, I wanted to make myself feel good because I was "sacrificing" my time to go to Africa, I couldn't wait to buy cheap souvenirs, and I made promises to children that I did not keep, like returning to visit. I was the poster child of Slum Tourism, the reason that short-term trips get so much flack. Well after reading parts of "When Helping Hurts", growing a lot, and simply being in a job that makes you aware of all these issues, this trip was unlike any I have been on.

I didn't expect to have reverse culture shock. I have seen poverty countless times but as an adult you can rationalize how much you really have. My two bedroom house no longer feels small, I am overwhelmed in the grocery store and TV commercials gross me out (One of my January goals is to watch less TV).

Michael and I started pointing out what some call "1st World Pains". Before the trip it was sort of a game for us to call each other out, but now it really feels like an attitude shift. For example:
-"The water coming out of the fridge is not cold enough and I don't want to put ice in it..."
-"The car in front of me is driving so slow..."
-"The volume on your computer is not very loud..."
-"My phone froze right when I was going to send a video to my friend..."- 1st world pain

I guess you could call this just complaining in general, but in comparison to what you experience in other parts of the world, it just can't be justified.

But going on a mission trip is so much more than coming home feeling guilty for everything you have. That is not the point at all.  The point is the individuals you meet and how those relationships inspire a different perspective which then drive you to do something. I will share in the upcoming days and weeks the individuals who absolutely touched my life. I am so blessed to be part of a team of 30 that were Jesus with skin on. I am so blessed to have met selfless men and women dedicating their lives to the cause of the orphan. I am so blessed to have spent days with children who had more joy than I could ever dream of having.

Your life will change whether it is your 1st time going or your 10th time going. It did for me. You will experience things you cannot put into words, you will see some of the most beautiful and disturbing scenery, you will find yourself becoming so close to people you just met, you will be stretched and pushed further than you thought you could and you will experience life on a whole new level.

Michael and I at Imbabazi Orphanage in Rwanda. Yes, my backpack is giving me a hunchback...

I drew this after I came home. Maybe that little house is a sign for our future :)

If you are interested in going on trip like the one I went on, go to Visiting Orphans or talk to me!