A W Homestead

A W Homestead Sharing our extraordinary life of raising a special needs daughter with Trisomy 21 on our small farm

🌻💛 October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month 💙🌻Did you know that about 1 in every 700 babies is ...
10/30/2025

🌻💛 October is Down Syndrome
Awareness Month 💙🌻

Did you know that about 1 in every 700 babies is born with Down syndrome?

When we first heard those words, our world shifted. What we didn’t realize then, was how much brighter it would become. ✨

Our daughter Charlie may not walk yet, and she doesn’t speak — but she communicates love in ways that words never could. Through her smiles, her laughter, the sparkle in her eyes when the goats come running or the wind blows through her hair… she tells us more than any sentence ever could. 💛

There are hard days. Days filled with therapies, appointments, and prayers for milestones that other families might take for granted. But there’s also this overwhelming, unconditional love — the kind that softens you, humbles you, and reminds you what truly matters.

We’re endlessly grateful that we get to raise her here — in the quiet rhythm of rural life. 🌾 Surrounded by animals, sunshine, and open fields, we’ve watched nature become her therapy. The sounds, the smells, the simplicity… they bring her peace, and they bring us hope.

So this month, and every month, we celebrate the beauty of that extra chromosome — the strength, the love, and the light it brings into our world. 💛💙

These two stud c**ts came off grass looking like beasts! Will be wormed and halter broke and then looking for their next...
10/26/2025

These two stud c**ts came off grass looking like beasts! Will be wormed and halter broke and then looking for their next adventure! Northeast Kansas! Hancock blood lines!

This little beast of c**t is still looking for his forever pasture! His brother is currently being put under saddle and ...
10/21/2025

This little beast of c**t is still looking for his forever pasture! His brother is currently being put under saddle and is doing great! I expect this guy to make a great riding gelding with the same calm demeanor, warning he does have a cowy side to him and likes to push those cattle around for fun just like his momma! His dam is a goto saddle mare that has been there and done that. The type you can throw a saddle on and ride off after sitting for years. He’ll be weaned in a couple weeks and ready for his new home. Holton, KS will work with transport! 4 X X X

https://www.allbreedpedigree.com/smokin+blu+pearl

https://www.allbreedpedigree.com/goldandsilktarver

I’ll never not have a dog. They’re part of our family, our rhythm, and our way of life.As our family lab gets older and ...
10/21/2025

I’ll never not have a dog. They’re part of our family, our rhythm, and our way of life.
As our family lab gets older and can’t join us on the long walks she once loved, I’m constantly reminded of just how incredible livestock guardian breeds truly are—especially the Anatolians.

This big guy is our intact male. He’s here for both protection and breeding, but his greatest gift is his heart. He guards his stock with loyalty, and his humans with just as much devotion. That balance of strength and gentleness is exactly why we value our dogs the way we do.

We’re hoping for one more litter from him and Nala next year before we officially retire her—and we couldn’t be more grateful for the legacy they’re leaving behind on our homestead. ❤️🐕‍🦺
And yes he’s even bigger in real life tipping the scales at just 140!

The Many Hats of a Special Needs ParentA parent of a special needs child is never just a parent. From the moment you ste...
09/27/2025

The Many Hats of a Special Needs Parent

A parent of a special needs child is never just a parent. From the moment you step into this world, you realize your role has multiplied into a dozen others you never asked for but somehow must master.

You become a researcher, spending endless late nights combing through medical journals, Facebook support groups, and parent forums, searching for answers that doctors can’t always give you. You become a doctor in your own right—learning to read lab reports, track symptoms, and anticipate problems before they escalate.

You’re a therapist, celebrating the smallest milestones while creating homegrown therapy strategies when resources fall short. A dietician, navigating food sensitivities, supplements, and nutrition plans that no one else seems to fully understand but you know make all the difference. An educator, constantly advocating for your child’s learning path, customizing approaches that work when the traditional system doesn’t.

Then there’s the insurance battle—the endless calls, the denials, the codes. You can’t just be a caregiver; you have to be an insurance advocate too. And the irony? You still have to maintain a full-time job on top of all of this, not because you have the energy or the time, but because walking away would mean losing the very insurance coverage your child depends on. Coverage that costs an arm and a leg but feels impossible to live without.

