The Day At the Nice's

"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

Acts 2:42

Saturday, July 31st, we woke up bright and early:  today was the day to process our chickens! :)  We ate a very quick breakfast and then we were piled into Daddy's truck for the 15-20 minute drive to the Nice's house.  Mr. Jon, our friend from church, came along too (he was stuffed in the back of the truck with 4 of my siblings ;)!  Once at the Nice's we prepared to start processing!  Ice was taken over to the processing area, clothes were hung on the line, aprons were donned, and then we started! 

I'll give a quick overview of the process with very little detail:

1. 
   
   Bleed out the chickens. 
2. 
   
   Once immobile, dunk them in 147 degree water.
3. 
   
   Put the chickens in the FeatherMan, turn on until most of the feathers are gone.
4. 
   
   Trim off feet.

After this there was a myriad of things that happened:  heads cut off, eviceration, checking for pin feathers, rinsing, placing in ice-cold water tank, etc. 

Hannah stayed pretty faithful on the eviceration table (even though she cut her thumb on her 1st chicken!). Lexi rinsed out the chickens after eviceration.  Caleb cut legs off and Seth dunked the chickens in the water and put them in the featherman.  Mr. Jon helped end the chickens' lives and Daddy helped out wherever needed.  As for me, I checked for pin feathers and (thanks to Mrs. Nice!) got to shrink-wrap (a.k.a. bag and weigh) the chickens after they had been cleaned out and looked like a chicken you buy from the store.  [In case you were wondering, I did *half-way* evicerate a chicken.  But only one! :)]

The Nice's have four sons (Jon, Jeffrey, Jeremy, and Jason!) and they evicerated, cut off heads/legs, etc.  Mr. Nice helped out wherever (mostly near the killing station) and Mrs. Nice helped where needed too (and watched Jason - the youngest Nice). 

I can't forget to add that Eden came along also.  She did a great job playing with Jason!  :)  [Mama, Josiah, and Lydia were at home still preparing lunch and dinner for all of us.]

There were lots of funny and gross things that happened that day ( for example, Hannah could make the chicken squawk after eviceration :).  

Just as an interesting note:  we had two Jehovah's Witnesses show up as we were killing, slicing, gutting, and bagging.  They didn't stay very long. ;)

 So, anyways, we finished all of the chickens in 2 1/2 hours!!  I think there were about 40 chickens so that's approximately 3.75 chickens a minute.  :) 

Once we were done we cleaned up and went inside.  :)  Mama came over around 12ish bringing lots of food with her!

For lunch we had a taco-salad bar with banana bread and chocolate chip cookies.

After lunch, some people played outside and some stayed inside and talked. ;) 

For dinner we had roast beef, mashed potatoes, greenbeans, carrots, and buttermilk rolls!  Everything was so yummy!

Potatoes.

(Lump-free...just the way I like it. ;)

Greenbeans - from our garden! :)

Roast beef and carrots.

(Yes, we had thought of eating chicken for dinner but we decided against it! :)

This is everyone (minus me) eating dinner.  The Nice's have a HUGE table and we could fit all 17 of us around it! 

After dinner, and more talking, the men churned ice cream.  Once it was done we had vanilla ice cream and chocolate pound cake! :)  It was already about 10:00 when we finished eating dessert, so the guys packed up the van and we said goodbye to everyone.

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So, there is my report of the chicken-processing day!  We all had so much fun with the wonderful Nice family, and we look forward to getting together again.  (In fact, we're probably going to help them process their 300+ chickens next week.)

One more thing - don't forget to check out the Nice's website here.  They've updated it with pictures and lots of information so make sure to take a look! :)

Delighting in Jesus,

                                                                            Kimber :)

You Never Know What You Might Find In A Chicken Coop...

"Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made."

Genesis 3:1a

This morning I was doing billing for Cross Cuts Ltd. when Caleb called my name.  I turned around quickly to find the scaly body of a snake two inches from my face.  Yes, I did squeal but I soon recovered! ;)

Anyways, Caleb had found the slippery fellow in the chicken coop.  And there were actually two snakes in the coop, but dad just brought the biggest one inside. ;)  [The one pictured on this post is the 6 footer and the one not pictured was 2-3 feet long.]

They are kinda' cute...

I always knew Daddy had snake in his bloodline! ;)

The snake was huge! 

See how thick he is?

One last picture of this creepy critter!

