• It’s been a chicken-hatching frenzy around here this Spring! We’ve owned chickens for a couple of years now, but finally got an incubator recently & accomplished our first hatch. Of the 8 eggs that actually ended up being fertilized, we got 7 fluffy chicks! 😍 One of them I had to assist to get her out of her shell, and we lost one chick due to it getting stuck in it’s shell. I felt terrible that I didn’t know when to help it since assisting isn’t super recommended unless absolutely necessary. It’s hard to know when that is, though, especially your first time around. The one I *did* help was after that first one had passed, so I took the risk & helped her “unzip”, wrapped her shell in a warm, damp paper towel, and put her back in the incubator to give her a fighting chance. Thankfully she made it! It was a good learning experience, so now I feel better equipped for next time. We have our 2nd round going now. 🎉
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    It’s been a chicken-hatching frenzy around here this Spring! We’ve owned chickens for a couple of years now, but finally got an incubator recently & accomplished our first hatch. Of the 8 eggs that actually ended up being fertilized, we got 7 fluffy chicks! 😍 One of them I had to assist to get her out of her shell, and we lost one chick due to it getting stuck in it’s shell. I felt terrible that I didn’t know when to help it since assisting isn’t super recommended unless absolutely necessary. It’s hard to know when that is, though, especially your first time around. The one I *did* help was after that first one had passed, so I took the risk & helped her “unzip”, wrapped her shell in a warm, damp paper towel, and put her back in the incubator to give her a fighting chance. Thankfully she made it! It was a good learning experience, so now I feel better equipped for next time. We have our 2nd round going now. 🎉
  • Things have been busy around here lately! This week we (mostly Eric, obvi) have been building a greenhouse 🙌🏼 to expand our growing capacity, and maybe (HOPEFULLY) extend our growing season. Side note: Whenever we do a project, I do the design and show him & he builds it like it’s nothin’! If there’s finish work, I’ll usually take over at that point just for sake of time (& not feeling totally useless 😂). You’re definitely a handy man if I ever met one, @kickinitwitheric. He’s very gifted at his craft. • Anyway, if I can find a cheap or free way to heat it, we plan to grow a bunch of our food all winter long. • But my dreams for this greenhouse and the homestead we’re building is much bigger than ourselves. Yes, I want to have enough for my fam, but I told the Lord that if he blessed us with this house and the 3 acres that came with it, that I’d do my part to use it to bless others however he asks me to. And that’s what I want to do! • I want to be able to grow enough food to help provide wholesome, organic, fresh food to people in my community and circle of influence as much as we can. I want to share my journey and experience to inspire and empower others to become more self sufficient, too. • The Lord has planted some great ideas and dreams in my heart, and I’m excited to see things coming into fruition. This is just the beginning. I can’t wait to see what God does with our hard work and willingness.
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    Things have been busy around here lately! This week we (mostly Eric, obvi) have been building a greenhouse 🙌🏼 to expand our growing capacity, and maybe (HOPEFULLY) extend our growing season. Side note: Whenever we do a project, I do the design and show him & he builds it like it’s nothin’! If there’s finish work, I’ll usually take over at that point just for sake of time (& not feeling totally useless 😂). You’re definitely a handy man if I ever met one, @kickinitwitheric. He’s very gifted at his craft. • Anyway, if I can find a cheap or free way to heat it, we plan to grow a bunch of our food all winter long. • But my dreams for this greenhouse and the homestead we’re building is much bigger than ourselves. Yes, I want to have enough for my fam, but I told the Lord that if he blessed us with this house and the 3 acres that came with it, that I’d do my part to use it to bless others however he asks me to. And that’s what I want to do! • I want to be able to grow enough food to help provide wholesome, organic, fresh food to people in my community and circle of influence as much as we can. I want to share my journey and experience to inspire and empower others to become more self sufficient, too. • The Lord has planted some great ideas and dreams in my heart, and I’m excited to see things coming into fruition. This is just the beginning. I can’t wait to see what God does with our hard work and willingness.
  • Can’t wait for fresh Lavender and other beautiful things to be growing in abundance soon! My favorite plants to grow are the ones that have multiple uses, like this one. So many ways to use it: medicinally, in lemonade or tea, in scent packs for your closet, helping to attract good bees to your garden, dry them for decor or gift wrap embellishments, etc etc etc. We’re planting a BIG ‘ol garden this year and I’m pumped about it. • Do you garden?! What’re your fave thing to grow?
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    Can’t wait for fresh Lavender and other beautiful things to be growing in abundance soon! My favorite plants to grow are the ones that have multiple uses, like this one. So many ways to use it: medicinally, in lemonade or tea, in scent packs for your closet, helping to attract good bees to your garden, dry them for decor or gift wrap embellishments, etc etc etc. We’re planting a BIG ‘ol garden this year and I’m pumped about it. • Do you garden?! What’re your fave thing to grow?
  • Not gonna’ lie. I miss the days of road trips with friends and valiantly riding random jackalopes.
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    Not gonna’ lie. I miss the days of road trips with friends and valiantly riding random jackalopes.
