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Progress

Progress on the farm has been ongoing since I last posted in September. We are about halfway finished with the addition of the fence. We have added 2 goats and 1 pony to our farm crew. I have also been experimenting with soapmaking! We had expected to be a little farther along in our journey, however, we know that everything happens in God's perfect timing. Proverbs 16:9: "A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps." This one verse is so true to remember. We can make all the plans that we want, but they will not be prosperous or even happen until God sees fit for it to happen. Until that time, we must pray and seek God's guidance in every step we take.  Until then, we will continue with building fences, tending to the goats, pony, and chickens. We will enjoy the land that He has provided us with. We will learn all that we can during this time of growth. Most importantly, we will do everything in accordance to God's will and to glorify Him. 
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Recent posts

Hard Work

Lately, we’ve been working HARD on the farm. We are still in the process of fencing in the pasture. The fence lines were so overgrown with briers, poison oak and ivy, trees, and everything else. We are FINALLY to the point where we can place the cross ties and T-posts. After this, we will hang the goat wire.  I am easily discouraged when it comes to working on long term projects. When I can only see minimal results, no results, or problems arise, I am ready to throw in the towel. I realize this is a horrible mind set, but this is one of my flaws. I want to see results NOW. I do not want to waste time on a project that will not be beneficial or live up to its potential. Lately, I have realized how detrimental of a mind set this is. It is up to me to put in the hard work and show the project’s potential and benefits. Thankfully, I have a partner who pushes me. He reminds me that we can not get to point B without first going through point A.  God also directs us to put in the hard work. W
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Plans

So, if you have made it this far, you have already realized that writing is not my strong suit. So why blog our journey? I have learned so much from reading other blogs, I felt that I would share our journey. There will be progress, failure, good days, and bad days. If I can encourage just one person or give any helpful hints or advice to others starting out on their journey, I want to do just that.  That being said, we are very early in our farming journey. Our plan? We are currently fencing in our largest area of open pasture for our pony, Star. We also plan to purchase goats! We may also add sheep to our flock! Before building the fence, there was approximately 15 years of growth to be cleaned off of the barbed wire fence lines. We have encountered bugs, snakes, poison oak, poison ivy, briars, and many other obstacles. To say this process has been exhausting is an understatement!  Why goats and sheep? There are so many options with goats and sheep. Obviously, you can raise and sell
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Who are we?

We are the Summerfords! We live on approximately 15 acres in rural north Alabama. Our lives have changed (for the better) over the past 2 years when I (Jessica) became a stay-at-home mom. I had previously been a healthcare worker. My husband (Blake) currently works as a nurse at the corporate level of a hospice company. Previously, we were both working very demanding jobs, our 3 children attended public schools, and they were involved in all sorts of extra curricular activities. To say we were stretched thin is an understatement! Unfortunately, this led to unhealthy eating and sleeping habits, extreme stress, and just a generally unhealthy lifestyle.  In 2018, Blake accepted a position which involved traveling 2 to 3 weeks out of each month. This provided our family with the means for me to stay home with our children full-time and focus on their needs. I had worked mostly full time since I was 15 years old, so this was a drastic change for me. I decided to take a job working part-time
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