Peep and Bo-Peep

Peep, born a few hours after Bo-Peep

Bo-Peep, the firstborn

Well, the photographer is back from his trip to Atlanta, so we have a few  pictures of the new babies, Peep and Bo-Peep. (Two chicks so far... we will wait on the other egg a couple more days.)  We are amazed at how tiny and perfect these chicks are.  They are bright-eyed and alert and demonstrating "chicken behavior". So cute! Walking and scratching the straw, cuddling up with their proud Mommy.  Pretty Face is, indeed, very proud of her young 'uns... But, she knows and trusts
 us, so she allows
 us to hold her babies.
 Even the dog stuck
 her head in the little
 broody coop and
Pretty Face was
casual about it.
 We are blessed.

One of the babies' eggshells

     Can you imagine what it must be like to peck your way out of an eggshell?  Let me tell you, this thing is tough!  I tried to separate the membrane lining from the outer eggshell, and couldn't do it! I read somewhere that part of the chicks'  development depends on their pecking out of the shell.  If you try to "help" the process, the chick will die.  It's sort of like the surfactant that premature babies lack because it develops in the last stages of pregnancy.  Preemies often succumb to respiratory failure due to the lack of surfactant. And so it is with baby chicks; they need their full time to develop.  The way God creates things is so miraculous, isn't it?

The proud Mama with her babies...

Shalom  y'all

     Twyla

We're All Little Children

          Yep. Regardless of how fearless we try to appear, how grown-up we try to act, how sophisticated we try to present ourselves as being,  we all are little children.
          What do children need to be happy and well-adjusted?
               #1: Love.  Everybody needs love.  And, we don't just need love; we need to know that we are loved.  We all need to love and be loved.  We all desire to be told we are loved and shown we are loved.  And, we want to be able to express love, without fear of rejection.  What happens when these things are missing in life?  Depression, fear, lack of trust, disrespect for authority, inadequate relationships...  to name a few.
                #2: Attention.  Someone who will really listen.  Someone who spends time, invests time.  Someone who will just hold you when you're tired or sad.  Everybody needs somebody.  Without attention from other human beings, life is empty and lonely.  Babies in orphanages have been known to die due to lack of human touch. Sick elderly people give up if they are lonely as well as physically ailing.
               #3: Discipline.  Yes, discipline.  We all need rules to live by.  Most of us do better if we have somewhat of a schedule - eat meals at about the same time every day, get up around the same time each morning, etc.  Children desperately need structure in their  lives and to be told what is right and wrong. The older I get, the more I realize that I desperately need these things as well.  I find that the more disciplined my life is, the closer I feel to God.  God is a God of order, not confusion. What does your inner child need?  Try to find out; then, fulfill it. You're only young once - now!

Me, many moons ago, with my parents.

                                                               Shalom Y'all,   Twyla