Since I mentioned in February that we put our house on the market, inquiring minds have wanted to know why we’re moving. And y’all, I have been bursting with this news for months. Months! Now that it’s actually time to share it, I hardly know where to start.
Here’s the basic idea: we’re selling our house and leaving behind Daniel’s stable job and everything we know to move our five-person family into a 650 sq ft apartment on a farm halfway across the country. Daniel will be beginning a 13-month-long agricultural and livestock internship in September on a non-profit sustainable agriculture training farm in Texas and the rest of us will be relocating our writing, homeschooling, and general shenanigans with him there.
Since we’ll be living on the property, we’ll eat three meals a day together as a family (of farm fresh food, no less!) and Benjamin has already confirmed with the powers that be that he gets to be in charge of feeding the farm cats.
Why would anyone give up a stable office job with benefits and air conditioning to work for free in the cruel Texas sun? (And believe you me, that Texas sun is CRUEL.) Why would we move our three kids into a tiny apartment in the middle of nowhere almost a thousand miles from our extended families and free childcare?
It’s been a loooooong time coming, friends. About a year ago, we realized that while our life was full of things to be grateful for, it wasn’t the life we wanted to be living forever. An in-between season we had planned to be temporary began to drag out ahead of us with no expiration date in sight.For more than five years, Daniel has been working a full-time gig with good benefits as a software tester. But it hasn’t been his forever career.
We’re firm believers in doing work that you love. But we’re also firm believers in doing what you gotta do to provide for your family and we were grateful for being able to pay our bills.
Five years ago we planned for him to be there three years max. But the babies kept coming and the economy was lousy and it probably won’t surprise you that a guy with a degree in the humanities doesn’t see a lot of options on the horizon when he examines a still pretty rotten job market and has a family to support. And yet, each year he spent becoming more of an expert in software testing, was a year he wasn’t getting any closer to pursuing his passions–which are agriculture and writing.
To make things more complicated, in Tallahassee, the living expenses are high. We were barely scraping by, so there wasn’t any way to save for grad school or for a major career change.
We felt stuck and it didn’t seem like anything would change anytime soon. We were in no position to make progress on our dream of buying a farm, nor did we have the expertise needed to make farming a successful endeavor.
While on a long road trip to a friends wedding, we got to dreaming. “What would life look like if you could do a job you loved? What would be your ideal life?” I asked.
“I’d want my own farm. And I’d want to not be away from the kids all day, everyday. I would want us to eat all three meals together and be part of their education. I’d want the work I was doing to be valuable, not just because it was generating an income, but because it’s good in and of itself.”
We talked and we dreamed. We discussed various arrangements that would feel more balanced for our family. While we long ago rejected the idea of both working outside the home full-time (barring unforeseen financial difficulties–because you do what you gotta do) we also don’t believe it’s ideal for either of us to be away full-time.
Both of us want our lives to be centered around the home. And we both have passions beyond homeschooling and caring for the house and the children that we love to pursue. For us to share the domestic duties, homeschooling responsibilities, and paid work is the stuff our dreams are made of. I love staying home with our kids, but I also love to have a few hours a week dedicated to my writing and freelance work. As things stand, we feel off-balance.
But we didn’t know exactly how we would ever get to a situation that more closely mirrored our dream life. The first step would be getting farming experience and discovering whether owning a farm is even something we would love doing. But how do you DO that when you’re working full-time making ends meet? Our backyard chickens and rockin’ tomato crop doesn’t make us experts.
There was a non-profit farm where we used to volunteer when we were in college. For our wedding, we even requested that instead of gifts, our friends would donate to that organization. It’s always been special to us. They offered sustainable agriculture internships and we considered applying after graduation, but then baby Benjamin came along and life got a little more complicated.
But two baby girls later, I brought it up again. “What if you applied for that internship?” I asked. “The one at the farm.”
It was a little crazy, but we started to think it might be good timing. This is the last year of our 20s. Our kids are still young. Now seems like the perfect chance to switch gears and do something wild. Even if it’s a mistake. There’s no point in staying comfortable just because it’s safe. And worst case scenario, we finish out the year, decide we hate farming and do something else.
