The HomeGrown Mom

To say that homesteading with no home or land of our own is fun and easy would be quite the understatement.  Don't get me wrong, we do enjoy parts of it and we do consider it quite the blessing.  We have inherited a herd of goats (starting around 26 and now up close to 60), have borrowed land from friends to let them graze on, and so many other blessings along the way that are really too many to recall right now.  However, it's been far from easy.  If I'm being really honest, it's been a huge time commitment and a bit of a money pit.  The struggle is real.

Now that I've said all of that, would we take this opportunity again, now that we know a little bit about what it involves, I think the answer is yes.  What better way to learn than to jump in and just do it?  Ok, so maybe having a truck and trailer first would have been beneficial, but still...yes, we'd do it again.  

We would, however, change a few things along the way.  For starters, we probably would have fenced in a smaller area and giving a few sections so that we could keep a better eye on things and segregate the goats as needed.  We also would have been better equipped to handle cold weather and a few medical issues.  But, again, we are doing this all backwards so all we can do is the best we know to do.

Since my last post, we have lost one of our bottle babies.  She ended up quite bloated and we just didn't know in time what to do about it.  We tried...even to the extent of taking her to Ace (where my husband works) and doing a little tubal "surgery" on her while there.  We had called our vet and followed his suggestions.  It was just too little, too late.  

That was a super hard day for us.  It happened to be another cold day, our co-op had been canceled.  So my youngest and I thought we'd have time to catch up on things around the house and have a more easy-going day at home.  Boy, was that ever wrong!  Instead, when we went out to the pasture to feed the goats, we found one of our missing kids (she had been gone a day or 2 and we just couldn't seem to find her) along with a few other kids who didn't make it for one reason or another.  One of them was barely alive and we did all we could to revive her.  I even wrapped her up and cuddled her close in my coat.  But, sadly, that same day, we took a 6 kids out to the pasture (aka livestock graveyard).  This left us with 6 kids in the field and, well...honestly I can't remember the time frame anymore.  I don't remember when we brought home our newest set of bottle-fed twins.  But we currently have 6 bottle babies at home and 6 thriving babies out in the field.

We are having another, even worse, cold front today and the next couple of days.  So hope and pray this all goes well.

On top of this, our goats have been getting out of the electric fence.  We have tried for several days to fix it.  We finally bought a new fence charger last night, only to realize that the electric box we were planning to use didn't work.  So now my boys are out in the VERY cold weather trying to take care of it because, once again, the goats got out.  But that's all a story for another post.

This is our first kidding season on our own with our herd of goats.  We had a few successful births in November/December.  Then weather got cold and things took a turn.  In about a month's time we lost about 12 kids.  Some were due to new moms who didn't know what to do.  We lived too far away to keep a constant eye on them.  By the time we made it to them, it was too late.  Others died because it got too cold during the night and they just couldn't get warm enough.  We did our best.  We had a propane heater (only used while attented), we put hay all around the shelter for extra warmth, made sure goats had plenty to eat...everything we could think of.

Then, we finally had it.  We were tired of loosing our kids, even some we brought home to care for.  I called on a friend who has been caring for goats for 8 years.  She was my lifeline.  We had a set of triplets born on a Friday.  It was going to be a cold night and there was also a chance momma (who had kidded before) would only be able to care for 2 of them.  We tried moving them into a barn, but it traumatized mom so much she wouldn't relax enough to care for her kids.  So, we brought the kids home.  We made sure they had momma's first milk and had replacement on hand.  It was suggested to take them back just before dawn the next day to see if momma would accept them back.  She would have, I think, had she been more relaxed and in her element.  The barn was a ways away from the pasture she was in and it also had a couple of dogs in the stall next to hers.  

So, home with the triplets we went.  One of them seemed a bit sickly, so we kept her separated and kept a close eye on her.  Sat night I was up every hour and a half or so to check on them and do the feeding.  The couch was my bed.  Every 45 min-an hour I'd catch a little nap.  Thankfully they all made it through the night.  

By this time we had given them a dose of silenium, and clipped and cleaned the cord of one of the bucks.  On Sunday, we had a set of twins we brought home.  Mom just didn't seem to be taking care of them and it was going to be another cold night.

By Monday we decided to take them to a vet.  We wanted to ensure we were doing all we could and also needed the learning experience.  So we loaded up the triplets and off we went.  Thankfully we were told we could have all 5 together, no need to segregate.  Our little doe who was sickly got an antibiotic shot and she was good to go.

Now, here we are the following Saturday.  We now have another 12 (I think) kids out on the pasture with the other goats. And our 5 bottle babies are in our back yard and thriving.

For the past couple of years I have chosen a word for the year.  I've come to realize that even when I forget my word or don't directly focus on it, it still seems to have an overall presence in my life.