  • Their dad had given them each some roses and they were so excited! As I was editing these images, the Lord revealed this to me and I was like 😱😭🙌🏼: • What if the roses in these images represented the gifts He gives us and, rather than minimizing or rejecting them or not appreciating their beauty, we simply accepted them with joy, excitement, and admiration? What if we were excited to show each other our gifts... excited to accept the blessings of *those around us* sharing *their* gifts with us? • May we learn to find joy, contentment, value, beauty, and grateful hearts in the gifts the Lord gives us, and reject thoughts/feelings of comparison or discontent with others’ gifts. May we learn to appreciate and lean into them so we can share them excitedly with those around us. May we refuse to let the enemy rob us, God’s kids, of our identities or of the joy meant for us with the realization of what our gifts are & what the gifts of our fellow Christians are. • It hurts my heart to see so many people feel like they have no gifts, because it’s so far from the truth. I pray the eyes of your heart get opened to be able to see how truly gifted you are & the value you bring to the table. You were created for such a time as this & you have so much to offer - I don’t ever want you (or me!) to fall for the lies that tell you otherwise.
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    Their dad had given them each some roses and they were so excited! As I was editing these images, the Lord revealed this to me and I was like 😱😭🙌🏼: • What if the roses in these images represented the gifts He gives us and, rather than minimizing or rejecting them or not appreciating their beauty, we simply accepted them with joy, excitement, and admiration? What if we were excited to show each other our gifts... excited to accept the blessings of *those around us* sharing *their* gifts with us? • May we learn to find joy, contentment, value, beauty, and grateful hearts in the gifts the Lord gives us, and reject thoughts/feelings of comparison or discontent with others’ gifts. May we learn to appreciate and lean into them so we can share them excitedly with those around us. May we refuse to let the enemy rob us, God’s kids, of our identities or of the joy meant for us with the realization of what our gifts are & what the gifts of our fellow Christians are. • It hurts my heart to see so many people feel like they have no gifts, because it’s so far from the truth. I pray the eyes of your heart get opened to be able to see how truly gifted you are & the value you bring to the table. You were created for such a time as this & you have so much to offer - I don’t ever want you (or me!) to fall for the lies that tell you otherwise.
  • 4.1.2020// I made a coloring page & our art project for today was to color a bunch & leave them for our neighbors in the hopes it would bring smiles to faces in the middle of the crazy. “Brighter days ahead!” Yes & amen. You can grab the free coloring page at the link in my bio! Edited to add: this is NOT some cruel April Fools’ Day joke 🙈 I didn’t even realize the date until I made this post 🤣🤪 woops. There really ARE brighter days ahead! 🎉😂🎉🙌🏼 . . . . . #brighterdaysahead #quaranteam #quarantineart #dosomethingnice #homeschool #homeschooliscool #homeschoolart
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    4.1.2020// I made a coloring page & our art project for today was to color a bunch & leave them for our neighbors in the hopes it would bring smiles to faces in the middle of the crazy. “Brighter days ahead!” Yes & amen. You can grab the free coloring page at the link in my bio! Edited to add: this is NOT some cruel April Fools’ Day joke 🙈 I didn’t even realize the date until I made this post 🤣🤪 woops. There really ARE brighter days ahead! 🎉😂🎉🙌🏼 . . . . . #brighterdaysahead #quaranteam #quarantineart #dosomethingnice #homeschool #homeschooliscool #homeschoolart
  • Honestly, this whole thing has been an extra reminder for me of the importance of just slowing down and taking care of my body & those of my kids (even more than we already do). Nourish them with real, whole foods. Detox. Get rest. Cultivate connection, togetherness, peacefulness at home. Practice gratitude for the good things. Even in the crappiest, most inconvenient times, there’s a silver lining. Maybe instead of feeling exacerbated by it, lean in and savor the moments.
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    Honestly, this whole thing has been an extra reminder for me of the importance of just slowing down and taking care of my body & those of my kids (even more than we already do). Nourish them with real, whole foods. Detox. Get rest. Cultivate connection, togetherness, peacefulness at home. Practice gratitude for the good things. Even in the crappiest, most inconvenient times, there’s a silver lining. Maybe instead of feeling exacerbated by it, lean in and savor the moments.
  • We have a homeschool room, yet we still end up just spreading out and sitting on the floor of the sunroom most days. 🤷🏼‍♀️ It’s the beauty of homeschool, I guess. You get to be & learn wherever you want.
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    We have a homeschool room, yet we still end up just spreading out and sitting on the floor of the sunroom most days. 🤷🏼‍♀️ It’s the beauty of homeschool, I guess. You get to be & learn wherever you want.
  • Did you know we have chickens? We got them as pets, at first, and added a few egg-layers to the flock last year. It’s been such a blessing to 1) use it as part of our homeschooling experience to teach homesteading/sustainability, and 2) to know exactly what’s going in to the food that we eat, the eggs in our case (we don’t eat the chickens because they’re in the bantams class, so way too small). • This little guy is one of our Silkies that we got as a 2-day old chick. We bought 3 straight-run, meaning the sex is unknown, chicks that day AND we named them. Of the 3 chickens (names are Mikki the Chicky, Bowie, and Princess Lay-A), we ended up with 2 hens and a rooster. Can you guess which name we had given this guy? 🤣 When we realized she was a HE we just laughed. Sorry, friend 😬😂
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    Did you know we have chickens? We got them as pets, at first, and added a few egg-layers to the flock last year. It’s been such a blessing to 1) use it as part of our homeschooling experience to teach homesteading/sustainability, and 2) to know exactly what’s going in to the food that we eat, the eggs in our case (we don’t eat the chickens because they’re in the bantams class, so way too small). • This little guy is one of our Silkies that we got as a 2-day old chick. We bought 3 straight-run, meaning the sex is unknown, chicks that day AND we named them. Of the 3 chickens (names are Mikki the Chicky, Bowie, and Princess Lay-A), we ended up with 2 hens and a rooster. Can you guess which name we had given this guy? 🤣 When we realized she was a HE we just laughed. Sorry, friend 😬😂