A Little About My Story

    My name is Melody Simpson, a high school homeschooler who is pretty much average except for a few things: I want to homestead and have a syndrome called Functional Abdominal Pain Syndrome.

    Let's be honest, there aren't many teenagers who dream of homesteading, I know because I have searched for fellow aspiring homesteaders and haven't had much luck. Also, I have been told by adults that it's rare to find "part of the younger generation wanting to homestead." I'm hoping to change that. 

Now about the syndrome, I'll give you a quick summary of the past 2 years in a couple paragraphs, get ready. 

In the beginning of 2018 my family decided to move. We had moved to Virginia in 2013, and I wasn't ready to give up my new life that I had just gotten used to. After shutting down and dealing with depression, I started having severe stomach pain. This pain lasted about 2-3 months and then left after my second or third diagnoses from the doctor and a medication. 

Skip to September 2018, the pain came back. I went to the doctor, not knowing that this visit would be the first of many. After too many doctor appointments and diagnoses to count, I was diagnosed with Functional Abdominal Pain Syndrome. Which is, as my mom says, just fancy words for "we don't know." And the fact is, they don't know what causes it, how what that thing causes it, or how to fix it. What they do know, however, is that it is connected to the brain and is possible to manage.

Just to give you perspective, my everyday symptoms include multiple bouts of nausea, stomach pain, and intestinal discomfort. Other symptoms include headaches, fatigue, and weakness. Controlling symptoms means controlling the brain, which is no simple task. On top of that, I am sugar, dairy, gluten, and banana free.

If you want to learn more about what Functional Abdominal Pain Syndrome is and how I deal with it, comment below and I will write a post about that subject!

For now, let's move on to the homesteading part of my story. 

I grew up in Pennsylvania before moving to Virginia when I was 8. We have had goats ever since I can remember, plus our horse Trigger, who my family got when the oldest was a teenager (by the way, I am the youngest of 8 children). 

When we moved, we sold our goats but brought good ol' Trigger with us. After about a year of living in our new house, my parents bought my sister and I two goats. Ila and Zafrina, American Alpine sisters. 

That was the start of a new passion for me, raising goat. 

I am now the proud owner of one goat (Ila), a horse (Trigger), two cows, a whole lot of chickens, two guineas, eight ducks, two rabbits, one sheep, one guinea pig, one cat, and one dog. You will be hearing a lot about these guys in future blogs, maybe I will do an introduction blog introducing all of them, although the farm is always growing and there is often a new addition. (:

I now spend my time making goat milk soap and other products and items, taking care of my animals, dancing at Westover Ballet School, working towards graduating, and doing my best to serve Christ through using the things He has so graciously blessed me with. 

I'm so glad you are here and I hope you stick around as I continue my journey to homesteading. 

To be continued...