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We’ve officially been on our little patch of land for six months now.
That’s 180 days of tending what God has entrusted to us—half a year of slowing down, learning to rely on His goodness, and becoming comfortable with a simpler, more intentional way of living.
These months have reshaped our rhythms in ways I didn’t expect. They’ve stretched us, grounded us, and reminded us—over and over—that a slower pace doesn’t mean less life. Sometimes, it means more of it.
Clearing Space & Making Room
When we arrived in the warm months, we wasted no time relocating several outbuildings to open up the space around the house. It helped with fire prevention, yes, but it also created room for the shop and garden we hope to build this year.
The trees we cleared won’t go to waste—we’ll chop and stack them for future firewood, one more way this land provides for us.
The Chicken Adventure That Came Early
We knew we wanted chickens eventually, but I had fully planned on waiting until Spring 2026—after the garden and coop were complete.
God must have chuckled at that.
In mid-August, we wandered into a feed store and found the last batch of baby chicks. Nine came home with us that day, and the countdown to finishing the coop began.
Six weekends later, we completed it—just in time for the chicks to outgrow their tote brooder.
Now, as I write this, we’re averaging eight eggs a day. We think the mild winter is helping, but either way, we’re drowning in eggs. I had to water-can four dozen last weekend!
We knew we wanted chickens to be our first farm animal, but we didn’t anticipate it happening so quickly after moving in to the farm house.
We anticipated our first eggs would arrive sometime in January, but we were pleasantly surprised mid-December to get our first eggs!
Family Life in a New Season
Luke continues his work at Fairchild, serving in ways that truly make us proud, and the kids are thriving at school. For the first time ever, our two oldest were able to play team sports this fall. Between football, volleyball, and basketball, we lived in the bleachers—and I loved every second of it.
Celebrations filled our home this season, too.
We hosted a Halloween party, Friendsgiving, family Thanksgiving, and a second Friendsgiving for good measure. Opening your home can be stressful, but hosting family for Thanksgiving—our first time ever—was a memory I’ll treasure forever.
Then came Christmas.
Waking up in our new home, celebrating the birth of Christ together, was another reminder of how abundantly God has blessed us already.
We did have to remove a lot of trees to make space for the shop we’re about to build.
We should be breaking ground here in a couple weeks.
What’s Next on the Farm
We have two major projects on the horizon:
1. Building the Shop
We’ve spent countless hours researching, meeting with builders, and comparing plans. If everything continues moving forward (God willing), we’re about three months from breaking ground.
2. Establishing the Garden
The garden space is marked, several raised beds are already built, and I plan to add five or six more this spring.
In October, I planted 30 garlic cloves and over 100 tulip bulbs—my quiet hope is that they’ll be the first splash of color and harvest to greet us this year.
Thanks to my sisters, I started January with a brand-new garden planner, and seed starting begins soon: onions, herbs, and a few early veggies. Once we add soil, amendments, and fencing, the garden will be ready to welcome transplants and direct seeds.
We also have 10 fruit trees arriving in March—apple, cherry, peach, and prune—and 30 meat chicks coming in May, which we plan to raise and harvest ourselves. If all goes well, we’ll fill our freezer and hopefully bless a few friends and family members, too.
Garden planning is coming along. We’re in Zone 6B and technically shouldn’t plant anything outside until after Mother’s Day. I will, however, start seeds inside this weekend.
We have HUGE plans for the garden. We’ve plotted out a 80×50 area for the garden, moved the green house to it’s new area, built 5 raised beds (more to come this Spring), and plotted out the seeding schedule for more than 50 future plants. I can’t wait to get started!
I’ve also been practicing my preservation skills and we even purchased a freeze dryer to help us preserve our future bounty I’m really excited to get started!
Looking Toward His Promises
There’s so much more I could share, but I’ll spare you the full spreadsheet of projects and dreams. Or I’ll just share on another day. But, know this: We’re leaning deeply into God in this season—resting in His pace, trusting His provision, and learning daily what it means to nurture the gifts He’s given us.
Six months in, I’m grateful.
Grateful for growth, for lessons, for the chaos and beauty of this little farm — and grateful that the God who planted us here is the same God who will continue to lead us.
Thank you for gathering around our hearth this week. Please consider sharing this with someone you think may benefit from being here.
May God bless you abundantly this week.
