I can’t believe it has been since December and then March since we have really connected via our Blog. So much has been in the mix that I can’t possibly bore you with one full email getting us caught up-to-date. Instead let’s hit the ground running with where we are right now!

Hum…scatterbrained is where we are right now LOL. We are planning our trip back home to Alaska, wrapping up the end of the season with final building projects and preparing for winter prep that will start the first week of November. We are also planning a retirement party for Anthony and are excited to see family and friends, but this also means that I need to have my house (which we just moved into three weeks ago) unpacked and decorated for the festivities!! It’s a good thing I have (almost) endless amounts of energy and a crew that is thoroughly enjoying —FINALLY living in a house where almost everyone gets their own bedroom. Thankfully even in the thick of moving, homeschooling, soccer practices, and general busier-than-normal “city” life we can escape to the farm.

AHHHH (sigh, breath, relax).…although the farm is also work, it is a breath of fresh air. It is a time when we can pause. From the first moment of unlocking the gate to the entrance of our farm, there is a different kind of peace. Looking across our property and just being able to…..PAUSE….and…..DREAM. Especially now with the beautiful dew that glistens each morning as the gentle mist lifts slowly from the warm earth, rising over the hills.

I wish we had more rain. This has been an extremely dry year which means the pastures are not as lush and full as normal BUT, we are thankful for the dozens of natural springs that are on our property. Anthony’s “welcome home” to-do-list is literally a mile long but our first fun project tackling together is getting the bunnies set up for the winter.

We wanted not just a place they could have both inside and outside access year-round but also a place where school groups could get out of the elements and enjoy resting and playing with the bunnies. We decided to repurpose the old chicken coop that is next to the original 1920’s farm house.

Together we have been deconstructing each board and beam and moving it over to the bunny house. We hope to have enough of the beautiful tongue and groove boards to also use on our new horse barn.

Teamwork. Although this isn’t one of the seven Army values, it is definitely something that each of our children grow up learning from the time they turn one. Even before we had the farm the crew needed to pitch in to care for our horses, help us move across country multiple times, and care for each other during deployments. I do think most of them find the “work” of the farm more enjoyable. In addition to the freedom that our little piece of property provides. While demoing we enjoyed creating stories of the history of the coop. Whoever built it did a wonderful job. It is strong, still today. Did they love their chickens and have them named? Did they raise them for eggs and meat? What breed did they prefer? So many questions and different ideas, as we laughed, while working to repurpose the hard work and story of old into something new, for today.