The most wonderful time of the year

It's that fun time of year again, and it's not Christmas. It's time to order baby chicks for Spring! I love choosing my new baby chicks and putting their mail delivery date on the calender. If I order early enough, I can get them delivered during the week of my birthday in March, so it's really like two gifts in one, Christmas and my birthday! And I can't think of anything I would rather get than chicks! This year I chose one Easter Egger, one Coocoo Maran, one Salmon Faverolle, and one white Silky Bantam.
I love having a variety of egg colors and of course a variety in cuteness and temperment! There really is nothing cuter than a white Silky Bantam hen! With the fluffy soft plumage and the feathers on their feet, they don't even look like chickens, more like a little Dr. Seuss character! I have had each of these breeds in the past, so I have come to know what I like. And with the click of the mouse on the computer, my husband's holiday shopping is done! Thanks to www.mypetchicken.com.
As for the farm, we put up our little country tree, hung a huge wreath on the barn and shut off the water for the winter. We won't be spending a lot of time there, except for snowmobiling, so it saves us a lot of money to shut the water off and keep the heat off in the cold winter months.
We haven't done more work on the kitchen or bathroom, but we hope to make some progress in the Spring. It is still a labor of love and it has helped us realize that we really would prefer being on a farm full time. The best parts of farm life are the parts that require time. Time playing outdoors on the dirtbikes, or snowmobiles, gardening, picking pears, watching the chickens forage aroung the barn, enjoying the sunset from the white rockers on the porch. Those things that make us the most happy, the most appreciative, they are things that can and should be done on a daily basis. We have learned that we are all happier in that environment, and we become our true selves out there. Whether the kids are climbing in the trees, or searching for salamander's, or swinging on the chairlift swing, they are in their element. And when Rog and I are driving the tractor through the fields of firefly's on a warm summer evening, or laying on a blanket under the apple trees, or admiring our work on some part of the house, we are all at our purest, most natural place of joy. It is who we are and who we have become as a family. And it is better to understand where your heart lies than to spend your life never knowing. Once you find it, live it. Whatever that dream may be. Here is a quote that I love by Oprah, "When you're honoring your calling, there's an undeniable sense of stimulation and exhilaration. It just feels so right."
I look at that quote every day, and it keeps me moving forward in the right direction.
Happy Holidays!