I am an energetic, joy-filled, city-turned-country girl living my dream of being a wife, mom, writer (if blogs count) and home school teacher-to-be!  I have been to 34 countries (or so, I’ve lost count) and have finally settled down in southwest Minnesota somewhere in the middle of the corn fields – love makes you do crazy things – on Laura Ingall’s Plum Creek prairie.  I am married to my sweetheart, Ben, a smart, hard-working HVAC technician who likes statistics and roasting his own coffee.  He’s building our dream house. 🙂

I write to MOTHERS …because this we have in common.  You’ll see the funny, the serious, the raw and the real of our faith and family life, and I hope to encourage you that together we CAN survive motherhood in one piece and still sane – and more than that – joyously delight in the journey!  {Pretty painted toenails, sunshine and a date to Starbucks for a Java Chip Frappe greatly boost mommy-morale any day!}  It’s an irreplaceable vocation, this being mom.

I write for the other DIY Dreamers as we build our HOUSE – I don’t think of myself as having the skill, or the time, to do this stuff, but we can all watch Fixer Upper and dream, right?!  This is the story of how we bought and are extreme-renovating a 100-year-old house in the country… in cash.  If it’s any indication from you, my readers, this is a popular series!

I write about FINANCE – My husband and I are blessed to have learned some great common sense and Christian principles about finance management early on in our marriage.  We are passionate about “paying it forward” (hehe, no pun intended!) and helping other couples get out of debt, save money, give generously and have a plan.  Money touches every area of our lives and where we spend it shows our priorities; we figure it’s a pretty important topic.

I write about LEARNING – Home schooling, un-schooling; a little structure with a lot of LIFE, is our method.  Reading, field trips and lots of hands-on activities (on a budget!).  Teaching in a one-room school house has long been my dream… but with my tendencies, we wouldn’t be spending very much time actually inside it’s four walls!  My favorite age is 3-5, preschool, so that is a lot of the focus of this blog.  Come grow and learn with us!

I write about PREGNANCY, miscarriage and loss.  My own high-risk story and miracle full-term babies.  Pregnancy is a beautiful thing, but let’s be honest here, we don’t ALL enjoy the ‘being pregnant’ part.  (But oh my, I love babies! :-D)  So I look at it with a little humor… and sometimes just tell it like it is, cause I mean, someone’s got to say it!