Easter and April happenings

We've been super busy, as seems to always be the case, this Spring.  Farm updates include the fact that we've managed to keep a baby turkey alive for almost a month now, which is a bigger accomplishment than you might think on the surface.  Baby turkeys, in general, seem to have a death wish.  Whether it's trying to drown itself in a puddle, trapping itself in the garage, or knocking over its water dish and dumping out all of the water 10 minutes after we fill it, this turkey has 9 (or more) lives.  So, as of tonight, it's still kicking.  We had two lambs born yesterday, and both seem to be thriving, so that's great news.  We had several lambs die shortly after birth last month because we were at work when they were born and their mothers didn't seem to know that they needed to take care of them.  So we're very thankful that these lambs are doing well and have attentive mothers.  Spring means gardening, and this is the first year since we've lived here that we didn't start any seeds in the fall.  So Aaron bought some tomato plants at the farmer's market and we've planted about 20 of them.  Hoping to have time in the next week or so to plant some seeds for summer veggies like squash, cucumbers, melons, etc.  We'll see...hoping to have time and actually having time are very different!

Kiddo updates include the exciting news that Kai is officially potty trained.  Hooray!  We took the slow and steady approach, which involved buying a TON of big boy underwear and tolerating frequent accidents for weeks, but it finally clicked, and he's figured it out.  Pla Shee's doing great--playing soccer with a church league here in Venus which is both convenient and non-competitive--both big positives in the craziness that is our life right now.  He's also doing really well at Venus Elementary...he really seems to be thriving academically and socially.  Ruby went in for her 6 month check-up this week and weighed in at 16.8 pounds.  I'm feeling good about the bet I made with Aaron that she will surpass Kai's weight (currently 23 pounds and holding) by the time she turns one.

Here are a few pics from Easter weekend:

Visiting Karen refugees in Garland on Saturday evening.

The kids at church on Sunday morning.  Kai forgot to smile.

 

 No one looks thrilled to be in this one.

The boys and their "cousins" decorating a bunny cake.  Well, by decorating I mean they're mostly eating candy.

New Refugee Blog

We know that some of you who read this only want to read about the farm and the menagerie of animals, and others want to see pictures of Kai, and still others may be interested in our work with refugees.  Well, we've launched a new blog today that will focus on our work with the refugees in the Dallas area.  We'll post stories about the successes and challenges that the families we meet are facing, and we'll post updates about our microenterprise efforts in the areas of carpentry and weaving as we try to help specific individuals create a sustainable future here in the U.S. 

The new refugee blog address is:  http://refugeesindfw.blogspot.com/

Most of you may know that Aaron recently resigned from his job as a faculty member at the university in order to spend more time doing outreach in the refugee community in Dallas (unpaid in the traditional sense, though high dividends in the spiritual sense!).  This was a decision that we made as a family, and we feel really good about where we're headed.  Sure, there's lots of uncertainty and days where I think we are a little looney, but most of the time I am able to see that we are incredibly blessed.  Our lives continue to evolve, and we're rolling with it.  We are already starting to see ways that we can be organic farmers, academic researchers, and outreach workers all at once.  And though we do sometimes feel like we are going a million miles an hour, we've also found that amidst the chaos there are moments of amazing peace that keep us at once grounded and motivated.  I can honestly say that we are living our passion, and we feel like we've found a way to make a difference.  And that's pretty cool.  So we hope that you'll join us on both blogs as we juggle the craziness!