Moo

Last week our family was able to fulfill a longtime dream of ours of purchasing livestock. Granted, Cara didn't come to us in the traditional way, but she is ours nonetheless. Well, at least 1/14th of her.

Meet Cara

Cara, blog readers. Blog readers, Cara.

She's a little camera shy. But isn't she beautiful?

We purchased what is known in the state of Indiana as a "cow share". You can also purchase a herd share, but at this particular farm there are only five such "Dairy Queens" so for now, a cow share it is. In purchasing a cow share we became legal owners of Cara, and we pay for her upkeep and boarding.

All five ladies, doing what the ladies were made to do. Cara is in the middle.

Cara comes to us from This Old Farm, located in the rolling countryside of Darlington, IN. Cara lives on a beautiful, expansive farm of 22 acres and is quite spoiled by farm owners, Erick and Jessica Smith. She thrives on acre after acre of beautiful, nutritious, fresh green grass. As you can see in the above pictures, she quite enjoys her feast. She is living the pampered life, as a cow's life goes. She has lots of freedom and plenty of room to move and live and breathe...and gestate. That's right, Cara is also going to be a mama come fall.

Entrance to "This Old Farm". I love how the robin so nicely posed for us.

Cara is a dairy cow and as her owners we are blessed to share in the bounty of her silky smooth, fresh, raw milk. We also enjoy skimming the cream off the top and making homemade butter and buttermilk. The taste is incredible, the health benefits are plentiful and it sure doesn't hurt that we know where our food comes
from and that we are supporting an incredible, local, sustainable farm and more importantly, farm family.

Yummy goodness.

A proud, raw milk family

Each Sunday, we travel to the farm, which is about 35 minutes one-way, to visit Cara and pick up our milk. Cara is milked Sunday morning for us and we like to go directly after church. This means there are approximately 2 hours, give or take a few minutes, between the time of her milking and the time we pick-up our milk. It doesn't get much fresher than that! In fact, this past week, we got there so close to her milking time that the milk was not even completely cold by the time we got it. We take it home immediately, put it in the coldest part of our refrigerator and it is ready for us to enjoy in just a few hours.

Enjoying a fresh cold one.

We are so thankful for the way God has provided this resource for our family. We are taking baby steps toward a more natural and healthful lifestyle and teaching life's valuable lessons along the way. This isn't necessarily how we saw the dream of livestock ownership taking shape, and as much as we would love to have Cara for our very own, we recognize and accept God's provision and blessing no matter the form it takes.

So long, Cara. See you next Sunday!

In future weeks I plan on sharing how we came into cow ownership and why we feel it is important to drink raw milk. In the meantime, share in the comments how God is blessing YOUR family these days? And I'm curious, have YOU ever had raw milk?

I'm linking up over at Raising Arrows' Simple Homemaking Link Up.

"Fascinatin' Epsteens"

Hi all! When we started this blog a couple of months ago, the purpose was to keep friends and family informed as to what is going on in our lives. My sister and I always joke about how there is very little "drama" in my life. And I like it that way. But, because of that fact, I often have trouble coming up with things to write.

Rick and I get Netflix and we have recently been watching past episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond. Somewhere in the first season there is an episode called "Fascinatin' Debra". It is a funny episode (duh!) where Debra calls into a talk radio psychologist who is so interested in her that she later calls and asks if she can come to their home for a personal interview. When she gets there, she is of course, not only greeted by Debra, but her quirky husband and crazy in-laws. Debra ends up getting upset because they basically steal her limelight and she thinks she is boring.

Well, some may look at my life and consider it mundane and boring. I wake up everyday-usually to the sounds of a baby crying or someone calling "Mommy" in the far reaches of our house. I make breakfast and am faced with such life-altering decisions as cereal or pancakes? Milk or juice? Do I get dressed or stay in my pajamas? Like, I said, very little drama. Next comes our morning activities, which include Bible study, playing Chutes and Ladders and Barbies, and maybe watching a movie or playing outside. Then again for lunch I must decide peanut butter and banana or peanut butter and jelly (we like peanut butter here). Then it is time for naps and we all lay down. Even I get the chance to catch some Zzzs every once in a while if there isn't too much laundry to fold or a floor to mop or an e-mail to write. Stick with me here, it will get much more exciting soon. After nap, there is usually a poopy diaper that needs changing and a nose that needs wiping and a dinner that needs cooking. I live quite the glamorous life you know.

Maybe you got the point from my last post that I have been contemplating my blessings lately. Well, a friend of mine recently posted a link on her blog that made me think a little more about this life I lead. Here's the link http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/. This is a blog written by Angie Smith, who is wife of Todd Smith who sings for Selah. For those of you who do not know their story you can check out their blog. It is the story of the pregnancy, birth, and loss of their darling baby girl. Within the last couple of weeks, Angie's sister-in-law Nicol, went to check on her two-month old son to find him not breathing. The tears were freely flowing as I read their heart-wrenching stories. As I was reading, I just had to fall on my knees last night in prayer to my God. I had to thank him for my three little blessings, and my one in heaven. Read the blog. I am sure you will be moved to tears with me and probably take a moment to question whether you are appreciating your blessings or complaining about them.

Last night, after reading the blog, I went upstairs and hugged and kissed each of my children. I called my husband who was working to tell him good-night. As I settled down in bed (at about 2 am), my youngest awoke and proceeded to scream for the next two hours. This is very uncharacteristic. I finally got him back to sleep and my middle child awoke calling for Daddy. Normally, I would have been annoyed or angry. But not last night. Instead, I went to bed at 4 am, praising God for a night filled with crying babies. I know there are some mothers out there who long to hear their babies' cries. So, here I am praising God for my blessing tonight. And my mundane life. No, it's not glamorous. But it is glorious. No, it's not dramatic. But it is divine. And it is mine. I know I don't deserve it but I praise God for it. So, if you are reading this, I encourage you to stop and get on your knees and praise the God who made you for your blessings which He freely gives. He wants your praise. That's what He made you for. He gives you these blessings so you will see Him and turn your heart to Him and praise Him for who He is and what He has done. I am not whining about a blessing anymore. I choose to praise Him! Won't you join me?

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100