Chicks R Us…Not Quite

     My bathroom is no longer my own, as of Tuesday. It's been taken over by baby chicks. Now before you think "Awwww how cute" let me let you in on a little secret about birds…even baby birds. They are stinky, loud and very fragile. I knew this before, but had forgotten these three important facts about birds until they invaded my home.

     I don't want any misunderstandings…I willingly took these little creatures in and I do like the thought of little fluffy chicks running around at Easter, but so far it has not been a sweet fuzzy tale. Someone gave the chicks to Dalton's dad and he sent them to me by way of one of his employees. When he dropped them off there were 5 in the box (3 others had died the night before…not a good sign). When I opened the box I found 2 standing, 1 wobbling and 2 laying down. I had to hold the box really still to see if those two were alive. Hmmm.

     "Great," I thought to myself, "I'm starting with half-dead birds; that's just my luck." So I hurried them inside the house, knowing that they needed immediate attention. I called my chicken experts….Grandma and PawPaw to get the info I needed. Grandma told me that they needed to be in a really warm spot, not outside, with heat on them. Wonderful.

     I got the lamp from Ace's room and took it and the fading birds to my bathroom, the most out of the way and warmest room I could find. I put them under the lamp. Next she said to make sure they had water and food. I put a lid full of water in the box, along with some lay crumble that I made extra crumbly, with some boiled egg on top.

    Then I tried to rub the limp ones and get them back to life. They just responded by opening and closing their beaks at random intervals like they were gasping for breaths. Great.

The original set up

    After I got them settled I had to leave them and head into town. When I got back I was encouraged…only one was down now and the others seemed to be doing better. Dalton was not convinced that it was warm enough in the bathroom but I didn't listen. About an hour after I had last checked the chicks Dalt called to me from the bathroom. "Gabby, I need your assistance." Uh oh.

Dalton did not want me to take his picture while he tended to the chicks

    I arrived to the bathroom to see Dalton using the blow dryer to put warm air on two wet chicks, who weren't looking too good. How they had managed to soak themselves in a tiny tupperware lid is beyond me and at that point I was reminded and irritated at just how dumb chickens are. We blow dried the little guys, I held them in a warm towel, we changed the newspaper and water and put fresh food out and then hoped for the best.

Thank goodness for mirrors ; ) 

    As we prepared for bed, I realized that, aside from not being able to brush our teeth in our bathroom (can't do it with a box of chicks so close by), we were going to have to hear the chirps all night long. Dalton said we'd have dreams of spring as we heard the very loud chirps while climbing into bed. They were not comforting and springy though..instead they were harsh and loud. But after turning the fan up a notch it was bearable.

     That night, during one of my times up with a child (a whole other post), I checked on the chicks and found that we'd lost one. I'm embarrassed to say that I was a little relieved….once they were down and gasping I was just ready for them to give up so I didn't have to worry about them. The next morning the other one had finally went to eternal sleep too so we decided the survivors needed more heat.

     We added a space heater to the mix, turned up the heat in the house (luckily it was cold out) and I checked on them more often. Thankfully the three left were looking good. That day went by ok, and even though our bathroom smelled awful, we still had three living chicks by the end of day 2.

 The yellow one is the strongest…and look at that deal on dressing

    That night was a bit uncomfortable. In our effort to keep the house warm for the chicks (90 degrees in their box in the bathroom) I did not sleep well and woke up in a sweat. We like to sleep in the cold, so we can take full advantage of our comforters, and having our house at over 70 was not cold enough.
        
     The next day I kept the chicks warm and fed but to my dismay one started the dreaded wobble. He's been going downhill ever since and I must confess I'm ready for him to make his move, one way or another. I keep picking him up and sticking his beak in the water to get him to drink, not sure if I'm helping or hurting. The two others are still ok though.

     Last night it was just too warm as I got ready for bed and it was affecting my mood. I'd about had enough of the heat and asked Dalt what the temperature was in the house. He reported it was 73. What! I couldn't sleep another night in that heat, so I turned the AC on and headed back to the room. As I climbed into bed I said "so long chickies!" which got a chuckle out of Dalton…then he informed me that it was actually 75 degrees….no chick is worth that.  Don't think I'm heartless, I still made sure to wake up several times during the night, to turn the space heater on, then off when it cut off from overheating, then back on, so the lack of heat wouldn't result in another dead bird. Each time I entered the sauna that is now our bathroom I was a little taken aback at the heat and slight smell that was wafting from the teepee created by blankets and lamp over the box.

