A very long introduction to the punk farmers and fam......
I feel like I need to give a little background info to help everyone understand who we are and where we are going. So,with out further ado, the beginning of our life together.
Nick has always been a punk rock loving skateboarder. we met when we were 15 and 13. I was quite different from him even then. I enjoyed school,did well even, and had some redneck tendencies . I was however, sigh, a skateboard groupie. Ah, I was mesmerized by the don't give a....crap attitude,slightly dirty looking, rebellious teenager. He, however, was much less mesmerized by me. But, sparing you the gritty details (and my slight stalking tendencies), we got together when we were 16 and 18 and, as they say, the rest is history.
Skip forward a few years. After about a year of marriage we we had moved out to a house in the country and were expecting our first baby. I had big plans for our little rental property. Starting with chickens in the already existing hen house, a big garden, and some much needed paint and re decorating. Well, it's quite hard to explain what went wrong with that idea. I can't say I believe in ghosts, and I don't think Nick does either, but there was something wrong with that house. Something evil perhaps. I can't say for sure, maybe it was even just my crazy pregnancy hormones, though i doubt that. But, we ended up with snakes in the basement,coyotes in the yard,super bug invasions, tons of house related problems, and most of all just weird happenings. Maybe it was just gods way of saying Hey, you guys aren't supposed to be here. I don't know, but we moved to the town Nick grew up in. About 15 minutes from my hometown and about 15 ,000 people bigger.
So, we brought home our first baby, M, to an apartment in a slightly bigger town. We stayed there for a little over a year. In that time period I fell into the groove of being a new mommy and housewife. I learned the ins and outs of cooking,cleaning,baby care,etc. I also attempted a small potted garden and many indoor herbs and plants. I had mixed results. Well, right before M's first birthday we bought our first house and moved.
Still in the same town, we began personalizing our new home. Besides the obvious paint,decor,etc we put in 3 garden boxes and multiple flower beds. My new obsession was born. I also began reading all about gardening,urban homesteading, becoming self sufficient and the like. In the next couple of years we continued our gardens but didn't add much else. (Not that I didn't beg for chickens and other animals)
At the beginning of 2011 we decided to add on to our family. This inspired a slew of events that has led us to where we are today. For starters, my first pregnancy was pretty scary. I had some serious complications that had a chance of resurfacing. So I decided that if we were really going to take those risks again I needed to know that if anything were to happen to me, my family would be where they needed to be. We began attending church regularly. (mostly regularly- this is still something we need to improve) That may sound a bit morbid but I wanted to know that if anything happened to me I would be able to see my family again someday. We were both already Christ followers but desperately needed, and need, to improve our relationships with Him and our understanding of His teachings. So, we got pregnant early that summer. Baby R was born in December. I, unfortunately, had the same complications as before, plus some. But by the grace of God we brought baby R into this world right after Christmas 2011. She was a strong healthy newborn but had some issues. She had a birth defect, which had to be corrected with surgery, and has a genetic disorder. I found myself leaning on God more than I ever had before and with out Him I'm not sure how I would have made it through. He blessed our family and got us through (and is still getting us through) a very tough time in our lives. Our church family was also very instrumental in getting us through in the beginning.
So, now where are we? I suppose I should also mention that with the rough economy we, like so many other people, are really suffering financially, as is Nick's job. That has also brought on changes in our lives. I was already a cheapskate,frugal in almost everything I did. But now, it wasn't just for fun, now it is necessary. In order to stay home with my babies (since we had M I have worked part time off and on) and not work outside of the home I began looking towards urban homesteading. I have a small craft business that I LOVE and we now are moving forward with our homestead. We still have a long long ways to go to be financially stable and even remotely self sufficient but we are well on our journey.
And for those of you wandering- Why not move to the country? Have a real farm? Well, the aforementioned punk rock loving, skateboarding husband very much enjoys being in town,close to anything we may need and close to the local skate park and skate spots. He is no where near as "country" as I am and loves the in town lifestyle. We have compromised on an "urban farm" and he is more than supportive of all my hair brained endeavors. Often picking up my slack and continuing to surprise me with his ease in picking up new skills and hardworking nature.
Where we are today- Nick,M,R, and I (by the way my name is Chelsea) are enjoying our rather crazy, new baby, lives and slowly expanding our little farm. As of today we have 2 large garden boxes, 1 small garden box, 3 and a half flower beds, a small coop and flock of 3 hens (new to us this year), and 1 big fat tom cat named Shug (our version of our farms watch dog). Along with my small craft business we are also in the process of learning to preserve the fruits of our labor via canning and drying.
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