Falling In Love With Country Life

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photo 1i

I've always thought I was a "city girl". I love the energy and accessibility. The people. But now? The "country" has captured my heart. The houses in the city seem so close together. And the traffic so much louder. :)

On Saturday we went out to the farm to drop off our disassembled play structure and ended up staying awhile...chatting and learning more about the property. The photo above is the view from our road looking north. I'm in love.

photo 5e
photo 5e

After reading so many books and blogs about chickens, I found great joy in just sitting and watching our future chickens hanging out. I keep forgetting to ask what breeds they have...so feel free to educate me in the comment section!

I took a little video of our girls for you! :) It's safe to say I'm a little smitten. Can you see our duck?

chick chick
chick chick

I may change my official title to "chicken photographer".

photo 5a
photo 5a

We caught a little glimpse of how different country life is for a child...there is so much to do and see. Lucy was such a big helper and wanted to know everything that was going on. But her favorite spot is still on the trampoline :)

photo 1
photo 1

Here chick chick!!

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photo 1a

This is the official "before" photo of our garden :)

photo 2a
photo 2a

We will be setting up some "work days" soon so that we can get out there and plant and start taking care of everything!

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photo 3a

Our neighboring horse came over to say hello.

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collage 1

More work and play.

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photo 2h

As we pulled out of the driveway, a wave of gratitude and awe swept over me. I am SO READY for this adventure to begin! I want wide open skies and rich dirt under my fingernails. I want roosters crowing and goats playing. Exactly 2 months from today we move in...so for now, I will start by packing boxes. :) Happy Monday everyone!

Farmy Farm Farm + Jesus

keeping chickens
keeping chickens

I have an ABSURD amount of books from the library in my home right now.  So many trips to the library. So much learning. Loving Ashley English.

come to me llama
come to me llama

Yes. This is an actual saved search on my Craigslist app. I cannot even tell you how happy that makes me.

llama love copy
llama love copy

Because...seriously. Who wouldn't want to look at this face every day? I may or may not be stalking the #llama hashtag on Instagram. (photo credit.flickr.swaimbu)

cheese grinder
cheese grinder

After reading Made From Scratch, we took notes from author Jenna Woginrich and headed to the antique store yesterday to search for a few kitchen items that we needed. Her take is that you should first search for older, well-made pieces before dashing off to Target to buy it's plastic, soon-to-break counterpart. I do this at thrift stores, but it was a lot more fun at the antique store :)

nottarget
nottarget

We found a cheese grater to replace our broken one. And a meat tenderizer, a ladle, a spatula, and...drumroll....a Le Creuset lavender pitcher! Eeeeep! :) Everything was really reasonably priced. We will be making many return trips to Front Range Mercantile! Matt had to DRAG me out of there :)

handcrank
handcrank

Oh, and I can't forget my $16 hand crank burr coffee grinder. I would love one of these someday. But this is going to be great for now!

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Screen Shot 2013-03-29 at 10.20.32 PM
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Screen Shot 2013-03-29 at 10.20.14 PM

I'm a little bit in love with this new online magazine...From Scratch. Pretty pictures. Great articles. Instant gratification! It's free and online only...so go check it out!

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Screen Shot 2013-03-29 at 10.19.26 PM

Homesteady goodness.

backwoodshome
backwoodshome

Speaking of magazines...I ordered up some back issues of Backwoods Home on eBay. OH the joy! Total homesteading/survivalist geekery.

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fb

I asked for your advice on Facebook and you delivered! 68 responses to my garden help pleas! :) As of this very moment, I still only have tomato starts and I'm picking up some alpine strawberry re-plants today. The majority of you seem to like Baker Creek Seeds...so I think I might order up the rest of my seeds from there. I cannot WAIT for the warmer weather to stay so I can get out to the farm and put my hands in some dirt! Next on my gardening list is to watch Back To Eden, which several of you  recommended.

jesus calling
jesus calling

My mind continues to be in constant motion. Thoughts of feeding goats, kissing llamas, decorating a new house, and waking up to mountain views all compete for attention with three girls and nursing and cooking and cleaning and packing up our current house. Oh, and throw in working for my parents and excitedly welcoming 10 different guests into our home in April. Woooooo! Life is FULL right now. BUT SO GOOD.

A few days ago in my Jesus Calling book, I was reminded of this big truth (love the words in bold):

Be still in My Presence, even though countless tasks clamor for your attention.  Nothing is as important as spending time with Me.  While you wait in My Presence, I do My best work within you: transforming you by the renewing of your mind. If you skimp on this time with Me, you may plunge headlong into the wrong activities, missing the richness of what I have planned for you.

Do not seek Me primarily for what I can give you.  Remember that I, the Giver, am infinitely greater than any gift I might impart to you.  Though I delight in blessing My children, I am deeply grieved when My blessings become idols in their hearts.  Anything can be an idol of it distracts you from Me as your First Love. When I am the ultimate Desire of your heart, you are safe from the danger of idolatry.  As you wait in My Presence, enjoy the greatest fight of all: Christ in you, the hope of Glory!!

