Our path- How Our Homesteading Journey Began

The path we end up on in life is often a very interesting and intricate journey. I’m not even sure where to begin our story. I have always leaned towards the more natural/non-conventional side of things in life. Homeschooling, home birthing, cloth diapering ,using herbs and essential oils instead of medicines. Just trying to work with nature rather than against it.

How we got started on this path

Several years ago I found myself doing a lot of research on toxins which led me down the rabbit hole of total natural/healthy living. I have researched everything from foods, to water, to chemical overload and much much more. I was amazed at all of the things we expose ourselves to that can cause a host of health issues including cancer. I looked at my sweet children and knew I had to change our life to reduce those risks as much as possible.

 I tend to be an all or nothing kind of gal so I went full force into a lifestyle change for our family. I threw out anything in our kitchen that was processed and anything that wasn’t organic. I got rid of any type of chemical cleaners we had and began making my own. I got rid of our toiletry items like shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, soaps, anything that wasn’t natural.

I tossed out plastic food containers and opted for glass. I started cooking only in cast iron and stainless steel. We quit using a microwave for cooking, we don’t even own one anymore. We started shopping at farmers markets and natural food stores. We started taking a two hour road trip each month to get raw milk from a farmer.

All of these changes started a new dream in our hearts.  At the time we were living in Florida in a neighborhood. Farmer Derek and I have lived most of our lives in the country so living in a neighborhood was new for both of us. We wanted to be able to grow some of our own food so we planted a garden. We figured it was much cheaper and much safer to grow our own produce. We knew where our seeds came from, and what went into the soil for the seeds to grow. We were able to get cow manure for our compost from the farmer we were getting our milk from. The desire for growing our own food continued to get stronger.

We really wanted to be able to get a farm to have room to raise a large garden, laying hens, meat birds, pigs, beef cows, and most of all I want a dairy cow. We wanted a homestead of our own.

Our family began to miss home in Virginia. Farmer Derek and I were both born and raised here. We missed our beautiful mountains and change of seasons. We loved Florida too. We loved the beaches, our church, and our family there. We were very torn but decided it was time for us to come back home. My parents have a large house and 3 1/4 acres. They were very gracious and let us move in with them.

We had a plan! The plan was to move in with my parents, Farmer Derek was able to work for a friend while looking for a permanent job, once he got a job we would start looking for a farm of our own. It was a great plan. Straight forward and simple, the way I like things.

Well, Farmer Derek was able to get  a permanant job and we started looking for the perfect place. We do have a pretty modest budget since we are a single income family. It has been 2 1/2 years since our search for a farm began and my parents are still so very graciously letting us live with them. This has definitely been a time of learning for us. We have learned patience and we are waiting on God’s timing. We know He has a plan for us and He has a farm for us. He has put these desires in our hearts and we know He will see them through. His promises are new every morning. We have really learned to be content and to do what we can where we are. This brings us up to speed on where we are now. I’ll be posting more on what we are doing now and where we are going.

More posts like this:

Why You Should Grow an Heirloom Garden

How to Get Kids Excited About Homesteading

Our Homestead Goals in 2018

Sometimes Life is Messy