Life is busy! But it's a fun kind of busy. We have a list of never ending projects, but God has been very good to us, and we love this life! Our garden is coming along nicely (except for the corn and peas). Our tomatoes, onions, peppers, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, blueberries, strawberries, lettuce and beans are all growing very well. We should get a good crop this year.  We got a good amount of rain over the past couple days. It was very much needed! We weren't in drought conditions like a lot of the country, but it was still pretty dry out. It was nice to get a nice day of soaking ..read more

I've been doing a lot of self reflection over the past few months. God has been extremely good to me. He has truly given me the desires of my heart. I can honestly say that. The Bible says in Psalm 37:4:     Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Life goes by very fast. We are almost half way through 2022 already. It seems it goes by faster the older I get. I know that isn't true, but it seems that the days and weeks go by quickly. And as I get older, the more time I spend in gratitude to the Most High God.  From a wonderful ..read more

It's been a whole month since my last blog post! Wow does time fly. We've been busy preparing for the spring planting season here at the Homestead. We keep getting hit with snow. The weather has been very cold as well. Basically, it's a typical April here at the Homestead. Lot's of up and down temps, wet and muddy.  ​We will be gardening like our lives depend on it...literally! It has been shocking to see the increase in food prices. it's actually scary. Some of the prices have doubled or tripled on common items that we have purchased for years. And the outlook is grim as well. It does ..read more

“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” - Matthew 10:28 I love that Scripture. That verse is in the middle of a passage where Jesus is instructing His disciples on how to go about preaching the Gospel. He warns them of the persecution they will endure. And in the face of that, Jesus says the above verse. It is a reminder that we are to focus on Him and not man.  We live in an unprecedented time in history. We have been extremely blessed. There is not much need in our land. Even ..read more

As winter winds down here at the Homestead, we are looking forward to spring. It is beautiful here when spring rolls around. Seeing everything come alive again is amazing. Getting ready for growing season is always exciting! Lately I've been doing a lot of reflection on life. For the past few years I have had such contentment and peace that it is hard to explain. God has given me the desires of my heart. I have a beautiful marriage and lots of children.  As some of you know, almost 10 years ago we had decided to get some land and live a more simpler life. We wanted to produce a lot of o ..read more

Snow came to the Homestead late this year. We didn't get our usual amount in November in December, but January is sure making up for it! And it has been very cold as well.  Dealing with the bitter cold can be challenging when raising animals. You have to make sure you're on top of getting eggs from the chickens. As you can see from the picture of the egg I'm holding, it doesn't take long for them to freeze and crack when its in the single digits! I went out late in the evening a couple weeks ago and had to throw away a half dozen frozen eggs.  Frozen water is also an issue. Below ..read more

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Well, 2022 has arrived here at the Homestead! I always get excited when the new year rolls around. I love goal setting. I always have. Not just for the new year, but in most everything I do. 2022 is no different! ​Janel and I actually accomplished more in 2021 than we set out to do. We have scaled back the projects for 2022, but we are looking forward to this year.  We spent New Years Eve at home with the family. We made ribs (see the video below) and watched movies. I do not miss going out in the least. Give me a quiet evening at home with my family any day of the week. I have grown in ..read more

About 9 years ago my wife and I went out in faith and put our home up for sale. We lived on a cul-de-sac in a nice neighborhood. But we longed for land and a simpler way of life. To be more self sufficient. Check out the "Our Story" tab to read more about it.  Over these past 9 years we have slowly built up our Homestead. I remember the excitement of getting our first chickens! Or planting our first little garden....and it was little! But it was amazing. The joy and contentment of those moments are hard to put into words. There is something spiritual that God has instilled in us when we ..read more

What an amazing and challenging 2021 it has been! We've been on a hiatus from our blog/website due to the many projects around the Homestead.  As the 2021 comes to a close, we wanted to share some successes and plans for 2022. So what are some of the things that happened here at the Homestead in 2021? Well, first and foremost, we had our 7th baby in July. God blessed us with another beautiful baby....Dakota Stephen Cook! He is growing a ton and we love him so much.  Secondly, we did a huge amount of remodeling on our house. As some of you know, when we purchased our 20 acres 9 ..read more