What I AM....and Homemade Ice-cream

 

    For there is no friend like a sister in calm and stormy weather. To cheer one on the tedious way, To fetch one if one goes astray. To lift one if one totters down, To strengthen whilst one stands ~Christina Rossetti~

 

The above piece was written by an English poet, who lived during the Victorian era in London. Christina Rossetti was ahead of her time, being born almost 200 hundred years ago, she became a leading feminist, as she was able to support herself with her craft, when class and gender bias was rampant. When I read about women such as this, it inspires me to keep going. It's not always easy to be a mom to a large family. It's not always easy to be an older mom to young children. People have such huge judgments about what is right, ethical and proper. If she could overcome society's ingrained beliefs back then, then I can keep going in the 21 century, trying my best to open people's eyes to our true nature.

We aren't our gender, our colour, our religion, our class, our marital status, our sexual preference, our religion, our political party membership, or our  age. We aren't the house we live in, the car we drive,  what we do for a living or how much money we earn. We are, what is deep inside each of us. And for each of us, the journey within can take a lifetime. Some never discover their true self.  

 

Summer was flying along on the wings of butterflies and was carrying me breezily through my days. The children were busy going to camp, taking tennis and swimming lessons, and I was happily in the garden, digging in the dirt, laying mulch and tending to our new chicken flock. Every spare moment was gloriously full. I lose myself outdoors, in the garden, in a forest, on the beach or in the country. Being close to nature keeps me grounded and connected to all things. It feeds my soul, allows my heart to sing and makes me feel peaceful.  

 

 

My lazy summer reverie was shattered two weeks ago.

After having a busy week at home, I stopped in for a visit at my cyber parenting board and discovered a horrendous tragedy had happened to my dear board bud and her family. I have been fortunate to share my parenting path with a group of wise and intelligent women for several years now and I never thought anything negative would occur being actively on the internet. Yes, naive on my part but the need to connect with other women who are walking a similar path, was a strong pull. 

 

 

Don't we all feel more comfortable when we find "our people." You know a bosom buddy who just gets us. Someone who shares many of the same things in life and understands how rocky and wonderful the path can be at times. Living in the 21 century affords us the technological luxury to connect quickly to like-minded friends all over the world. It's such a blessing and now I also see the negative side as well.

I am not going to go into the tragic event that occurred, as it's not my story to tell. What I want to share is what happened to me and my other board buds who were shocked and grieving for our friend and her family. This is the side tragedy that often accompanies painful events. Anger is one of the first emotions that rises up after a horrific loss and the reaction often is "who can I blame."

 We had unwelcome guests coming on our board (which has always felt like our safe, private living room) spewing hate and horrible judgments towards our board friend and us as well. It shook me to the core, as I have not experienced that level of hatred and abuse in my life. I always look for the best in others but sadly, I see that there are those who do consciously choose to harm with intent. The fact that they feel their judgment is the righteous one, does not make their hateful remarks justified or above reproach.  

These people lurk in the shadow of anonymity and must derive some sort of satisfaction from stirring up controversy. It gives them a sense of power, perhaps and also feeds their ego when they create havoc. "Sick, and perverse," is all I can say about this kind of behavior. All the things that they "claim" are wrong about everyone else, is something they should recognize in themselves.

 

I am not going to get caught up in this drama though, since I have a life to live and I have children to lead. At the end of my days, I hope I can look back on my life and say, I didn't waste any moments by being negative or intentional mean. What is gained when we travel that path? There are going to be great times of grief, that is part of life, but knowing how to observe the feelings without reacting is a powerful tool and then flowing through the emotions with the least amount of resistance is key to healing. Yes, things will never be the same again, but with each experience we grow wiser.

What prompted this blog post today was watching nature and realizing it has much to teach me. Recently, we had a summer storm. The sky became dark and the clouds opened up, spilling torrential rain, like the tears I've shed for my cyber-friend and her children. Winds whipped up, filling our house with penetrating cold air. 

 

The kids were transfixed, sitting safely on our window seat in the kitchen watching the changing sky, and the swirling lake below our home. They watched as buckets of water rolled off our decks to the gardens below. It occurred to me they were still young enough to have not experienced this kind of extreme weather pattern in their life. Certainly not too many summer storms since first, they have only lived a few summers and 2, we don't experience this kind of weather disturbance in the summer in our valley.

Suddenly, I heard them get excited and as they opened the french door and raced out to our deck, I followed them. There they were, ooohing and ahhhing over the double rainbow in the sky.