Moved to the tub. And, in case you are wondering, that is a meat thermometer

 sticking out of the blanket. 

     Today I awoke without sweat beading on my forehead for the first time in three days, and all three birds are still alive, albeit the one is still on his side heaving, so I consider the night a success. I think I'm getting the hang of this chick thing. I change the water and newspaper often, keep them warm, and make sure they have feed. At this point I'm actually considering buying more chicks at Tractor Supply. I mean, if I'm going through all of this work and effort I might as well be sure and get some hens out of the deal! We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

Yes, you only see two. During the writing of this blog the other one took his last breath

      Hopefully we can get these guys out to the shed soon, but we'll see. I'm ready to brush my teeth at my own sink again, and shower without the smell of chicks surrounding me. I only hope our bathroom will recover……
     If you're wondering what the boys think of the chicks: Cooper likes them but isn't interested in getting too close or touching them. He does like to check on them periodically and tell people he has baby chickens. Ace just likes to get into the bathroom so he has the chance to get to the potty before we can stop him….he's so gross.

Cooper: I'm tired of sitting on this seat. Can I look at the baby chicks now?

Ace: Mama, get him off this seat so I can splash!

Me: Don't move Cooper!!

"All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." James 3:7-8

The Country Mouse and City Mouse

     I think we are about recovered from our wonderful trip out west to visit the California Pitcocks, Justin, Kallie and Karper.

     It all started with a 7 am departure from the house, which went well, followed by an 11 am flight from Dallas to San Diego. I'm not going to lie, Dalt and I were pretty nervous boarding the plane with our two youngsters. Merann was with us, and she managed to snag some great seats at the very back of the plane, which meant we wouldn't disturb all of the passengers when the guys started fussing. It went pretty well, even though we had to work to make it go pretty well! Let's just say we were all glad when the wheels hit the ground in San Diego, which was a lot more mountainous than I thought it would be.

     We got our luggage and were picked up, and enjoyed the scenery as we headed to the hotel. There was a lot of green, pretty yards, palm trees mixed with pine trees and lots of hills with houses on them. After a quick drop off of luggage we went to Justin's house and checked it out. Kallie made us a ham for dinner, and while it was cooking we loaded up and headed out for a long walk…and I mean long. We needed it though after our day of cramped flying.

     We saw Balboa Park, stopped to let the kids play for a bit, including the beautiful buildings, fountain and museums. At one point Cooper said he had to go to the potty. While we were looking around to see which way to the bathroom, Cooper pulled down his pants, ready to 'water' the nearest bush. Embarrassing!!!! It was hard to get him to pull his pants up as we howled with laughter, but we did it and made it to the bathroom in time. That's when we decided we were country mice in the city.

     After our walk we ate and visited some more, until the trip and the time change started to hit us hard.    Back to the hotel for a good night's sleep. The boys were out quickly and we weren't too far behind!

     Next morning it was cloudy, cold and rainy, but we made the best of it. We had breakfast at our hotel, where there was a great view from the top!

     Then it was tourist time. We loaded up and headed to La Jolla to look at the seals/sea lions. Even though it was so windy and cold, it was beautiful! The ocean was angry and rough, but that made it even more appealing. I love the ocean because of it's vastness, power and beauty. We watched the waves crash into the rocks at the shore and then headed down to the seals.

     They were pretty cute! There was even a baby one just born that morning. We looked at them for a little bit and then made it back to the car just in time for the rain to start. La Jolla was a pretty place, very clean and upscale.

     Our next stop was Miramar Marine Base, Justin's workplace. It was our first time on a base, so it was an experience. We drove around and looked a little, then the boys did a flight simulator while Kallie and I distracted the kids best we could. I have to brag on Dalton a little…he did great at flying the simulator.

     That was followed by lunch on base, at the Officers' Club. It was interesting being surrounded by uniforms and military personnel, I felt a little awkward because I didn't want to do anything I wasn't supposed to, since we dont' know all the military regulations.

     Before we left the base we got to see the Ospreys and Justin's office. It was neat seeing all of the aircraft in the hangar and on the ground. We even saw a few take off.

     Deciding it would be best to let the boys nap in the car we did a little sightseeing on the way back. We drove up to Point Loma and saw some more beautiful views. It was especially neat because we could see Mexico in the distance, with a shadow of a military ship in front of it.

