New Beginnings

It is with much joy, and much lack of sleep, that I announce major changes for The Next Worker. On June 27 at 315pm we closed on a beautiful old house in South Jersey with just over an acre of land. At 214am June 28, we welcomed into the world our fourth child and second son, Fulton Ambrose. God is so good.
The last six weeks have been a whirlwind to say the least. I feel guilty even blogging when there's so much that absolutely HAS to get done, including sleeping but any good writer undergoing such developments feels incomplete unless she can WRITE about them. Besides, I can't do more bragging to my friends and family; I need to move into the realm of strangers in which to share my joy.
I've got so many priorities right now I hardly know where to begin. I wind up starting several things but ultimately I wind up doing something trivial because the rest of it is so overwhelming. Just having a new child is one thing, having three other small children is another. Purchasing a fixer up is one thing, fixing it up with a newborn and three small kids is another. Preparing for another homeschooling year is one thing, trying to write up lesson plans with a newborn and a new house and did I mention the three other small children is starting to seem impossible. Oh, and did I mention I started a homeschooled girls field hockey team and I'm volunteering for our local homeschooling support group? Have you caught your breath yet? Because I'm still gasping for air.
But despite all this it is hard for my husband and I to not just want to jump headfirst into all the ideas I've hashed out on here; self sufficient living, the agrarian lifestyle. simplifying, etc. At least as much as such ideals are possible on an acre in Jersey. However, most people are living on less than an acre in suburban areas just like us. Our new homestead could hopefully serve as an example of how to put the Worker principles into action on a small, readily accessible scale...if we can ever get past this initial starting point (which includes tearing out our only full bath and relying on sponge baths for the last two weeks.)
So now The Next Worker is going to change course a bit. While passing along the wisdom of Day and the Worker movement is still central to what we're doing the blog will now focus on fulfilling these ideals and what concrete steps we're taking towards living this 'Worker' lifestyle we've imagined for ourselves. I always felt I couldn't live up to my expectations because of the situation we were in. Now that we've secured the house I'd been dreaming of, will we fall short of our goals, succeed beyond our wildest dreams or fall somewhere in between? Could we realize what we sought for so long isn't possible at all?
Now the rubber meets the road. We're off and running. Already our new situation has presented opportunities to help people anonymously, offer hospitality for groups of people and be on call, with a door always open, for friends in need. I think the biggest problem will be not setting our sights to high right away and getting discouraged when life (aka four kids, homeschooling, a full time job, etc) prevents us from doing what we want in a timely fashion, which means, right now!
For now, we need to finish the bathroom. Then there's minor cosmetic stuff inside we want to tackle like painting since this house is disgusting but there's several major projects we're having a hard time deciding between. And the yard! Heaven knows what we will find out there next but already we need to think of how to get it in order for next spring.
I'm hoping to work out my thoughts through posting and maybe, if we can fix our camera, start posting pictures. Eventually, I would love to have our own Path to Freedom type thing going but that's a few years down the road. Stay tuned! I'm happy to be back. And feel free to leave advice by way of personal messages or links. I'm always looking to learn more. I love new beginnings.