“So many hours. So much toil. So many resources. So much labor. So many missed social events and family trips. So much heartache when an animal dies or a crop fails. So many early mornings and late nights. So much investment for often so little gain. So many what ifs, why nots, how comes and if onlys. So much uncertainty and very few assurances. So many variables so out of our control.

How can one possibly love a farm? Because a farm gives so much more than it takes.

So much pride in feeding your own family and countless others. So many memories doing the hard things together. So much joy in what some see as mundane but you see as miraculous. So many days spent making a life, not a living. So much value in what’s ultimately priceless. So many life lessons that no book could ever teach. So much faith in the greater good and our God, who holds it and us all together.

To love a farm is not for the faint of heart, though some days it takes all we’ve got to keep our hearts strong, minds focused and feet moving. It’s the hard days of farming that make the good days all the more worth it.”

Read the rest of the article here.

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Winter comes with it’s own waylay of monotony. Between the mud and manure and day-to-day feeding of cows, it can all get overwhelming. My winter may look different than your winter, but I bet a lot of us feel the drudgery of shorter days, colder weather and lack of “life” for lack of a better way of putting it. Sometimes it takes a change of perspective to change, well, our perspective. I wrote about finding winter’s joy for Hyco Magazine this month and I hope you’ll find some encouragement in these thoughts. See excerpt below and read full article here. Let me know how winter is treating you and know you have a friend in the fight to find and keep the joy!

xx,
m

Yes, winter can have its trials. The lack of daylight, the colder temps, the mud, (and here, manure) and the seeming monotony of it all. But, oh, what joy winter can also bring. A reminder that without the weight of winter, we would lose the purpose in the wait for spring. And I believe there is purpose in it. It’s in the wait we can tend to what needs tending in preparation to bloom. There’s a reason God made leaves to fall, animals to hibernate, and plants to go dormant. We need the same at times. We sometimes need pruning for future growth. We need slower seasons in life to focus on the now, while building a stronger foundation for what’s coming later. It’s the difficult days that can make the best days even sweeter.

I don’t doubt that I’ll still complain this winter.  It’s human nature in us all. But I’m going to try harder to see more of what’s in front of me, learn from what’s behind me, and be hopeful for what’s ahead. Knowing that each season carries its own lessons and beauty when we see them for what they are. And I’m really hoping we get to make snow cream at least once this winter. Because there’s no cream like snow cream. Have I made that point clearly enough?!

Here’s to whatever winter brings for us all and the peace of mind to hold it carefully for the joy it can give if we open our hands and hearts to it.

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When I first started taking photography seriously I did a much better job of taking photos of our everyday. It was new and fun learning to use my “big girl” camera. Turns out we all have cameras in our pockets all the time now and I’ve gotten worse about doing this. Taking time to snap photos of all the little things that add up to all the big things. Because that’s how this equation of life works.

So today I decided to snap photos of the little things. The moments that made this day special. And really there are moments each and every day that make them all special, because each and every moment of every day is a gift.

Even in the midst of an ice storm, dirty dishes and losing power, there was laughter, kids playing (and fighting), and time together. There was memories made. And now documented.

I’d challenge you to use that camera in your pocket more, too. Because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed and the only photo you’ll regret not having is the one you didn’t take.

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I told my girl recently the best way to learn was by doing. I believe that, because I’ve lived it. ⁣
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If my 42 year-old self could go back to my 22⁣ year-old self, at first thought I’d tell her what she should do different. But then again, I wouldn’t. ⁣
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Because every move has led me to where I am today and I’m better for the lessons I’ve learned.⁣
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The only things I’d change are things I had no control over. I’d rather not have lived through hard losses, but I’m thankful for the years I had building memories and knowing love that made the voids so great. ⁣
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Instead of telling my younger self to take a different path, I’d tell her to walk it more carefully. ⁣
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I’d tell her to take more time to savor the small, because one day she’d realize that’s where the big really lies. ⁣
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I’d tell her to dream big, because no dream was too big for her God. ⁣
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I’d tell her it’s ok to be scared, but to jump the cliffs anyway – she has more strength than she realizes. ⁣
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I’d tell her to stop measuring herself against others and stand tall in the unique person she was created by a God who doesn’t make mistakes. ⁣
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I’d tell her to soak up the present, because the present is a gift. ⁣
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I’d tell her to keep her circle small, tightly knit and treasure her true friends. ⁣
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I’d tell her to not give up when things get hard, but let the hard be fuel to reap the rewards of pressing on. ⁣
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I’d tell her that things in life worth having don’t come free. Handouts build dependence; hard work builds character. And the best things in life can’t be bought, so be content with what you have. Your treasures have hearts and souls (but it’s ok to splurge on boots. They have soles, too.)⁣
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I’d tell her to give herself and others more grace, it smooths our flaws. (And speaking of smoothing flaws, start using moisturizer on your face now. You’ll thank me.)⁣
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I’d tell her to just keep going and today I’m telling myself and anyone listening the same. ⁣
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Today is a gift, y’all. Every day we open our eyes and take a breath is a gift. Let us use the time we have, living full while fully alive. If I get 42 more minutes or 42 more years, I pray I don’t forget that. ⁣
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I should be looking down, but I’m usually looking up or out. Hubs is looking for green shoots on the ground and I’m chasing thoughts, per usual. I’ve been chasing a lot of them lately. And writing them down. Here’s my current list of things I’m (still) learning. Happy to hear what’s on your mind, too. Do you have a favorite thinking place?

