About Me

My name is Courtney.  I have been married to the love of my life for 20 years.

We have 3 kids: Karis- 17, Ethan-15, and Levi-13

We love our pup, Loki. He’s the bestest boy.

We live on site at a Christian camp in Colorado. I homeschool the kids, and it has been so good for all of us! We have a simple life, and that has been the best for all of us.

In creating this blog, I want to make sure that I am honoring who I am, in all my imperfection and knowing that I canNOT do a lot of things that I would love to, and I’ve decided that I’m okay with that! I also have mental health considerations (this tends to be seasonal).

I would say I’m “sorta crunchy.” I do my best to buy natural products when I can afford it. I try to make most of our foods from scratch, but I also buy some processed food. We go for 80/20. My kids tend to eat more processed than I do. They are teenagers which makes a little harder to manage, but it’s okay.

I have reduced my mental health medications a LOT, and I have started using some herbal tinctures as well that help a bit! I take a few supplements that I feel are very important.

I LOVE cooking and baking from scratch.  It makes me so happy, tastes so much better than processed, feels better in our bodies, and is just healthier; but, life is life.  I am in a pretty good routine with things, so it seems to be going well.  I do have seasons in which my brain can’t handle it as much.  

I make granola, Greek yogurt, sourdough, some snacks, and most of our dinners from scratch. Sometimes we have frozen pizza. Balance!

Homeschooling brings me so much joy and has been SO good for my boys, but I’m still learning and growing.  Our school journey has been pretty rocky since the kids have been in school some and have homeschooled some (back-and-forth unfortunately).  And I have taught some in the classroom.  We are working on a routine.  We are figuring out what curriculum works best for all of us.  And I NEVER use a published curriculum the way it’s intended. 

We are working on becoming more frugal and better with money.  We are working on paying off debt and putting money in savings.  But, it’s a true work-in-progress.  A lot of bloggers seem to either be living on rice and beans and spending NO money or they seem to be eating all organic/grass-fed/local/etc… and I would love to be that second one, but I aim to share REAL and balanced.  Most people can’t afford that “perfect life” at this point in time.  Since we are a one-income family (in ministry), we just do the best we can.  Having me home to homeschool the boys (and take care of my mental health) are more important than money!  God always provides for our needs.  

My goals/vision/things to share:

• Real life
• Simple living
• Homemade recipes/tutorials
  • Sourdough things
  • Other bready things
  • Snacks
  • Dinners
  • Breakfasts
  • Sides
  • Elderberry syrup/gummies
  • Deodorant (still working on this)
  • Candles
  • Cleaners
• My sourdough journey (I’ve grown a lot in this)
• How we eat “real food” on a tight budget (when I say “real food,” I mean whole/unprocessed foods)
• My journey of learning how to do new things such as fermenting and canning (etc)
• How it’s completely possible to be healthy when you don’t have a lot of money
• My homeschooling journey and the imperfections with-in it
  • Homeschooling teens (who have been in school the past several years) can be hard!
  • Homeschooling teens with mental health struggles (when I have struggles myself)
  • Homeschooling teens (period)
  • Figuring out curriculum and a routine is hard!
• Ways we have cut our spending without sacrificing what’s important to us
• Hygge lifestyle and the importance, especially during the fall/winter seasons
• My movement journey (including what I love the most and my struggles with consistency)
• The supplements, herbal tinctures, etc that I use and why
• The natural products that I love the most (and why I spend a little extra for those)
  • Which things I have learned to make and which things I have learned to be okay with buying “unnatural”
• Why nutrition, movement, and non-toxic things are important to me (mostly mental health related)
• Eventually, I plan to create online classes, eBooks, and I will even sell some products! Follow and check back!

Our family also loves the outdoors.  We love to camp, hike, sit around the fire in our backyard, be in the high desert, and be in the mountains.  We have lots of hiking trails outside our door where we live and it has been amazing having that opportunity.  We have a clear river just down the hill.  We are truly blessed to be able to experience a life that can happen because of where we live!

Here are a few pictures of some things that I have made and my garage gym.

My garage gym is messy but great!

Check back as I continue to develop this blog!