It’s kinda funny. Y’all join me here every week–hundreds, sometimes thousands of you if my stats don’t lie–but it’s as if I’m on a blindingly lit stage, and you all are invisible to me in the audience. I don’t really know you’re there unless you make a noise.
I personally don’t like the feeling of being on a virtual stage. I would rather a coffee shop or a bright sunny day at the park, us chatting on a bench together. That’s how I look at my blog–not as a stage, but a bench we can sit on as we mutually encourage each other.
I have no desire to stand on a stage and pontificate at you. I seek to bring words to this blog in the New Year that would be the most encouraging and helpful to you, but to do that, I kinda need to see who I’m talking to.
Would you be willing to step into the light and introduce yourself? I’d be thrilled if you’d join me in the comments and let me get to know you better.
While some bloggers are closing the comments on their blogs this year, I’m inspired to invest even deeper in the relationships to be built in the quiet, open spaces of a blog’s comment section. If social media gets a bit hectic and loud for you, I invite you to join the conversation on your favorite blog.
I’ve come up with a list of questions we would ask each other if we were visiting at the park, and I’m gonna answer them myself to help you get to know me better. Then it’s your turn.
1. What type of device are you reading this on?
I’m typing this on my laptop on my couch, but I do most of my blog reading on an old, cracked and fading Galaxy SIII.
2. What is your favorite cold drink?
I’ve lately got the hang of flavored kombucha and my last batch blew my mind–I stuck a half an orange and a cinnamon stick in the second brew and the resulting “Orange Spice Kombucha” tasted like Christmas and Sunshine.
3. What was the last book you read that earned the word “Awesome”?
Pirate Hunter by Tom Morrisey was one of the novels I read over my Christmas Break Extended by Sickness. I love when an author takes me somewhere I’ll probably never go myself–in this case a shipwreck dive site–using jargon that makes me feel I’m there, without bogging me down with too many technical details. I was delightfully surprised by the quality of the writing and the clean way he wove two story lines together.
4. What language do you wish you could speak fluently?
Dutch. So that I could speak the language of my grandparents and not be so lost when I someday visit the land of my heritage.
5. What place holds your sweetest childhood memories?
A suburb of Raleigh, NC, where I spent 7 years of my childhood, most of it playing monkey in the trees of our backyard with my brothers.
6. What’s something you collect?
I used to collect Delft. Now I’m collecting “No’s” (more on that in this post).
7. What’s a blog you never miss a post from?
I love the Nester. She does everything (including imperfection) with class.
8. What is your favorite breakfast?
I adore a big, juicy omelet with lots of veggies and bacon and mushrooms. All that so I can justify some sugary pastry or chocolate or something.
9. What’s your favorite type of post on this here blog?
As an extrovert and verbal processor, I love any post that gets conversation going. Maybe this one??? 😉
10. How many kids do you have?
I have 4. But if we were meeting for coffee or a park date, you’d see this…
#5 is due the beginning of July. 😉
Your turn to unlurk! Pick one question from the above list and answer in a comment. Bonus points if it’s the first time you’ve commented. Oh, and if you have a blog, do share! I’d love to visit you!
*this post contains affiliate links because I’m clever like that (not)*
Hi, I’m Lindsey! I really enjoy your blog, and your easy yogurt recipe got me started making it. Now it’s always in our fridge 🙂 I have 4 littles and we homeschool, so it’s nice to read about other mamas living similar lives. Congrats on #5. What a joy!
Lindsey! I’m so delighted to meet you and proud of your yogurt making! Thank you so much for introducing yourself!
Congratulations on baby #5! I’ve read your blog probably about 2 years now and I might have commented once or twice. I’m really bad for lurking apparently 🙂 I figured I would answer all the questions…
1. At the moment I’m on a desktop but typically I use my iphone 5s.
2. Other than water I don’t normally drink many cold drinks. Never been a fan of soda. Love coffee, hot cider, and hot chocolate!
3. Oh my. To be honest with you, it has been a while since I read an actual book. But the last book I read that I would describe as “awesome” would be Desperate by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson.
4. Where I live in East Tennessee we have a large migrant population from Mexico. It would be so helpful to be able to communicate in Spanish.
5. My grandparents’ house.
6. Books. Refer to question 3 and you might deduce that I have a problem.
7. I’m great at reading blogs but not always keeping up to date. Hence why I am commenting on this post almost 2 weeks later. Usually I keep up with your blog and Sarah Mae.
8. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, hash browns, and coffee!
9. My favorite posts tend to be about your daily life. My mom worked full time and I went to public school from start to finish. I am working at the moment but my last day is March 31st. We plan to homeschool. Therefore, I crave examples from other moms on how to be a homemaker and homeschooler.
10. I have 3 little boys ages 4, 2, and 3 months.
Laura–thanks for slipping in here to comment!
Re: #6–LOL! This year one of my goals is to purge the not-so-awesome books from my nonfiction shelf and put them on paperback swap. If they haven’t grabbed me by now, it’s time for someone else to love them.
I love the every day posts, too, but have sometimes wondered at their merit. Thanks for taking the time to share!
I have 1 daughter who just turned 2 last week, and Im expecting our second and boy! Thank you for sharing your experience with the Tummy team I have been looking for something like that since I had our first! I called but have yet to get a response, I hope they cant help me.
Congrats on baby #5 your a hero, Im not sure if I could manage that many children but one at a time right?!
Yes, Tara–one at a time. And then, after a point, it really becomes an advantage to have more children! They entertain each other, teach each other, and are so much help with the baby that you can actually enjoy a new arrival even more! You will love the Tummy Team! Best thing that ever happened to my mommy body.
Yay for baby #5! This is wonderful news! I’m totally new to this motherhood journey–pregnant with my first and living 3000 miles away from family–and due in August. Life is an adventure for sure!
My favorite posts from you have been those about your spiritual journey–those series have been incredibly meaningful to me. Thanks for being so honest and for sharing so passionately your love for Jesus!
Mikaela! Congratulations to you! And I’m so glad to hear that my story has been an encouragement to you. I hope to have more of that type of content in the new year, as time allows and the Lord leads.
