Friday, November 7, 2014

Welcome to...
Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!
 
Can you tell, this lady is excited to welcome you to her farm? {large grin}
Well, I am. We have been beyond blessed to take on this amazing journey as the Lord has lead us in every step. The last post, I shared some of our first week living at our property. We lived out of our camper for about 3 months (July, August, and September), and then...ohhh, then. Our house was "delivered". I got a bit teary-eyed as it came slowly (VERY slowly) down our little dirt road. So many days I woke up motivated to farm. Just to get my hands dirty and plant something, till something, build something, milk something. However, that's not what the first three months entailed. The first three months were full of remaining with God (John 15), staying closely knit to Him as we definitely endured some hardships. We were tested to our max, but we made it. Some have asked if we would do it all over again and I don't know if I would. If I knew the feeling of the outcome, I know I would, but it was a very difficult time on our family. I journaled a lot and prayed a lot. I looked forward to visits from friends and family. There were amazing days where we were on "cloud 9" to be here and days where we felt alone and helpless. I wouldn't trade the experience for the world though. The growing that we did wasn't something I'll ever forget.  With various trials and spiritual warfare we endure, the Lord is always teaching us how to come out of it a more mature Christian and able to help and disciple others about to go through similar trials. I am grateful.


 
Some changes we've gotten used to now are collecting our mail in the middle of our road. The kids love riding their bikes and collecting and delivering mail to pen pals from back home. Each mailbox is different, old and new and has a story to go along with how they took residence in our area.
 
We've gotten used to loading the trash cans onto the mower wagon and driving it out to the end of the road for trash pick up.


A simple trip to the grocery store has these views and I never tire of them. I never tire of the grazing cattle and horses, the wide open spaces, sunshine and blue skies, green grass and rolling hills.

There might be 8 traffic lights in our town and we LOVE that. No stop and go traffic. We just drive.

Here's Titus getting his first haircut in the camper. I miss his curls. He's 18 months old now, climbing everything and babbling away.

Here's a picture of our washing at one point in the camper. Our hose broke and we had to fill up at our well for both washing and animal troughs. I was thankful that I bought a washing plunger for this very "just-in-case moment".

Norah taking a spin at it.

...and our house. We've never lived out of a manufactured home before, but we LOVE it! Larger than our last house, more spacious (with a milking/laundry room) and a fraction of the cost we're hoping to have paid off as soon as possible. It's a 4 bedroom, 2 bath and I'm planning on a future post including a tour.

Our little road at sunrise. So peaceful and quiet.

I love watching the sun coming up through the trees.

Fire wood that has definitely been useful. We have so much more to cut and stack. We're deciphering whether or not to use the lumber for garden beds or plant in ground.

My itty-bitty potting table for now.

A view from my kitchen window. Stay tuned for the official tour of our house, farm and even our town. My camera has been busy. So much to share and update! God continues to blow our socks off with His blessings and beyond coincidence circumstances and people He has brought into our lives. To God be the glory! 

3 comments:

jay said...

Hi! Sorry to hear you've had such a hard struggle these last few months. Your location looks so peaceful. I hope you are making good friends with your neighbours and community.

Looking forward to seeing the inside of your new house!

Rachel E. said...

It all looks so amazing, Kelli! I love reading your updates. It's been a while. I find it more difficult to follow my favorite blogs when I don't have a blog roll to follow. Oh well, I recently stumbled upon my old list and Wow! I can find them again.

You all have had a great time of it. I am excited for you.

Crys said...

Cant wait to see updates waiting :) I am living my dream through you at the moment,waiting (somewhat) patiently.