The glaring problem with our crazy plan was that we’d need some serious savings to cover the lost benefits/health insurance, car payment, the remnants of our student loans, and the various expenses that come with having three kids. It seemed more than a little insane, but the idea took hold anyway.
So we started to save. A part-time job at our parish opened up and Daniel tackled that in addition to his full-time position at his office–working overtime to save up hours. Paid writing opportunities began popping up and I spent early morning hours, naptime, and evenings working as hard as I could to put away some savings. And amazingly, things started falling into place. After a few months, we had saved enough to make a move a financial possibility.
Daniel applied and got the internship. We’re really doing this.
So our house is on the market. It’s the last piece of the puzzle (sell, house, sell!). We’re getting rid of most of our stuff so that we can fit into the tiny apartment at the farm. We’re getting ready for a new season of life. We’re going on an adventure.
But don’t worry. This blog isn’t going anywhere. I hope all my readers come along for our new journey. Plan on sweaty kids in the Texas sun, plenty of pictures of vegetables, and a healthy dose of goats in a blog post near you.
And what will we do after the year is up? No idea. I guess that’s what makes this such an adventure.
So there it is. THE BIG NEWS. Was it worth the wait?
CONGRATULATIONS!!! That is AMAZING! I am so excited for you, and jealous too, as you are sort of living out my dream 🙂 Good luck – I am so glad you will be blogging so that I can hear how it goes!
Thanks, @Rebecca! <3
Well, yay, TEXAS!!!! I am a bit partial to Texas being homegrown here and all. This is super exciting news!! I’m thrilled for your new adventure!
Thank you so much, Kimberly! I’m rather partial to Texas, too 😉
Congratulations! That sounds like a crazy awesome adventure worthy of Bilbo and Frodo. May I recommend growing habanero peppers? I love habanero peppers.
It was definitely a God-thing that everything has been working out for you and your family to move to Texas for this internship. It’s so awesome to see Him open doors like that!
Praying for safe travels to Texas (and for the house to sell!) and that you all get settled in nicely on that farm 🙂
I am seriously sooooo stoked for you guys! What a great adventure! I admire your bravery and I love, love, love how you guys are pursuing your dreams. There’s nothing like it! Congratulations on, well, everything!!!! I’ll miss being your neighbor, truly, but we send you all off with the warmest of wishes and prayers. May God bless you all richly and continue to fill your home wherever it may be!
CONGRATULATIONS! (Long time reader, first time poster)
That giant leap out of the known is the best thing ever. Good luck and I cannot wait to read about all of your new adventures!
Congrats!!!!! Just found your blog this year (while skimming the nominations for the blog awards, can’t remember the name??). Anyhoo…so so awesome!!!!! I know you all must be over the moon to start this adventure. St Joseph pray for this house to sell!!!!!!!!
Super exciting news, Haley! How awesome that your family is following your dreams and making them happen. I wish you guys the best of luck! Nothing better than an adventure.
Love your blog by the way! 🙂 I don’t comment very often, but I am a lifelong Catholic and I always learn new things about our faith from you. Thank you! You are an excellent writer and seem like someone I would be friends with!
Also, I am going to buy the Homemaking Bundle from your link, but I have a question: can I get the books on my Kindle for the $29 price, or do I have to pay the extra $10? I started the checkout process and it said that if I wanted the books delivered to my Kindle, it was an extra $10. Just making sure I have it right before I purchase. Thanks so much!
Mary, I’m fairly sure that you can buy it at the cheaper price and then just send them to your Kindle or download them on your Kindle somehow. It’s probably a little less convenient and not formatted perfectly for the Kindle, but I’ve done it that way before.
Thank you so much! 🙂
Mandi’s right, Mary. You can open the PDF version on your kindle; however, there’s another “formatted for kindle” option that’s easier to read. I’m cheap, so I always just get the PDF version, lol!
Thank you so much Haley! I am excited about it!