EEeeek!!! I’m so excited you’re expecting baby #5! I’m expecting baby#4 in late July…. so I’ll answer question #10: I have 3 children at the moment. A 4 year old boy, a rambunctious daughter who will be 3 next month, and a 1 year old little boy who was my Christmas gift in 2013. He arrived just in time for dinner! I was never more relieved that I always plan to have my kids at home than when I went into labor Christmas Eve. While I’m looking forward to having my second baby in the same house this summer (we’ve moved 5 times in our 5 1/2 years of marriage), I’m also looking forward to the new adventures that will come as we prepare to move down south and hopefully get to travelling more frequently.
This wasn’t on your list of questions but anyways… while I’d love to eat even healthier, currently I take comfort in the fact that I make our bread (just wish I ground my own flour too, but haven’t swung for a mill yet), I make all our yogurt (thanks to your simple easy recipe), I make my own bone broth for 98% of my cooking, and we do drink it occasionally as well, and that I’ve recently started to try and remember to add some Kimchi to my daily diet. However, I can’t even think about making that myself as I have a thing about anything fermented or fermenting where I can smell it. To the point that I can smell wine in a restaurant and it makes me feel sick. Anyway, since being pregnant, food, eating well, diets, whatever you want to call it, has been overwhelming. And I’m just thankful that my kids love to snack on fresh fruits and veggies all day, as that’s the healthiest snack they could eat in our “prepared food society”. Any tips? I should probably read your Real Food Journey book, right? I just don’t want to be overwhelmed, but I want to be careful about eating well especially right now as I have a tendency to just eat whatever when I’m pregnant and can’t think clearly all the time.
To answer question #3: I’m currently not quite halfway through Sally Clarkson’s new book Own Your Life, and it has already earned the word AWESOME!
Kelley, congrats on #4! It sounds like you are actually doing REALLY well with the habits you’ve established! Bread, yogurt and bone broth are foundational! In my book I talk about seasons–some are for learning and growing, other seasons you just try to maintain what you’ve already learned, and then there’s survival mode, which I find myself in more often than not these days. That’s when I try to make sure we get a kefir or yogurt smoothie in us a few times a week, and trust the Lord for the rest. When you are in a season to try one new, small thing, then the book would be good for you–it’s all about baby steps. 😉
We are hoping to travel more next year–maybe our paths will cross!
Thank you for the encouragement, Trina! I see some people on a strict Organic diet, or doing sprouted bread, on top of so many other great healthy food choices, and I think I’d have to stay in the kitchen all day to get close to that. And I can’t do that with 3 kids and the 4th making me so mentally tired all the time. But I’m definitely going to have to get your book soon! Oh it would be great to cross paths at some point! We’ll be in SC in March which is much closer than CT to you, but still a hike. 🙂
Hi!!! I’ve just recently subscribed and this will be my first post I think 🙂 Ummm, so here goes…the last awesome book I read (aren’t they all?) was “The Storyteller” by Jody Picoult. All my childhood memories (other than a trip to Disney when I was 11) happened right here in eastern NC. Italian is next on my list of languages to learn. I never miss a post from Katie at Kitchen Stewardship and my fave breakfast lately has been oatmeal, although I’ve just been buying the organic HT brand instead of soaking my own oats. I work full time and LOVE learning more about real food and getting back to the basics, but I just don’t have the time I need to do everything. The BF is a big help though…every day he comes around a little more about leaving the processed world behind 🙂 Well, that’s way more than one question so I’ll stop. Nice to meet you!!!
Mindy–next on your list?! How many languages do you know!!?? 😉 I love Katie, too–she’s taught me so much. Thanks for introducing yourself!
I speak English natively and learned Spanish when I was 18 and met my ex-husband 🙂 it’s definitely been a skill that has served me well in life. And while I doubt I’ll ever use Italian where I live, it’s just so romantic sounding right? 🙂 lol Nice to meet you!
Lovely to meet you, Mindy! Yes, I have a weakness for the languages that “sound” musical.
This is my first time posting here. Found your blog a few days ago. Downloaded a sample of one of your books. I am a native of Brazil so your cooking is not far from how we traditionally eat there. 🙂 My favorite drink is water. I would love to learn Italian (I know a bit); I think would go well with my personality, I can get pretty passionate about issues I talk with friends about. I recently read Tam Hodge book and it shook me to the core because we have so much in common. I have four children here and 3 in Heaven. Would love to have more join our family on this earth, but only God knows if that will happen. I am hoping in Him. I am reading your blog on an I Mac 2007 and I read Visionarywomanhood dot com faithfully. I would love to have Natalie as a up close personal friend. Breakfast?? I love eggs for breakfast… a big stuffed omelet with hot coffee and real yellow Italian polenta would be awesome. You got me hungry now. I also loved the photo of baby #5. So happy for you. 🙂 About your posts… I am still reading them. But I like these interactive ones… I can’t do Facebook. Too crowded, too many people and too controversial sometimes. You can check out my blog here http://creatingtreasures.blogspot.com
Delighted to meet you, Tereza! Ha. You and me both: should learn Italian. LOL thank you for taking the time to comment!
Hi Trina,
I’ve been reading your blog for a few years I think! Your joy in life is very contagious, it always is fun to read your posts. I like your recipe posts. (I’m not going to answer these in order I’m afraid.) I’m reading and one finger typing on an iPad while I nurse my 10 week old. He is my first and I have to say that I also really appreciated your birth story posts when I was preparing for this birth! My favorite breakfast is over easy eggs with sautéed greens and really good toast and lots of butter! I just read Surprised by Motherhood by Lisa-Jo Baker and really enjoyed it. Favorite cold drink would have to be a mamey sapote milkshake that I have only ever had in Homestead, FL and Chiapas, Mexico. It’s good to meet you!
Emily, that you took the time to type this whole comment with one finger on your ipad really blessed me! Congrats on your first! How exciting, and I’m honored that you’ve chosen my blog for reading material during this season. It’s a joy to know we are journeying together. Thanks for the feedback on post content–I’m hoping to have more recipes on the blog in the coming months!
And congrats on #5- yay! How exciting!!!!
thanks! 😉
Hi Trina!
I have been reading your blog for a couple of years and really enjoy it. 🙂 Thanks for the opportunity for everyone to get to know each other better.
1. What type of device are you reading this on?
MacBook Pro Laptop
2. What is your favorite cold drink?
Water. 🙂
3. What was the last book you read that earned the word “Awesome”?
Bonhoeffer- amazing!
