the chicken hotel . . .

So we got the chickens in the mail today. 7:30am, I am about to leave for school, and I hear the phone ring. I think, "who's calling us so early on a Wednesday morning?" It was the post office saying that the chickens we ordered are in.
When I got home, the children said they already named a few of them . . . all fine a dandy until we CUT THEIR HEADS OFF and eat them! Nolan built the structure for them to live in. A chicken hotel with a indoor area AND a patio! They are going to live it up large for the week or two before we stick them outside. For now, the are on the enclosed patio.

being added to the mix . . .

The children have been working hard getting some planting done around the place. The garden now has some plants in it, with more to come. The boys have tried to tackle the big job of setting up a sturdy structure for the tomatoes to grow up on, and all the girls planted some herbs and some flowers up near the house. They also found some wild onions in the woods and took some starters from them to plant. It is a VERY GOOD THING to see children working in the dirt, planning where to put crops, and tending to them. I am excited to see the addition of a few more animals being added to the mix this next week. We were supposed to receive chickens this week, but due to an order mishap, we won't get them until next week. The straight run of 50 Buff Orpingtons will be arriving at our local post office for us to pick up. A straight run is when a group of chickens are scooped up without regards to the sex of the chicken. You get what you get. We are hoping to get a mix of course of layers for egg production, some to use as meat birds to eat, and we will keep a cock or two to help fertilize some eggs. It all A NEW WORLD of information and practice for us.

getting it started . . .

Last week our friendly country neighbor's son came over with his tractor and plowed us a little area to start our garden. Nolan and Ildi have been working out all the math details trying to decide where to put all the plants. All the children took part in planting seeds in starter trays and we are patiently waiting for them to get big enough to transplant outside. Funny, but our garden area is as large as our entire grass area was in California!

a timeless message . . .

I am always torn when sitting down to write something. Partly because I feel like writing about our lives seems indulgent, and partly because I feel like I need to express a greater truth for the benefit of mankind.

Both seemed to be prescriptive, a format that I need to follow and a mode that I am not sure I am wanting to stay in. In reading countless other blogs, I value the differing styles of personal accounts, and appreciate those that write for a greater audience the timeless messages. And sometimes, this "gobbledygook," that I started with today, helps me to solidify what it is that I am trying to say, what I want to communicate, what I want to express. And in this case, it's nothing! I have NO purpose in writing today, I have nothing profound to say, no experiences to share, I am wasting my time.

But, in any event, God is good. Family relationship is paramount. And a rolling stone gathers no moss. . . . . . . . I REALLY like moss. (that statement is not an analogy of my life :)

a lot of work . . .

Today the boys mowed the grass for the first time this year. WOW was it a lot of work. Compared to our teeny little plot of grass in Pasadena, this 3 acre farm home land is GINORMOUS! It took Nolan and Asher more than three hours just to do the basics of the job.

Recently I have been spending time building my online etsy store. I am creating all sorts of art and crafts looking to see what types of products sell, what people are most interested in, and how to market the store relatively cheaply. I purchased an online book for the first time that gave me some GREAT tips that I have already started to implement. In addition, I have also begun writing some articles for eHow.com. What an interesting avenue. I am really enjoying writing in the step-by-step fashion. If you get the chance, check out some of my articles there. Click on members and type in gfout to find me.

Ildi ordered our chickens today and we should receive them in the mail near the second week of May. The children are all excited to finally get some of the animals we have been talking about getting for two years. It is really happening now. The next purchase is our COW!

get them thinking . . .

I was just reminded of an earlier post where I mentioned some of the Fout Family Values. It is times like these that I think I should write in a series, methodically, post after post adding layers to to continuing story. HOWEVER, I don't want to take the joy out of these random acts of writing. The layered style I'll leave for the book writers. I will mention another thing that we try to concentrate on here at the home.

Concerning Relationships in Our Family . . .

5. We love one another, treating others with kindness, gentleness and respect.
6. We serve one another, humbly thinking of the needs of others first.
7. We encourage one another, using only words that build up and bless others.
8. We forgive one another, covering an offense with love when wronged or hurt.


Now, does this ALWAYS happen in our home? Sorry to inform, but the answer is a resounding NO. But it is a goal of ours and a standard we are constantly working on.

One of the things I have tried to do over the years when the children start treating each other horribly is to ask them a few questions. Questions get them thinking...it takes them out of the anger situation...it makes them reflect on THEIR behavior and not the one they think is wrong. Here are a few questions I ask.

