Homesteading Dreams

My husband John grew up on a farm  and loved it.  He loved everything about it, the animals , working outside, the quiet at night, the solitude... John loved the farm.  I grew up in a rural seeting with miles between the neighbours and us, lots of quiet  and I hated it!  I was always longing for the town, going places and people!!
About 7 years ago my husband asked me to give farm life a try.  He had found a hundred acre farm that was for rent, and I thought it would be an incredible experience for our family of seven.
I went to the farm skeptical and nervous that I wouldn't be able to handle the learning I was going to have to do.
 We picked up 20 Rock Island Barred laying chickens, 40 white chickens for butchering, and  10 turkeys.  The outdoor paddocks all needed repairs  so we couldnt have animals just yet, had to wait for the summer to work on that.
 Our house was massive 3600 sq ft and was oil/wood heat.  I kept a fire going 24/7, and used 4 cord of wood in one winter and had our oil filled twice to keep the house at a cool 62 degrees.
Sadly, my father passed away suddenly that February and we decided to move closer to my family, leaving our farming dream.
The things I learned going to that farm are invaluable to me.  I learned that I am much stronger and more determined than I knew.  I can be inventive when need be, I love the quiet and  the creative nature that goes with being outside.  
So we have decided that we would like to buy land and build a small home- maybe cordwood,  or
 in ground... not sure yet as my husband is a builder and has tons of ideas.  We would like to live off the land, with some livestock.  I always thought this was a hobby farm but today I learned that my dream is actually homesteading. The definition of homesteading is - Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of foodstuffs, and it may or may not also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craftwork for household use or sale. -Wikipedia
This is what I long for a life of self sufficiency, living partially or mostly of the grid, and our life to be simpler.   So this is what we are working toward, I would like to be on our homestead in 5 years, thats our goal!