On April 3rd our little spitfire turned 3 years old. I am so in love with the little lady Gracie is growing up to be... she has a spirit of adventure and independence wrapped up with a tender and nurturing heart. She is constantly moving, and now also constantly speaking... about anything that crosses her curious mind. The piece of her personality I enjoy so much right now is her ability to bring out a laugh in the midst of any situation... often unintentional. and often during a "training session." Grace is full of contradiction- outgoing and shy, adventurous and afraid, aggressive but also so nurturing. I am so blessed to be a part of bringing up this little lady.

Cupcakes for this big day. And I didn't have to "prop" anything up to keep it from slipping off the cake stand! By the way, these cupcakes were super delicious and simple. A recipe from Our Best Bites.

I love that my girls are such good friends. Words don't do justice for the deep feeling of gratefulness I have... and I give all the glory to God. Their friendship was a long time coming. For a loooong time I was a referee and often beside myself, needing encouragement and counsel just to figure out how to be, or at least attempt to be, a good parent. Is everyday perfect? um, no. Do we still have a long way to go? Well, as many days as God gives us on this earth we will be learning what it means to be a family in God's kingdom. But I praise him for the bits of goodness we can see emerging.

wow... pictures really do make me happy. sentimental? (mushy probably describes it best.)

Before...

The infamous Beaker.

This is our coop, or ark. The ramp that is down leads to the nesting boxes, and all four sides around the nesting boxes come off to let us gather eggs. Ideally I can raise the ramp while the chickens are downstairs to nab the eggs, the only difficulty will be when a hen gets broody... I'll need to move her down to the food... crazy instincts!