This Farm Girl is SOOOOO Thankful!!!

I have mentioned before that one of the most difficult things for us to adjust to on the farm is the loss of our travel freedom. 

Before we moved, we usually took at least one short weekend trip a month.  Sometimes that was camping, other times we would go to visit a city a few hours away.  Point is, we would go!!  :)

We would take a couple of longer trips each year and also go to a beach that is within a days drive from our house and stay a few weeks.  A few years ago we took a three and a half week trip driving to the west coast, cruising to Alaska, and visiting Yellowstone!  It was AWESOME!!!

From mountains to oceans.....small towns to big cities.....camping to cruises.....we love to GO!!

So this past week, my sweet Farmer Willie sent the girls and I off to spend five days at our favorite beach with my mom and stepdad!  He took care of all of the farm chores as well as his normal aCOWnting job.

It was such a blessing to us.  Frankly, we thought we would not be able to go this year, so needless to say, we were thrilled!!

So this past week we were able to see dolphins jump!!

Play on the beautiful beaches!!

Hunt for shells!!

Watch the sun rise over the ocean each morning!

And just relax!!

Thank you Farmer Willie!! 

Fall on the Farm - Dining Room and Breezeway

LOVING this cooler weather!  Too bad it only lasts for a couple of days :(

I can see that the leaves on some of the trees are beginning to change color!!  I can't wait to see the full effect that the change of seasons has on the farm!!

Today I would love to share some pictures of our dining room and breeze way.  I love the fall season and my goal is to bring that feeling into our home!!

When you walk in the front door, you are greeted by this...

Then you make a right turn from the breezeway and you enter the dining room.  The library doors come off of the dining room and we decorated them with this wreath.

There is also a hall coming off of the dining room and of course we had to add a little fall flair there!!

Now in the dining room we have a beautiful farm table that Farmer Willie made for us a couple of years ago!! 

A little bit of fall in the corner!!  :)

If you were to turn left once you enter the front breezeway, you would go into a little sitting area and then into the living room.  This is the window seat area in there.

You guys have a great week and enjoy FALL!!!!

Fall on the Farm - Living Room

Mmmm..........FUN last few days with my mom, but now it is back to work!!  Goats are outside trying to bring themselves to come out of the goat shed and face the cooler weather we are having this morning!!

It is officially 48* in our neck of the woods and the animals are moving slow today!!

So while I wait for them to get moving, I thought I would share how our home is decorated for the fall.

Today I will show you the living room.  Here is an overview pic of what it looks like.

Our living room is super hard to arrange because we don't really have any walls.  You see the two sets of French doors on the one side and the other side that has the fireplace and built-in shelves.  There is also a large window on the left side of the shelves that you can't see in the picture.

The wall that the piano is on has about 5 feet of wall, the rest is floor to ceiling window. 

And the fourth side is no wall at all, just built-in bookshelves and a window seat.

So, super hard to arrange, but I love all of the windows!!

I had a lot of fun decorating the mantle for fall!!  The mantle is pretty large and the wall above it goes up forever!!  So I have a lot of room to play :)

Close-up of the wreath.

Farmer Willie, Tori and I made this super cool table out of things we found around the house!!  The frame is from an old outdoor table that the former owners left.  Then Tori pulled wood planks off of some old pallets for the top.  William cut them down, screwed them in and tah-dah....we have a table!!  I still need to apply a sealant on the top though.

This is the window that I told you about which is on the left side of the built-in shelves.  I found these two pews on the side of the road!  Can you believe that someone was going to throw them away??!!  I still have some plans to cutify them, but they work well for now!

I hope you have enjoyed checking out what we have going on over here!!

Talk to you soon!!

Fall on the Farm - Front Porch

Fall is my favorite season!  The cooler temperatures, changing leaves, and the smell of cinnamon are just a few of the reasons why.

As soon as September begins to draw to an end I am always excited to pull out the boxes marked "Fall Décor" and get busy welcoming fall into our home!!

This year was especially exciting because it is our first fall season on the farm. 

One thing I love about our house is the fact that we have three porches!  I had so much fun getting our front door porch ready!

 

I love sitting out here!!

I found the cutest little buckets at Target for $1!!

We found an old plow on the property that I really enjoy displaying on the porch. We also ordered a couple of mums from our local 4H group and they are just beautiful!!

I am so, so happy that fall is finally here!!  Tomorrow, I will show you what we have going on in the inside the house!!

Perfect Expression of Morning....written by my daughter Tori

My daughter, Tori, wrote this today during her personal time with the Lord and she allowed me to share it with you!

I am sharing it with you for several reasons.

First, I don't think I have ever read a more accurate description of mornings on the farm! 

Second, Tori is the one person that has struggled with our move.  It brings joy to my heart to hear that the Lord is taking this fashion forward, germ-a-phobic, city girl and gently showing her the peace and joy in following His will and His plan.

God is good and is faithful to deliver us.....even in the mornings!!


To Wake Up
Tori Huckabee

People tend to be wary or even say they hate to wake up early
I think this is their loss because they don't understand.
See, I wake up early most every day.
I get to see and experience things as they snore away.
I'm told to rise and shine before the sun ever considers to.

I pray away my grogginess before I push my covers away.
I like to think God smiles down on me as He helps me out of bed.
When I wake up early the Son greets me face to face, not sun through the shades.
People associate the night with darkness, but if they were up early, they'd know they're wrong.

The stars and moon are the brightest an hour before dawn.
The poor people that sleep the morning away don't know what they're missing.
They miss seeing the bunnies hop across the field.
They miss seeing playing goats and prancing deer.
They'll never get to see the white flower illuminated by the silver moon.

