The Calm Before the Storm

Father Henry even offered Mass for us...

the final blessing

Movin' to the country...

That's right! We are once again packing up our stuff and moving across the country.  You can read more of the how here.  But, I wanted to give a little more of the why here on my blog.

A couple days after Peter was born, Jason and I were talking over coffee about what we wanted life to be like in five years.  It then hit us like a ton of bricks that the direction we are going isn't going to take us to where we want to be.  Jason dreams of being able to work with his hands, with his sons right next to him. He loved going to work with his Dad when he was little and learned so much about the natural virtues there.  He longs for a similar experience for his kids.  While he LOVES his job at Fraternus, the kids can't go with him.  In school he has also learned a lot about the traditional role of the husband; working close to home, teaching children the trade, etc, and how important the father is in day to day life of the family. How the babies cling to their mother, but eventually venture out of the house and to the land to learn from the father.  Husband literally means "house bound." So while Jason wants to stay with Fraternus, he really wants to be more house bound, meaning we want some home industries we can do together.

As for me, I want my husband to be happy.  I stay at home and my husband has the responsibility of being the sole provider for the family.  He really believes in a more rural vision for life and that's just hard in the modern suburban setting.  He thinks something needs to change.  So I will follow my man, even if that is to...

A FARM!

Yes, I am not outdoor-sy, I hate bugs and take delight in killing them when they enter my dwelling place. I also know nothing about plants or how to tend them. But, I am willing to learn. I know how important it is for the masculine heart to work with the ground from which he was made.  I also know that my daughter will delight in helping to take care of the animals. And I am happy anywhere my family is. Gosh I love them.

I also desire good quality food for my family, and the more I learn, the less I trust whats being sold in our grocery chain.  I want to know what my chickens and cows eat, how they were treated, and to have a trusting relationship with their farmer; to be able to shake his hand.  I want my kids to know where their food comes from, and to respect that.  I also don't want to be a part of food systems that are unjust to farmers and workers, while we stamp our feet for cheaper and cleaner food.

But, where's home? Where do we go to set down roots? To literally plant our dreams? I think it is a question that every married couple faces eventually. We are done (unless God has other plans) running all over the country.  We want our children to have lifelong friends. As much as we LOVE living in Denver, it is too far away from the people we love and want to see often.  It makes us sad to leave here because we have the perfect parish:  holy priests, reverent beautiful liturgy, great fellowship. So our first step in deciding where to move was to find a great parish where were can grow spiritually that's also close to family and friends.

You can read the rest of how Jason found Tryon, NC on his blog acatholiclandmovement.blogspot.com.

FYI: Jason has no plan of ever leaving Fraternus.  This is simply a move toward living more off the land.

We know we have a lot to learn, and that's why I am so excited about where we are moving.  We will be living in an old farmhouse and working off our rent by doing chores around the owner's farm.  Jason's horticulture degree will kick back into gear.  We will begin learning the habits of self sustainability with mentors to guide us. We will also be able to pay off debt and save at an amazing rate.

Please pray for us as we embark on this journey...

Random pics...

Pics like this remind me of Susanna, MM's cousin. 

 

Peter is so handsome, we are so intrigued by him. 

 

i love my family.

Do you know where your milk comes from?

On the way home from our trip to the mountains, we stopped by the farm where we buy our milk, Johnson's acres.  We got to meet the cows, shake hands with our farmer, see the milking parlor etc.

Here is MM with our farmer, Kenny.

We can honestly say that the milk we buy here is the best tasting milk ever. We go through three gallons in three days!

If you follow me on pintrest, you probably know by now that the Craig family loves us some cows.  We hope to own a few someday!

For more info on the benefits of drinking raw milk go here:

http://www.realmilk.com/moreraw.html

http://www.nourishingjoy.com/5-reasons-we-drink-our-milk-raw/

 http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-pasteurized-milk/

For concerned parents, Johnson's Acres tests twice a week for bad bacteria and has never once gotten a bad report!

Rocky Mountian Trip, Day Two

seriously, does anyone ever get tired of looking at or holding a sleeping baby?? I don't...

We went on a drive down Tree Line Drive and stopped to play for a while at some waterfalls.

 

Then we continued to drive to the top of the mountain.

 

It was really windy...

but the kids were in heaven.  We were almost at the very top of the mountain and I felt like I was in the Sound of Music, the way the tips of the mountains rolled in front of me. 

 

We ended the long day at a Ranch here in the Park.  When the gov was giving away land, they told people that if they lived there for five years, the land was all thiers.  Most people didn't make it past two years because of the intense weather conditions.

The park we saw, Hollingsworth Ranch, was one of the families that did make it.   We were really inspired by their story. The husband lost all his money when the prohibition came around and they moved up here to do cattle farming. About a year in, he fell and broke his hip and was bedridden for another year. They then turned their land into a resort.  They had to make it work; they had no other options. Here the kids are playing dress up.

What a fun time!

Happy Four Months Peter!

At four months Peter is such a sweetheart! He is almost rolling over from back to front and has a really funny laugh. He thinks his siblings are hilarious.  What is amazing is the bond he already has with his father...

He reaches for him already!

On our trip to the mountains, Peter was amazing in the car seat.  He is our first child who doesn't seem to mind the car seat  (my other two would scream and scream!).  He falls asleep in the car seat like a champ and has even put himself to sleep before on our bed. 

So, while our big kids were doing this...

Peter was doing this...

isn't he a chunk of hunk???

Lord knows we needed a little less noise in the car, trying to drive carefully through this...

There was the road, and then next to the road was a very long drop.  Sneeze and you're dead.  Thank God Jason is such a good driver! He admitted though, once we got back down to lower elevations, that he was sweating the whole time.