Friday, January 15, 2010

Trite but true

Milch means "milk" in German, while Miel means "honey" in French. We come from French and German ancestry. Then, we learned how to be a family while stationed overseas in Germany. Shortly after, God used our 2007 trip to Paris to remind us how dear he holds the desires of our hearts. This is our land of milk and honey...so our Micro herd has a name: the Milch & Miel Micro Herd.
Apparently, the Talmud explains that the bible's " land flowing with milk and honey" was actually a diect reference to goats. Goats would forage in fig trees, leaving the fruit's juice, known as fruit honey, dripping down their chins. the abundance of food allowed them to become full of milk. Literally, the land would be flowing in milk and honey. ( Ketubot 111b, Megill 6a, Ramban, Shmot 3:8).
It may not be the most original name in the world; a Google search reveals other farms with variations on the name. So, we became the Milch & Miel Micro Herd, here on SoulFull acres. This place is the realization of our hopes, the fruit of our diligence, and the nourishment for our future.
" A vision without a task is but a dream, a task without a vision is but drudgery; but a vision with a task can change the world " Chief Black Elk

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Here we go again

As my blogger profile can testify, I've tried to get a blog going several times. I thought of deleting those other attempts, but I realized how much I appreciate the documentation of where we've been an how far we've come. Since our first family blog, Beware of the Griff, we've added two wonderful daughters to the family; and Beware of The Griff, Sera, and Bea just doesn't have quite the same ring to it.
We've been abundantly blessed. This past December we had the opportunity to purchase our first home, a modest little place, well within the budget God gave us, with a little over an acre. We knew it was the house when we got here, like the previous owners had set it up with all of our aspirations in mind. With God's help, the process from deciding to buy a house to moving in was just over a month long. Now the fun part begins...
In the middle of all of the other busy busy blessings in our lives (finishing my teaching degree, the military, not to mention 3 bumbling munchkins) we're setting to work turning our visions into realities. As I type, there is a hutch full of rabbits outside (Abraham, Sarah, and Bekah), just waiting to become part of this family's lively hood. I've had a long time to try to reconcile my family's need for meat with our world's wastes and abuses. If we are going to eat meat, we want to raise it ourselves; ethically, environmentally, and healthily. We intend that our children will learn to love and respect God's creation, and how he provides for us through it, by caring for it themselves.
This Saturday, we will be picking up the beginnings of our Nigerian Dwarf Goat herd. Like the rabbits, these goats are meant to aid our attempt at self-sustained living. In return for love and care, we ask them to give us milk, free lawn-mowing, and fertilizer for our future garden. Beyond that, I expect that the children and I will have the pleasure of learning about anatomy, herd management, genetics, and even a little midwifery.
In the main bathroom, the toilet is currently sitting in the bathtub; we can't help but revel in this opportunity to make this home feel like our own, doing the necessary maintenance and adding the less necessary decoration.
" A vision without a task is a dream. A task without a vision is drudgery- but a task with a vision can change the world" -Chief Black Elk. So we are jumping in head first; using the resources God blessed us with to live the life we dream.