Posted in Family Life

...Just very busy these days.

"Official" schoolwork is finished for the year.  We will be doing plenty of hands-on learning this summer, though, as we now are the proud owners of two (soon to be four) dairy goats, in addition to the laying hens and broiler (meat) chickens we are raising.  We have planted our garden and my husband has already begun to get in firewood for next winter (ugh).  All of this has kept us hopping!  We are having a lot of fun, and it has been a wonderful opportunity for learning.

As I have mentioned to several people recently, I would not have believed five or six years ago that I would one day be excited about moving toward a more self-sufficient lifestyle.  I was as dependent on modern society as the next gal.  I also loved my highly processed convenience foods, chemical-laden cleaning agents, and high-tech beauty products.  Don't get me wrong--there is nothing inherently wrong with any of these things (other than the negative effects on one's health)  However, over the past few years, as my husband and I have moved further and further away from dependence on these things, I have come to realize how much better the "real thing" really is, be it garden-fresh produce or homemade cleaning and beauty products.  I love the feeling of freedom I have in knowing that right here, in my very own backyard, my family can grow our own food.  In my kitchen, I can create my own soap and shampoo.  Simple, safe cleaning supplies can be stirred up (by me--or even my children) at my kitchen sink.  A solar-powered clothes dryer (clothesline) leaves our clothes so much fresher and uses only free energy from the wind and sun.

All of our recent agricultural pursuits have given me a sense of confidence I've never had before.  I never would have believed I could actually make butter or cheese or yogurt.  And yet--I've found that I can!  I really can milk a goat every morning.  I can grow beautiful tomatoes and sunflowers.  I have found that, working at my husband's side, we can do so many things for ourselves, things like making apple cider and maple syrup, putting up fencing and building a barn.  Not only does it give confidence, but it gives my children skills they can take with them throughout their lives.

Living the simple life is a lot of hard work, but hard work is good when it is honest, when it brings us closer to God's amazing creation, and when it yields rewards which can enrich our lives and bring us health, vitality, and joy.