Haley!! This is so inspiring. Congrats to you all, and I will be praying hard for your family and dreams.
As a childless 20-something this is a great kick-in-the-pants to make my own dreams happen. If you guys can do it, I can definitely do it, too.
I’m just buzzing with happiness and prayers for you.
Yeay!!! So happy for you! It’s so incredible when our dreams start falling together. Enjoy all that Texas sunshine!
Congratulations! Very inspiring and gutsy!
Sad to hear y’all are leaving Florida, but also so excited for you!! Best wishes : )
Love love love this! You all are so inspiring and God is so good. Have fun on your adventure and enjoy spending more time together. Life is way too short. Sending prayers.
This is the coolest! You’re Berrying! I love your vision for integrating your family and work life. Many prayers for you all.
That sounds awesome! Congratulations!!!
xox
Yay! So outstanding! A dream of mine, too! So happy for you and Daniel and the kiddos~ one day they’re going to look back and realize just how awesome their parents are 🙂
Wow! So excited for you!! And proud of you (if you can be proud of someone you’ve never actually met)! Taking a leap of faith is SO SCARY, but can be so rewarding. Just remember, there are no wrong decisions– looking back on this adventure you’ll be so glad you said yes. Congrats!
I was hoping that the move was to realize your farming dream. How wonderful! Congratulations!
You go girl! My husband and I are no strangers to doing something that looks a little (or a lot) crazy to everyone else but seems to be exactly where God is leading us. I know that lots of prayer and discernment went into you and Daniel’s decision. I too am your age and have 3 children your kids’ exact ages;), and I wanted to tell you that, yes, at this age the kids are forgiving and happy wherever they are, as long as Mom and Dad are as happy and goofy and loving as always. God bless you and yours!
How exciting! What an adventure!! I know this is different from your situation, but a few years ago, when we had 3 kids and were in our early 30′, my husband left a good job teaching high school, to go to law school. I’m sure people thought we were crazy, especially since teacher jobs are easy to find and lawyer jobs certainly aren’t. Somehow we survived those years with him in school…even adding a 4th child and continuing to homeschool. It was hard, but we did it, so he could pursue a different career path…one he hopefully will enjoy more and find more fulfilling.
(And I know all about small house living. Right now, we live in about 840 sq. feet with 4 kids). I actually wrote a post about it on my blog (published this past Friday if you want to look it up). 🙂
I wish you all the best with your new adventure!
P.S. Have you buried a St Joseph statue? It sounds crazy, but we’ve done that for both of our homes and they both sold fairly quickly. 🙂
SO EXCITED FOR YOU! Way to take life by the horns and throttle the complacency out of it! You guys are such an awesome inspiration.
Also- I’ll start praying to St. Isidore, Patron of Farmers, and ask him to find a buyer for your house!
Congrats.
Welcome to Texas.
I left you a message on your FB Page.
Em
Hi Haley – This is the first time I’ve read your blog. It popped up in my Facebook feed from one of my good friends “liked” it (she is Catholic…I’m Lutheran…ha!) . I just wanted to say good for you for taking the leap into agriculture! My husband and I quit our corporate office jobs almost 4 years ago to moved back to his family farm in rural North Dakota. It has been the best decision we could have ever made for our family. Working the land is hard work, but very rewarding. It will be hard to see your savings vanish right before your eyes, but the people and lifestyle is something truly special.
Congratulations!!! I’ve been wondering for these last few months, and was thinking either you’d be traveling or you’d be moving to the country 🙂 I’m so excited for you guys!!!
Yes!! Go big!!! I’m so proud of you guys for going for it!!! We’ve declared this a year for taking chances for the sake of our dreams as well. Life is short!
Sounds amazing! I can’t wait to hear all about your adventures! I pray your house sells soon!
This is awesome, congratulations! Striking timing as it reminds me a lot of conversations my husband and I have been having recently. Go God for making big dreams a reality!
That is such fabulous news Haley! My fiance and I were talking this weekend about future dreams and it’s inspiring to see that career and money don’t have to be road blocks for adventurous dreaming for your family. Can’t wait to journey with you!