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.  ~Romans 12:2

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. ~Revelation 2:4

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. ~Colossians 1:27

It's so very easy to allow the farm and my busy-ness to become "idols" in my heart. So easy. If I pick up my chicken books and my Backwoods Home Magazine the first thing in the morning before I pick up my Bible...I know that something is out of balance. This week I will be working on RETURNING TO MY FIRST LOVE. Asking for His guidance throughout this process. Walking alongside my Creator, my Father, my Friend.

Have an amazing Easter weekend my friends!

Coming Soon...The Happy Janssen Farm!

on the road We're on the move again! No, not back on the road. Just down the road.

The one year lease at our current house expired a few months ago, and we were free to explore other options. We really do love our current home, but it's on a super busy road and we've known for quite awhile that this was not where we would stay. But try as we would...we just could NOT find a house that felt right. We looked and looked. Set up many, many appointments to go see. But we would continually come home discouraged.

We agreed that God was urging us to pursue contentment for the time being. To become OBSESSED with being content. And all that comes with it. We cultivated hearts of gratitude. We focused on the things about our current house that we LOVED. We rearranged. We painted. We downsized. We waited.

Waited for God to show us HIS plan.

A month ago, Matt showed me a house that seemed perfect for us. Too perfect. But alas, it was for sale and we were looking to rent. I jokingly said we should "see if they want to rent it instead". We forgot about it and went along on our way.

Then, a week later, Matt showed me the same house. Again. This time...it was up for rent.

We sensed a shift. Something magical. God's hand at work.

It's been quite the process, as we were not the only family who thought it would be perfect. But it turns out God's plan is pretty amazing!

WALKING Today we signed the lease for a 1.3 acre farm, just southeast of Longmont. It's only 5 minutes from downtown, but is perfectly pastoral and rural. An oasis of quiet...with expansive mountain views. We've been looking for something like this for about 6 months (and for much longer in our hearts)...a place to grow and learn new skills. Somewhere with outdoor roaming possibilities. A home that is completely different than what we have experienced before.

chicken coop

And this is definitely DIFFERENT! Let's get to the most exciting part first...we get to have ANIMALS! The farm comes with 25 chickens. TWENTY-FIVE. They lay beautiful eggs...enough for us and for friends and family. I am over the moon. I have wanted chickens for so long. SO LONG!

purple hunters

It may or may not be because I want to wear these purple boots while I feed them. :)

Next...my friend Michelle has 2 adorable Nigerian Dwarf goats for us to adopt. Their names? Cloud & Clover. I'm in love. Have you ever seen one? Here they are in all their glory:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4utX4FPOT_E

Here they are (upper right) just after they were born.

goat babies

This is our cute little barn...where the goaties will live: barn And lastly, I've already been looking for a llama to join our crew. Her name shall be Gypsy. Llamas make me so happy. Did you know that they will protect/guard your goat or sheep herd as their own? They will. Check it out.

photo 4 copy The gardens are magnificent. Raised beds in lovely shapes. I've never gardened a day in my life. Well, except when I was young and my parents used "weeding the green beans" as punishment. :) My dad was an amazing gardener back in the day. I'm so thrilled to carry on his gardening legacy. Of course, I'm going to put him to work weeding green beans as soon as he arrives this summer! :) I can't wait to stand next to him with the sun on our backs and discuss tomatoes and garlic.

Now...on to the other goodies:

  • 1700 sq ft...just the right size.
  • 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath (do you know how excited I am to have an extra toilet?)
  • solar panels + passive solar
  • open concept with wood burning stove
  • stone-floored sun room for art and office
  • five burner gas range / dishwasher / huge fridge / granite counters
  • real hardwood floors
  • clay walls in some rooms
  • lovely patios and outdoor dining opportunities
  • apple, cherry, and peach trees
  • a trampoline! the girls will tell you this is their favorite thing...
  • ...and a wood-fired hot tub!

wood fired hot tub

We have felt the pull to open our home up to more hospitality opportunities...from overnight guests to impromptu dinner parties and bonfires. It's been a challenge in our current space to do that, especially with families that have a lot of kids. This home will allow us to spread out a bit more and will be perfect for hosting.

There is also a fair-weather stand alone studio with a bed, kitchenette, and desk for guests. LOVE this. They have hosted many WWOOFers in the past and we would love to continue that.

The property is large enough to house our fifth wheel, and also visiting friends with RV's! We can't wait to have "insta-neighbors" again. Come see us y'all!

I've been in research mode. Big time. I wish there were 105 hours in the day...so I could read more! bookies

I'm so loving "Made from Scratch" and "Barnheart". Such fun reads. "The Dirty Life" is another that I have loaded to my Kindle that I look forward to reading every night!

bookies 2

These are also all fantastic! My mind and heart are ALIVE WITH POSSIBILITY. So much to learn. So much to plan. So much to love.

The countdown is on. We will move out of our current house in 5 weeks, into the RV. And then will move into the house/farm on June 1...just in time for a beautiful Colorado summer!

So there it is. Another life change. But really...

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”

* Helen Keller