Our Deer Friends

So we love deer around here.  Yes, Hubby is a hunter, and we eat the meat, blah blah blah.  But we still love them, and love when they come around the house, and love watching them.  (It's not that weird - think eating eggs, but still loving petting little chicks. See? I'm right. ;) ) I'm pretty sure the love comes from the fact that I didn't grow up surrounded by them, and there is still a magic associated with them for me. A magic that of course, intensified with the little chickies and how fascinated they are.

Now, we moved from the middle of the woods to slightly-less-in-the-woods.  Still very rural, but now we can see other houses.  And there are many more deer!  The deer love our house.  They come so close, and Reilly loves watching them.  This little fella does this all the time - just stands on our front lawn and watches use through the front door.  It's like he is as interested in us as we are in him!

 See? He's still watching us. Hi buddy!  Reilly names them "Reilly Deer" and "Reagan Deer".

 It's a fun little pastime we have, watching the deer run and play.  They actually play in out yard, running in circles and chasing each other back and forth.

Another favorite thing I have about our new house is the sunsets.  Where we use to live was extremely beautiful, right near the river - but it was in the valley.  I realized after living there a while, that living in the valley meant never seeing the sunset.  The sun dipped behind the trees and mountains in the afternoon (at 2:00 in the winter), and then it was gone.  Our new house is right near a lake, and we watch the sky light up with colors every single night while we eat dinner.  It's such an amazing blessing that we never even knew about when we bought the house.  From 4:00-6:00, which is usually a tough whiney-kids-end-of-the-date-dinner-making-waiting-for-Daddy time (as all stay at home Mama's can attest to), has now become my favorite part of the day.  It is so stunning.  And every night at dinner, Reilly talks about all the colors she sees in the sky.  I am so grateful for these beautiful little experiences that our girls will grow up with as normalcy.  If I can teach them to observe and appreciate the little, the beautiful, the natural things that God has given us, what an accomplishment that will be.