The Thing

   It started out as any wonderful morning should.  The kids were up and doing their respective chores: feeding animals, refilling water, cleaning pens etc.  Daniel and I were in our room reading and discussing the Bible.

   All was calm.

   Suddenly, the door swings open and D.J. gasps between breaths, "Daddy!!  Nayshon needs you!!"  Daniel asked him what was wrong, but all he said was, "I don't really know.  I think she saw something!"
   Alarms go off inside my head.  A dead chicken?  A hurt goat?  Did she see a coyote?  Is there an evil, venomous snake in her path???  I scurry to pull on my boots over bare feet (I am still in pajamas) as Daniel pulls on his pants and boots. I take a hurried look out the window  searching for Nayshon.  My eyes spot her near the shed, hands on her face.  Her shoulders were drooping and she was pacing nervously.  "She's crying!!!"  I shout knowing that she doesn't tend to be a crier.  "We need to hurry!"  I jump from my spot at the window and follow Daniel who was just  on his way out.  We begin running up the little hill praying and searching for clues.

We were about halfway up the hill when I asked Nayshon what it was.  She looks at us half smiling and says,

   "There's a 'possum in the feed can."

 A 'possum in the feed can?  I ran up the hill in my pajamas to save her from a 'possum in a feed can.
Is she serious?  My whirling thoughts hit the breaks and come to a screeching halt.
   "I was getting a scoop out of the empty feed can and I heard something growl at me, so I freaked out and pulled my hand back!!  Then I looked in it to see what it was. It's just sitting there.  I think it was hissing at me...," she explains.
   Daniel and I look at each other.  You know that "look" parents sometimes give each other.  Daniel laughs and I take a peek at the critter.  I must admit he was kind of cute for a vile chicken killer, but sometimes danger doesn't look so bad does it?
   I talked to Nayshon about the proper way to calmly deal with situations like this without scaring the jeepers out of everyone.  The guys quickly "disposed" of the critter in question, and before we knew it, the day had moved on.
   We had some yummy scrambled eggs for breakfast.  Thank God we got to them before...The Thing.