Hello 2014!

Well, we made it!  2013 is in our past and we've got a fresh new outlook on things!

It's with great pleasure and intermittent melancholy, we say goodbye to 2013.  It was a rough year for our family.  Daddy was gone for 8 months and, as always, that's when some of the most trying times occur.  We bid adieu to some great friends who moved on to their next assignments.  We were able to really appreciate the family and friends we have, we wouldn't have made it without them!  We added to our family, a cutie named Whipper, Klassie, misc birds and such.  We also welcomed another niece and nephew!!!  We have The.  Most.  Adorable.  nieces and nephews, this brings us to 14 grand kids for my parents...holy moly! 

We also had to say goodbye to several of the world's best men.  All unexpected, all a direct hit to the heart.  Sometimes real life just gets a little too close for comfort.  While I am very Blessed to have known them and I appreciate the times I had with them, I just was not ready to let go.  Death has no age discrimination and all three were gone, IMO, much, much too soon.  And I'll have to stop there, Some wounds are still much too fresh.

So, on to 2014...

This year I look forward to more.  More of everything.  I know there will be heartache but there will also be joy.  We are getting really, really close to Brian's retirement days so we are kicking it into high gear on planning and preparing.  I have a feeling I'm gonna blink and have a daughter graduated from high school, a "baby" entering middle school, and a retired hubby.  Time is flying.  So, resolutions?  I don't know about any of you but I detest the word for it's expectations, then "failures."  We are focusing on continuing to build our foundation, one tiny step at a time.  Small, reasonable goals we can accomplish, and in doing so the feelings of accomplishment and growth which will lead to more success.  Crossing Fingers, Right!?!

Anyhoo, all that aside, it's time for me to get my groove on.  The house has been somewhat neglected with all of the holiday activities and people being home.  I just detected a smell needing investigation....ewww....so, off I must be.  I hope to be on here more this year and hopefully I'll be able to grow this blog a bit.  Anything is possible, correct? ;-)

Much love and many Blessings for the New Year.  Thanks for stopping by!

~Ashleigh

Yes, I'm still rambling...

We are almost up to 1,000 page views!  Can you believe it?  I can't!
 LOL  I guess someone is reading this. WoW!

Ok, enough of the "yelling."  I realize my posts are random and inconsistent and I am working daily to get this blog running somewhat smoothly.  I've decided HTML is like numbers...not sure I really care for it too much.  Oh well, live and learn and conquer!  Muah ha haaaa ~that's my E-Vil laugh~  I am slowly getting the hang of this and hope to one day get somewhat proficient.  As long as I can entertain you, I will do my best.  I may not have a "Monday This" or "Friday That" but I hope to keep your attention, even if it's just nonsense from our day.

So, in keeping with my baby stepping, I have been trying out new recipes and such.  You know, the taking care of oneself and others part.  When I said basics, I meant it.  I'm not going extremist or anything, just making some subtle (or not so subtle) changes around here.  I figure if I ease into it maybe it won't be noticed so much.  I mean, Hey, I'm not above tryin to pull one over on this family.  Let's see who really listens to mommy.  In all seriousness, I really have focused on a more natural, less is more, style.  Be it clothing, vehicles, foods, or other luxuries.  When we collect too many of these we don't have the time to use/enjoy everything.  IF we can find them in what could surely grow into a major hoard.  LOL  The side effects will be difficult to deal with, ie:  cleaner home, healthier bodies, more energy, more money, more "fun" time, etc.  We are just gonna have to struggle through it...

In signing off today I just want to know...will you come back again?

Much love,

~Ash

Step 1

I focused on foundations yesterday.  Today I am looking at the bricks of this foundation.  Us, the WoodsFam.  In order to succeed in any venture, one must first focus on themselves.  This is not selfish, it is absolutely imperative, it's your "footer."  (Jiminy, can we tell my hubby is a structural engineer?)  A farm depends on it's people.  To be successful in any way, you have to be able to work physically and mentally.  Your home depends on you to keep it running.  The garden can't take care of itself and neither can the animals.  Yeah, the horse grazes and the birds free range but there is a little more to it.  Without the people, the farm dies.  So, we must take care of ourselves and each other.