4. What language do you wish you could speak fluently?
Probably Spanish- since it’s so common in America and also since it’s in my ancestry.
5. What place holds your sweetest childhood memories?
Albuquerque- where I was born and lived until I was 14.
6. What’s something you collect?
Tea
7. What’s a blog you never miss a post from?
Hm. Probably Chatting at the Sky or The Nester, too. Or Smitten Kitchen. Yummy!
8. What is your favorite breakfast?
Probably amazing biscuits and sage gravy with sausage and some fruit on the side.
9. What’s your favorite type of post on this here blog?
Posts related to motherhood and healthy eating.
10. How many kids do you have?
1- a little baby girl just about to turn a year old. <3
Elyce! So lovely to meet you and I LOVE your name and its spelling! Score! another perfect ten–thanks for helping me get to know you AND for the helpful feedback on the blog. More recipes and motherhood posts are coming down the pike!
I love your blog and have been reading it for about 2 or more years now. Some of my favorite posts you do are about food and healthy living. As a result of your posts on oil pulling I started this past fall because of some tooth pain from a receding gum and the oil pulling has completely taken away the pain! I hope one day it will help the gum come back too but I’m content for now 🙂 My husband bought me your latest cookbook for Christmas and I am totally in love with it!! I have tried a bunch of the recipes and every single one has been a winner, especially your chicken noodle soup with homemade bone broth! I am writing from our desktop while my 2 younger boys (20 months and almost 4 years) are napping and as soon as I finish my daughter (6 years) and I are going to do her reading lesson for homeschooling today. It’s just so encouraging to read about another believer and how they are living for the Lord in all that they do. Thank you for your blog 🙂
Samantha, thanks for helping me get to know you a little bit, and for the report on how you’re using and enjoying the book! (Can I quote you? :))
We are in the middle of reading lessons, here, too! My 8 year old is finally getting in the groove, my 6 year old is gobbling up everything she can get her hands on, and my 4 year old is raring to go. I never thought I’d be teaching 3 children to read at the same time, but it’s so fun to watch the miracle happen!
#5
The place that holds my sweetest childhood memories (besides our homes) is Galveston Island in the gulf of Mexico. My family usually take a week out of each year to rent a beach house right on the water. Lots of folks don’t care for Galveston and would so much rather go to Florida, but it’s MY beach. It may not have crystal clear water, but it holds so much wildlife and natural beauty and many of my best memories. Kayaking, making sand castles, taking long walks looking for shark’s teeth, lots of reading and laughing and swimming. I can’t wait to be there again in September!
Everly, whenever you describe a place, it makes me want to be there. I have made it as far as the boardwalk on the river that leads to Galveston Bay–it’s on my wish list to take my kids all the way to the Island. Maybe we’ll meet you there some day. 😉
We have two kids and I would very much like a third very shortly. I’ve been blogging for almost five years (Yikes!) at The Laundry Blog. I love the sound of the above omlette.
Hey, you! Welcome to my blog! Fun to see you here! 😉
CONGRATS!!!! Baby #5. I am so very excited for you!!!!! 4 blessings over here! I love avocado and bacon for breakfast.
Avocado. And Bacon. Like, how? One raw, the other cooked, and together or beside each other? I’m totally intrigued because I crave avocado when I’m pregnant. (my husband would laugh at that statement because he says I crave it all the time lol)
I’m a pretty firm believer than I can eat avocado anytime, with anything and that goes for bacon as well. I usually have time side by side. I sometimes do that baking an egg in an avocado half…it’s super yummy!!! I just love you.
bought avocados yesterday. As soon as they’re ripe, I’m gonna try the baked egg thing!
I am reading this post on a hand me down laptop; the same one I manage my blog on, well, so called manage. My favorite drink is mentioned in my latest blog post, so visit my site so we have something to talk about. The last book that earned an awesome: non-fiction War of Words by Paul David Tripp. Awesome because we all battle with words that are poison or fruit. I wish I could speak Creole because my family does missions work in Haiti. I make due with my feeble French, but I would love to be able to read the latest Jesus Storybook Bible just published in Creole. One of the sweetest childhood memories tucked away in my heart are days spend beach combing a local deserted island in the Tangier Sound of Virginia and Maryland’s Eastern Shore on sweltering summer afternoons with my Dad. I am not much of a collector; I am a purger, but I am fond of dainty tea cups. The kind Beatrix Potter might take in while she is crafting her art and penning her thoughts. More recently I never miss a post from Mundane Faithfulness; she is dying of cancer and I am not ready to say good-bye. I have six kids, my last one at 42, such a blessing. Always open for adopting a sweet Haitian child with those ebony eyes that beg “take me home with you.”
Hi, Denise!
Oh, I’ve been reading Mundane Faithfulness, too–but it’s a hard read. Sometimes I am too emotional to even go over there! The perspective she has is priceless and inspiring.
Oh, I love hearing of moms having babies into their 40’s–I hope that’s me someday! Off to go find out what your favorite drink is… 😉
I’ve been following your blog for over a year. I started reading it because I was fascinated by your childhood and family stories. I also loved your posts on gardening/healthy eating.
Question#2 What is your favorite cold drink? Water! I am a cold drink purist. Well water that has been filtered for parasites and no ice please. Question#3 What was the last book you read…? It’s a tie. Killing Patton by Bill O’Reilly. Great book for history buffs and I love how it brings up previously unknown facts and spotlights everyday heroes. Very eye-opening!
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Amazing hero, amazing story. I love how Billy Graham comes into the story. It can be tough to read about the torture parts but I feel it is necessary to appreciate our freedoms.
Oh, Melissa, I loved Unbroken! Anxious to get my hands on it again because I want to share the story with my husband before we go see the movie. I love that part with Billy Graham, too! I was delightfully surprised to find that spiritual element in the book. I will have to check out Killing Patton. My grandparents served alongside General Patton in the Mediterranean–I’d love to learn more about this man who figures in family stories.
Thanks for your feedback on my blog and post content! I’m afraid my garden is hardly worth blogging about here in Alabama–I’m having to relearn everything with the heat here! But we’re working on more healthy eating posts very soon! 😉
I could never imagine closer comments on my blog! I have four children, ages 23, 20, 14 and 11. My oldest daughter and her husband will make me a grandma in April! Have a blessed weekend.