 

  Mother nature is always teaching me how to walk this earth and my children are reminding me to live in the moment, to enjoy the experience and always, ALWAYS look for beauty and joy. 

This morning I woke up to another beautiful summer day. The sky couldn't have been more blue. I'm still grieving for my friend and her family, I still feel tremendous pain and hurt from the recent personal attacks towards my board buds and myself, but I'm not going to spend precious life moments being concerned about what others think of me or my friends.

 

I know judgments are largely fear based and if you know anything about me, I try really hard not to live in that place. It's too dark and it's also only a matter of perspective. What we don't understand, what we have been taught to believe, we are scared of. It's human nature. I think about Christina Rossetti, the poet who lived in a time when women didn't choose to remain single and work for a living, doing what they were most passionate about. What did her peers say during that time?

 

With the advent of the latest tragedy, and the attacks on the internet, instead of breaking me down, I have been inspired to rise up and be the best "me" that I can be. Can ANY of us ask anything more from ourselves? or others in our lives?

And so today is a day of healing. A day to move forward, for even though I'm grieving, (and some days grief is continuous on this earth don't ya think?) I need to help all my children continue to stay in a place of being conscious and in the moment. I don't want them to lose this gift from childhood. It's a choice...I will keep getting stronger, despite grief and sadness and I will follow my children's lead and look for the beauty in our world. And perhaps I can help others move through life always with hope in their hearts.

                  

  And what do children love more than fun....it's when it's fun and SWEET. Join us in making some old fashion ice cream. It's easy and delicious.

Our oldest son has worked at the local Science Centre throughout his University years. (he recently received his Science degree) He was originally hired as a summer student to plan science programs for kids but they kept him on throughout the year and he's been making ice cream, flubber, mento rockets, etc  off and on for 4 years during Saturday Serious fun at the centre. Our younger kids are so lucky to have this Science geek big brother as he LOVES teaching and experimenting with his younger siblings.  It's the joy of having kids all sorts of ages in our house.

 

Here's what you need to make Homemade Ice-cream

 

The kids with ice, cream, salt, cocoa, freezer bags....oops where is the vanilla?

 

Ingredients and Supplies

1. 1 Large Freezer Bag

2. 1 Medium Freezer Bag

3. 1 cup of half and half/whipping cream (or even whole milk works)

4. 1/2 cup of salt

5. 2 tbsp of sugar

6. 1 tsp of vanilla

(to make chocolate use 2 tbsp of cocoa)

7. Big bag of ice

Directions:

Add the half and half, the sugar, vanilla and the cocoa into the medium freezer bag. Zip well, making sure most of the air has been removed

Put the medium freezer bag into the large one and surround it with ice and salt. Zip the bigger bag, again removing excess air.

 Now the fun begins and you can pass the large freezer bag around, shaking and turning the larger bag while pressing the medium bag around inside of it. Keep checking the bag with the cream until it becomes the consistency you want your ice cream.

 

Here's Clark checking to make sure the excess air is out of the bag

 

While the kids were taking turns making the ice cream, I was finding toppings.....the skies the limit but we used raspberries, chocolate chips and crumbled chocolate cookies we had made the day before for our toppings. This was just simple fun and again taught another sustainable lesson. Now we just need the cow!

 

On my journey to growing our family and becoming an older mother, I had lots of moments to think about who I am and what I can offer my children. It was while I was sitting in quiet contemplation when most of the insights came to me. Sitting on my yoga mat and thinking, "Be Still And Know I AM." 

If you are experiencing a tough time right now, or everything in your life is dark, take a moment, sit quietly and just BE Still. Stay present with your breath, allowing it to move in and out, in and out. In time, you will discover you are a piece of everything; loving, limitless, ageless fearless. And peace will come.

  As the last days of summer close, join me in singing a song my kid's (especially my William (Will I AM) loves to sing in his clear, sweet voice.) Click the hyperlink if you can't get to the video below. Here's Will i am, singing, "What I am." 

Want to sing along with us? Here are the lyrics....keep on reaching high!

Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful,

Blessings from Hope

"What I Am"
If what I am is what's in me
Then I'll stay strong - that's who I'll be
And I will always be the best
"me" that I can be.
There's only one me, I am it
Have a dream I'll follow it
It's up to me to try.
Oh! I'm a keep my head up high
Keep on reaching high
Never gonna quit
I'll be getting stronger.
And nothing's gonna bring me down (no!)
Never gonna stop, gotta go.
Because I know
I'll keep getting stronger.
And what I am is thoughtful
What I am is musical
What I am is smart
And what I am is brave
What I am is helpful
What I am is special
There's nothing I can't achieve.
Because in myself I believe in oh...
Gonna keep our heads up high
Keep on reaching high
Never gonna quit
Just keep getting stronger.

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

For there is no friend like a sister in calm or stormy weather; To cheer one on the tedious way, to fetch one if one goes astray, to lift one if one totters down, to strengthen whilst one stands. Christina Rossetti
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/christinar165077.html?src=t_weather

Introducing New Chickens to the Flock and a Summer Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

                                        ~There is always enough, when love is present~

The long, lazy days of summer are still with us but our roosters are not. It was a sad day when we had to say goodbye to our three roos. Knowing they were going to a good home in the country made us feel marginally better.

Our two remaining hens, Sadie, (aka, Sweet Girl) and Cocoa seemed to breathe an audible sigh of relief as the three rambunctious boys left the coop. I thought they would be sad to see their brothers go. I felt so bad, so on the following day of saying goodbye to the boys, I finally let them out of their coop/run to free range our yard for the first time. If they felt any sadness, it was soon forgotten as they explored the yard, nibbling on fresh kale and jumping at butterflies.

We happily watched them become brave adventurers. Each day they ventured farther afield, to the playground, under the trampoline, up the stairs to our kitchen garden where sweet herbs and a few lettuces were trying valiantly to grow despite the mass families of quail visiting our yard this year. I had to laugh one day when our sweet Sadie chased some quail out of our yard. As she ran with her wings straight back, she seemed to say, get out of MY yard. (There really is enough growing for all)

Sadie and Cocoa check out the playhouse

And that got me thinking about adding a few more hen friends. One of the reasons for adding to our flock was that chickens are social creatures and they do well in groups of at least three. In fact, I don't think you can say you have a flock of chickens unless you have three. Also, even though the nights are balmy now, I know in the not too distant future, it's going to get very cold in our part of the world and we are going to need several chickens huddling together in the coop to stay warm through the winter.

It took a week for us to find new sisters for our girls. I put the word out on Facebook with a chicken loving friend who is also into sustainable living. Also, we tried to contact a local hatchery but after several phone calls and even an email, our request for two hens must not have been enough to warrant a call back. Finally, I found a Kijiji ad offering 6 month old Rhode Island Red hens for sale.

Perfect!

I contacted the owner and he was happy to sell two hens to us. I gathered together my laundry basket and D secured some hardware cloth to the top and we headed out to the country. A lovely flock of 10 Rhode Island Hens were happily scratching and clucking in a shady run. How does one go about finding two hens from a group of constantly moving chickens?

I told the owner, we would like hens who are in the middle of the pecking order so we don't bring home two bossy boots. Also, I was hoping to get the darkest red hens I could find as I LOVE this breed of chicken and I thought they would fit in nicely with our girls. Our beautiful girls are both a rusty dark red and although I'm not a chicken expert, since they both came from greeny blue eggs, they are what is called Easter Eggers. This is a mixed breed with one parent carrying the coloured egg gene.

I'd like to say we chose our two new girls, but really I think destiny chose them. We took the first one I picked up and the owner's daughter, Haley chose the other one. I would have loved to have brought all 10 hens home, as I knew the owner was moving and needed to find homes for them all but two was a good number for us and our urban setting. It's a good idea, if you are introducing new hens to bring at least 2 from the same flock so they have a friend as they adjust to their new surroundings and new coop mates.

David carrying our new hens into our backyard and the kids are beyond excited

  So here is what I have learned about introducing new chickens to an existing flock. 

You can't just let them run loose with your existing birds, due to potential health issues and also of course the whole pecking order has to be rearranged in a controlled situation. Thankfully, we have a hardware cloth door that can be closed to create two runs and we let the new girls have the larger run. There is a nice roost in this run and I put a pet carrier inside for their nesting box since the new chickens are laying eggs. (Yipee)

After three days we had 1/2 dozen eggs from our new hens

Our girls, who were free ranging when we brought their new sisters home came running over to see what we had in the laundry basket. They were very interested and excited but I'm glad we had them separated as the new girls were larger and I was worried about our 15 week babies/adolescent birds. After all, these new girls were used to being in a larger flock and dealing with the pecking order, and our girls had put up with 3 big brothers but no big bossy hens. Another tip, in introducing new chickens to the flock is to make sure they are all about the same size as the smaller ones will get picked on for sure.

