Blueberries and Honeycomb

Lately, the harvest has been sweet. Full of ripe, juicy blueberries and spring honey straight from the comb. We know that we will be staying on Brant Family Farm until November 1st. God gave Andy an "apprenticeship" last week, which keeps us on the farm for the months of September and October, giving us August off to travel and look at farms between here and Colorado, where we will be visiting family and friends in between. We'd been praying and getting rather overwhelmed with the unknown, but we are confident and know that the Lord is leading us, regardless of our doubts. There are hundreds of tomatoes, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, potatoes, beans, blueberries, strawberries and so much more, ready for harvest and consumption. It's been a delicious combination of natural goodness. Praise God His sweet faithfulness, which is even better than blueberries and honeycomb!

Local Honey and Big Dreams

"Local honey and Big Dreams" <--- that was the title of an email that Andy recently sent out to an entrepreneur friend of ours and I thought it was perfectly fitting for our lives right now. Andy is out in the field harvesting spinach, radishes, and turnips for the market tomorrow. Don and Susan (owners of Brant Family Farm, where Andy and I currently live and work) are at a market now and Elijah is trying to nap on the sofa. It's not easy for our little seven week old bundle of boy to fall asleep all by himself.
We have been praying and hoping and praying for some opportunities to start our own farm. We still have a commitment to fulfill here in South Carolina and it has been an extraordinary season so far. We can't help but to think about the future though. Especially, since we have no idea what's next. We have been married for less than a year and this is our third home so far. God is simply reminding us to rely on Him and not our own understanding as we continue to walk by faith.

Brant Family Farm is amazing. Don and Susan have worked hard here and we are blessed to be able to live and work alongside them. We learn so much every day and we know that God led us here. This morning, as  I walked around the pond, I couldn't help but realize just how peaceful it is on these 186 acres. We are still hoping to have a sustainable children's home someday or to at the very least, be able to sponsor one somewhere. We'll see what happens with local honey and big dreams.

Baby Chicks, Baby Boy & and Baby Blog

Sitting at our kitchen table, while 2 &1/2 week old Elijah naps in the picture window, I begin The Blog. Needing a creative outlet and desiring to share our family adventures, blogging seemed to be the most tangible way to accomplish such a hope. Andy picked some flowers to grace the tiny countertop, during his lunchbreak and the dishes are clean, which makes me think that all is well.
We've been living and working at Brant Family Farm in South Carolina for almost two months now. Andy started on Feb. 1st. We left his previous job, our apartment, and our friends with a hope and a prayer (or hundreds) to move to an area completely foreign to us. Savannah is not far away, but we committed to live and work here in Grays, South Carolina for a 6 month period, while I was 7 months pregnant and without even a knowing what we'd be living in or how we'd manage on a 50% paycut, because we knew that God arranged it all for us.
We'd been praying for months for an opportunity and despite many shut doors, we believed that God gave us the desire to work the land, feed the hungry, and take care of the orphans and widows. We had a goal and decided that if we were not on a farm by June 2011, then we would look for a house to buy in Savannah. God moved us to a farm in Feb. after introducing us to Don and Susan Brant through the pastor of our church. It's unbelievable how everything worked out and I certainly don't want to forget that God made a way for us to be here and he is going to continue to guide our steps, even though we don't know where we will be living in four months from now.
Elijah is sleeping peacefully.
Andy is at the garden, probably planting one of hundreds of tomato plants.
It's been a busy season. So much work to do.
There are 60 baby chickens in a little shed outside. They will be laying incredible, edible eggs in a few months. They have quadrupled their size twice now. Andy and I are going to meet a family on Tuesday that has goats. We will probably be getting a milk goat soon and hope to expand our business ventures.
We are even looking into some designs for labels/ business cards for the honey supply that we sell. It's feeling more and more official as we realize that it's fun to sell honey from the back of our truck, but if we have a legitimate business, we need to "render to Ceasar that which is Ceasar's" or "pay the man" or get licensed and move forward, so that more opportunities may present themselves... We don't want to short change ourselves. We want to grow. We believe God is going to do something huge. We want to be part of it. So, while the world may wonder why we left our things in Savannah in order to move into a 30ft camper on a farm with strangers in South Carolina, we know that we are following God's direction for our lives and we love it!