I thought it would be nice to sit down and write y’all a novel about who I am and a little bit of our story so we can get to know each other better. And, of course, so you can decide whether to stick around or run for the hills once you realize what you’re in for. Let’s start with the basics.
Hi, I’m Marissa.
I’m a left-handed, green-eyed, four-foot-something shenanigan enthusiast who firmly believes life is meant to be lived with a little laughter, a little dirt under your fingernails, and a whole lot of determination.
Mr. Homestead and I are a big blended family with seven kids. Three of them I grew from seed and the other four were volunteers. Our oldest (and only daughter) will be 26 this year, followed by six boys. The youngest is turning 18. They’re not really kids anymore, which means I’ve officially entered my “all about me” phase of life, and honestly, I’ve earned it.
Last March, we also welcomed our very first grandbaby, a little girl. Needless to say, we’re all completely smitten.
Now, before you start picturing some perfectly organized homestead family, let me stop you right there.
Some moms run a tight ship.
We run a pirate ship.
There’s some cussing, some drinking, and occasionally something gets broken. We’re loud, feisty, stubborn, and gloriously non-compliant. I don’t take orders. I barely take suggestions.
And somehow, it all works.
If you’re new here, welcome to 5 Acre Wood Homestead.
We’re a big modern homestead family living on five acres in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Every day is a balancing act between growing our homestead, caring for the land, adding animals when time and budget allow, and preserving the simple skills that seem to be disappearing from the world a little more every year.
These days you’ll usually find me in the garden, canning something for the pantry, working with medicinal herbs, tending my chickens, chasing after an overly enthusiastic rooster, or knee-deep in some new homestead craft project that I’ve convinced myself I absolutely need to learn.
This blog is where I share all of it: the successes, the failures, the lessons learned the hard way, and the occasional chaos that comes with raising a family, running a homestead, and refusing to sit still.
Before the homestead, we spent five years living in a small apartment in the middle of Tacoma, Washington. It wasn’t exactly my dream life.
You see, I’m a small-town girl at heart. I was born and raised in the mountains of rural Northern Idaho, where I grew up watching my parents do all the things necessary to prepare for long winters. When I was eight years old, my dad, who was a silver miner, decided he’d had enough of that life, and we moved to the city.
For the next 35 years, I spent a lot of time dreaming about getting back to the slower pace and simple joys of country living.
Around 2018, Mr. Homestead decided it was time to start tackling all those grown-up financial goals that come with buying a home. By then, I had already become quite the homestead enthusiast. I was canning, collecting homesteading books, and doing as much “apartment homesteading” as possible. I cooked from scratch out of necessity; feeding seven kids will teach you that pretty quickly.
Then, in February 2019, he found this property.
By April, we were living here.
The homestead had sat empty for five years before we bought it and had largely been reclaimed by nature. During our first year, we mostly observed. We watched the seasons, learned the land, and took notes. The real work began in the spring of our second year, and honestly, it hasn’t stopped since.
Along the way, the well house pump failed, the septic needed pumping, the back deck rotted through and had to be rebuilt, the microwave, oven, stove, and dishwasher quit, and about a thousand other little things demanded our attention.
We started with a five-year plan.
Life had other ideas.
All those unexpected repairs and projects shifted our priorities, so here we are seven years later, still very much a work in progress.
One of the things people notice most when they visit my page is the mountain.
Many of my favorite photos are of Mount Rainier rising above the landscape, watching over our little corner of the world. No matter how many times I see it, the view still stops me in my tracks.
Living in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains means we’re blessed with incredibly fertile soil. For generations, the mountain has helped shape this land through volcanic deposits that enrich the earth and support an abundance of plant life. Every seed planted, every vegetable harvested, every berry picked, and every medicinal herb gathered is a reminder that this land was providing long before we arrived and will continue providing long after we’re gone.
Our family is also part of the local Native community, and that connection has shaped how we view homesteading. To us, the land isn’t something we simply own. It’s something we’re responsible for caring for.
We believe in living alongside nature rather than trying to control it. The woods, the wildlife, the plants, the changing seasons, and even the weeds all have something to teach us if we’re willing to pay attention.
