I love my husband because even though he is an internet marketing genius by day (my slightly biased opinion I try not to tell to his face too often.. ;) ), his heart dreams about being pure country.  He grew up on a lot of land out in the country, while me? I grew up first in the city until I was 5 and then in the suburbs (which when my kids now visit call "the city"lol).  I was perfectly content with my identity as a suburban-city girl until I locked eyes with him at a party one night in 1996.  In true "love-at-first-sight" style, my 19 year old self was smitten, hooked, well...forever.  :)

Fast forward to 4 kids later, living in the country (after a 5 year stint in Los Angeles right after college with my country boy and a couple of cute baby boys), and here we are on 28 acres.  I have often rolled my eyes at my husband's ideas of chickens and ducklings, but as of late I have been more and more appreciating his attempts to show our children the sweet pureness of country life.  I was at a party recently and a lady sitting next to me somehow started to share that she and her children had hatched eggs in an incubator through the winter, and it was in honor of her father who had passed recently.  She said that in his last months he had shared that he was saddened by the fact that he would not be able to get them chickens and show them life through the little farm animals.  She said her father had raised them on 28 acres (that was an odd coincidence) and had loved bringing home animals--chickens, ducks, even an ostrich, to teach them about life.  She shared all of this so fondly that it seemed like that was his legacy and she dearly missed him, yet appreciated all that he had taught her.  It made me realize how lucky my children are to get to experience this with their father. 

My husband surprised the kids one day this spring with baby ducklings and chickens.  They had just come home from school and they were so genuinely intrigued and delighted by the surprise.  I grabbed my camera, and took some spontaneous photos.  The expressions that I caught were hilarious, joyous, and downright sweet.  Those are the moments I love.  Nothing was posed and everything was real.