Our new driveway, and our neighbor, the Eagle Family

Shortly after we purchased the property, we noticed on the property across from us, up in a tree, was a massive nest.  As spring approached, we realized it was an active eagle's nest!  While Jason was putting in the driveway and the kids and I were playing around, we saw the Daddy watching over his mate and nest, while Mommy was sitting in the nest.  What a special sign to have them sharing our space with us!  A conservation truck drove up while we were there too, and he was taking notes and checking up on the pair.

Kids having fun on the new pile of rock.

Jason smoothing out the rock!

We have a driveway!  (sort of)

While this is just a rough-in to help stop the overflow of water that runs over it during heavy rains, (we have a great water flow for a pond!), it will help all the vehicles and deliveries of material when it comes to building our home!

The Divine Homestead...the beginning and a name.

I'll save the background and history for another post, but for now, this is the beginning of our Divine Homestead.  I hope you can follow our adventures as we start from scratch to create our own self-sustaining homestead. We excitedly bought a beautiful 4 acres in the country, with the sale having some funny and sometimes downright weird hiccups along the way (monkey sanctuary next door??)...another post for that as well!

We knew nothing about homesteading, but were sure this was the path God chose for us and would be for our ultimate happiness, as well as eventually doing His work as well, as he shows us.  Right after we closed, we attended a 3-day homesteading course in Texas at the Ploughshare Sustainability Institute, and it was an amazing experience.  More on that in another post too!  We learned so much, but we took home that nature is to be used in synergy, to be in balance with our homestead.  We believe that as well, and are seeking to learn more about how to create that balance within our own land.

Our name comes from a tree that I connected with the moment we looked at the property for the first time.

Isn't she beautiful?  That twisted trunk, her reaching limbs...once when I was practicing yoga, the instructor had us come into Tree Pose and she quoted a poem that said "trees bring their roots into darkness, but reach their branches to the light..."  So I decided to name her my Divine Goddess tree.  I just felt connected to her as well as the land.  We new it was the place for our family.  Even with all the trouble and deterrents from buying, we stood firm and bought the acreage.  When God gives you these gifts, you don't pass them by.


Here are my cuties with our Divine Goddess tree...

And so, that is the beginning and the name of our homestead.  We are so excited and ready for amazing experiences, as well as many, many mistakes I am sure!  It's the only way to learn!