“Everything changed the day she figured out there was exactly enough time for the important things in her life.” 

Sweet Ben and I are raising our babies in Northern Idaho, though we both grew up in the High Desert of Central Oregon. We are Christians who believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. We strive to "train up our children in the way they should go" (Prov. 22:6) and "raise them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4) For us practically, this means our family embraces traditional values and home education. We love spending time in God's creation and fell in love on the river: Ben was a white water raft guide and swift water rescue technician, and I was an outdoor enthusiast who wanted to do whatever he was doing. :)

Now, we live on a 0.1 acre lot in the middle of town, where I tend as much garden as possible in the summer and we ski as a family all winter. We're very happy here and are working on some investment projects on our little piece of land. We strive to be excellent stewards of the home God has given us, and we also want to leave this place better than we found it. So, our work is toward those ends. We are both RNs, though I am mostly a homemaker now. Ben is an Emergency Room nurse and does contracting work, among many other things, on his days off. 

We are project people. We have a mill and love to build and create together, and we're always working on something or other. And mostly, we're the best of friends.

I love being a mother and a homemaker. Home is my happy place. It is where I work hard, play hard, and rest well. I am a lover of everything sourdough and bake 100% of our bread products and baked goods. Baking is my delight. Cooking, on the other hand, is... something at which I work to become better. I also love to ferment and otherwise preserve food, especially our bountiful garden harvests and the fruit we pick around town each autumn.

We read a lot of books, drink raw milk, and keep a flock of chickens and a hive of bees at my parents' property down the road. The kids spend the majority of their days playing--both outside and inside--and it is a joy to watch them do "the work of children." I drink a cup of decaf coffee every day, with a big splash of raw cream. This also, is a joy.

After high school, I travelled Europe for a year and attended Bible school in a castle in England. I went hang gliding in the Swiss Alps and sailed the Greek Isles and spent time in eleven countries in all. It was the single most formative year of Life Before Ben, mostly because of the people I met and the fact that I read the Bible cover-to-cover. I chronicled it all here.

Before having kids, I wrote copiously. I've kept a couple blogs over the years, and they can be found here and here. I used to be pretty flowery with my language, but I shoot a little straighter now. Anyway, it's fun to read some of my old stuff to see how the Lord has grown and changed me.

These days, I mostly spend time with my kids and Sweet Ben and my small circle of local friends. I spend only a small fraction of my time on social media, where I really just want to be helpful to other women pursuing Truth, Beauty, Goodness, and simple, wholesome, hearty, contented lives. I hope this space serves as a resource for you and a helpful tool as you also pursue those ends. 

May you cultivate a home filled with peace and joy and the rich beauty that comes from a life lived in submission to God's designs.