We Bought a Farm: Hanging on by a thread

So, in honor of keepin' it real, here's the truth of my life right now.

• Our August WWOOFer cancelled.
• We'd planned a family vacation for August to Vermont to visit Grampa Roy and Grama Joni.
• I'm feeling very overwhelmed.

I have so many of you email or message me and tell me that we are "living your dream." I want to make sure I accurately portray that dream:

• I love our life.
• I wouldn't want another life.
• But this is hard.

We have now been running this farm for a year. JB constantly reminds me that we are trying things. That we are not committed to staying with any of those things. And that we will constantly adjust to try to find a healthy ebb and flow on the farm.

• This is summer which is always busier on a farm.
• We have a lot of animals right now.
• My husband has another full time job.
• Did I tell you our August WWOOFer cancelled?

The cancellation of the August WWOOFer is a good lesson for me. We have had such wonderful success with the seven volunteers we have had, that I think I started taking their visits for granted. I didn't think one would cancel. This particular young man and I had developed a great relationship via email. His reason for canceling (if truthful) was very legit and he did not take leaving us hung dry lightly. But I have realized that I must remember:

• These are volunteers.
• They owe us nothing.
• Young people can be flighty.

So now we have a month before our next volunteer arrives and we have way too much here for us to keep up on. Dad and I have split up the animal chores on days when JB is working. But yesterday nearly kicked my butt:

• 7:00 did morning animal chores while kiddos watched video in house.
• 8:00 finished and posted a review for my "job" on Schoolhouse Review Crew.
• 9:00 returned WWOOFer to Knoxville for her flight out with Abigail and Hannah in tow.
• 10:30am Made a quick Costco stop and managed to spend almost $300 in about 12 minutes.
• 12:30 returned home and put away all the groceries.
• 12:45 Did afternoon animal chores in a mad dash before boys had tennis.
• 1:30 took boys to their tennis lesson.
• 3:30 Stopped at post office and grocery store for a quick item before returning to house.
• 5:00 Got dinner ready and prepared lunch for visitors coming the next day.
• 6:00 Ate dinner.
• 7:00 Did evening run of animals.
• 8:00 JB comes home.
• 9:00 Collapsed.

I know this pace is not sustainable, and I know there are difficult seasons. I know that summer on a farm is challenging and that at any time, we can make adjustments to slow life down. We are working on finding that balance.

Did I tell you that we lost a turkey -- he/she got tangled in fencing? This was incredibly disheartening! We truly thought they were safe in their new enclosure and now we aren't so sure.

Oh and lest you think my life is all stress, check out this video below for a good laugh. On the way home from Costco, I looked back to discover that Hannah had figured out how to take off her top seatbelt straps, remove her shirt, and put her straps back on. Please don't tell me about how unsafe it is that she did this (or that I am filming her.) I needed some perspective for my day. I know I need to figure out how to stop her from doing this again. But that is something for tomorrow: