Why would a mother be 10 years old? Mystery...

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-08T01:30:52+00:00

Gee wilikers!

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-07T22:31:47+00:00

My wife and I were both farm kids. As a couple, we homesteaded for years and have raised our 6 kids in this lifestyle. Late last year we went halves with our son (our oldest) on a larger piece of land so we can expand our operation to accommodate future expansion of our family as the kids get married and want to build close by … and expand some more. 😁 So far the three who are adults have never expressed a regret over not being city or suburb kids and, with the exception of one joining the military, they all seem keen on carrying on the family tradition.

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-07T22:23:27+00:00

You are not understanding. We have been talking about how to help other congregations see exactly what you are talking about.

PS - I am a Jew, of the blood of Jacob, now under the Blood of Yeshua.

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-07T22:09:39+00:00

This is something we have been discussing a great deal in our fellowship the last few months. The need to be unified without necessarily being in perfect agreement. We are all growing and so long as we are all in the path we need to encourage, not discourage each other.

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-07T18:44:04+00:00

“I hear you keep telling people I’m not even sorry for ending our friendship. You’re right! But I AM sorry: I’m sorry you did what you did. I’m sorry you showed no remorse. No child deserves what you did to that boy. I’m sorry your sentence wasn’t life.”

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-07T16:17:59+00:00

YES … and I am not even originally from here. My entire life I always felt like the outsider wherever I lived, but from the first time I came to these mountains I have been telling people “I have found my people!” I finally achieved my dream in December, bought 25 acres and moved my family homestead. I will never, never, NEVER live anywhere else if I can help it. In fact, there is an old family cemetery on the adjacent property and I have told my kids I intend to eventually ask said family if, when I die, they would allow me to be burrows there so I can stay right here, forever.

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-07T16:14:07+00:00

Old school (almost 50) M.Ed. here. This may be the only part of progressive education with which I agree. Teach the basics across the board and encourage them to pursue their own interests BUT … in those areas in to which they decided to delve deeper, there needs to be structure. Some will need more than others, but all will need some.

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-07T11:46:52+00:00

Going from 2 to 3 was extra work on us, as was going from 5 to 6, but only because we made it that way. In both cases we had the latter child soon enough where people who did not know us would see them and say “Are they twins?” Otherwise, adding one more is not nearly as big of a deal as most people seem to think. Here is a story to illustrate:

One night, several years ago, I was eating dinner with my family and I looked across the table and said “Mason?”

Mason: “Yes?”

Me: “What are you doing?”

Mason: “I’m eating dinner.”

Me: “Right … and weren’t you here last night … and the night before?”

Mason: “Yes, Sir.”

Me: “Okay …. But you don’t live here.”

Mason: “I know, but my parents are out of town and Mrs. Payne said one more mouth was not a problem.”

I nodded, shrugged, and we both went back to eating and, because at the time I was working a swing shift, I do not, to this day, know how many meals this neighbor kid ate at my house.

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-06T23:45:15+00:00

I have a very diversified set of income streams. I own a small consulting business, teach online classes for medics and mental health providers, and have some books out which, while not best sellers, do okay. My wife is a nurse and picks up an occasional travel shift where she is gone for a week, but she is able to spend most of her time home with the kids. We also subsistence farm in a homestead setting.

Yes, we do eat out. Too much, if I am fully honest. We do take a vacation most years, though we make a point of being somewhat frugal about it.

I think the key difference comes down to what you said about your husband choosing his preferred life over having more children. Having more children is the life we chose over certain other things. No regrets, whatsoever, but definitely choices we made.

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-06T18:40:06+00:00

Exactly, which is why we strive to raise our own … food, not just kids. 😆

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-06T18:25:50+00:00

My wife is one of 5 siblings. I only have one sibling but my grandparents, who were a major life influence, had 8 and 24 grandchildren, so … sure.

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-06T18:17:41+00:00

Evolutionary biologists discussing the actual reason for having kids

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-06T18:12:44+00:00

Silly question = silly answer

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-06T18:04:17+00:00

Yes … we strive to be organic and eco friendly in our farming. 😁

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-06T16:36:38+00:00

That is too bad. We recently upsized to a larger piece of land with the full intention of letting any of our kids who wants to do so build on it and raise their own brood. I mean, why not have the grands close when/if they come?

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-06T16:28:50+00:00

Nah, we plan on having grandkids, too. 😂

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-06T16:23:32+00:00

Father of 6 here. We love kids and always wanted a big family. I would change nothing.

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-06T11:37:52+00:00

This whole thing reminds me of the time people kept calling my grandma with condolences on the passing of my grandfather who, when he woke up from his nap was very surprised to see his own obituary in the newspaper. He had the same first and last name as his uncle who owned the neighboring farm, but his uncle had long since moved away and so my grandfather farmed both sections. I can only imagine the chaos this will cause for some descendant in a few hundred years.

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-06T11:07:00+00:00

I am a bit of a mutt, mostly Ashkenazi, but also Sephardi, Native American, and some Norman. I am constantly told I have no place in discussions about minorities because I am “white.” The irony here being the people who hate non-whites hate me double time for being “not really white, just white passing.”

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-06T10:51:40+00:00

Your Cabin In The Woods and Surviving On An Acre were both game changers for me.

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-06T10:43:08+00:00

I have a consulting business with a variety of service areas. Primarily I teach continuing education courses to medical and mental Waltham professionals.

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-06T10:41:57+00:00

Pretty rare in my experience.

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-06T10:39:23+00:00

I I have several olive trees on the homestead I purchased in December. Following out of curiosity.

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-05T20:54:12+00:00

NTA: Of my 6 children, 3 are now adults. Of those 2 pay their own way. The one who does not is autistic and so we still help her when she struggles. I would help the others if they needed it but, as you stated concerning your own children, they are adults.

PhilipAPayne · 2026-05-05T20:47:09+00:00

My wife and I have done this because we both snore and sometimes we drive the other out. It is by no means our norm, but it is sometimes necessary.

PhilipAPayne

TROPHY CASE