Healthy Living for Spence Family

Some dreams are years in the making. 

Three years ago, my husband, myself and 3 children (soon to be four) moved into our forever home. 15 acres and a special little farm house were all ours. What made this move even more special was this home, this farm had been the home of my grandparents for almost 70 years. They moved here in 1948 and I remember my Papa saying when asked how they knew this was to be THEIR farm... he said "Pulling into the driveway felt like coming home" and that is exactly how my husband and I felt. Moving here, with our children felt like coming home. 

We had dreamt of this... talked about it... planned. We yearned for a piece of land... a home to raise our babies in.  And it was happening. If only my Grandma and Papa could see their house filled with laughter again. 

Fast forward 3 years... cows, chickens, pigs and one baby girl later, we are happy. We thought our biggest struggles would be wrangling naughty cows that break out of their fencing, planting our gardens or a family of 6 sharing one tiny bathroom... none of those things prepared us for the unexpected. 

Back in January while taking one of the littles to get his 3 year check up, his doctor suggested we test him for lead. I thought nothing of it, I mean... we had repainted before we moved in, the house had been repainted many times over the years when my grandparents lived there. I just didnt think it could happen, not to us. But you know that sinking feeling you get... when you hope that what your gut is telling isn't actually the truth?

Well... in my experience, it usually is.

Lead poisoning just wasn't even in the realm of possibilities. Getting the kids tested didn't even cross our minds. His test came back and it was not horrible, but not good either. So all of our kids got tested. Our oldest came back zero, our two middle boys came back 3 but our daughter came back 5... which is the level when we should start to be concerned. 

We went into overdrive. Researching, worrying, talking, researching some more... planning... talking about all the what ifs. I felt horrible. Why hadn't we thought of this before? We started  doing what we could to remedy the situation to the best of our ability. Painting... deep cleaning... moving our daughter out of her room which is one of the original rooms of the house. But still... the guilt was there.

Fast forward to Arpil. We had to do another blood draw for our daughter. We hoped her numbers stayed the same or went down, but sadly... they went up. So now we wait... another 3 months to test again. And in the mean time... we try our hardest to fix what we can and keep our family safe and healthy. 

Over the last few months we have tested surfaces through out the home and pretty much the majority of the house comes back with some trace of lead. 

We take the kids back to the doctor in July to get more blood work done. We are hoping their numbers stay the same, but reality is she, the boys... all of us are being exposed to lead.
 
Weather we tear the house down or try to fix up the old house, both of those take time and money. And we need to get out of the house as soon as possible. 

Our plan is to build up one of the smaller out buildings into a tiny home.

This is where your help comes in.

Our tiny home needs some work. We will need to do flooring, insulation, electrical, build out a tiny loft for two of the kids, drywall, bathroom, doors, windows, appliances for the small space, wood stove, and furniture.

While we are both working hard... house payment, farm start up costs, 4 kids and everyday life... funds are tight. 

With your help... we will be able to build and provide our children with a safe and healthy living situation. With your help... we will be able to have a small space that feels like home while we make some really big decisions about what to do with the old house.

Your donations will go to purchasing building supplies needed for our tiny home. Every nail, peice of wood, drop of sweat will have your love and support in them... and that will NEVER go unappreciated.

And when is all said and done... each and every one of you are always welcome on the farm.

Our door is always open!

Grateful will never come close to how I feel for all of you taking the time to read our story.

From our family to your's,

Much Love- The Spence Family
Shaun, Katie and the kids.