16 Comments

Love this, Emily. I’ve found God often looks at our plans, laughs, and turns over the tables because who are we to make plans when He has a bigger plan? I can’t wait to see where He leads you on this journey.

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Congratulations, you are now a Franciscan! 😁

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I started reading you right as you found out you were pregnant with No. 3, and have been a fan ever since. When I repeat your stories I sometimes refer to you as a friend. So I apologize ahead of time if I see you in Nashville and give you a big hug.

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I am waiting for the chicken recipes.

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See a dermatologist or go to a walk in. Often steroids are the only thing that will cure poison ivy. My husband is a physician so between the two of us we have tales to tell.

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I am slowly figuring that out. It’s basically the worst thing I’ve ever had and I gave birth to twins.

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Apologize for being "late to the party" here, but this is my recommendation for poison ivy

(if and when you get it again) - not for "fixing it" - but for "living with it, while you have it." Two words: hair dryer - set to "hot" or whatever passes for that. Blow on affected part of skin. It's like physically scratching the itch, without the physically scratching part. Oh, my. Probably best to use in moderation, but that may be hard. (I speak from experience of being nearly completely covered after I plowed through some poison ivy in West Virginia while I was doing grad-student geology field work. Yee-HA!)

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You all will think I’m a big weird nut when I ask this but do you not worry about you or the kids getting some weird infection from constant handling of the chickens? . I’m a retired nurse who has seen some very bizarre illnesses over the years. Maybe keep the chickens, out of the house.

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You’re not weird, tho. I’m terrified of pinkeye and don’t let anyone in the coop or yard without shoes. They love the chickens and we are around them a lot, but the chickens are also really heavily monitored for any infection, disease, or worm. Especially worms. Nothing freaks me out like worms.

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The chickens aren’t supposed to be in the house and we Lysol and sanitize pretty religiously. What has really been a problem is poison ivy. I have a raging poison ivy rash. Which I think I got cleaning the coop.

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A close family friend has raised chickens in the suburbs ever since she got a chick for Easter. She has quite the backyard setup now! Enjoy the trials & tribulations of being a Chicken Mama...

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Good to see you back, and that we’ve both discovered Substack. Chicago misses you, but not your stupid chickens, I can get that at Costco, eggs, too. This will take care of your chicken problem:

https://thewoksoflife.com/wprm_print/thai-roasted-chicken-thighs

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Dude. What the hell.

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This platform desperately needs a laugh emoji!

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Thank you, Em. I really needed this today. Your honesty and wit are refreshing as always. 🤍

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Recent events have taught me that I am great at planning and not so great at executing. 😬

I love the chicken content. A small clothing line I follow on instagram used to post backyard chicken videos, and I always found the chicken sounds so soothing.

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