This week we took a big step towards our self-sustaining dreams… We purchased a new (well used, but new to us) wood stove to heat our home. When we moved in the house had a large wood stove in the den. We used it a few times our first winter, but we never had the stove and chimney inspected so I was too nervous to really use it. That same winter I became pregnant with Breckin and I really feared that small children and wood stoves did not mix. There never seemed to be a good time to really put the stove to use. This year Breckin (the child who climbs on anything and everything) is finally old enough to know to stay away from the stove and Bryce, even at her young age, is good about listening to instruction, so we decided it was time to finally get our old stove and chimney inspected and cleaned. Long story short, the chimney needed a better/smaller liner, our old stove would not do the job we needed it to do, and the chimney company knew of a used Blaze King that we could purchase. The stove was finally put in this past Friday and it has been burning full force ever since. It’s wonderful not having to use the crazy expensive electric heat. It’s also a great comfort to know that we wont have to immediately use the generator when the power goes out in order to keep our children from freezing. I have even enjoyed collecting and splitting wood (we will see how long that lasts). It’s one more step towards independence.