Barbie! I can’t imagine you closing comments, either. You ROCK comments, and are so faithful to speak encouragement to so many bloggers via that form! Congrats on your first grandchild!!!!
WOOHOO!!!! So truly excited you have another sweet one on the way, Trina! Our second (another girl) comes in March, and I am so ready — varicose veins and Achiness are getting very old. Kombucha is also a favorite of mine, and I’ve been mixing LaCroix lime sparkling water (no sweetener added) with plain — yum! I grew up in Raleigh too, actually, so that holds my dearest memories, and I am currently writing this on the tiny screen of my phone in the library parking lot while my husband is inside getting a fun movie for us to watch this weekend and my toddler is in her car seat taking the nap she skipped earlier. 🙂
Thank you for inviting us to a coffee/park date!
Oh, Annie–sounds like you have a perfect weekend lined up! 😉 Thanks for saying hello (and for the time it takes to do so on a phone screen!)
im reading this on an iPad.
The most amazing book I am currently reading. It’s Own Your Life by Sally Clarkson.
I eat oatmeal with peanut butter and honey pretty much every day for breakfast.
I have four kids, ages 9, 7, 4, and 1.
Stacey–whoo-hoo! I’m a huge fan of Sally Clarkson and so excited that a friend just offered to loan me her copy of Own Your Life when she’s finished with it!
Mmmm–peanut butter and honey oatmeal. That’s a favorite of my childhood!
I’ve got three kids, but it’s looking as if number four might be on his way! 🙂
Oh, my word! how exciting!!!
Hi Trina!
I’ve read your blog for a yearish. I liked your posts on Kindred Grace and started reading your blog, but I’ve never commented until now. My favorite posts are your ones on freedom from anxiety & Tipi tails since I’ve been a city girl all of my life.
#6 I collect seashells. Growing up we would spend summers in Savannah, GA with my Grandfather & I always collected seashells there & any other beaches we’ve been to – in South Africa, San Francisco, etc. They are a sweet reminder of my Grandfather & all the places God’s let me visit & who I’ve gone with. I have intentions to do cool artsy things with them, but nursing school is taking up all my time currently.
Congrats on baby #5 & thanks for writing such encouraging things
~Laura
Oh, Laura–I love your seashell collection! I’m sure that just the right idea will come along from Pinterest when the time is right to create something from them. 😉 Thanks for introducing yourself!
I really want to learn to speak Swedish. My father-in-law is Swedish and I live in a Scandinavian town. Norwegian would be fun, but Swedish is SO much easier.
Dutch would be fun, as I have a very healthy dose of Dutch heritage as well. However, that heritage kind of got lost in the confusion of the Great Depression, so the whole Scandinavian-thing is a much closer connect. I’m even on the board at the local Sons of Norway.
I’ve read your blog since your early pre-marriage Sense and Sensibility days. I really, really enjoy every post!
Oh, my goodness, Elisabeth! Your faithfulness to my blog is humbling! (especially when I think back to what I deemed a worthy blog topic back in those days!!! LOL) You are too kind, thank you for your comment!
My favorite childhood place: ‘The Farm’ as we still call it, as if there is no other farm on this earth. Because there kind of isn’t.
It was in the West Flanders, a very empty, country-ish place in closely populated Belgium. A little farm with a cow and a horse and 5 goats, chickens, geese, 2 sheep and sometimes a pig. It had a rope swing in the barn, and you had to climb on the haystack to get to it. It had huge wagons with more hay and straw stacked on, on which you could climb, or hide under.
It had a pond that you could float on with the inside of tractor tires, a little woody place to build camps in, and a ditch surrounding the entire farm through which you could wade while pretending to be soldiers. then there were the surrounding corn fields to play games in, and the poplar trees all around the farm in a neat row, in which you could climb and give your grandmother a heart attack for doing it WITH A SKIRT (gasp, so unsafe)
Now pardon me as I go and swoon over childhood memories 😉
Omily, that sounds like a wonderful place to build memories!
Omily, you totally transported me with your description. I especially love the ditch, full of creative possibilities, and the poplar trees.
Okay, you got me with that photo! Last year we each had a little girlie in mid-October. And now our babies are almost 15 months old and you’ve got the next one on the way!
In the famous word of Napoleon Dynamite, “LUCKY!!”
My little girl’s favorite book is “All of Baby, Nose to Toes” by Victoria Adler. Just get it for your little girlie. The pictures are so sweet and it’s perfect for 15 months, and the little story just gets my heart every time, because I love my baby, I do, I do.
Blessings on this pregnancy. Hope to join you soon. : )
Maria!!! So good to hear from you! I love that we both have little girls! I will most certainly put that book on my wish list. (and yes, do join the party! ;))
This is a totally new experience. I’ve never commented in this section before but probably should have since I absolutely love your blog and topics and feel like I know you-silly me!
I cannot pick what type of post I like. I’ll tell you a few that instantly come to mind-yogurt making(I’ve shared with many!), oil pulling, vanilla extract(made it for my peeps at Christmas and was a hit) and anything that’s on your heart. You know what, I love it all-ha!
We’re a homeschooling family from northern Alberta, Canada (check it out on google maps-I am far far from you). I’m a mama to 4 daughters and a son in heaven. We live on some land and garden and raise chickens and own an organic flour mill which we make baking mixes & sell and we enjoy the nature that is all around us.
A book I have loved reading is called Sisters in the Wilderness(awesome…and another awesome). It’s about the trials of immigrating to Canada in the 1800’s along with the social and economic challenges. And the women come from a a family of published authors in a time when women were def not making a living from writing. Oh, and a family read fav is the Moody Family series.
A blog I follow, daily, is Mundane Faithfulness-Kara is amazing at telling her journey and is teaching me a wealth of life lessons. Reading the archives gives clarity to the posts of today.
I have a hubby that loves a big breakfast and takes to task every weekend. No matter what’s cooking, I know I’ll love it since it’s a treat being cooked for.
Congratulations on baby #5. So exciting!
Hope I didn’t overwhelm you with the mega long comment-can you tell I’m a newbie? I really would love to sit down with you for a coffee and a chat. Blessings to your day.
