Intro to our family farm

My first post on my first blog...  Guess an introduction is in order! My name is Carie and I'm a blessed wife and mother of 2 gorgeous kiddos that keep my feet amovin! We have a 40 acre farm (Trinity Family Farm) in the Missouri Ozarks about 2 1/2 hours from St. Louis, Springfield, Columbia, and Poplar Bluff. 

The mission of the farm is to produce exceptional pure foods and products for our family and the community while also providing an environment we prefer to raise our children in. Our farm is multi-faceted, meaning we have our hands in many different projects all the time. Currently on the farm: Registered polled Irish Dexter Cattle for grass-fed beef and breeding stock, a LaMancha doe we milk, a few Kiko meat goats for brush, a few Buff Orpington chickens for eggs, a raised bed vegetable garden, and several different fruit trees. We have a large greenhouse we hope to utilize starting this fall for an aquaponics system (fish and veggies/herbs raised in a symbiotic relationship). Coming next spring: Midget White Turkeys for grass-fed turkey, and Black and Blue Copper Marans to diversify our poultry and to help in the conservation of critically endangered species. My amazing husband works outside the farm to support us. One of my greatest desires is to have him home and the farm able to sustain us. We are not poor nor rich, but the Lord perfectly provides for us and I'm ok with that! Our plan for now is: reduce and eliminate debt, manage the livestock towards profitability, gain knowledge and experience with aquaponics systems, and create value added products such as goat milk soaps, cheeses, fruit jams and spreads, worms and worm castings, etc, so that some day my greatest desire may be achieved. I hope to start a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and have subscriptions to our products. More on that later... I will post about our adventures in farming for your knowledge or just your amusement! 

Irish Dexter Calf

We are a Christian family who is planning on homeschooling our two preschoolers. Why on earth would I want to do this? Well, it's definitely NOT for earthly reasons but because God has put it on my heart. Homeschooling was never part of "my plan" but it is part of God's plan for my life. I did actually wake up one day and I just knew that's what I needed to do. Since then, God has put several wonderful people in my life to encourage, guide and pray for me. I will post educational tools and whatever else I find helpful to a homeschooling parent. 

The "kids"

 Homemaking is an integral part of my routine as it keeps me organized and everyone fed, clothed and clean. I will post money-saving tips, helpful hints, cleaning tricks, definite dont's, and some tasty receipies that go over well with the kids. I will strive to be encouraging more than anything in this area because it is so difficult to stay joyfully motivated ALL the time. 

Homemade Shampoo Base

Our family's mission is to strive to bring glory to God in how we live our daily lives while bringing up our children in God's ways and reaching out to others in need. My husband and I believe in the sanctity of marriage and consider it a true life-long commitment. Divorce is not an option for us so we have to constantly work at putting each others' needs ahead of our own. We both fail miserably at times, but I guess it also teaches us forgiveness and we move forward. My postings pertaining to this will include encouraging thoughts and scripture, some romantic and fun ideas for "date nights", and evidence of our own struggles so you remember that no one marriage is perfect, we all struggle at times! I probably will not post every day or have huge long posts, and I may divide this one up into separate blogs. We'll just have to see how it goes! Thanks!

Sunset on the farm