What do you want?
Is doing that, or saying that, helping you get want you want? (ex. One is yelling at the other to stop doing something . . . does the yelling get them to stop doing it?)
What kind of person are you being to them?
What are you doing? Is that how you want to be?
What kind of person do you want to be?
What kind of brother/sister do you want to be remembered as?

We are definitely a work in progress, but these are helping us all to evaluate how we are treating the ones we should be loving.

at the bottom of the stairs . . .

"It's raining and it's windy" . . . so my three year old says now as he is in bed for the evening. Each night, ritualistically, we follow the same routine. Right around 7pm, it's off to the bathroom for a couple of activities. Next, at the bottom of the stairs he hops on my back and I carry him up to his room. After I drop him off in his bed to play with cars, or the Etch a Sketch, I sit in the rocker and usually am working online doing something. Tonight was finishing an article I wrote for eHow.com on how to make a paper STAINED GLASS WINDOW.

As I sit here writing this, I am convicted of the focus of my time spent right before he sleeps. Obviously I don't want to have stimulating conversation to keep him awake any longer, and I want him to understand that when he goes to bed it is to sleep. And then there is the rationalizing that I do that says "my dad never sat with me . . . " justifying my attention to something other than him. I am not 100% sure what to think of with this conviction, but I do know that it the Lord getting my attention in a small way to help me in being a better father.

ordered steps . . .

Spring is here, and it could not have come SOONER! Wow, our first winter in Ohio was atrocious! I am glad now that it is over. (even though we WILL have a few more cold days before it's over)

Even though spring is here, the thoughts of planting, getting chickens and a cow are in our minds, we are struggling a little with the vision/mission/direction of our family. For a couple years now we have been working toward buying a farm and planting ourselves into a community. That time is now, but there are a couple of components that are up in the air. First, we have not been able to find a farm in the area that suites us. We have looked and looked, and it seems each place we visit we still have the resounding "not this one". We are getting a little worn down having our hope deferred each time we visit a place and it is not the place we can call home. Secondly, I have decided that I will not be returning to the school I am working at this year. Long story short, I am getting off at the next port and will be getting on a different ship in the fall. That decision affects the possibility of moving out of this area. We have decided that we are going to stay in Ohio though. That's comforting to know. No more moves across the nation. :)

As always, we are trusting that God has our plans in His hands, and we are open to His leading us and planting us where He wants us. Navigating around work and property, I am sure that we will look back and see that He has ordered are steps. Proverbs 16:9
In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. Thank you all for your continued support through friendship and prayer. One day, and hopefully soon, you will be able to come and stay "on the farm" and will reap the benefits of His blessings on us.

collecting in buckets . . .

This, my friends, is a science fair project in the making!

It's not actually a science fair project, but when I was constructing it the other day when it was raining in the HALLWAY, it seemed certainly to be just like what one would be.

Here's the deal. Because the wind was so vicious last week, several shingles blew off the roof and into the neighboring field, along with things like the BBQ cover, the worm bin lid, and a few other "this, that, and what have yous". As a result, there were several leaks in the hallway ceiling upstairs. I had put several buckets and trash cans out to catch the rain, but was unable to capture it all because it kept finding new ways to leak. That's when I resorted to the Ohio Handbook on Dealing with Elements. Actually it is not a handbook at all, it was a conversation I had with my mother who has delt with leaky roofs all her life. (I remember as a child seeing buckets strategically placed in our home to catch the rain) This time she told me of a new way of channeling the water so it collects in one bucket, and makes NO dripping noise at all. Taping plastic trash bags to funnel the rain to one area, poking a hole in the lowest point, then running a string down to the bucket did the trick! I also took a little creative liscence and poked string into the plaster and tied it to the main artery as pictured above. I LOVED IT.

feeling like spring . . .

It is beginning to feel like spring! Today was a warm 63 and I felt like it was summer compared to the weather we have been having. It is crazy how a few degrees changes the whole outlook of the day. Spring feels like it is right around the corner.

We are beginning to make some plans about how we are going to plant and get animals this spring not having our farm home yet. Some friends have offered some land to "borrow" to plant some crops, and we are thinking of boarding a cow at the neighbors house. SOUNDS CRAZY but we need to start now.

The children are all getting over HORRIBLE colds and coughs and the younger ones are on the tale end of the Whooping Cough. This has been our first "real" winter season so I am hoping that next year we will have built up some immunity to the freezing, cold weather.