Internet.  It’s important.  Don’t kid yourself.  We finally got internet after almost an entire month living without it on our farm. The absolute worst part of the whole thing……..I have had emotions and stories swirling around in my head like crazy with nowhere to record my thoughts. It’s been kinda like torture, but only for a person who loves to write.

The paragraph below was my Facebook post a couple of weeks ago.  I was forced to post it on Facebook because I couldn’t access my blog without it costing an arm and a leg.

I feel like I’m camping every day.  For some people, this would be a nightmare, but for me it’s a dream come true.  Some of my very best memories with my two children are centered around camping with a group of our close friends from church.  We took our families camping about 3-4 times per year at various state parks, pitched our tents, and had a total blast watching our kiddos play in the woods, eat s’mores, and sit around the campfire until late at night.  It was a special time of friendship and fellowship for all of us.  Then, years later when I married The Outdoorsman, we continued the camping tradition in a travel trailer.  It was an amazing time of bonding for our new little family of five.  I am so grateful for that time we all had together.  The Outdoorsman could be the best campfire maker in the entire world.  He blesses us with his skills in our fire pit and our indoor fireplace whenever it drops below 70 degrees! The scent of the freshly cut oak burning and the warmth of the fire are more relaxing than anything money can buy.

I LOVE the fact that our house doesn’t have central heat because I LOVE the fact that we have a cute little heater in each room of our house.  It’s the little things that have always made me happy.  Call me crazy.  I just love the way the little heaters look in each room.  Two of them have actual fires going and three have “fake infrared” fires going.  Either way, it adds interest to a room.

No matter how stressful or unpleasant your day has been, it all melts away when you are on the farm.  It is nearly impossible to be worried or stressed out when you are looking at the beauty of God’s creation.  To some people,  I am sure our farm looks really ordinary, but to me it is the most beautiful place on earth.  I will never grow tired of walking the trails around the big tank, the small pond, and the tree-lined pastures and watching the dogs run gleefully through the fields.

You can never have enough coat racks or shoe racks on a farm.  I’m pretty sure each person in my family wears 18 coats and 7 pairs of shoes per day!  The number of coats and shoes we have sitting on every flat surface in our house is ridiculous.  We need light coats, windbreakers, heavy coats, hoodies, and parkas on a daily basis.  It’s the wind.  We just THOUGHT living twenty miles from Galveston Island was breezy.  Our little house on the prairie is breeeeeeezy.  I’m pretty sure, if we went ahead and put the chicken coop where we had originally planned, the chickens would be plastered against the back wall throughout most of each day.  We had to make some adjustments with our coop when we realized the strong breeze that blows through the north side of our property. (Did you notice how I cleverly inserted “north side of our property” to let you all know that I am a REAL FARMER now. 😉  Just a month ago, I couldn’t have pointed you to the north side of anything to save my life.  I am now, at least, AWARE of which side of our property is facing the north.  When you are watching sunrises, sunsets, and stars every day, you figure it out!

Country folk.  There’s nothin’ like ’em.  Blast it…..these folks could be the most generous, giving folks in the universe.  I have had total strangers offer to give me just about anything I have mentioned I needed out loud.  I’m almost afraid to say I need anything for fear they will give it to me on the spot.  It is pretty overwhelming and, incidentally, keeps pointing out my obvious lack of generosity in comparison.  I am humbled by the generous, helpful spirit I have seen in the people we have met in our little town.  I am so blessed to have them in my life from here on out.

Our biggest blessing.  I am pretty sure we have seen our three children more in the past month than we have seen them in the past year!  It has been more wonderful than I ever imagined being at least 120 miles closer to all three of our children.  That equates to a whole lot more visiting time with each of them.  It also opens up opportunities to have their friends  come to our farm.  I am already trying to schedule a visit with some of my son’s good friends and a retreat with my daughter’s college friends.

This is why we did this.  Quality time with our children coming on the heels of the total craziness that was our life for the past 5-6 years.  The contrast is remarkable.  The rewards are many.  The blessings are immeasurable.

My gratitude is boundless.