Author: Vicki Goldby

Tearing down walls

Posted on by Vicki Goldby

Our house is ever changing. Walls being knocked down and new ones being built. Frankly it looks a mess. We’ve peeled wallpaper, ripped down ceilings, taken up floorboards and taken the house back to its bare bones. We have a vision for the beautiful home it will be, but right now it’s hard to see that. Part of the house is seemingly finished, but still it is a work in progress. There are always pictures to go up, curtains to hang and finishing touches to add. With 11 people living here we also make a mess and create dust, it all requires constant work.

The downstairs cloakroom, pantry and storeroom are being renovated to creat one large store room for food and the cloakroom is being moved to make way.


One day soon this will be a snug. For now it is a walk through room with bare ceilings and concrete.

Our bedroom has a new doorway through to an en suite bathroom. I am so excited to finally have a private bathroom after 19 years of parenting.

Our new kitchen is great to work in and we love it, but let’s be real, we still need to constantly clean it and tidy up, but’s that’s life this side of Heaven.

All this stripping back got me thinking. It’s rather like what God does in our lives. He allows us to go through tough times, times when it feels as if we are so raw, when the pain is so deep it feels like you can barely catch your breath. How can our loving Father allow us to go through that?

I know He isn’t distant from our pain, for His Word explains how He feels it too. I was meandering through Acts recently when I came across fresh ‘manna’ for the day. Saul had famously met with Jesus on the road to Damascus and Jesus called out, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ I wondered why he said that when Saul was killing Christians, not Christ? I realised that when something is causing pain to one of God’s children, they are causing pain to the body of Christ and thus to Him. Upon reading this verse I was taken aback as I contemplated the level of pain that Christ must feel each day as He carries our burdens. Pain is no longer ours to bear alone. Christ really does carry it for us.

How in reality can we give our pain to God? It is a question I have been asking of late. Phil has a gift, he lives in the moment and let’s go of the past, or just forgets it. I don’t find it so easy. I have the memory of an elephant and I never have an empty mind, generally I am like a computer with too many tabs open. The tabs have recently been overwhelming me, as many of them were too painful to open. I asked God to show me how to let go and gradually I’m learning. I am choosing to follow the advice given in Philippians 4:8, ‘Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things’. I realised that much of my time was being spent focusing on the wrong things. I was focusing on my sadness and the grief and in doing so was finding myself anxious and low. If I am to truly to heal, I need to follow God’s advice and be careful what I think of.

I am so much happier this week having spent my days listening to gentle music, reading the Bible to myself and the children, knitting, sewing and writing. In some ways it just feels like the self care the world would administer, but God thought of it first. God knows our human frailties and has an answer for each of them. The answer to leaving our troubles in God’s hands? Turn away from thinking about them constantly and fill our minds with pure and lovely things and watch Him melt away the pain, as He takes it from us.

One day I won’t feel so raw and I will have strength to think about Dad’s death, but for today I need a break and God, in His goodness, has shown me how to find one.

I wasn’t sure what I would write tonight, only that writing was what I must do. I hope that someone somewhere needed to hear these words. If I can help in any way, please feel free to drop me a message.

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Many blessings to you, Vicki

Storms of Life

Posted on by Vicki Goldby

Storm Arwen hit our smallholding hard near the end of last year. I was just reeling from the news of my Dad’s sudden death when an enormous storm rolled in and took down 7 of our trees. It seemed to be a physical reminder of the inward storm I was experiencing.

Phil and the older children went outside to assess the damage in the evening and already we’d lost some trees. We braced for the night ahead and prayed that nothing would damage any people or our home. We have around 100 trees here, so we were ripe for the picking as the wind gathered momentum.

Naming storms is a fairly new idea, I suppose it sort of personalises them, although it doesn’t make them any friendlier! In many ways though I am thankful to Storm Arwen, for she taught me a lesson.