Tammy, honored to have you here and loved getting to know you in your mega comment! 😉 You know, I think I have heard of “Sisters in the Wilderness.” I love immigrant stories, I will have to see if I can find it.
Yes!!! The Moody books were childhood favorites–I’m anxiously awaiting my kids being just a little older so they can fully enjoy them (we’re working on Little House and the Prairie right now)
Breakfast is my favorite meal–it’s such a treat when someone else makes it!
I would love to see your mill and have that chat with you, too! Thanks for visiting me here!
Hi Trina,
I just want to say that I thoroughly enjoy your blog, however, I don’t have a blog of my own. My husband and I bought a farm in Georgiana, AL in September which is 5 1/2 hours away from our current home in Louisiana. We have been working on getting the house ready for us to move to the farm and make it our home permanently. We have so many hopes and dreams for our farm and we have so much to learn about homesteading and are so grateful to you and all the other bloggers who are willing to share your journey with people like me.
We have four grown children and three grandsons. Yes, some people think we are crazy taking on such a big endeavor in our senior years,(over 60), but we never had the chance until now. I know it is going to be challenging, but one that we are looking forward to.
Oh and by the way, I am a fresh squeezed lemonade lover. Nothing else is as refreshing on a hot summer day. During the cold of winter, I enjoy a variety hot herbal teas make me feel warm and toasty.
Thanks again for sharing,
Debbie
Debora, so fun to meet another Alabamian here! Maybe we can meet someday!
I think your farm sounds like a lovely adventure, and a fine season in life to try it out–just you and your man!
Thanks for commenting!
Hi Trina,
Deborah is my Godmother (Nanny is what we call them in the South). She is a nature lover deep down and I am so excited for her and my Godfather (Parahn – French for Godfather) finally getting to live their dreams. Even though I was a little sad when she gave me the news that she was moving to Alabama, I am truly excited and cannot wait to go this summer for a visit and get my hands dirty in the garden or whatever we decide to get into. Deborah’s parents were my grandparents and they raised me on a farm and it would be just like old times…..Love your blog and have been enjoying the pictures she posts on FB.
I have 3 children. My youngest was just born Dec. 16th. So loving late night snuggles.Still trying to find a new normal with 3 littles 3 and under during the day… kinda slow going. I like most all types of things you post because I sense an honesty to what your write… not sugar coated.
Aww, Cora–thank you for your words affirming my posts! It’s a blessing to know that God can use me and my words though I sometimes feel so raw and unsure. Enjoy those snuggles! There are many more seasons coming that will be different than this, but this–this is a snuggle season!
Do I have to answer just one question? 🙂
1. I’m on my laptop but sometimes I read from my Android phone.
2. My favorite cold drink right now is probably a green smoothy. Right now I’m on a Cranberry banana kick with either kale or spinach.
3. The last book I read (which was really good by the way) is a new soon to be released copy of Jeff Goins’ book The Art of Work. It is really excellent and when it comes out I highly recommend it.
4. Here in Texas I really wish I could speak Spanish fluently. Also my husband and I are planning to move our family to Argentina in the next few years so Spanish is high on my priority list to learn.
5. My sweetest childhood memories are in Henderson, Tx in the house my parents still own.
6. Well, it seems like we collect clothes around here. LOL I still have some major purging to do around here. But as far as collectibles I like lighthouses.
7. This one is hard because I usually don’t have time to read all the blogs I follow.
8. Oatmeal with homemade applesauce.
9. I like this post real well but I think are your posts are good.
10. I have 6 kids so far ages 2 to 16.
And I like the comment section of blog posts too. Social media becomes so distracting sometimes that I have seriously come close to quitting social media altogether. However it’s like I want to give it up completely but there is a part of me that can’t because too many friends rely on me being in their groups and such. So I haven’t managed to break away yet. One day. . . maybe. *sigh*
Anastacia–You scored a perfect ten!! 😉 And, I love your name!
Man, I’ve gotten so many good book recommendations from this post! I’ll keep an eye out for Jeff’s new book.
Ohmylanta–Argentina!? What inspired that dream?
“6 kids so far” –love that 😉
Social media is a refining thing in my life, too. Constantly having to be weighed and looked at in light of the Gospel. I do prefer groups over the general mayhem–have found some real kindred hearts in those quieter spaces.
My husband is a preacher. Ever since we’ve been married he’s considered doing Mission work but always felt that God had more for him to do here in the U.S.
The church he is currently pastoring is very small and even though he’s looked at mission work he felt God was keeping him here. In February of 2014 he reevaluated where we are at and what God wants for our family and asked me if I’d be willing to move to Argentina if he felt God wanted us to go there.
God opened so many doors in 2014 and closed some behind us. We even were able to go on a survey trip. That trip was so amazing in many ways as we really didn’t know very many people when we first went there but met so many people that have been praying for someone to come.
We’re excited and this year we are trying to patiently prepare so that as soon as God opens the doors for us to take the next steps we are ready. 🙂
Congrats on #5!! Ah I’m almost jealous, and at the same glad it’s not me just yet! Just calming in with the babes! Anywho, I love your blog! I feel like we could almost be best friends if we were in the same trailer park!
On to the survey…
1. I am reading this on my iPhone 5, I used to read it on a faulty dying Galaxy exhibit that I finally gave up on because my husband finally got stable income! Yay!
2. I rarely drink cold drinks lately, while I’m partial to fresh lemonade hot chocolate has been calling my name every day since about November… It’s bad! I cut out most of the sugar in my diet yet the hot cocoa gets me every time!
3. The books I have been reading lately have mostly been for the kiddos, I read them cha
Chapter books at night time.. We’ve been doing the quimby series, next up? Who knows any suggestions for good toddler reads?
4. I wish I knew Hebrew.. We’ve been learning slowly in church, but I would love to not have to refer to the prayer book to understand the liturgical service at church!!
5. Most of my childhood memories are all in co.. Mostly right where we are parked now.. Or within a few blocks of it… We have our trailer parked in my parents backyard while we winter as the road seemed like it’d be a wee bit too chilly to bounce from here to there this season (it’s our first winter in the trailer)
6. I collect messess.. And kisses from babies!
7. I usually don’t miss your posts and I love pioneer woman’s humor, but I kinda pick and choose articles from all over that are my favs!
