41 Year Old Wife Overcomes ALL odds to Grow her Families Food

Good morning. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. Big 41! Woo!

I need everybody to do it.

This message is for Rebecca, my lovely wife. But I think it will be good for you guys to hear this because I know her at such an intimate level. Got a special something to say.

What'd you do?

Sleep with Daddy? Everybody? Come. Get in the bed with Mom. It's her special day. It's her birthday. Even Teddy. Everybody in the bed. Even Teddy.

Teddy!

Mom's birthday! Oh boy. Oh boy.

Look where he goes. Right where he goes. Everybody's fighting to get by the mom. Hey, Lily.

Yeah?

Have you done your chores?

Yeah.

Okay. Here you go. Decorate for mom, okay? We gotta go get mom's surprise, remember?

Oh yeah.

Remember you wanted to put flowers?

Where are you?

We'll bring them and we'll put them in a jar. Get your shoes on, man. It's gonna be a 2-minute episode looking for his shoes. Oh, he's got some. Aren't those Lily's?

No, they're mine now.

I think there are 3 kinds of people in the world. The first kind of person, let's call them a consumer. They take from society more than they give. What's wrong? Why are we whispering? We're outside now.

Well, one of the bugs got the front. You never know where we are.

Okay, get her, get her. They got a strawberry.

Yeah, we actually have 4.

Oh good, one for each kid.

Yeah.

Okay, get them. Hey, there's our loppers right behind you, Jonah.

Yeah, I'm gonna have to chop the front off. Okay, that's nice. Got that right.

That's fine enough. Okay, it's back to whispering. Get a bowl. How's the decorating going, Lily?

Good. I split up a balloon and Teddy's like— He's like—

Let Mom sleep in a little bit. What are you guys doing?

We're about to decorate.

What?

Are you missing out, buddy?

You just want to run all over me, don't you?

The second kind of person, let's call them neutral because that's what they are. They give as much as they take to the society. Okay, man, let's go. Let's go get her some flowers. Do you know where some are?

Oh yes.

Okay, okay, where are these flowers? Oh, maybe I see them. The whole stem. Get the whole stem, honey.

It's okay.

Here's a clover. Like, if you want to get this clover, it's very pretty. Get the whole stem like that. This is pretty, this little batch. Oh yeah, look, a bunch of yellow ones. You get yellow. We have blue, we have purple. Oh look, here's some white. Now add them to this. Look at this bouquet. How's that? Just bend it. You grabbed the grass next to it. Okay, yeah, right there. Yeah, that's good. There you go.

More over here.

Okay. Oh yeah, this is nice. The old farmhouse flowers. Okay, do you want to get purple? Do you want to get purple or pink? Those are on sticks. You getting them for him?

Yeah.

Thank you. Just one of each.

Oh, here. Cool. Aww.

That's very beautiful.

Thank you. These are very pretty.

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday, dear Mama.

Happy birthday to you.

Actually, Lily, you're doing such a good job in here, I'll let you keep decorating. Just come down and milk when you're done. There's a third kind of purse. let's call them a creator. They create things. They give. They give more to the society. And this doesn't have to just be society at large. This can be family. This can be friends. This can be community circle. They give more than they take. Rebecca is a creator and a giver. All these come out, Rebecca?

Yeah. Well, almost.

Okay. Not all of them. When you were 10 years old, did you imagine when you were 41 years old that you would be setting out, I don't know, hundreds of seed plants on your birthday?

No, I thought that I would be living in Florida.

Yeah, maybe like a normal person on the inner coastal, living a high life. What'd you do, marry a banker? Yeah. Oh, is that true? Suit and tie, suit and tie. Okay, on the intercoastal in Florida, neighbors, where would you be getting— where would you be buying your food?

Publix.

Publix, that's right, you were a big Publix fan.

Where, where you buy your groceries at? Look, all 4 of my yellow squashes came up, Justin.

Oh boy. Well, I know yellow squash grows like a weed, but just too bad nobody likes to eat it.

It doesn't.

