A Day in the Life of a Fire Wife {Part 1}

March 27, 2017April 3, 2017 - The Country Wife Leave a comment

As I’ve mentioned before, there are two seasons when living the Wildland Fire Life—fire season and not fire season, or the off-season.

These two times of year aren’t necessarily written in stone, they are a general guideline, but each year is different and the length of each fully depends on your geographic location.

For Wildland Man and I, at least currently, the fire season seems to out-length the off-season. Something I’m still getting used to. For us, the trade-off is more experience for my husband during the longer fire season. Then, eventually, hopefully, we can afford to move somewhere with a shorter fire season.

Living the Fire Life

March 20, 2017March 20, 2017 - The Country Wife Leave a comment

I never would have imagined this life for us…ten years post-college and we are both pursuing our dreams, a little delayed perhaps, but here we are chasing the fire life.

As you may have gathered by now, I refer to my hubby as Wildland Man…not so long ago we were high school teachers working in the same building and same department. Now I’m attempting the blogging thing and Wildland Man is, well, all about wildland fire. You can read more about our journey here.

This career change has come with some adjustments to what we were used to before, and a few major moves across the country; definitely some sacrifices along the way…but it’s been an adventure, a whole new world of exploration and learning. It is a life worth living and a life that is uniquely ours.

Life Lessons from Man’s Best Friend

March 13, 2017March 20, 2017 - The Country Wife Leave a comment

I have always loved animals; I grew up with an assortment of pets and always thought I might end up working in a zoo one day. Though that dream never came to fruition, I did teach high school for a while, which is pretty much a zoo in it of itself. But I digress…

Suffice to say, my husband and I immediately added a dog to our family once we were married. Now, I may be bias, but this was no ordinary dog…this was Bellaroo, our sweet, stubborn, assertive, wire-haired, scraggly and scrappy Drahthaar.

5 More Tips for Taking Back the Sabbath

March 6, 2017April 2, 2017 - The Country Wife Leave a comment

In my original post, “Taking Back the Sabbath,” I shared how establishing boundaries in my life that included guarding the Sabbath as a holy and restful experience was a critical factor in my shift to slow down. I spoke of my struggles to balance work and home life and suggested 5 tips to help you take back the Sabbath in your home.

Today I’m sharing 5 more tips with you that I hope you will find helpful and inspiring when it comes to taking back the Sabbath in your own life.

Taking Back the Sabbath

February 27, 2017April 2, 2017 - The Country Wife Leave a comment

The day starts in a rush…packing lunches, picking up the kitchen, and trying to get out the door for work or an appointment. Hopefully a workout can get fit in somewhere, a quick scrub-down of the house in a spare moment, while paying bills and checking off the to-do list get pushed to tomorrow. And this is just your day-to-day schedule, add in a husband’s, children’s, and anyone else that depends on you and your agenda is overflowing.

The week has been survived and while looking forward to the weekend reprieve the realization hits that there is no such thing when it comes to your schedule. The weekend is full of activities, events, projects, and an overdue to-do list. You’ll be lucky if you get everything you “need” to get accomplished done in a matter of two days.

Who is the Country Wife?

February 20, 2017February 20, 2017 - The Country Wife Leave a comment

Country Wife Chronicles is a blog that documents the journey of a country wife seeking to savor the stillness of a simple country life…but who exactly is the Country Wife?

Ok, that statement sounds a little like “How much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?” But I think you get where I’m going here…

So, grab yourself some coffee and peruse the pages of this blog and you’ll find out just who the Country Wife is.

The Country Wife Recommends…Christian Marriage Resources

February 13, 2017February 14, 2017 - The Country Wife 2 Comments

With Valentine’s Day upon us, I thought it might be a good time to share some of my favorite Christian marriage resources with y’all. Personally, I tend to find myself reevaluating my marriage whenever this romantic holiday comes along; I’ll catch myself daydreaming of the early days and taking stock of just how far we’ve come in our relationship and in life.

So, as you are planning a romantic evening for two or writing out a cute V-Day card to your hubby, take a moment to browse through some of these books and focus a little TLC on your marriage. It’ll be the best Valentine’s Day gift you could give, or receive for that matter!

5 Ways to be Intentional in your Marriage Today

February 6, 2017February 10, 2017 - The Country Wife 2 Comments

First of all, let me just say that I do not claim to be a marriage expert. But I do have strong views about how being intentional in marriage can benefit any relationship. Because I’ve lived it…this is how I purposefully construct my marriage with Wildland Man. But I certainly won’t lie to you and tell you that what we have is perfection. Because it is not. But I keep going back to the intentionality in our relationship as one of the major contributing factors to our growing and ever-changing love for one another.

Choosing an Intentional Marriage

January 30, 2017February 10, 2017 - The Country Wife 4 Comments

I was not raised with an example of a faith-founded marriage. It was something I chose for myself.

I discovered my faith at a fairly young age and my parents didn’t discourage me in my own personal faith walk. I feel blessed that God chose to put it on my heart to trust in Him in finding a spouse and building my marriage on a foundation of faith from such a young age. I guarded my heart, I prayed for a God-chosen spouse, and I waited patiently.

Gluten-Free Nectarine Galette

January 23, 2017February 10, 2017 - The Country Wife Leave a comment

Ellie over at Ellie Eats made her way into the Paleoshere a few years ago. She’s a bright young lady, one I’m privileged to say I’m related to, with a knack for coming up with healthy creations in the kitchen. So, when I decided I wanted to explore the Paleo world a bit, I searched her blog for recipes to incorporate into our weekly meal plan.

This is my take on her Pear Galette recipe, but I swapped out the pears for some fresh, in-season nectarines. And I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised with this one—especially for a Paleo recipe.