06/11/2026
My GreenStalks don’t necessarily have anything to do with this post, but they’re pretty ☺️
I have been stirring a ton on building community lately. Community sufficiency has become quite paramount for us. I think prior to the last maybe 2ish years, we always kind of had a self-sufficiency mindset.
It took us a while to feel like we belonged where we are now, but now - almost daily - we have friends and neighbors stopping in all the time just to chat, to barter goods, or to simply have some coffee together on the porch.
I’m thankful for the freedom to enjoy those drop ins, and I am also super thankful to have people in our life that care about our family.
Leaving both sets of parents behind in Lancaster, as well as a lifetime of friendships, was not easy at all.
It’s funny when I think about it because if we didn’t have goats, we may have never met our local farmer, who is one of our best friends now. If we didn’t make tallow balm, we may have never met the couple who we refer to as another set of grandparents to our kids. Had we not put our homemade KitchenAid repair sign in the yard, we may have never met our very reliable seamstress, as well as so many other local foodies. Had we not started the bakery, we would not have connected with so many people interested in buying locally sourced and made real food. Had we not started raising pigs, we would not have met like-minded families with kids of similar ages to ours who have become wonderful friends.
The list of things that seemed insignificant when they started and turned out to be hugely significant could go on forever.
I hope that if you are in a season of trying to find like-minded community, that you have the courage to put yourself out there and find those people. It’s so intimidating to put your hand out and shake it with a stranger when you are the transplant and new to town, but you never know what that handshake might grow into. 
