Appalachia (a-puh-la-chuh)

I feel a slight re-introduction to the blog is needed.  We have had a plethora of changes in our lives over the past year and while I do intend to come back on one day and share the details of that story here, today is not that day.  What I do want to say today is that we moved!  Haha.  We finally realized a dream of ours to purchase land in the country to raise some free range children (and chickens) and also build a more sustainable/self-reliant life.  It has been GLORIOUS!  Really.  It's so much better than I could have imagined.  That's not to say it's not without its struggles.  We have plenty of those.  But overall, this is the life we dreamed of.  And here we are, doing the dang thing!  #blessed.  

We live in the southwest part of Virginia and the central part of Appalachia.  We live in a beautiful valley right on the border between Virginia and West Virginia and it's sooooo different from what we are used to!  Haha.  We have all kinds of critters out here.  Bear, coyotes, copperheads, opossums, racoons, moles, hawks, eagles, deer, etc etc etc.  Some we are familiar with, others, much less so.  We've already had some interesting and scary experiences with some of those that I will have to share soon!  Plus it's hot and humid and there are lots of bugs haha.  But oh my word, we are all obsessed with the fireflies!  In fact just this week they have come out and it. is. magical!  We own 46 acres with about half of that being woodland.  We live along a scenic highway with a creek across the road, and it truly is beautiful.  Every day we wake up and think, "Holy cow!  We live here!"  It's sort of like when you go camping and you wake up and the air is crisp, the birds are singing, and you can hear the faint sound of a stream nearby and you never want to leave.  But it's every day and we don't have to leave!  Dreamy.  Just dreamy. 

Moving away from the only home we knew and our dearest families and wonderful friends was really hard though!  We created an Instagram account to try and document our lives so we didn't feel so far away from everyone, but Instagram has been too much for me lately.  Too much meaning that it was too distracting and time consuming.  It was taking me away from actually living in the present and worst than that, taking me away from my babies.  I wanted to share, but I am not witty and thinking of short somethings to write in a caption felt awkward.  I felt weird pressure to share things in stories, but life was really redundant and boring haha.  Lots of dish doing and laundry, school with kids, and just every day living.  Nothing real special about it.  And lastly I wanted to share so much more than 10 pictures or just tiny snapshots of a day!  Just a few days ago I had an epiphany and I remembered this blog!  Hellooo!  The perfect place to ramble on and on and share as I see fit!  Allowing family and friends to hear more of the story of what's happening here, and watch us and our children grow and blossom into this new life.  And also more fitting to my personality! 🙌 

I do intend to go back and share the story of how we got here and all that has happened up to this point, but I don't want to not start because it needs to be "in order." We'll just let that all happen organically as time goes on.  For now, you get to enjoy the current happenings of our life.  Perhaps even get 'lost in the woods' ;)  Thanks for being here and have a blessed day 🤍

Always waiting for the "honk and wave"

Learning to fish with cousin Bryce

Friendly donkeys at the Boone's

Looooots of rain = lots of fun!

Where the garden will be!

Mother's Day 2023