Hi everybody! So I’m supposed to share a picture and this picture seemed appropriate because I am showing off my newly done nails. I NEVER get my nails done, but it seemed like something fun to do in light of the holidays and the discussions we have had about moms needing to take time for and care for themselves. ???

I’m a farmer’s wife. It’s tempting to think of that in this flannel-shirted, bare-footed, laid back romanticized notion, but it’s a lot more involved than that. ? My husband has a “normal” full-time job and does the farming after work and on the weekends, so I have to be pretty involved. I do everything from the accounting to the irrigating to the tractor driving. However, once we had our second child, I stepped back somewhat – it’s hard to fit 2 kids in a tractor. ?

But every now and then I drop my kids off at my mom’s and spend some time working the fields…hours of driving with no one talking to you or asking you to do anything? That’s like a real vacation! ????  

I’m also a “mompreneur” with a company called Plexus (Check out more:  www.shopmyplexus.com/desikippes). Since I wear hardly any make-up and I’m terrible at picking out leggings, I figured I better go with something I’m passionate about if I’m going to make it a business. ? So I spend a lot of time sharing, promoting, and teaching about health and wellness. It has given me a new appreciation and admiration for all these moms that I see finding something they love and using it to help with the family finances. Oh, and when I have a spare moment, I sometimes write for this awesome blog called Texting the Truth. ?

I have a 4-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter. They keep life interesting, to say the least! ? People say all the time that being a mom is the best and hardest thing they’ve ever done, and I agree!

Nothing has completely changed my life more than becoming a mom. God has taught me so much about Himself (and about me) through my children, and I wouldn’t trade it! But I’m grateful that I have friends and places like this blog to remind me that I’m not the only one struggling through and enjoying this crazy adventure.

You know, I think it is just the fact that we are actually farming. My husband and I both grew up on a farm, but neither one of our parents have land to hand down to us, so we are literally starting from the ground up — no pun intended. When I question our sanity for doing all this, which is often, I remember that we are doing this for our kids and to be a place that can bless others. I consider this a mom win because it is a lot of work, so my kids better appreciate it, dang it!? God continues to demonstrate his grace, faithfulness, and provision to us, and I hope we can show this to our kids. So I have to keep reminding myself that this is a win even if it is incredibly hard.

lol! Totally! Hmm…okay, so this morning, I sneezed and my daughter said in her adorable two-year old voice, “Bess you, Mom.” I laughed because it caught me so off guard. When did she learn to say that?! And then it made me smile because it was this ah-ha moment where I thought, “Maybe my kids are actually getting it. I feel like I work so hard to teach them things like kindness and using manners and here she is using something I didn’t even purposefully teach her.” It made me think that there just might be hope for us all (and that I better be careful with all the other things I’m modeling!) ?

My life lesson: God is God, and I am not. I think I will forever be learning how to let go of control and trust Him. But oh it is so sweet to watch how God leads and teaches me in the most incredible ways. My prayer is that if you will lean into Him, He will do the same for you.