Keepin' an Eye on the Chickens

About a year ago the Snow family gave us 5 young chickens - 4 hens and a rooster. They are the Dominique variety, not the best egg-layers, but they keep us in good breakfasts. We affectionately named the rooster Tyler after the Snow's son, who liked him so much. For a little while we could tell a couple of hens apart and joked about their names -- chicken Salad, chicken Potpie, chicken Kiev, etc.

Last summer, we were given 5 other hens to go with our existing 5. We even hatched out several chicks. Unfortunately, only one made it to adulthood, until about a couple weeks ago when a hawk got her. We've had a hard time keeping our chickens from being gotten by other critters -- coons, hawks, cats.

One of the chicks we hatched out in the incubator (seen in the lower left corner).

Today I sat Avi in her chair near the window so she could watch the chickens as they were venturing across the road into our front yard. The chickens like to scratch around in the mulch of the flower bed. Avi sure enjoyed watching them.

All "Deckered" Out

On Friday, Avi received a package from Gramma Decker in Illinois. My mom ran across a winter set (hat, scarf, and mittens). My grandfather "Grumpa" had knitted the set for me, probably for my first Christmas. Mom has sent several clothing items that she saved from when I was a baby. They are a treasure.

I think Avi and her Dad have mutual admiration, don't you?

Out of the Stone Age

Yes, we finally did it! We broke down last week and subscribed to DSL. WOW! What a difference. After cruisin' with the Slowsky's for so long this is quite a rush.

We were surfing the web the other day and looking at the blogs of some of the people we went to college with. It is really neat to see how some people change so much and yet others seemingly stay the same. We also enjoy seeing their children and watching them grow. So we are now joining in on the fun and starting a family blog of our own.

I guess we could start off by bringing you up to speed on our family situation. We are currently living in Knoxville, TN. Kami and I are the proud parents of a beautiful little girl named Avi Louise. She was born in June of last year. Every day we are amazed by something new.

Our first family picture (08/2007).

Kami is staying at home to be a full time mom, and I run my own busines called Procraft Woodworks doing custom woodwork and building kitchen cabinets.

Currently, Kami is also babysitting part time. The baby she is watching is about five months younger than Avi. What a difference five months makes. It is really neat to see where our little girl was just a matter of a few months ago.

Avi and her friend Andrew.