We woke the following morning and peered out nervously from behind the curtains, the winds were beginning to subside and the full damage was laid before us. We all went back outside to see what had become of our trees and property. It looked fairly shocking, trees blocked the driveway and the area by the barn was a huge tangle of branches. It was Saturday morning and it quickly became apparent that we would have to undertake some serious work if we were to get our bus out to get to our usual weekend activities.

I was so grateful that it was the weekend and the older children were all at home. They worked with Phil to move the trees and make a way where there had previously been no way through.

I suspect you can see how God was starting to speak to me through this. I was still so raw from my Dad’s sudden death and I could see no way through the pain, but God was showing me. He gently demonstrated that the strength of my family, which he had given me, were going to help me find a way through my emotional storm.

The following weekend the family team got to work turning the fallen trees into logs. The chainsaw rang out all weekend, as a great pile of useful firewood was created. These trees had stood for decades and yet through their loss we were to be warmed and cared for, their loss was not in vain.

Again God was reminding me that he will always bring good from our pain. For he promises in Romans 8:28, ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’

After Christmas we still had branches scattered around which were too small for firewood. After much consideration Phil decided to buy a chipper. We have so many trees that we felt that it was a worthwhile purchase. The chippings will go on our flowerbeds and in our compost bin to help keep our waste aerated. Nothing will be wasted.

God is so good, he continues to gently lead me through the pain of grief and He’s using His creation to help me understand how he works through the storms of life.

Happy Christmas

Posted on by Vicki Goldby

We’ve massively failed on the Christmas card front this year, so this is our Christmas blessing to all of our friends and family. Some of you who read the blog are friends we have never met, but your faithful following of the blog has been such a blessing to us over this last year, so thank you to each and every one of you.

It’s been a full year with highs and lows. We’ve renovated a huge amount of our property and have continued to create a home for our family and for those who come and visit us. With the kitchen complete and the lounge just about finished, we are ready for Christmas

With the fully operational vintage sewing machine, piano, log burner and wingback chairs, we are beginning to create the cosy, slightly period look we were after. We just need to get some grey and burgundy tartan curtains, a mantle piece and the room will be ready. Once the snug is finished the TV will go in there and the lounge will be a tech free room, that will be bliss.

The death of my dad has been a huge loss, but God is carrying us through and we are full of joy that Dad now rests with our Heavenly Father.

The children have all had a good year. Christopher has completed his year in industry, on a dairy farm, and is now in his final year studying agriculture. Jonathan did well in his GCSEs and is now doing A-levels, as he plans, God willing, on becoming an architect. Madeleine is working hard at school and has settled in well, but has been particularly excited by the arrival of a pony called Rosie. Elizabeth is very busy doing gymnastics in the National squad, this takes up four evenings of her week. Matthew has started Scouts and is loving it. Hannah has made lots of friends and loves attending our weekly home ed group. Stephen also enjoys the group and spends most of the time there playing football. Michael has started swimming this year and spends the whole lesson with a huge smile on his face! Katie is full of conversation and keeps us all entertained.

Phil and I are continuing to work as a team to fulfil the vision God has given us. We are very busy, but make time to enjoy some time with just the two of us in the evenings, a couple of nights a week.

I’ve struggled to pull Christmas together this year, with Dad dying and his funeral on December 14th, it was hard to find the energy. Thankfully the team pulled together and we’re just about ready. The oldest girls helped with some of the shopping and wrapping and Phil did the food shopping, as he always does, and the rest, well we sort of muddled through, or let it go. I read this today and it really resonated with me. Nothing can replace scripture and this is not intending to, but it helped me to make Corinthians 13 relevant to my life today.


‘If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals, and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another cook.

If I work at a soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home, and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties, and sing in the choir’s cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug your child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss your husband.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn’t envy another’s home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn’t yell at the children to get out of the way.

Love doesn’t give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can’t.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.

Love never fails. Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust. But giving the gift of love will endure.’
~ Unknown.

If you want to hear more about our escapades over the next year, be sure to subscribe to the blog. You can also follow us on Instagram at ‘goldbyfamilybusydays’. Praying that you all feel the joy of the Lord this Christmas. Lots of love and blessings, The Goldby Family

Eating an Elephant

Posted on by Vicki Goldby

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a long time, but I’ve been too busy trying to tackle too many things. So many tasks have been needed to be completed simultaneously and I have often lacked the knowledge of where to start.

Tonight Phil and most of the children are out at a fireworks party and for the first time in as long as I can remember I am alone for more than 5 minutes, and I know I am very unlikely to be disturbed for a good while. It’s taken a couple of hours of sweeping up, eating snacks and drinking tea, but I think I’m beginning to wind down. I’ve only got an hour left and I could choose between writing a blog or washing my hair but blogging wins as it is much easier for me to think and write when I’m on my own. Silence is my friend and one I often miss.

The last blog I wrote was weeks ago and I’m sorry I haven’t had chance to update the blog more often, but life got in the way, as it has a habit of doing. So what have we been up to, and what’s this about eating an elephant?

We’ve been living without a proper kitchen for a couple of months, which has been tough. I’ve found my day consumed with walking back and forth to the utility room with washing up. Why haven’t I made the children do the washing up you may ask? Sometimes I have, but sometimes the draw of a quiet room and a repetitive task, which doesn’t argue back, has just been too appealing 😉. It’s been worth it in terms of the beautiful kitchen we now have, but I have struggled with the noise and lack of space to take five.

With so many tradespeople in the house the noise level has been consistently high and my introverted side has been crying out for some space. Praise God for tonight’s silent offering, perhaps it’s something I need to find a way to achieve more often?

There have been so many decisions to make, all whilst listening to the background drone of drills, radios and banging along with the children’s needs ringing out in my ears. We’ve had to choose rendering colour, floor tiles for the kitchen, bathroom wall tiles, bathroom flooring, splash back designs, front door and internal door designs, carpet colours, wall paint colour, new to us (Facebook Marketplace) furniture, soft furnishings…..the list goes on. Thankfully we’ve made no really awful decisions, more by grace than anything else, as we have made all our choices at speed.

The house has been fully insulated and rendered in the last month. This involved weeks of banging, as the insulation was attached the the walls. It does look beautiful, although it is still hidden under a layer of scaffolding as we are waiting for the roofer to come and repair a section of the roof.

So back to the metaphorical elephant I’m trying to eat. I guess I’m learning that one can only take on any task bit by bit and not to look too hard at the overwhelming size of the tasks. The trouble is I’m a visionary thinker, I always see the bigger picture, it’s in my DNA. This ability is a gift from God, and in part why we are living this extraordinary life, but it’s also a weakness, unless I use the gift in the Lord’s strength.

Sometimes I see too much, I see the pain behind people’s eyes (and I want to fix it), I see the future playing out (it often doesn’t look good, apart from the Heaven part), I see the potential problems we might face and I don’t have broad enough shoulders to carry the weight. If silence has been hard to come by I find those burdens weigh me down, as my time alone with God gets harder to carve out.

Until tonight I don’t think I could pin down why I’ve been struggling of late, but in writing and silence I often discover what is buried within. My elephant’s already looking smaller, I think I might just have it in me to tackle one small task, maybe I’ll squeeze in that hair wash before the tribe descends 🙂.

‘And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.’ Mark 1:35. Even Jesus needed to be alone with his Father. If he needed it then I need it all the more. Trouble is, I don’t like mornings, I guess I’ll pray about that one and ask God to help me find my time with him.

If you want regular updates, please subscribe to the blog. Blessings, Vicki.

Home Educating through The Seasons

Posted on by Vicki Goldby

When we chose to move to the country, one of my main aims was to teach the children as much as possible, through real life, hands-on experiences.

Recently we have been so incredibly busy with the renovations that I was wondering how much learning had been going on, outside of their book work? I paused today, when I realised that, without me trying to plan learning into their week (which I find hard, as I’m more of a winger than a planner), learning was constantly happening.

As you can see, our new hens are starting to regrow their feathers, and are really enjoying their new found freedom.

