pursuing simplicity, creating humbly, loving furiously
Family

Farm Kids In the Making

I’m not sure if it was the moment I yanked the power cord out of the wall and heaved the massive 48 inch tv into the closet or if it was the 50th time I argued with my children about going to play outside, or maybe when we sat on our back porch and listened to the detailed conversation our neighbors were having on the phone, but somewhere in there we decided we wanted something different for our kids.

We wanted them to grow up differently.  Not caught up in the busy rat race of a disconnected, media driven, entertainment seeking life .  We knew we wanted different but didn’t really know what different would look like.

And then God slowly began to move, opening doors, answering prayers, and moving us to different.  We had no idea how wonderful and hard and lonely and full of glory different would be.

Our kids had no idea either, and they didn’t ask to be on this crazy ride we call life, but none the less, they are.  The first week here they were underfoot.  Like REALLY underfoot.  Scared to go anywhere without me, not even to the second floor of the house not to mention the 16 acres awaiting them outside!

It was a slow transition over the last few months, and there were days I wondered if we made a MAJOR mistake, but finally the kids are THRIVING.  They are adjusting, exploring, and learning to be kids without the fear of wide open spaces.  In the beginning, I my kids were broken.  Like maybe their adventure buttons that I thought they had hiding somewhere under all that tv lovin, store hopping stuff didn’t actually exist.  Maybe they weren’t cut out for all this outdoor farm stuff.  But now, looking back over the past few months, I think they were in SHOCK!  Like “what are we doing out here and where is the nearest restaurant and can we play with our friends down the street for crying out loud???” kind of shock.

But now that the shock has worn off they are beginning to settle in and love this life.  From getting eggs out of the coop each day to shoveling wood chips, to helping on projects, and building forts, and just being kids- like the old fashion not so broken kind!  It’s such a blessing to watch them grow into these people who are seeing things from a simpler perspective.  The Lord is raising up little arrows that are CONNECTED to Him, to His creation, and therefore the gospel can thrive in their hearts because they are living it, experiencing Him in a real tangible way.  Here is a little bit of their transformation over the past few months…

Everyone playing in the snow

Mazie has learned how to ride without training wheels and tears around here like a madwoman on 2 wheels!

Caleb has become the resident bone collector

launching a homemade catapult Caleb built

Caleb and his new friend Josh next to the teepee they built in “army camp”

Maze and one of our old neighbors, those kids were such a blessing and really showed our kids the ropes of this kind of life

Playing in their make-believe camp

Roasting pretend marshmallows over the not so open flame

crazy girl dancing in the rain 

and loving it!

working in the rain together with the wheelbarrow

Caleb shoveling woodchips with Daddy

Everyone working together to lay down the first layer of wood chips for the garden

This guy had the easiest transition of all, he is ALL ABOUT this outdoor stuff

Learning to fish on their own with real worms!

Fresh eggs!

The littles exploring the tree forest

Exploring the tree forest

Feeding some onion grass to the chickens.

Thanks for following along with us on this journey, grateful for each one of my readers, it makes it so much more fun because I get to share it with you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *