Jones Roots Farmhouse

I wrote these exact words in my prayer journal this morning and it reminded me of when our lives were falling apart 5 years ago.

Broke and a wedge between Nick and I, I wrote on a post it “God uses trials and tribulations to drive us back to the cross and back to our knees”. It was in that broken place and period of our lives where Nick and I found Jesus again, we just didn’t know it was happening.

One of my biggest flaws is pride, in that I overwork myself to get the results I want on MY time. Me. Me. Me.

God has a funny way of reminding us even when we are doing good work that he is still in control.

So in a busy season I wrote this reminder - make me seek you first. Always.

Your timing.
Your plan.
Your way.

Is perfect always.

Don’t let me forget that ♥️🙏🏻

I can send you info if you comment below! ♥️

I started designing unit studies last year that would bring homestead living and these important life skills into the homes of any family? 

Why? 

Because they are the things I wish I would’ve learned in school… why the heck did I take AP calc and not learn how to preserve food and lower food waste, or start a business and define a target demographic?!

Empowering life skills for all ages 👏🏻

So we started creating immersive unit studies that are jam packed with all the things I wish public school would’ve taught me as a child. 

🌽 how to raise chicks
🧑🏼‍🌾where their food comes from
🥕Growing a garden
🫙Preserving food
💼Starting a small business
💵Supporting your local economy
🌽how to preserve eggs
☀️the butchering process & processing a chicken
👩🏻‍🌾the 5 pillars of regenerative agriculture
🐔money management, saving and budgeting
🌈how to make chicken stock
🥖how to bake 10+ traditional breads from across the world
🍽️how to properly measure liquid and dry ingredients
✈️how to travel safely
✒️how to write postcards
🥖the history of bread
😀how to say “hello” in other languages…

Watch Out 🧟‍♀️🧟🧟‍♂️

And darn tootin proud!

Give me a cottage in the woods, my babies barefoot and running free, an iced tea and garden naps please!

Come August we will be swimming in raw milk!

🥀To plant seeds in. To make things grow

We can also add trying to pawn overgrown squash off to all friends, family and coworkers 🤣

And as You speak
A hundred billion creatures catch Your breath
Evolving in pursuit of what You said
If it all reveals Your nature so will I

♥️

Looking for likeminded friends!

And goodness are we getting plenty of those rainy days lately!

Here is a cow running and jumping through our pasture in pure bliss.

A cow that has been on our property for one week.

It hits me like a wave every day, the beauty of this life right outside my door. The slowness of each day as it unfolds and we get to be together as a family, even with all the work I do. The simple joys we get to enjoy each day because I work at home. Homemade meals grown outside our back door. Our first Kentucky garden is blooming… the sweetest lettuce I’ve ever grown ❤️

“Mommy, he’s missin’ his bellwy!”

says my 3 year old about the bottom half of the turtle shell we found stomping through the woods today.

February was first nonstop work, 14 hours days for 2 weeks.

Then February was a time of rest. Finally sleeping the way I should have been the past two years. Establishing new morning routine. Waking up and getting outside first thing, walking up our massive hilled driveway works better than coffee, I assure you. Creating space and time to be in my bible every morning.

Finally creating balance in our life - It’s something I NEED. Something I have to force my workaholic self to do.

So in the past week we slept, rested, talked about God, spent time with friends, found salamanders in our woods, dreamt about our homestead projects this year, discovered an empty turtle shell, splashed in our creeks… praised God. ❤️ cheers to change.

Hi Friends!

I am just seeing all the excitement on Facebook for the Run Back To Your Roots 2024 challenge! I normally don't get so many comments and messages on here but I'm so excited to make new friends here!

For the past two years I have been learning and focusing on one skill area a month. I've shared that with my friends on social media and create a workbook for your to download, follow along or create your own goals. You can find the download at the bottom of our website: Runbacktoyourroots.com All the links are shared on my Instagram an saved in the RBTYR LINKS highlight!

If you are someone interested in guided videos, additional monthly printables, and engaged community of other participants to work with we have a membership website to dive deeper!

Taking granny friend applications ❤️👵🏻👩🏻‍🌾

A few days ago I said to Nick, “I think my heart has healed enough - I think I’m ready for another little snuggly pup”.