This week though, we sadly found blood in our chickens’ poo, that was following the loss of three of our new chickens in fairly rapid succession. Our new battery hens appeared to be a dud batch, but after a quick Google search (yes we are Google farmers), we found out the cause. It appears that our hens have coccidiosis. This is apparently normal for hens, but our weak and stressed battery hens had not become immune to it and have thus succumbed to the bacteria. Phil quickly found the right treatment, and hopefully our hens will soon be right as rain. This has been a great opportunity to learn a bit of science, whilst taking care of our lady layers.

Our piglets are doing well, but we have had to take special care of one of them. Wilbur, as he has now been named, was not thriving, after a week or so, his front right leg just wasn’t working properly, and so he couldn’t get to the milk. As the week went on he was not getting better and was rarely with the rest of the litter. We decided that if we didn’t do something, then he would die of starvation. We got him a bottle and some pig formula and very soon he was happily sucking. After a couple of days though, his mother must have sensed his change in smell, and we saw her pick him up in her mouth and throw him against the wall! We quickly picked him up, before he met with an untimely end.

We are keeping him in an old dog crate, lined with straw, with a heat lamp over him. He has milk four times a day and we also take him out a couple of times a day for a play and a cuddle. He is now thriving and his leg is healing and he’s now ready to start on some dry pig food. We’ve done some maths, by weighing him and his sibling, to compare weights, we’ve calculated his formula quantity and his mum’s dried food quantities, as she requires more food now her piglets are growing. The children are loving hand raising the piglet and are learning the responsibility of taking care of him. They have all understood that he is being raised for meat and thankfully they all seem ok with that.

We’ve also been discussing bringing in the pumpkins and the onions, to dry out in the greenhouse. This reminded me of Mr McGregor in the Peter Rabbit books, as Peter’s eyes watered when he was around the drying-out onions. I hope to extendthis activity to improve the younger children’s language skills, by reading the Beatrix Potter stories, which are full of wonderfully rich language, with words like ‘soporific’, which are sadly not found in modern children’s literature.

We are up to our eyeballs in building work, plaster dust and tradesmen’s radios blaring out from various corners of the house. Trying to keep Katie safe is a constant challenge, as she is just so curious! The main part of the build is complete, but there is still much to do. This week our kitchen will start to go in, which we are very excited about. Washing up in the utility room is quite a large extra task, and I shall be very grateful when we have running water in our kitchen and a dishwasher. We’ve really made the most of our new patio and have been able to have a few friends round for dinner and afternoon tea.

Much practical learning has also been gained, as the children are also being constantly exposed to all the skills of the tradesmen who are doing the renovations. They are often found shadowing the plumbers, joiner, electricians or builders and asking lots of great questions, often starting with why?! Thankfully all the workmen are extremely patient, and they even seem to enjoy the children’s curiosity.

Today we decided to try our hand at making Rosehip syrup, from our own Rosehips. We used honey as the sweetener, and it was generally popular. Apparently it has 20 times as much vitamin C as an orange, and should help to fight off the winter bugs.

I’m currently being reminded that seasons of life are not just dictated by the weather, but also the current situation we find ourselves in. We are currently in a very busy season but thankfully God is providing lots of natural learning opportunities, through his creation and through his gracious provision of our home, which is making it much easier to find learning opportunities around every corner.

During these busy and often tiring, but blessed days, I look out on God’s creation and remember,

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3 22-23

Learning to Rest in the Chaos

Posted on by Vicki Goldby

A week last Saturday our piglets arrived, all 12 of them. It’s taken a while for me to post an update, because I took 6 of the children on holiday, with lots of other Christian home educators, last week, and I’m still busy unpacking and catching up on the washing.