8. My fav breakfast is anything my husband cooks, he’s good at breakfast and it also means I don’t have to leave bed as quick!! Yay!!
9. Really I know this question is super helpful for you, but I’m onry! I love everything you write.. Very stalker I’m sounding! Lol
10. I have three babies 3 ,2, and 10 months… They are awesome!
Stephie, you’re way beyond a stalker–you are a faithful commenter! Thank you for that!
Hooray for a fellow trailer-ite! But oh, trailer living in colder climates, with lots of little kids–may the Lord give you heaps of grace this month!
You put me and Pioneer Woman in the same sentence: you made my day. 😉
Thanks for all your answers!
Hmmm–suggestions for toddler reads…I’m trying to remember what we found that worked a few years ago (I mostly just remember being anxious to get to the my favorites from the elementary years!) With Lydia right now we adore Sandra Boynton books, and they are so cheap on Amazon, it’s not hard to add to our collection. And even the older kids like her humor and rhyme.
Oh Sandra Boynton, we love em! We read so many picture books!! Our trailer needs an expansion for the library, but then we’d have some upgrades to stay under our gwvr… Lol yeah I’ve read through so many childhood favs, now the only ones of those left are ones they are too little for yet.. Like the giver…
Prayers for Chesed (grace) are much appreciated! We are so excited to begin our trailer adventures in the spring!! We may have to visit!
I have commented before, but not often enough. I have two kids–20, 25–who live in SC. Hubby and I moved across the country from SC to WI in Nov. We suddenly have an empty nest, a new home, and a fun community. Lots of changes at once!
I appreciate the way you genuinely speak to your readers. It does feel like a one-on-one conversation when your posts come to my inbox. I also appreciate your no-nonsense approach. You do what you believe God is calling you to do. The words you spoke in a recent interview resonated with me–how you are called to be a writer and the other tasks of blogging (graphics, etc.) take you away from writing so you skip them. My One Word this year is Listen. One thing I’ve heard is that I am a communicator who needs to sit down to write and stand up to share. In the past I’ve not posted regularly because the posting takes forever, and I just want to write/speak. I’ve been mulling over your words as I realize that I am a writer not necessarily a blogger. Perhaps some of the time-consuming extras should be dropped.
Deb–you always bring thoughtful wisdom to the conversation here! I agree whole heartedly–to experience the joy that He intends for us to find in our callings, we need to let go of all the extra stuff. Thank you for your kind words about my posts, and thank you for continuing to meet with me here!
Hello Trina! I can relate to the feeling of not knowing your readers. I never get comments on my blog any more, and I’m feeling a little purposeless. I’ve been following your blog and instagram feed ever since your interview on the Inspired to Action podcast. I’m actually finally starting to take baby steps toward more real food.
I have 2 kids, a girl (7) and a boy (5). I want another but haven’t yet convinced the husband. Haven’t convinced him about real food either. And I’m pretty sure I will never ever drink kombucha 😉 My mom made it when I was a teenager and my one taste put me off for life. I have no doubt that it’s healthy though. I’m much more likely to try oil pulling (thanks for your post on that. I’m just waiting to find out whether I’m allergic to coconut before I buy some oil to try it.)
I love The Nester’s blog too, and I’ve been blogging for pretty much as long as she has. I collect vintage books, especially those by L. M. Montgomery. The prize of my collection is a ratty old first edition of The Blue Castle.
Congratulations on baby #5! You may regret asking for conversation from me, because I have a tendency to ramble. I read blogs on my desktop, laptop, and/or tablet. Occasionally my phone, but not often because it’s too hard to comment.
Jo–rambling comments are my favorite!
First, I love that you said you mostly read blogs on something other than you phone. I find myself complaining about how hard it is to leave comments when I’m on my phone–but you’ve actually done something about it, and chosen not to let it be your main tool for reading blogs. Great idea!
My mom brewed Kombucha when I was a kid, too, and I, too said I would “NEVER” drink it! LOL I finally decided to try to acquire a taste for it when my liver was in bad shape and I found it is so good for the liver. It was still a discipline more than a delight, until I learned to flavor it!
Hello!
Congrats on baby #5! I love to read your blog because you are very real about everything, encouraging, inspiring and because your words are lovely to read!
I’m sitting at our table reading/writing on our laptop. No “smart” phone for me yet! I don’t do social media. The kids (6,4,2) are in bed (at 7:50 pm!) my husband is at youth group and I’m enjoying some quiet alone time. We live in central Minnesota and rejoicing in a day with weather above zero…might even get above freezing this weekend!
I like to read (mostly fiction) and sew (I’m trying to sew more of my and my kids clothes). My favorite clod drink is Trim Healthy Mama Earth Milk (seemed like such a “fad” diet thing but I’ve lost 15 pounds without really even trying!)
Our goal for 2015 is to have a “house fire”, see what we mean here:
http://turn2thesimple.blogspot.com/2015/01/were-having-house-fire-want-to-join-us.html
Blessings to you in this new year!
Beth, your house fire idea is awesome!
Hooray for a fellow seamstress! I love sewing, too, although my time for that is less and less. My latest strategy for still fulfilling the dream to sew for my girls is to take hand me downs or thrift store finds and cut them down into dresses, skirts, and nightgowns. Goes a lot faster than starting from scratch because hems and things are already done. Do you sew for your boys, too?
My mominlaw is on THM and she loves the Earth Milk, too! Sounds like great stuff.
Thanks for your comment and sweet encouragement, Beth!
Ogunquit, Maine, holds my sweetest childhood memories. We used to vacation there yearly, thanks to the generosity of friends who had a beach house. Because we homeschooled, we’d go up every spring before the summer season began… and had the town to ourselves!
Kate, spending a summer vacation in Maine has ALWAYS been one of my dreams, probably thanks to Barbara Cooney’s books. Your childhood sounds like so much fun!
I was reading on my good old fashioned blackberry Q10, but I am writing from my MacBook Air. My favorite thing about your emails is the photo of you on your bike, it totally inspires me. I am a mother of a 5 yr old, wife, and blogger. My blog is really just how I inspire myself to write myself my upcoming cookbook, it keeps me on the hook for typing up new gluten free whole foods recipes to release every week. = ) I’m also a massage therapist and financial advisor.
A cookbook–hooray! I love cookbooks! 😉 Let me know when it’s ready!
