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.

A New Way To Home School

The books have been purchased and are lined up on the shelf.  School supplies are in bags stored in the closet waiting for that incredible first day!  Field trips are planned, worksheets are printed, schedules are made and pencils are sharpened!

It's almost here!

Back-Pack Fairy 2012

How awesome is it to look outside on the porch for days in a row and see boxes from Amazon out there, knowing that new books and new curriculum are there waiting for you??!!  TOTALLY!!  Anyone else feel that way?

I love the first day of school.  Always have and I think I always will!

I remember not being able to sleep the night before those grey, metal doors opened to the world of learning!

Now I have the same problem, but it is because I am so excited for my girls to begin their new school year. 

This year we have a problem though. 

It hit me today when I finalized our schedule and prepared it to be printed.  I had to delete a column. 

You see, my oldest daughter, Brianna, is getting ready to leave for college in two weeks.  Yes, 14 days! And I needed to delete her column in our school schedule.

When we started down this homeschooling road, we decided to take it year by year.  Each year we would re-evaluate and decide if we would be homeschooling again.  We did.  We were.

This year we begin our school year four days before she leaves.  This is good because it means that the backpack fairy will be able to visit her the night before and leave her school supplies and a few surprises!  It is also good because I suspect we will appreciate being in a routine when it hits us all that she is not coming back for a while.

Our goal has always been to give the girls a good education and provide it in the way the Lord leads.  We have made an effort to close no doors for them and to have them prepared for whatever He might call them to do.

She is ready.  She is ready spiritually, emotionally, physically and educationally. 

She will miss us for a time, but she will learn a new normal and she will thrive.  I know this not because of anything we have done, but because the Lord has called her and led her down this new path.

But we are not ready.  Her sisters will break down and cry at moments that remind them of what is to come.  I choke back tears when I realize that we sat next to each other in church for the last time for a while. 

Things are going to be different.  We will never be able to live this part of our lives again.  All four sisters together with mom and dad, educating together, living together, going through life together.  I know that we are closing that chapter.

But I hold on to what will not be different.  The love our family has for each other.  The love we all have for learning!  The love we have for the Lord.

The thing that helps me hold the tears back is knowing that God will provide for us just as much as He is going to provide for her.  We might not feel it now, but He will give us the strength to find a new normal and to thrive.

So as you begin this new school year, whether you homeschool or not, slow down and take the time to appreciate it.  Life goes by so quickly.  The noise that annoys you today, you will miss tomorrow.

Take time the first day to really look at your child.  See who they are.  Hear who they think they are.  Dream of who they will become. 

Let the Lord fill you with the joy of parenting!  And then wait for Him to fill you will the joy in letting go and watching them soar!!

The Great Goat Adventure - Part 2....The Goat Shed

So....I told you last time about how we installed the fence for the goats.  Well, let me tell you about my finest achievement....the goat shed!!!

My oldest daughter, Brianna, and I decided that we were going to build it inexpensively (well, truth be told, our pocketbook decided that we would build it inexpensively!!), so we read about using old wooden pallets.

Farmer Willie took off for the feed stores, plant stores and tractor supply stores to gather pallets that they were getting rid of.  Finding pallets was actually a bit more difficult than I thought it would be.  It seems that most places recycle their pallets (which is good for the environment, but makes it a bit more difficult if you are looking for free pallets!).

Luckily for me, my dad kept his eyes open and found me some as well!!

Pallets are accumulated....now we move to step two....planning!

Well, when you are building a goat shed with pallets, the first step in planning is to look at what materials you have....check!

Then you move into the sketching it out, planning what you need part.....ummmm, I don't like doing that so we skipped that portion!!!  :)  (drives Farmer Willie C-R-A-Z-Y!!)

Alrighty, so we have a bunch of pallets, screws, nuts and bolts and we set to work!!  For the walls, we lined up two pallets for each side wall, three for the back wall, and bolted them together.

We made three walls like this and then attached the walls to each other at 90* angles using L brackets.

Oops!  Look who snuck into the photos!!  Cutie pie!!

Anyways, back to the shed....after attaching the three walls together, we attached one more pallet in the front for a half wall.  I know that I am not describing it well, so just take a look!!

Why oh why do they have to make a point to take pictures of me when I am not looking my normal, chic self??!!??

Okay, so you see the 1/2 wall in the front with the opening for the door.

Next we attached some wood pieces to the front "beams" to raise the front of the roof a bit in order to assist with drainage.  After that we started to add the roof boards.

Let me tell you, I have always hated the part of building where you have to take exact measurements and then cut these crazy accurate angles in order to make the roof.  Then I discovered the....BRACKET section at Lowe's!!! 

Oh my goodness, I can attach anything to anything and NEVER have to cut an angle!!!!

Anyways, Bri and I used the brackets to attach the roof boards and it looked something like this....

After attaching the vertical roof boards, we came back through and attached some horizontal ones that we could attach the metal roofing material to.

I used some scrap wood that we had for the 2x4's, but I did have to go and purchase the brackets and metal roofing.



Then it was time for the roof to go on!  In my opinion, this was the most difficult part as it was hard to screw through the metal and then into the wood, even though Bri and I used screws that were made for that.  Oh, and if you use metal for roofing, be careful!!  The edges are sharp!!!

 

 So now we have walls and a roof, but you might have noticed that there were large gaps in-between the boards of the pallets.  We wanted some gaps to promote air flow, but not so many that they were not protected from rain.

We were not too worried about cold wind as we live in Texas and we don't have much of that around these parts!!  :)

To cover the gaps, we pulled boards off of extra pallets and attached them to the walls.

 Let me tell you, pulling those boards off of the extra pallets was WAYYYY more difficult than it looked!!  Those pallets are made to stay together!!!

So after we covered the outside of the shed, we were ready for some paint!  Well, at this point all of the girls wanted to be involved!  And, or course, what color should it be but RED!!!

So after a day full of hard work we were dirty...

Had gone a little crazy....

 Were a bit more cautious when picking up wood....

 And totally tuckered out!!!

But we had FUN....



And had a deep sense of satisfaction...

 

When we were able to look at this....

And know that it would keep these girls....

SAFE and having FUN!!

Proverbs 27:23, 26 "Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, And attend to your herds.  The lambs will provide your clothing, and the goats the price of the field."