Life in the country can rarely be boring! ;)

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I've been wanting to post this video for awhile but I haven't figured out the HTML stuff to embed it into this post, so you'll have to go here to watch it. The video is of Daddy on our newly constructed zip line that he got for his birthday! Daddy's always wanted a zip line, so we excitedly put it up a week or two ago. Daddy was the first one to try it out because he didn't want any of us to get hurt, in case it broke.  (The video is on photobucket....so watch out for the ads.  They definitely aren't the best.)  Watch it now - it's very short and funny! :)

Okay, let's just say that the "first trip" was a failure.  (Lexi reported that there was a brown trail from where Daddy slid along the ground! ;)  Since that location didn't work we moved it over between two other trees and now it's in much better shape.  We "zip" on it almost every time we're outside.  We sit in a little sling Daddy made for us and then enjoy the ride! :)

Delighting in Jesus,
Kimber :)

Building the Chicken Coop

"And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain."

Isaiah 4:6

Monday afternoon Daddy, Alexis, Caleb, Seth, Eden, and Josiah set up the ribs of our new chicken coop!  (All our little chicks will go there when they get big enough)  

Before dinner, I went to take some pictures of their work in progress. :)

Hannah drove me over and the sky was so beautiful!

Working, working, working.

The chicken coop is going to be made out of ribs from a greenhouse that our friends at Lavender Fields gave us for free.  I'm not sure what Daddy's going to use to cover it with, how he's going to construct it and everything but I know it'll be wonderful  when they're done!  (I can see the chickens out there already! :)

 

Eden and Josiah set themselves up for this photo.

Seth getting the ladder for Daddy.

Daddy putting together two poles.

The hard workers and the coop-in-progress.

As you can see from the picture they got all of the ribs together except for one before I left.

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For dinner that night, Mr. John came over to discuss barn/chicken coop plans with Daddy.  We had Mexican for dinner:  tacos, leftover enchiladas, cornbread, corn, etc.  After dinner, Daddy, Caleb, and Seth went with Mr. Johnny over to the pasture to discuss building plans while we cleaned up inside.  It was dark by the time they came back in the house, so the boys went up to bed and Mr. Johnny stayed for our girls' night (and to finish talking with Daddy!).  Our "girl night" is when Hannah, Alexis, and I get to stay up late with Mama and Daddy and we either play a game, talk, or just get some special time with our parents.  Since Mama has a cold and is pregnant, she went to bed early so we had our night with Daddy and Mr. Johnny! :)  Hannah got to pick the game out and she picked Scrabble.  It was so much fun playing together but when it hit 10 o' clock we had to end the game.  Daddy won 1st place (very unfairly I must add...), Mr. Johnny came in 2nd,with Hannah and Alexis taking 3rd and 4th place - I think I easily won the most-coveted position of...last! :) 

Everything unto Jesus,

Kimber :)

P.S. - Mama would appreciate any prayers for her cold.  She's pretty stuffed up!

Update

"The earth is the Lord's and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein."

Psalm 24:1

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This post is really a bunch of information put together as to what we've been doing recently! :)

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Last week we did lots of gardening!  Jesus gave us lots of beautiful weather so it wasn't at all hard to enjoy the days we were outside.   Daddy tilled up some of our gardens for us and we planted peas, onions, carrots, beets, and spinach.  We also laid paper down in the walkways between rows in one of our gardens to keep the weeds down.

Daddy cut two trees down to the right of our house (depending on where you are ;) to make room for the future riding ring that will be there!  We wheelbarrowed the wood over to the furnace on Thursday and hopefully it'll last for 1 more week! :)

Thursday morning Eden and Josiah went with Daddy to Grandpa and Grandma's house.  They went to Chuck-E-Cheese's and had lots of yummy food while enjoying our wonderful grandparents!

Friday night Mama and Daddy went out on a date with Mr. and Mrs. Nice.  They ate at some Italian restuarant nearby and talked over our barn plans, slaughtering chickens...Saladin-farm stuff! :)  We (the kids) stayed home and had beef stew over rice for dinner.  After dinner, we ate banana pudding as we watched Dreamer. 

Saturday afternoon, Kelly and Molly Balderson, along with our cousin, Collin, came over for a visit!  It was so much fun talking with Kelly and Molly!  They left that night after some homemade ice cream - hopefully we'll see them again soon! Collin, meanwhile, stayed the night and we returned him to his home after a scrumptuous egg breakfast (thanks Daddy!) Sunday morning. 

Now back to the present...

Josiah, Seth, and Eden at devotions this morning.

Seth was pretending to be the King so he commanded Eden and Josiah to cover him with practically every blanket in the dens' vicinity.  They then got to sit with him! :)

Daddy said they looked like those gophers that stick out of their holes with their hands up.  That is what they're demonstrating for you in the picture! :)

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We now have 94 chicks and they're growing amazingly fast.  This afternoon Daddy and the boys took them out of the house and they're now in the chicken coop!