The goal is to be healthy, productive, happy.  I know I'm loved and I love.  Loving myself is not always so easy.  Visualization is key to improving your outlook on yourself and your life.  We have to see ourselves the way we want to be.  I have battled this for a very long time.  I've always been hard on myself.  I have made a conscious decision today, it ends here.  It's been something in the works for a very long time and I am finally at the point where I can say it out loud.  I will be held accountable for my declaration.  I AM A GOOD PERSON!  LOL  I AM LOVABLE!  I DESERVE ________!  Got it?  It's so freeing.  "I'm good enough.  I'm smart enough.  And doggone it, people like me." ~Stuart Smiley aka. Al Franken

So, I am hoping to take you step by step through our journey here on the farm.  I realize it's a hobby farm blog, it's also a WoodsFam blog...the two go together.  It's for the betterment of all, here on the 'ole homestead.  Healthy, happy people make for healthy, happy animals.  Please, don't go, it will get better...esp. when the weather stabilizes.  Hehe

Thanks for reading and be sure to leave some ideas or examples for our growing home.

~Ash

Foundations and Dreams

Have you ever really thought about how long it takes to build something almost completely from scratch?  From the ground up?  From a sparkle in the eye?  From some odd, random thought?  How long it takes to actually SEE the progress?  Anyone?  Well, I'm here to tell you this family takes its time...not always by choice...

We all live in the more is better, instant gratification, entitlement world.  It's difficult to wait for our dreams.  When Brian and I started talking about our future and our dreams we could see everything all laid out in front of us.  We knew we wanted children, a small farm and each other.  Two of those were "easy".  We made a commitment to each other and entered the sacrament of marriage.  Young, "dumb" and in love we began our trek together.  We had a child, moved around, had a child, moved around, had a child and moved a few more times.  In our years together we've been successful.  We've had our ups and downs.  We've had the joy of babies, moving around the world, buying our first house.  We've had the ache of loss, people, things, places.  All of these moments have made us stronger.  All of these experiences have brought us to this place. Today.  The now.  We've been together almost 16 years.  Slowly building the foundation for our family.

NOW.  Today is now.  We have a healthy, happy, loving family.  Our children are amazing.  We are more in love now than ever.  We can see the little sprigs of hope and promise (promises...right, lol).  Our family is in a good place.  We live in a house on land.  The foundation.  Yes, we have work to do but the foundation is set.  We have room inside and out.  We see the completion of things, slowly.  We have work to do.  Hopefully we will always be able to do the work which needs to be done.  We have small areas growing outside for our animals.  Fences, shelters, pastures...  One step at a time, steady as she goes.  The dream is coming to fruition.

We have a ways to go.  I don't believe we will ever be finished.  Life is for living and while we are here we plan to do it all the way.  We are closing in on Brian's retirement years.  We are looking forward to spending our time together, working the farm and enjoying each other.  It's been a road for sure.  We are approaching another separation, geographically.  It's difficult to be apart for the better part of a year.  I am so grateful we haven't had to go on longer stretches.  It can be taxing, physically and emotionally.  The most difficult is watching the children and knowing there are moments in their lives Brian will not be able to witness firsthand.  There have been too many already, just ask Kyleigh.

We are Blessed.  We are Hopeful.  We are Faithful.  We are Loved.

If anyone would like to share their story, please feel free.

Much Love,

~Ash

Tech Tuesday

Helllloooooo Out There...

Today is Tech Tuesday for me.  I've spent the better part of the morning working on this blog business.  I am about cross eyed at this point.  It's a slow progression but if you look closely, you just might see some changes going on.  Then again, maybe not.  Not all changes are on the blog page.  There's quite a bit of admin going on here.  I started out on a whim and I guess it's time to get a little more serious.

I haven't been on here for several days.  I know, boring, but I haven't really had much to share.  We've done more work downstairs but I'm not ready to post any pics yet.  It's just not at the point in which to share.  Laundry and cleaning is only so fun and I'm sure no one cares about mine.  I've made a few things and I'm testing them out to see if any are worth sharing with you all.  I'm hoping to post some new recipes, organizational ideas, renovation progress and maybe even some animal fun.  It's supposed to be a bit on the warmer (above freezing) side of things this week.  Yay!

So here's a a picture describing my life, indefinitely...lol

Have a wonderful week.  I hope to be more entertaining this week.

