It has been five years to the day since we moved to the farm. It is the longest we have ever lived in one home. That may sound insane, considering we are in our late 30s, but that was youth ministry life. Scott and I have lived in eight different homes/apartments in our sixteen years of marriage.

Five years ago, we moved into this 150+ year old home. There was nothing else on our section of the property except a shed and a lot of grass with this beautiful home. We converted that shed into a make-shift chicken coup and put in a 4X12 foot raised bed for our garden during our first year. Now, we have over a thousand square feet of garden space and a coop we built from the ground up. We also have a mobile chicken tractor that Scott and the girls built for our younger birds to live in until they are big enough to live with the big hens. There have been three fruit trees planted and many berry bushes. We have preserved so much food. We have had so many heart aches and setbacks, but have seen so many victories and learned so many lessons.

To say that this place has been life-changing would be an understatement. We have healed here. Our children are so much happier here. Goodness, our entire family is happier here. We’ve hosted so many meals under this roof and had sweet times of fellowship. We’ve hosted several parties from small to insanely large. We’ve had silly dance parties and played endless board games. We’ve had fights and shed a lot of tears. I have spent a lot of time with God while working or just relaxing in the garden. This place is a visual testimony of God’s goodness in our lives. I hope that HE is what people see when they look at all of this.

When I was a kid, my dad would make a meal that he called “beans, beans, and meat”. It was two different types of canned beans, and ground beef. We would gobble it up. I still made it as an adult for quite a while also because it was such a nostalgic meal.

We have grown some beans for drying and storing the past couple of years. Last year, we grew a variety called good mother stallard beans. They are a beautiful, deep purple and cream color when they’re fully dry. It’s a large bean that gets so velvety when cooked. This year, we’ve lined almost the entire 40 foot north end of our garden in these vining bean plants, and I can’t wait to see how much we get squirreled away from them to eat over the next year.

I wanted to share my version of “beans and meat” with you. Obviously, there’s only one kind of bean instead of two.

Instant Pot Beans and Meat

1 yellow onion- diced
2 Tbsp avocado oil or animal fat
1 lb ground beef
4 cups bone broth or stock
1 lb of dried good mother stallard beans (you will want to soak these overnight)
1-2 cans of green chiles (depends on how spicy you like your food)
2 tsp oregano
4 T minced garlic
2 bay leaves
2 T maple syrup (optional, I just felt like it needed a hint of sweet)
salt and pepper to taste

1. The day before, put your dried beans into a bowl and fill the rest of the way with water. The beans are going to double in size, so make sure you have extra room in your bowl and plenty of water. When it’s time to make your beans, strain all of the water off.
2. Turn your instant pot to the sauté function and add your oil. Once the oil is heated up, add your diced onion. Stir it often until your onions are translucent.
3. Add your ground beef and cook until browned. I like to add my salt, pepper, and garlic at this stage.
4. Add in the rest of your ingredients to the pot. Stir them up and put the lid on.
5. Set your instant pot to cook on high pressure for an hour and a half. Let it naturally release the pressure.
6. Remove the bay leaves. Spoon into bowls or onto a baked potato and enjoy!
I like to add some sour cream on top. This recipe fed my family of five with a small bowl left over.

This recipe isn’t fussy. It’s also super budget friendly. The meat could be left off if you’re in a pinch. You can use whatever onion you have on hand. Dried pinto beans would work well in this recipe. You can add fresh, chopped peppers to your “beans and meat”. The sky is the limit. I hope you try them out and let me know what you think!

I have shouted my love for Toups and Co skincare from the rooftops for years now. They are currently having their spring sale. You can use the code SPRING24 to buy one, get one for 20% off now through April 8.

Toups and Co. is a clean skincare line that Emily started when her daughter was experiencing a lot of skin problems. She couldn’t find anything that she felt good about using on her family, and Toups and Co. was born. They use pure tallow and the cleanest ingredients.

I know that it can be a pricey investment. However, this is ALL that I use on my face, and I only order twice a year. That’s how long everything lasts me– sometimes even longer! Plus, my skin has never been better. If you know me, you know that I very rarely wear makeup. I’m pretty minimalist when it comes to my routine.

