We, Melissa and Katie , have begun this blog in an effort to encourage families to return to the basics, and in doing so, find contentment in time spent together at home, around the dinner table, or in the backyard. Both of us have been led by our Father to separate ourselves and our families from the way the world is doing things these days and seek His kingdom through a simpler lifestyle. A life where our children eat what He created for us (think meat, vegetables, fruits instead of red dye #40, hydrogenated fats, and high fructose corn syrup!), where we get our hands dirty working in the land He has provided for us (no matter how small the backyard is!), and where we find entertainment in conversations and traditions (not in front of the television!).
Thus begins our journey of living the abundant life through learning, sharing, and experiencing the joys of seeking first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33), right here on our own Kentucky homesteads! We hope you’ll join us!
Melissa's Story
Melissa's Story
My husband and I have been married for 10 years and we have a 9 year old son. We started our journey to living a more sustainable lifestyle earlier this year. At the end of 2010 I found myself unemployed due to cutbacks at the bank I had been working at for 5 years. I was able to stay home with my son for a short time and discovered that what the doctors and teachers thought was A.D.D was actually food sensitivity/allergies. This discovery completely transformed our lives! We realized that the foods we had been eating were very bad for us and so we started changing our diet to consist of whole foods and deleting processed foods all together. During this process we started trying to figure out how I could continue to stay at home without the extra income. One day we were sitting on the patio at our house looking out into the back yard. God had blessed us with a house on an acre of land 9 years ago. What were we really doing with all this land? Nothing. We started to dream of what we could do to utilize this wonderful land and how we could try to earn a living by doing it. Maybe, just maybe I could become a stay at home mom and possibly home school my son. We first started with getting a few chickens that were producing eggs. It is so much fun to care for these birds and watch them produce food for our table. The next idea we had was to get a goat. So many possibilities with her, babies to sell, milk for our family, goat cheese, lotions, soaps, etc. We planted a garden for fresh produce that comes straight in to our table. It is so nice to walk out to the garden and pick something for dinner, instead of running to the store every time you need something.
When my great grandparents were young there were no grocery stores to go to. Families raised everything they needed. If you didn’t have everything, another family did and you could trade. There was a really strong sense of community in those days. We still have plans of more expansion at our farm, just adding a little bit at a time. Sustainable living has become somewhat of a lost art with people these days. With this blog our hope is to help us all get back to the basics and learn how to take care of things ourselves.
When my great grandparents were young there were no grocery stores to go to. Families raised everything they needed. If you didn’t have everything, another family did and you could trade. There was a really strong sense of community in those days. We still have plans of more expansion at our farm, just adding a little bit at a time. Sustainable living has become somewhat of a lost art with people these days. With this blog our hope is to help us all get back to the basics and learn how to take care of things ourselves.
Katie's Story
I am a daughter of Almighty God, a wife to a wonderful man, and mother to a precious little boy. The saying is true, a baby really does change everything! When our son was growing inside me, my relationship with Christ grew exponentially; my spirit became such fertile ground. I began to think about the woman I wanted to be, the things I wanted to teach him, and how to raise him to become a righteous man. The Lord began impressing on my heart things I had never thought about before like raising our children on a farm where God’s creations can shape his imagination, creativity, and reverence for life, homeschooling our children so I can guard them from becoming the people the world wants them to become, and becoming a submissive wife who honors, trusts, and respects her husband above any other person, particularly myself (this one’s a definite work in progress!!).
I hope you’ll follow our journey and share yours too. We have so many plans for this land the Lord has provided… vegetable gardens, bees, chickens, turkeys, peacocks, guineas, goats, and horses; to name a few. It’s bound to be interesting!
