A [Great] Day In the Life of Us

Most days here at Iveyshire are pretty uneventful. We take care of our animals. My husband goes to work. I do homeschooling lessons with the kids. I do laundry and fit in cooking, a million snacks, and the subsequent dishes somewhere in between.

But the other day was jam-packed with bona fide homesteading awesomeness. None of it was planned- the day just unfolded into something wonderful all on its own.

There’s No Place Like Home

Calvin and I got up early and sipped coffee together in peace before all the kids woke up. (I can just hear all the parents thinking, “Ooohh, this is gonna be good!”)

Since Calvin had the day off work, we started in on making another big batch of applesauce. Once that was going, my husband got out the jar of sourdough starter and prepped the dough.

The house was warm and cozy, we had some music playing, the apples were simmering on the stove, the bread dough was doing its thing, and some potatoes were sizzling in the pan for a yummy breakfast.

Then I happened to glance outside and noticed a certain four-legged visitor coming out of the woods. It’s currently muzzle loader season here, so Calvin grabbed his gun and brought home the bacon. I mean, venison.

The kids’ homeschooling for the morning quickly went from handwriting and math to a lesson on field dressing a deer. I was so proud of them! They all watched and helped, with the boys snagging every possible opportunity to touch it. And even though my daughter said it was “pretty gross”, she still wanted to observe- and she still enjoys eating venison.

The greatest part is that all that happened before 8am (I know the stove says 9:00 in the picture, Nancy Drew. But Daylight Savings is ridiculous and it takes me a few days to change all the clocks, ok?). For the remainder of the day, we finished canning the applesauce, baked the bread, did more homeschooling work, and even fit in a trip to the playground.

A Glimpse of the Future

Ultimately, it’s the days like this that keep us going. Having morning coffee talks as the sun rises. Bustling about a house that smells like a home-cooked meal and freshly-baked bread. Eating meat from our own land. Our kids learning practical skills from their best teachers: mom and dad. That’s exactly what we’re working toward. I hope we have many, many more days like this to come.

When I talked to my mom that evening, she said, “Your day sounds like something straight out of Little House on the Prairie!” If that isn’t the epitome of homestead life, I don’t know what is.

So no matter what’s on your agenda for today, whether it’s work, school, errands, or piles of laundry and dishes, I hope you have a great day. You never know what little joys might come your way!

Remember to check out my Instagram page @iveyshireblog!

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