Very Full

sleeping on the couch

A month ago, before we decided to move forward with the "let's have a farm NOW!" plan, and before we brought home the goats and chickens, and before my sister and her adorable children moved in next door, I would say that our life definitely felt full. And now, now that we are living the new life with the farm animals and the extended family and all of the things that already made our life feel full, I would say that our life feels very full. It's a good kind of feeling. This very full life. There's no room for anything beyond living in the moment, attending to current needs and thinking only an hour or two ahead into the future.

The transition has been smooth, but not without consequence. Zeben is napping again. Farm boy is all tuckered out after spending every morning in the fresh air. And I am back to drinking coffee, after successfully quitting a couple of months ago. And of course there is less time for some things. Like computers and bathtubs and vacuums. But it all feels just fine.

The kids are doing wonderfully with the change, and I find myself dreading having to send them back to school tomorrow, after a lovely weekend at home. I love the flow of our days together, now that they're focused around caring for the animals and working on the land. Today Jaz stacked a cord of wood and Luke spent the same amount of time making a house for a wooly bear caterpillar he found, and both jobs seemed equally important and fulfilling to each boy. The idea of homeschooling becomes more and more appealing as our life continues to fill.

teaching the goats to walk on leads

herding the free-ranging chickens

checking for eggs

telling the goats sweet nothings

making the baby laugh

getting another load of wood

demonstrating goat brushing technique

Tomorrow it is supposed to rain, and as much as I have been thoroughly enjoying the sun of the last few days (with new freckles to prove it!), I am a bit relieved to have an excuse for an inside day. Maybe I'll restore our house to a somewhat livable state once again, and maybe I'll make something that takes more than 15 minutes of preparation for dinner, and maybe I'll finally start working on the quilt for baby Leo. In between checking the chicken coop for eggs, visiting with Chive and Petah, and holding my sweet nephew, of course.