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Recently, I found myself at our local Rural King picking up some chicken feed, when I was approached by two women who were looking at the chicks available for purchase. As I loaded the feedbags onto my cart, I heard them talking about the chicks. I could see they were curious and had questions, but there were sales people present. I finished getting what I needed and began to make my way pass them, when they grabbed me.

"You look like someone who know what they're doing," the one woman said to as I approached where she was standing. I chuckled a little, as she continued, "could I ask you some questions?"

I said, "Sure, how can I help you?"

For the next 20 minutes she proceeded to ask me question after question about raising chicks and chickens. They asked everything from breeds to feed to shelter to egg laying to how to be profitable as you raise your chickens. I was delighted to share what I have learned over the last 8 years of raising backyard chickens. It was actually a lot of fun.

That interaction has led to this post, and what I hope will be many more, about raising chickens, caring for a vegetable garden, and keeping a backyard farm.

I don't know everything about raising chickens, but I've learned a lot over the years. With that, I've also come across a number of products that have helped in the caring for our chickens. So along with tips for raising chickens, I hope to share some of the products that I use and love.

The first is a video of my current chicken run, the Betterhood Metal Chicken Coop. I picked up the coop at the start of last summer. I wanted something easy to assemble but sturdy enough to endure the weather. The Betterhood Metal Chicken Cool met my initial criteria, and so far, it has worked great for us.

So take few minutes and watch our first installment of our Backyard Farm series!

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For a number of years, we've been playing around with the idea of having our very own graphic t-shirt business. Jay has been printing t-shirts, off and on, for years. Most of the time he has produced shirts for youth groups and friends. But about 5 years ago, Jay had the idea for a line of tees that combined faith with simple, yet creative designs and graphics. He called the line, "In A Word." 

In A Word, is the simple idea of taking one word and connecting it with a verse from scripture. For example, Forgiven. Romans 4:7, says, "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered:" We are forgiven!

There are 8 current designs that help you share your faith. Each design is available in multiple shirt colors. The graphic is digitally print on a super soft, super comfortable, Bella+Canvas tees. And we've priced them to include tax and shipping!

Along with our original graphic tees, we also have some fun branded apparel. Grab a shirt, hat, hoodie, camping mug, or more! 

Along with our original apparel and products, we are offering custom design and printing. From organizations to sports teams, small businesses, churches, youth groups, schools, and special orders, we can create and print your t-shirts and apparel. If you would like to learn more about Just Ducky Tees Custom printing, visit our new website, www.JustDuckyTees.com.
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We would love it if you would take a few minutes to visit our new, Just Ducky Tees website! All of the original tees, apparel, and products are printed and shipped within 7 to 10 days. Prices include tax and shipping!

If you would like to know more about custom tees, email us at: [email protected].

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This years seedlings are doing great. I've already repotted a lot of want I had started. The problem is, I'm running out of room. So to help with with the lack of space, I picked up another indoor/outdoor greenhouse to help my plants grow.

Check out the video below! Then check out the links and description notes from the video.
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I'm super happy with the new greenhouse. It's the perfect addition for my garden prep kit. If you're looking for a great way to start your seeds, I recommend the Home-Complete Mini-Greenhouse! You can pick it up on Amazon by clicking here: Home-Complete Mini-Greenhouse.

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On the way home from our Easter break road trip, we stopped in Summersville, West Virginia, for a meal. We visited Gino's Pizza, the same pizza restaurant we ordered from when we took our mini-vacation last June. You can watch the mini-vacation vlogs here: Summersville Mini-Vacation 2022.

Gino's was good. We were tired from the ride, so eating at the restaurant gave us a chance to stretch our legs, use the restrooms, and eat some food. It also gave us a few minutes to talk about our trip and lay some plans for the coming week. We sat and talk, enjoyed a couple salads and fries, and of course, pizza.

While we sat talking, I (Jay) noticed a couple coming and sit at one of the tables adjacent to where we were sitting. They were an older couple, maybe in their 70's. She walked in, he came in a powered wheel chair. It wasn't the regular styled chair. It was larger chair with a high back that provided support for the upper body and head.