      The boys got a pretty good nap and woke up just in time to go to a children's museum. They had a big time running around and playing with all of the exhibits. The cutest thing were these rolling seats that were decorated like farm animals.

     The Hotel Del Coronado on Coronado Island was our next stop. It was a pretty drive across a big bridge to the island, and the historic hotel was very neat. They had displays of pictures from times past and it was really special to get to see the hotel with it's patrons in fancy dresses, big hats and old cars. We made it to the back and were able to get someone to snap a picture of the entire group. I wanted to go onto the beach, but it was just too windy and cold!

     Mexican food was our final stop and it was delicious. At one point Ace grabbed my glass and spilled it. That really bothered Cooper. He kept trying to get the waiter's attention to tell him. Finally I told him to say "Excuse me sir…" instead of "Hey you" when he needed something. He told the waiter the problem and then seemed to feel better.

     After supper, when we loaded back into the car, Cooper leaned forward and said "Excuse me sir, where are we going now?" to our chauffeur, aka Justin. Pretty funny stuff. When we got back to the hotel, Justin and Dalton hung out downstairs for a bit while the boys and I went to bed. I drifted off to Duck Dynasty….we don't get A&E at home.

    Saturday morning dawned and it was our final full day in California. We were going to make the most of it and were ready for the farmer's market early. We walked around and looked at all the fresh produce and goods available. I tasted some yummy toffee peanut butter, but couldn't talk Dalton into buying any. Then it was time for breakfast. The boys shared a banana and nutella panini, and I opted for a turkey, avocado, tomato crepe…yummmmm. As I stood in line to order I asked Dalton for some money to pay. He handed me a five and I told him, with downcast eyes, that I needed some more. He looked at me suspiciously and asked "How much is the crepe?" I replied "$9" as casually as I could, trying to look cool because I was surrounded by people, many locals. His eyes got wide and he said, very loudly "$9 for a crepe!!" and then handed over the money. I was a little embarrassed but didn't let that stop me from enjoying my crepe. It was another of our Country Mouse moments. The farmers' market provided a great view of the ocean and it was serene there browsing and listening to the music.

     After I polished off my crepe (had to finish it so I didn't waste any of that money) we headed to the zoo. I'd been waiting for the San Diego Zoo since I knew I was coming to California and it didn't disappoint. There were so many animals and they were really close and easy to see. The hippo exhibit and panda exhibit were probably my favorite, even though giraffes are still my fav zoo animal.

     Cooper was all about the elephants and was super excited to see those. Though when he was talking to GG about the zoo he told her his favorite animal was the wombat…random…must be from reading a book we have about a wombat. I could go on and on about the zoo but I'd better not.

     Saturday evening we enjoyed steaks and asparagus (from the market) and even tried brussel sprouts. Now we can say officially after we tried them that we don't like them. Although Kallie did make some quinuoa that was really good, going to try that here. It was nice to have a place to visit and relax…the beauty of vacationing where someone lives. The boys enjoyed playing together in Karper's ball pit and dancing to his musical animals. I was able to sneak away from the boys with Kallie and Merann to go get some gelato down the street. It was a whole different place at night and this shop, Chocolate, was hopping. It was a tough choice but I went with Peanut Butter and White Chocolate. And let me tell you this Country Mouse really likes gelato now!

      The day had come for us to leave. As much as I'd wished we could have stayed longer, the boys were definitely starting to feel the time change and rush of events from the past couple of days. Before we left we ate breakfast at a famous restaurant, Hash House. I heard it has been on the Food Network (a channel I frequent often) We were advised to share and boy were they right! The portions were humongous, even for a Texan! The plates were pretty though and the food delicious.

     Because of our big breakfast out we were running just a tad late at the airport. We were a bit worried when we saw the long line to security, but once we made it through we had plenty of time. Ace toddled around making friends and Cooper sat by Auntie M, begging to play a game on her Ipad. We boarded and endured the semi-rough flight home. The exhaustion was getting to Cooper and Ace was just a handful. I'll be honest…another 10 minutes before landing and it would have been total mayhem! But, God was merciful and we made it without incident.

     We had a wonderful time in California. Not only was it great to get to see another ocean and part of the country we hadn't been to before, but getting to visit with J, K and K was awesome. I loved getting to be a part of their lives for a little while. Now when I see pictures or they talk about things I actually know what they are saying or can picture where they are. We were so blessed to be able to have the opportunity to go and visit.

