It's About Time...

we made a new post! We apologize for being out of touch for awhile, but with school starting and Lance taking on new responsibilities at work, we've had to put the blog on the back burner. Not to worry, though, we're back with lots of exciting news and pictures. Mike has been busy laying the footers for the addition (see picture), and now we're sowing grass in the front yard. I am particularly happy about this project; the interim yard of mud was starting to wear me thin. Soon, I will be able to return my shrubs and flowers to their original, loamy homes. (They've been waiting patiently in red clay.)

We're also glad to have had the chance to visit with our nieces and nephews of late (see pictures below). Last weekend, Lance and I traveled to Nashville to attend his cousin's wedding, and we got to spend quality time with his siblings and meet (aka snuggle with, kiss, hug on) his new niece, Rae. She is a special one, not only because she is such a placid baby, but because she shares my middle name (also my grandmother's maiden name). On our way home, we stopped in at Shane and Bobbie's where Jackson enjoyed showing off the wagon we got him last Christmas, and two-week-old Reese McKenna snoozed on our shoulders. I think I have definitely caught the baby bug, but as we are knee-deep in restoration, we'll have to wait a couple more years to be fruitful.

P.S. Ruby is coming home this weekend, so I'm sure we'll post again soon!

Wood Roof

After much deliberation, Lance and I decided to return our roof to its original state of wood shingles. In a letter written by Ruby Brown, daughter of "Blocker" John and Hannah, to Kathy McInturf, owner of the farm from 1975-2000, Ruby states, "The wood roof was replaced with metal in the 1930's, and then not because of leaks, but because of fire hazard." Let's hope if we decide to go with metal in later years, it is not for the same reason!

In the same letter, Ruby writes of the farm, "I am so full of that place, I could write a book about it!" We feel the same.

Be fruitful and multiply

Although we have not followed the devine order from Genesis 1:28, the non-human residents of Walnut Grove have been faithfully obeying. One of our bantam hens diligently brooded for what seemed like months before she hatched out two chicks this week. She actually sat for about 21 days (the same as a full size chicken) before these beaked cotton balls emerged.