We’ve named our 7 acres of land, Grace Orchard.

We moved here in the fall of 2011 and have truly been blessed by its beauty, its fruitfulness, and the meaningful labor that it has brought to us.  Judy’s parents have been instrumental in helping us get the property and also spending countless hours working on projects to make Grace Orchard what it is today.  Their work ethic, ingenuity, and vision have truly transformed our property into our favorite place in the world.  Everything here that is beautiful and amazing is a direct result of their labor.  Grace Orchard is named after Judy’s mom.

In the spring, it is time to prune our 2 acres of blueberries to prepare for when Grace’s Blueberries Organic U-Pick opens to the public.  It is a self-serve U-Pick and we’ve enjoyed sharing our blueberries with our community.  All of the proceeds goes towards missions and we feel that because of that, God truly blesses our harvest each year.

Spring is also a time to start tilling the ground and planting for our garden.  Each year, our garden is different, but we typically grow tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, herbs, pumpkins, and other leafy greens. We give each of our boys a plot of land and they decide what to plant.  They are also responsible for weeding and watering their gardens.

On our property we have about 15 cherry trees in the north-east corner, about 10 apple trees scattered throughout the land, 1 pear tree, and we’ve also discovered 4 mulberry trees out by the blueberries.  We keep all our fruits and veggies organic and we do not use any pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. It is an amazing feeling to be able to live off your own land…for at least fruits and veggies!

The summer and fall are a busy time when we spend free time weeding, harvesting, and mostly mowing the lawn.  It takes several hours to mow our lawn.  In the backyard, we only mow up to the gazebo and then we have trails that run through the back 3 acres.  The boys enjoy riding their bikes and running through these trails to see what they can find.  It is also a time to start making wood for the winter!

The winter comes as a time of rest.  No more need to work outside.  If enough firewood has been chopped & stocked, then we stay warm by burning wood in our wood stove.  This in itself is a chore, but it definitely beats spending thousands of dollars heating our house using propane!

No matter the season, we love living on Grace Orchard.  The hard outdoor labor has a blessing both physically and spiritually.  We have obtained countless object lessons and it has drawn us closer to our Creator God.  This is the place God wants us to be!