Sorry for the multiple week intermission. This is our story and this is part 4 Park2Farm-The end is only the beginning.... I say the end because this is the last part. I keep reminding myself that I still may have some interested readers who want to hear the last part of our story. Im sorry its taken so long..... But really? The last part is that we are living it. We moved into this house and onto this property during one of the most discouraging winters Ive ever seen in my 29 years on the earth. I recall starting to cry as I attempted to unload items out of my car. I could instantly feel the needles in my hands and that was it. Five seconds with a box of our things and tear filled eyes and my husband told me to get in the house, get warm and take care of our daughter. It was so cold that even Ivys hands were turning blue. The bathroom was the warmest room in the house over the winter and it got nice and toasty that day so we set up her pack n play in the bathroom that night and she slept in there...fortably.....Heck! I woulda slept in the tub it was so warm in there. We cranked up the heat but we were new to this whole propane thing. Pardon me for my lack of class here but we spent $3,000 in heat this past winter...tap tap tap...is this thing on???.....$3,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We couldnt get on the budget plan yet as the price per gallon was too high so we had to pay as we went. On a daily basis, Ivy wore her sleeper with socks and another pair of pajamas WITH a winter hat and we walked around with hats, fingerless gloves, scarves, and long pants and long sleeves under our sweat pants and hoodies. Ahhhhhh it was sooooooo cold. Ivy and I didnt have much to do over the course of winter and if you left the room where the space heater was it was only for food or to answer natures call. Lets just say we watched a lottttttttttttttt of Nemo this past winter. Nemo and naps and playing repeat...... Back to the move...We had tons of helpers with emptying our apartment but then the help dwindled down to just my dad and my husband. The guys didnt complain once. Im sure they all wondered why on earth we moved in the dead of winter but there was a method to our madness. Our lease, as mentioned in a prior section of our story, was up in April but we wanted to settle in the Spring time, not JUST be getting in. I cant imagine having just finished the garden and coop as those were our two biggest projects to tackle for the season. My husband and a friend of ours worked on the inside of the outbuilding to section off a coop when it was 40 below and they worked into the night. God bless em! But then once Spring came??? We were all ready to go rather than just getting started. Our neighbors are so kind. Thats a whole other story but they have two little girls so it works out well. We were so blessed by the husband who took his tractor and drove it down the road whenever it snowed so he could plow our driveway as we were without resources to take care of ourselves with that. We still cant believe we made such good friends so quickly. Ok the story is that less than two weeks after we moved in, I was comin home from a longggggggg day of grocery shopping, housing supplies shopping, and other shopping for odds and ends. Ivy and I were two miles down the road with super hungry bellies and out of no where, my non 4x4 SUV (why make SUVs that arent 4x4??????) lost control on the ice and we slid into a complete 180 and ended up in a huge snow bank facing the wrong way on the road. Im so thankful I have my Jesus I can call to as I surely screamed for his mercy and protection over Ivy and I. No thoughts....just gut instinct....call to your Jesus to save the day!!! Derek was at work and I calmly phoned him up after the fact. He was working on getting me a tow (youd think being an insurance agent he could get someone to come right away as we have roadside) but they said it would be FOUR HOURS!!! In the mean time three guys stopped to help but found our situation hopeless so they just out of no where left. So now Ive got my little girl and myself sitting in our car with temps in the lowwwwwww negatives. I was just about to stuff Ivy down inside my big coat and walk home when lone behold, another gentlemen comes by. I assured him the other guys said it was hopeless but he gave me a kind smile and a simple nod and let me know he could get me out. He turned around his pick up, attached the rope to my bumper, gave me very thorough directions and then??? My wheels....the gas pedal.....using them now actually made a difference. I was SO relieved!!!!! In great thankfulness on my part we chatted afterwards and once we knew one another had a spouse and kids, I invited myself and my family to pop by and meet them that evening. Popping by turned into ordering pizza and playing cards until 1am. Lifelong friends? Id say so! Our friendship with them made the winter just a bit more bearable. It was still freeeeeeeezing outside and my husband and I actually slept downstairs on the couch to stay warm at night. Ivy now slept in her room but it was toasty from being right above the bathroom. Bits and pieces came together at the rate that the snow began to thaw......but we made it. We had gotten through the winter. I remember the first day of spring I cut a hole in the wall of the coop so our birds could get outside. We have since attached a run and that is their main entrance but they did free range for most of a Spring to get their wiggles out. The garden wasnt cut out yet but just seeing my birds walk and talk gave me a new found hope. Honestly...this past winter was just ridiculous. I remember looking out the window with Derek one night watching the snow and wind gusts. Any chance of nice weather coming looked so bleak. This summer, weather wise, hasnt been everything we hoped for but its been nice to keep the windows open everyday and every night. Farm country gives way to really exciting thunderstorms and extremely large bon fires. So many experiences too. The garden was cut from scratch, then tilled, and then seeded. It was and still is exciting to see everything growing. My sister once told me that gardening is all about next year and boy was she right! You wouldnt believe the scattered blue prints that are in my head of: making the main garden larger, raised beds in the old barn foundation, 10 fruit trees along the north end of the property, a second garden just for squash and water melons, another berry patch, a hog pen, plans for our future dairy cow, a goal of fifty laying hens, etc.....it never ends........ So with our final part here? We are living out exactly what we prayed and hoped for. What began as a search for a job that didnt involve closing a bar until 2:30am, turned into a love of health, real food, being accountable to what I do to my body, and tonsssssss of home cooked meals. I would have never thought this would be my life and Im SO thankful that my husband loves this as well. Its not always pretty as the projects never end, we have lost 17 birds, and the house still isnt very furnished.....but hey......things happen, we are learning, we are working on our patience, and we are so thankful to be here. Oh! And have I mentioned the name? I dont think so. Our last name is not Frederick. This farm is our landlords grandfathers farm. The sign in the middle of our profile picture is on the front of our hen house. Though it is not our family, we believe grandfather Frederick would be really proud of what we are trying to do here. There is so much more to cole and it will come at just the right time. Until then...thank you for finishing up our story with us.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 21:01:55 +0000
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