Have not had a spare minute to do anything but rush around “putting out fires” until recently. So, I am now able to start catching up with everything that has been happening. Whew!

First off, the kids. Child Protective Services finally concluded at the beginning of the year that there was no cause for action and dropped all charges. However, since the kids were doing well at school in Albuquerque, we let them finish off the year with my daughter. Now, however, she doesn’t want to let them go and come back here. I guess you can say she enjoys the insanity.

Unfortunately, the oldest, Jordan, continued to spiral emotionally. So, between becoming a hormonal teenager (13 years old) and unresolved traumas, we were forced to place him at the Boys/Girls Ranch. There he will get the 24-hour-a-day attention, therapy and adjustments he needs. Jordan is so smart and funny that it breaks our hearts that he has been hurt by life. We have gotten him so far, but he’s now at a stage that is beyond the simple needs of love and acceptance. We recently had to pick him up from the Ranch and take him to the orthodontist (he’s going to need braces).

Here’s a picture of Jordan & Grandpa. Can you believe Jordan’s so big?

A pack of dogs tore through our fence late last year and killed all our chickens and our turkey, all except for one rooster. I was devastated. This spring we finally decided to try again. We now have four hens and three roosters — two roosters were rescues. I love the temporary hen house that Grandpa and Jordan built!

Instead of being in the corner of the property, Jim & Jordan built it right by our closed-off yard, in the middle of the lot, with high fencing.

There’s a path to get to their little chicken run, but to get to it, stray wild life would have to get past our exterior fence, a fenced off garden area, Jim’s hobby vehicles (junkers that he wants to repair), construction materials, and our dogs (who raise an alarm). I’m determined to keep my bird brains safe!

The other big thing we have been working on is the front door. We have only had the one back door on the house and I really wanted a front door. Seems silly to have any visitors walking through the entire house to get to the living room, but that is what happened any time someone came over. I’m so excited at the pending change!

Here’s what the house looked like when Jim started.

He put in the cement pad, then the small porch, then put in the door. The door was mounted from the inside, so the paneling, etc. on the outside was not touched until the exterior wall was almost completely finished.

We’ve now torn out the paneling to reveal the door and are finishing up the exterior wall around the door. Jim also mounted a porch light. Almost done!

As soon as the trim is done I’ll update the pictures. I’m so excited!! I think I’ll redo the paint job in the living room next (hehe). I can just hear the grumbling about the Honey-Do list….