What do you do when winter shuts down your homestead plans… but the bills don’t pause? When the cold slows the build and outdoor work comes to a standstill, this is the exact season I lean hard into digital income — and why Digital Wealth Academy became part of how we survive and grow through winter. Winter has officially settled in around here, and with it came an unexpected pause.

Today feels like one of those days you remember forever — the kind where God’s presence is so clear, you can’t help but stop and breathe it in. Something big happened here on the homestead. Something we’ve been praying for, working toward, and waiting on. And today… the blessing arrived. I won’t share every detail publicly just yet, but my heart is overflowing.

I don’t think I’ve ever been this impatient in my life — and honestly, it’s the best kind of impatience. Our house is officially on our land. Our homestead dream is no longer just a plan or a someday… it’s real now. And all I want to do is move in, start canning, and finally restock my brand-new pantry from top to bottom.

! A place for homestead moms, caregivers, and rural women to connect, learn, and grow. After months of dreaming, planning, building, and working through babies, canning seasons, house renovations, off-grid life, and all of the beautiful chaos of our homestead… I am so excited to officially announce the opening of my new online community: 🌟 The Homestead Haven 🌟 This community has been on my heart for a long time.

There are days on this homesteading-and-motherhood journey when the exhaustion sits deep in your bones. The kind of tired where you wonder if you can take one more step, do one more feeding, rock one more baby, or pour out one more drop of love. Sometimes you even think, Lord, am I really strong enough for this? Am I doing the right thing?

A Heart Full of Gratitude: My Husband, Our Babies, and This Busy Homestead Life There are days when I look around our homestead—babies giggling, jars of tomatoes cooling on the counter, and the smell of supper simmering—and I just whisper, thank You, Lord. Because truly, I don’t know what I would do without my husband. He’s the sweetest man in the world.

Why Every Homesteader Should Be a Digital MarketerFrom Scratching the Earth to Selling Online: A New Harvest Homesteading is a lifestyle rooted in hard work, self-sufficiency, and grit. You grow your own food, raise animals, preserve your harvests, and fix what breaks. But here’s the truth: you’re already doing the work. Now it’s time to get paid for it in more ways than one.

Today, I had a visit from Child and Family Services. Someone in the community decided to report us—claiming that because we live off-grid, we’re unfit to foster children. According to them, we don’t have running water or power in our home. Let that sink in for a minute. This is the reality of how misunderstood off-grid living still is. And it breaks my heart that instead of asking questions or getting to know us, someone chose to assume the worst and try to interfere with something so sacred—providing love and stability to children who need it most.

Rachel Chartrand shares her journey of homesteading in Northern Manitoba while seeking financial independence. She found success through the NOBS Mentorship and Digital Wealth Academy, which provided practical strategies for building a sustainable digital business. These resources empowered her to create passive income while managing her homestead and family life.