I live in a little house in Colorado. I share the home with my husband, Mr. LH (Mr. Little House) and two of my children (The Boy and The Girl). A third child, referred to as "Elder Boy" throughout this blog has grown and moved to his own little house.
This is not the smallest house we have ever lived in, nor it it the largest. But it is my family's current little house that we call home. It sits in a suburban neighborhood on the outer edges of Metro Denver.
In the Spring of 2012, Mr. LH and I decided the path our family was taking needed to change. We had spent the previous 2 years recovering from hard times and living life with no solid plan for the future. We switched directions and made some goals: to eliminate our debts and live within our means, to downsize our excessive collection of material things, to become more self-sufficient and self-sustaining and to live a simpler life.
“The real things haven't changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.” - Laura Ingalls Wilder
I want the homestead and the peace. Mr. LH wants the privacy, the space and the view. We're taking little steps and learning little lessons so when the time comes, we'll be at least a little more prepared to dive in head first.
Intro to the crew:
Me:
I am a wife, a mother, a cook, a gardener, a canner, a baker and a lover of things tied to our past (especially kitchen gadgets, old cast iron, cookbooks and aprons). I grew up with a set of blue paperback Little House books my grandparents gave to me when I was in elementary school. The simple life appealed to me. The things that really mattered weren't "things" at all.
As I grew up and moved more towards urban areas and the "city life" I found myself yearning for the wide open spaces of the frontier where the nearest neighbor could be spotted only by the distant wisp of smoke from their chimney and a person's future was determined by a little skill, a lot of hard work and some luck thrown in.
Mr. LH (Mr. Little House):
My husband. My best friend. My partner and teammate. My soulmate.
He is the main breadwinner of the family. A teacher. A writer. A thinker. He dubbed himself "The Idea Man" because he would come up with ideas and I would find a way to implement them, though I come up with plenty of hair-brained ideas myself. Sometimes those ideas can go a little overboard, but so do mine...
He is the one with all the patience. He has patience with The Boy and The Girl when I have run out of mine. He has patience with me when I come up with another "brilliant" project.
The Boy:
Tall, lanky, shy and eager to please, The Boy is actually a "teen" though most days I refuse to accept it. He loves home and family...and, like many boys his age, his computer. Once his height surpassed mine (at the age of twelve!!!), it seemed he started sprouting even faster. I love to look back through the years to see him as a "little" but I swell with pride when I see the man he has become.
The Girl:
The lively one in the family, The Girl is the youngest of the bunch. She is overly dramatic at times, enjoys drawing, crafting, anime and Furries and absolutely loves animals (especially ferrets). She is more beautiful than she believes and more curious than I would like. She has reached the "whatever, mom" stage in her life so I am bracing myself for the next few years.
The "Pickles":
This is what Mr. LH and I call The Boy and The Girl when they are together. I don't remember when or why this started. I know Mr. LH started it. Ever since they were little, he would call out "Hey, Pickles!" and they would come running.
See, he even drew the "Pickles" swimming in a pool in Vail, CO (they're wearing swim goggles).
This is what Mr. LH and I call The Boy and The Girl when they are together. I don't remember when or why this started. I know Mr. LH started it. Ever since they were little, he would call out "Hey, Pickles!" and they would come running.
See, he even drew the "Pickles" swimming in a pool in Vail, CO (they're wearing swim goggles).
