Reflections of 2023

2023 brought a lot of challenges and growth to our little family and homestead. January we welcomed a new sweet nephew into our family, Oliver is almost a year old now! Ava turned 18, officially an adult. We found out I was pregnant with our 5th baby. I went from shocked and a little overwhelmed with the news to excited as we anticipated another baby boy that would join our crew. February proved to be the start of one of the most difficult times I’ve faced thus far. Our Brae Fran turned 7 years old. I visited the doctors office multiple with pregnancy complications. Our family was sick with Covid-19, then the stomach flu, then hand-foot-mouth disease and the winter months started taking its tole on my overall health and morale. The kids had a fun opportunity to try out downhill skiing with their cousins in February and they’ve been begging to go back ever since. Mid-March we found out our little baby boy, Enoch Daniel, had went to Jesus before we even met him. I never understood the heart of a grief stricken mother over the loss of her child but I quickly was overtaken with compassion for other women who had been in a similar place as myself. For a time it felt like my broken heart would never heal. We will never forget the little baby that God gave us for a few short months and I will always wonder what our life would have been with him here. I have learned to move forward as we have seen the goodness of the Lord. In April Ethan and Isaiah wrapped up their season of wrestling- it was so fun to see them continue to improve in their skills. We also brought 3 little piggies to live on the homestead. Peter quickly learned to love his pigs and took great care of them. In May I brought my mare, Ginger, back home from 60 days at the trainer. Unfortunately she didn’t make as much progress as I had hoped and I took a really big fall off her. We began evaluating our little homestead on a more serious note. Our goal has always been to use the homestead for the benefit of our entire family. We sadly said our goodbyes to Ginger and Rookie as we realized neither were super great fits for our young family. They went to loving homes and are being doted on! I had always wanted a milk cow and the agreement was: sell the horses, buy a milk cow. I had been considering a lovely cow for several months the previous fall and had made the decision to pass her up when I found I was pregnant in January. After the loss of our baby and the sale of the horses I revisited the idea and was surprised to find our milk cow was still available. By the end of May our sweet and pregnant Gertie girl came to live with us on the farm. We continue to love on our little pony, Bullseye, who is notorious for breaking through fences and doing all sorts of naughty things here. May was a big month for Paddler’s Creek as we ventured out of our comfort zone and took the initiative in forming a farmer’s market in Cohasset. It was a fantastic year and it can only get better going forward. In June we hosted Ava’s Highschool Graduation Party and had visitors attend all the way from California. We are so proud of her and the accomplishments she made. The five younger kids wrapped up their homeschool year. Ethan decided to start picking nightcrawler and selling them to local fishermen in June. He named his new little biz “Crawl-E’s…..good things come to those who bait”. He became quite a little entrepreneur and even hired his cousin Judah Lee for a big order they took on…over 400 crawlers were picked in just one night! In June we also took our annual camping trip to Clubhouse Campground. The kids love fishing off the pier, swimming, biking, and running themselves ragged and dirty. We never want to come home. We have been tenting the last several years but after this year we decided to purchase a camper from some church friends. We offered flower subscriptions this year for the first time ever. It was somewhat nerve wracking as we had a tough growing season but we learned and grew threw it! I put out 6 bouquets each for 13 customers throughout the summer months. We are already looking at seeds and planning for the upcoming season. In July we tackled our hay field again; this time with a new farmer as our old one had retired. As is typical with farmers and the farming world we gained a new friend and Wilbur has become our new hay man. This year didn’t yield as great of a hay crop but it was enough to provide Gertie for hay through the winter. I also drug my sister and her kiddos to the middle of nowhere where we picked blueberries for the day. I brought home over 14 pounds of delicious wild berries that we continue to enjoy through the winter months. August Gertie finally gave birth to a beautiful bull calf. The kids and I were able to witness the entire birth from start to finish- it was phenomenal and she did such a great job. She didn’t need any assistance. She became a protective mama and we started learning the ropes of milking a cow. August was filled with harvesting apples from our tree, finishing up gardens, and enjoying ever last moment of our summer months. We ended it with the county fair and soaked up all the horse shows, fair food, rides, lego competitions, and more with nana and friends. Gidsy also turned 4 in August. I dreaded the month of September as that would have been when I should have been birthing our baby boy we lost back in the spring. I went to bed on his due date in tears and woke up the following morning to a positive pregnancy test. We were thrilled about the news of this new little one. Brae began her 3 months of gymnastics in September. This was her third year and she continues to improve and loves doing flips everywhere she goes. We began our school year later in the month and it was great to get back into a routine. We took the kids to their first rodeo and it was a blast. Dan was a groomsmen in my cousins wedding in October. The days began slowing down as we entered cooler weather and less outdoor responsibilities. We taught the kids how to fly kites and we enjoyed a fun filled afternoon together outdoors. I began having similar pregnancy complications in October that I had experienced in the spring. It got very worrisome and I began doctoring weekly. We slaughtered our three pigs and learned life lessons from two elderly men. Dan’s sister and her husband were able to come for a long weekend visit and we had such a special time together. In November we found out we were expecting a baby GIRL. This was such exciting news, especially for Braelynn, who is surrounded by a household of boys. For Thanksgiving Isaiah was determined we make a banana cream pie so the boys and I enjoyed baking together. We spent the day with family and as always it was special. Peter turned 17 in November. December was a busy month for our family! Ethan turned 10, Isaiah turned 6, and the holiday season had us busy in a fun way. I hosted our 3rd annual Sip N Shop for the business. We had a tremendous turn out in spite of the cold and somewhat icky weather. The rest of December was spent with family and church friends at various times gathering and sharing the celebration of our Savior’s birth. The kids had their annual cousin Christmas party where nana nailed it again in best party thrower. We were able to host our nephew, Jason, during his Christmas college break and really loved having him near us for a time.

As we face 2024 we anticipate a beautiful baby girl joining the crew sometimes late spring, Lord willing.We are enjoying discussing future goals and what it will entail as we move forward: More pigs, farmer’s market, flowers, gardening, livestock, hopes and dreams are all on the table for discussion as we look forward to another year together.