The day of the piglets arrival was a normal sunny Saturday and at just before lunchtime Christopher suddenly rushed up to the window calling, ‘the piglets have arrived.’ Initially I misheard and thought the biscuits had arrived, but realising that a Hob Nob lorry was sadly not outside our house, I came to and figured out that Mrs Piggy (Posy) was busy delivering her first litter. The family rushed to the scene and found Posy seemingly fast asleep, with 3 piglets already born, 2 had found there way to the milk and the third just needed freeing from his cord. After that 5 more arrived in quick succession, with a mixture of oohs and aahhs from the children and the occasional ‘that is just too disgusting!’ Phil felt well prepared for piglet delivery, having delivered our last baby single handed. The process was very similar, but after piglet number 8, came a curve ball. The placenta came out and we thought we must be done, but then another piglet followed fast behind. We were now confused, as this was a significant diversion from our human birthing experience! Another 3 piglets then arrived, the last requiring lots of rubbing and silent waiting, as the children willed it to live like its brothers and sisters. Within a few minutes it had started taking little breaths and the children could be heard breathing their own sighs of relief. I knew our home ed learning experience was in full swing when Matthew ran into the kitchen asking, ‘can we please have a bin liner for the placenta?’

This was what we wanted when we came to live here. We wanted our children to experience learning in a hands on way, a way which enabled all their senses to memorise their experiences.

Soon after the birth, Posy stood up and we moved her behind her farrowing bars. These bars are there to enable her piglets to get to her, but to prevent her from squashing them. This worked well for a few days, but her desire to get to her piglets clearly overcame her when we discovered that she’d broken through into the main pen. Thankfully by this time all the piglets were a bit larger, and she was more adept at avoiding sitting or lying on them.

I must say, I am finding them totally captivating. Whenever I have a moment, I am to be found just watching them. Their antics are endlessly entertaining and stories about them are shared around the dinner table, as we discover many of us have been secretly sneaking off to piglet gaze. Today Elizabeth shared how the piglets had argued over their milk, over who should get which spot, and 3 of them had gone up to mummy’s face and told her in no uncertain terms that this wasn’t fair. Elizabeth said their grunts almost sounded like ‘no, no, no!’.

We plan to sell about 8 of them and raise 4 for meat. Will we be able to sell and eat these gorgeous little grunters? I have no doubt we won’t mind, as they won’t be cute for long and they’ll soon lose their novelty, as the amount of mess they make grows. I’m very thankful to Madeleine, who has taken on the job of pig mucker-outer. She loves to muck out and care for horses, and this is the nearest we can currently get, so she is getting in lots of practice. We are considering loaning a horse for her, if one becomes available.

After the huge excitement of the piglets on the Saturday, we spent the Sunday packing, as I had arranged to take the youngest 6 away to Wales for a home ed holiday, with lots of friends. I thought it would be hard work, taking them on my own, but as we currently have no running water in the kitchen (the water is in the utility which is the other side of the house), it seemed like a good idea to get the children out of the house. Phil needed to stay here, as Jonathan and Madeleine needed to go to school, the animals needed care and the builders needed lots of questions answering. As it turned out, it wasn’t really hard work, as I had loads of help from some lovely teenagers at the camp, and I ended up coming home refreshed and rejuvenated.

The water slide on the holiday was enjoyed by all, I even went down it with Katie and Michael.

Phil on the other hand had discovered how much there is to do at home, even without all the children. We found the experience to be really helpful and it gave us both food for thought. We have been running on empty for a while and have barely stopped in the 2 years, since we arrived. After a few strong words (which we rarely have) with one another and some prayer, we realised that we had been failing to listen to God’s best advice and rest one day in seven. So yesterday we took a real rest, oh my, it was good. After church, we ate lunch, went for a family walk and then came home for a cup of tea, it was bliss! Phil is a very driven man, whose favourite question is, ‘what do we need to achieve today?’, but sometimes, the best thing we can achieve is to rest, and yesterday, we began to learn about that.

‘So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.’ Genesis 2:3

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Making Memories

Posted on by Vicki Goldby

We finally got round to having our anniversary family photo tonight. We’d done one in 2016, when we’d been married 15 years and I was keen to do one now, after 20 years, to see how much everyone has grown.