Here are the new girls moving into the run for the first time.

In the first week, I made sure they had a lot of greens and lovely things to eat to make them feel welcome

After a week of keeping the new girls, who we finally named, Clara and Annie, in their run/coop, one beautiful afternoon, I let them out to join Sadie and Cocoa. Since there was lots of space to explore, there was no confrontation, although both sets were wary of each other. That night I separated them in the coop/run again but the next day I let them out and they have been free ranging and sleeping in the run/coop without any barrier. The new girls did stay on the run roost each night up to now but tonight when they were all starting to settle into their respective places, I picked the new girls up and moved them into the coop with our younger girls. There was some unrest but then they settled down obviously too tired to worry about who was sleeping where. I will get up nice and early and let them out to avoid any issues.

I have heard that there can be vicious attacks but so far, there has only been a move towards a peck, which has been avoided since there has been the space for all to roam. I think that is the key with adjusting new chickens into an existing flock; to give them space so they don't feel stressed. If there is no stress for food, or roost space, or places to scratch and move, then there really is no issue. They can easily transition into a comfortable pecking order without any violence.

Reminds me a bit of bringing home a new baby  to join an older brother, sister, or more. If the existing child, or children feel that they are not losing anything, just gaining a sweet brother or sister, then the adjustment is easier. In fact, our children all felt we had given them something very special instead of  anything being taking away. That shocked me as I had never thought of it that way. I was worried they would feel as though they were losing a bit of their relationship with their mom and dad and then I realized, they were being given a new relationship that WE were not a part of in any way. I'll never forget our oldest daughter oohing and ahhhing over her baby brother the first time she met him."My baby brudder," she said as she held him in her tiny arms.

Here's  our daughter Grace feeding one of her twin baby sisters. She was so excited to finally have not just one baby sister but TWO

Here's Clara, one of our new hens exploring her new yard..so far she is the BIG SISTER and realizes there is enough to go around for all the hens, food, room to explore, attention, and companionship

Victoria getting to know the new girls, Clara in front and Annie in the back

There is a lot of room for the hens to roam on our 1/3 acre urban lot, here you can see the two separate runs/coops we have set up. The one on the right is the one our older girls lived in as we adjusted our new hens to their surroundings. The new girls lived in the run on the left. There is a nice roost and a nest box in that run. Hopefully, after tonight they will all sleep together in the little coop space in the upper run

All of this has been going on at our homestead while we were also saying goodbye to our oldest son, who left for London mid July to spend the summer with his sister traveling around the U.K. The same sister who taught me there is always enough love to go, when we introduced HER baby brother to her. Now they are all grown up and are traveling partners in life.

Before Clark left though we harvested our strawberries and our rhubarb and made a delicious crumble. I've been  waiting to write a blog and share this recipe with you but it's been a really busy summer. Are you finding it's flying by too? Our second big crop of rhubarb is about ready to harvest again.

Btw, the crumble is the British term for the American crisp, which I thought was appropriate as our son headed off for Britain. Here's my recipe for a Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble (adjust the sugar depending on how sweet you would want it)

Hope's Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

Ingredients

3/4 cup of whole wheat flour
2/3 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or toasted almonds
3 cups of cut up strawberries
2 cups of chopped rhubarb
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt

Directions

Combine the flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix in with a pastry cutter. Add nuts and mix with a fork. Set aside this topping for the crumble.

Mix the strawberries, rhubarb, white sugar, and vanilla and place in the bottom of an 8x11 inch pan. 

Sprinkle the topping on top of fruit mixture. Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees for 40 minutes 

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream on top...delicious

Although this crumble went fast in our house...it's easy to make so there is always enough!

Saying goodbye to our oldest as he heads off for his summer adventure to the U.K.

 
 
                           ~There is no lack. There is always enough~

I hope to see you again soon,

Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope

P.S. The girls slept together well last night and seemed to be even closer this morning as they roamed around the yard together rather in two separate groups. Also, BIG News, there was the usual two eggs, one in the coop area they slept in last night and one in the old nesting box which is still in the run. The BIG news though is that I found two shelless eggs which means our younger girls, Sadie and Cocoa are revving to lay REAL eggs soon. Exciting day and a big step towards having a harmonious flock.

