Update on the new Homestead

Winter has finally arrived here in Tennessee! We were beginning to wonder because the weather had stayed so mild for so long into the season. But last week we got a beautiful snow that covered everything in a white blanket of glory. 
We had a blessed Thanksgiving around a long dinner table laden with fruits from the harvest and surrounded by friends and family!
Work still continues on the new Homeplace...  we have had a few hang ups, and snags, and unforeseeable weather issues, but with help from neighbors, friends and family we are pressing on and are starting make a bit more headway now!!  
We are so grateful to the owner of the camper for graciously extending our time in it a little longer and also to the very kind folks who have extended our stay on their property as well! Lord willing things will be progressing more quickly over the next few weeks on the finishing up of our new home as we are hopefully anticipating our move into it!!! ​

In the mean time the crops still have to be put in the ground and new raised beds need to be built at the new homestead for the future spring/summer garden! Check The Art of Gardening Homestead Blessings DVD for more on gardening tips and how-to's

Here Mom is preparing a bed to plant garlic in...

And here Jasmine is setting the bulbs in the soil...

Come May/June we will hopefully be harvesting beautiful, delicious garlic!! 

On the evening of December 23rd several tornados swept through parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. We are so extremely grateful to the Lord for keeping us safe that night!! A tornado {which later measured to be an EF-2}  came down through the valley that night and wrecked havoc on the tiny farming community we currently live in. Many roofs were gone, trees down everywhere, and a couple of metal buildings were completely annihilated, including the one that we had almost all of our earthly goods and possessions  stored in.

But thank the Lord!!! The tornado which was headed straight for the camper and our neighbor's trailer home, swerved and missed us by yards hitting the storage building instead.
There was a lot of damage and lost- but amazingly there were several things that were unhurt including things that were fragile and glass!

We cannot express enough how grateful we are that the Lord had mercy on us all  here in the community that night. We pray for those who lost loved ones that night and our deepest sympathies go out to them.

Tomorrow is a new day and we are hoping to get a good bit of work done on our home. This is the kitchen, nearing completion little by little!

And this is the master bedroom... isn't it just beautiful with all the wood and tin ceiling!! I can just see it now with muslin curtains framing up the windows and hand woven rugs on the wood floors! Oh! we have been very blessed!

Over the weekend Tyler and Cecilia came to help work on the house! It is always great to see them and visit and hang out while we all work together!

                Tyler is showing Cece where to put the next board on one of the bedroom walls.

                                                                   Cece helping her man!

This is the beautiful shadow box window trim some friends of ours did on the windows and door frames using reclaimed barn wood that came off an old building here at the home place!  
    We are so very grateful to everyone who has donated time, resources and monetary gifts to our new home!! We could not have come this far without the blessings that have been bestowed upon our family! As with any ongoing building project there have been many unexpected costs, so we are grateful to those who continue to donate through the donate button on our home page!
We will keep y'all posted as things continue to progress and once again our blessings and gratitude to all!! 
                                                                                              - The West Family at Homestead Blessings