A lot has been going on here at Backyard Baers … for starters, we welcomed our first child, a baby girl, into the world on October 23. And, as you can probably imagine, that has been a major adjustment. My wife and I knew having someone totally dependent on us was going to be exhausting(I can’t be as selfish as I used to be), but dang, this is even more so than we expected! She’s still great, and we love her to death, but ya know, a little more sleep would be nice. Still, we are excited, learning as we go, and we know everything will get easier as she gets older. At this point, it’s easy to think those times can’t come soon enough! But, I try to keep in mind, that as crazy as the idea might seem right now, one day we will look back and miss these times; and wish that we could hold her again as a baby or give her another bottle at 4 a.m. … it’s difficult to keep that in mind when she’s crying at 3:30 a.m. though.
If you’re wondering what exhaustion looks like, just take a look at my face.
In addition to the baby, we are also planning a move across the country. I’ve accepted a job in Central Virginia, so we are leaving the Lone Star State and heading east. It’s very exciting, but also very taxing. Between adjusting to life with a newborn, selling our home, packing and planning the move, there is plenty on our plate. But, in just about a week’s time, the cat, the three dogs, the newborn baby, and my wife and I will be loading up and heading to our new life in Virginia. Fortunately, a moving company will be taking care of the rest, so things could be a lot worse. It is sad to leave Texas. We’ve been here about four years, and we love this state and it has been very good to us. But, not only is this move for a great job, but it puts us closer to our families and allows us to return to the mountains of Virginia; and we are very excited about that. So, any advice for moving a newborn, three dogs and a cat across the country?
Obviously, the move is leading to changes for our homesteading desires. Sadly, I had to get rid of my chickens. I was sad to do it, raised them from the day they were born but not long enough to get a single egg. They are going to a good home though; someone who already has backyard chickens and knows exactly what they’re doing (probably more so than I did). Still, seeing the empty chicken coop in our backyard is a little sad. I’m glad I only have to look at it for another week, and then we are out of here. I worked hard on that thing! And it was a good coop, if I do say so myself. Nothing special or fancy about it, but it did a good job housing my ladies for four months. In retrospect, there are a lot of things I would have done differently when I designed it, so I am looking forward to starting over in our next house.
So, it is that time of the year where you recognize what you are thankful for, and we have a lot to be thankful for right now: Our marriage, a very healthy baby girl, great family that we know is there to help if and when we need them, two great jobs for my wife and I that are allowing us to return to the East Coast, and so much more! Happy Thanksgiving all … we will spend it frying a turkey, watching some football, and then get back to packing!
