And So It Begins.....

Well, not really. We've actually been here for almost seven years. We have lived in this place, grown vegetables, harvested fruit, remodeled parts of the house, grown the family by two more people, lost jobs, gained jobs, met neighbors, lost neighbors.....so, in other words, we are somewhat entrenched into this ground. We've been here long enough to figure out what we want for ourselves and for our children. We came from the city. We lived in town in a relatively new house. We had two well paying jobs. We abandoned that ship for this......20 acres of Iowa farmland with a 100 year old house and a few out buildings. Of all the decisions I have made in my life, I will always think of this decision as one of the best. Where do we go from here? Where are we heading? These are always the eternal questions of every person regardless of their job or location. What's next? What's next for us is this: We are raising five children to be giving, gracious and hard working. We live on zero excess in a world of exuberant excess and we work to teach our kids to understand this for what it is.....too much "want" rather than "need", too much "privilege" rather than "right". We strive to raise our own food amidst a country with a huge obesity problem and a huge problem with how our food is raised and grown. There are no sudden changes to be made, but many small changes that can make a world of differences - we work to make those changes known. So, the point to this adventure is to keep track of the learning, the growing, the experimenting with finding the best way into an unknown future on 20 acres in Iowa.