The thing is last year we lost Bella, the choroid (Yorkshire terrier x chihuahua mix) that I bought as a junior in high school.

She was my sidekick that followed me everywhere including to college. Literally my little shadow because she was a little balm of anxiety and was afraid of everything including the wind.

She passed last year at 16 years old. And I was heart broken.

So this week after over a year since she passed, I said to Nick “I think I’m ready”. A few hours later I received a phone call from a friend saying he had a basset hound pup available for adoption.

It was a wink from God.

And now we are blessed with Lady.

What I’ve loved so far about our Kentucky farm is that God is filling it perfectly, his way and in his tone. First our two little goat billies, Timothy and Duncan and now Miss Lady.

His way. ❤️

The USPS just sent me a reminder that although they forward mail for a year, magazines are only forwarded for 60 days… meaning like now for us since the move.

Really guys?! Right at the beginning of seed catalog seasons?!

It's been awhile since I've baked a loaf of bread. Between events, traveling to see the new house, packing, moving and unpacking - it was on the back burner. Pun intended?

I’m leaning into two weeks of rest before we jump back into the Run Back To Your Roots challenge for 2024.

First thing! Sandwich bread. A nice fluffy white bread, a Pullman loaf style and then beautiful chewy hoagie rolls.

I’m so excited to start to find a weekly rhythm in this new home.

❤️

Here is your gentle reminder that we all start somewhere.

That coop on the right was our first. It was the best we could afford, leaked from the beginning and by the end of its year long life was falling down. But that first coop taught us so much. That first coop showed us what didn’t work but also allowed us to fall in love with homesteading as imperfectly as it can be.

Do compare your start to someone else’s years in. We all start somewhere my sweet friends ❤️

I can’t people….. unless the peopling includes chatting about gardening, all the things you can do with chicken feet, and a warm cuppa ❤️👵🏻👩🏻‍🌾

Rainbow eggs dreaming 🐔

Between molting, moving and mildly cold temperature the ladies have been slacking lately. Not to mention we gave away chickens before we left Pennsylvania and are rebuilding our flock. The babies we hatched out late Summer should be laying soon! Until then I’ll be daydreaming of when our egg baskets looks like this 👵🏻

We need the hard stuff 😂❤️👩🏻‍🌾👵🏻

The First Few Weeks On The Farm - New Blog Post

But every morning, I look out my back window, and a wave of “this is ours” rushes over me. It’s not all day every day, but it hits me every day. Today I was driving back from the post office, and I was looking at the hay fields dotting the road. I shouted, “Oh my gosh, we did it. We freaking moved to Kentucky. We knew no one and just moved here”, even shocking myself.

- this blog post was more a letter to myself. A reminder of these precious first few weeks in our first home. The good and the bad ❤️

I’ve told Nick countless times through all the hard stuff that is happening right now. HE is still good. GOD is still good. I won’t say he isn’t – I know that’s what the enemy wants. Because amid the crazy chaotic and sometimes sad changes recently….. more on the blog

Comment link if you want to read.

Yes please! ❤️👩🏻‍🌾

I wrote this like a year or so ago, but felt the need to reread it as we are preparing to move and I can easily fall into the trap of wanting everything everything pretty and perfect.

Sometimes those things matter for the soul - and they can be important. But it’s such an important reminder to know you don’t need something pretty for it to be productive. Ugly gardens produce crops. Pallet wood coops still give you eggs.

❤️🥕🌽🐔👩🏻‍🌾🧑🏽‍🌾

Oh are there beautiful moments. Tons.

But there are also messy, dirty, chaotic and stressful moments.

That's okay too ❤️

Forget parties and nights out - I'm looking for friends who want to go thrifting and can jam with me after we hit up our local farmer. Then we can flip through seed catalogs as we listen to our jars pop and seal.

The turkey eggs are always such a surprise, but boy oh boy is collecting them a pain.

You see old turkey lady Virginia doesn’t like laying in the coop. She insists on climbing a small hill, through brush and thick weeds and laying an egg every few days in this obscure place 😂

She makes us work for it for sure.