The 10 Things We've Learned in Two Years of Homesteading with Guest: My 9-Year Old Daughter, Lilly!

I have a very exciting guest this week. My daughter Lilly joins us to talk about a highly requested topic – the 10 things we have learned in two years of homesteading. We’re not experts and certainly don’t have it all figured out, but we dove into this life head first and have been so excited about it.   2:29 – The Lilly 101   Lilly is 9 and in the 3rd grade. She loves playing outside, reading, drawing and listening to music, especially 90s, rock and pop music.   4:05 – Lesson 1: Sometimes things won’t go your way   Last year, we built a small greenhouse and a storm destroyed it. So my husband built a new greenhouse. We get meat birds and chickens, and they usually end up dying.   7:39 – Lesson 2: It’s expensive   This is not for the faint of heart, and it’s also not cheap. It’s a sacrifice. Feed, animals, fencing, vet bills, infrastructure, repairs – it’s all expensive.   9:19 – Lesson 3: Death happens   Lilly was 7 years old when we moved to the farm, and she has experienced a lot of animal deaths.  Lilly named a chick Jerry, and he died four days later. It was her introduction to death and was tough.   17:21 – Lesson 4: It’s so much fun, but much harder than we thought   It’s fun to take care of animals, pet them and eat them. But it’s a lot of hard work. Until you jump into this lifestyle, you don’t realize how much work it is.   18:30 – Lesson 5: The work never stops   The farm doesn’t take a vacation. If we want to go somewhere, we have to hire people to take care of the animals. We can’t be spontaneous and travel last minute.   20:43 – Lesson 6: Babies are really, really fun   The farm has a lot of death, but it also has a lot of birth and a lot of babies.   23:01 – Lesson 7: Fencing is the thing I never knew I wanted so badly   We had no fencing infrastructure when we moved here. Fencing is incredibly expensive.   24:30 – Lesson 8: Goats are animals you love to hate   We have huge goats. They are massive, enormous creatures. Our mama goat won’t let us milk her. The goats eat our expensive flowers and trees, but not poison ivy.   27:06 – Lesson 9: We have learned a lot about God   Just sitting outside and paying attention to the seasons and weather, we see God’s hand in things. It’s amazing to see animals’ instincts in giving birth and taking care of their young.   30:09 – Lesson 10: It’s rewarding, and we can’t imagine doing anything else   Homesteading is the most rewarding thing we’ve ever done and the best decision we’ve ever made. Lilly and her brother Amos don’t always want to do their farm chores, but they are learning a lot about hard work and where their food comes from.     FEATURED QUOTES   If you have ever been just straight up curious, if you’ve ever wanted to move to a farm or you thought about the homestead life or this whole concept is foreign to you, hopefully this episode is for you. – Molly   I like 90s music. I get it from my mom. – Lilly   You go into a project expecting it to go one way, and it just doesn’t. – Molly   Every year we always get meat birds and chickens, and they always end up dying. – Lilly   If you have an idea for something for the farm, it’s probably not going to go the way that you think it is. – Molly   Moving to the farm, living the homestead life is not for the faint of heart, and it is also not cheap. It is a sacrifice. – Molly   When people ask me, ‘How many pets do you have? … 108!’ They’re like, ‘Where did you get all those pets? … I don’t know. The Home Depot.’ – Lilly   The farm has a lot of death, but it also has a lot of birth and a lot of babies. – Molly