|| farmer's wife life ||

Moving to the farm five years ago was a steep learning curve. Luckily! I knew this was God's plan for my life. 

Right away, I jumped into homeschooling my two nieces. That little venture ended when Jules was born. Since Jules' birth, I've enjoyed just being on the farm as a mom and wife and finding my feet as a "farmer's wife". 

This year, I've done really well (compared to the previous four years) of keeping up with the farm's accounts, and this is something I immensely enjoy. I'm trying to get Leon to let me be more involved in the farm, but he's a bit reluctant because he knows I have a lot on my plate (but I love it that way!). 

Every little bit I learn about the cows and their management is food for my soul. It is so interesting and gives me and Leon things to talk about and mull over. He didn't go to agricultural school so farming has been an uphill battle. He's doing a superb job, too. 

One of the things I've learned is that if a cow is sitting down, it's happy. It's fed and watered and it's comfortable. We like to call this cow comfort. I took this picture on the day we had the big fires on the back of the farm. I did some Instastories that day about the fires and it's affect.

Leon has worked so hard at improving the amount of pastures that we have for the cows to graze. It's rewarding to walk past the cows at 2 in the afternoon and see a large portion of them sitting. We've got a lot of happy cows around this place!

In just a few short weeks, Leon and I join other dairy farmers and off we go on a dairy tour in the States! We are so excited to learn things to improve our dairy farm.

Never thought I'd be a farmer's wife ten years ago, but sure glad I am! :)

|| top 10 reasons I love living here ||

Sometimes, I get so stuck into life here [it's easy to get dragged down into the negatives] that I lose sight of how much I love living in Zambia. So here it goes!

1. It's warm (85% of the year). I love the heat!! I hate the cold, and winter is chilly here, too. But thankfully, it's quite short-lived.

2. Our lifestyle is fairly healthy. Because we make most of our food instead of eating out or buying processed food, my kids eat far less sugar than I did growing up. Oh sure, they eat their share of candy and cookies, but slow cooked oats with honey is the standard breakfast rather than sugary cereal. No Kool-aid here [remember the big jugs we used to make as kids?]. I try not to bat an eye at the junk they eat on holiday because I know it's a temporary attraction. 

3. People are friendly and hospitable. This is something that I've had to really work on! It is a huge part of our culture here. If someone shows up on your doorstep unannounced, it's our obligation to invite them in for tea and a place to sleep if they need one. Coming from "up North" in the States, this has been a learning curve.

4. My kids are getting an old-fashioned childhood! This is one of my most favorite aspects. :) They play with dirt and bugs, have to find their own entertainment, and skinned up knees and elbows are a part of their skincare line. Other than growing up way out in the country in the States, I think I'd have a hard time replicating the old-fashioned childhood my kids are getting now if I lived in the States. 

 5. The culture here is favorable to Christianity. There's PLENTY that is not Christian, but I can sit down with someone in their house and have a conversation about the Bible. It's so delightful to go out on Saturdays and speak to people in their houses and they have a general knowledge base about the Scriptures. Now, are they all born again?  No. But, there's that basis whereas in first-world countries today, many people are not interested in Christianity.

6. I have learned so much about being a homemaker. Now don't get all bristly before you hear me out!! I'm not saying women in the States aren't Proverbs 31 women. But my goodness, these farmers' wives are simply amazing. They're tough as nails, super hard workers, hospitable, and excellent homemakers. I've had to up my game!! Once, a friend casually dropped that she had made sage and pumpkin stuffed ravioli and I was like "whaaaaaat?!!" Talk about amazing! I love the challenge of creating a hospitable, healthy home. 

7. I love the mix of cultures here. It's interesting to sit down for a conversation with someone and learn something new. The American way isn't the only way! Now, red, white, and blue runs through my veins, but it's fun to learn that there's a different way to think or view an idea. I've learned a lot from people I've met here.

8. I've learned to appreciate small things. Fast internet is an absolute luxury and my goodness, do I look forward to that on holiday! Sometimes, the simplest tasks in town can become a nightmare and when I do have a good day and tasks get ticked off easily, I really appreciate that!

9. Life is slow here. We rarely go out at night. Sometimes, we'll go out to friends' or to one of the two decent restaurants in town. But, most nights are spent at home, eating a quiet dinner and chilling. I do miss date nights but have come to appreciate our simple life.

10. Life is very family oriented. I love living on a farm and the opportunity that gives Leon to be around a lot. The kids can spend the morning with him in his office. As they get older, he takes them to town with him on errands. Our kids are so blessed to be able to spend so much time with their dad!

Here's my top 10 reasons I love living in Z! Come and visit! I promise that you'll love it, too!

|| old fashioned dirt ||

Liesl just ran in with her first mudpie. It made me laugh because I'm pretty sure I never had an interest in playing with mud. At summer camp when I was a kid, we were REQUIRED to go on a mud hike and I'm pretty sure 80% of the girls hated every second of that afternoon. The part I hated the most was the smell, and now, I wonder where in the world was this mud hike? 

One thing I'm thankful for as a parent is for the old-fashioned, outdoor childhood that my kids are getting. We don't have a ton of toys on purpose. Mostly because the kids are outside so much, they really don't play with toys. 

A Scottish friend and I were talking about how in Scotland, kids are sent to sensory playgroups. Here, they play outside in the dirt. I have to say, initially as a new mom, I was quite squeamish with the idea of Liesl getting purposefully dirty. But today, [progress], I stood and let a calf suck her fingers over and over and over again. [Yuck!] Jules begrudgingly touched the calf's ear -- mirror of my own opinion! haha!

Although, Jules has eaten a fair share of play sand and beach sand. Job well done, son! Way to strengthen that immune system!

The concept of germs isn't entirely new to me. I read an article way before marriage was on the scene about cutting out antibacterial soap. Our bodies need good germs. Living here, our kids need to be exposed to lots of home or farm germs to strengthen their immune systems. Although, Jules could have skipped drinking out of the [dirty] mop water bucket and the toilet, too [I caught him in the act - blech!]

NOW, we are careful when we go out and about. There are obvious sicknesses [meningitis and other scary sicknesses] that they very well could contract. But washing hands with good 'ole soap and water rather than hand sanitizer has carried Leon through a lifetime of living here, and we try to do the same. 

So I'm wondering how you moms in first world countries feel about your kids getting dirty?