But I do.

I get to wake the crickets up, and watch the nocturnal hunt, and the moon travel across the sky.
I get to sing the birds awake.
Tell the sun to rise and shine, and I get to hear the world wake up before I ever see it's true.
I get to see the sun's rays split the sky as if they were knives.
Those who never see a chicken with a bedhead are really missing out!

So next time you go to set your alarm clock, consider what I'm about to say.
God made the early morning special, not something to sleep away.
You can get over the grogginess....just pray!

My Encounter With The Lord

This morning we wrapped up our worship time and had just begun our individual time with the Lord when I began to write out a prayer to God about some things that have been on my mind.  In the middle of that prayer, God gave me an answer, so I wrote it down as I heard it.

It is a very personal journal entry, but I feel like it is something that needs to be shared and might be of some help to someone else struggling.

May it bless you the way it did me.

"Give ear to my words, O Lord, Consider my meditation.
Give heed to the voice of my cry,
My King and my God, For to You I will pray.
My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;
 In the morning I will direct it to You and I will look up."
  Psalm 5: 1-3

9/16/2013
Kristi - God, I feel like I need so much right now, yet I am acutely aware of how blessed I am and how little I need in comparison to so many.  At times I feel guilty coming to You.

Some of the problems I've caused myself.  No clothes because I have overeaten and gained weight.  No money because of overspending.

Do you help us even when it is our fault?



God - It is all your fault.  All sin, sickness, pain, sorrow...even death is your fault.  If you have sinned, it is your fault. And all have sinned.

My provision, grace and mercy are for the sinner.  Struggles of the flesh, struggles with the enemy, they are all a result of sin.

You don't earn my gifts.  They are not a salary which you work for.

They are gifts, which I purchased for you with the blood of my Son.

I knew the path you would choose, the mistakes you would make, the sins you would hide, yet I paid the high price to purchase those gifts just for you.

Sit down and unwrap them slowly.  Appreciate even the special way I wrapped it for you.  There is joy, too, in the process.

You did not earn these.  You couldn't.
You did not ask for these.  You wouldn't know to.

Just accept them and be thankful.

My grace is sufficient.

Ol' MacKristi Had a Farm........

Sooooo....its been a while hasn't it??!!

I'm still here, alive and kicken'!!  Probably a little more kicken' than I should have been doing though :)

Farmer Willie and I were just talking about the fact that in November, it will have been one year since we first laid eyes on our farm.  December will be a year since the move.

It has been a crazy year!

You would think that with moving to our dream home/land/farm it would have been a happy year...right??  Well, it has had its ups and downs.

Moving out here has taken more adjusting than I had anticipated.  Most of the girls transitioned well, but my sweet Tori struggled.  This was not her cup of tea!!

It has also been a struggle for me, and that shocked me!

Two things I have struggled with have been being tied down by the animals and the overwhelming cost that it takes to keep things going.

You see, we are a family that loves to travel.  We have always given up some of the things that many families count as necessity in order to free up money for travel.  We don't have cable, we don't do smart phones, we don't eat out much, etc.  This was all with the express intent to travel more.

Well....apparently goats and chickens and bees and cats have this crazy thought process....they expect us to feed, water and milk them everyday!!!  I know, soooo selfish on their part!!!  Right??!!

(Isn't she just the cutest thing??!!)

Anyway, that has been really difficult to adjust to.  And frankly, with the cost of the farm and supplies, we don't have much money to travel with!!

My life before moving here was really just getting from one trip to another.  I kid you not!!  We traveled ALL OF THE TIME!!  Some were big trips and many were small.  We loved them all!!   William and I think it is a super important thing to do for our children.

So...not as much traveling and not as much money, plus a lot more work to be done sometimes makes for a grumpy Kristi!!  :)  (I know, you are totally shocked!)

Then we have travel time.  When we moved we realized that we would be an hour away from my family as opposed to minutes away, but at the time an hour drive did not really seem like that far!  Umm....it is!!

We tried to make the drive several times a week at first, but now realize that we can only do it once a week on most weeks.

We have also had change in our family due to our oldest daughter going off to college.  We miss her.  A lot.

Now that you are all depressed and think I am too, let me tell you the good stuff!

The Lord has shown me that we have much to be thankful for!

It began by spending at least an hour sitting on the porch in the morning.  My 16 year old, Tori, and I will sit out there and sip coffee as the sun comes up.

Eventually Emi and Kalli join us after they have finished their farm chores.  We watch the chickens come out of their coop, the grasshoppers wake up and get hopping, the cat play with his tail and the goats play in the cooler morning air.

It is one of my favorite times of the day and a time that in the past, I would have just hurried by.

My girls are learning the value of hard work.  And they have taken that lesson and run with it!

We have been blessed with outstanding neighbors!  It is a little different here how the neighbor thing works.  You really must get to know the people you live near because in one way or another, you will need each other.

When we lived in town we could get away with self survival because everything was close and at our disposal.  Out here...not so much!

But our neighbors are more than just helpful, they have become our friends!  Some of the ladies that live on our street get together every couple of weeks to share breakfast together.  It is just one of my favorite times!!

Seeing our family in town has gotten better too.  Even though we only drive in once a week, we are more intentional about our visit.  Instead of someone coming over and me doing laundry and dishes while they are there, I am able to just concentrate on spending time with them.

And when family comes out here, they tend to stay longer because of the drive!!

So we are learning.  It is definitely still a work in progress.

But we have slowed down.

And I am learning that the lesson of slowing down is one that is worth mastering.