Mini Barn Playhouse

We talked about what to do for Madeline's 3rd birthday this year... Jay really wanted to make her some kind of playhouse. Sounds good to me! I imagined an old refrigerator box, or something similar... perfect for kids, simple and easy! However I forgot my husbands imagination.... no, no refrigerator boxes would be used in the making of this playhouse. He was dreaming big. This is what he came up with:

 Framing it up... looks good already!

 Taking a break with Nora, Lizzy & Maddy... sitting in the wheelbarrow... lol

 The front window!

 The girls love it already!!!

 Almost finished product! I love the half barn door entry!

Well now. That's a playhouse. It still has a way to go... we'll be painting it barn red some time this week, and will eventually get black shingles on the roof and white barn trim... But for now... I say well done Jay. Well done! :)

Fun in the Back Yard

Our backyard is 3 1/2 acres of uncleared land... it is really incredibly gorgeous. About 100 feet behind our house the land has a slow decline which will lead you to the swamp/pond on the very back of the property. Walking back here feels like a rain forest. When summertime is here you can literally feel the pulse of life back there. Everything is green, healthy and just so pretty. There are 4 wheeler trails back there so it makes for easy walking.

Anyway. Here are a couple pictures of my girls playing around in the "back yard" the first one shows the kids right before the slope... the second photo is our dog Sonora (shortened to Nora) dancing with Lizzy. She came from a yard where she was chained up all the time so she is in heaven out here getting to chase birds, squirrels and my girls! :)

Chicken Coup in Stages

We've still got a way to go, but this big chicken coup is slowly getting finished! Jamie works on it whenever he's not working. The chicken wire is buried 12 inches under ground to prevent dogs from digging in. It will have some additional supports here soon... (obviously before we get the chickens) but we're on the downhill slide from here! If you notice the flashing around the bottom of the posts, this is to prevent the chickens from pecking at the treated lumber. This is to help keep them as organic as possible as treated lumber has arsenic in it. Jay is really striving to keep these chickens as truly organic as possible! More details on the chicken coup to come as we finish it up! :)

Crazy or Called?

I'm excited to update as we take on this new adventure in farm life... Some think we're crazy for dragging our kids out in the country, trying to do a debt free build on a new home while we live in a teensy tiny mobile home... and all the while take on more animals than we can count in our efforts to eat more organic. We prefer to see it as a calling. We want our kids to grow up eating less processed foods... and frankly we are not of the budget to buy all organic. So, we're going to grow our own! I'm excited and also a little worried. We've been out on this farm since October and it's hard for this city girl to be 20+ minutes from the city, family, gas stations or grocery stores. But better planning and these amazingly endless blue skies make it all worth it in the end.

Feel free to ask questions... this blog is going to explore all aspects of our new farm life. From our Container Home that we're planning to start building in the near future... to our chicken coup that is actually larger than some NY apartments. Come along for the journey and keep up as these crazy kids follow our calling! :)