It’s DONE. It’s printed. It’s been handed over to the adoption agency.

Some people might find the prospect of doing a photo book as part of the adoption process, a wonderful, straight forward, possibly fun step. We stressed over it.

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After all, this will be the birth parent’s first look at us, their first glance into our lives. On their end, it’s a bit like speed dating. They are handed these photo books to make their first possible selections and then decide who they want to meet in person. It’s hard to imagine the emotions that each book or page might stir up.

In the end though, the book is about us. Trying to capture and sum up us. The three of us, plus two cats and our extended family & friends. But mostly us.

Of course, that brings up the need to define us. And here’s where we stressed a bit. It can be hard to simplify life. To take this vibrant, offbeat world of ours and put it into simple categories. There’s depth to our story that we are eager to share, but how do you do it in 22 pages, and mostly in photos? In the end, we had to realize that the photo book is just the stepping stone to meeting a potential birth family. Given the chance to meet in person, or over time, they will see the other layers to our story.

Or not.

Maybe we won’t get the chance at that type of relationship with the birth family. It’s something we very much desire, but it doesn’t always happen.

So where did we begin? A list. Just a list. A page for us as a family, pages for each of us as individuals, a page for our cats, a page for our farm, a page for our family & friends, a page for our backyard veggie garden, pages for each of us as parents, pages for our travels & adventures, pages for our favourite scripture. 22 pages.

Our life in 22 pages. With so much room to grow.

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Are you ready for another addition of “Reading Time: Our Fave… Books”? Of course, what could be more appropriate right now than our fave Halloween books?! We do so love Halloween in our house! These books get read throughout the year, but we’ll make it special by reading some of them by the spooky glow of our Halloween lights & haunted village decorations. Join along, if you dare.

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Without delay, here it is, our humbly approved list of Halloween books for kiddos:

• The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat by Stan & Jan Berenstain {By far our favourite for this season. We read the copy that was mine as a kid, and it’s just as loved then, as it is now.}
• Fancy Nancy Halloween… or Bust! by Jane O’Connor {We love a little Fancy Nancy now & then.}
• Halloween with Morris and Borris by Bernard Wiseman {One from  my childhood. These two characters get into all sorts of silly fun.}
• The Haunted Ghoul Bus by Lisa Trumbauer {A new one from last year, that we thoroughly enjoy.}
• Click, Clack, Boo!: A Tricky Treat by Doreen Cronin {Another of the silly farm series.}
• At The Old Haunted House by Helen Ketteman {Another new one from last year. We love the counting & rhyming.}

Happy reading & spooking with your littles!

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We’re well into fall here in Calgary. In our house, that means a whole lot of shifting gears. Changing seasons, weather, scenery, schedules, and focus, calls for some mood changes too. Today I’m sharing diffuser recipes that provide the comfort, cozy, and spicy smells that capture all the fall feels.

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Here are three of my favourite diffuser recipes for fall, so far. And lucky you, I’ve also made the recipes into a handy dandy file, so you can download & print it to keep with your oils! {I’m new to the file download bit, so patience as I get the quirks sorted}.

Fall Feels ~ Diffuser Recipes ~ Download

Annnnd a little bonus, because we LOVE Halloween in our house! Now that Thanksgiving is done, the Halloween decorations & music are coming out. Although, I’ll probably hold off on these two spooky diffuser blends until at least the week of Halloween.

Halloween ~ Diffuser Recipes ~ Download

Happy Oiling, Friends!

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I can’t even. Seriously. My last post was back in July. How sad is that? And here we are welcoming the month of October, saying goodbye to gorgeous fall weather, and turning our thoughts to impending snow, Canadian Thanksgiving, and holiday markets.

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Back in July, we were getting settled into our first summer on the farm, living in a small trailer and adjusting to everything that entailed. Wow. It was simple days, with complicated weeks. It was learning to live without a lot of things we were used to (like easy access to electricity & running water at our fingertips) and rejoicing in those blessings when we had them. It was a blur, now that we are back in the city. But in those moments, those hot, sweaty moments of picking beans or peas for hours, it dragged on.

There was a LOT of “good enough, is perfect”. And also lack of patience, plenty of frustration with each other, and things not turning out like we expected (like our outdoor-nature-loving kiddo not wanting to be outside a lot). In parental terms, there were a lot of empty emotional buckets at the start & end of each day.

For a while.

And then you stop trying to do it all. You ask each other, what would fill your bucket that day. And you try to build the day around those small things. You try not to have empty buckets before bed because sleep doesn’t make you feel loved, safe, secure, noticed, important, appreciated.

It was a tough summer for Sam and tough for us to navigate with him, but I have full faith that it will get better with each summer we spend out there. Change, especially big change, is hard on the little people in our lives. Heck, it was hard on me.

I did love so much of our time on the farm though. Walking down the rows of my flowers with a hot cup of coffee in one hand each morning. Greeting the new blooms. Welcoming each new veggie that miraculously grew in an awful year of drought & wind. Learning about a new wildflower or grass each day. Watching the amazing sky with it’s dramatic sunsets (and often strange colours due to the wildfire smoke) and intimidating storm clouds. Listening to coyotes welcome the dusk each night, the cows & roosters in the morning. Catching a glimpse of a hawk, a crane, a deer, or moose. All the smells, oh those deep earthy pasture smells.

In summary, I loved being outside.

Connecting with the outside.

Finding purpose & daily satisfaction outside.

You can see how it would feel strange to be back in the city, suddenly unconnected to all of that. There is nature & creation all around us, it just takes more intention to see it here in the city.