…

Steer clear of the easy road. Strength comes on the uphill and getting back up after you fall.

Forgive others. Forgive yourself. What bitterness and shame shackle, forgiveness sets free.

No thing in life is more important than the things money can’t buy. Spend the few breaths you have left focusing on the ones that bring joy, with the people that matter the most.

Above every cloud the sun is always shining.

Love more. Judge less.

Standing firm in your beliefs – even if it means standing alone – is better than washing away in a tide of complacency. And you can stand firm without disrespecting the beliefs of others.

It’s ok to say no for a better yes.

I’ll keep adding. Because I think it’s ok to change and grow, much like these crops we window farm.

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All smiles for silage. And thinking how grateful I am for all of this and all of you.
Grateful for this way of life more than I ever knew I would or could be.

Grateful I started sharing it online – the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Grateful for the community I’ve found here (that’s you!) that encourages, inspires and supports so well.

Grateful for all the freedoms I have and those who have and continue to secure them.

Grateful for the promise of a new day, new crop, and new life about to start on the farm.

This Farm Wife turns 2 on September 19th, and I can’t help but look back over the last two years and have immense gratitude. When I hit “publish” for the first time, I never imagined that two years later this is where we’d be. As cliché as it sounds, an attitude of gratitude keeps all of this – and all of the hard and heavy – in perspective. Because at the end of the day, we all have so much to be grateful for.

What are you grateful for today? I’d love to hear.

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The days are getting longer, but I can’t help but think lately how the days are getting shorter. Maybe it’s my age. This time in life watching my kids grow too fast and time slip by even faster. Some days I let it get the best of me. Worrying the days we’ve had so far haven’t been spent the way they should have been. Worrying I haven’t done the right things to put them on the right track.

I was talking with a friend recently struggling with motherhood and I told her she was right on track. That God was still in control and what the enemy means for bad, God can turn and use for good. Then I realized I needed the same message.

Life isn’t always easy. Parenthood is hard. Life is hard. Not everyday is sunshine and flowers, more often than not it’s mud and weeds. But it takes all of that to make life whole. And without the rain that brings the mud, we’d never have anything to harvest.

These are things I’m stewing on while stirring supper tonight. If you need the reminder, this as much for you as it is for me. Just know you’re never alone and doing the best we can is the best we can do.

So keep doing and keep going.

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This photo smiles at me every day from my fridge and I always smile back. It wasn’t taken yesterday, even though it feels like it. This was taken two and a half years ago, one fall afternoon while we were out checking calves as a family and the kids asked to stop to play a minute in old barn loft.

The same one they now have a super cool clubhouse in. The same one they find common ground in and enjoy nailing up old signs they’ve found in the old house up the dirt road. The same one with an old bench seat from an old car of their Papa’s that makes the perfect “lounge chair.” The old loft where they are making new memories – together.

And it’s these times among all the others where they can get on each others nerves and the rivalry starts to run deep, that I realize these moments are running deep, too. And in the end, hopefully they’ll run deeper than anything else that would try to pull them apart.

They recently gave me a tour of the clubhouse for a vlog and they’d love to share with you, too. Watch below…

What are some of your favorite childhood memories?

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In a way that’s hard to put in words, when my dish drainer is full of these things, my heart is full, too. 

I tried to explain in this months DTN/The Progressive Farmer magazine how these green glass dishes are filled with sweeter memories more than they are ever filled with food. And how even so, it all goes hand in hand. 

Because the things that remind us of the people and times we cherish most of all, are most of all important. 

Article here —> http://bit.ly/MemoryDishes

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The polar vortex and a surprise calf dropped this week (meet Buffalo in the video), which ended up calling for Mexican cornbread. Because happy endings always involve butter and cast iron. A friend sent a box full of Texas cornbread goodies that I had to try pronto. So I did what I do, and started scheming. A trip to the Piggly Wiggly for a few extra ingredients was worth the miles for this Mexican cornbread recipe that left appetites satisfied and plates clean. Sometimes I get things wrong in the kitchen, but sometimes I get things really right and this was one of those nights. See full details (and some farm life, too) in the vlog. If you’d rather just see the cornbread making, skip to 7:15. No hard feelings. ;)In my book (and in my belly), there’s no bad cornbread. What’s your favorite? Drop a reply in the comments, I’d love to know.

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Mexican Cast Iron Cornbread

Author Meredith Bernard

Ingredients

• 1 lb sausage or hamburger
• 1 stick butter
• 1 pkg mexican cornbread mix or regular cornbread mix
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ½ can mexicorn
• 1/2 can creamed corn
• 1 cup mexican shredded cheese or your choice

Instructions

• How to cook MEXICAN CAST IRON CORNBREAD
• Mix first 5 ingredients in bowl.
• Preheat oven to 400, while melting stick of butter in cast iron pan
• Layer ½ corn mix batter, then sausage, top with cheese, add rest of batter
• Cook until brown and bubbly – 15-20 min.
• Eat. And don’t expect any leftovers.

Video

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