That’s one of the reasons we spent our first year simply observing. We wanted to understand what was already here before we started changing things. We wanted to learn how the land worked, where the water moved, which plants thrived naturally, and what the property was trying to tell us.
For us, homesteading isn’t just about growing food or becoming more self-sufficient. It’s about stewardship. It’s about leaving the land healthier than we found it, respecting the natural world, and remembering that we’re part of the ecosystem, not separate from it.
What we do have is a thriving homestead in its own way.
I maintain a large vegetable garden, an herb garden, and several flower gardens. We have 14 varieties of edible berries growing wild on the property, plus three more that I’ve added myself. There are fourish apple trees, two cherry trees, and two plum trees. I’ve also identified 37 medicinal plants and wild edibles growing naturally on the land, which I forage throughout the year.
Foraging has become one of my favorite ways to connect with the land. Gathering wild foods and medicinal plants teaches patience, observation, and gratitude. It reminds me that nature has always provided what people need when they take the time to learn and respect it.
One of my favorite things is turning nature’s flowers, herbs, and weeds into medicine because around here it’s FARMacy, not pharmacy.
And then there are the chickens.
After six years of waiting, planning, and dreaming, I finally got my flock—and they have quickly become some of the biggest personalities on the homestead.
We currently have four hens and one very energetic rooster who all seem convinced they are the true owners of this property and we’re simply here to serve them. They keep us entertained daily with their antics, endless curiosity, and complete lack of respect for personal space.
Whether they’re supervising garden projects, inspecting anything new that arrives on the property, or racing across the yard like tiny feathered dinosaurs, they bring a level of chaos and comedy that I never knew was missing from the homestead.
They’ve become a favorite with many of you as well, and it’s easy to see why. There’s never a dull moment when chickens are involved.
For all the eggs they provide, I think the laughter and entertainment might be the real reward.
Speaking of animals, you may have noticed pictures of a peacock on my page.
That’s Mr. Darcy.
He doesn’t actually belong to us—he’s our neighbor’s peacock. But peacocks apparently do whatever they please, and Mr. Darcy has decided he prefers living here. So that’s what he does. And honestly, we love having him around.
When I’m not gardening, foraging, preserving food, or chasing homestead projects, you’ll probably find me buried in one of my many hobbies.
I love reading, puzzles, mixed media art, collage, quilting, sewing, diamond painting, photography, and about a hundred other creative pursuits. I’ve always believed there isn’t anything I can’t do besides the things I haven’t tried yet.
I also love cooking from scratch and keeping a pantry stocked for the 8,462 emergencies we may or may not have someday.
Music is another love of mine. Elvis, CCR, Springsteen, and Metallica have all provided the soundtrack to different chapters of my life. My love of music was definitely instilled in me by my parents, both of whom have passed on now. Keeping music going in the house is a way to keep their memories alive.
My goal has never been to build a perfect homestead.
It’s to build a life filled with useful skills, good food, creativity, self-reliance, and a deeper connection to the land. Whether I’m growing vegetables, preserving food, making herbal remedies, caring for chickens, trying a new craft, or sharing what I’ve learned along the way, I’m simply doing my best to keep the old ways alive while making them fit into a modern world.
Most of all, I love creating content for all of you. I love preserving the old ways, sharing what I’ve learned, and helping keep traditional skills alive. The fact that so many of you enjoy learning alongside me means more than you know.
This month marks the beginning of our seventh year on the homestead. I’m hopeful that this year will bring a farmstand, a new front fence, and a driveway gate.
But these days, we don’t make too many plans until we’re ready to start the project.
Because we all know how that goes.
Life has a way of laughing at carefully crafted plans and throwing a fastball straight at your head.
So we’ll see what the days ahead bring.
For now, I’m grateful you’re here.
Whether you’ve been following along from the beginning or you’re just finding us now, welcome to our little corner of the world.
If self-reliance, old-fashioned skills, gardening, preserving food, medicinal herbs, chickens, creativity, stewardship, and a healthy dose of homestead chaos sound like your kind of thing, then you’ve found your people.
Thanks for being here.
My door is always open. ❤️
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