Brandi, it’s my dream to become a massage therapist! Can I ask how you learned, and how you practice in this season of motherhood?
Hi Trina! I’ve been reading a while but haven’t commented yet. 🙂 Congratulations on baby number five! My husband I also have five children. Ours kids range in age from 16 – 6. It’s crazy and loud and busy, but I love it. Just wanted to step out of lurkdom and say hello!
Thanks for stepping out of Lurkdom, Adriane! It’s been super fun to meet so many of you and it feels like an absolute party going on in these comments! 😉 Your family sounds like just the kind of crazy loud and busy that feels like home to me!
I read your posts on a desk top computer @ home in Western NY. My favorite breakfast is an egg on toast. I am a Christian woman in my 50’s with 3 children, 1 still living at home.
I enjoy your writing describing it as meaningful, interesting, honest, inspiring and helpful. I especially love and appreciate your use of pictures and glad for the opportunity to tell you so! Perfect example – seeing baby #5! Just love it! How exciting 🙂
Ruth, you blessed my socks off! Thank you for encouraging me in my writing! Sending love to my old home state!
Can I have two favorite cold drinks? Sweet tea and freshly squeezed limeade from the farmer’s market, especially during pregnancy.
I’m glad that you aren’t banishing the comments. I’m so excited about baby #5!! July 4th is my sister’s birthday and she always gets fireworks. 😉
Claire,
of course you can have two! The idea of that limeade is making my mouth water!
My sister in law is a 4th of July baby, too. Seems like a fun holiday to share your birthday with!
Hi Trina,
Congratulations on number 5, and on working so hard to make life healthy and prosperous for your family and ours.
My situation is very different from yours, as my children are grown now, and I live in NZ, currently renting a house that has 17 free range hens with 2 roosters. So we now have about 30 babies of varying ages that we are keeping in pens to protect them from predators. It keeps us very busy. We also have a baby blackbird that the cats brought in 2 days ago – it gets to eat the cat food now!
My favourite breakfast is a small amount of raw muesli with a bit of Sri Lankan cinnamon, a dessert spoon of coconut oil and some milk and yoghurt. I’ve just started making my own yoghurt again.
We usually work overseas, although I didn’t start the blog until we went to Saudi in 2012. We have lived and worked in NZ, the Cook Islands, PNG, China and Saudi.
God bless you heaps.
Hilary, such a treat to meet you and hear of the variety in your life! We dream of someday visiting all those unique and far off places with our family. It’s comforting to know that there are lovely people yourself even in places that feel so unfamiliar to me!
Your breakfast sounds delectable!
Ironic that you posted this blog today because I have finally started going to blog sites instead of just getting the emails as I am tired of the lack of real interaction on Facebook. Thank you for asking for us to reach out, not only as a way to keep the dialog going but also to confirm we are actually paying attention! This is my first blog post!
#10 – I have 1 boy age 6 and two ‘bonus’ children: girl 15 and boy 17. This range really presents interesting meal challenges at home and at school so I bought the Real (Fast) Food book and have been testing and implementing recipes in the past few weeks. Love the detail and personal comments/suggestions on what works for you.
Oh, my goodness, Tia–it makes my day to hear that my book is helping you with the challenges you face with the age ranges in your family! Godo for you not giving up and being willing to try new things! Thank you for making the the effort to join the conversation here!
I’m reading this right now on my desktop computer. Yes, it’s a dinosaur. I have 3 kiddos (6, 4, and 2 yrs) and am due with Baby #4 in about 5 weeks. They’re all girls. We like sisters around here. We’re homeschooling for the first time with my eldest (1st grade) and trying to decide what to do next year. I’m a musician and a writer (madesacred.com) and a midwesterner. Huh…it’s not so scary to unlurk after all!
Nope, not scary at all! Congratulations on commenting and on #4! 😉
I’ve been reading your blog for a year now at least…only commented once though!
I would love to learn Dutch as well…my Pake immigrated from The Netherlands as a child, and he & my Beppe became missionaries and raised their kids on the island of Bonaire, part of the Netherlands Antilles at the time. So my mom grew up and did k-12 in Dutch! My grandparents even moved back to Holland and lived there for a couple years eventually. So it would be really need to speak keep that language alive in our family!
And congrats on your newest addition! I am due with our second the first week of July…it seems like everyone I know now is due in July, haha. Probably because I’m just now paying attention to it! 🙂
Erin! Congrats on #2!!! Hooray for summer babies. I’m liking the timing of this–the first trimesters in the winter, when I feel like hibernating anyway.
I love that we have a Dutch Heritage in common. I’m trying to do everything I can to keep it alive for my kids, too.
I read this on a computer but usually I read on my phone (a cheapo prepaid one from Costco!) while nursing my 7 week old in the middle of the night. Random tidbit…the first thing I ever read of yours was about small blogging and how that might be what God has you writing for. I don’t know how to thank you for that perspective and for the demonstration that faithfulness in small things can lead to big things (yay for your books and your continually growing blog audience!). And congrats on #5. 🙂
Hey, you!!! So fun to have you stop by, and so precious to hear how words I wrote years ago are encouraging your blogging journey! I’m so proud of how you have been willing to invest deeply in the audience God has put on your heart with “IT”! 😉
(friends–check out Rachel’s awesome blog, http://intimatetruths.com/ — where sex is sacred, not secret. Great information, tastefully presented!!!)
I have been lurking since your blog days of claire’s baby announcment. Guess that makes me seem creepy.
Delurking to congratulate you on number five! Five is my favorite number 😉 I have 4 boys and 1 girl. After the birth of my fifth I had 3 that weren’t sleeping through the night. I made it! Lol they all sleep now.
Three not sleeping through the night and you survived to tell about it! You have no idea how much I needed to hear that, Jessica! Wow, you have been a faithful lurker! Thanks for taking a moment to let me meet you!
I don’t generally “unlurk,” but I had to at least say congratulations on baby #5!
And since I’m already here… I may as well answer a question as well. 🙂
#6 – Something I collect. I just asked my mom and sister if there’s anything I collect, and my mom said “books” and my sister said “yarn.” So… books and yarn? I have a growing collection of “hippie” books – health, nutrition, “real food,” herbs, alternative medicine – I love this wonderful new world of weirdness I’ve been discovering!
