Living Life

Look at us... all prettied up...15 years ago.

I have since ripped this dress trying to squeeze my mom body into a size 2 and the dog ate Greg's tie... I wear less make-up these days and he wears overalls and a straw hat...we have added grey hair, a few laugh lines, 3 kids, and acres of memories.

We are not natural planners, thankfully, because we couldn't have planned this life even if we tried. There is not a fight, a disappointment, a loss, we would change. Each moment is a memory. Each challenge draws us closer. Each day is part of a bigger story.

We like to think we live life a little left of the norm and we pray other's can enjoy a marriage as whole as ours.  Our marriage is not perfect. It is not the marriage by which to measure your's.  Our parenting is not textbook worthy, but our kids are amazing humans despite our sarcasm and flaws. Our life isn't for you, but our joy is. We want you to have this same joy.

How did we get here, you ask? God brought us here. It is by His grace and His love that we stand here today... make-up off, soul bared, and living life honestly.

So it is from this place we will start sharing the wisdom gained from living, loving & serving...I hope the posts that follow will inspire you to let go, experience a simpler life, & live in His plan.

This is not about the Sharp Life, this is about your life. Time to live it.

Farmers Vacation too

It's April. I gave up, called uncle, and booked our farm family on a two week camping adventure in the sunny southern USA. We left our farm beasts with 2 very "equipped" farmer wannabes, packed out trailer and fled the snow.

What do farmers talk about and do on vacation? Talk about how much they miss our beasts... and swim. Oh, and laugh. I have laughed so hard i shed tears...at the expense of a child... oh her life is full of epic moments.

We've learned a lot too... home is safe and the world is not always ready for the weirdness we embrace... but it hasn't stopped us from being who we are and living for Him. Glad that we could "be the nicest white people" an 8 year old girl has ever met. Proud we could stand up to a man openly disgusted with our family. Thankful His grace surrounds us.

We've met new friends, burned our skin, & planned spring projects for the farm... and ate poorly. Donuts anyone?

This may be the close of our family's epic camping adventures as we plan future trips to more distant lands,  but the laughter and joy will ring in our trailer and through our pics for years to come.

Here are some snap shots of our adventure so far.

6 months of living the dream

We are in the middle of our first winter on The Sharp Life Homestead... January. Its freezing out there. I am a palm trees and coconuts kinda girl, so i have taken to knitting by the fire. Knitting and rocking in a chair that hasn't seen much use since our first tiny human was born in 2003. Rocking, knitting, and dreaming of green grass and fresh dirt... I am also doing a lot of...

 

"This is crazy, Sharpie! We don't know how to farm!! What have we done?!?"

 

What have we done, you ask? We bought a farm.

Do we have experience?  Nope.

Do we have a secret stash of cash? Nadda.

What do we have?  .... vision and faith...and hopefully a wee bit of pixie dust.

 

After 15+ years of dreaming and planning we took a leap of faith, knocked on a door (literally) and shabam, bought a little peace of hill billy heaven.  We don't know what we are doing, but thanks to youtube, kijiji, and a few good friends we are off and running...maybe running isn't the best word, off and... giggling. Yup laughing really hard.

 

First foray into homesteading was to set up a chicken coop. Six months in and i would consider us chicken hoarders. Yup. We have 55+ chickens that together lay 4 dozen eggs a week... do the math with me folks... thats less than an egg a week per hen... i think we are doing something wrong...Here are my theories:

1. The hens are mourning the loss of their 10 rooster brothers. Don't even ask about that day...shivers. Rooster stew anyone?

2. Perhaps our pretty hens are still living in fear from the vicious acts of mink terrorism that took 5 of their sisters.

3. My final theory... the hens, like me, are just not winter producers...instead focusing on eating to build a nice layer of insulation.

Regardless of the reasons why, bottom line is that eggs are not a good income stream...  Good thing i have my suit job. It feeds these hungry beasts... not to mention those hay burners in the farm yard...apparently no homestead is complete without a moody donkey and her 2 horse friends.

But despite what these hungry animals are doing to our wallets, i am in awe of what He has given us...

 

We have a place to teach our kids some real life lessons. We have the earth to feed our bellies good food. We have forests and fields for our kids and their friends to explore. We have a warm house to hide from the winter chill. We have a place that will be used to serve and feed His sheep (both human and sheep sheep). We have a calling, now to answer that call...

 

The journey will be hard, but, we are The Sharps... we will find the joy and you will find comedy in our adventures.

 

Some days i will post recipes, maybe pictures, maybe a tale from The Book of Sharp... hopefully you will stick with us and maybe you will grow a little bit too.