Around the Town: Visit to Restoration Homestead

By Loretta Humble/Around the Town

Some members of a very lovely family came to visit Cedar Lake Nursing Home a couple of weeks ago. They invited us to visit them at their home. Last week my friend John and I did just that. We loved what we saw. I wanted to tell you about them, and since they have an excellent website, I went to it to make sure I got my details right. When I read their “About Us” section, I found it so beautiful, I decided to let them tell you about themselves. They are the Muriko family, Bill and Robin, their three grown sons, barely-teenage daughter, one daughter-in-law, two grandsons. I believe one mother-in-law will be joining them soon. We fell in love with them all. You will probably be reading more about them here as time goes by.

Here is their story, in their own words:

RE-STORE: To revive; To resuscitate; To bring back to life. Webster (1828)

Ten years ago, our family acquired the original 50 acres that would become Restoration Homestead. The old homestead was long gone, and the land had gone unused for decades. Century-old barbed wired embedded in the oldest oak trees provided the last evidence of an agricultural heritage on the land.

Although we originally purchased the land to serve as a weekend getaway, over the years the attraction of a rural lifestyle ultimately won the tug-of-war with the pace and offerings of the urban lifestyle to which we had become accustomed. Slowly but inexorably, as we began to give ourselves over to agricultural projects (many of which failed, over and over), we could no longer deny that we belonged on a small farm in Navarro County on the cusp of East Texas. In 2009, we sold the home in Dallas, moved permanently to the farm and never looked back.

Restoration Homestead is an actively managed farm, cared for by three generations of the same family. Cattle, chickens, pigs and goats roam the pastures, and gardens and orchards are springing up around the households. Today, the original 50 acres have expanded to 150 acres. And through the Lord’s provision, three comfortable guest homes are available for visitors to join us. Where there were neglected pastures and overgrown woodlots just ten years ago, there is now daily activity.

Although we love our cell phones and computers, we do our best to honor and implement old ways of doing things that were commonplace for our grandparents and their parents. In the kitchen, we use stone mills to grind flour, we ferment anything and everything, we use eggs from the henhouse, and we use natural practices and byproducts to nourish and sustain the soil. Many years ago, the prophet Jeremiah said, “ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls.” We have experienced first hand that the old ways, while physically demanding, are rewarding and restful in ways that are hard to experience apart from the context in which our ancestors carved out their existence.

We chose the name, “Restoration Homestead” because it describes who we want to be. We want to see restoration in our family and the lives of people who visit us. And we want to be a homestead, where real families live and work in a way that doesn’t compartmentalize life and work.

We love visitors!

We would be honored to have families or groups who want to come away from the city for a bit and join in the activities here or just sit on the front porch of their cabin and listen to the whippoorwills welcoming the night. Located just over an hour from downtown Dallas, our little farm will fool you into thinking that you are many hours from the rush of the city. The night sky comes to life with uncountable stars