As today was also the second anniversary of us moving to Shropshire, the day had a very ‘anniversary’ feel about it. Christopher came home (he’s working on a farm 45 minutes away and lives there full time) and we gathered around the table for cake and a time of prayer, thanking God for all he has done, bringing us here.

Our evening devotions were about the Passover, which seemed very apt, as it was all about leaving one place to go to a better place, and it also reminded us that God commanded the Israelites to tell the story to their children each year, so they would not forget what God did.

On the day we moved here, God gave me this verse, ‘When the Lord your God brings you into the land…with…houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord,’. Deuteronomy 6 10-12. That same day, we arrived to find tomato and grape vines we did not plant, a house filled with furniture we didn’t know would be here, greenhouses filled with all the gardening equipment we would need and a bore hole we did not dig and we remembered the words of the Lord to the Israelites and how the same God was providing for us. He has continued to provide miraculously for us, with chickens and pigs arranged by the TV company, a cow in calf from the farm where our eldest son works and even a Christmas turkey from a neighbour. We will not forget the Lord our God, we will tell this testimony to our children, so that they will always know that they are here because this is where God led us.

So tonight we watched our programme, ‘A Country Life for Half the Price’, as we did last August 15th, not to be vain, but to reminisce over our old home and to see the journey we went on to get here. Read more about the miracles God did getting us here in the post, https://www.lifeinallitsfullness.blog/blog/farmlife/learning-to-trust-our-house-moving-testimony/

Over the weekend we have been able to use our property in one of the ways we had pictured. Our friends asked us several months ago if they could use the space here for their 50th wedding anniversary. At the time it seemed that Covid restrictions may prohibit it, but praise God they have lifted and the party went ahead.

The children really enjoyed helping to get set up, ready for the event, and they served drinks, cakes and helped by stewarding the parking.

What a joy it was to celebrate their anniversary with them and to see this home fulfilling the vision we were given for it. This home is not just for us, but for those whom the Lord brings to us, a home to bring delight to many and to use for the Lord’s purposes.

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Harvest’s Coming

Posted on by Vicki Goldby

We moved into our home 2 years ago, as of the 15th August. Two years with so many changes and so much that we’ve learnt. We arrived with tomatoes and apples ready to pick and again today our trees are burgeoning, our greenhouse is full and now we have 14 vegetable beds filled with a variety of produce. We’re starting to live more by the seasons and be guided by the demands that puts are our time. Harvest waits for no one and soon enough we will need to pick the apples and pears and start preparing them for storage. Some will be carefully wrapped and stored and some will be frozen, for snacks, pies and crumbles.

These beautiful pumpkins were a gift, as seedlings, from our generous, green-fingered neighbour.
These chillies have grown from the dried out seeds from last year’s harvest.
Elizabeth is particularly keen to grow watermelons and so far they are making good progress…time will tell if they work, you have to try these things.
We have about 40 tomato plants, which provide for soups and sauces in abundance.
The cucumbers are thriving in the greenhouse, they seem to like the extra warmth.
I love blackberries, they require no work to grow and seem to continually pop up in new places, offering us juicy free food, which also occupies small fingers in the picking process.

Moving onto our hens….After 2 years our original hens have largely given up laying, and so our friends kindly offered to give these ladies a final retirement home. Today we brought home 18 new rescue hens, which we have added to the 5, which are still laying, which we brought home last year. This new lot look somewhat naked, they could do with a knitted jumper each! Hopefully with love and time, these poor ex battery hens will feather up and find a happy place clucking around our orchard.

Two years in and we still feel very much like novices, but I can see progress, so there’s hope that one day we might actually know what we’re doing! Until then we’ll keep learning as we go 🙂.

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Why do I Wear Long Skirts?

Posted on by Vicki Goldby

I haven’t had much time for blogging lately, building work has taken over our lives and we are just keeping our heads down until the extension is finished and we can move into the new kitchen. Hopefully the main build will be completed by mid October. We’ve just learnt though that we will be without a kitchen for about a month, during September, so that should be interesting!

