Finding the beauty in our life on this homestead as we find joy in cooking from scratch, raising animals, and finding inspiration in our simple homestead life.
Sometimes our path is clear and it’s easy to know where to go. Other times we enter into the fog based on what our hearts tell us to do. All we can do is wait and pray it is worth it.
Sadie, Wisconsin Homesteader
The Homestead Seed is Planted
This homesteading journey started with a seed, planted when I was very young.
My husband (D) and I grew up running around the countryside of a rural town in Wisconsin. Both of our grandparents had farms near our houses, and we grew up exploring the farms and all the land that came with it. We went to high school together, where we met and began dating (my freshman year!). After high school, my husband studied to be come a general contractor, built his business, and is now self-employed as a carpenter. I pursued my my dream as well, studying to become an elementary school teacher. Both of us landed good jobs in the city near our hometown, so we moved back home, bought a house on 3.5 acres near town, and welcomed three beautiful children (C, B, and K) into our family. We really had the perfect American dream, but our hearts continued to yearn for something else.
The Mindset Shift to Simplicity
As we settled into our new life in town, we started to realize some things about ourselves and our situation. It was hard for us to see so many cars on the street when we went for walks at night. It was hard for us to see the lights of our neighbor’s houses through the trees. We just weren’t used to it, and even with time, we found we just couldn’t get used to it. We felt surrounded by people, by noises, by busy roads. We felt trapped on our small 5 acre lot, which was mostly thick balsam trees planted in thick rows as a privacy barrier. We found we couldn’t plant a garden large enough to feed our family in the small yard that we had without completely destroying the landscaping.
Choosing to Homestead and Live Simply
In the spring of 2019, a piece of land came up for sale 2 miles from my parent’s house and one mile from my grandparent’s farm. We toiled over what to do. Do we buy the land and change our whole lives? Do we move 25 miles away from our jobs? Is this a chance for us to make the changes we’ve been desiring? Or do we just stay put and continue living the way we have been?
After prayer and lots of late night discussions, we decided to purchase the land. We sold our house, and we’ve now been on this journey of building up our homestead in the middle of no where. While building our house, our family of (then) five lived in a camper on the land that our home was being built on. In July 2021, we officially moved into our new little farmhouse and the adventures only continue. Today, we’ve build our little homestead up to a place of self-sufficiency with our large garden, laying hens, family milk cow, beef cows, pigs, and meat birds. We learn more and more each year, and as we’re running on dreams and love right now, and we appreciate you coming along on our journey!
A Few Fun Facts About Me:
We live in a really rural area, in a township that doesn’t even have a gas station. It’s small, quiet, and full of community- just the way we like it.
I have a deep love for our earth, and I love to seek opportunities to capture the world the way I see it through photography and share it with others.
I am an educator with a Master’s Degree in Education and Technology. I’ve wanted to be a teacher my entire life. Now, I work from home as a teacher to my own children. What a gift! We have four children and homeschool the older two (the younger two aren’t ready for school yet). It’s been a wonderful experience to be able to teach my own children.
Want to learn more about our journey? Check out our homestead diary series!
Click here to hear more about how we built our homestead in Wisconsin from scratch.
Want to get a personalized note from me each week detailing life on the homestead?
You can only get it by signing up for our newsletter! By signing up, you’ll get no more than one email each week from me (and really me- no computers or automated system!). It’s just one friend sharing with another some things she thinks will be useful to you.
Sign up here!
Ready to Start Your Own Homesteading Journey?
Click here to get simple, easy steps to starting on your own homesteading journey from wherever you are right now.