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Making a Home(stead)

Annette is the Homestead Mama behind Azure Farm, a homestead in GA, where she lives with her husband and their precious almost 2 year old daughter Ava. Annette and her family have a beautiful homestead where they keep about the cutest animals you’ve ever seen, and have beautiful gardens and an amazing greenhouse. 

Hi friends! I’m so happy to share our story with you! Our life together did not start with homesteading and life in the country. We were married and lived in the suburbs for 10 years before we took a leap of faith and moved out into the country. It’s been almost 5 years now and if you would have told me almost 15 years ago when we married that I would absolutely love being out on the farm shoveling poop with a baby on my hip, gathering veggies from our garden, and living far away from the grocery store I would have said you were crazy. 

 

But here we are. We searched for a long time for the right place to move to and the little town of Adairsville seemed like the perfect fit. Tucked between Chattanooga and Atlanta it’s a tiny town where we found a 5 acre plot of land with a barn and well. It was the perfect spot with a gorgeous view of the sunset. Quiet enough to hear all the crickets and birds. 

 

We both knew deep down that we needed a simpler way of life. We felt we were being called to do something different. I believe we were all made to live out in nature and to care for animals and garden. It’s part of our DNA. Life can be so busy that you don’t take time to appreciate the little things. Moving out here has forced us to reflect and learn. To grow in a way I never thought possible. I have learned so much from living on a homestead. The animals have been my therapy. Getting my hands in the dirt and being able to see a tiny plant sprout from a seed is pure magic.

We moved to our small farm after building our home. I remember the first night in our home with things still unfinished, no tile, no doors, no grass outside and so many things to do but we were so happy. We were home. Every day breathing the fresh air is like therapy to me. We slowly finished our house and started to make it a home. We added animal shelters, fencing, and then more fencing. Little by little the farm started to take shape and things started to fall into place. It takes time and that’s possibly one of the biggest lessons I have learned. Nothing happens overnight. It takes lots of patience and planing to properly  build a homestead. Patience can be hard but it’s so worth it!

Our first animals arrived just shy of a year after we moved. Chickens and alpacas. Suddenly the farm came to life with the sounds of chirping chicks and soft natured alpacas. But with animals came more responsibility. Cleaning their barns, feeding them, early morning chores. Making sure their water did not freeze their first winter. All the things which nobody tells you about. The first time one of our animals died I was just devastated. But with each tough farm lesson there is a beautiful moment and lesson that makes it worth any hardship we could ever face. Farm life is so tough but so rewarding. You have to experience it to know how life changing it can be. 

Fast forward 2 years after we moved and we had turkeys, chickens, ducks, alpacas, and donkeys! We built a raised bed garden soon after we moved in and it has been so wonderful to grow delicious food for our farm to table recipes. Around the two year mark I also found out I was pregnant with our little girl Ava. I had never really envisioned where I would raise a child but after living in the country I could image nowhere but on our farm. 

Little Ava is almost 2 now and she is the best little farm helper. She is obsessed with feeding the chickens and giving everyone water. It makes me so proud to be her mom. She is barefoot, happy and full of wonder. She runs around the donkeys and animals with no fear. She is their friend and they love her so much. I am in awe of the incredible bond she has with them and the land. She thrives being outside and in nature and it’s so beautiful to see. I am so grateful she gets to grow up here and nature will be her lesson book. 

Amidst daily farm life and motherhood I started my IG account @Azurefarm as a way to interact with you and share our farm life. It has been so wonderful to share our story and I hope to inspire one of you to do the same. Life is too short to not say what’s on your heart so let me tell you this. If you get the opportunity to move out to the country do so. It will be hard, you will have to adjust to so many new things, but you will 100% be grateful you did. Farm life has been the best decision we ever made. As signs of spring slowly start to emerge around our homestead I have renewed energy after a long winter and I can’t wait to see buds form, tulips blossom, and new life happen on the farm. Join me as I share these moments with you and I hope you can be uplifted and find joy in it. We are all truly one big #happyfarmily 

Much Love,

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