Heather Huffman's Blog, page 15

Back to school sale!

I love this time of year. There's something in the air when kiddos go back to school. Maybe it's the hint of fall, the promise of football games, or the reams of paper waiting to be filled with knowledge, but this time of year stirs my soul. It also makes me want to curl up with a good book.

In celebration of my favorite time of year, I'm offering a sale on autographed copies of my books, while supplies last. Here's the deal: I have a few copies of Waiting for You for $10, and several of my older titles for $7 each. I even have a handful of books that are slightly damaged from my move that I'm offering for $4. Shipping is $2.50 per book. Payment via Paypal. Offer good in the U.S. only. 

Email me with questions or your order. Sale ends 9/1/14 or when I run out of books!

A bit of grace

It seems the entire world is getting crankier by the day. Not to oversimplify the world's problems, but we seem to have lost the ability to get along, to love each other. Now more than ever, the world needs grace - grace from God and to show grace to each other. 

Jim McNeely writes for Vox Dei, the Christian imprint of Booktrope. So I'm probably a little partial, but I think he shares that message of grace in a way few others can. I read his book Romance of Grace right before Vacation Bible School at our church. I found myself quoting it more than once that week, and every single person responded the same. From the five-year-olds to the 75-year-olds, people always got tears in their eyes when they realized just how loved they were.

Jim's new book, Grace in Community: Real-Life Grace from the Book of 1 John , is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Where his first book showed us just how much we were loved by God, this one examines how extending that love to each other changes everything.

Jim's a multi-talented guy, fascinatingly so, and I look forward to having him as a guest on the blog so you can get to know him. (And so we can maybe even give away an ebook of his latest!) In the meantime, you should definitely check out his books or his website, thereforenow.com.

Leaving a mark on this world

I've written several blog posts in my mind this week. This will be the first to actually make it all the way to the keyboard. Ironically, I'm not entirely sure what it is I want to say at the moment. I just know I need to write if I'm going to clear all the thoughts bumping around in my brain.

My first intention this week was to post pictures of my baby rabbits. They're too cute to not share. But then I was so heartsick over the news coming out of Iraq (and, quite honestly, the rest of the world), it didn't seem right to be posting pictures of baby bunnies when so many are suffering so greatly. I can't even fathom what the persecuted religious minorities are facing at the hands of ISIS. How do you talk about anything else, how do you function, when children are being beheaded? Late Tuesday night, or rather early Wednesday morning, I wrote a long mental post about the evil that runs rampant in the world today. Now more than ever, I don't know how people make it through without the love and hope of Jesus Christ in their lives.

As I lay awake Wednesday night into Thursday morning, my thoughts turned to my youngest son. Once upon a time, I had a series called "Friday's Mark" on this blog. My theme for the site at the time, inspired by Throwaway, was "Leave Your Mark" with the hopes of encouraging others to make a difference in this world. Now more than ever, this world needs people to leave a positive mark on it, so I'm working to revive the series. Since today is my youngest son's 10th birthday, it seemed fitting to re-launch the series with a post honoring him.

After my first son came multiple failed attempts at a second child. The doctor told us it was time to consider seeing a specialist or accepting that Dylan would be an only child. I'd had too many miscarriages to even consider going through more. Adam and I talked about it and decided that if God wanted us to have more children, He'd give them to us. About the time we decided to stop trying, we had son #2.

Fifteen months later, with our marriage in shambles and life in general at an all-time low, son #3 made his appearance. I was terrified. I knew I was in over my head and questioned how I'd ever manage to be any kind of mother to three children. (Alone, at that!) It seemed a cruel twist of fate that I'd been unable to have children for so long and now that everything was awful, we had a whoops on our hands.

Now, looking back, I say that Chris is living, breathing proof that God is smarter than me. The kid was a ray of sunshine from day one. (Aside from the fact that his pending arrival scared me enough to get my behind back into church - something my entire family desperately needed. Once we put God back in the center of the family, it's kinda crazy how everything fell back into place...) 

Chris just makes the world a brighter place for his being in it. I know it's hard for him living in the shadow of two brothers who are both larger than life, but he still manages to shine. Sometimes, his pizzazz demands to be noticed - like when he went through the stage where he lived in lime green cowboy boots. Sometimes, he's the one quietly in the background doing what needs to be done with a strength beyond his years - like the moment when he knelt in the sand beside his lifeless brother to pray while we waited for paramedics. He was six and yet he was so very strong.

When Chris was four, I swore one of us wasn't going to make it through that age. His will was pure iron and his spirit of adventure was almost more than my nerves could bear.