And I am a definite yarn addict – I have a few totes full of yarn, and one of my favorite things in the world to do is knit sweaters. 🙂
Now that I think of it, there is one other thing I collect – moonshine jugs. You know, those big old ceramic whiskey jugs? I found one at a yard sale a few years back, and since then I keep discovering more, and can’t resist buying them. They just look so cool! I think I’m up to 4 or 5 of them now. Someday when I have my own home they’re all coming out of storage and are gonna make some pretty awesome decorations!
Ok, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed unlurking for a change, but I’m gonna go slink back into the shadows now, so until next time, keep up the good work!
Naphtali,
I’m delighted that the internet has reconnected us, and honored to have you ‘unlurk’ on my blog!
Welcome to the weirdness! LOL Do you have Sally Fallon’s new book on Bone Broths? It’s my new favorite “hippie” book. 😉
OK, you win the prize for the most unique collection!! LOL You know, down here in the south there are still people making moonshine? Someone gave me some last year–it is crystal clear and I have not been brave enough to taste it. I’m planning on using it for tinctures! 😉
I don’t think I’d be brave enough to try the moonshine either! Good thinking to just use it for tinctures. I’m always trying to find really cheap vodka for all my “herbal concoctions” (and vanilla extract now too!! Love how easy that stuff is to make!)
I do have Sally Fallon’s new book. I saw it advertised when it was first coming out and just had to have it! I really like what I’ve read of it so far, but unfortunately haven’t gotten that far into it. I need to find some time to sit down and actually finish it… (sigh). So many books, so little time! 😛
#8: We do breakfast good at our house. 🙂 Our favorite breakfast sounds super crazy and my husband and daughter call it “Omelet” but it’s really not.
You start with a pan in which you melt lots of butter. You put handfuls of cubed bread (for the 3 of us, I usually just do 2 slices or so… whatever is left over and getting stale from the last time I made bread! lol.) The bread then soaks up lots of butter and gets nice and crispy. Then you add as many veggies as you want, some left over sausage or ham or bacon (if you have it, but it’s not necessary) and then pour a bunch of beaten eggs over everything. You let that cook, stirring some to make sure all the egg is cooked, then turn off the heat, sprinkle the whole thing with cheese and cover until the cheese is melted.
The first time I made it my daughter looked at me and said, “Um, Mom, what IS that?” And now she begs for it.
Hi! *wavewave* I love this direct approach to getting people out of the shadows. “Professionals” seem to be promoting the idea of building a blogging “platform”, but I think you’re right. The world needs less stages and more sitting at the park.
*blushes and climbs off soapbox*
Anyway… EEK! Congratulations on your wee one! You’re such a pretty pregnant lady, especially for being sleep-deprived. Hopefully Lydia will be able to sleep through the night before the new one comes. I’ll continue to be praying for you about that. My first one had colic or something. He would cry through the night until he was over a year old. I’d walk and walk while carrying him, trying to calm him down. It made me into an emotional zombie. So I really feel sympathy for you now.
I got distracted again…. I’m supposed to pick a question to answer. I don’t talk this much in person, I promise.
I’m currently a mommy to four kids. An eighteen year old boy, a five year old boy, a three year old girl, and a five month old boy. They make it a circus at our cozy two bedroom one bathroom house. I’m trying to convince my husband to buy us a milk goat and put it in our little back yard. That would be fun, although since we live in town, it would probably be almost the work of another kid. haha! Maybe someday we’ll find a place we can afford in the country and upsize. Hopefully before another child comes along!
I’m rambling again… 😉
#3- I’m currently reading “The Big Fat Surprise” – Nina Teicholz and let me tell you if you haven’t read it already it is right up your alley! Not only is it a fantastic read on how and why FAT is great for your diet but it helps me answer questions on why we use lard and drink whole raw milk without shrugging my shoulders and sounding overly-complicated!! I love this book!
BTW- so excited about baby #5, we are expecting our first in April 🙂
Hi, Kristina! Congrats on your little one!
Thanks for the book recommendation. I, too, am always on the hunt for “un-weird” ways to explain how…weird we are. lol I will have to check that one out.
Hello! I very rarely un-lurk, but I’m unlurking today. (I’ve linked to my blog, but it really isn’t worth clicking on, I haven’t posted anything in nearly 2 years…)
Congratulations on no. 5!
I’m reading this post on my desktop computer (mostly used for translating, but other stuff as well). I haven’t quite joined the world of exciting phones yet 😉 As for the other questions – I’m trying out kombucha at the moment. After buying some pre-made stuff that was disgusting (overfermented and vinegary), I used the end of the bottle to create a scoby and now my second batch is on the go as we speak!
Dutch is a great language – my husband spends quite a lot of time in the Netherlands, so I’ve had some exposure to it. We speak French at home and English outside, though, so I think a third language on the go might be a bit confusing, especially for the small people around here (2 of them, a 3-year-old girl and a little boy who’s going on 1).
Naptime is nearly over, so that’s all the unlurking I have time for today!
Catherine, thank you so much for introducing yourself! Now I finally understand the spelling of your name! Oh, how I wish I could have raised my children bilingual–that is such a gift.
Good for you starting your own SCOBY! Yes, the great thing about making kombucha at home is that you can make it to your taste. Unless you forget about it…ahem. I need to actually do mine today, or I will have only vinegar to drink!
Yep, I “stole” my screen name off a bridge in Utrecht in the Netherlands when I was about 19…
Bilingual children are fun, we’re really hoping they’ll be happy to keep up both languages once they start school (other bilingual families around us have noticed that the outside language becomes very strongly dominant once the eldest child is at school).
Good luck with the kombucha! 🙂
My favorite cold drink is either kefir or kombucha. I brew kefir soda all the time, but haven’t started learning the art of kombucha yet. So I only get to enjoy kombucha when I buy some at the store.
You know how excited I am for your little number 5!
Well, hi there! I like this kind of post, and congratulations on the new baby!!
I pick question #4: I love reading aloud in Hebrew (as long as it has vowels, and most texts don’t!) because it makes me feel like I’ve finally gotten off my intermediate-level plateau. Even though I haven’t (yet) after more years that I want to admit, the words still taste good. :O)
Always a treat to have you stop by, Elisabeth! I love this, “the words taste good”. I’d love to feel that!