Newest Family Member

Today we welcomed in our newest family member - we rescued a 4-year old female Basset Hound from a local shelter.  We are not for sure on the name yet, but Cameron is pushing for Bea - short for Beatrice which means "Blessing and Long Hopeful Journey."

She has already really taken to Cameron and when he left for his Christian Warriors group which is for young men learning mixed martial arts and the Bible (an interesting combination - but it works for him and his friends), Bea sat at the front door and whined.

She will most likely spend the night in his room, with the exception of Bear the other two dogs (Mia & Nala) already are adjusting to her.

Meeting the other dogs.

Sleeping in Cam's room.

Looking for her boy.

May 29 - Week In Review.

Once again we had a busy week, however part of that busyness was getting projects done around the property.  The girls enjoyed some time each day feeding the chickens, Kevin & Cameron cut a door into the back of the barn making access to the chicken area easier, and Lynda continued to homeschool the children and take care of the gardens, etc.

Random shots from the week:

Amber & Lynda at the Women's Lunch
last Saturday.

Hannah can fall asleep anywhere and
in just about any position!

Lauren still learning balance as she
walks up hill, simple things that we
take for granted as she did not experience
much outdoor activity in the orphanage.
(the door in the background is the one
Kev & Cam put in Thursday night)

Challenges of Parental Photography.

Took a few pictures of the chickens that we now have and when I came in for dinner I tried to capture a quick picture of Hannah & Lauren at the table.  As you can see I need to photo shop the two pictures to make a single good one - as usual Lauren was not paying attention for the first photo and Hannah was bored and ready to eat for the second one!

Chickens!

Last week Kevin was talking to his friend Gerri at work who has 5-acres and raises chickens to get some tips on selecting the best ones for eggs and for the girls to take care of, she just had a bunch that she was looking for homes for that ranged from about 6-weeks to 2-months old.  While Lynda and Amber were out at a lunch for the women at Amber's church, Kevin took Cameron, Hannah, and Lauren over to Gerri's house to pick out some chickens.

We are now the proud owners of 10 chicks (not sure yet which will be hens and roosters) which we have placed in the coop behind the barn.  Here are pictures of us at Gerri's house where the girls also got to see and touch some chicks that were only about 2 & 3-weeks old!

Hannah & Lauren looking at chicks to select.

Some of the chicks we took home.

Fun Outside & Chicken Coop

We had a busy day with Lynda organizing all the photo albums (new & old), Kevin & Cameron working on finishing the chicken coop behind the barn, and getting the girls (Hannah & Lauren) outside to get some exercise.

It was really windy and cool today, a good day for working outside but not so good for playing some of the games the girls had as the ball and shuttlecock kept getting blown either longer or shorter than expected.  The girls had fun anyway and just enjoyed running and playing together outside.

Here are Kevin and Cameron working on the chicken coop, it may not be the prettiest thing but with the exception of a fee new studs all the materials used were left over items from other building projects on the property over the years.

Cam going "gangsta" with the drill!

Lauren Moves into Her Room.

Saturday night Lauren spent her first night in her own room.  Since we returned from China, Lauren has been using a small bed in our room so that we could be sure we were near if she needed anything and to ensure an easier transition into her new environment (feeling safe & secure).  We also needed to find out what her sleep habits would be like, since we found out how active she is with rolling around the bed we needed to rethink the position of her bed to keep her in it at night.  Lauren is also an explorer and a climber so we needed to get things set up in her room so that "if" she climbed the shelves or tried to access things out of reach in her room they would not come crashing down on her.

Glad to say, Lauren has now successfully spent 2 nights in her own room and we have now been able to take the extra bed out of the master bedroom and gain some space and privacy!

In Memory of Granny: Jan 31, 1912 - May 7, 2011

This morning Lynda's Grandmother went home to be with our Lord and Saviour.  Clara Ellison Hinnant better known to us all as "Granny" was 99 and fought the good fight, she finished the race strong - Welcome Home Granny!

Guess where we went today?

If you guessed California Adventure and Disneyland - you are correct!

We had a fun day that started with lunch followed by a few of Hannah's favorites, Monsters Inc and the Toy Story Ride, which now that Lauren is starting to become familiar with the characters, she was excited about the rides also.

Hannah also loves the carousel so we did that too, Lauren is starting to get better, although she hung on for dear life she did not need dad to hold her on this time!

We took time at Disneyland to introduce Lauren to one of our other favorite things, seeing the Billy and the Hillbillies show.  It was great both girls clapped to the music and the Billys' all flirted with them as we were in the box right off the side of the stage.

Just a few shots around the park:

"All right, Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my closeup"

We finished the day with introducing Lauren to one more of our little traditions, stopping at Ralph Brennan's for beignets, bread pudding, and coffee!  (the bread pudding & coffee for mom and dad).

A DUCKY Day!!

Before we get to the DUCKS - first here are some cute photos of Cameron being a great big brother helping his little sister with her hair.

Now, the main story for the day - DUCKS!!!  (This has been updated since the original posting since we now have 10 -ducklings one additional one has appeared as of this evening).

Even with all the hard work of duck chasing and Cameron's duck blinds we lost the battle - mama duck appeared today (from some hidden place in the pool area) with 9 ducklings.  Lynda went out to water some plants she just started in the pool area and found them swimming in the pool.  Mama duck was able to get out of the pool, however the ducklings were too small and needed to be rescued by Lynda with the pool net.