Our Big Exciting News!

 Our family has spent the last few months dreading an upcoming deployment. I admit I was getting pretty depressed thinking about 6 months of maintaining our schedule alone.
After talking with my husband and family we made the radical decision to close up our home here in New Jersey and move to my Great Grandparents home in Kentucky.

The house is in the middle of the family farm, currently farmed by my Grandfather, in an extremely rural area of the Appalachian foothills. I lived in this farmhouse from age 5 to 10.  I remember balmy nights spent catching lightning bugs, countless hours spend slashing in the creek, and many many afternoons sitting on the front steps eating popsicles and watching the cows graze in the lower fields.  I remember bottle feeding calves, playing with my rabbits, putting baby chicks on my head, and getting paid $0.01 for every thistle head collected. There were the woods to explore, the train tracks to walk, and the garden to tend. I remember my parents bringing home my baby brother, afternoons spent with my mother in the kitchen, target shooting with my father, and oh yes that massive trench he spent what felt like an entire summer digging in our yard.

 I am probably romanticizing my childhood a bit here as I know there were also chores to do and probably many many boring days mixed in there as well. The thing is I don't remember those things. I remember the amazing and honestly very simple things that truly mattered.  When I think about my children's childhoods I am not as enchanted. They have a square backyard mashed in among all of the other square backyards. Don't get me started on the technology that has taken over our lives. Between the TV's, video games, and kindles it seems like they are always in some way staring at a screen. There is no adventure in their lives. There is no exploration or simple pleasures.

What is a mama to do? Seems pretty simple to me. We are closing up our house here and packing up the van with the essentials. I am extremely blessed that my father is flying in to help us with the 14 hour drive to Kentucky. I am also blessed beyond measure that my Grandfather has not only offered us the farmhouse but actually seems happy that we are coming to invade his life. We will be living in the vacant and fully furnished home within a short walk through the pastures to his own home.

We will be living without the noise of tv, internet, and video games. We will be enjoying the quiet and the simple pleasures that will be surrounding us.

Will we get bored? Yes.
Will we miss all of our modern conveniences? Yes.
Will we survive? Yep.

Will we still miss dad/husband? Oh yes.

I am at a very odd place. To be both dreading something and looking forward to it at the same time. To know that we will have such an unforgettable 6 months while my husband is serving overseas away from his family is very hard. I am attempting to be as supportive as possible to his needs while still working towards what is in essence is an extended vacation for ourselves. As amazing as our summer will be I would give it up in a second to keep my husband home with our family.

It is time to make lemonade out of life's lemons however. So I hope you will join me as we start our newest adventure. Life at Strawberry Hill Academy!