About Me
Well...where to begin?
My husband (D) and I grew up running around the countryside of a rural town in northcentral Wisconsin. Both of our grandparents had farms near our houses, and we grew up exploring the farms and all the land that came with it. We went to high school together, where we met and began dating (my freshman year!). After high school, my husband studied to be come a general contractor, built his business, and is now self-employed as a carpenter. I pursued my my dream as well, studying to become an elementary school teacher. Both of us landed good jobs in the city near our hometown, so we moved back home, bought a house on 5 acres near town, and welcomed three beautiful children (C, B, and K) into our family. We really had the perfect American dream, but our hearts continued to yearn for something else.
As we settled into our new life in town, we started to realize some things about ourselves and our situation. It was hard for us to see so many cars on the street when we went for walks at night. It was hard for us to see the lights of our neighbor's houses through the trees. We just weren't used to it, and even with time, we found we just couldn't get used to it. We felt surrounded by people, by noises, by busy roads. We felt trapped on our small 5 acre lot, which is mostly thick balsam trees, where we couldn't explore or go for walks. We found we couldn't plant a garden large enough to feed our family in the small yard that we had without completely destroying the landscaping.
As we began to realize these things, I also started to have some revelations about myself. I love teaching. I have wanted to be a teacher for my entire life. I love the creativity of teaching, the challenge of teaching, and the relationships built through teaching. I love my students and I love my co-workers. I love being a teacher! But after I had my first child, my heart really began to be torn in two. I would drop my baby off at daycare and go to work, only to cry after dropping him off every morning. People told me it would get better, and eventually the routine of it all did become the norm. And then I had another baby. Once again, I found myself crying as I dropped off my babies. I wanted to be the one to hold them, to teach them, to love on them all day. Not just at night- all day. I wanted to be the one to parent them, to discipline them, to change their diapers. I wanted to be their mom full time. Now I have another little one who depends on me. As we look forward to the decisions we're making in our life, I really have to evaluate how much I'm allowing health insurance and money to control my life and what my calling is right now in this season.
In the spring of 2019, a piece of land came up for sale 2 miles from my parent's house and one mile from my grandparent's farm. We toiled over what to do. Do we buy the land and change our whole lives? Do we move 25 miles away from our jobs? Is this a chance for us to make the changes we've been desiring? Or do we just stay put and continue living the way we have been?
After prayer and lots of late night discussions, we decided to purchase the land. We sold our house, and we've now began the journey of building our homestead in the middle of no where. While building our house, our family of five lived in a camper on the land that our home was being built on. In July 2021, we officially moved into our new little farmhouse, and the adventures only continue. We're running on dreams and love right now, and we appreciate you coming along on our journey!
My husband (D) and I grew up running around the countryside of a rural town in northcentral Wisconsin. Both of our grandparents had farms near our houses, and we grew up exploring the farms and all the land that came with it. We went to high school together, where we met and began dating (my freshman year!). After high school, my husband studied to be come a general contractor, built his business, and is now self-employed as a carpenter. I pursued my my dream as well, studying to become an elementary school teacher. Both of us landed good jobs in the city near our hometown, so we moved back home, bought a house on 5 acres near town, and welcomed three beautiful children (C, B, and K) into our family. We really had the perfect American dream, but our hearts continued to yearn for something else.
As we settled into our new life in town, we started to realize some things about ourselves and our situation. It was hard for us to see so many cars on the street when we went for walks at night. It was hard for us to see the lights of our neighbor's houses through the trees. We just weren't used to it, and even with time, we found we just couldn't get used to it. We felt surrounded by people, by noises, by busy roads. We felt trapped on our small 5 acre lot, which is mostly thick balsam trees, where we couldn't explore or go for walks. We found we couldn't plant a garden large enough to feed our family in the small yard that we had without completely destroying the landscaping.
As we began to realize these things, I also started to have some revelations about myself. I love teaching. I have wanted to be a teacher for my entire life. I love the creativity of teaching, the challenge of teaching, and the relationships built through teaching. I love my students and I love my co-workers. I love being a teacher! But after I had my first child, my heart really began to be torn in two. I would drop my baby off at daycare and go to work, only to cry after dropping him off every morning. People told me it would get better, and eventually the routine of it all did become the norm. And then I had another baby. Once again, I found myself crying as I dropped off my babies. I wanted to be the one to hold them, to teach them, to love on them all day. Not just at night- all day. I wanted to be the one to parent them, to discipline them, to change their diapers. I wanted to be their mom full time. Now I have another little one who depends on me. As we look forward to the decisions we're making in our life, I really have to evaluate how much I'm allowing health insurance and money to control my life and what my calling is right now in this season.
In the spring of 2019, a piece of land came up for sale 2 miles from my parent's house and one mile from my grandparent's farm. We toiled over what to do. Do we buy the land and change our whole lives? Do we move 25 miles away from our jobs? Is this a chance for us to make the changes we've been desiring? Or do we just stay put and continue living the way we have been?
After prayer and lots of late night discussions, we decided to purchase the land. We sold our house, and we've now began the journey of building our homestead in the middle of no where. While building our house, our family of five lived in a camper on the land that our home was being built on. In July 2021, we officially moved into our new little farmhouse, and the adventures only continue. We're running on dreams and love right now, and we appreciate you coming along on our journey!