This is the first time I’m reading your blog – someone linked on FB. But I have to say, this is the COOLEST thing ever. What an exciting opportunity for you and your family! You husband is so lucky to have you to support and foster his dream – you will both be blessed in your marriage for that! Tagging your blog so I can follow along.
Congratulations! That sounds like an awesome vision of family life, and I’m so excited that y’all will get to try it out! Many blessings to your family!
You guys are so awesome and so brave! I have always dreamed of having chickens and goats and bees and a big garden and homeschooling my children (we currently only have one and he is a baby, so this dream might be a ways off). You are living the dream! I hope I am brave enough to seize it one day too. As our beloved Jane Austen once wrote, “I wish you joy with all my heart.”
Oh my goodness, I started CHEERING as I read this! Go, do the things! I’m so stoked that you and your family are getting to do meaningful work that you WANT to do! Even if it ends up as a “mistake,” as you said, I don’t think you will ever regret going on this adventure. Congratulations and may He be with you!
How fantastic! Many prayers for you and yours!
This is so exciting for the two of you! I’m in the middle of a little leap of my own, so I identify with SO many of these feelings, but it’s such a move of faith! Also, I’m selfishly a little excited you’re coming to TEXAS, my great state! 🙂
Yay for adventure! I can live my fantasy of living on a farm vicariously through you. I’m rooting for y’all! And welcome to Texas! 🙂
How very exciting! Best wishes as you start this new chapter.
When you are ready to head the other direction……
http://landstewardshipproject.org/organizingforchange/minnesotastatepolicy/stategrantsforfamilyfarmers
http://www.sare.org/Grants
Congratulations, Haley! What an awesome spirit of bravery and adventure and trust the two of you have! And it’s such a good a idea to just give following your dreams a go, because however it turns out, you won’t have the regret of saying, “What if we had?”
And I’ll join your other Texan readers in saying welcome back to the Lone Star State! Our sun may be hot, but that just gives you an excuse to sit in the shade with a friend, sipping iced tea and having a good long chat. 🙂
That’s amazing news! After reading through your decision-making process for your family, I think you and Daniel are my newest heroes C: Lots of prayers and encouragement coming y’alls way!
YAY! Welcome (back) to Texas! I can’t wait to hear all about this new journey of yours. My husband and I live in College Station with our babe but this isn’t our forever location. We have big dreams to move out of TX temporarily but would love to make our forever home somewhere in/around Austin or Dallas.
I don’t know how close you’ll be to us but if you need anything at all, please let me know!
Wow! That is really exciting news! I will be very, very interested to hear how your farm life goes. Maybe I’ll gain some insights that I can apply to my own (very small) farm!
That is so wonderful! I’m so excited for you and your family. My family is stuck in a similar way, but no epiphanies have come to us yet. I can’t wait to hear how things progress 🙂 Good luck and I’ll be praying for your house to sell so the adventure can continue, best wishes!
This is really exciting! I have been talking to my husband for a while about doing something similar (following his heart…). I sent this to him in hopes that it inspires 🙂 Congratulations! May the journey be one of fruitfulness!
God Bless!
Congratulations! That sounds like an amazing adventure or all of you, and I can’t wait to hear about it! I’ll be praying for your family through this transition – just keep following your dreams and the Still Small Voice that lovingly beckons us into the unknown.
Yay, the news!!
What a relief it must be to have it out there. Super excited for you guys and, weirdly, I’m pretty excited about 650 square feet of living space. It sounds like a fun challenge. 😉
I hope everything with the house sale goes well and quickly!
What??? That’s awesome! Well I know if a lot of wacko Waco Catholic homeschool ers who will be so pumped to have you in the area. Me included. Feel free to get in touch if you want help with anything or introductions in the area. 🙂
Congrats! My guess was that you all were going to have a farm and get the Catholic Land Movement going in Florida. I wasn’t too far off.
