Stop the Presses! I Wanted Jeff to Get More Animals!

Through the years, Jeff and I have had a few, shall we say, differences of opinion about how many pets the Fisher family should have and precisely what kind of animals they should be.  (One small example here.)

Bottom line: the only animal I ever wanted was a collie.  But somehow, during the nine and a half years we've inhabited this blessed corner of God's creation, we've had a few others.  Let's see...

~ fish
~ a cat
~ rabbits
~ a turtle
~ chickens
~ goats
~ lambs
~ calves
~ a horse
~ a bird
~ four dogs that were quite certainly not collies

And I think that's all, but it's entirely possible that I suppressed some memories of other animals along the way.  ;-)

After we got Jed, I was pretty much content to stop acquiring animals at that point.  Not that my plan worked.  ;-)  But I wasn't spending much time yearning for other living creatures, that's for sure.

Why then did I recently ask Jeff if he was planning to get chicks this spring and letting him know that I was really hoping that he was?  Had I lost my mind??

Perhaps.  ;-)

But actually, I was remembering how cute little chicks are, and how much I enjoy hearing their tiny and constant "peep, peep, peeps."  I was thinking back to other times when we've gotten chicks and how much fun it was to watch our kids have the delightful experience of holding baby chicks.  I was recalling how relatively quickly the chicks grow and are moved out of our house into the great outdoors as they are assimilated into the chicken yard with our other chicks, so even though they're a little messy at first, it doesn't last very long.  Most of all, I was regretting how few eggs our current seven chickens gave us during the winter; and I was craving an abundance of eggs!  (The real truth emerges...)  ;-)

I didn't know Jeff was going to get the chicks Wednesday when he was running errands in town, but I really wasn't too shocked when he got home with them since he tends to surprise us with his spontaneity from time to time.  :)

He bought seven chicks: six tiny hens and one little rooster.  Our old rooster died...oh, I don't even remember when.  You can tell I wasn't too emotionally devastated at his loss.  ;-)  It will be good to have a rooster again, and I'm looking forward to hearing this one try out his voice as he learns to crow.  :)

Of course, as soon as Jeff walked in the door, all other activity ceased, and we crowded around and admired the new babies and held them and were generally full of jubilation.  I was especially interested in Moriah's reaction, and she didn't disappoint but was appropriately intrigued by the chicks and eventually learned how to hold them carefully in her small hands.  It was a special time.

It was also historic, since I actually asked for and wanted these animals; and that's not likely to reoccur anytime soon!!  ;-)

Shav did not immediately fall in love with the chicks, especially when the warning was given that they might decide to poop at any moment!  He handed this one back pretty quickly.  ;-)

At this point, I gave Josiah my camera and asked him to take a few pictures.  He took way more than a few (and I'm not posting nearly all of the ones he took!).  ;-)

Eventually Shav got over his reluctance and decided to hold a chick again.

He seemed to enjoy it more this time around.  ;-)

And it didn't even poop on him.  ;-)

We've only had the chicks for a couple of days, but already we can tell that they are bigger than they were when they first arrived.  Chicks don't stay little for long!

Neither do children, but at least their transition to adulthood doesn't happen quite as fast as a chicken's does!  :)