Ten years ago, I was arriving home from the hospital from the birth of my second baby, a son. My husband drove us, with our 21-month-old daughter strapped in next to her new brother. We were a family of four, huddled down for the winter in Wisconsin, on our farm. As soon as we were settled in the house, Andy headed out the door to feed our hens and sheep and cattle. The sheep and cows were expectant mothers as well. In a few months we would have the delight of lambing season upon us. At the same time, our Holstein and Milking Shorthorn heifers would start to freshen (give birth) and we would become dairy farmers.
Photo by Rebekah Sell
I look back at that time and give a deep sigh. It’s both fatiguing to think of all we did at once and bittersweet to know it is no more. We tried for three exhausting, yet rewarding years to take over my parents’ farm, but in the end, my dad just wasn’t ready to quit.
We left the farm in order to save our relationship with my parents.
In doing so, our little family entered a sort of wilderness. We had little direction and didn’t know what God had for our lives. In the midst of that, we added two more boys to our family, moved five times and went through six job changes. It turns out, we had a lot to learn about ourselves, about relationships and more growth of character than I ever could have imagined that day, that day I held my second baby for the first time.
Photo by Rebekah Sell
In 2013, we had an opportunity to buy a small house on seven acres of land. It was right across the street from our farm, the family farm, which is still in Dad’s hands. Ever since we returned to the country, we work tirelessly on creating a home out of our little space. We work diligently to raise our four children in the way they should go. We double down on what we have, instead of longing for things we don’t.
As our path continues to unfold, we’d love to share it with you: all the love, the successes, the failures, the pain. Because our story is about Real Life…and I know yours is too.