Congrats on the big changes! I would highly recommend looking into a healthsharing ministry as an alternative to normal health insurance if you haven’t already. We started to use Samaritan Ministries when my husband started grad school, it paid for our son’s birth and we have been so blessed by it. It many cases it is much cheaper and you get to share with the community of believers!
Some how I KNEW this was your news…so happy and excited for you guys!
I grew up on a farm in the heartland of America and it was the best upbringing and life my parents could give my 3 siblings and I—my agriculture/Catholic home life as a child has literally shaped the woman I am today. And just what type of woman is that? A 28 year old humanities/English grad, SHAM of 3 (the oldest being a boy and then 2 girls) with a husband who is equally highly educated pursing all things our Catholic Faith can offer…toss in a garden, a couple of acres land, some chickens and my folks row-crop farm a stones throw away and you have it! We sound like twinsies!
You won’t regret any of the financial sacrifices you are about to make to give your kids the kind of childhood I am working to give mine as well. I promise you, your family will thank you and your faith as well. BLESSING TO YOU STEWART CREW!
I’m so excited for you guys!!! I was thinking you were going to start a Catholic community homestead… so I was kind of close!! 😉 You’re living my dream!! I can’t wait to hear(read) all about your new adventure. Love & prayers!
Back to Texas! All the luck on your adventure!
I guessed it on FB! Totally didn’t mean to- Holly didn’t spill the beans or anything! Just a hunch 😉
You guys will love it. Several of our dear friends have interned there. Single, but still! It’s totally family friendly place!
Have a blast!
Oh goodness! I was thinking you were moving to a farm! So happy for y’all! What a big dream to have!
Wow…. This is so so amazing!! Congratulations and good for you both for having the courage to follow your dream work and lifestyle for your family! I actually think about this a lot and what sacrifices we are willing to do to be able to cultivate our God-given interests and talents to progress in life instead of the simpler, maybe stable job, as you said. Thanks for the inspiration!! All the best and prayers for your adventure 🙂 🙂
Excited for all the future insight that will come out of this next phase of your journey as a family. And excited for you both too, taking this leap of faith!
This is SO exciting! Well worth the wait!! I am so pumped there are other families out there taking the leap to pursue their dreams.. especially farming/homesteading. Our family would love to host yours at our farm in Berea, Kentucky if you ever feel like making a road trip. Chickens, sheep, spring water, and a new baby.. land is still pretty cheap around here too. 😉
Wow, congratulations! What a leap of faith, but it seems perfect for your family!
I had chills reading your blog today. Congratulations on living in faith and not in fear. Instantly the scripture, Jeremiah 29:11 came to mind: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Here’s to your Hope and your Future!! May God bless your family in abundance!
So excited for you guys, that sounds like an amazing dream come true!!
So very courageous!!! Congrats and best of luck!
I read “we’re going on an adventure!” like bilbo would say 😀 I am with you. Go for it. Love it, and trust in Our Lord! He only has plans to prosper you!
WOW – what great news, how exciting ! I’m so thrilled for you guys.
In the 1960’s my mum and dad did the same thing as you guys, they followed their dream and bought a farm. They gave up the comfortable life in the north of England and my dad working as a management consultant who sadly didn’t see enough of his three kids. SO, they sold up, headed south, bought a farm with no knowledge / experience of farming. (my dad was a Londoner) It was tough and my grandparents probably thought they were insane but after a lot of hard work they made a great success of the farm. With failing health and after 40+ years they sold up . The farm buildings were sold to a wonderful charity which works with special needs / disabled children. http://thomley.org.uk/about-us/thomley-on-film/
Enjoy your adventure. XXX
Bravo. I know just how crazy state work can be–I just left my state job after 10 years. SO GO YOU PEOPLE.
WOW!!! How wonderful! I am so happy for you all.
Awesome! I’ve been a risk taker at different stages of my life – you’re encouraging me not to stop!! Congratulations :)!
“Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Congrats! I am so in favor of people doing what they love 🙂
This is so exciting!! It’s great to see people try to live out their dreams. It varies so widely from family to family, but we’re all doing the best we can. I can’t wait to hear about your adventures and I hope great things come from this!
Congratulations, Haley and Daniel! And as a mom in a family of 5 where three family members are under 5, and we’ve all lived in 500 sq. apt/houses for 2 years now…it can be done! 🙂
Congratulations! That is so exciting. I’m so bummed that I can’t make the Facebook party and hear all the cool details. I can’t wait for you to share.
We are embarking on a similar journey. We’ve just closed on 5 acres and a 1905 farmhouse (in desparate need of repairs). Of course we will be living in the house while we renovate!
Congrats Haley and Daniel! WhilE we aren’t full-time farmers, it is the. best. thing for our kiddos. The side-by-side work and play is a hug blessing, I pray it will be for your family too!
Congratulations!!! Texas is excited to have you back 🙂
Praise God! I’m so happy for you all!
So, I think this is the first time that I’ve ever commented here, although I’ve been reading for more than a year. I can’t tell you how excited this post makes me 🙂 I LOVE to see people jumping into their dreams!
My husband and I and our 3 year old daughter (hopefully more little ones to come!) are currently in our “almost dream” situation, and excited to be laying the groundwork for our “big dream”.
We work together as houseparents, which means we are together as a family (part of the BIG dream) and are able to serve many kids and families in our home (another part!). We’re currently working on building our own business and hoping to get that profitable enough that we can move back near family (really important part of the big dream), grow our outreach in ways that suit us even more, and enable our family to travel a lot.
So, yeah, it’s really exciting to hear of another young family making progress towards their dreams 🙂
So exciting & SO brave!
Congratulations!
Congrats! So exciting for your whole family!
Texas!!!!! There’s no place like Texas 🙂 congrats yall!!
I’m also totally Catholic mommy blog fan girl-ing over here thinking about how I can concoct a way to meet you once you’re back in the best state ever 🙂
Congrats! I have been following your blog for the longest time but had to comment on this exciting news! We set off on our own version of your adventure almost 4 years ago. We sold our home in Charleston SC and my husband found a new job so we could buy 90 acres of land in a very rural part of SC that had been in my husband’s family for generations. It meant a lot of tradeoffs but we don’t regret it in the slightest. We aren’t actively farming it currently. We lease land to a hunt club, keep backyard chickens and bees. Raising kids on land is amazing! My 2 and 5 year old think tractor rides are the norm and having neighbors is exotic! Good luck with your adventures. I can’t wait to hear all about it!
Wow! Such exciting and wonderful news! I will be praying for you. I already love reading your blog because it is so fun and smart. Add goats, and you will have a faithful follower forever! 🙂
So excited for you guys! Our family dream looks much the same! Prayers for you and your family as you embark on this adventure! <3
Congrats! I’m sure this will be an amazing opportunity and things will work out. Three years ago my husband and I and our 2 kids left home and moved abroad, far far away. It has been an adventure and more is yet to come. You won’t regret your decision to take a chance and do something you want to do. God bless!
This is so exciting! My husband’s dream was always to get a Ph.d. – well, in a few weeks he will have it. Things didn’t work out exactly how we dreamed (he doesn’t have a full time job lined up – instead he will be part time adjuncting for the next year), and so we have taken a lot of long, hard looks at what we have been doing these last eight years in grad schools, both master’s and Ph.d. And we’ve come to the conclusion that we would probably do it all over again (but with a lot more knowledge and preparation for the very bad job market afterwards). Yes, it’s been hard being so poor by choice, but also it has been very freeing to know that what our family needs is each other, not nice things or fancy vacations. It has really hit home to me how life is a journey, and for my husband it would never have felt complete without trying for a Ph.d., and even if the journey didn’t end up where I hoped it would, we have still had the path we have trod.
I know this sounds kind of like a downer, but what I really want to get across is how much, even with things not being all rosy here, I’m still glad we went this way, that we pursued his dreams for living, because we only have this one life for trying things out, and whether we are pursuing our dreams or not we still get older every year, so we might as well pursue our dreams.
