House updates

So saw the current tenants moving out of the house today. But talked to my dad and we have to wait for courts to sign off on the house and hand it back to dad. It was a rent to own situation so kinda sticky. Hopefully that only takes another week, dad has a great lawyer. Plus the grass needs really mowed bad, it hasn't been done since the guy got the notice to move.

This is pictures of the front half of the property and part of the back half...from my grandma's yard. A middle part of the property is missing as well as some of the back part and a whole north side of the property.

We went to check out a local 100% natural not just organic farm today. Was very cool. I even tried some very fresh goat milk and I have to saw it taste just like cows milk. I think I can even fake the kids out with it in a regular milk jug. :D Also was able to look at their setup with how they keep everything natural, chickens, garden, goats and much more. I can't wait to get our own goats and chicks. Which I plan to do ASAP.

Early Morning Sunrise

So this morning I woke up before the sun, about 5am. I was sitting there thinking of all the things I could do in our temporary living situation. So I did change the laundry over to wash my work clothes. But since we are only going to be here about a week longer, there is no dishes to do because I bought paper products to get us through the week, cause I packed up the kitchen stuff again.

SO this is where we are at with the move. We stayed with my dad and step mom for about a week, but they still had 4 kids living at home plus our 3 and us. God bless them for putting up with that many people for a week. Luckily my lovely step mom comes from a large family but she has ways she does stuff so us trying to help out wasn't working. So we decided to look for a temp place to rent. Dad said it could take up to a year, turns out the guy in the farm house didn't want to fight the eviction notice, so he said he would be out in 30 days. We will know for sure on Saturday next week whether he actually moved out. IF so we will move into the farm on Sunday. I plan to take pictures of our adventure as soon as I find the camera.

Anyway back to the sunrise, so I woke Ryan up at 5:45am and asked if he would like to go for a walk. Dawn was just breaking and the sun had not started to rise just yet. It reminded me of when I was little because my bedroom faced the east and I was always awaken by dawn and I would watch sunrises from my bed. So we took a walk down towards the house from where we are staying. We actually walk by there a couple times a week when I get home early enough to take the kids and the dogs for a walk. This morning Ryan and I were able to walk by ourselves because the kids were still asleep. Another reason to LOVE the country life. You can leave your kids and take a short walk and not be concerned at all about what might happen. Short of them waking up and watching cartoons, nothing will happen. Although our children were still not awake when we got home at 7:45am. We took a walk, brought the dogs back to the house and then headed to the little cafe down the block for some breakfast. Mainly I just wanted the coffee because our coffee pot is still in the moving trailer that we are storing our stuff in. Ryan is pretty sure said coffee pot is probably destroyed but I didn't find that box yet. Hopefully its still in one piece.
So we went to have breakfast and that place is quite a buzz at 6:45 am. Many of the local farmers and families have breakfast or at least coffee there in the mornings. It was good to listen to the local news from all the people chatting. They also asked how we were doing, let us know that they were there to help once we got into the house. Just fun socializing with those who had not seen me since I was a child. Good thing I can remember everyone's faces...even if I forgot names. :D

Moving Day

I have not blogged in quite a bit again and I will be deleting previous entries as we are starting over. A new life, a simple life, and as self sufficiant as possible. Today we embark on a journey that can change our whole outlook on life. Today we pack up the moving truck and drive a very long 16 hours to a quaint town in SE Kansas, called Mapleton. Mapleton has a population of 84 people. Mapleton is the little town that I grew up in. I rode my bike about 5 miles a day, visiting older people who I affectionatelly called grandma and grandpa even when they really weren't, went fishing in the river, explored the woods, and scraped my knees. This is also the town that when you are a teenager and ready to graduate high school you swear you want to leave but secretly wish you could stay forever because it is safe. Mapleton has a small cafe, fire department and even a post office, but no stop lights just stop signs. My grandmother lives 100 yards from the house and acreage we plan to move on. The house is my childhood home. I have memories of tree forts, basketball and my dog Maggie from this house. It is a quaint farm community. The house is a small farm house but the kids will still get their own small rooms. We will have to remodel most of the house as it has seen better days. I will also be able to add some animals to the tiny farm, our first is a little goat from my Step Mom and Dad for the kids.
The kids are excited. They think it is neat to go to the same school mama did. Although I warned them that some of the teachers were teachers when mom was there and I was not the most well behaved kid in school. I wasn't horrible but I am sure some of those teachers will have some memories of me good and bad. I am excited for Alexis the most, my best friend from High School has a daughter a year older than Alexis. The girls have met and played when they were younger and became friends, but it would be so neat if they could be best of friends like me and my best friend.
The boys are excited to be able to farm. They have pretty much lived in a city their whole lives or at least a larger town. I am not sure what they will think of 5am chores, but only time will tell.

My plan for this blog is to document the changes we are making from the bustle of the city to the comfort of the Farm. I plan to post recipes we are trying out, ideas we have from the farm, pictures of the progress of the house (even the bad part we may be moving into), kids meeting the animals for the first time and just our day to day activities.
I will also be posting on our spiritual lives and how we are seeking God first in all we do. We will be looking for a new home church in the area, so I will post little tidbits on each church we visit and how we feel we will fit in. We have not been involved in the church here as much in the past few months due to the economy and our church was a drive away.
In the country everything is a drive away, so I will have to prepare for many trips in a more thought out way. I will no longer just be able to hop in the car and got to Wal...mart. I will have to plan our grocery trips and bring coolers so items can stay cold, although the nearest store is about 30-40 mins away, I still would like the frozen items to be frozen once we get home. I will be stocking a pantry for the first time ever. Will be buying in bulk and freeze meat. I am hoping to get some beef from my dad in the fall and that should get us through the winter. We have not eaten alot of red meat in the past three years due to the prices of meat.

So now I must go and prepare for our exceptionally long day. We are picking up the movign truck this morning and hitting the road around 12. First stop New Orleans, to pick up my neice...four dogs, 3 adults and 4 kids, all packed up into a four door car and a huge Uhaul truck. Sounds like a recipe for FUN. Thank goodness for laptops, ds's and sleepy kids. Im thinking I will need a HUGE break come this time tomorrow.

God Bless.