~Ash

A Head Full of Cluttered Ideas...

Wind...yes, more Wind...ugh

Today I have decided to stay inside again.  It's been a pleasant, quiet, relaxing day so far.  I'm so glad I did so much laundry yesterday.  I am using this opportunity to brainstorm a few ideas for the house/hold.  It's like window shopping, I can think all day but I don't spend a dime.  Yay Me!

As I've said before, we've been in this house for a little over 18 mos.  I still haven't painted my living room and bedrooms.  The main bath is updated a bit.  We painted the cabinets black, added trim, flooring and a new faucet.  I painted it the same color as our front bathroom in our "Georgia" house.  Change, yikes.  LOL This summer I painted the back splash of the kitchen a light green.  It's a pretty color but I'm not sold on it.  I was thinking of going retro in the kitchen with tin signs, old adds, brighter colors.  I have since found myself standing on the brakes for that one.  I would love to be able to just have the things I love and have them work together.  I don't think that's gonna happen between European irons, marbles, tapestries, etc. and a yellow chrome table with old Pyrex dishes.  Somewhere out there, someone could make this work.  It's not me.  I love what I have but my eye has twitched a bit in other directions.  With my bedroom furniture, which I LOVE, there is no way to not have it formal.  The kids all have specific ideas for their rooms.  Then there's the downstairs which is not finished yet.  I makes me cringe to think rooms won't flow into one another.  A little OCD? Yes.

So, I guess I will think about some new organizing ideas.  I have several printable items I've made and use for shopping, meal planning and daily reminders.  I would post these for download however, I haven't quite figured out how to do that yet. *I'm doing well to get pictures up.*  I'm racking my brain to come up with an organized plan for Kyleigh's room.  I don't like there to be a bunch of "stuff" out in the kids rooms (or any rooms).  She'll have a long closet so I am hoping to put a desk area in one side with clothes, etc on the other.  I'm really hoping we can make it work.  She has been so much better about keeping her room somewhat clean.  It's hard with our living arrangements right now.  Once her room is done it will be on to Lucy's.  I need to get a plan in place for her colors.  Nick's room will be somewhat easier.  He wants Longhorns.  That is Ft. Benton Longhorns, not Texas.  Eww  hehehe  That means red and white.  Sounds simple enough, he already has a red bed, desk and nightstand.  We are definitely covered with furniture in this house.  I really can't wait to get the basement finished and spread out a little bit.

Well, I suppose I've rambled on long enough here.  I am eager to hear/see any ideas or thoughts you may have.  Have a lovely afternoon.

~Ash

A *Sigh* of Relief

Good Morning All.

Today is "catch up" day for this home.  It's been so busy lately I've fallen out of my routines.  I have massive laundry overload, dishes to be done and bathrooms to clean.  It was worth it to spend time with family and friends and now I am ready to GET IT DONE!  I can feel the dust in my house and the dog hair in the carpet/air/etc.  I need an extra shower just thinking of it.  One thing at a time...

We have several projects going on here in the house.  The main being Kyleigh's bedroom.  The walls are ready for paint/trim and I have her chandelier almost completed.  I'll have to post pictures later.  I will also be painting some furniture, hopefully soon, to re purpose.  Again, pics later.  Once Kyleigh's room is finished (for now) we will move on to what will be Lucy's room.  When I say "finished for now" I mean all but flooring and baseboards.        We have decided to wait on that until we can put flooring throughout the entire basement.  We won't be able to do that until the basement is fully "finished" with walls, ceiling, doors, etc.  It sounds bad and maybe it is but this is where we are right now.  Not to mention, I haven't settled on flooring yet.  It's taking quite a bit of time living here to figure out what we should do/fix/change with the house.  The good news, we only need time and money.  Doesn't everyone have an abundance of both?  No? Well, neither do we at the moment which explains the slow transformation of our house to home.  Unfortunately, we aren't able to ask for a raise or decline "business" trips. *~* I am really excited about the end of these trips...3 1/2 more years...Lord, please help me.*~*  I really need the hubbs around for the heavy labor.  Not to mention, I'm more of a decorator/supervisor.  Hehehe  Again, one thing at a time.

So, I guess it's time to get moving.  The clock waits for no one and we (I) have much to do. I wish everyone a wonderful day.

Too-Da-Loo

~Ash