Can I drop my kid off so you can put them to work? Any chance you would want an extra kid over the summer to come work on the farm? I don’t want you to be too harsh, but maybe my kid can come work for you and they can sweat a little? Do you have a camp where I can come drop my kid off and they work on your farm? We hear it all the time from people.  It is usually meant as a joke and often joked about as a form of punishment, but the idea of having a summer camp for children h

One thing I have enjoyed learning, has been helpful for my understanding, and has increased my appreciation for the food I eat is learning more about the time and planning it takes for the food to make it to my plate – the math of farming is what I’ve decided to call it. I never gave much thought to the food on my plate in the time period I like to refer to as BB (before Brandon). Growing up in school, when farming came up, I really just thought of it as caring for the plant

This blog post is not meant to make anyone feel bad nor is it a list of complaints about this line of work we have chosen, but rather observations I have had over the years. What are your thoughts? There seems to be, at least in some circles, a movement towards buying local. People are looking for and hoping to find local sources for their food. I believe this was already happening, and then, out of a fear of scarcity, it was expedited in some ways by COVID19. As a small f

I spent a lot of time reading, listening, pondering, and reflecting while writing last weeks blog about what being a livestock farmer during COVID-19 has looked like.  It wasn’t a nice and sweet story about Romney Ann bottle feeding a lamb or a fun new recipe to try.  But honestly, it was more the type of stuff I am eager to share – not the bad necessarily, but the honest. The genuine reflections of what life as a farmer is really like, the beautiful right alongside the hard

These have been strange, funky, unprecedented, pick your own adjective and go crazy kind of times.  In the beginning, I kept saying, “this is just weird.”  And honestly, this past month has been way more than weird.  It’s been unlike any other.  It’s been tough and at the same time filled with some of the most beautiful moments imaginable.  I have simultaneously felt deep gratitude for this time as well as paralyzing anxiety about what’s going on around me and how it’s negati

It’s Earth Day!  Actually, to be more specific, this is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day!  I would venture to say that any Earth Day events that were planned for your community today or anytime this week have been cancelled.  Where Brandon and I work, we had planned to have a big work day in celebration of Earth Day this past Saturday, and it was cancelled. But, even without a big event where you would get a sweet t-shirt for helping plant trees, clean up a roadway, or sort

Brandon and I are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).  We actually both grew up in ELCA congregations AND we met each other through the Lutheran Campus Ministry that was hosted and supported by the ELCA congregation in Clemson, SC, University Lutheran Church.  Our faith is very important to the two of us both individually and together as a couple, as a family and as farmers.  We are far from perfect, and if that’s the picture that is ever painted by

There are obviously a lot of ways our environment impacts our lives, for each of us. For instance, I don’t think if Brandon and I lived in a city, in some high-rise apartment building, that we would have a bottle-fed lamb for RA to grow up with. First, can you imagine Brandon living in an apartment?! Hahahaha! Anyway, I digress, but it may seem obvious that parts of our lives would be drastically different if we didn’t live where we do. But also, there may be many elemen

Alrighty, we are kicking off 2020 blogs with a book recommendation! This may seem like a strange place to start, but I know I really enjoyed Uncluttered by Rev. Courtney Ellis and I think maybe some of you would enjoy it too. As you think through what is to come, the excitement and joy of a fresh start – a new year, a new decade – and the direction you want to head this year, let this book be a resource to equip and inspire you! I first saw this book mentioned by a friend.

As I shared when I began this blog, it is has surprised me how living on a farm and living the way we do, has affected so many different aspects of our lives – including our parenting style. And this is where I will stop for my first public service announcement to say I truly try to respect all different parenting choices and styles.  I won’t say I’m prefect at it, we all have room to grow, but what I’m about to share about choices we have made and how they have worked for us

I remember in college when my campus pastor mentioned Brandon, thinking maybe we would be a good match for each other.  My immediate response was, “Yeah right, he’ll never leave Pomaria!”  Part of this quick response was because I could never have imagined myself living in such a small rural town, but also because I was fairly certain I wouldn’t be living in the US much longer.  I already had my dreams set on serving through a program called Young Adults in Global Mission (YA

I love going home! As I said in my opening blog, my childhood was great and the neighborhood I grew up in was wonderful. My parents still live in the house I grew up in, complete with the heights of myself and my three older siblings on the door jam of the master bedroom. Every inch of that house holds with it some incredible memories of the laughter and tears of the six of us along with our pets and so many friends and family members. The house was and is still great, bu

Disclaimer: For those of you who know me well, know I preface things far too much. It’s a character flaw, I’m aware. But we live in a world where we jump to conclusions when people state opinions – if I say I like chocolate ice-cream than of course, logically, that means I HATE vanilla…WRONG! This is not how I feel at all, ESPECIALLY around the topic of parenting. Everyone must pick what’s best for their family and their child AND respect others’ choices as well. Just b

Wow! I was working ahead and started drafting this blog LAST week to be able to post on Sunday. I wasn’t even waiting till the last minute! (My mom would be so proud.) But as I began to write, I kept going down rabbit holes I didn’t want to go down. As I continued to write, edit, delete, and write again, I have settled on the following. There are many topics to elaborate on that will come from this blog over time, but my hope and intention is just to give an overview of

Given Passages for Today: Acts 9:36-43, Psalm 23, Revelation 7:9-17, John 10:22-30 I am a called and consecrated Minister of Word and Service in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). I attended seminary and received a Masters of Arts in Christian Ministry with an emphasis in Missional Outreach. Many of those with an MACM may serve in congregations as Minister of Children, Youth, and Family or as Minister of Christian Education, Minister of Worship and Music, M

The Confessions of a Reluctant Farmer’s Wife is something I have thought about for over a year now. One time Brandon was talking about wanting to blog and I jokingly told him I had the perfect name for one if I ever decided to blog (which I knew would never happen – wrong). Since then, in passing he or I would mention “That would be a great blog post,” or “#ReluctantFarmer.” I have learned so much from Brandon and from living on a farm and I guess I have finally come around