"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Genesis 28:15

Longing for Heaven

     Let's go now….to heaven that is. I've been longing for heaven lately and I think it was all sparked by a conversation I had with 2 1/2 year old Cooper. We were baking cookies…something we do a lot around here, and I was attempting to use that time to talk about the most important things, not ABCs or 123s, but Jesus, His Kingdom and our love for Him. So we talked about Jesus, how He loves us and how He died and rose again to save us from our sins so we can go to heaven. Then I told Cooper that Jesus and God live in heaven  and we will go be with them one day. He then asked where heaven was. I told him it was very far away above the clouds. He cocked his little head for just a second, looked at me and said, very matter of factly "Mom, I want to go to heaven," like he was ready to grab Horsey and get in the car.

     Of course my heart melted and my eyes filled with tears because my heart's desire is for Him to want this for as long as he lives, and for that wanting to grow and grow as he gets older and knows Christ. I told him that we'd go to heaven but not now. I told him that heaven is wonderful because that's where Jesus is and when we get there we can worship, play with, sing and love Him forever. To this Cooper responded "I want to play my drums for Jesus." Again, heart swell and tears well. About that time the cookies were done and we moved on to other things, but that conversation has stuck with me.

     And since I've began my Bible studies and have been digging deeper into the Word daily, the longing has grown and grown inside me. I'm ready to go now. I want Jesus to come back now so we can be with Him forever! As I study about Him more I long to see His face, to look into the compassionate eyes that always saw into the depths of man and never looked away from a hurting soul, to hold the hands that healed so many and are reaching out waiting for more to come to Him, to hear the voice that calmed the storm, cast out demons, instructed disciples, prayed to the Father and calls to me in my soul, to lean on the shoulder that held the weight of the world's sin and conquered it, to see His smile when He sees me because He knows I love Him above all else.

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ." Philippians 3:7-8

     The world is such a tricky place. It can so easily entangle me and distract me from Him. I've heard before that satan isn't worried about convincing us that God doesn't exist, he just wants to keep us so distracted with our earthly lives, pleasures, pursuits, anxieties, that we don't put Him first and don't pursue a relationship with Jesus. I think this is the most clear to us when we are pursuing Jesus. Lately it seems that the inward battle in my soul is at a high point.

     On the one hand I want a big house someday with land and a nice car and enough money to entertain people regularly and enough to go on vacations. I want to be free to have fun and pursue my dreams and interests and just relax for a little while from this 'Jesus thing' so I can forget about that Kingdom agenda and focus on mine and not worry about what I listen to or what I watch or how I interact with people. I want to spend money on expensive restaurants and clothes and be 'cool' (Though I know I'm not cool or designer savvy so I might be ok on that last one).

     But then there's another hand, Jesus's hand, that has reached out and touched my heart so that I have to stop and think about things again, and think about whose kingdom I'm serving, and adjust my wants to make sure I'm not serving myself. Don't get me wrong here, I am so blessed, much more than millions of people around the world and many here in America! I am not living a hard life, and I'm not saying that I don't have a fun life. I love my life, have plenty of fun and even just got back from a vacation. So I'm not complaining or trying to play the poor Christian. I'm just saying that at the bottom line of it all I'm having to decide which kingdom to serve and which agenda to pursue now and in the future. And I feel that this choosing will only get more difficult and easy at the same time. The more I let go of my selfish dreams and plans and let God take over, the easier it is to love what I have and be excited for what is to come. The less I want what the world says is cool or in style. It's also more difficult because I'm realizing just how radical we're called to be for Christ and once you know the truth you can't turn your back on it and pretend like you aren't informed…you have to choose to follow it. Francis Chan had a great illustration about this battle of the world: if a person was on a desert island and read the NT then came to America, how would that person live and what would that person think of Christians here? Basically, am I truly living like the NT says to live.

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me…What good is it for a man to gain the while world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?" Luke 9:23,25

     So only now am I beginning to get a glimpse of why the writers of the New Testament and the many famous Christians before me have longed for heaven, have hated this world, have sought to do Jesus's work so that they can get to the glory of Him in person. When you are living as a friend of the world there's no reason to long for Jesus; what more could you have? Why go to heaven to sing to and worship Jesus all day? But when you are living in love with Jesus, there's no reason not to long for Him. There's nothing you wouldn't do to get nearer to Him. There's only one focus for you….to get to Him and help as many people do the same on your way.

