Is it February yet?

There is a big part of me that can't wait for this month to be over. It's been one of those months where for every step forward we take in the house, it seems like we take two steps back.

We made some great progress on the living room floor. Hooray!

Then found a flood in the crawl space. Boo.

The fireplace insert was delayed. Again. Boo.

Ghon fixed the pipe. No need for a plumber. Hooray!

The well pump seems to have been destroyed from the flood. Boo.

The floor boards Ghon bought to fill in gaps in the floor won't fit. Boo.

Ghon's truck has been having issues. His truck will drive along then lose all acceleration. Big repairs. Boo.

Last week we had a snow storm come through that brought close to nine inches of snow, single digit temperatures, and lots of wind. It's been cold.

On the other hand, all the snow and cold weather has kept Jonathan home from school and we had a great time sled riding and playing in the snow. One of Ghon's days off work coincided with one of Jonathan's days off school, so both kids headed to the farm to work with Ghon. While he was there, Ghon took some great cell pics of the farm.

Telescopehead all grown up.

The Homestead from the road.

I ran lunch down to Ghon and the kids. Despite Jonathan dying to go work at the farm, he wanted to come home, and Genevieve stayed with Ghon. The two of them later went to the top of the hill to pull memory cards from the trail cams. When he got home, he found this beauty.

Coyote on the hill!

One good thing that has happened this month was finding a new church. Last year, the kids and I attended a church across town. It was nice and Jonathan enjoyed Sunday school, but it wasn't a good fit. There is a church right by the farmhouse, St. John's Lutheran, that we started attending this month. Turns out several of Jonathan's classmates and their families are members. We've gone a few times this month, and the kids like it. George Crabill, who lived in the farmhouse is buried at the church cemetery. I've promised Jonathan that when the weather is nicer, i.e., the field isn't wet or covered in snow, we would look for his tombstone.

This past Sunday, Ghon had a horrible drive to work, his truck breaking down on him several times. The kids and I skipped Sunday School to research parts prices. Ghon then called to ask that I head over to Dulles...the baby chicks had arrived!

We spent way too much time in the car. From church, to the car parts store, to Dulles and the USPS facility, where 73 chickens joined us on our ride to Harrisonburg to take Ghon his truck part. With the truck fixed, we headed back to Winchester to get the chicks settled into a temporary brooder box.

Take a peep inside...

Preparing the food dish. All hands on deck.

The makeshift brooder is ready!

Before moving the chicks into their brooder, you must make sure that they take a single drink. Genevieve helped Ghon first, while Jonathan was the official counter.

First sips!

Drink chicken! Drink!

Thirsty bird

So happy to help!

Each order of 50+ chicks from the Murray McMurray Hatchery comes with an exotic bird. Here's this order's free bird.

Mr. Exotic

I'm gonna get you...

Somewhere in the area of 32, Jonathan lost count. He was getting upset, so we had the kids switch roles.

Jonathan's turn to help.

Attempting to count.

He's so gentle with them.

Tomorrow the chicks will be getting a larger, yet still temporary brooder box. In the end, they will be in the coop for a while to grow. It's been so cold though, that despite several heat lamps, we didn't think it would be warm enough in the coop for them. A temporary indoor home they get! We had a chili gear box that had broke. We were using it to collect aluminum cans, but now, it's the chicks home.

Broken chili gear box - repurposed!

Seventy three little peeps.

Making fried chicken. Just kidding, it's just a heat lamp....

I can't wait for the end of the month. The chickens made it safely, but now we must get them to survive the cold. Then spring and the onslaught of predators.

The fireplace insert finally has an install date. By the end of this weekend, we should be able to have a fire in our fireplace! So excited about this. Now we need to get some wood down to the house.

Next week, Ghon and I have a week long staycation to work on the house. Who knows what we will get done. Regardless, we need the break. My work has been crazy busy and I need some time off. I am hoping and praying that the install goes well and ushers February in as a new, warm, and month of forward progress. And that maybe, just maybe, we can figure out how to get our well pump working without a total replacement. A week of work at the farm with no water (meaning no toilet...) is not going to be fun.