My ABSOLUTE must-haves that I subscribe to get every six months are the frankincense tallow balm, the charcoal bar soap, and mascara. I also have their lipstick for dance recitals. It goes on so smooth and creamy and is so moisturizing. Scott carries the tallow stick with him and uses it on his knuckles at work a lot. It’s amazing and I need to get myself one. The tinted lip balm is such a pretty and subtle color along with their cream cheek tint. The vanilla almond tallow balm smells like birthday cake. The spring one is the most heavenly floral scent. Basically, I’ve never found a product that I don’t like and they also came out with a men’s line recently!

Head over to their shop and check out their incredible products. If you give them a try, please let me know how you like them!

It is almost garden season! I have a shelf of seed starts going in my kitchen, and will soon have even more. I thought that I would share my favorite gardening tools while the season is getting going!

Bootstrap Farmer seed pots— These are pricey, but will last you forever. No more flimsy seed starting pots that fall apart after a season! These are SO well made, we’re going into our third season using them. We have had the 2.5 inch pots for years and just invested in the 3.3 inch pots this year.

Grow Lights— Once we implemented grow lights in our seed starting, everything changed. Our seedlings have been so much stronger and grown so much better. You CAN get by without them, but it does make a big difference if you can afford it!

Plant Markers— These are really good quality and the perfect size for tucking into your seed pots. They work well outdoors, too. If you’re a fan of color coordination, like I am, the colors are a bonus.

Watering Can— We don’t have any irrigation setup in our huge garden. We lug the hose all over and water everything by hand. I really like this watering can and have had it for several years.

Greenstalk— I purchased our greenstalk last year during an amazing sale. It is the best for vertical growing. We are filling ours with everbearing strawberry plants, and it works so well. We did put a six foot long rebar into the ground through the center so that our winds didn’t blow the greenstalk down. A lot of people do not have to go to that lenght the keep it upright. I’d really like to add another to our garden this year for lettuces. They are going to have a new basketweave greenstalk coming out in a few weeks. Keep your eyes peeled! They always do some kind of sale near Mother’s Day.

Plant Ruler— This makes planting so much simpler if you care about proper spacing. You will have happier and healthier plants if you space them well.

Plant Shears— I love these barebones shears. They’re sharp and clean up really easily, plus they’re pretty. I find that having pretty things makes the work more enjoyable.

Seed Trays— Again, these are pricey, but well worth the investment. You can carry your seed starts back and forth without fear of your tray cracking and spilling all of your hard work.

Kneeling pad— Listen, these knees aren’t what they used to be. A cushion under them when pulling weeds for hours has become necessary.

Hori Hori Knife— Full disclosure, this is at the top of my wish list. I don’t own it yet. You can use it to dig holes for planting, cutting fruit off the vine, and so much more. I love the quality and beauty of Barebones items.

Roo Garden Apron— Scott got this for my birthday last year, and I love it so much. Not only am I keeping my clothes clean, but I can fill up the pouch with my harvest when I inevitably forget to grab a basket. Then, I can go inside and pour it all out onto the counter, or onto our outdoor washing table. There are pockets to hold my shears, phone, etc. also.

I want to say that you do not NEED fancy equipment to garden. You need seeds, dirt, and water. Having the extras does make it more enjoyable and often easier. I ask for a lot of these things for my birthday, and I save up gift cards from the “cash back” apps that I use. It does not have to be an expensive undertaking.

Are you gardening this year? What are you most excited to grow?

Happy February, friends! We survived January. I really was starting to wonder if I would make it through. We had nothing but fog and clouds for the entire month. But, the sun rose today and we could see it. It is currently shining into my windows and it will be unseasonably warm today. Goodness, how I needed this!

February is the month that we start our very first seeds. Onions! Broccoli! Cabbage! Oh, my! I am itching to get into the garden. We expanded quite a bit. I’m not great with measurements, but I think it’s somewhere around another 20X40 foot garden bed. But, don’t quote me on that. We have some really fun plans to make it even more whimsical and inviting. It will also be a little more private and not so exposed to the road, which will be nice.

We went to the farm store and bought some soil for starting our seeds and, of course, some more seeds. I have plans to add a lot of flowers to the garden this year. They add so much beauty and attract the pollinators, which is very needed in an area with such heavy pesticide use. My big dream is to be able to put flowers out on our farm stand this year also. But, we will see what happens.

Food preservation is obviously a big pull of ours this year. Maybe more-so than in the past. There is a large group of people that feel the need to “get their house in order”. We are some of them. But, we also really want to get more adventurous in how we eat the food from the garden. I love root veggies, and often eat them raw. But, there are so many other ways that you can cook up these delicious veggies.

Jessica Sowards from Roots & Refuge said to create pinterest boards over the winter of vegetable recipes. That way, when you are swimming in turnips, you can go right to your turnip board and have loads of inspiration for ways to cook them instead of having them go to waste. On our farm, nothing goes to waste because it’s fed to the chickens or feeds the compost pile, but we still want to eat as much as we can. I love this idea and really need to put it into practice while we are still waiting. It’s not too late.

Are you wanting to start a garden this year? My biggest resource for learning about the garden has been Jess, whom I mentioned above. She LOVES the garden and shares information is a way that I can understand. She also wrote a book that I HIGHLY recommend called The First Time Gardener. It’s SO well written and full of really good information. I think that everyone should grow something, even if it’s a pot of basil on your windowsill. There’s something so magical about putting a seed in the dirt and watching it sprout and eventually feed your people. Or, if you love flowers, seeing the beauty of it burst forth.

I love the garden. I really cannot wait to get my hands in the dirt. Although, we are still pulling carrots out of the garden to eat fresh. Can you even believe it?! Scott just dug up more yesterday.

All of that being said, I know that in July I will be longing for some rest. So, I will try my best to soak up these last couple of months of slow. We’ll play lots of board games and read lots of books. Then, it will be go time and the world will be bursting with color again.

Hold on, friends. It’s coming!

Back in January, I started waking up in extreme pain. It was terrible. Getting out of bed was so painful, and it would get worse as the day went on. I was fighting tears when I’d go to bed at night. I have some sort of undiagnosed autoimmune disease– suspected that I have hashimoto’s. But, that is a whole other long, frustrating story. I decided that I was going to cut gluten out of my diet to see if that helped at least reduce the inflammation in my body. Within a month of going gluten free, the pain was gone. I started getting regular chiropractic adjustments, which has also helped. I did NOT want to give up gluten. I love baking bread. I love eating bread. You have to understand the amount of pain that I was in to reach this point.

It has been nine and a half months. If I have accidentally consumed any wheat, I have regretted it. I recently decided that I wanted to make an einkorn flour sourdough starter, and give that bread a try. Einkorn is a very low gluten flour. Sourdough breaks the gluten down and makes it even easier to digest. My starter was ready, and I whipped up a batch of sourdough bagels. I ate a fresh bagel, and so far everything has been ok. This will be a game changer for me! Einkorn also has a great protein content. It is so nutritious and has this amazing buttery flavor. I hate gluten free flours because it is all starches and fillers.

I wanted to share my recipe for einkorn bagels with you.

Ingredients:
dough:
1/2 cup active einkorn sourdough starter
1 cup filtered water
2 Tablespoons maple syrup (honey or sugar would be ok)
2 teaspoons of salt
4 cups of all-purpose einkorn flour

*For boiling- water, 1 Tablespoon brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon baking soda

Makes- 8 bagels

You will want to start with active einkorn sourdough starter that has risen and is nice and bubbly. If it floats on the water, you are all set. Honestly, I’ve used starter that didn’t quite float and it turned out ok.

Put all of your dough ingredients into your mixer, and mix it until it’s combined. This dough is thick and stiff. If you mix by hand, you’ll probably need to get it out of the bowl and knead it to get the flour incorporated all the way. Place your dough in a bowl and cover it with a towel. Leave it to ferment overnight in a warm place. I like to turn my oven light on and put the dough inside overnight. Just make sure to leave a note on the oven to NOT turn it on. (Ask me how I know.) If you need more time before baking, you can put it into the fridge to deal with whenever you get a chance. You do not have to bring the dough to room temperature after refrigerating before moving to the next steps.