For this year, 2025, I have chosen the word "rooted".  I took it a step further and chose a verse to go along with it: Psalm 1:3

Oddly enough, these are all colors I was already using.  I love how perfectly it's all aligning for me this year.  I'll make a few posts throughout the year as to how I'm moving forward with my word and theme for this year.  For starters, I have come across a new Bible study aid (more on this in the next post).  It's not only helping me keep my theme going, it's also helping me really grow and deepen my spiritual roots.

If you haven't chosen a word for the year yet, it's not too late!  In fact, I can direct you to a help that I used (created by my sister!).  It has some thought-provoking exercises to help you narrow down your focus for the year.  You can grab your free workbook here!

Homesteading can be deeply rewarding, but it’s not without heartbreak. This week, we faced one of the tougher moments every homesteader dreads—losing a kid (baby goat). Here’s what happened and what we’re learning through the process.

Sadly, losing a baby animal is something every homesteader faces at some point. In our case, we suspect the mother wasn’t providing enough nutrition for one of her twins. Despite our efforts to intervene, it was too late by the time we returned with supplies.

This loss taught us the importance of closely monitoring mother goats, especially with twins.  This is something we have been trying to do, but it's easy to be misled and think all is well.  Earlier in the week the kid seemed to be doing just fine, telling us it was some small sign we failed to recognize.   We also realized we need to be better prepared, keeping supplies for bottle-feeding on hand in case of emergencies.

One of the biggest hurdles we’re facing is living 20 minutes away from the land where we keep our animals. If we were closer, we might have caught the issue sooner and had a better chance of saving the kid. Homesteading without owning land adds unique challenges, but we’re finding ways to adapt.

Our next challenge is downsizing the herd. Without a truck, transporting animals to the processor or sale is tricky. We’re considering creative options, like taking a few at a time in our minivan. Yes, we’re doing this whole homesteading bit backwards, but we’re making it work.

Despite the struggles, we’re learning, growing, and taking steps toward our dream of owning land. Every challenge is a lesson, and every small victory is a step closer to the sustainable, self-sufficient life we envision.

This is my 9th (I think) year of homeschool.  I have now graduated my older 2 and my youngest is now a junior in high school.  We have been a part of a homeschool co-op for most of the time we have homeschooled.  When we first got started, we joined a co-op that was about an hour away.  They had a lot to offer from extra curricular classes to academic classes.  It was a great group of parents and they were very welcoming and helped us a lot as we were just getting started on our journey.  However, we only stayed with them a short time due to the drive.  Not long after that, a group of friends in my area were all homeschooling.  We decided to get together and form our own co-op.  It was a group of 6 moms with our kids.  I don't remember how many kids we had total, but it was between 15-20.  It was quite the group!  We tried doing some of the core subjects, but it wasn't always that easy to get the job done with a bunch or rowdy boys, and I might add...stinky lol.  One of the places we met was in a house (owned by the church next door and not being used)...to close pre-teen/teen boys up in a small bedroom just to have a quite place to teach a class.  Let's just say it was less than pleasant.

Fast forward another year or 2...we found a co-op close by that was just starting to open up their doors to "outsiders".   A couple of the moms from our group of 6 were going to try it out and since it was only a 20 minute drive, I decided I would give it a try too.  I'm happy to say that I'm still with this co-op.  I don't even know how many years its been.  We have all made some great friends in this group.  Moms, let me tell you...the comfort you have when you know the parents of the kids your kids are hanging out with is amazing!  My kids were never (even in public school) allowed to go to a friend's house without us first knowing the parents.  Being a part of a co-op, it's like a built-in bonus.  

Now, let me bash one of those homeschool myths: Homeschool kids are unsocialized....ummm, really? My kids, as well as many others in our group, can carry on a conversation with people of all ages.  I've seen it time and time again. We have all ages at our co-op, from babies all the way up to grandmas.  The adults are respected, the kids know how to engage with others, the teenage boys are helpful and know how to open doors and help carry things.  All of the kids pitch in on their designated days to help clean up when we are done.  They learn responsibility.  They grow up to be respectful young adults, willing to lend a helping hand.

Even with a great group, as most homeschool moms can relate, I'm always happy when it comes to the end of our co-op semester and we get a break.  But, if I'm being honest, I also miss the time together.  Realizing that I only have 3 more semesters with my youngest is a bit bittersweet.  I enjoy the time with other moms and love watching the kids grow and learn.  Most of my time with this co-op, I have taught the "littles" crafts.  I love seeing all of their individuality.  This year I'm also teaching a yearbook class with a few of the teen girls.  This will be our 2nd time offering a yearbook.  I did yearbook in high school and it was one of my favorite classes.  So to be able to offer it to my kids has been great!  It's always so fun to see it all come together and have memories to last a lifetime.

With that being said, it's time for our holiday break...don't mind me as I spend time with my family and also sneak in a little bit of time for some fun crafts of my own or maybe even working on our homeschool yearbook.

Enjoy this time with your loved ones!