Finding a balance! Mum, wife, daughter, friend, smallholder, employee, nosy parker.....the list goes on

So as you may have noticed, the blog posts have been lacking!  For this I apologise, though bear with me as it's only half an apology!  Firstly, thank you to the lovely people who have been in touch to say they miss reading our blog, it's really helped me with the prioritising of things.
As the title suggests, this post is me finding a balance.  Me and my family.  We moved here on January 15, 2016 and we have loved every single day since, more and more as each day passes.  It's not easy, I'm not going to pretend it is, but it is SO worthwhile.  This is the life we have dreamt of for years and years.
For one reason or another, mostly to do with the hats I wear per the title, I've not been able to keep up with the blog posts as much as I'd like to.  However I love doing it and want a record for our memories, as much as to hear from other people, so I've decided to be realistic and aim for 1 post a week.  The date and time, format and contents I don't know yet, so again, please bear with me.
That's why this post is only half an apology, as my every part of my life is a priority at some points and I don't always get a say in that.  Family, friends, animals,  work - they are all there to make us smile and to test us!  Being flexible to that is hugely important.
We all get pulled in different directions and our journey isn't just about us learning to be smallholders and moving towards a more self sufficient lifestyle, it's about learning about ourselves along the way.  We're not naive enough to think we can know everything, not now and not ever.  Some years we will come on leaps and bounds, others we will manage to maintain. 
So now, we find ourselves coming out of a long, horrible winter and just getting going here, yet it's already June.  That's ok though, we play the cards we're dealt.
Today we are back from a much needed holiday.  We landed in Newcastle at 11:30 and were outside clearing the sheep muck off the land by 1pm. At 2pm, the Tesco delivery arrived that I had ordered when we were away.  By 3:30 we had a fox attack and by 4:30 were walking the dogs to follow the fox tracks.  So we can safely say we are fully back into the swing of things!  The fox has reduced our flock from 50 or 60 hens (including a cockerel) to 14.  I don't mean to start the blog post on a sensitive note, but part of our plans in the coming weeks will be to figure out how to get the last hens under cover but still free ranging. 
There is SO much to do outside.  I'll get a post together showing where we are with everything.  Things are growing well though, sweetcorn, sunflowers, courgettes, broad beans, tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, spuds, salad leaves etc. 
Right, I'm off to make the packed lunches and get ready for a week of work.  Thank you all for sticking with us, it's great to be back!!!