Chicken Linner

SO we slaughtered one of our chickens for the first time...gosh that's a harsh word...it was SO loud and we were worried about the neighbors, plus we were needing to get over that whole "we haven't killed one yet and don't know how or what it will be like" thing, so Brad did it while I was at a church class on Saturday. Needless to say, it left a sick feeling in my stomach. Looking at the whole chicken in my fridge waiting for today, Sunday Lunch/Dinner, it was weird. I mean, we eat chicken all the time. We go to the stores, glance at all the plumpness of the chicken, pick out what we like, and we KNOW where it comes from. But it's a whole different idea when at chicken was just walking around the yard not too long ago. I put it in the crock pot and hoped it would be cooked by the time we got home from church. I was hoping and wringing my hands that karma wouldn't get us back and burn our house down! But all was fine upon arriving home. The house smelled wonderful, like a yummy cooked chicken...but then I remembered this one didn't come from the store...then came the weird feeling again. We had it with dumplings and gravy...thanks be to the chicken for growing big enough to feed two grown people. I felt the weird feeling throughout my eating dinner...I guess I'll get used to it as this...this "providing for ourselves" continues, but for now, it's just a weird feeling. It's interesting, but also something so foreign to me. In all reality though, if it had to be done again, it would be. And we are just so thankful that Heavenly Father gave us animals so that we could have meat to eat. It wasn't killed for sport, or fun. It gave it's life so we could have nourishment. And it was a new experience for both Brad and I. Interesting, mysterious, foreign and exciting all at the same time!

Amanda