All posts tagged: farm life

Picture: a day

I’m going to be trying a new thing here on my blog- Posting a picture a day with a few thoughts attached to it. I’ve used my Facebook blog-page as a “sounding board” or “launch pad” for some topics that I’d like to write more about. But I really love my little blog -it started out like a craft project for me or like a collage of pictures and artwork from my home- and I want to continue using this place for most of my writing. The reality at this stage of my life with such young children is that I rarely have time to put two thoughts together much less finish a sentence. Some of you readers know of this dilemma 😉 So I’m going to attempt sharing simple thoughts and perspective from little snapshots in my part of the world. I hope you’ll tune in next time as I journal along this journey of having a family, living with grief, learning from God, and throwing with clay… all while renovating an old farmhouse …

Safe :: Haven

I sometimes wonder what people think when they see my IG feed or my FB feed- these beautiful snapshots of our life at Bluebird Haven. Do they think we just have it made? That we’re so lucky? That our situation in life is enviable? It all looks idyllic, as someone once told me. But how we got here isn’t idyllic. Let me tell you what I see when I survey this place we call home. I see grace upon grace upon grace. God brought us to this place as though we were war-torn refugees. We had no home at the time and the place we’d been calling home held the stench of death. We had been living in a rental, a sweet little gingerbread style house, in a rather idyllic town that was much like Mayberry. But Death came like a thief in the night to our cozy home and ripped our hearts out of our chests. We were a bloody tortured mess. I remember my husband trying to literally tear apart the deck posts …

God: Gets It

Wanna see what I’ve been doing today?? I post my raw photos here on the blog but the edited ones are on Instagram, if you want to hit me up (📸bleubirdmama). I’ll give you some anecdotes for these shots… First, this is by far the strangest thing I’m doing today:  I am pregnant with our third and I’m calling this the pregnancy of infections. I’ve had a touch of something unpleasant with each of them; all women experience their immune system being compromised in at least the first trimester. With Heidi I contracted the flu twice in one month’s time; with Everley I had strep throat; with this little person I’ve had a random fungus or some kind of infection in my big toe as well as a cyst become inflamed as well as random bouts of vomiting as well as a staph infection in my thumb. Uggggg. It’s not been a fun pregnancy thus far.  I went to see a podiatrist about my toe to find out if there was a way to kill …

Simply :: Not

I’ve been wanting to write lately about the simple moments of my life; like this little cabin bear that’s growing up far too quickly. Soon she won’t be such a little bear, she’ll be a medium bear with a medium bowl of porridge & cushioned chair ☺️ And then share a witty moment like this when my dog finds her nook in the baby’s teepee. Sometimes Molle really is a doll (except for when she’s not…. and eaten a farm chicken for lunch). Or days like this when we had 75 degree blue skies weather the day before, but then the winter storm blew in across that mountain there, blanketing our farm in charming white. It’s the simple moments that get me…. But it’s impossible for me to not consider the other not-so-simple things of life. Like my anger issues, my relationships, my words, my parenting skills, my strength to get through another day…. Maybe you saw my post on the FB page & Instagram about my very BAD morning when my husband told me …

February :: Breeze

The winter has been, in a way, a relaxing time; we don’t work as much on the property when the ground is frozen and the hours of light are shorter. But the winter has been exhausting for us, too, because we’ve had to make some changes in our plans and dreams, we’ve had to re-evaluate our boundaries & limitations, we’ve had to emotionally invest in taxing ways.  At this time I’m not able to divulge about all the changes, but take my word for it, we’re in a slow processing mode right now. That’s one of my favorite terms for life: processing. We just don’t give enough credit for how important “processing” is and how much effort and energy our little human brains make in processing life. In order to accept challenges and changes, we have to process it, and that takes time for all of us.  I have certainly learned this in grief, and I continue to learn this about myself as a wife & mother. I slowly process new demands in my responsibilities, …