When you’re ready to make your bagels, lightly flour your counter and place the dough on it. I like to use a bench scraper to cut the dough into eight equal pieces. You can use a knife or your hands to tear the dough into pieces. There are two ways to shape your bagels, and either one is just fine. You can roll your dough piece into a snake, just like playing with play-doh and twist the ends together to create your circle. If you prefer, you can roll your dough piece into a ball and pierce a hole with your thumb. Gently stretch the hole until it’s about two inches wide. Place your shaped bagel onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I like to put a tiny bit of oil on the parchment, because the bagels do stick to it. Continue doing this until you’ve shaped all of your bagels. Cover your baking sheet with a towel to let the bagels rest for a little bit while you get the oven preheating and water boiling.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Fill a large pot with water and put your baking soda and brown sugar into the water. Once the water is boiling, drop 2-3 of your bagels into the water. They will sink to the bottom of your pot at first, and then float to the top. Once they’ve floated to the top, remove the bagels with a slotted spoon and place them back onto your baking sheet. Continue doing this with all of your bagels. Do not skip this step. This is what gives bagels that delicious flavor and chewy texture. If you want to top your bagels with anything– cheddar cheese, everything but the bagel seasoning, etc.– do this after taking them out of the water. My kids love when I sprinkle shredded cheese on top.

Once the oven has finished preheating, and your bagels have all taken their baking soda baths, put them in the oven. Cook for 20 minutes, or until they are a nice, golden color.

These bagels are so delicious fresh from the oven, or toasted up at a later time. We also love to eat them as sandwiches. They freeze wonderfully, too!

If you try them, let me know what you think!

Hello, my friends. Our family has been so busy with the homestead and life that I haven’t taken the time to write.

The garden is slowing down and we are nearing our first hard frost. Having labored through the past 8+ months, I am so ready for the slower months. I love the garden, but I’m never too sad to see it go at the end of the season. Then, February rolls around and I am itching to get my hands in the dirt again. It’s a beautiful cycle.

The last several weeks have been full of preservation. Through the summer, we decided to freeze our tomatoes so that I wasn’t canning on 90 degree days and heating up the house even more. Now that it has cooled off, we’ve been pulling them out and processing them. I only make tomato sauce with our tomatoes. Tomato sauce can be used to make pasta sauce, ketchup, etc. We don’t really enjoy stewed tomatoes. Preserve what YOUR family eats, not what you think you should preserve. It takes far too much time and work for you to end up dumping your food years from now.

Every year, we get a buschel of seconds apples from the local orchard to turn into applesauce. We got 15 1/2 quarts of sauce this year! I’m really considering trying to pick up another to make some more to make it through a year without having to buy any from the store.

In the years past, I have missed out on so much preservation because I felt like I didn’t have enough to make it worth the work. This year, I have truly embraced “every bit counts”. My dehydrator has been running quite often. I’ve actually taken to preserving clearance grocery store produce. I have 24 pints of grape jelly (that cost me $10!) , tons of dehydrated mushrooms, potatoes, etc. all snagged from the markdown section at the grocery store. Bargain bin preservation is nothing to sneeze at. I reach for things that I cannot or do not currently grow on my own farm. This is a great option for those of you who want to preserve food, but don’t have the space or ability to garden.

Our preservation game has changed completely since we added a pressure canner to our toolbox. This was a huge priority for us to get since pressure canning is the only safe way to preserve low-acid foods. I’ve been able to can green beans, bone broth, meat, etc. Filling up the shelves with shelf-stable, nourishing food for my family has been such a gift.

We are working on expanding the garden again next year. Each year, we evaluate and expand or stay as is. We’ve been filling the garden up each year, and have expanded again and again. We also have been given permission to do some pretty exciting things. But, we are prayerfully considering what is best to do. Will you pray with us? I know how vague that is, but God knows.

We have worked like dogs this year. We have loved it. We will eat like kings this winter. Homesteading is such an incredible way of life. Digging in the dirt and seeing tiny seeds turn into huge plants that bear so much fruit shows me how incredible God is. He designed all of these things. I also understand even more what the Bible means when it discusses pruning. (John 15:2-6 for example) I know that it will never make sense to those outside, but the gardening and homesteading have brought me so much closer to the Lord. Remind me of this during our first ice storm when I’m layering up and going out to break up the ice for the animals to have water. 😉


**Note– I remove the rings on my jars after they have cooled; before putting them on the shelf. This allows for me to know right away if we have a false seal.

