Cute or not so cute...

 ... That is the question.

The other day Charity found this little jumping spider crawling around on her dress.  This not being the optimum spot for any arachnid she gave it to me to release outdoors where it truly belongs.  On the way to it's native habitat I (happening to have a camera handy) took some snapshots of the little guy.

 I think he is quite adorable in a fascinating sort of way (I mean look at those eyes!!), but there are certain people in my family that disagree.

So... What do you think: cute, interesting at a distance, or plain disgusting?

~Chs

Chicks Abound

 Yes it is officially spring; and with spring comes baby animals.  Here at our farm LOTS of baby animals.

First, back in late April (yes I am tardy posting about this :) we received a call at 5:30 in the morning that there was a box of fuzzy little cheeping fluff balls waiting for us at the post office.

 So we cheerfully dragged ourselves out of bed and a couple of us went to fetch the chickies while the rest finished up some last minute preparation and waited.

 Need I tell you that they are positively adorable!! 24 chicks were added to our farm that morning, 5 different breeds, all absolutely darling.  We have 5 Partridge rocks (one above that is proudly showing off her stripes) 

And currently 6 Americana chicks, of all stripes and colors.

We just love their poofy cheeks!!

6 Black Australorps who currently look like little penguins,

5 Buff Orpington pullets and one unknown blondish boy chick.

And last but definitely not least is our free exotic chick the stylish fur-booted Partridge Cochin.

Sadie Rose likes our fluffy additions too!

 Then... a week later, Charity's Banty hen hatched out 4 darling tiny minuscule chicks.

Can we cue the "Aww"s please!?!  :)

One of the tiny marvels of God's creation.

 Two days later our big hen in the laying coop began hatching eggs.  Shells were cracking left and right, and before we knew it we had a happy family of 9 chicks cuddled under their mommy hen.

 6 of the first 9 were Americana chicks we were hatching our for our sister-in-law Theresa, the rest were pale blond Buff/Delaware mixes.

 The next day the last two hatched, creating the rather large group of 11.

We took the Americanas away (yes we felt horrible) to give to Theresa and left Sissy, our hen, with 4 matching blondies.

 One sunny afternoon we took the chickies (the older ones on the porch) outside for the first time in their lives.

 They were thrilled!!!

 Everything had to be poked at and the grass had to be tasted. 

 So as you can see we truly do have an abundance of activity here at the farm, and that is only half of it.  The rest is yet to come.

~Chs

Endures Forever

I Saw God Wash the World Last Night.

I saw God wash the world last night
With His sweet showers on high;

And then when morning came
I saw him hang it out to dry.

He washed each slender blade of grass
And every trembling tree;

He flung his showers against the hills
And swept the rolling sea.

The white rose is a deeper white;
The red, a richer red

Since God washed every fragrant face
And put them all to bed.

There's not a bird, there's not a bee
That wings along the way,

But is a cleaner bird and bee
Than it was yesterday. 

I saw God wash the world last night;
Ah, would He had washed me

As clean of all my dust and dirt
As that old white birch tree!

 By William Stidger

(Photographs by Christianna Sauve)

The First Rhubarb of the Season

 We were very happy when we checked our Rhubarb and found it ready to pick!!  Oh the delightful tart crunch that floods your senses with mouth watering (or puckering) goodness.  Rhubarb is not for everyone, but most of us children love to just chomp on it raw!

The first item made was of course just plain delicious rhubarb sauce. (Recipe: 8 cups diced Rhubarb, 1 cup sugar, 2 Tb water; simmer and stir until sauce) We love to eat it on our oatmeal, or cold cereal, over ice cream  or even just by the spoonful.

Then we made strawberry rhubarb crisp for dessert one Sunday, equally wonderful, especially when topped with homemade creamy vanilla ice cream.

Last year when Dad and Mom where up north for their Anniversary trip, they picked up this interesting cook book called "Life's Little Rhubarb Cookbook: 101 Rhubarb Recipes."  So a couple of days ago Faith pulled it out and tried one of the recipes.

Rhubarb muffins!  They were very tasty, especially if you go by the fact that Josiah asked for a third (but then again he does that with most anything ;)

I will leave you with this amusing limerick found (but not created) by Faith.

Rhubarb when raw is so tough

           and it's leaves contain poisonous stuff,

           but when cleaned and de-soiled

   dipped in sugar and boiled, 

        then the stalks are quite tasty enough.

~Chs

The PRC Banquet

 We have been very blessed in the past years to volunteer at our local Pregnancy Resource Center, and every spring we are excited to attend their annual Fundraiser Banquet.

This year was no exception, and we were happy to have Josh and Theresa along with us.

 The Banquet was very well attended this year; it was wonderful to see all the different people there showing their support for the God glorifying work that the PRC does.

 The Silent Auction was absolutely huge this year; it was great to see how many beautiful things were donated to the cause of spreading the gospel and saving lives.

Once the dinner (which was delicious as usual) was over, we all meandered over to the Sanctuary for the program.

A wonderful quartet regaled us with some delightful melodies, and I am proud to say that I recorded all of them, except for the last one since my memory card became full in the middle of it. :)

Mrs. Donna Luke gave us an update on the PRC, along with thanks for the help given and encouragement to continue.

We were also very blessed by a message given by Mr. Bob Dutko, he had some very relevant points backed from Scripture on unborn and born babies, and how God sees no difference.

We are very grateful for being able to play even a small part at our local Pregnancy Resource Center and are excited to see and hear about the lives they are able to touch.

~Chs

Josh's Birthday!

On April 18th our second boy turned 22!!

We are very blessed to have this talented man in our family, and are thrilled with the ways God has blessed him in the past few years.

Joshua is our family jokester, lover of music, observer of wild life, enthusiastic hunter and is blessed with a stunning voice, and a beautiful whistle.   You should really hear it when Josh is visiting, and he and Faith whistle through a classical piece, harmony and all!

Being the 5th child Joshua is what we call our third first born (if that makes any sense:) and can do pretty much anything with limited effort.

We were very pleased to be able to have Josh and his wife Theresa (who I some how failed to include in the photographs!) over the day before his birthday for a dinner and party.  

May God bless you, Josh, in the coming year as you continue to lead your own family.

~Chs

"But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint."

Isaiah 40:31