Nobody does like you. Let's be real. Let's, let's be real.

That's why I'm only gonna plant one.

Okay, but for what? For one dish?

For— we'll eat some.

Now what's the name of the dish you like?

Oh, um, creamed yellow squash.

Creamed yellow squash. Okay, we'll have that a couple times.

Well, we got our own cream, why not? Yeah.

Okay. All right, so your 10-year-old self, would she think you're cool or would she think you're a big old dweeb?

Oh boy, she'd probably like this. Oh, she'd probably like this.

And I think the little girl inside of you likes this.

Yeah, I think there's— I love— I always loved going to the nursery and stuff with my mom and looking at plants, and so this is We just didn't— like, when my mom and dad would plant around, like, our permanent stuff around our house, or my mom planted flowers or whatever, I always liked doing that with her. So this is right up my alley.

I think Rebecca thrives in this homesteading, this food growing, uh, keeping the children around, uh, hanging out with hus— being with the husband all the time. I think she thrives in this lifestyle because actually, I guess, I guess there's 4 types of people in this world, and this one is very rare and unique, and this one is Rebecca. She of course creates and is a giver. She has created— she helped create— well, she's responsible. She's why we have these family cows. She did all the research. Some of our first family cows, she drove all the way to New Hampshire, 2 days drive, guys, to get some of our family cows early on. She and I planted this asparagus. That greenhouse, she found the plans that she modified, the plans from the internet. She made that happen. All those plants over there, yeah, she created that. So creating, it's difficult. I don't want to say anybody can do it because it's so difficult and unique and special, but a lot of people can create. Anybody can put their mind to it and get you a soil container, put some soil in it, put a seed in it, and, and, and see what happens. You can create things like this, but here's what makes the beautiful one so much very different. She's not just a creator and a giver. She's a nurturer. So it's one thing to be able to create something, and a lot of people can create and then sort of walk away. But can you have an idea and then create but then maintain it, nurture it? That's something very special. Who do you think set these plants out here this morning to harden off? Who do you think is going to be in charge of putting them back up tonight? The beautiful one. Who researched and found out how many we need and got that ball rolling? The beautiful one. Who thinks of these guys practically every moment of the day and would do anything for you guys and nurtured you in a superior way as you grew up? The beautiful one. What do you think about these decorations?

I love them.

This is—

that one's just special.

Great. It's so great.

Special. Look who's here. Oh, hello.

We'll let him pee out here. Yes, we will, because that dries out here.

Yes, it does.

Okay, here we go.

Grandma's here. Yeah, the one who gave birth to her. Oh yes, 41 years ago.

Oh, what a big day this was. Oh, I can't believe it's been that long.

Are you shrinking?

Uh, no, standing up straight.

I think that's why. Was she much taller? I feel like she used to be taller than you.

Look, what about our shoulders?

What do we look like back to back?

Back to back.

Wait a minute, wait a minute.

There we go.

Take—

Beth's got a little taller shoulders.

Uh-huh.

Wow, Rebecca, you might be a hair taller.

Well, we'll get— we'll get pictures out. We'll get some pictures out to see what it used to be like.

That one? That one over there? She's really inspiring in the way that she's overcome so much to do as much as she does. You ready to go polar plunge?

Yeah.

Even on your birthday?

Yeah, maybe I don't want to do this.

Why not?

Because it's— I'm kind of cold.

So why do you do this?

Well, I feel like this has helped me get better in some ways. Maybe it's just a mental thing, but even if it's that, that it's worth it to me. And I like to have control over my mind, I guess. Oh man, why is it so cold? Oh, it's okay, Jenny, it's okay.

You trying to be cool for the camera?

Sorry, I'm not trying to be cool.

So what is wrong with you? It's not the cold, not the In general, what's, what's the matter with your health?

I mean, what's the matter with you? I have Hashimoto's and, um, gut dysbiosis, and, uh, let's think what else was wrong with me. I'm an aging woman, so you know, there's hormone fluctuations and things like that. So, um, you know, I also had more stress. I think that was causing some stress-related issues.