The wife was sweet, leading her husband into the restaurant. She removed a couple of chairs from the table to create a larger place for the wheel chair. They talked with each other, ordered their food, and she helped him with a covering to protect his shirt from the food.

I continued to glance over at them as we ate and talked at our table. I often watch older couples to see how they relate to each other. But it wasn't til it was time for us to leave when I notice it. The server brought out their food, the couple paused, bowed their heads, and prayed a blessing over their meal. I couldn't hear all that was said, but I could tell this was more than a "God is great, God is good..." kind of prayer. This was prayer. The husband was really praying.

As I watched this moment unfold, I was struck by the sincerity of their prayer posture. It was genuine, and I wished I could hear exactly what was being said. But more, I was moved. I was moved by the moment. I was moved by the faith being demonstrated. The public display of commitment, for each other and their faith, stirred a thought.

A couple weeks back, Amy wrote a post we called Crazy in Love. The post left us asking the question, "Are there other couples as crazy in love as we are?" Yes. There are.

What happen's when couples pray together? 

This is what happens. Couples share a deep and intimate love with each other. There is a connection that binds them. It unites them. It strengthens their faith and gives them a boldness to lean into each other and into God. They trust each other, rely on each other, support each other, and know that they can get through anything together.

I don't know what happened that this husband needed to be in a powered wheel chair as he had. But there was a love, evident in this couple that encouraged me. 

What does it take to be crazy in love? Prayer. Praying together as a couple.

Amy and I probably don't pray enough. But prayer has been a significant part of our relationship. Necessary, really. And it has made all the difference. 

Are you praying together? Take some time this week to sit down and pray together. Make a list of things and people to pray for. Ask how you can be praying for your spouse this week. Be specific. Be open. Be honest. And watch what God does.

​- jay

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One of the exciting things about raising chickens and ducks is being able to hatch your own eggs. We are caring for 4 ducks, 2 Rouens (a hen and a drake) and 2 Khaki Campbells (a hen and a drake). Our hens have been laying for a number of months, and because we have the drakes, we knew we were getting fertilized eggs. With that, I wanted to try to hatch some of the eggs and see what we get.

I've hatched duck eggs before. In 2017, I hatched 9 ducklings. It was an incredible opportunity to share with our kids. You can watch one of our first hatching videos here, Hatching Our Ducklings. Since that time, I've learned a lot about raising ducks and chickens. So to have another chance to hatch more eggs is very exciting.
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I started 13 eggs in our incubator. The first four eggs hatched last week, giving us 4 healthy, adorable ducklings. That leaves us with 9 eggs still in the incubator. As I type this up, 3 eggs have pip'd. In other words, the ducklings have started to chip through the eggshell. 
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We ordered a new incubator for this round of hatchlings. After shopping around I decided to go with the MATICOOPX 30 Egg Incubator. I liked the features that came with the MATICOOPX; STABLE TEMPERATURE, HUMIDITY LEVEL DISPLAY, BUILT-IN EGG CANDLER, EXTERNAL WATER TOP-UP, and an AUTO-STOP EGG TURNER. So far, I really like the incubator, and am very happy with how it has functioned. you can learn more about the MATICOOPX Incubator by clicking here.
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The ducklings are doing great. We're still waiting for the remaining 9 eggs to hatch. We're definitely going to look to sell some of the ducklings. Let us know if you would like a couple ducklings.
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Our story begins 29 years ago at a Winter Retreat where we were both volunteering as Camp Counselors for the weekend.  Jay says he knew from the first moment he saw me that I was the one for him.  After communicating through snail mail and phone conversations for the next 6 months we attended a mission trip to Puerto Rico and that’s when I knew he was definitely the one for me.  We married 2 years later and have been happily married for 27 years.