He can sing like nobody's business with a natural talent I can't help but envy. He's scary-smart. In one breath he's demanding the world notice him, in the next, he's painfully shy and terrified they will. My youngest son is an enchanting paradox who keeps me on my toes, and the world will forever be a better place for the time he will spend in it. I'm sure of that much.

We were on our way home from celebrating his birthday tonight when I got the call that a dear friend had passed. We've only known him for a little over a year, but his impact on our lives has been profound. I'm surrounded by people who knew him better, who have more right to grieve than I, but I can't help this wave of sadness that's washed over me.

We knew it was coming; he's been so very ill. The last time I spoke with him, he told me he was ready to go. His disease was making anything more exerting than sitting in a chair too difficult, and his mind wasn't the kind to take sitting in a chair well. If ever there was a person I'm sure went to heaven, it's him. So I know my sorrow is for myself, for his family. But I sorrow still.

He was a kind and gentle man of great wisdom, who loved the Lord with all his heart and spent his life sharing that love with others. He truly left a mark on this world.

When we got home, I went to my bunny barn to peek in at the babies before dark. I figured if anything could keep the tears at bay long enough to help my son finish celebrating his day, the bunnies could.

And that, I guess, is why I post pictures of bunnies and goats and chickens and dogs snuggling cats while Rome burns all around me. Because I believe in finding the scrap of joy while there's one to be had. I believe the Bible when it said that Jesus would never leave or forsake us, and I feel those words ringing in my ear every time I look at a beautiful sunset or watch the miracle of life happen on my little farm.

I post bunnies because they make me smile, and the world could use more smiles.

Growing pains

First, I gotta say it's shameful how I've neglected my blog of late. I blame that one track mind I talked about two weeks ago. I've been so zeroed in on my homestead, my kiddos, and teaching my Sunday school class that I've neglected my writing. Sorry about that!

This week is a weird one for me. My oldest is on his first ever mission trip. He's in Alabama with his youth group, helping build a church camp. I'm thrilled he got to go, and I'm thrilled his first foray into mission trips is within the US. Still, the house is painfully quiet with his absence. We're a ridiculously close-knit family and all of us are going a little crazy with the separation.

I tell myself it's a good practice run. In three years, he'll be headed off to college, and then he'll be off changing the world. And with Dylan, I have no doubt he'll one day change the world.

With him gone, my other two are stepping up their responsibilities around the farm. It's making me realize just how quickly my kiddos are growing up. I know this is what's it's all about. The point of parenting is to ready them for that moment when they step out on their own. 

But why does it have to happen so danged fast? You blink and the silly toddler with dimples for knuckles isn't wrapping his skinny arms around your neck anymore. Instead he's towering over you making cracks about short people.

One track mind

My husband bemoans my one track mind, but only because it's seldom on the track he wants it on. When something catches my interest, I zero in on it. I study it for hours, days, weeks. I eat, sleep and breathe it. And then, without warning, my attention moves on to the next thing.

In a lot of ways, this has proven to be pretty danged helpful. As a writer, it helps me become a mini-expert in lots of different fields so I can then, in turn, write about them. As a homesteader, it's helped me absorb the vast amounts of information that would normally have been passed down from generation to generation. Granted, I had a certain amount of knowledge from my great grandma, my grandfather, and my parents, but the family farm was no longer a working farm by the time I came along - other than the occasional steer grandpa would raise (and warn me not to get attached to, though to no avail). So most of the things a farmer needs to know, that are handed down from the generation before, weren't there. And there is a lot to know. Life on a farm only looks tranquil from the outside. There's always a new challenge presenting itself.

Anywho, this insatiable yet rotating curiosity has served me well in the homesteading arena. I obsessed about goats for years before we got our first one. Then the hands on experience taught me things the books and internet couldn't. Now, two years after our first goat purchase, our foundation herd is finally in place. I now know exactly what I want to breed towards and what I want for our farm. I've learned more about goats in the past couple of years than I thought possible. I still have lots to learn, but I don't feel lost anymore, either.

The same thing happened with our chickens - it's been three years since our first chicken purchase. It's hard for me to believe now that at the time, I was a little afraid of them; that's why we started with day old chicks instead. (Don't laugh - they have big ol' talons on those feet!) Now, I can't imagine life without my girls. They've taught me so much. It took a few rounds, a whole lot of different breeds passing through, and a bit of trial and error before I got my flock just right.