I also really resonated with both of you wanted to both be at home and work. I want this for our family, and I wish I knew a way to achieve it – I wish that the US was set up for “part time” careers, because I am the opposite of an entrepreneur and I’m an extrovert, which means I don’t really dream of working at home alone anyway – but I want the kind of flexibility I see some families achieving (but they all seem to be through having your own business). Best of luck (and prayers) to this new endeaver, and I will follow along with a lot of interest to see how your family finds this balance. Plus, getting taught how to farm? That sounds like the perfect way to figure out if that’s what you want to do for the rest of your life without having to buy a whole farm first!
This is so awesome!! I can’t wait to live vicariously through you thanks to your blog! Sell house! Sell!
This is so awesome! I’m excited to kinda ‘see’ through your blogging you guys living out this unique opportunity!
We’re also making a HUGE shift (moving across the country as well) to get my husband out of his former career and into a new one and take control of our lives again. Like you guys for 5 years we’ve been floating, moving around wherever my husbands’ church told us to, and taking the positions he was offered. Now that he’s unemployed we decided to take the opportunity and NOT seek another ministry job so he can do some personal spiritual discernment and our family can pursue a lifestyle that suits us, not the congregation he was serving.
From one backyard chicken owner to another: Are you guys bringing your chickens with you?? We’re having to sell ours and it’s a very sad day, I wish we could find a way to bring them with us!
Wow! This is amazing! I cannot wait to hear more about your adventures. My husband and I kind of did the same thing last year. We are currently teaching English in China and have literally no idea what we will do next.
The whole process started when I spent a month in India working with the MCs. I came home and wanted badly to do more of this kind of work, but my husband said it just wasn’t for him. He suddenly changed his tune a few months later and said that he wanted us to volunteer abroad together. Stunned, I asked him why. He said, “There is something different about you since you have been back. Something good. I want to see where that comes from.”
Three years and many failed plans later, here we are. Hanging out with some amazing people in a strange and wonderful place. It is awesome for me to see my husband do something he feels is worthwhile. Even with his college degree, his jobs have been less than ideal. He definitely felt stuck. I had a lovely job in social work that was hard to leave, but this tugged at our hearts and simply would not leave us alone even after failed attempts.
It’s funny. I sent out our newsletter to friends and family yesterday, and my letter was a reflection on this very idea of saying yes to what you are called to do. That daily ‘yes’ can be scary and exhausting, and people will tell you you’re insane, but DO IT. It will be awesome, and what an incredible example to set for your little ones. They will surely benefit immeasurably from seeing their parents courageously put love and family first.
“And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.”
I may or may not be pumped up from reading your HP homeschooling post 😉
This sounds scary and awesome! Thanks for taking us along for the ride 🙂 I can’t imagine how excited you all must be right now.
Hi. First comment on this blog which I love to read though I am many years past my homeschool and child rearing days. Another commenter mentioned Samaritan Health Share Ministries and I want to second that. It is generally much less expensive than traditional insurance, satisfies the government imposed mandate, covers more of the costs of medical necessities than does insurance and does not require one to pay for such things as contraception, sterilizations, abortions or other objectionable practices. It is friendly to Catholics. We have not regretted swicthing from Anthem BlueCross. It feels totally different to send your monthly allotment to another family than to an insurance company. my personal cost went from $568 to $180 per month.
SO excited to hear about this awesome adventure! What a cool opportunity for your family. I’ll be praying for yall during this time of transition! And if you ever find yourself in Fort Worth and need a cup of coffee or a place for your family to crash, feel free to hit me up. 😉
Oh my dear God!!! I’ve missed the news (the party was at 3 am in Poland;P) and now I am totally in love with your plans. It is the most amazing thing to pursue your dreams.I would like it too for myself but it’s not going to happen, and that is the reason I am so so so happy for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yopur childrem will have both of you and healthy living! BRAVO for courage!
Oh, my goodness, congratulations to you all, Haley! I’m just seeing this, and am so happy for you all. Pursuing your dream is so important, and that you have put so much effort and thought into this is inspirational. May God bless your lovely family in this new season of your lives.
