So much!

So much has happened since my last entry and I apologize for not being in touch sooner!

For my second year in a row, I traveled to the Southern Women's Show in Nashville to help Homestead RayLee of Middle Tennessee and Homestead David of West Tennessee with their booth. We had a contest on our Rent The Chicken Facebook page as to what we should name the "Show Hens". The results were: Dolly & Reba. Pictured to the right is Homestead RayLee with her sister Mandy and Reba (the chicken!). We had scheduled times at one of the speaker stages of "Selfie Chicken Station with Dolly & Reba provided by Rent The Chicken". It was a hit! By golly, we rented some chickens at the show! I think there were 40k people projected to attend. I'm pretty sure we talked to all of them! haha They host more events than just the one in Nashville. For the list, click here: Southern Women's Shows then click on the location closest to you!

We also had fun snapping photos with Patsy (the white stuffed chicken) at our booth. Please note the photo bomber in the middle of the photos! *innocentlook*

To make the Nashville trip even more egg-citing, my Mom and Aunt Bonnie tagged along! While I was talking about chickens for four days straight, they enjoyed the Show and toured around Nashville and went to Graceland! They made the trip extra special and I'm so happy they decided to join in on the fun!

And now for an update on Givi Kitty. Since my last entry, she had an additional steroid injection to help with her lips. Shortly after, she started being more picky about the wet food choices that we had for her. While I was in Nashville, Homestead Phil traveled all over our county trying to find food that she would eat. Ultimately, she just wasn't eating and it had nothing to do with the choices in front of her. :( Back to the vet we went this time for blood work. She's now on twice daily fluid injections, antibiotics, pain meds, and I'm feeding her by syringe with diluted wet food. The vet gave us pretty bad news in regards to her kidneys. :( A vet friend asked to see the results of the blood work and gave us a bit of hope. We are doing our best to make sure she is eating as much food as possible and that we are sticking to the treatment. We are far from ready to let this kitty go from this life!

Everyone I'm sure has reasons that their pet is so special to them. Since marrying in 2009, we've tried to grow our family the old fashioned way which resulted us being in a club that I don't wish upon anyone - The Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Club. In the last few years, we also transitioned into the Infertility Club. We adopted Givi when we needed something extra to love. As you may or may not know, we do not have any living biological children despite being pregnant many times. In 2011, we were pregnant for the 4th time. With our 4th pregnancy, the blood work and ultrasounds were looking to be on track. No matter the outcome, we knew we still wanted a something to hug and care for whether we carried to term or not. We are both highly allergic to cats but a cat suited our lifestyle at the time better than a dog. Givi has never caused us to sneeze, have itchy eyes, or any other allergy symptoms. It wasn't even something we had to get used to and she often sleeps on my head! She has been through pregnancy loss #4 and many more since then. She was such a comfort too when our Foster Son moved last fall. She has also traveled all over with us for motorcycle events, Rent The Chicken events, and she even traveled to Tennessee last summer for the Solar Eclipse! She's only 7 years old and as long as she is healthy, I want to continue to enjoy her in the crazy life that we live!