Resolution

The New Year is a powerful time.  I'm not a believer in waiting to make "resolutions" you don't plan on following through with, but I am a goal setter, and there's something about the beginning of a year that wipes your slate and fills you with a feeling of confidence to shape the days ahead of you.  To make a list and take joy in checking items off when you conquer your goals. It's also a time to reflect on the year that has passed.  For us, it was a busy one, full of change, challenge, and creation.  I'd like to think we are just getting started..... Cam came up with a good priority list for springtime homesteading: garden, chicken coop, and root cellar.  I am so looking forward to getting chickens again; eggs from the store just don't compare, and who doesn't like baby chicks!  A garden will be a bit of a learning curve around here, learning what grows well, how to manage the heat, and how to make water stretch as far as possible.  Possibly some fencing too, if my farm hand has time, but I'm trying to be patient and not push my luck! 

Christmas was magical for the kids this year... Santa was a hit to say the least, and the childhood awe that filled our little ones, filled our hearts.  Our favorite memory of this Christmas was after Bear came out to the living room to find that Santa had indeed visited our home, he went straight to the wood stove (not burning at the time), opened the door and looked right up the chimney; this little guy is sharp!  It was a quiet day on the home front, different from our usual travels around the county.  The kids and I did journey over the pass for a few days to make the rounds at home.  It was a busy few days, but nice to catch up with family.  Although it's not the most popular decision at times, I feel confident in our move, and confident that we will press forward.

While me and the kids were away socializing Cam was working hard as always.  By himself, over the course of a couple days he built stairs up to the loft and another room for the kiddos.  Despite his curses over the stairs, his finished product was brilliant as usual.  It may seem like a simple improvement, but this has provided us with one further step in the evolution process.... EASY BEDTIME FOR MOM!!!!!  Simple pleasures like being able to put Kendyl to bed and walk away, instead of sit in the trailer and make sure she goes to sleep and doesn't crawl out of her bunk.  Humans were equipped with brains and thumbs to make these improvements and prevent moms and dads from wacking themselves with a frying pan.  Just kidding folks... for the most part! They are still sharing a room, and Barrett's mattress is under the stairs in his very own "BEAR CAVE."  Part of being a homesteader is knowing when to set yourself up for success, even if it adds to Dad's work list.  

The weather has remained in the teens and low twenties, so honestly we haven't done all that much.  I got a run in the other day, and today we drove an hour or so North to visit some friends who just bought a gorgeous home on the Kettle River.  They too are enjoying the lifestyle change.  We rang in the New Year with our neighbors and as always enjoyed their company and stories of living off the grid with 5 kids!  My days of break are unfortunately coming to an end as I start school again Monday.  I'm looking forward to working in labor and delivery this quarter and know that I can make it through much smoother will all the creature comforts Cam has built.  Hopefully it will afford us a little more balance through the intensity of the program.  Focusing on the day is one of my goals, we are constantly busy;  just like in a survival situation if you think too far ahead, you forget to accomplish the fundamental tasks of the day.  There of course needs to be foresight, but there also needs to be sanity and simple joy (possibly even boredom).  Hopefully we can add that to our 2015 garden.