I can’t believe that my Harper girl is nine years old already. Time has flown by. She is pure sunshine and joy. Harper is the silliest and sweetest little girl you’ll meet. I’m so blessed to be her mama! She giggled at every question asked and there was a lot of shrugging. I love her so much.

1. What is your favorite color?  blue

2. What is your favorite toy?  uh. *lots of giggles* I don’t know.

3. What is your favorite fruit? blueberries and strawberries

4. What is your favorite tv show or movie? *shrugs* I don’t know.

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?  macaroni, chicken nuggets, pizza lunchables (we make our own.)

6. What is your favorite game? I don’t know.

7. What is your favorite snack? I think sourdough crackers.

8. What is your favorite animal? All of them.

9. What is your favorite song?   *shrugs*

10. What is your favorite book?  I think “The King of the Birds” series.

11. Who is your best friend?   *shrugs*

12. What is your favorite cereal?  cookie crisp

13. What is your favorite thing to do outside? hold chickens

14. What is your favorite drink? water

15. What is your favorite holiday?  I think my birthday.

16. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Sometimes nothing. Usually I bring a playaway upstairs.

17. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  I think donuts.

18. What do you want for dinner on your birthday?  pizza!

19. What do you want to be when you grow up?  I don’t really know.

20. What makes you feel happy?  *shrugs*

21. What do you like about yourself? that I’m good at catching chickens.

I wanted to share some of the deals happening on items that we use and LOVE in our home.

LODGE enameled dutch ovens are 55% off. (Mine is only the 5 Qt.) I use this non stop in the cooler months, and still often in the warmer months. Whether it is for sourdough bread or delicious soup, I love mine. Now is a great time to snag one. I love this navy blue and honestly wish it were in my budget to get this one in this size. haha! There’s many color options.

Pyrex glass food storage— my fridge is full of leftovers nestled in these containers. Love them! Microwaving your food in plastic containers leaches so many chemicals into your food.

This spiral egg rack sits on our counter and stores our eggs. It’s so cute, and looks so pretty with all of our colorful eggs on it. 🙂 Note– you can only store fresh eggs at room temp. Eggs from the store have been washed, which removes the bloom and allows bacteria to enter the egg.

This banneton set comes with everything you need for making sourdough… and some things that you don’t NEED, but are super nice to have.

This tea pot is so pretty and hasn’t rusted in all of the time I’ve used it. We drink hot tea almost every evening.

These are my absolute favorite wash cloths.

This little waffle maker is a workhorse in my kitchen.

This pullman loaf pan is the size of a storebought loaf. It’s great for making our week’s worth of bread.

I recently upgraded to this instant pot, and really love it.

Honorable mentions that I don’t have but are on my wish list–

I’ve drooled over this dehydrator for so long. It’s over half off today! What a deal!!!

Oh, this garden. There has been so much love, blood, sweat, and tears put into this space. We’ve been in a drought for months. Last week, we were finally forecasted rain. But, not just rain. A massive storm with 80+ MPH winds and huge hail is what was barreling towards us. I went outside and took a video of my garden. I just knew it was all going to be destroyed. I walked through the garden and prayed over it. I begged God to spare it.

The storm came in like a freight train. Limbs were immediately ripped off of healthy trees. I sat inside feeling sick to my stomach. We are so close to the abundance that will be coming from the garden. I went outside when the worst had passed, and I couldn’t believe what I saw. It was completely untouched. We had a huge mess to clean up everywhere else, but the garden looked as though nothing had happened. I wept. Thank you, Jesus. We also kept our power when most of the closest town was without for DAYS. We were so blessed.

Every animal was also safe, which was a huge blessing. We just had to make some minor repairs to one of the runs. Most importantly, all of the people were safe.

This storm hit just a few days before we hosted all of our friends for a Fourth of July party. The kids helped us clean up all of the limbs and branches that were thrown everywhere. We had such a huge turnout for our party. It’s amazing to me that just a few years ago I was feeling so lonely. I longed for deep friendships for myself and my children. God heard those prayers and answered them in the mightiest way. We ended up with a group of over 70 people. Our friends and the friends of my children. Isn’t God just SO good?!

I have so much to be thankful for. I will sing of His goodness forever.