So 2 3 years ago when we got back from the Great American Farm Tour, you crashed.

Oh my gosh.

Your health completely crashed.

I was a lot worse back then.

And you worked so hard to get better. Yes. It took like a year and a half. What made you not give up?

Um, just wanting to. Just wanting, like, I don't know, just wanting to get better and knowing that I could, like, that what I have wrong with me isn't— I don't have to live like this anymore. I can change how I feel by doing different things.

Hey, were you helping Jonah this whole time?

No, I was in the bathroom and I saw him taking the fences down because our bathroom faces this pasture, and I thought, I'll go help him. But I came outside and it was dark, so I put my plants away, and then I was gonna help him after that, and then He was already had this up by the time I put the plants away and watered them. And then we— he said, would you help me move the sheep? Oh, and I said, of course I'll help you.

What motivates you to come out here in the sprinkling rain and work on these sheep with your son?

I love them. I love the sheep. I love my son. I love Being outside, I feel like that has been a key to my healing. Just getting outside in the sun and in nature, and I, I like it. It's something— well, one, I really appreciate Jonah too. Like, he's a hard worker and I want him to enjoy it, and I enjoy it, and it's not work to me. I don't know how to explain it.

Explain that.

Like, I like it, so I don't— it's, it's not, it's not like, oh, I have to go help Jonah. It's like, oh hey, there's Jonah doing something that I already like to do, and so then we can go do it together. And he likes it too, I think, or he wouldn't be out there. You think this is dirty water?

What are you doing?

I'm just refilling minerals. Come on, come on, Floppy.

You got one with her head in the bucket. You've tamed her so much. Everybody, why not just get sheep and just let them do— just let them go and see how it goes with that?

Like, well, I mean, you could do that if you want to rely on chemicals and all that, but I don't want to. I want to raise them as holistically as possible.

All right, you got— you got your hay for them. Do you think they come over to see what you got or to get a rub?

Both.

Are you gonna try your new— I see you got a new brush in your back pocket. You're quite equipped.

There.

I do. Um, I found a brush.

You can get it out of the thing. I think if we could catch Bandy, she's the one I want.

You gonna try out your crook today?

I was thinking you would do it.

Oh, you want me to? Okay. I have no idea.

That's fine.

I have no idea what I'm doing either. Here, hold the camera. That always works better with camera, and neither one of us know what we're doing.

Jonah, help us kind of corner Bandy. Bandy is who we're looking for. No.

Good job! Wow, you're a good girl! Wow, that was mad skill right there, Beck.

Thanks.

Oh, you got one with the crook! Nice. What's the idea here, Beck?

Well, we're just trying to help her to see if it's— if she's shedding better. She's just having a harder time than the others, aren't you, Bandy? It's okay.

How'd your cake come out?

Well, I had some technical difficulties, so, um, yeah, like it was—

I was here last night. It was not cooking in the middle, but you were here. It looks like it It was you. But it's— but it burned on the outside.

It was, it was burning on the outside, but it wasn't cooked on the inside.

Yeah, good on the inside.

It is good.

Oh, it's gonna be glorious.

I think it'll taste good. I think it'll taste fine. We just gotta get this.

Do you want me to do that for you? It's your birthday. I'll scrape the burnt off. Good birthday meal choice, chicken parmesan. Our chicken, our lettuce.

What kind of cake?

It's spice nuts.

Oh, UPS is here. Just in time. Is that it? Shh, shh, shh. Okay, quick.

Quick.

Let's go. She's in the back. She's in the back. How's it feel to be 41?

Feels great.

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday, dear Mama.

Happy birthday to you.

Did you say it too?

You almost didn't do it.

So many things. I didn't have a choice.

You're just happy as can be.

Happy as can be.

Right. So, tastes good? Mm-hmm.

It does. It tastes really good.

Present time. I see you looking at that. You're a little curious with the, uh, the packing paper wrap job?

This is a really nice wrap job.

Rip it fast!

How did you get here in these shoes so fast?

I'm the Birdman.

