My intro

Well first and foremost I owe everyone a quick into. My name is Shannon (or Shay as my close friends and family call me). I am 27 years old and have recently moved to the country after living in the city of Buffalo, NY for most of my life. I have an awesome husband, Jay, who drives truck for a living. I have been blessed with two daughters, Madison and Ashlyn Chevelle (one through marriage and one through birth), and since the birth of my youngest have been trying out life as a SAHM.

Last week my sister asked me how I went from being a "street rat" to a country girl. I have put a lot of thought into this question and have not really come up with a good answer. I'm guessing the reason I have such a hard time with that question is because I have always felt like a country girl. I have always loved the earth, animals, and everything old fashioned so it wasn't much of a leap for me. We own a small home on close to 10 acres of land about five minutes outside of the village. Right now our homestead consists of a large yard area, a creek, and a large amount of fields and woods on the otherside of the creek. As soon as spring really hits gardens (both vegetable, fruit, and flower) will start being tilled and Jay is in the process of building a chicken coop and pig pen. I guess the final decision to "go country" was made when I was pregnant with Ash. Maddy was at an age where she should have been enjoying playing outside, riding her bike and the likes and I realized that in the neighborhood we lived in it just wasn't possible. I was too afraid of her being caught in the crossfire of a drive by or what the ramifications of her watching people deal drugs all day would cause. So we stayed inside. And then with a new little one on the way it finally sank in that this isn't how I wanted to live. I wanted my children to be able to go outside and explore. To tell me they were walking to a friends house and not to have to worry. I have always tried to let my children to experience life at their own hands without a lot of intervention (unless a safety issue was at hand) and that just wasn't possible. So we made the big move, and I really haven't regretted it for a minute.

Living in the country has been an adjustment for all of us but not as big of one as you would think. Maddy got very lucky and our only neighbor close enough to actually call a "neighbor" has two little girls not much older than her, so she was able to make instant friends. She now comes home from school and asks if after her homework she can go out to play, and I can say YES!!! She is able to play outside with out me watching her like a hawk. She can take the cow tunnel under the road and go to the neighbor girl's farm across the road. She has daily interaction with farm animals and nature in its purest form. My youngest gets to play in the mud and learn how to walk on grass. My niece gets a little break from the suburbs a few days a week and gets to come out. What can I say? I love my new life.