New Kitten!

The neighbor stopped by and asked us if we had lost a kitten. He had a 5 week old, orange and white kitten in his hands but not for long. Anna came right up to him and asked if she could have her! He said he had about 12 kittens that were not weened as of yet and we were welcomed to have this one. She has long hair and is really playful. Are plans were to bring home two kittens at the same time so they could both have one but it didn't work that way. We had a contact who had seven kittens and would be available at the end of June. Now we only needed one more kitten from them instead of two.
The girls are given 5 minutes each to hold the kitten and then the kitten gets 15 - 20 to play by herself! We actually set a timer so everyone is happy, including the kitten!

Sorry to say the kitten is no longer with us. We are not sure just what happened to her but we let her outside to play with the girls like we do everyday and we havn't seen her since. Maybe we will wait another year before trying it again.

On a good day when they like each other!!

First little kitten!

One girl is usually mad when the other one has the kitten!

Anna and Mia's First Fair and Rides!

We all went to the little fair in Princeville. This was the girl's first experience with lemon shake ups, funnel cakes, roller coaster, parachute ride, tilt-a-whirl, and more. I took the girls on some of the tamer rides before braving the bigger ones. They rode the carousel, small roller coaster, and slide before riding the tilt-a-whirl with me. The only thing the ride did was go back and forth and never did spin like the other seats. Anna got off the ride and told the man running the ride that it didn't go round and round. When he said what she said it again and then told me that I needed to tell him that it never went round and round. I told her that sometimes that happens. We then braved the parachute ride that went up and around very fast and high and then stopped and went backwards. Mia had her head down and I am guessing her eyes shut tight. Anna was more vocal and said it was too high and she was scared. Her hands were sweaty and when I told her to dry them on my pants she said that she would wait. I am guessing she didn't want to let go. I talked them through the ride and told them there wasn't anything to be afraid of. After a few times around Anna asked me how come I wasn't afraid. I told her that it was fun going fast and didn't she like going fast? She agreed. We were the last ones off the ride and Anna told the guy that she wanted to go around fast one more time. Really? They both wanted to go again. Maybe I will have some brave ones to ride the bigger rides after all!!

Anna loving the slide!

Mia having fun!

Riding next to each other - good sign.

They have never laughed so hard!!!

Tilt-a-whirl!

Going fast now!!

Lemon shake ups and funnel cakes.

Looked like fun from here!

We Rescued a Baby Robin, No Really, We Did!

Three weeks ago the girls were riding their bikes up and down our driveway and happened to see three birds who fell out of their nest. Two of the little robins didn't make it and the third one had a slit on his neck and an injured eye, he was cold, hungry, and very small. The girls had Phil come and look and then Phil asked me if I wanted to be "Opie Taylor". He was referring to the episode where Opie takes in and cares for three little birds after he killed the mother with a sling-shot. After thinking it over I said yes thinking that the bird would at least be warm and not hungry (if he would eat) when he joined his nest mates. I really didn't expect it to make it through the night. We put flour on his neck wound, warmed up some old towels in the mircrowave, and feed it some watered down chicken food. It was nestled in the warm towels and in the morning he had his mouth wide open and making a racket. We have been feeding him for the last three weeks. He moved from the bowl on the counter to a box with chip bedding we use for the chickens. He is now chirping when he hears our voice and can fly for a short time. He has flown on top of our heads and shoulders when hungry. We call him Robbie for short. We didn't take photos of him when he was little because we didn't think he would survive but here are some photos of him after a week and again a few weeks after that. How do we know it's a boy . . . we don't.

1 Week After His Rescue

3 Weeks After His Rescue

Flood Waters!

Road Closed - Flood Waters from "Mud Run Creek"

Road Closed - Road Next to Our House

Panning to the Left

Panning to Left Toward Our House

Our House - It sits in middle of corn fields that were flooded

This is a view of our house that usually sits in the middle of corn and bean fields. The field next to our house is still flooded after the farmer planted corn. We have a small creek behind our house, Mud Run Creek, that overflowed after the last rainfall. More is expected in the next few days. It is so strange to see so much water where there shouldn't be any water.