01

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I love all the little eyes peeping everywhere! This would be one difficult jigsaw puzzle:)

The chicks are getting to the stage where they're not as cute as at the beginning:  half baby fuzz and half feathers.  But they're still cute to watch as they try and fly everywhere, scratch the paper for "bugs", attack pieces of tape, etc.

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Since I was already near the schoolroom I went and took pictures of some of my siblings during school.

That's the face I got after asking at least 4 times for a smile! :)

Same thing with Seth, but Mama smiled for me! :)

By the way, Mama is doing much better.  On a scale from 1-10 (worst to best) her morning sickness is rated #9!  She already has the cutest little baby belly and we're so glad her sickness is pretty much gone!  Now we only have 5 months until August 27th (her due date!).

Lydia during her "sofa time."

Sofa time means that she has to stay on the sofa until Mama or Daddy says she can get down.  She does pretty good if she has her baby and a blanket with her! :)

Eden showing you a card she made for Lydia.  (Lydia is turning 2 this Friday! :)

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It has been raining like crazy for the past 4 or so days!  We're really hoping all the seeds we planted don't drown because we'll have to re-buy and re-plant all of them.  Not fun.   We're also hoping it stops raining so Daddy can do his yards. :)  (It's not very fun mulching and fertilizing in the rain!)

Delighting In Jesus,

Kimber :)

Chick Pictures!

"Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind..."

Genesis 6:20

I took some more pictures of the chickens this morning, here they are:

Aren't they so sweet?

Delighting in Jesus,

Kimber

P.S. - I have a video of the chicks but I've got to figure out where I can upload it onto the blog...

The Chicks Are Here!!!

"For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind."

James 3:7

This morning at 6:45 AM, Daddy got a call from our local post office saying that our 100 chicks had arrived!   Out of all of us, Alexis was the most excited.  She's been waiting for this day for weeks!!!

After breakfast Daddy (with a few helpers ;) made their little home in the laundry room.

They won't stay in there long because they grow too fast, carry some diseases (wash your hands!!), and will soon learn to fly out of their cage - which is not allowed!

Mama let us take a break from school and chores (another benefit of homeschooling!) and everyone but Hannah, Mama, and Lydia, piled into our little green Avalon and went to pick up the chicks!

The backseaters.

It was 9:10 when we left!

Last night a wintery-mix of weather rained down upon us, so there was a little bit of snow and such on the windshield, but it melted rather quickly.

Once we arrived, we all got out and crammed into the little post office.  You could hear the chicks peeping as soon as you were inside!  The lady brought the box over, checked them over, and gave them to us to take home!  Before we went back into the car Daddy let most of us pick up and hold a little, fluffy chick!

Are they not absolutely adorable? 

Daddy got 50 golden comets, and 50 Buff Orpingtons for those of you who know your chickens!

Eden and a chick.

The chicks came via an airplane from Iowa's Schlecht Hatchery and were in a little cardboard box that was seperated into 4 sections.  They were peeping like crazy!

I managed to get the backseaters to give me a smile because they were doing this...

...as soon as the box was on their lap!

They are so precious!!

We all got to hold one on the way home.  The above chicken was the one Caleb was holding.  It would close its eyes and then open one.  It was so hilarious! :)

Lydia's reaction after we got home - when she saw the chicks.

This should give you an idea to how small the chicks are.  That's Lydia's hands.

Lydia doesn't quite understand that when you pet chicks you have to be very gentle.  Not just gentle.  Very gentle.  She thinks it's like petting a cat and the poor chicks try to get away as fast as they can. 

Daddy opening the box to let the chicks into their new home! :)

Once the chicks had access to the box, some faltered out, others stayed in the box.  So we had to gently push them out.  A few were trying to climb up the box at a 45 degree angle - they didn't want to leave! :)

Lydia managed to get into the dryer (not very safe) while we were watching the chicks settle in.

We showed the chicks where their food and water was, petted a few, and just enjoyed watching them be chicks before we started school.  Right now, they're peeping away and I can hear them very well even though I'm on the opposite side of the house.  Hopefully they'll calm down by tonight because our (Hannah, Alexis, and I) room is almost on top of where the chicks are staying!

The sweet little chicks.

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Last night we had our quarterly Bread Becker Pick-up.  (Our B.B. pick-up is when people who order food and such from http://www.breadbeckers.com/, pick up their stuff that they ordered - we're one of the co-ops for the area.  We make the entire night into fellowshiping and eating new and old recipes with everyone we haven't seen in awhile)  Everything went really well!

Delighting in Jesus,

Kimber :)

P.S. - There will definitely be a few more chick posts! :)