Home: For the Holidays

Merry Christmas! For us “Christmas” lasts until January first, and then we begin the letdown into non-holiday winter. Is that how it is for you guys?? It’s been crazy over here the past few days in our neck of the woods. Wrapping and ripping, feuds and laughter, hormones and balance, tears and smiles. We’re full of contradictions! I hope it’s been a tolerable holiday for those of you who haven’t wanted to go through it, and I hope it’s been delightful for those of you who’ve looked forward to it. I’d mentioned in a Insta post around Thanksgiving that I might do a Holiday House Tour, since I do love the holiday season and really enjoyed decorating our humble abode this year. So I snapped a few pictures to share of our simply charming cottage. A bit overdue, I apologize :/ When the Little Person has a cold, it’s difficult to find time to post. I’ll tell you bits and pieces of the property’s history and the story of how we fell in love with …

If: You Get a Dog

If you get yourself a dog, you’ll say to yourself, “He’s so cute and cuddly. I love having a dog.” When he piddles in the middle of the floor, you’ll think twice. But only for a second or two.  When you first teach him how to obey, you’ll be so pleased with his learner’s spirit. After you’ve run out of treats, you’ll wonder if he actually knows how to obey.  And when he goes out for exercise and business, you’ll ask him, “Why are you leading me? How do you already know how to get there?” You’ll show him how to follow over and over and hope he pipes down the sniffer.  At home he’ll be such a sweet snuggler, warming himself in the crook of your arm and nuzzling your nose. You’ll find yourself saying, “I love you no matter what, always and forever.” But then he’ll get board and chew your work boots and kill a chicken or two. You’ll ask yourself why you got the dog in the first place.  When a …

Free: As a Bird 

Did you get a chance to follow along with us on Instagram during our adventures in Maui? My husband and I took off -leaving kid, kitties, puppies and chickens to fend with grandparents- for a ten day island vacation/anniversary retreat.  We needed it. We needed a break from life. We needed an oasis for our marriage.  Thankfully all participants survived this experience and all, mostly all, have settled back into good ol’ farm life.  Maybe you knew- my husband and I arrived home from our long journey on our daughter Heidi’s birthday. She is two years old and celebrating the beauty of two in Heaven. We had scheduled our trip around her birthday so that we would be home in time for it, in time to do something special in commemoration. But airplane mechanics got the better of our “best laid plans,” so we were delayed a couple days; which meant that our crash landing into reality left us jet lagged, frustrated, and disoriented. We hit the ground painfully hard with a literal nail in …

Dogs: Lick, Love & Learn

For those of you who know me well, BleuBird Mama loves her dogs! The funny thing is that I didn’t grow up with dogs, not even a house cat, and the little goldfish lived about two days. I had no experience with animals until I was in college. I liked other people’s pets, but I didn’t know how to interact with them well. I also didn’t understand the context of a species and their particular behaviors. I always knew- even when I was a kid- that I’d marry an animal lover. My husband told me he wouldn’t have married me if I didn’t love animals. He grew up with Labradors and outdoor cats in the mountainside of a pacific coastal town, so he was all outdoorsy and acclimated in ways this wimpy suburban girl was not.  When we got married we inherited Ian’s old black lab Luke Skywalker, also known as Pookie or Lucus Maximus and Pook-pook-pookie-the-pooper. He was a wonderful dog. Loyal as the day is long. Simple minded. Obedient. Affectionate. Quiet. Sweet. Of …

Our Story: Uprooted to Grounded

Today I’m sharing more of our story. How we got to where we are now and why we savor these moments of rest and grace. Some know our story, but many do not know the extensive crumbling that brought about a forged foundation. This time last year we were desperate to move. To move on, to move away. We’d been living in a quaint tiny town, up on a hill in a blue gingerbread-style house, with our old black lab and our young yellow lab, and we’d been there two years since the day we got married. On snow days I’d walk down the street to visit my friends for hot chocolate, and for my midwifery appointments I’d walk to the other side of town. We lived the Mayberry life and we were happily content there, except that… Our marriage underwent constant upheaval. We married late October 2012, Manly left three months later for military training February 2013, and he didn’t come home for seven months; when he finally came home he was detached and …