The Young Family Farm »

We have started to settle in with this old place really feeling like home. My only regret is that we didn’t move to the country sooner. Some wouldn’t consider this country at all with a small grocery just 3 miles away and a few more a hop, skip and jump of 5 miles farther.

Our new place…(my how the kids are growing up…aren’t they?!)

We were in a neighborhood before. One that I thought was quite–before this.

A sweet neighborhood…but one full of far too many limitations for the childhood experience I dreamed giving to my children. We live in a different culture than my generation was raised in. Leaving the children to ride bikes in the coulda sac in front of our wasn’t even an option after a stranger made his appearance in an old car with his license plate covered with a paper bag…slowing down enough to ask one of my most precious gifts for “directions”. Scary. Okay–so that coulda sac freaked me out ever sense that crazy incident.

Neighbors and the relationships we had there were also quite different than the ones we had growing up…when neighbors earned the title of “Aunt Debbie” or “Mammaw”…because they might as well be family.

We tried and tried…and sat out in that coulda sac for far too many years…with the only kids riding in circles–being ours. And we dreamed of more. If not here–then on a farm or land where they could at least run and just be kids. (DISCLAIMER: Many years ago–we had the SWEET experience of living in a neighborhood with SWEET community. Now if you have that–that is flat out AWESOME> Do not–repeat…DO NOT move;). BUT–for us–we might as well have been on a farm with the lack of community–which was another dream of ours–so here we find ourselves…quiet–but without the neighbors dog growling at me freaking me out. Okay–so y’all might actually get some hilarious stories from our old hood now that we are gone. Seriously–there are some good ones.)

I’m thankful.

And oh my the stories we have already created!

Hatching our own chicks with only Barbara the lone chicken making it. Buying more chicks and those suckers living in our basement for 6 weeks. Did you hear that. SIX weeks. Building them a coop from scratch–just me and Rico suave.

Oh my–I did show you the hatching didn’t I?!

Crazy amazing to watch. And then–something awful happened. Another blog for another day–and only 1 lived…but I learned a lot about egg hatching…like next time I’ll buy the chicks already hatched–and momma hens are the ones that hatch best.

And then…getting a dog…which has proved to keep the ground hogs and possums away. Did I tell you we bought a trap for a creature living under our porch and caught the biggest opossum you have ever laid eyes on?

Oh bless. Let me see if I can find a picture for you.

Oh yes. That is who was living under our porch for weeks. But after the trap–and after Oreo…we are critter free.

And you MUST meet Oreo. (Y’all. I am NOT a dog person. But this ole boy might be making me one!)

Okay…so there was sadness to leave our old place knowing we were leaving our fruit trees. We planted them 4 years ago and this would have started to see fruit. But oh were we in for a treat!! GET THIS. Lots of pears, apples and even grapes started coming out as soon as our bags were unpacked! And one day this week we picked two baskets of pears! (I felt like…y’all don’t laugh at me…but I felt like it was just a little sweet kiss from heaven saying He knows even the littlest things we love…and He wants to show us how much He cares for us.)

Now…it’s time to make pear preserves. (If you have a good recipe–please send it to me!!)

I said I never wanted a pool with kids. BUT.

There’s a pool in the back…and the kids think even better the big creek they like to swim in behind the house in the woods.

And I’m seeing the perks to a pool (minus needing a new pump and other things that hit us as soon as we unpacked our bags. BUT–overall–it’s SO worth it!)

There’s little traffic. Which for kids–no neighborhood and no traffic or other kids–also means no ice cream truck. But as things would turn out–we met a young man who drives an ice cream truck (thank you Amy for this!!) and is paying for his college with the money he earns. We actually schedule his visits now…so come Wednesdays–they know to be in the front front pasture instead of the back as they play to wait for that sound every child loves.

Sure there are snakes–but Oreo takes care if that for us with his barking. And some how he has gotten used to the chickens, wild turkey and deer. I foresee goats, a pig and maybe a donkey in our future. Rich laughs at my ideas for what will join us next.

We may be farther out to some–but it’s so worth the experience for the children. And for us too.

Ever be afraid to follow the quiet dreams of your heart!!

They just might be the things that draw you closer to The Lord and to the hearts of those you love most.

Okay…soooo–I’m offically baaaaaaack to blogging:) Just a few pictures from our summer! If you follow me on Instagram (andreapyoung) you have already seen these! (I’m a little over the top at posting pics over there!!) BUT–here’s a few of my summer favorites taken from my phone:)!

So if you’ve missed us…here’s a little love from our family what we’ve been up to all summer. (Y’all know I love some crafts! Soooo…if you see something you’d like a tutorial on—just say so and I

And just to be REAL–because if you’ve read my blog for awhile–you know while pictures and updates may make things look perfect–every beautiful thing comes with it’s challenges too! This momma has faced a few this summer but thank goodness for the Lord’s strength–His grace is sufficient!! Things are wonderful, but many moms don’t always blog the hard stuff especially when it has to do with a child to protect their privacy–but trust me…we have had our set of challenges this summer:). So—as always if you ever have questions, a prayer request or just need to share with another momma–please feel free to contact me through my contact page!! Remember how fast this sweet time does go by–and to slow down each day and love those babies the best you can through His strength!!

Blessings!!

Andrea

If you are a friend on Facebook or Instagram, then you already know we’ve entered the world of baby chicks. OH MY. And if you aren’t. Then oh my…maybe I should spare you the chicken drama. Soooo…last month we visited my sweet friend with LOTS of hens and a rooster. We had the BEST time playing on their land with the kids. Their 3 kiddos were adopted from Isaac’s orphanage–so it was fun to get together with our Ethiopia Hannah’s Hope friends. When we left, my friend Rachel sent us home with a carton of eggs FRESH out of the hens’ nests. The fact they have a rooster meant that the eggs could be fertilized. Soooooo…

We ended up at the local feed and seed store on the chicken aisle to buy a Little Giant.

CLUELESS…and following my 8 year old princess’s suggestion–we decided instead of scrabbling the eggs–to incubate them and see what happened.

NOW.

Before you run out and get some fertilized eggs–you must know there is a little bit HUGE learning curve to incubating eggs. We probably should have spent some time reading up rather than jumping in…and I just kept repeating over and over, “You were going to scramble them. You were going to scramble them”…thinking that if it didn’t work out…then it was okay. BUT. Once you start life…UM–it’s not that easy.

So…we did our research and decided to dive in. Having 5 small children–we created a chart for the big kids to help with the egg turning.

NOW. You CAN buy an egg turner that turns the eggs for you. But we decided to make it a labor of love (and also save $50 because we weren’t sure if we’d ever do this again).

I didn’t realize how things needed to be JUST right–and boy this turned into a labor of love for sure. In a “still air” incubator the temp has to stay right around 101-102. You have to add water to also keep the humidity level just right–and where it needs to be in the beginning is different than the end. OH MY. (This is almost impossible to correctly maintain–so it makes it a miracle when they hatch for first timers–no stories about how your child’s preschool class did this and they all hatched please;).)