And so, we are “back”. Back in our house (which feels huge now), our home, our community. Feeling overwhelming blessed by the friends around us, so close at hand. We walk Sam to & from school each day (can you believe he’s in Kindergarten!?) and on our walk, chat with neighbours, bump into friends.

The plants have been replaced by people.

I’m realizing now, that’s where I can find my daily connection, my satisfaction. My purpose.

It’s slightly amazing what you can learn in a single summer.

Or what you can be reminded of.

I’m welcoming October, not because I’m counting down the days until the next growing season. But because I am feeling very present. More aware and thankful of now.

In an attempt to get us organized {and comfortable} out at the farm this summer, I made up a few essential oil sprays to keep on hand. An After Sun Spray to soothe skin, Face Refresher toner, and Natural Bug Spray. They have been really lovely to have out there, especially the After Sun spray and Face Refresher. Those two spritzed on a cotton pad, are sooo soothing to the face at the end of a day spent in the hot sun & wind.

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Dust, wind, sun, and sweat can all be tough on the skin. I knew that’s what elements we would face most days on the farm, so I mixed up two sprays to help: After Sun spray and Face Refresher. Apply these directly onto the skin or onto to a cotton pad and then gently rub in.

Face Refresher {Summer Afternoon Toner}

*you’ll have to play around with exact measurements on this one*

• Aloe Vera Gel
• Rose Witch Hazel
• Rose Water
• Lavender Oil
• Lemongrass Oil
• Citronella Oil
• Spearmint Oil
• Fill with steeped green tea {squeeze tea bags to increase concentration}

After Sun Spray

• 1 part Aloe Vera Gel
• 8 parts Witch Hazel
• 10 drops Lavender Oil
• 5-7 drops Peppermint
• 5-7 drops Spearmint

Bug Off {natural bug spray}

• 1:1 ratio of Witch Hazel and Water
• 25 drops of Citronella Oil
• 10 drops Peppermint Oil
• 10 drops Purification Oil
• 10 drops Thieves Oil
• 5 drops Lemon Oil

*Mosquitoes really love me, so I don’t usually hesitate to douse myself in in Deep Woods Off spray. And I’ll be honest, I’m still using that heavy duty bug spray when I’m working on the farm in waist high grasses. However, this natural big spray is awesome for those time when you don’t want to smell like you just got back from a camping trip. It works decent enough for “city” bug coverage, in my mind.*

Hope these inspire you to create some little comforts of your own. So easy to concoct, once you figure out the bases. By the way, I just picked up my real, natural Aloe Vera Gel from Co-Op. Another local source is Soap & More.

Happy oiling, friends!

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There’s always fun to be had at the farm! Or at least, I think there is. Give a warm “howdy” to these new themed Dreamcatchers! Sunshine yellow and super happy! These will brighten any little room the kiddos lay their head or play.

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There are a two colour choices available and read-to-ship. Of course, I can always make small changes to the hanging accent to match your room colours perfectly! I’m just not able to do full custom orders this summer, while we spend the majority of our days & nights on our own farm. Sadly, you won’t find any horses, cows or pigs there {yet}, but we do have plenty of sunshine, birds singing, and veggies & flowers growing. Make sure to follow along all our small farm adventures at Happiness By The Acre.

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Our summer farm days inspired me to put together our list of favourite farm books. We’ve got several {maybe not as many as cat or dino books}. Some of Sam’s earliest books were farm themed, actually. Seems pretty fitting for our part-time farm kiddo.

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Here it is, another list of good reads for kiddos:

• Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown {we read this one multiple times a day through the baby & toddler years… it still gets requested}
• Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington {I’ve mentioned this author before, and we really do love all her books}
• Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin {discovered in preschool and now we also enjoy Click, Clack, Boo! and Click, Clack Ho! Ho! Ho!}
• Cock-a-doodle-doo, Creak, Pop-pop, Moo by Jim Aylesworth {I adore the illustrations in this book and the simple poetry. We first discovered it at the library & ended up ordering our own copy}

Don’t forget to check out our other good reads for kiddos here!

Happy reading & learning with your littles!

It’s a very different “home sweet home” these days.

A 27′ trailer, our five-year old, my husband and myself, plus two cats. All born and raised in the city. Add in a small generator, some patio furniture, a catio, and a fire pit. Now a good heaping of sweat, dirt covered hands and feet, and laughter. A dash of faith, stewardship, and creation care.

It’s our recipe for the summer.

Good enough is perfect, everyday.

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We know just how very blessed we are. Even when it feels like we’re “roughing it”. To even have land to steward and be responsible for, is an immense blessing. We do not take it lightly.

And though there may be some complaints, and much adjusting, it has been wonderful to wake each morning on the farm, and watch each sunset on the farm. Not spending two hours on the road just to spend a day working out there.

And the sky! Oh the sky. My precious Alberta sky that never disappoints. It’s no wonder I felt choked & stuck when we lived in B.C. for a few years. I can breathe under this sky. Live under this sky. Be in constant awe of it.

The second night we spent out there, I got to witness an intense thunder storm. I watched it build up all day long in the distance and felt the power of it as it grew closer. Better than anything I could watch on TV. And even though it hailed on our crops, and leaked in through a trailer vent right over our bed, it was amazing. Rejuvenating. Affirming.

The rest of the summer might go by in a blur of weeding, hot days, unhappy cats, restless nights on an air mattress, and short supply of drinking water, but I will always remember firmly, the storm.

Because I have lived through many storms already.

God has not taken me this far, to leave me. Nor you.

Happy Canada Day!

150 years, still makes for a young country. And certainly we haven’t done everything right in the past, but I AM proud to be a Canadian and call this nation my birthplace & home. All my days.

So cheers to you, fellow Canadian makers, growers, movers, shakers, dreamers!