It was a total life change for us. Even though we would spend at least a week a summer at our Papa's farm, we still didn't know very much about the country.
I mean, dad had to be taught how to burn a safe fire in the burn pit. We never burned any of our trash in the city! We also learned on day three to make sure that all the trash got burned, esp. if there was meat as there are very few vultures in the city! (I even have a picture to prove it was on the burn pit!)
One thing I think we had the hardest time with was to fence or not to fence. After all good fences make good neighbors right? Mom couldn't decide if she needed a fence for the toddlers to make sure that they would stay in their area and not head out towards the street or out back by the pond. Well, five years ago yesterday dad and I spent a good part of the day trying to find a Lowes or Home Depot and learning the layout of Tomball pretty well. How long did they 'yard' for the kids work? Oh, about a week. After that it was a pen for the baby goats, and the outside pen for our inside dogs. lol (This is from one of the few times that the kids played in the fenced in area!)
From the very start, even before we moved out mom and dad had said one species per year. You know goats in '04, bees in '05, etc. Did that work? NO!! In September of '04 we got our first batch of chickens. (That almost all died in the "The Great Chicken Massacre"). In October of '04 we got bees. In November of '04 we got goats. 
Now, five years later we own....Goats (three different breeds),horses, chickens, turkeys, ducks, dogs, cats, alpacas, hogs, rabbits. That's not counting the bees, guineas, and cockatoo that we have
owned and do not any more. Oh, and all the frogs that have come and gone. (Since, I do not have enough space or time to show pictures of all the animals we have right now, nor do I think that I have pictures of all our 'first' animals. I decided to post a picture of our first goat--She was our favorite. And our first chicks.
Snakes, five years ago ask me what different snakes there are, what they look like, and which ones were venomous or not. Now, we can look at one and tell you what it is and whether it's venomous or not. I have even 'saved' a costumer from a snake that had hitched a ride with the plants and ended up in her car. :D
Guns are yet another way that has changed for us. In the city we didn't have one and I had never seen one. Now, five years later,
I have shot my fair share of guns, from hand gun to black powder rifle. And decided that the next 'free' time I get I will start on my concealed handgun license.
Oh, yeah and the biggest change in our lives......A dairy. We now all work together to run the family dairy. Each of us takes our turns to do chores, going to markets, making produce, labeling product, etc. 
All in all the changes have been great, yeah there are times when I sometimes wish I had more time to watch baseball, read books, play on the computer, etc. But, in the past five years I have had the chance of living the city life for about a week and I realize that doing that can sometimes be very boring (esp. if you don't have someone to drive you anywhere.). I greatly enjoy living out here and I think it's one of the best things that have happened to me in the past two decades. :D (Not counting the addition of siblings that have happened in the past two decades. :D )I still am having a hard time realizing that we have lived out here for five years. FIVE YEARS!! I am still trying to wrap my minds around it, but I am not sure I will be able to do it. lol
Oh and last but not least? We have been blessed with three boys!! Noah, Judah and Seth, even though we are sure that they will give us all gray hair before any of us reach 50, they are still a blessing and make life all that more enjoyable! :D
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