The Homestead Journal ~Catching up~ Volume 2 Week 12-33

The past few months have been busy. I’ve not been inspired to blog much. The salon has been busy and the children have been engrossed in their own hobbies. Joe’s been keeping up with some very adventurous littles.  To be honest, we haven’t done much homesteady stuff. But we are ok with that. We aren’t on anyone’s schedule 😉

I did want to clarify a few things, I write this blog from my viewpoint. It’s my journal so to speak. When I started blogging,  Joe didn’t want to be blogged about. He wanted to be in the background. Some have asked why he wasn’t mentioned much or in many photographs. I respected his wishes. He’s ok with me posting a bit more but still doesn’t want to be in many photos. A few of the children are the same. You might notice I don’t post as much about some of the children as I do others. The children usually have a say in what I post or don’t post. Abigail doesn’t like to be on camera but is ok with me posting about her. Olivia is ok with whatever I post. Quinten is a little more reserved, while Jacob is more open. It’s always been this way. So if anyone was concerned, I hope your concerns have been aleviated.

I also wanted to say that while this blog is titled Blessed Litlle Homestead, it’s really an all encompassing journal of our family. All aspects of it. And just because we say we are homesteaders we did not intend to give the illusion that we were experts. In fact, I’ve made it clear numerous times that this is a learning expericence for all of us. We get flack because we didn’t do things “the right way”. You do things your way, we will do things our way. I share what I feel compelled to share. I don’t share everything. I have no obligation to. I do share an equal balance of things, and that’s probably why I get critics telling me I only post drama while simultaneously being told I paint a false representation of a perfect happy life. I guess that’s based on your perception of life. The last 5 months I have blogged a lot of drama. I have been absorbed in far more than my share. But my family has been subjected to some serious attacks. And for our safety and to ensure our side is told, I’ve blogged it. I’ve also shared a lot of our blessings. Far more than the drama. I hope that’s what you see.

This summer we have been spending our free time doing family stuff. Jacob has been working full time and I’ve been putting in long days at the salon. I bring Gabriel and two helpers with me.I enjoy spending extra time with them in a smaller group. The 5 of us chat during the commute, we drop Jacob off, and head to the shop. Isaac, Abigail and Quinten take turns helping with bathing and cleaning while Zachary, Olivia, or Urijah help me with Gabriel and running the front. Olivia has really been displaying her strengths lately. She loves taking care of Gabriel. She is also great with customers. I’m really impressed with how well she does. She rings them up, helps get their dogs ready. She has great customer service skills (yay for socialization lol) She also likes helping with the dogs. She got to paint toenails last week. Maddie knows my family well and was comfortable with Olivia painting her toes. Olivia was excited to actually work on dogs. I let her bathe a few dogs with me. She is a great bow maker too. She’s the one who makes a lot of the ties and bow ties. She works with me 3 days a week. 

Our bow business is doing well. I personally enjoy making all sorts of bows, but each child has a niche. Olivia likes to do the boy bows/ties as I said and she likes to glue the embellishments on the bows I make. Issac also likes to do ties and is the one who handles the orders for a groomer client who makes big orders, I tie the girly bows for him as he doesn’t like that part. He does the rest. Abigail makes whatever bows she’s in the mood to make and are usually one of a kind. She’s not a production bow maker. On occasion Zachary and Urijah help, but Zachary doesn’t have the crafty bug and Urijah does better with flowers. We are prepping for holiday bow sales and we are working on getting our online store updated.

On the homestead it’s been a lot of free play. It’s summertime. The children who stay home grab a granola bar for breakfast and are out the door. Over the past few months we have been purchasing bikes and bike parts so lately they’ve been building bikes. The giant tire swing is never lonely and there are little forts all over the property. Joe takes the kids to the creek when temps get too high, although a shady spot in the woods or nap time in front of the fan, helps keep everyone cool in the heat of the day.

Ezra, Lucas and Mosiah have really matured a lot recently and I have observed a noticeable change. Ezra has been a lot more confident, a very welcomed change. He lost that last year. He was dealing with a lot of anger and insecurity. Lucas is just as fiery but he’s been absorbing a ton of information. One of the reasons I love unschooling.  Littles learn quite well via osmosis lol. That’s why what you do is just as  important as what you say. They pick up everything. Mosiah is every bit of a “big boy” now. His personality is becoming more defined and his vocabulary is expanded tenfold. As a parent  I love observing the psychological aspects of child development. With a new found vocabulary comes empowerment. Mosiah does a lot more for himself, but he’s also more confident in communicating what he can’t do.

 We have a few things in the works for later this year. Due to the amount of undesired attention, those will be in a later journal. Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss any new posts.