 

 

 

 

The Chicks are Growing Up...and Lemon Squares

                   
       

Before you were born I carried you under my heart. From the moment you arrived in this world until the moment I leave it, I will always carry you in my heart. ~Mandy Harrison
 
What devoted blog readers you are to come and visit today.

 Thank you!

I'm sorry I haven't been posting much this spring and early summer. As you may know, if you are a follower, I was blessed again to be rehired back at my gardening gig for 8 weeks this spring. Between work and my mom/homestead duties, my days have been blissfully, abundantly full.

As much as I enjoyed every single moment of my time at the gardens, (I have amazing work buds, waving "Hi"if any of you are reading today) it's nice to take a moment to contemplate life, my dreams and the summer ahead. Before another season flies by though, I wanted to take a moment and tell you about our baby chicks.

News Flash! Chickens grow up REALLY fast.

They are not sweet, fluffy 'lil chicks any longer. Nope! But they are sweet big pullets and cockerels. Yes, that's right, it looks like we have cockerels, as in roosters. I was pretty sure a few were turning boyish, as they were growing alarmingly fast and getting red combs and wattles. Also, having raised 8 kids myself, I know the chance of having boys is usually a 50/50 chance. In my case, for many years an 75/25 chance, until Grace and our twin daughters evened things out. Anyway, we took the risk that we may have a few roosters, as we did the "hatch a chick program" at my son's grade 1 class. As far as I know there isn't a way to determine the gender before the egg has hatched. 


The inevitable happened this past Monday morning. I was half asleep, pouring breakfast cereal for my three little ones when, "Cock a doodle Doo" floated in loudly from our open kitchen window. Now, this wasn't an adolescent learning to crow. Oh no, this was a full blown doodle. For a moment I smiled as this is what I would love to hear IF, I were living in the country but no, the reality is that I don't live in the country. I live in an urban type yard and I needed to muzzle that sound or we would quickly be discovered as having chickens. Even hens are not a welcome backyard pet in our area....yet.

Ahhhh! I quickly, pulled together an enticing tray of yummy food for our chickens; rolled oats, raisins, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, some left over brown rice from our dinner the night before and then as I flew down to the coop wearing nothing but my nightie. I gathered a few strawberries along the way and some herbs; parsley, lemon balm, oregano, thyme and finally sweeping by my lower garden gathered up some of their fav grub; kale leaves. I was figuring a chicken eatin', ain't a chicken talking. When I arrived at the coop all in a flap, my 5 chickens were all gathered at the door, looking innocent. No one particular was fessing up over calling the alarm for breakfast. Every day since, our roos voices are growing stronger, thankfully never at the same time. Sadly, it looks like we are going to have to say goodbye to our three beautiful boys. I will not be able to keep them in our urban backyard much longer. (Thankfully, I may have a country gal willing to take them)

Bittersweet really.

I have wanted chickens for so long. I've read everything I could get my hands on regarding their care, that I thought I would enjoy the experience but I had no idea, I would LOVE just being close to them. They are meditative of sorts and funny to watch as they have big personalities in their little feathered bodies. It's interesting as they go about their day eating, socializing, scratching, being curious about the world and what is going on around them.

The little dark one we called Coco Chanel and it looks like she is going to be one of our hens

Aren't they the cutest! Here they are all 5 of them, spending some morning time with the kids in the family room...they are getting their little feathers

Will just loves holding them and it has been interesting to see how the various fluff balls matured over the last 3 months. They really do grow up FAST! Those aren't droppings on the paper towels, just little pieces of parsley.

Our little fluffy feathered babies remind me why I love being a mom to little kids so much 'cause little ones are the same in so many ways. They love to experience eating new foods, socializing, making new friends, and are curious and interested in everything happening around them. Watching babies grow is like discovering the world for the first time through their eyes. Magical!

 Here they are at last out of the house and into their new home. It's been such a ride. They lived in our laundry room in the brooder box for about a month as it was cold outside when they came to us at the end of April. Then we moved their brooder box into the garage for another couple of weeks and finally at 6 weeks old we moved them out to the coop. They were fully feathered and getting really big at this point.

Here's a picture of the two roosters enjoying their new coop with the cool birch branch roost my husband D made for them...the white one we called, "Pearl" but it looks like she is Captain Pearl now.