Ducks, well, that's a funny story. I'd heard duck eggs were hard to incubate, so I set 100 of them. They hatched perfectly, first try, pretty much all of them. We had lots and lots of ducks last summer. I finally got our flock down to two hens and a drake. On their own, they hatched and raised five babies. I've told myself I can only keep one of the five. Getting to the point where I knew what I wanted out of the ducks took months of obsession and a couple years of hands-on figuring it out. (Seeing a pattern here?)

According to my husband, a current conversation with me goes something like, "Bunny. Bunny, bunny, bunny. Rabbit." Yes, my one track mind has turned its attention to rabbits. My experience with rabbits pre-homestead was limited to a pet rabbit my uncle bought me. (Mom was super happy with him for that one.) When my family moved to St. Louis, I had to give him to a meat breeder. I remember being horrified at the prospect and only moderately reassured that he was too old to eat. With meat prices going through the roof and a family of growing boys to feed, I decided it was time to get over that particular aversion. I've had rabbit meat before - it's the getting it from pen to table that takes some fortitude. 

(Side note: For me, it's that way with any animal. Giving it an amazing life on the farm and butchering it quickly and painlessly is not only healthier for my family but much kinder to the animal. Buying pre-packaged meat from a chain store is unspeakably cruel to the animal, but a whole lot easier on me because I don't have to see it. Learning the value of the meat on the table has changed our meat portion size to one much closer to what we're supposed to be eating!)

My first foray into meat rabbits didn't go well. Raising them in the hanging wire hutches that are so popular bothers me. I totally get why people raise them that way, but I like for my animals to have grass to graze and a bit of room to roam. I want them to be happy while they're here. So we started with individual hutches and a run for each animal because I've heard horror stories about how much they'd fight. Only problem, the fence kept them in but a crazed cat found its way into the pens and took out my best does. (It really was crazed - it attacked my youngest son without provocation after it got the rabbits. The vet had no idea what got into it.) That left us with a pet rabbit (Peter earned a spot indoors) and a pair of young rabbits outside. One of those young rabbits is a total escape artist. She's all too happy to let me know if there's a way out of her pen. If she wasn't such a lovely color, I think I'd have less patience for her antics than I do. But she taught me a lot and if I have her contained - and I think I do - then we should be in the clear.

I've been researching ideas for rabbit pens like crazy, using all I've learned to do it better next time. I've finally settled on building them a colony setting, so that's the order of the week. The run is completely enclosed by chain link fence with woven wire covering the top and overlapping the sides. They have temporary hutches in their run while I build the rabbit barn, which is gonna be amazing - lots of room for them with dividing sections just in case somebody doesn't  get along. 

And I finally have a clear picture of what kind and color of rabbits I want. Once I figure that out, it's really hard to not obsess until I get them. I was ridiculously excited to get a doe that seemed like a perfect fit for what I was looking for. She would have been an amazing foundation doe for my herd. Only I made the mistake of trusting the woman who sold her; she was a young mom who said she didn't have time for her son's pet. She asked if we could meet at the local gas station. Big mistake, and I know better. Always see where the animal lives. If I had, I would have probably caught that her living conditions weren't great. The rabbit was here less than a day when she showed the first signs of illness - an illness brought on by stress or poor living conditions. It's highly contagious, so I'm glad I quarantined her. Still, instead of being the cornerstone of my breeding stock, the rabbit gets to be the one who initiates me into the butchering side of things. I was kinda hoping to kick that particular can down the road. (I'm telling you - when my boys are grown, I just might become a vegetarian. I hate that part of it.)

It'll take me a few weeks to sufficiently sanitize my quarantine quarters and to assure myself my other bunnies didn't contract the dreaded snuffles. Maybe by then I'll have recovered from the trauma and I'll be ready to resume my obsession. (Which will be right about the time I have birthday money to spend... my husband should be very afraid...) Dandelion, my escape artist, in her bunny run

From around the farm

We've been busy getting settled into our little farmhouse this past few weeks. Our cabin-dwelling days are officially behind us and our farm is complete. Well, until the next major project rolls along! 

The animals are being ridiculously cute these days - probably because they can sense I'm trying to get some writing done. They like to make it difficult to concentrate on anything but them. Usually, there are a thousand and one things needing to be done around the farm. Should there happen to be a lull, it's so tempting to linger in the midst of the animals, to simply be with them. I can't explain what it is about my animals, but I feel more at home in my own skin when I'm surrounded by them. Everyday, I'm thankful God led us to this little corner of the world where I can live and work among my lovely animals. (And where I get to sink my hands in the dirt in my garden - I love sinking my hands in the dirt almost as much as I love being with my crazy beasts.)

