Week 2:

Treasure.

Top 5 things we've learned in week two:

1. Something old can be brought back to it's former glory.

Old lamp found in shed.

Bethany found this little gem with her Dad in the shed along with another piece that was discarded and cast off. With a little elbow grease an over hour of labor of love later~it became something beautiful right next to an heirloom piece Jon's parents gave us years ago that his grandmother embroidered. Both found it's home nicely one of our six fireplaces.  We believe it's from the original dairy farm.

Beauty restored.

2.  1 1/2" of snow can be an hour and half of fun for novices like us. Right? Right. Their feet were frozen and we were not equipped with much, but we loved every minute before the little layer vanished. My girls Reminded me this day to appreciate and enjoy something right then before it's gone. It's okay to stop and enjoy the moment. I watched my girls again experience something so simple and have simple fun outside with very little and come in to enjoy a warm cup of hot cocoa and marshmallows. They can't wait for more snow days to come, but will be better equipped going forward. 

3.  Socks made for south just won't cut it.

Girls showing me the horses they ride for horse back riding lessons.

So when we moved we thought we would be prepared for the cold weather. Jon and I were, but our girls not so much. They truly thought that what they had southern ankle socks were suitable for Ohio weather. Not the case. Week 2 after a snow they discovered that their ankle socks were not going to keep their feet warm, especially when it came to horseback riding. Which by the way, we found a wonderful couple that has been training up for generations just down the road. My girls love the couple: hard work ethics, teaching style, etc. Both godly people who have shown the girls a liking to hard work and great spirit. This warmed not just our feet, but our hearts as well.

4.Don't let your dog chase your cat for fun.  We've already told you that we've chased Sheriff week one. Week two was no different, except Jon was out of town and the girls and I had to capture our pup across the free terrain. This time it was accidental. Sheriff was saying hello to his new friend, Delilah. They both get along okay, except for today, she wanted nothing to do with him, and Sheriff was clueless and so she scattered which made him bolt and one of the girls had to let go of the leash instead of being drug across gravel. A fenced in area has become a priority. 

Sheriff loves his new sweater, and his friend Delilah.

5.Drones in high winds & near tall trees doesn't end well. 35 feet that is where Bethany's drone landed. So high winds are not a great element to learn to control your new drone you received for Christmas. We were proud of their valiant efforts to try to get the drone down from 35 feet. Even I tried and got a good workout.  We had to wait for Dad to return.

Dad to the rescue.

Jon of course was able to go into "rescue mode" and off he went, climbing gear and all.
Girls were watched in awe as they saw their dad conjure up the tree and get the drone down as if it were no bid deal at all.

He later said, it was a lot harder to do this with the high winds. Girls were extremely patient, and very thankful to see the drone was still intact. 

 

Katherine even had the opportunity to help out Dad as Bethany watched over the procedure.  Bethany thought it took a long time. Realistically, I think the whole time was really only about an hour, that is of course not including all of our failed attempts.  

Katherine helping with the rescue.
Bethany looking over her rescued drone.

My favorite part of this whole debacle was the  the fact that Jon took the opportunity to share with the girls the value of learning from this experience.

 Dad in his gear talking about what to do next time.

Week 1:

Down on the Farm 

So we bought a farm. A little over 10 acres in a little town that is close to Cincinnati, Ohio. Close to work and the city, but far enough to be at a slower intentional pace.

Will you join us in prayer over what we are asked to do with this property? We've been given a pretty clear direction so far, but we just don't want to miss the mark.

We girls bought it sight unseen. Most people would cringe at that thought. But when you've got a peace that passes all understanding, you just go with it.  I should preface that we did get a glimpse of our gem, via a face-time walk through courtesy of my husband and lovely realtor and the internet pictures. We all said this is property for us.

We all have boots now.

Top 5 things we've learned all in week one:

1. Old large windows are cool- literally- they leak cold air, allot. Don't worry we've sort of fixed the problem. Windows from the 1850's allow cooled air and hornets to come join in the house.

2. Hornets move reeaall slow ~ Texas style~ in the cold and therefore can be killed easier. We've killed like 3 a day in Bethany's and my room. We're trying to remedy this situation before it warms up.

3. If your bored don't use up precious monthly data, go outside. There is something always to do with on the property. (We've barely even hit the ground running & we feel like we are behind.) Girls are in love with the cat that came with the farm which they fondly named: DELILAH. She is super sweet and loves to be groomed and belly rubbed for a barn cat.

4.Everyday is a good day to wear jeans & boots of some kind. Save the fancy footwear and apparel for going out to the city. Our property is in need of a little TLC because of being overgrown a little, but we will restore it back to it's former glory.

5. Sheriff, our great dane 16 mo. old pup doesn't quite understand what off lead means on his somewhat fenced in and in need of fencing property.  We've had to chase him a couple of times thinking his training collar was charged, but it wasn't. Needless to say that we are walking him on lead until further fencing or training.