Welcome!

I'm Tonia and this is my family. There's Hubs, my wonderful partner; Bug, my darling daughter; and Boo, my charming son. We are the Collins clan. We are a homeschooling family who try our best to live out God's will for our lives every day. There are lots of stumbles along the way, but we love each other and this little life we're carving out for ourselves. Recently we found ourselves called to make some big changes in our lives so we're packing up the McMansion and moving out to a little farm in need of a lot of TLC. We have tons to learn and tons to do and we invite you to share the journey as we turn our not-so-new heap into a home.

Monday, April 28, 2014

Super Hubs

While I was falling apart like a big baby this winter, the Hubs was working away on a "little" project.

Remember this?



The cellar was gross. I had assumed that it was going to always be. It is, after all, a cellar. I was okay with that, really. We removed all the trash that was down there and replaced the plumbing- I figured that was about as nice as it could get. I was wrong.

I wanted to set up a grow area for seedlings down there so I picked up an old table and asked the Hubs to hang some lights for me. I didn't really think about it again until he told me he was just about done.

Imagine my surprise.





 
He patched and painted the walls and the floor. He even painted the poles and the stairs. It is beautiful.  Then he hung the lights, giving me a lovely little seed starting area.
 
 
 
I am a very spoiled wifey. Who needs a super hero when you have a Super Hubs? Not me. I'm totally keeping the Hubs.


Tonia

Friday, April 11, 2014

The End of the High

Yeah, I know.....you've been wondering what happened to me, right? I wish I had some cool, witty story to share about how I've been so busy transforming the Heap that I wasn't able to blog, but alas, there is no such story. The truth is- I sort of fell apart this winter. Not everything about this new life is fun, or rewarding, or even normal. Some days I kind of hate it. There, I said it.

I don't like to be cold and this winter has been a record breaking cold winter. But, cold at the Heap is like nothing I've ever had to deal with before. I'm not talking about, "Brrr, it sure is cold out there." It's more like, "There's snow IN MY WINDOW" cold.

 
The cold wind literally blows straight through this house. The siding and windows need to be replaced desperately, but those are expensive propositions and have to wait their turn. The central heat is incredibly inefficient and drinks propane at an alarming rate. When propane costs skyrocketed mid winter we had no choice but to turn it off and rely on space heaters. I have been so cold for so many months that I was starting to think I'd never thaw out. And when I'm cold I become tired, cranky, and apathetic......it's not pretty.

 
Chores are no fun when things look like this. Everyone still needs to eat, though, so it doesn't matter if it is 10 below, there will be a trip outside first thing in the morning. There were a lot of mornings this winter when I questioned my sanity. Why did I want chickens so badly again?
 
 
I enjoyed the first time we were snowed in, but after numerous times of being unable to leave for days on end, it seriously lost it's appeal. Trips to the grocery store became cause for celebration, which is just sad, really.
 
Spring is here, though, and already the pain is fading. We have plans for a big garden, new chicks, and possibly pigs this year. The Hubs has been working hard on new fencing and other outdoor work. We survived our first winter at the Heap and it can only get better from here.
 
So, stay tuned, friends- I'm back and we're going to have lots to share!
 
Tonia