Current Happiness

About 4 years ago Ryan and I decided to venture out and get some bum lambs for our kids. Oakley was 5, Dallin was 3, Rhett was 1 and I was pregnant with Laiklie. We thought they were old enough for this venture and thought it would be GREAT FUN!! (DUH!!) The kids DID love the lambs and they DID try to help as much as a 5, 3, and 1 year old can, but it ended up being a big job for Ryan and I and was kind of a pain. So.....4 years is a long time to forget all that and.....well......look what has once again found its way to our house........

We decided that this time they REALLY are the right age and that they REALLY can be big helpers. So far, so good! We had each kid work to earn their $7 to pay for their own lambs. Laiklie is very in love with the lambs!! She named her lamb Peaches (from the new Ice Age movie). She is very good at feeding Peaches. She holds the bottle by herself and doesn't want anyone to help her. I am just so glad that Peaches is a good little eater! :) Rhett had the name Fluff picked out before we even got the lambs. He sure likes his little Fluff! He too is a great helper when it comes to feeding. During the day when the 2 big kids are at school Rhett and Laiklie are the ones left to help feed and they sure are their mom's best little helpers! He too could spend the entire day with the lambs if I would let him. Dallin has LOVED every second of having these new lambs. They are his new favorite thing. One funny story: The day we were called to pick-up the lambs was, of course, the same day as Senovio's funeral. We had to be to the Sheep Station by 3 and around 2:30 I could see we weren't going to make it. So I called my newly retired dad to run out and pick them up for us. When we got to my parents house my dad had the lambs running around in his fenced yard and before we were even out of the suburban Dallin yells, "I get the brown one!" (It has super cute brown spots even though you can't see them in the picture.) and Laiklie who is still buckled in her carseat and can't even see the lambs yells, "I get the pink one!" Oakley is so responsible that last night when I had to leave for Mutual and Ryan was out planting she took on the big job of getting the 4 kids and the 6 bottles and feeding the bum lambs. I was SO PROUD of her. She is getting so big and it is hard to believe that not only is she capable of babysitting her little bro.'s and sis, but she can take on the job of feeding bum lambs in the process!!

So, as of right now the sweet little lambs bring us happiness. I called it current happiness because even though 4 years is a long time to forget how much work they are, I remember PERFECTLY the day all 6 full grown sheep came parading through MY HOUSE!! If these sheep grow-up to be like the others the happiness may fade, but for now they make us happy! Someone told me the other day when I was telling them about our lambs that "by getting lambs you are not raising lambs, you are raising kids!" She was so right. We don't as parents put ourselves into situations like 6 bum lambs for any other reason than to teach our children. We have already found the "happiness," so now, LET THE TEACHING BEGIN!