New Bikes!

Anna and her new bike

Mia and her new bike

The girls have told us all about the things they got to do while living in China. Anna said that she roller bladed, jumped on the trampoline, rode a bike, danced, and much more. Mia has told us that she hasn't done the many things that Anna has gotten to do. So we bought the girls bikes on Friday and both were afraid to go too fast. It was obvious that neither girl had been on a bike. We were starting from scratch. We told them you can't ride a bike going by going slow. We tried running along side them, but Anna would put on the brakes and Mia would steer sharply to the left and jump off. After about 30 minutes Anna wanted to trade in her bike for roller blades. We did tell her that she can learn to ride her new bike. Anna said that it was too hard. Mia just kept her opinion to herself. On Saturday morning both girls got out the bikes and we explained how it works. Anna was riding by herself the length of the drive (quite far) shortly after lunch and Mia was riding by herself the next day, on Sunday. By Sunday Anna was encouraging Mia and telling her how to ride (now that she was the expert). It was really funny the way she kept telling her to peddle and peddle faster. Anna's legs look like they had been through a meat grinder and Mia has a couple of bruises and scrapes. Anna did take a hard tumble on Monday in the gravel but not ready to give up the bike. We are hoping that we can take them bike riding on the trail. Phil and I would ride up to Wyoming, IL and back (around 14 miles) and pack a lunch. We don't plan on taking them quite that far as of yet. We will have to wait until they can get going and have a lot more control of the bike before that happens.
We did find a couple of kittens that will be ready to come home by the end of June. They are only about a week old now. They will go crazy over them. We won't tell them until it is time to get them.
The chicken coop is almost completed. We just need to put on the porch, yes, I said porch. This coop is looking like a play house. We plan on painting it with bright colors and then painting some colorful chickens and flowers. Phil suggested that I add flower boxes under the windows. I think this would just be a good place to bump our heads. I will have to post pictures when we are all done. The chickens are inside the coop since the inside is all finished.

The Girls Are Making Progress!

When Anna first came to America she would say she wanted to go back to the orphanage when she was upset or didn't get her way. The other night Anna was not wanting to come outside and play with everyone so Phil went in to talk to her. She told Phil that she was not happy. He asked her why and she said that there was little to do here. She was bored not unhappy. She went on to say how many things she could do at the orphanage and she wanted to talk to her friends. Phil asked Anna if she wanted to go back to the orphanage and she said, "Baba you not listen, I not say that!" To hear her say it is hilarious! This is the first time she ever told us that she did not want to go back. She said it was not good there and she did not want to go back. She did end up coming out with us to play. One giant step for Anna, two giant steps for Baba!

The chickens are really getting big and in need of being transferred out to the coop. We are still in the process of building it and it won't be ready until the weekend. Anna will go in and "snatch" a chicken to hold and then she cuddles and coos at the chicken until it falls asleep. She will call her Mei Mei (little sister). When Mia comes down to look at the chickens Anna always asks if she can get her one for her. Mia is still a little timid around the chickens but will hold one.

The other day Mia asked for a kitten. We are looking for two kittens, one for each of them when school is out. It will be interesting to say the least. Trying to keep the chickens safe from hawks, raccoons, dogs, coyotes, minks, and opossums isn't easy and now keeping them safe from cats, really?

Chickens in the Basement!

Yes, we have ten little chicks down in our basement. Phil and the girls (mostly Anna) are building a chicken coop. The chicks will be old enough in about three to four weeks to move them outside. These little chicks are so loved by the girls, especially Anna, she has them falling asleep in her hands and they stay asleep when she puts them down. Mia is still a little scared of them. They are so cute. We have three different kinds so it will be fun to see what the adults will look like.

Their First House

Anna and "Mei Mie" (little sister)

New bigger house

Close up of the brown ones