Here's the new coop and run. Since our yard is sloped we had to build it in two sections. The first section holds their coop which is really cool and has some easy to clean features. This was put in place first and then D built the run to the left. For those of you who are interested, I am going to do a post soon ALL about the construction of the coop, as when I was in my quest for chickens, where to put them was a biggie You can see how big they are now

As our chicks turned a month old, our twin daughters, Kathryn Mira and Victoria Hope turned 5 years old on May 20th (The Victoria Day long weekend here in Canada). As I write this they are 5 years and 2 months old yesterday. I've been meaning to write this blog for 2 months! I can't believe my babies are growing up and will be off to kindergarten in the fall. It just seems like the other day I was carrying them around in each arm.

Sadly, I've lost a lot of baby pictures of the girls (on a flash stick somewhere) but here is one sweet picture. Victoria is on the left and Kathryn is on the right...back then they were almost identical

Here's Victoria still snuggling into her twin. Kate is on the left here and Tori on the right 5 years old

Kathryn and Victoria on their birthday....a kitty for Kate and a puppy for Tori are in their new bike baskets

So this blog is really about how fast our chicks grow up, enjoying the journey and celebrating the moments.

When my family celebrates an occasion we usually do so with a dessert and I thought this was the PERFECT time to share my lemon square recipe. I started making this years ago when our older kids were in our local Carriage house string Orchestra. The moms would take turns bringing snacks for their "break bread" and socialize aspect of their practice.  When it was my turn to feed the 20 something group of kids, I always brought healthy veggies, hummus, fruit, taco chips and various dips but the big hit was always when I brought my delish brownies (stay tuned as I don't think I have posted this recipe) AND these lemon squares.

I've had so many people over the years ask for this recipe so I thought I would finally include it in this blog, even though it's not the healthiest of desserts. Sometimes dessert is just SWEET. Summer time is also THE perfect time for lemon desserts don't you think? Light and tart....goes great with Greek type food. If you are looking for an easy dessert square for a special occasion, check this recipe out.


Lemon Squares

(This recipe is from the Company's Coming Cookbook by Jean Pare)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated Sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine

2 eggs
3 tbsp of lemon juice
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup coconut
1/4 tsp salt

First layer: Crumble first 3 ingredients until mealy. Press into un-greased 9x9 pan Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes

Second Layer: Beat eggs slightly. Stir in remaining 6 ingredients. Spread over first layer. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes until set in the center and light brown in colour. Cool and frost.

Frosting:
1 1/2 cups of confectioner's sugar
2 tbsp butter
4 tsp lemon juice and if you like you can add some real lemon zest

Directions:
Combine all together in small bowl Beat well, adding more lemon juice a bit at a time as needed for easy spreading. Spread over cooled bars. Allow to set. Cut 36 small squares.

Thanks so much for coming by for a visit. Before I close though, I wanted to share a song/vid that I have loved for years now. 

WAY back before our daughter Grace was born, I wanted another baby. Hopefully another daughter. We had our oldest, a daughter and then were blessed with 3 beautiful boys. Our oldest daughter asked for a baby sister for every birthday and holiday. It was a LONG journey though, as I was over 40 at that point and my fertility had taken a nose dive. We lost a baby along that journey and after that loss, I realized ANY baby would be welcome, not just a daughter. So many people have preferences over gender and having a loss made me realize that boy or girl, it doesn't matter. Our babies are precious gifts and teach us so much about life. (And I guess that is why I love my Roosters so much too) I just wanted to be pregnant again and hold another baby in my arms. When I heard this song by Leanne Womack before we finally got pregnant with Grace,  I cried and cried.  I was surrendering my dream of having anymore children and yet the Universe had other plans.

Now I am the blessed mom to 8 children. Four beautiful boys and four lovely girls and all I want for them is to live fully and experience all this world has to offer them. I want them to dance.

Our girls dancing together through life

 

The girls had their very first ballet performance in June. The theme was circus and they were dancing ponies

 I hope the experience I went through losing a baby, trying to conceive for years, also influences all of our children. They know they were wanted long before they ever came to earth. Hopefully, that energy flows from me and feel deeply loved and wanted.

So before you close my post, check out Leanne Womack's video, "I hope you Dance." If your dream is to have chickens, get chickens....best experience EVER. And if your dream is to have a child but you are facing infertility, hold your vision and move in the direction of your dream, staying positive and trusting the Universe to show you the way. WHATEVER your dream, "allow miracles to happen," move in that direction and most of all, I hope you dance. That is what I wish for you today. (if you can't see the video below, check out the hyper link above)

Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope