Homesteading

definition: a lifestyle of simple self-sufficiency.

Doesn't that sound peaceful? That is my "goal" or "dream" or whatever you want to call it.  Now that we are in a new year, I wanted to make some changes, some new, some old. These last 3 years have been crazy for us. I think we got used to living in chaos . It seemed as though we were always waiting for something. Waiting for referral, waiting to travel, waiting for Cameron's parents to make up their mind, waiting for another referral, waiting to travel again, and waiting for things to calm down and for Bee and I to bond. Just to think of all the things we went through these last few years just exhausts me. When Bee came home, it really threw me. I didn't expect things to be that hard. Hard being a mom to 2 kids, hard being a mom to a child that I didn't give birth to, hard being myself and having the time and the patience to do things that were important to me. I got lost in the chaos. My best friend said to me the other day that some people get so used to living in chaos that when it leaves they create it for themselves because they don't know how to live any other way. Man, was that true for me. So I am making a choice to live in peace this year and to get back to the things that are important to me.

So what does that mean? Well you all know that I'm a "tree hugger", well at least that's what my husband calls me. I love to do things from scratch, I love to cook, I love to recycle and reuse things.  But when Bee came home all that stuff kind of went out the window because I was so stressed out. I stopped using cloth diapers, I stopped cooking, stopped baking, stopped sewing, stopped doing everything that really made me happy. I was seriously having sewing withdrawals. Then Christmas came and after it was over we realized that with our new budget, after adding another child to the family, that we couldn't give as much or to as many as we had wanted. So Jesse and I made a decision. This year, 2011, we will be making all of our gifts. Sounds crazy right?  The thought of it makes me really happy. I thought back to all the times that someone made me a gift and how much it had meant to me, even if it was something simple. We have asked our family to also do the same for us, and if they can't make something we are asking them to search for things that are used.  Riley's favorite toy that he got for Christmas was a huge castle set that my in laws got for him for $5 at a garage sale. It is the coolest thing. Not only do we know that this decision will save us money and allow us to give to more people, but we think it will do a lot for Riley. He has gotten used to "getting" things all the time and we wanted to teach him about giving back. He has found an interest in art and we want him to make things for gifts to his family.

Back to homesteading, there is another goal of mine. I have had lots of trouble this year with my garden. We have had 3 freezes in the last 6 weeks and they have once again killed everything in the garden. So I decided that maybe my garden was too big to take care of. We replanted everything into one box and I was amazed at how much I could actually fit in it. I'm really excited about it because it is relatively easy to take care of now. The plants are mulched with pine straw so the weeding should be minimal. And when the next freeze comes, I shouldn't have a problem covering everything . 

I started cooking and baking again and it has really made me feel better. Riley has also found an interest in cooking and I signed him up for a cooking class that starts this week. I have always wanted to raise my kids on a farm since I little . I dream of waking up in the morning and going outside to feed the chickens and gather eggs for breakfast, pet the goats and watch the pig roll around in the dirt. So this year I want to finally get chickens. I will start with layers for the eggs and next year maybe get some meat birds. I have picked out an area in the yard that we'll have to clear for the coop and the run. Eventually  I would love to have 2 goats and a pig. I found a local butcher that will take care of the dirty part with the pig.  A pig would feed us all year long. I know some of you are cringing right now, but I love the idea of raising my own food. Knowing where it came from and how it was treated is a big deal to me. For me it's not just about the food though, it's the experience that my kids will get out of it. You can learn about everything on a farm. Life, Love, Responsibility, Death, and so much more.  So that is my dream. To be self sufficient and to provide a healthy environment for my family.

On the Bee front, I know you are waiting for an update. The screaming has not stopped, in fact sometimes it is worse. But overall she is doing really well. She is so smart and her personality is only upstaged by her appetite. I'm not kidding, this girl could give Kobayashi a run for his money. She LOVES food and even gets really excited when I look at a magazine or cookbook with pictures of food in it. She's come along way from the little girl who refused everything except her bottle. She loves to dance and is quite good at it. She is saying more words and babbling what sounds like Korean. She laughs at everything. She is an amazing little girl, but don't tell Riley I said that. He is still having a really hard time sharing the attention. Some days he likes her and other days he wants to send her back. Most of the time he wants to send her back. Luckily she takes a pretty long nap and that has allowed me to spend alone time with Riley which helps.

So that's it for this marathon post. I have tons of pictures but haven't downloaded them off my camera yet. I will post them soon.