Anyway, back to the title of my post, about my propensity to wear long skirts. I’ve been asked the questions a few times and so I thought it time I wrote a post on it. I’ve been wearing longish skirts for over a decade, before that I just wore jeans. You see, one day I was considering Phil’s and my clothes and I realised that we wore exactly the same clothes, jeans and blue tops, the only difference was, mine were smaller! I decided that I would like to look a bit more feminine, but I didn’t have time to put together pretty outfits, so my jeans were swapped for long denim skirts and it’s remained that way since.

I don’t really have any time to consider what I might wear each day, nor am I really bothered, so having a simplified style of dress makes the task of getting dressed extremely fast, which is rather necessary in this house 😁.

I was thinking about my clothes this week because my 2 denim skirts, which I wear in rotation, are either stained or have holes in them, so shopping has been required. Now, how do I find such unfashionable, or should I say vintage clothing?! eBay is my go to. I search in long denim skirt size 10 and within 5 minutes I have 2 skirts, for a total of less than £20, coming my way. They should last me another couple of years. Maybe one day I’ll have time to consider what I wear more carefully, but now definitely isn’t the time.

How do I stay warm in the winter? I wear thermal leggings under my skirt and long brown boots. To be honest I wear thermals nearly all year because I suffer with Raynaud’s and so my core has to stay warm or my fingers and toes go white and start to hurt.

Are skirts practical? I think denim anything is practical and so fabric wise, they’re great. I suspect some people might find they get in the way, but I’ve never been bothered and I appreciate the modesty the extra fabric gives.

The more I’ve worn skirts the more comfortable I feel in them, I have worn shorter skirts and trousers, but rarely. I wear thin trousers for walks in long grass during the summer and I have one shorter skirt I bought in charity shop, but it’s too pretty for every day use.

I’ve put up this post with the awareness that our new revisit TV programme will be out soon (we’ll let you know the date), and people will be busy googling us again with curious questions, so hopefully this will answer one of the commonly asked questions. Many people think that we are Brethens, or Plymouth Brethren’s because I wear a head covering and a long skirt, but hopefully this post explains that it’s not really a faith based decision, just a personal preference.

Hopefully I’ll find some more time to blog over the next few weeks. Does anyone have any posts they’d like to particularly see?

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A House Built with Love

Posted on by Vicki Goldby

We’ve spent most nights this week pulling wallpaper off the walls in 2 rooms. We have found paper up to 5 layers thick, with plaster on top of paper to pull off. We’re now ready for the plasterer to come next week.

Earlier in the week we cleared out the lounge and the big ‘dorm’ room, which slept 3 boys. We have moved them in with Katie and all their toys and clothes are dispersed into plastic drawers in our bedroom, the bathroom and on the landing. We are basically living in one half of the house whilst the other half is being sorted. The picture above is the lounge where one of our builders has been busy destroying the 1970s fireplace, which we plan to replace with either a log burner if possible, otherwise a somewhat plainer fireplace. Living in a building site with lots of young children is somewhat of a challenge, but stair gates have saved the day and given us a safe space for play.
This is the before and after of our cladding. The wood will turn silver over the next couple of years and it will provide contrast to the main part of the house, and prevents us from having a large white frontage, which would look overwhelming.

Tonight was date night and Phil and I have spent it in our newly created ‘lounge’(our bedroom with a sofa and TV added!). We hope to reclaim the lounge in about a month, once electrics and decorating are done, and the pub style carpet has been replaced.

To be honest, despite the busyness I’m quite enjoying the process. I get to watch the builders at work from my kitchen window each day and constantly stand in awe of their productivity. I feel the need to stand less and work more having watched their daily progress.

I’m also enjoying having less rooms to clean! I would never have chosen to live in a big house, because with a big property comes bigger problems and more work; but this is where God called us and we would never choose to be anywhere else.

Next week will be more electrics, more cladding and more construction work on the internals of the extension. The adventure continues….