Spring Has Sprung

I am always amazed how after a long, cold Winter, everything that appears dead suddenly blooms and blossoms. It is a beautiful thing. A few weeks ago I was walking around the yard on a gorgeous Spring day just marveling at the beauty of all the trees, flowers, plants and animals just beginning to burst with new life. 

 

Last year we planted some fruit trees and finally had "popcorn" trees. It is a small little tree but the blossoms were so pretty.

 Our chickens have been laying regularly again and enjoy the nice weather. I enjoy having these chickens more than I ever thought I would. They have been a fun addition.

 Our new little Pear tree (Top) had a few blossoms and the Plum tree (Bottom) was loaded.

The girls love playing with the rabbits. They are anxious to have baby rabbits. I'm not quite ready for that phase yet so for now, they are separated.

 This is the neighbor's tree behind me. It was so pretty, just exploding with blossoms.

 

 We planted some raspberries starts this year and already they are starting to grow.  My rhubarb has started to grow, the peas have popped up and our garden starts are thriving indoors awaiting the day they can be planted outside. Everywhere we look things are blooming.

Can't forget about Roxy. She's been such a good sport about gradually losing more and more of the yard and having to get along with the chickens and rabbits.

I love Spring. The grass is so green and everything is so new and fresh. One thing I do miss about Oregon is how green it is. I always forget until we go for a visit....which we just did. But that is another post!

Merry Christmas!!

Dear Family & Friends,

Wow, another year has past. It can best be summed up in two words: We survived!

We won’t rehash all the wonderful details, as you have likely read about our comings and goings on our blog http://fourinthenest.blogspot.com. And if you haven’t followed us on our blog, then you probably won’t want to read about it here anyway.

But just a quick recap if you insist:

Michelle continues to be the hardest working woman in the world, juggling the rowdiest bunch of kids this side of the Pecos; wrangling chickens and a dog; keeping the PTA budget in the black; and keeping the Primary afloat.

I (Chris) am still working twelve hour days at two jobs (going on four years now) so I don’t have much time for anything. I spend my only free day of the week (Saturday) doing things with the family, so all of you who keep inviting me to hunting parties and poker nights, don’t be offended if I turn you down. I recently found the hobby of beekeeping, or rather, the bees found me. (read about it on the blog).

Tyler (13) is steadily pursuing his goal of playing football in the NFL. He had another great season, and was invited to play on an invitation-only “super league” this spring. If that doesn’t pan out, he is wisely using his time in school to perfect his talking abilities, so he will likely have a bright future as a talk-show host or radio announcer.

Lauren (11) is pursuing her career in drama at home and on the stage. She is currently rehearsing for her lead role in Doc Doc Goose (it’s an off-Broadway play). She pays for her acting lessons by babysitting in the evenings and weekends. She is full of life, and curiosity, and can be counted on to create a play or skit at the drop of a hat.

McKenna (8) is turning out to be an expert chicken wrangler, and if you can’t find her, it’s a sure bet she’s outside with the chickens squeezing their guts out. She loves to draw and create things, and her many creations adorn the walls and hallways of our home. She was baptized this past year (read about it in the blog), and is preparing to hit the court for basketball in January.

Brooklynn (5) is still the baby of the family in every sense of the word. She likes being spoiled by everyone, and is currently working on an evil plan to create robot parents who would take care of her siblings so she doesn’t have to share us with them. She turned out to be a great little soccer player this year, and loves to do anything her older sisters do.

We’ll that’s us in a nutshell. We hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas, and a Happy New Year. We treasure all of our relationships and friendships, and hope 2012 is a great year for you all.

Love the Gleeds

Here is our "virtual" card this year. Just click on the card. It will take a few seconds to load but will be bigger.

(If you get this via email & FB just know that you are really loved! I am just trying to cover all my bases with family and friends.)

With a chick chick here and a chick chick there...

...here a chick, there a chick, everywhere a chick chick. SIX to be exact!
Chris has been on a mission to get some chickens for a couple of years now. He spent a fair amount of time last year writing letters to our mayor and trying to convince the city board that chickens should be allowed within Orem city limits. He got his wish and they approved a city ordinance last year allowing chickens within city limits. I was NOT on board with getting chickens and said he could only get chickens if he built a coop...which I thought would never happen. And it didn't last year. However, this year, he actually built one. Turns out it won't work because it's a little small, but he has most of the wood he needs now, thanks to a construction site near our home, to build a larger one. So I guess he is pretty serious about this chicken business. He sees food and self-sustainability. I see six more mouths to feed and butts to clean up after. He convinced me to go look at chickens this week and pick up a few. I know why God made babies so cute, because nobody would ever willingly buy a full grown chicken! But make them tiny and fuzzy and cute and all of the sudden everybody wants a chicken. A few turned into six because of course we need to have enough in case a few turn out to be boys. Roosters are not allowed so we would have to get rid of them. I have to admit, they are pretty darn cute. The kids love them to pieces which is another reason we needed more. McKenna might literally love hers to death. And, we are trying to train Roxy that Chickens are Friends not Food. So we'll see how this chicken venture turns out. At least all my neighbors will know who to borrow eggs from.