About Kendra
This is the journal of a 20-something year old, Southern California girl trying to learn her way around in the country. I am married to a wonderful Christian man, and have three beautiful children. I love life in the South now, but it took many years before I adjusted…
Growing up on the beautiful West Coast, in warm and sunny weather, surrounded by beautiful people and places was paradise; life was good… wasn’t it??
Until one day when my teenage life was abruptly uprooted and I found myself on the other side of the world, or so it felt, living in the middle of nowhere in the Bible Belt South. Talk about major culture shock! At first, I hated it. I was lost and longed for the glamor of home. But after a couple of years, this new slower paced living started to grow on me.
I began to contemplate life, and true happiness, and my perception of the “good life” slowly began to change. I realized that I had grown tired of fast city living, rude, self-centered people and a superficial lifestyle. And as I got a little older and found the Lord, I started to realize that this new simpler life brought me much more joy.
Over the course of 2008, my husband and I decided that we were ready to switch gears and learn to live more self sufficiently. We bought a repo’d modular home, fixed it up, and put it on an acre of land deep in the country. Eager, and well on our way to building our homestead, we realize that it will be a long, trying journey, but a rewarding one as well.
I’m so glad you’ve come to join us! I hope you will follow along as this naive city girl fumbles her way through learning to garden, raising chickens, canning and preserving food, living on less, and everything else along those lines! Boy, are we in for a ride!
If you are like us, in the learning stages, I hope that from my accomplishments and mistakes I can provide some knowledge for you. And if you are an experienced homesteader, I hope that you will be kind enough to share your insights with me when you see me stumbling along. And who knows, you too might just learn a new trick or two along the way!
wow! There are lots of posts on here….you have been holding out on us!! LOL. I have read most of your other blog and admit that I have enjoyed your butterberry farm posts the most. I,too, have moved to the south, but from the north and have learned to love the slower way of life. I love being more self sufficient! It is so gratifying to eat food that I have grown and perserved myself! I am looking forward to all of your posts!
I really admire what you are doing! I stumbled across your site when it was still Handprints on the Wall, and as a fellow 20-something newlywed I admire your strength to stand out against the want filled, desire based way that our economy has turned. I have always admired my grandma and her generation, as well as anyone else who was self sufficient enough to at least grow their own gardens, raise their own animals and do things for themselves, even if it isn’t “the convenient way”. They were really onto something…and your friend Adelia also…has it right on. The only TRUE way to save money is to be self sufficient…and that way is the most rewarding as well.
While I don’t think I could go entirely self sufficient, I am making strides each day to doing more and more on my own…and with the current state of our economy, we can’t go too wrong by doing things this way. Thanks for starting up this site to encourage and give us all ideas to being more self sufficient, even if it is only to a certain level. I love hearing your stories from the Butterberry Farm, and can’t wait to follow your adventures, as well as start some of my own!!
God Bless!
MoneySavinDiva
Jill,
Thanks so much for the encouraging words. I do hope that what I am learning and sharing will be helpful to many others like me. I hope to encourage every young lady out there to step up and take her wallet back into her own hands, and start doing things more cost effectively! I’m glad you enjoy reading; thanks for stopping by! I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing from my readers… it keeps me going knowing I’m being held accountable!
Kendra, I would like to invite you to check out my brand new website, http://www.livingtoglorify.ning.com. I just started this week, and I really love your site. My husband and I are starting to homestead ourselves, but looks like we’ll be moving soon to a bigger city, but it’s still a rural community. Anyways, I look forward to chatting with you and learning from you as you are very knowledgable on the subject of homesteading. PS I tried your homemade recipe for baby wipes and they are wonderful. Thanks again! Blessings, Alexis V.
Hello,
The fact that you’re a CA girl in the country got my attention. I’m a CA girl (born and raised) but really wish I could live in the country! I’ll be back…=)
I have been meaning to tell you that your blog is my absolute favorite! Many of the things you are learning & doing appeal to me. We hope to do some homesteading someday. Right now we are 1/3 of an acre in the suburbs… so it’s more wishing & dreaming for us than reality. Nice to “meet” you. =o)
I had the dream when I was 22, but now I’m 60. I love reading your blog. As I write to you I have son who is 36 today, and two others that are 28 and 26. I lived in the hills of West Virginia for 11 years and then a mid-life crisis occured and I moved to Southern California for the next 18 years ( Oxnard – Santa Barbara ). In 2001 I moved to Colorado and now am the primary caregiver to a 90 year old mother with Alzheimer’s Disease. I am still hopeful of having a homestead when she passes away. I am so excited by your sharing it excites me to see others make it happen. I have about 400 books on various topics from home improvements, beekeeping, orchards and berry patches, gardening, herbs, alternative medicine and a zillion cookbooks. So let the Lord of all of us bless your families work and don’t get discourageed in anyway.
Larry
I never thought I’d be saying this, but I miss the farm I grew up on. It was a hard life, but I look back at it now and realize the different things I learned:
1) I learned mechanics, basically because I was the eldest child and also because I had no brothers.
2) The definition of hard work. It’s not what most grow up with today, at least not in this country.
3) Use it up, wear it out, make due or do without. I’ve used this philosophy in my hobbies as well as in my household duties.
Although you’ve chosen a tough row to hoe, as we used to say, it will well be worth the venture. Keep your eyes on the author and finisher of your faith in all things and you cannot go wrong.