All the while, you’re trying to maintain a marriage—to remember that your partner is more than just your teammate in caregiving and survival. You’re both exhausted, both carrying the weight in different ways, yet you’re still fighting to protect the love and connection that existed long before diagnoses and medical charts took over.

And then there are your own dreams—the parts of you that refuse to die, even when life has demanded everything else. For me, that dream is the homestead we’ve built up from scratch. The goats, the garden, the land—it’s more than just a lifestyle. It’s a reminder that I’m still me. That I’m still allowed to want something beyond therapy schedules and insurance fights. That our family can still cultivate something beautiful, even in the middle of chaos.

This is the unseen life of a special needs parent. It is exhausting, overwhelming, and sometimes isolating. But it is also filled with a fierce, unshakable love—a love that drives you to keep wearing every hat, even when they feel impossibly heavy.

Because at the end of the day, your child doesn’t just need a parent. They need you. And that’s a job title no one else could ever fill.

GardenviewFarm JPJ Justintime*B aka JT, RIP sir. Literally my all time favorite buck in the 10 years we’ve been raising ...
09/24/2025

GardenviewFarm JPJ Justintime*B aka JT, RIP sir. Literally my all time favorite buck in the 10 years we’ve been raising these crazy little goats. Transported him all the way from upstate NewYork while sitting in the NICU with my little girl… I was on the fence about giving up on the goats or plunging another purchase, I’m glad I did with him. We have several daughters, and had one that was for sale but is being pulled from the for sale page now. JT went through some health issues this summer and we just couldn’t get him over it, deciding when it’s time is never easy but is a necessary task when being a livestock breeder. If you have an offspring of him, be thankful as his direct genetics have now come to an end.
RIP Mr JT.

09/23/2025

Looking for a cowy c**t??… I got just the one! Someone better sn**ch him up before I decide to keep him as a replacement riding gelding… nothin funner than riding a cowy horse while working those beefs!

ADGA Nigerian dwarf doe, broke to the milk stand looking for new home. Dolly is a heavy milker, kids out easy, easy keep...
08/25/2025

ADGA Nigerian dwarf doe, broke to the milk stand looking for new home. Dolly is a heavy milker, kids out easy, easy keeper that is never wormy or sick and flashy. I didn’t have plans of listing her but we need to keep numbers in check. DM for details
Holton KS
https://www.awhomestead.com/nigerian-dwarf-goats
AW 3 Acres Dolly Parton

S: Penguin Acres Carlos
SS: Flat Rocks Max a Million
SD: Prairie Wood Antartica

D: Bell Trail Brownie
DS: Bell Trail Chocolate Chip
DD: Bell Trail Hope

Arwen is not an easy one to list but I think she would do better in a smaller herd where she can receive extra groceries...
08/25/2025

Arwen is not an easy one to list but I think she would do better in a smaller herd where she can receive extra groceries. She came to us in great health, and still is healthy but is a hard keeper for my program. We only feed alfalfa and grain during milking and kidding times but this doe needs that diet round the clock or better forage than what we can provide. She is a heavy milker, easy breeder and kidder. If she is still here on October I will expose her. Pic below is not current fyi.
https://www.awhomestead.com/nigerian-dwarf-goats
DM for more details

Holton, KS

Texas Skyz FB Arwen 4*M
S: Texas Skyz LT Freedom Bell*B
SS: Freedom Star Lil Texas +B
SD: SG Harlequin RB Belladonna 3*M

D: SG Open Hands Farm TUX Buttercup 3*M
DS: Agape Oaks AD Tuxedo +*B
DD: SG Agape Oaks M Irresistable 2*M

Address

Holton, KS
66436

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Producing high quality stock while living a sustainable lifestyle

Ever feel like you were born 100 years too late? We sure do! We are currently just a family of two humans and several other critters. Our little homestead dream started with 3.5 acres and 6 chickens about 7 years ago. We set out with a dream of becoming self sufficient and get closer and closer to that goal every day. We now have a small Nigerian Dwarf Herd consisting of registered stock all backed with great milk genetics, an enormous garden, several chickens and other fowl, a few registered quarter horses and mules that we hope to turn into a small breeding program some day, and occasionally raise a few pigs to fill the freezers and also try to help with the family cattle operation to also help fill our freezer. We also hunt and forage when possible. We are always working on projects and ways to improve our small homestead and like to share our lifestyle with others that are interested! We hope to raise a family of our own in the near future and to teach them the principles and beliefs we have learned and developed based off this lifestyle.