If you had told my younger self that one day I would be the proud owner of a chicken coop and ten hens… I might have laughed… or cried. Birds have never really been my thing!

But here we are.
Two kids. Two dogs. Ten chickens. In Texas.

Growing up, my parents (God bless ’em) – two adventurous executives from Silicon Valley – made the wild decision to move our family to a 35-acre property in a small town on the Oregon Coast. Their dream was to give my older brother and I a better life — more freedom, more friends, and more fun.

Even now, I still have dreams about that house.
Not only was it on 35 acres, but it was an incredible former Monastery, complete with a 9,000 square-foot barn and a little hen house nestled across from it.
It was a magical place for us to grow up, and my friends and I made some of our best memories there.

Shortly after we moved, my parents decided it would be a good idea to order thirty chickens.
I remember flipping through little catalogs, my brother and I picking out our favorite breeds.

And yes, you read that right. Not three, not thirteen. THIRTY chickens.

It was total chaos — in the best and worst ways.
The mess. The early morning chores. The evil rooster named Elvis (Elvis stood almost three feet tall and scared the CRAP out of me.)
I still remember dragging my feet as a pre-teen having to clean that creepy coop; I always kept one eye peeled for Elvis.

It was wild. It was stressful. It was hilarious.
And it taught me some of the most valuable lessons I still carry with me today – about responsibility, hard work, and doing things even when they make you uncomfortable.

Fast forward 22 years: I’m now a wife to a wonderful man, a stay-at-home mom of two, living on our own 3-acre property in Texas. And we recently brought home ten chickens of our own. Funny how life has a way of circling back to us, isn’t it? (Thankfully, no three-foot-tall roosters yet.)

When we stepped into this little dream of land and animals, it felt exciting… and a little terrifying, if I’m being honest.

Fears that have crossed my mind once, or twice:

• What if this wasn’t the right thing for our kids?
• What if I mess this up?
• What if a donkey kicks me in the face? (When we visit this local farm, we always coach Jack: “NO butts, JUST faces!” nothing like a little parental confidence to stop your fears in their tracks.)

Here’s what I’m learning in all of this:
Growth is on the other side of our comfort zone.
It’s messy. It’s scary. It’s humbling.
You might cry. You might get kicked in the face.
And it’s also where some of the sweetest, most worthy memories are made.

As we near the finish line of our chicken coop build, I found myself up on a ladder yesterday, painting – picturing my kids gathering fresh eggs in the morning…experiencing the wonder of growing up on this little piece of land that we our so blessed to call ours.

It hit me in that moment…Sometimes the very things we fear the most end up becoming the most life-giving parts of our story.

If you need a reminder today, here it is:

• It’s okay to do things scared.
• It’s okay to try something you’re not perfect at.
• It’s okay to build a life that looks a little different than you expected.

That’s often where God does some of His best work.

Here’s to these darn chickens, fresh starts, and doing the things that scare us.

Because life?
It’s worthy of being lived — and lived to the full. 🤍