​I don’t mean to paint it all roses and rainbows and happy times, but I can honestly tell you that through it all we are still crazy in love. I don’t mean we endure each other, I mean we really love to be together.  How many couples in this day and age, that have been married that long, can honestly say that?
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The first is prioritizing our relationship which seems like a no brainer when you choose to marry someone. But so often once the kids come or careers grow, priorities get switched and our focus can become blurred.  We have raised 5 kids on a Youth Pastors salary with a few small part time jobs on the side to help make ends meet. We valued our kids being home with one of us, so we were willing to make whatever sacrifices necessary to make that possible.  I say that because there wasn’t extra money for expensive date nights or trips away together.  We chose to look for other creative ways to date each other. We made bedtime a regular routine for our kids providing time together in our house without them. We enjoyed reading books, watching movies and being alone.  Occasionally we did get the opportunity to date and cherished anytime we had together to talk and connect.
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Second, we value honest and open communication about everything!  From raising kids to our spiritual lives to sex and everything in-between we talk. We feel that talking to each other with safe boundaries is essential to strengthening our marriage. When we had disagreements, we did our best to resolve the disagreement as quickly as possible. For everything else, we made a point to have open conversation. Talking about everything, makes talking about anything so much easier.
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Third, we were involved in ministry together. And while that alone brings its many challenges, it also allowed us to share the same focus. Whether it was a ministry Jay led or one that I led, we chose to support and encourage the other however we could. This has also created time for us to be together. Whether planning or leading, we did it together. Being together allowed for us to strengthen our relationship while doing what we loved to do. 
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Now this is by no means an exhaustive list. In fact, as we wrote this post, we decided we would share a few more ideas in additional posts. But for now here's the question we have?
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Certainly not! We know we are not the only ones who can say that we are still crazy in love with each other. But where are you? We would love to hear your story! We would also love to hear about your marriage and what things you have done to keep you Crazy In Love!

Take a minute to share a comment below!

​ - Amy & Jay

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Just the other day, we were listening to someone speaking (we don't remember if it was a podcast or a sermon) but they made a statement that went something like this, The only thing constant in our lives is CHANGE. We've heard it before. In fact, we're pretty sure Jay has said it a time or two.

But it's true; the only thing constant in our lives is change. Over the last couple of years, we have experienced a lot of change in our family. Kids moving out, getting married, the arrival of our first grand-baby; these major milestones and life-changes have all happened in the last two years! Needless to say, life looks a little different in the Higham House.

As we sat down to acknowledge and celebrate these incredible changes, we found ourselves thinking about the family blog and vlog. When we started sharing our story online, it was simply to document the goings-on of our family, so we could share them with grandparents and extended family that didn't live near us. But then in 2015, we made the decision to create a platform where we could share our family story with the hopes of encouraging other families! We began creating videos and posting them to YouTube. We wrote more about what we were learning as parents. We share family milestones and holidays. And we made a lot of great memories.

But life has changed. Our little kids have grown up. Our wonderful and crazy house once filled with 7 and a dog is quiet and calm with just 4 of us. Our adventures are different. The vlog is different. Life is different. And while all of this is good, we have come to the conclusion that it is time to change the direction and focus of the blog. 

We are reimagining the blog, our content, posting schedules, and how we hope to encourage and bless our readers. Our goal is to have the new site fully functioning by May 1, 2023. With this new site, we will expand our content to reflect our current interests and activities. We will also introduce a regular posting schedule so that our readers will know when new content will hit the site.

Along with our new content, we hope to take some of our most popular articles from years past, update them, and repost them for our new readers. 

So what will the new content look like? Great question, thanks for asking. Here's what you can expect.

Something that we have always enjoyed doing in all of our houses is decorating and home improvement. In 2021, we started sharing pictures of our holiday and seasonal decorating. Those pictures have generated a number of comments that have encouraged us to keep sharing. And some of our recent DIY projects have been a lot of fun to share.

House & Home will feature ideas, tips, how to's, pictures, video, and resources from our most favorite suppliers and decorating stores. We'll share our seasonal and holiday decorating along with our ongoing home improvements and updates we make to our house.

So be sure to join us on Monday, May 1, as we officially relaunch the new, LifeintheHighamHouse.com. Until then, be sure to visit our social media as we are already updating and sharing new family related content.

​- jay & amy