Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Our kids joined 4H this year, which means we've been super busy but we've also been having a lot of fun!  We had "4H Days" recently and each of the boys signed up to give presentations.  I was really surprised when they all said they wanted to do it!  

Trusten spoke on Samuel Morse (inventor of morse code)

 Brahm did a presentation on how a guitar makes noise

Samuel talked about his favorite super heros
 

Trusten also acted in a skit and sang in a chorus
(both of which got Top Blue!)


4H offers so many awesome opportunities that we wouldn't get otherwise!  My boys were able to conquer some common fears that many adults still struggle with!  Plus, giving these presentations encourages them to learn more about something they love...which I love!

 

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Chickens: Ready...Set...

We are now getting ready to dive into the hobby of chicken farming!  That's right...the Wheelers are going to be farmers (of some sort)!


When we got married ten years ago, we never would have guessed we'd be raising our family in this small rural town with a passion growing inside us for pasture raised poultry.  We were both city kids, tried and true.  All the conveniences of the big city had us saying "We could never live in the country"!

As our family has grown and changed, so have our desires.  Once the Lord called us to this little city, we quickly began to long for a home in the country, so we moved out from the city limits to a 5 acre "fix-me-up" farm outside of town.    

Here we are...and we are absolutely loving it!  Let me tell you, the simple life is quite addicting!  Watching my boys work along side their dad and seeing our whole family involved in projects is such a sweet blessing!

As we have worked, studied and prepared to be chicken farmers, the kids have been included in it all and they are just as excited as we are!

Our passion for pasture raised poultry began with a simple goal: to feed our family better food.  For over a year and a half we read and studied about how to produce our own healthy, organic food.  Chickens seemed like the easiest "meat" to start with so we began reading what the expert in raising quality chicken had to sayJoel Salatins methods have been a HUGE inspiration and guide on our journey!

So with his plans in hand, we got started this weekend!


We are using special pens that we have constructed ourselves.  These pens allow for mobility, as we will move our chickens to fresh grass every day, which will also mean new insects and seeds in their crisp "salad bar".  The pens also provide the perfect balanced temperature for the heat of our mid-west days and the cool of the night.

We will even be butchering the chickens ourselves, on site, following Salatins technique. Butchering on site guarantees that our methods remain humane and clean as we strive from beginning to end to gain the healthiest chicken possible.

So the construction has begun!!  Stay tuned for (what I'm sure will be) our crazy adventure with all it's failures and successes!


Saturday, February 9, 2013

It's been awhile...


Some exciting things have happened in the last few months...

We had our sixth baby, Hope

She's almost 2 months old now and the rock star of our house...
All the kids adore her!

And Ryan and I just celebrated 10 incredibly blessed years together

(Then)

 (Now)

 And the adventures have just begun!!!  More to come on our next adventure soon!



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