Quieter life

Each day I'm amazed at the beauty of nature.  Here, there are more opportunities than in our former suburban neighborhood.

Fr. Iov was a monk who helped my dad in becoming Christian, by working with him and teaching him to drive a tractor and work with the heifers.  He lived at the monastery for most of his life and passed away last week.  He is on the left in this old photo, where they are harvesting potatoes.

Yesterday we went to Denny's for breakfast.  All Veterans get a FREE Grand Slam meal as a thank you!  Our first time going out to eat since our move.  It's been 15 years since Rob has been out of the military.  When he was in the Middle East, he bought the 2 carpets we now use in our home.

Our days consist of milking our cow twice daily, baking bread, making soft cheese, walks in the field, caring for our chickens, chopping wood, prayer and simple homeschool lessons.  We looked at Venus and the waxing crescent moon this past week.  Our oldest son was really excited about seeing the planets and also the Big Dipper in the north sky.  He came in one evening and sat down to draw what he'd seen.

Our chickens are about 2 months old and run free during the day eating grass and insects.  

We got 2 kittens!  They will be barn cats when they're bigger.  We have seen some mice and had apples that we put in the basement that were nibbled and now composted.

My mom came to visit last week to visit and celebrate George's birthday. He just told me again this morning, "Grammie came to my birthday!"  Next, one of my sisters will come this weekend.  And our 2 daughters will be here in December to visit.  We miss being near family, but are really liking this quieter life.