Farmstead Chronicles

  My... I have work to do face 😂 I can't tell you what this picture was for, well I could but... Noah's first rodeo, literally! "Mom in the middle" Drake's first-time voting... we got it done! God's beauty. I am constantly in awe! Noah's first daycare picture Trick or Treat - I should have dressed up as a credit card since they were Target My Nana turned 80 The Chicken ladies 🫶 Egg production has begun. We are up to 6 a day now He heard Daddy in the field, so he went to get him Charley the cheerleader Farm Days at Creambrook Farm      HELLO! Can you believe we are in the last quarter of 2024?!?!? Where has the time gone??  I think I say that with every blog I write. It is moving at warp speed. I like to do a Q4 review of goals, finances, etc... it's how I prepare for the upcoming new year and see what new goals I want to set. Thanksgiving is only 11 days away; someone has a birthday in 9 days ☝and Christmas is only 5 weeks away. Ya'll get ready t...

Day date 3 generations Chicken ladies     It's 10:00p.m. on a Sunday night and I am still waiting for the laundry to get done, I'm listening to a live "Reel" on Instagram from The Budgetnista. If you don't follow her, DO IT! She's amazing and has some great advice. I'm a multi-tasker. I can watch/listen to this reel and type this blog and wait for the laundry to get done and and and. You get my point.  I feel like the month of September was a blur! The pictures above are just a fraction of what I have been up to. We had some extra catering jobs through the Merc. Charley has cheerleading and church on Wednesday nights and then all the other house/business owner/wife/mom chores there are also. Like why do my people want to eat every.day?!?!? I am learning to delegate and let the kids do more (although it won't be done the way I would do it, I need to let that go and let them do it) and it really hasn't been that bad. I keep reminding myself "at ...

  9/15/12 - Our wedding day 9/15/24 - Mr. Bill turns 90 9/13/24 - because it's too pretty not to share with the world!!     This weekend was a weekend for celebrating. Garrett & I "celebrated" our 12th anniversary on Sunday. I put "celebrated" in quotes because we actually didn't do anything. I went to church, Garrett farmed, then we went to my mom's to help close the pool for the winter. It's not really about the pomp and circumstance for me. Anniversaries are like Valentine's Day in my opinion, you should show your person you love them daily, not just once (or twice)  a year. At the end of the day, we are both just grateful for the other and the role each plays in this marriage. Marriage is not 50/50. Sometimes he is giving more than 50% and sometimes I am. Sometimes I have to be the primary parent and sometimes he does. We are a team, we run this family like a mildly well-oiled machine 😆. When I met Garrett in 2009, I don't think he k...

  Early morning cow watching The stance gets me 😎 Say cheese He will find a cow everywhere we go It's a love/hate relationship     Sweet Noah. He really is the sweet one, although the "trying two's" have been VERY trying some days!! He is both mine and Garrett's sidekick if it has anything to do with being outside. He always wants to go feed the cows. We would have some extremely obese cattle if they got fed every time Noah wanted to feed them. He has no fear of the livestock. The chickens on the other hand, he is SCARED TO DEATH OF. We went to Tractor Supply yesterday after church because he stayed in his own bed all night on Saturday night, so he got to get a "prize" (I'm not above bribery - I'm old and tired.) He picked out the tractor he wanted and then we went back to look at the baby chicks. They were on sale, so we got some more.  The nice lady put them in the boxes for us and Noah carried them to the front of the store and I carried his ...

  Mommaw & Charley... deep in conversation Hey, God!     For about a year now I have been keeping a "Gratitude Journal." I don't know if you would call it a journal, more like a list. Early every morning, during my quiet time, I write down 5 things I'm grateful for. I'll be honest with you some days it's hard to come up with 5 things. Not because I'm not grateful, but sometimes it's difficult to see the gratitude in the mundane.  I was listening to a Rachel Hollis podcast, and she said she kept a gratitude journal and how it changed the outlook of her day. It puts you in a mindset of gratitude; therefore, you are looking for things to be grateful for each day. Yesterday morning I took Charley to school, and I was just tired and not in the mood. I have been in a really bad habit lately of going to bed too late and still getting up early. It's a vicious cycle. She started playing worship music and like always, it changed my whole mindset and mood...

  McKession August 2024 Its my favorite time of year! The middle boy is now a man 😲 He found a cow at the beach He has a love/hate relationship with the chickens Romeo, Juliet & Cracker Double digit birthday girl My sweet Mercantile Feeding cows - I'm sure     I think I will do a reintroduction of sorts. If you are new here, welcome! I'm glad you found this blog and I hope it brings you entertainment, joy, and helps you know you are not alone in this life! Please follow and share!      I'm McKession (pronounced ma-kesh-un) I'm 43 years old and live on my husband's family farm in Middlebrook, VA. My husband and his brother farm the 300+- acres while working full time jobs.  We raise beef cattle and have backyard ducks and chickens. We have 4 children, 2 together. They are 23, 18, 10 & 2. I own and operate the Middlebrook Mercantile with my mother-in-law. We are all about being surrounded by family in case you couldn't tell 😄.    ...

      This song came up on my YouTube Music playlist a few weeks ago. I have listened to it on repeat since. The words ring more true in my life than probably any other song out there right now.      There have been so many "Praying Women" in my life that if not for them I would be on a highway to hell for sure. Beginning with my Grandma Isabel that you have heard me talk about before. When she prayed for us (because she absolutely prayed for her entire family and basically everyone she knew) the devil for sure got back to hell running. My Nana prays for us... funny story, when Atasha and I were teenagers my mom caught her smoking. So she decided to make her hot box a whole pack of cigarettes in an attempt to stop her smoking. Mom called Nana to come down to our house while all of this was happening, I still am not sure why 🤷. I am sitting on the couch crying, because Atasha is crying, I had gotten in trouble for my own "stuff" that we won't go into (it's ...

The Mercantile WON!!      MAS 2024 - we are super proud of her Entertainment for the 2yo. He wasn't asleep, just checking things out under the bleachers There are no words 😊 Mother's Day 2024 Drake graduated 🙌 My new apron "If I had to stir it, It's homemade." IYKYK Noah playing in his truck while I put my feet up for a minute Charley & Noah at Shenandoah Acres The she-shed got some improvements Just me      First, let me apologize for not writing a blog in almost 2 months. I have had writers block to be honest with you, or I am just not seeing the beauty in the every day. It has been a struggle for sure. I am hoping to get back to blogging at least once a week.        A LOT of life has happened in the last 2 months. We participated in Market Animal Show, Charley got 2nd place with Gary the Goat and won 3rd overall in Junior showmanship. We were super proud of her for that! Noah was a champ, but he has been the most laid-back ...