A bit about us...

It is a bit intimidating to make the "first" post on a blog. I never gave it much thought until trying to make this one. Where do you start? 

What do you say?

Who will read it?

I guess I will explain why this blog came to be and then do an introduction of who we are. 

I enjoy journaling in general, in fact when I pass my children get the joy of inheriting several completed volumes of my sloppy handwriting and sappy thoughts!😂 

Social media has filled that need for me the last several years as I have posted about this or about that but it doesn't have the same satisfying feeling as a physical journal. I have some social media post that cataloged an order of events, like our remodel of our farmhouse, that I may transfer to this blog, at least in part, to keep a more collective record of.

Journeraling tells the story in the moment and shows growth over time. My journals always include highs and lows. My journals include praise and prayer request, something I didn't always feel comfortable doing on social media. 

The idea of this blog was actually birthed from the subject of our 2022-23 school year. We are doing a year of notebooking the subject "Homesteading" and I wanted to be able to record some of our adventures and share them with a private crowd of friends and family. We hope to include our mini "vlogg" in the content of this blog but it is all Greek to me and technology hates me.🤪

I guess with that I will tell you about "us". 

We are James and Shela (yes, that is how I spell my name but it frequently has an "i" in it and there is a whole story behind that for another day) Welte. We were high school sweethearts and will be married 27 years this December. We have 13 biological children ranging from ages 26 to 4, two son-in-law and currently two granddaughters. We have eight sons and five daughters. I will list their names here, specifically for those who might not know birth order or all their names: 

Jenika, 26, married to Travis Schreck who are the parents of Adeline, 4, and Annalise, 4 months. 

Janel, 24, married to Isaac Rude. 

Maverick, 22, Malichi,18, Mikale,17, Mundan,16, Jennady,14, Matyus,13, Malex,11, Jadence,9, Matthan,8, Mirren,6, and Jedida, 4. 

The LORD sure has blessed us. 

We are starting our 22 second year of homeschooling, so it is just a way of life now. We have graduated four and have another senior this year. 

In 2017 our family made a big leap from the home we had lived in for 20 years to move across the state for a job transfer for James. With the move came opportunities we had dreamed of for more than a decade. In 2020 we were able to purchase a small 10 acre farm, which is were our daughter Jennady came up with the name of the blog, and begin to build a more self sufficient life for our family. Our older children were die hard enthusiasts and, to be honest, we would NEVER have gotten the house ready, nor the farm up and running with out their help. 

The house originally had 3 bedrooms and two bathrooms and small, boxy rooms. We needing at least 4 bedrooms and we also wanted a dining and living room that were large enough for us to all be in at the same time. So over the course of about 6 months (two before we moved in and four after we moved in) we re-divided the space and made two more bedrooms and an open floor plan for the center of the house that makes one great room that allows for two sitting spaces--one with a projector for more of an entertainment feel and one in front of the fireplace for a more conversational feel--and a dining room that fits our table that seats a dozen. We have done a few more projects here and there since, and still have the master bath to remodel, but at that point we were able to turn our attention to the outside space. 

Outside we have added apple trees, pear trees, blackberries, dwarf cherry trees, greenhouse and large garden (but not large enough! We are doubling next year). Our current animals are: eleven cattle, one pig, five cats, four dogs, 43 chickens, and a dozen ducks. Goals are to be 

self-sufficient in eggs, chicken, pork, beef and milk. We would like to produce over half our needed veggies and fruit. We like to barter and are working with some other local families to build a small farm community to support one another in our homesteading endeavors.

That probably is a good place to end our introduction. If you have read this far, hope you enjoyed and that you come again to see what we are up to on this wild adventure of life. 

God bless.