You must have express shipped that because I know you—

they're my shoes, they're actually my shoes.

That's from, uh, Lily.

Yes, they're from Lily.

I hope they fit.

I bought them for They go real good with your overalls there.

Who's this from?

This is from Grandma, I think. Yeah, happy birthday coupon.

Oh, I like this.

The kids while you and Judd have a fun date.

Ooh, a babysitter. Oh yeah, and this is from Grandma as well. That's very beautiful.

She got me something from the wedding gift registry. That's right. Oh, it's just You have no idea.

Now this one's for me.

She always did that.

This is not from you.

Yeah, it is.

Okay. Oh, I know what it is. I shouldn't have told you it was for me. You took it, you gave it to Grandma to wrap.

That's pretty clever, huh?

You're cracking me up.

Another bonus present.

Not like this.

We're really wrapping it. It's not a really big box.

We wrapped it. A little tiny ring.

That's what we should get.

We open like 5 or 6 or 7 boxes.

It's still going.

How is she getting a ring? It's still missing. It's actually not in this box.

No.

It's over here.

It's right—

I didn't know. I didn't know the ring wasn't actually in the box. You've already been playing with your birthday gift.

No, I didn't. I didn't wear it.

Oh, is it an actual ring?

It's an Oura ring. Yeah, it's called an Oura ring. You wear it and it monitors your heart rate and sleep and stuff like that.

Oh.

Is it inside?

No, that's it.

Any tricks?

Awesome.

No, no tricks.

I was gonna say, there's been a lot of tricks tonight.

A nice glass.

This is very nice. Thank you. You're welcome.

Okay, time for the birthday blessings. Can you say something nice about your mom?

Uh.

She's a good mom and I like her and that's it.

Good. That was a good one.

That was good. Okay, Lily.

I had something and Gideon said it.

Well, you can repeat it.

She's a good mom. Buys us stuff.

It's not a guessing game, but that works.

Is that all I'm good for is buying stuff?

No.

She's a good mom. She makes us things, and she's nice. She's a good mom, and she helps us if we're scared. She gives us medicine if we need it. She helps us if we're sick. She helps us with our school. She's a good mom.

You got anything good to say? Whether you're growing plants or Teddy or chidlers or relationships with your sister or parents or the friends or community, you're nurturing and growing those in a special way.

Thanks.

We went out west. Mom and Dad took us on a 3-week vacation, remember, out west? A couple different times, but this one in particular time, I came down with a sickness. Remember, it was, um, altitude sickness.

Yes, was that it?

Yeah, and I threw up all night long. We're in the hotel room together, and then the next morning I could— I still couldn't stop throwing up, and there was nothing to throw up, and it was dry heaving. And then you— I was just constantly— and you guys were looking at me, and you're like, can you help that? And I'm like, no. And then we're riding in the minivan and we're next to each other and you start rubbing my back and I couldn't, I couldn't stop. And I think, I think you had to help carry me to the car, Dad. And so then you guys determined that I was gonna have to go to the hospital. The whole part of the story that, that moves me is that you came in, you wanted to see me, and you came in and you sat there and you didn't leave my side for 4 hours. And that the the nurse came in and asked if you wanted to leave or take a break or get a drink of water, and you said, "No, I'm not leaving her," and the look of concern on your face and how you held my hand, and it was just— I'll never forget it because I couldn't help it. The moral of the story is that you were always there for me, and in my very weakest moments, you were my strength, so I just really appreciate that.

Let's see, you're still 40. It's got another hour and a half. 8:30 at night, very busy. So my cousin once said that his mom had 3 T's. She gave of her time, her talent, and her treasure.

That's my Bebeca.

Oh, thank you.

Becky was our second child, and, um, she always wanted to do whatever Rachel And it is kind of amazing that she always cared about Rachel, always wanted to try to help her at different times. And I think that's part of her spirit, is a caring spirit and a nurturing spirit. I think all the kids reflect that, and I think Justin's found himself a treasure.

Mm-hmm.

Aww.

Having Rebecca as his wife.

Mm-hmm.