Pancakes galore

I'm not sure what prompted it, but Blake (son #2) asked me to teach him to make pancakes from scratch a few nights ago. We made a triple batch together and it was so successful that his brothers went through them like a horde of locusts - there were 2 pancakes left when they finally declared themselves full.

Blake pestered me all day yesterday to let him make pancakes again. I told him I was rationing our milk to the end of the week, so he needed to wait. Today, he made a double batch of pancakes for breakfast. This time he was flying about 90% solo. Not only did he do a great job, he decided to get fancy with it. I showed him how to make Mickey Mouse pancakes and he took it to a whole new level. He was making T-Rexes, scary clowns, hearts, and even carrot-shaped pancakes. Son #1 and I decided the pancake images were a bit like clouds, they required a bit of imagination to get the full effect.

It was a sad moment when all the batter was gone and I wouldn't let him whip up another batch. Blake asked if he could take on odd jobs to buy more pancake making supplies. Apparently my grocery rationing is coming in between a boy and his dream. Maybe I do need to get around to buying our own Jersey cow after all - then he could make pancakes whenever his heart desired.

The good and the bad

I feel like I utter the sentence, "It's been a crazy couple of weeks" a lot. Sometimes I remind myself that these are the busy years, and one day, I'll have all the time in the world to sit on my front porch and reflect on them. For now, though, I'll just hang on tight and do my best to keep up.

We've had three major events in the past few weeks: VBS, a mountain lion attack and a move (sort-of).

First, VBS. Our church is a teeny-tiny country church in a town most people have never heard of, but we're serious about our VBS. Kids come out of the woodwork for this thing, and we have as many attendees as we have members of the church. It's amazing, it's fun, and it's exhausting. This was the second year my family has participated. I'm in charge of crafts and my husband teaches the kindergarten class. It's a whirlwind week that always leaves me happy and tired. This year, six children accepted Jesus into their lives during the week. I can't begin to describe what an amazing feeling that is because I know He'll never leave them or forsake them. Making that choice is the best thing that could possibly happen in and for their lives.

Two, the rogue mountain lion. While we were at our last night of VBS, my Kali-girl got her shoulder torn up when a mountain lion attacked. Kali, our Anatolian Shepard mix We're keeping Kali in the house while her wounds heal. She woke me up at 4 a.m. the other morning because the cat was back. When I opened the back door to see what she was making such a racket about, she took off after it. A fight ensued and my dogs managed to chase the cat off a second time, this time with no injuries.

Apparently there have been multiple sightings of a big cat throughout our area. Each instance shows the cat or cats getting pretty bold and fearlessly approaching humans - something that makes me a bit nervous as a mom and farmer.
The third major event happening around our place is that, after hitting constant roadblocks in our quest to build on our land, we were able to acquire our neighbor's house and surrounding acre. It's a small farmhouse that originally went with our land before the property was divided years ago. (Actually, the original house is now gone but the foundation remains.) Not only is the house exactly what I've dreamed of for years, it comes with amazing gardens and an orchard with cherry, apple and peach trees. It hasn't been cared for in quite a while, so we've spent a lot of time cleaning and reclaiming, with a lot more time to go, but we're happy as clams to be settled in what I hope will be our forever home. (Well, this side of heaven anyway!)

Throw in a few animal and child-centered antics and you pretty much have a recap of the past two weeks of my life. I'm sincerely hoping the next two weeks include some reading. My TBR list is getting a bit out of hand, and I now have a front porch that is beckoning me to laze away an afternoon on it.

Let the juggling act begin

I adore my boys. They are the light and life of my world. Still, it's with a certain amount of trepidation that I stare into the looming summer. My oldest son homeschools. He and I have figured out our rhythm. We have a pattern to our days that lets both of us accomplish what we need to.

My other two... change the dynamic. 

I've taken on more duties at Booktrope, too. I'm helping other authors market their books and I'm getting more involved in Vox Dei, Booktrope's Christian imprint. I'm stupidly excited about these new projects - and I'm stupidly excited about the writing projects I have going. (Hint: It's Vance's turn!)

Today, as I'm trying to dive headfirst into these new projects, I find myself settling phone disputes and convincing my children that teeter-totters were not intended to be balance beams. Especially when your little brother is lying under one of them. Sigh.

We'll settle in; we'll find our new rhythm. But until then, I'm going to rely heavily on my sense of humor.

Oh, and did I mention it's VBS week at church and both my husband and I are teaching? Yeah, the sense of humor is definitely going to get a workout...

The best part of my day...

Kisses from my Kali girl