It is a cold, dark, and peaceful Saturday.  My husband is away, at a wrestling tournament with   our teenage boys.  Dear daughter Grace is out shopping and lunching with a much loved friend.

I am home with David, Caleb, Seth, and Sarah.  David is in Ethan’s room, reading.  Caleb is downstairs playing, Seth and Sarah are napping. Small Sarah Joy has been ill since the 31st. With lots of tender loving care,  her fever is finally gone and the bright redness of her cheeks has faded away. She’s still rather grumpy, but is getting her appetite back.

David has a slice of apple under a mound of salt in the kitchen. He says he is making an apple mummy and asked me to please not touch it. Soon I will do a blog post all about his Christmas Vacation Science Experiments.

There is a crock pot with chicken dinner slowly cooking on the counter.  As I type, I am listening to the noises of the dishwasher and the washing machine.  How thankful I am for my “maids”, doing the hard work for me.  I mopped the floor earlier, and Grace vacuumed before she left.

Do you still have your Christmas tree up?  We do, and it looks so pretty today.  The house lights are off and the teeny white bulbs of the tree are glowing, and golden tinsel garland is glittery.

My legs are under a soft, warm blanket and the dog is at the other end of the couch, settling down for a nap.

My sister gave me a new bird feeder, which I hung on a post just outside the door, on the porch. I am facing the door from where I sit, and I can see chickadees taking turns flying in for a sunflower seed, and racing away with it to eat in the tree in the garden.  The only motion I see are the birds outside the window, there is no wind today.

We have seven chickens and are collecting one single egg a day.  Now that Christmas is over, I am determined to do what I can to nurture the hens, hoping that will a little extra care and attention we may get two eggs per day.  Three would be nice.  Four would be joyous.

It was on my way to the coop yesterday that gave me the topic for this blog entry.

I had bought a container of dehydrated mealworms to give to the hens for a treat.  The hens adore mealworms.  Yesterday, I walked to the coop, with only the thought of how happy they would be to have some delicious mealworms scattered into the grass to peck.  Two cats caught up with me to join the fun.

If you have the eyes to see, and the necessary curiosity, you will soon come to realize that no two days are alike outside in God’s beautiful world.  And I’m not just talking about the weather.  There is endless delight in nature and almost always *something* exciting enough to journal, or blog about.

Yes, today is a cloudy day, but yesterday was sunshine.  There was not a hint of warmth to the sun, but the birds still seemed to enjoy it because they were everywhere.  I saw a bright red cardinal and several blue jays, along with the common chickadees.

But the tiny unexpected *something* which thrilled my heart,  made me stop midway to the coop, prompted me to put the mealworm container down in the grass and turn back to the house to get my camera, were the bluebirds.

The only time I notice them on our property is this time of year, and their visits take me by surprise.

I counted at least six this time, sitting up in tree branches, in the sunshine.

Bluebirds possess *a stunning shade of* blue feathers, all along their backs.  The breast is white over a burnt orange color.  They kept their suspicious faces toward me, which meant that regardless of my prayers, I didn’t get to gaze upon their blue plumage as much as I would have liked……

And, as soon as they sensed that I was a bit too close for comfort, they would silently and gently fly to yet another tree…..

The blue in the sky matched their feathers.

Again I got too close, and away they flew.

I said goodbye to the bluebirds and sat at the edge of the pond.  It was frozen over and admirably smooth.  It wasn’t strong enough for me to stand on, but little Samantha-cat slipped and skated her way across the ice.

I scooted a small stone out to her and she batted it all over, slipping now and then.

I had a vision of a beautifully illustrated children’s book about blue birds and an ice-skating kitty cat.  But this blog post will have to suffice……(maybe)…..

Creamy Mushroom Chicken

6 boneless chicken-breast halves
12 oz jar mushroom gravy
1 cup milk
8 oz package cream cheese, cubed
4.5 oz can chopped green chilies
1 pkg. dry Italian salad dressing

1. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.
2. Cover, cook on low 6 hours.
3.  Serve over broccoli, mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.  Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.  The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:4-7