SO exciting! We are self employed and use a Catholic Health sharing ministry called Christ Medicus http://www.cmfcuro.com/index.php it is through Samaritan Ministries and has been downright incredible for sharing health needs for our family. My son who was born with only one functioning kidney is finally covered for medical needs too. God bless!
Congrats on the next step!
We have found that living off the land, simply and deliberately has had great rewards that truly off-set all the challenges. You would love the recent New Catholic Land Movement blogpost about this quote: “The breakdown of the family didn’t start when women left the home, but when men did.”
My husband and I and our soon-to-be 5 children DO eat 3 meals a day together (that is such a smart goal!), from homegrown sausage and goat milk in the morning, to frittata with fresh eggs and veggies at night. It is so, so wonderful (even though we are perched on stools at the kitchen counter in a 550 sq ft house with a leaky roof). No sacrifice is too big when you believe Wendell Berry that “the home should be a place of production, not a centre of consumption.”
And I third the Samaritan Ministries rec. Such a great safety net for those of us who have none. Free births, dude. Free.
Email me any time. I’m not a frequent reader. 🙂
Thanks! Unfortunately, since Daniel and Benjamin both have asthma, Samaritan Ministries wouldn’t be a good fit for us because it doesn’t cover preexisting conditions. The upside is that because it’s not a paid internship, we should quality for some pretty affordable Obamacare.
Fantastic! It’s excita-scary all at the same time. I can attest that living in a small apt with three children is completely doable. (We stayed in a 600 sq ft studio apt with then 5, 4, and 6 mos for a year. Outside play is key – and you will have just that!!). Prayers for this new adventure!
I am so beyond excited for you guys!! Eep!!! You are such an inspiration. It’s a great thing to have the courage to step out of the box and take a chance. Kudos to you guys! Can’t wait to follow your adventure.
I am so excited for you Haley! I just found your website and love it- your faith, family, and farm – love it all! I was born and raised in Texas, live in Virginia now, but long to return and live under the Texas sun (hopefully not melt). Blessing to you and continued happiness!
Hi! I just stumbled across this not-so-old post and wanted you to know about the Christian food movement guide I put together earlier this year. There are a few Catholic farm-based ministries on there that might be either an inspiration or a future connection. Check out http://www.churchwork.com/christian-food-movement/ for the whole guide, and/or look at http://bethlehemfarm.net and similar farms for future possibilities. I am following your blog and looking forward to what comes next! Blessings.
Welcome to Texas. I’ve just been following your blog recently and came to this post and really resonated with your ideas of wanting life to be centered around the home. This is something we have come to value in our family, ideally both my husband and I could have a work that centered around our home, sort of like it was back on Little House on the Prairie is certainly our ideal now.
In a sense I wish we were moving more towards a lifestyle based on agriculture. Instead we are headed down to to South Texas to work along the Border as missionaries of sorts. But we hope our day of city life won’t be drawn out too long. Thanks for your work and good luck with your move. We are starting to pack up this week.
I’m going to “third” the suggestion for Samaritan Ministries for Christian bill sharing. My husband went to law school for three years while he had three kids. I had our fourth while he was still in law school. I did not work full time. I even homeschooled. Samaritan Ministries has been awesome for us. I encourage every Christian to look into it. Now that my husband is an attorney, we opted against the firm-offered insurance and stuck with Samaritan. It is not only cheaper than the firm insurance, but you can’t beat the ethics and the Christian community. No matter your location, situation in life, age, etc., Samaritan will be there. I used to pay thousands of dollars in deductibles to have babies, but the most you would pay with Samaritan for pregnancy and childbirth is $300 (assuming conception happened after joining :).) Good luck on your new adventure!
*We* had three kids :).
Congratulations! This sounds really great! There is no better place to raise children then at a place where they can run free and enjoy and love the nature! I find your decision to move – fabulous! I wish you all the best! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you soooo much for this post, Haley! So good.