Waiting, Springing, and Hoping

I had my first 24 hour stretch without throwing up! This is incredible news, to us. Even though it was a short lived break, and on Sunday, the yuckies returned (and returned, and returned) it was a break. Almost 2 full days where I kept all of my food down. Before Friday, I hadn't had gone a full day without throwing up in over 8 weeks.
8. solid. weeks. of vomit.

And even though I've yet to see a repeat of that glorious puke free day, we know it is near, and we have hope.

We are so grateful to my mom for coming out to help.
I think it freaked her out a bit to see that we weren't kidding about how sick I was. Sometimes, people will see me at the grocery store or something and say, "Oh, I'm so glad you're feeling better!" when in actuality, I just threw up in my car, or the produce aisle. (yep). She got to see the Big Brother version of my life and the 24 hour life feed wasn't exactly glorious. The week that Aaron was out of town could have been a disaster without my mom. She was so helpful, and her visit provided me with some much needed rest and hope.

Even though I still have some really icky days, I feel like I've turned a corner. More puke-free days are on the way, I just know it....and pretty soon, there will be more healthy days than sicky days. And until then...well I have one great husband, 3 great kids, a bunch of wonderfully reliable friends, and one very compassionate Savior whom I know I can rely on to give me strength and relief anytime I call on them for help.

Here's to week 15, hope, and the very good people in my life!

I sent my mom back to California, today.
The drive home from the airport was beautiful and inspiring.

3 cheers for this beautiful spring. I am not blind to, nor without gratitude for the gorgeous scenery developing outside every window of my home.
The crocuses are up and the pear trees are popping popcorn all over NWA.

Spring has been lovely.
...But I've lived here long enough to know the full potential beauty of an Arkansas spring.
The redbuds are just baaaaarely starting to show color.
The tulips are up, but not open.
And those majestic dogwoods that will soon be frosting every lot in the village, defining the true arrival of spring, haven't even bloomed, yet.

Every bare tree is a message from God, "Oh, you think that's nice? Well, just wait 'till you see what comes next. You know what comes next, so just be patient, Meg. Be patient and hope. It gets even better."

I'm still working on the patience part, but we are definitely springing with hope in the Willy house.

With a cluck cluck here and a cluck cluck there...

L-R: Penny, Goldilicious, Eleanor, Scoutie and Nugget

Thanks to all of our friends that donated scrap wood, trim, tar paper, and roof shingles to make this project VERY inexpensive. Do you love it more knowing it is made mostly from recycled materials? I do. I only ended up purchasing the hardware (it is not easy to make a coop predator proof, btw), wire mesh, some 2x4s and 3 sheets of OSB.

the nesting box opens from the outside for easy daily access to the eggs.

Details:

I reused some old closet hardware as hangers for the feed and water, but soon realized that the hens were using the hooks to roost on at night. I moved the water, and cut the old closet rod to make a roost inside the coop. They love it even more than their outdoor roost. I also added a barrier to the front of the nesting box to help keep the shavings in there and out of the water dish.

Reese helped me paint. Cute, right?

Yeah, our hens are totally spoiled. We love them. Hopefully, they'll be grateful and give us eggs in about 11-12 weeks!