Hello there, friend! Grab a tea and get cozy… here’s what we are chatting about in this little space.
Because YOU are worth keeping more than your house.
Where you’ll find a featured idea or inspiration… plus the weekly Big 4.
Leisure is essential to learning. Read why… and while you’re there, snag freebies!
Where you’ll find stuff I love to read, use, buy, and give.
If your curious about the natural things we do, and why we do them.
Where you’ll find our family in our groove: living, learning, reading, making food…
“What if we stopped celebrating being busy as a measurement of importance? What if instead we celebrated how much time we had spent listening, pondering, meditating, and enjoying time with the most important people in our lives?”
I’ll be honest; there have been times that I have no longer recognized myself. Motherhood had– and still sometimes does– completely taken over, and I was forgetting what I loved. What gave me joy.
Who I was.
I couldn’t find time for me, or God, or any of the habits I used to have or the creative outlets that energized me.
All work and no play makes Momma a dull woman. And a sad one. And a cranky one.
We say we would sacrifice everything for our kids, and we do. But in the process, what message do we send them? What message do we send to our little girls that all a wife and mom does is clean and run errands and not have time to stop and enjoy even the little things? What message do we send our boys? That women are meant to be in the home and cook and clean and nothing else?
That’s not the message I want to send my son and daughters.
I’m on a path to remember who I was and find who I am now– with the improvements of the heart and character that the sanctification of motherhood is working in me. I want to be the best version of who I can be to accomplish what God wants from MY life, and to teach my kids that mothers can take care of each other AND feed their own souls.
We are essential, fellow momma. YOU are essential.
YOU are worth keeping, just as much as your house.
It’s my passion to make a Mom community that is just that– a MOM community. No cleaning questions. No “does this poop look normal?” posts. But “I used to do ____________, and loved it. How can I do that now?” Or “I want to do _____________ but don’t where to start. What could this look like?”
Consider our group your mom dream think tank– a culture of mothers creating and shaping their dreams and passions, with an army of fellow women behind them, cheering them on.
“The word school is derived from the Greek word schole, meaning ‘leisure.’ Yet our modern school system, born in the Industrial Revolution, has removed the leisure—and much of the pleasure—out of learning.” Greg McKeown
Learning NEEDS leisure. We input input input… and our brain needs time to process and meditate and GROW and ferment what we put in there. The leisure allows the percolation of CREATIVITY, and we are thankful for the communication of it in our home and world– through music, art, speech, innovation, story and more!
A large part of my Instagram feed is about how we “schole” with our eclectic version of a literature-rich, Charlotte Mason-inspired home learning life. I would love for you to explore my posts as well as my Insta profile to check out my Home Learning highlights! (They give you more of a day-to-day!)
Click on the picture to go to A Gentle Feast and learn more.
(I have a post coming soon on why it is such a great fit for our family.)
Essential Speaking: Communication Classes & Coaching
Before I was a homeschool momma, I got a couple of degrees in speech, traveled nationally as a debate judge and coach, and taught collegiate communication courses.
I keep my foot in my communication background by teaching speech and debate once a week to homeschooled high schoolers in my community, and have recently started to branch out a little more online.
If you are interested in seeing what is currently being offered, feel free to click on the pictures below to learn more about course offerings and our online coaching club or drop me a question in the contact form below!
Essential Living
Hi there! I’m so glad you stopped by!
I know you out there doing it all, juggling life, family, business, home and all the pressures of our modern society… and someway, somehow, trying to take care of everyone’s health in the middle of it. I’m the same. And along the way my husband and I found simple, convenient, safe and effective alternatives that have revolutionized our home and wellness. “Hold up,” you say, “I don’t have time to figure out something new and learn how to use it.” That’s the best part. We (our whole wellness tribe!) are not going to suggest something to you and then wave as you walk away to figure it out on your own. Oh no, we’re a community. A place to belong, learn and get answers. Meet the informed, awake, savvy and beautiful healthcare of the next generation.
If you need a little bit of a “crash course” of essential oils, click on the images below to learn more!
(don’t know where to start? here’s a few of my favorite bundles…)
First up, can I introduce you to some of my favorite wellness combos? Of course, if you want your own customized wellness package, I’d love to sit down (in person or virtually) with you to discuss your concerns and needs. Just text or email me, and we will totally set something up. (Contact info down below!)
Click on the image to see what I personally packaged for these special bundles!
November Diffuser Blends
These blends are just perfect for bringing the scent of fall in your home… without the toxins hidden in sprays, candles, etc.!
For online access to this month’s DIY event, please join us in our event group! Videos will be posted this month, with me walking through how to make easy goat milk soap that you can scent yourself to customize however you love… and to make as gifts for the season ahead!
Back in 2014, a friend introduced me to a way of natural living that I never had really heard of before. You see, my mom was a nurse. My grandfather was a general physician turned hospital board member. “Natural” ways to prevent and support? Those were things of the past.
I can tell you story after story about these natural products and how they work. How they, experience by experience, researched article by researched article, gradually transitioned me from disbeliever to skeptic to dabbler to “believer.” It started by getting the toxins out of my home and has turned into so many things: a wellness lifestyle for my family… a community of awesome like-minded friends across the country… a major reason why I can concentrate on my other more essential essentials.
If your interested in learning more about supporting your home, joining an awesome tribe, or just wanna click on something to procrastinate from doing laundry a few minutes more, peruse this page. Click on the pics. Drop me a line.
I’d love to chat.
Wanna connect?
Whether you have some questions you’d like answered, or just want to introduce yourself, I’d love to meet you!
“It’s realizing that a great dream is not as good as a great memory. The dream can be had by anyone. The memory – must be made.” Eric Thomas I will admit to the past couple of years being one of waving grief. With so much changing, and with the promise of normalcy being pushed …
Each day, we spend a chunk of time learning together. Our mornings always include Bible time, hymn/folk/foreign song singing, and Bible memory… and we loop through other subjects. Right now, we loop through habit training, poet/poetry study, etiquette, fables, composer/music study, and art/artist study. Yesterday morning, we talked about the etiquette of making others feel …
With October in full force, Halloween will be here before you know it! We typically do more fall-themed things in general vs. “Halloween specific,” but it is fun to pull out a couple of specifically themed things for this month. If you have it, that is… The only Halloween decor we have is the leftover …
embracing essentialism 