Your blog is wonderful. I really look forward into delving more deeply into it.
A sister in Christ,
Roberta
and I just became a fan on Facebook!
We recently moved to a small lot of land in NH. I have lived in New England nearly all my life, except when I was in college in Florida. My husband and I are not really new at gardening, putting up vegetables and the like, but we are new at land managment and we have added ducks to our livestock. This year we would also like to raise a pig with our neighbor since we have heard it is more successful if you have two.
I will be following your blog and adding it to my favorites list.
Thanks.
Mrs. D
Just discovered your FB page and blog. What you’re doing is so neat, and I was very surprised to discover how young you are! I’m impressed and excited that this is where the Lord is leading you. I’m a 40-something wife and mom of two living in rural Alaska and working toward many of the same things you’re doing. I’ll enjoy following your adventure!
Hi Kendra! Nice to meet you. After reading through your intro I see we have quite a few things in common. I am a Christian homeschool mom of 3 girls that has been moving toward a frugal and self sufficient lifestyle for 10 yrs now. Living in South Florida were land is expensive and at a premium, I don’t have any acreage. But I grew up with country roots & homesteading is a mindset and matter of the heart. I love to cook & bake and am sharing that journey in a food blog I started 6 months ago. I focus on meals made from scratch using real food & organic when possible. I also use a grain mill to make my own organic whole wheat flour….this has revolutionized our life and health. I’m excited to have found your blog & am now following you on twitter.
WOW!!!!!!!! I just found your blog…It is awesome…very inspirating…very nice to see that there is another homemaker out there has the passion to homestead..My family has just started and we are loving it….Thanks for doing this blog, I will be using this as a reference…In Christain Love, Holly Crawford
Awesome! My friend gave me a link to this site and I, too, am very inspired to see other young women getting back to the simple life. It is how I grew up, helping in the garden & getting food ready then watching Mama can and freeze that delicious food. Every so often having to say goodbye to the pig or calf that would be winter dinners.
Luckily, my husband grew up the same way. Now in my late 20’s and with 2 small boys, I am ready to start back where I left off when I moved out of Mom&Dads house. Just aquired 2 chickens from my wonderful fried that I went to school with, she is getting into homesteading also. Having another young lady nearby doing these same things is a great help. For those of you that are not blessed with many acres of land, look for the book “Backyard Homestead” it tells how much you can harvest from 1/4 acre. Tons of fun & useful info.
My husband also lost his job over a year ago, and like in your story that I read we also felt like it may be a blessing. He has been home for our youngest sons whole first year, oldest is only 2 1/2. I really liked your quote about God taking care of the birds and how much more must He love us. Wonderful site, God bless you! Steph
Hi! I just found your blog… and decided I wanted to add you to my sidebar/blogroll. I’m looking forward to hearing/reading more of all your adventures…you sound like you and you’re family are living “our dream”. Keep us informed!!! So, we know what to “expect” when we get there.
Great blog! You guys are doing really well. You have laid your blog out very nicely as well – meaning well organized. My wife and I did this once, including the off-grid experience – only it was in SW Montana. We miss it a lot, but an unfortunate business experience caused us to have to take a break from that lifestyle and build our savings back up. he plan was go back to the “real” world for 2 years and then go back. Well, 9 years later, we are still in west Tennessee. Longing to return to the lifestyle though. We have 7 kids, with one starting college out west this year, so planning is key but I don’t want it to be an excuse not to do it. Thanks for the re-inspiration! Can’t to share blog with my wife.
Hi Kendra
We just became facebook friends so I thought I would check out your site. I am also from So. CA and have been homesteading for the last 35 years in Northern CA. We have a lot in common, with homesteading life style, homeschooling, animals…. We have had very good success homeschooling, credit goes mostly to my wife, with 3 girls in college and I am proud to say that my second oldest daughter just graduated from Cal Poly. I teach my girls to shoot, we have a milk cow and now two as our cows daughter just gave birth and is also milking. My wife also loves goats and and we have large gardens and of course some chickens too. Lets get together and do some homesteading
Happy moments,praise God. Difficult moments,seek God. Quiet moments,worship God. Painful moments,trust God. Every moments,thank God
Farmer Dave
Kendra,
I have to say, your story was precious! I was not always of the homesteading mindset, and it has only been in the last few years that I really have longed to get back to the land.
You have made me proud because you are so young, yet see the value of what you are learning. You have given me hope that not all is lost when it comes to the value of our grandparents and what can be passed on to the next generation.
I am a single gal of 44 and hope to soon be doing what you are doing. Your blog has found a permanent bookmark on my browser and I look forward to hearing more about your journey.
Sharon
Wow Kendra! I’m Impressed! You never cease to amaze me…
Kendra,
You are living the life I dream of! I am very impressed with your blog and your homesteading accomplishments. Yay for SoCal girls!
City Girl to Country Girl
http://www.citygirltocountrygirl.com
Kendra,
, I love your site! My husband and I would love to own some land and make our own homestead. We live on 0.06 acres haha but we do as much as we can until we have enough saved. Your website is so inspirational! thank you for sharing all your trials and achievements it will help us when we start ours up! May the Lord Bless your family as you go on this exciting journey! 
I just came to your website and love it! I am twenty -something as well married to my husband for 4 yrs. and we have two little boys
Hi Katie!
So happy you found your way to my site. I wish you the very best in everything you do! And I hope to hear more from you along the way
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