"But our citezenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body." Philippians 3:20-21

     I've told Mom before that I'm ready for Jesus to come back. She replied that as great as that is, it's kinda selfish because when He comes it will be a great day but also a very very sad day. It will be the day that everyone acknowledges Him and all eyes are opened…..but so many will be eternally condemned. So, even though I can't stop…and don't want to stop….my longing to be with Jesus, I can do what so many before me have done. I need to get as many on board the life saving raft called Jesus as I can in my life. I have to get out there and get the word out, I have to help anyone who needs me, I have to actually DO something, not just wish something was getting done. This starts with my home, my children, my church, my town….

     Heaven is going to be wonderful, not because all hurt and pain will be gone, not because I'll get to see Grandma Myrna (even though that will be great), not because it's beautiful and has streets of gold, not because I'll finally get answers to all those questions I have about the Bible (what did Jesus write in the sand?) but because JESUS will be there. Because I'll get to see God in His infinite glory.
     Are you longing for heaven? If not, get in the Word and get to know Jesus! You don't know what you're missing.

"Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothes with our heavenly dwelling….we are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord." 2 Corinthians 5:2,8

Stock Show and Rodeo Time!

     Last weekend we went to the Ft Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, which has become an annual tradition for us, one I inherited when I married Dalton. We were really looking forward to it, thanks to a book we read called Goodnight Cowtown. It had a page about the stock show and about the rides at Midway. Each time we read the book I'd let Cooper know that we'd be going there and maybe we could ride the dragon ride.
    Saturday morning dawned and we headed out early (practice run for our trip tomorrow). We stopped at McDonalds for breakfast and potty break and then went on to Ft Worth and Academy. Dalton exchanged his tent for a better and unused one, and I found some shoes for myself. I have to tell you God knew I didn't have much time to try and decide and pick, so he made it clear as could be. The shoes that I like were on clearance, had one pair left that was in my size and were the right brand. Then as a bonus, a pair of shoes I'd seen at Christmas were on sale, one pair left and just my size. I wasn't too sure if I should get them, but once Ace spit up on them it sealed the deal.

Trying to get a peek at the goats

     Parking was crazy at the grounds, so we parked across the street and walked a little bit. Ace had fallen asleep and miraculously stayed asleep as I put him in the stroller and we walked around a bit. We saw show goats, baby animals and Cooper even got to hold a baby goat.

     Then we headed to the expo hall to look at the goods for sale and get a corndog (a must for me and Cooper). By this time Ace was awake so I put him on my back and he rode just fine.

     Even though there were toys galore, Cooper walked right past them. He was on a mission to find and sit on every full sized tractor there. And I think he accomplished his mission! He was in little boy paradise and it was hard to pull him away. Finally we managed to entice him with a corn dog and lemonade. So good!

"This is nice, but I want a green one."

     Before rodeo time we wanted to head to Midway, where the rides are. I had to see if the dragon ride was there….and it was! Popsey bought some tickets for us (thank you Popsey!) and Dalton, Cooper, Merann and I waited in line. When it was our turn Merann and I wound up in the front car with Dalton and Cooper behind us. I wanted to ride so I could get a picture of the boys during the ride. As we sat there waiting for the coaster to take off, Merann and I realized how silly we looked sitting side by side in a small roller coaster with no child. Oh, well! It was fun and Cooper really liked it.

 Wheeeeeee!

 After the dragon he rode a car ride, a tractor, and a flying dragon.

Pitcock, Cooper Pitcock

He was just mesmerized by all the fun and we had to carry him away to the rodeo.

Look at Dalton's face..priceless! He was attempting to put formula in a bottle for me and it was spilling all over his hand. The face says it all.

     We were sitting at the very top of the arena, so we had a nice bird's eye view. The rodeo was really good, especially since Ace did this the entire time….

     We saw Whiplash the cowboy monkey and the chuck wagon races (I only picked one winner), in addition to the normal events. After the rodeo we headed out and to the car. It was just about as great as it could have been; the boys behaved so well and the company was so nice. We finished the day with dinner at Papasitas…yum, and a quick run into Sam's for diapers and milk.

     Another great time at the Stock Show and Rodeo!! Now onto California…..