I thought I'd take a minute to introduce myself, and tell you a little bit about me. I had hoped to do this for my very first post, but things didn't go according to plan. I guess that's one major part of me - I generally don't make solid plans or schedules, because life around here never seems to go the way I plan anyway. :)
I'm Kate. I'm an LDS (Mormon) wife and stay-at-home-mom. I am very religious. I have 7 kids, and am pregnant with #8, who will be arriving in the fall. This is a large family, even by Mormon standards, and we do a lot of adapting.
I like (love) making things. I have a lot of physical and mental health challenges, and I find that having a creative outlet really helps my level of happiness and my ability to cope with my personal challenges in a positive and productive way. Most of the time, the things that I make are gifts for people. Occasionally I'll make something for myself, but I find a lot more joy and get a lot more pleasure out of it when I can use my talents for service and to express my love for others. Normally the things I make for myself are more functional, but of course I try to make them pretty too!
I love learning how to do new things and finding new things to create. I used to have a prolific garden, make amazing homemade bread, raise chickens and rabbits, make and wear aprons, bottled and dried and stored my own produce, cooked in dutch ovens, built my emergency food storage, cooked my food from scratch, and all kinds of homemakey things. I also attended and graduated from cosmetology school when I had 4 kiddos and was in the process of adopting #5. I loved doing those things, but I have since had more kids and more limitations, and those kinds of things are just too much work to be enjoyable any more. Over the last few years, I've been working with crochet, metal stamping and jewelry making, polymer clay stuff, hand lettering and chalkboard lettering, container gardening, and sewing things like dolls and doll clothes, baby items, reusable cloth pads and nursing pads (mostly for myself - there's the functional part I was mentioning), and a few other things.
I was once asked how I even think of these things to try. I guess the answer is really that I usually have someone on my mind that I feel like The Lord is directing me to serve. It might be someone who is going through a hard time, or someone who I read about online who seems like they could use a lift, or a relative, friend, or an acquaintance who may be going through something or are just on my mind. I pray about how to help them, and for help to find what might be meaningful to them. And then I do research. I look online and keep my eyes peeled and heart open until I see something that catches my attention and sticks with me. And then, if I don't already know how to do it, I learn! Most of the time I'll look at YouTube videos and blog posts, and sometimes I will pay for a class. And if I find that it's something I like, I do more of it. Consequently, my crafting areas are getting a little packed. Haha!
I am not a "crunchy mom" or a "sports mom" or anything. I just do my best to parent and teach my kids in the best way I can for them as individuals. I know there are a lot of people out there who make things by hand in order to save money. I am soooo not one of those people. Luckily, if I'm ever in a position that I need to do that, I'll be able to. But right now I don't need to, so really I just do it for pleasure. I feel like I have been particularly blessed to learn how to do and make a lot of things, and my hope with this blog is to be able to share some of what I've learned. Hopefully it will be helpful to those reading it. There are plenty of things that I've had to learn on my own, through trial and error. I don't do Facebook, so that eliminates a lot of resources for tips and helps. Hopefully I'll be able to contribute some things here that can help others avoid some of that trial and error stuff, and offer a resource for people who like the same things I do. I hope to offer tips and reviews and instructional stuff, and a little bit of Q&A. And hopefully I can make it fun!
So, here's a picture of me:
Yep, that is one filthy mirror! I wanted to give you a picture of my reality, and not some fancied-up, unrealistic selfie. So here I am, no makeup, and a dirty mirror. (I did actually do my hair that day. Yay! This is an accomplishment!) The thing is, we all have to make choices about how we will spend our time and energy. And while I love having a clean home, the truth is, cleaning is just not where I am ever going to choose to spend my time if I can help it. I would rather be enjoying my family or making stuff! We certainly do clean every day - we pick up once a day and do the dishes and laundry and vacuum the floors and all that, but things like washing mirrors or windows, or keeping the house immaculate? Yeah, no thanks. I am one crabby mama when my focus turns to keeping things clean instead of loving people. I find that striving for an immaculate home makes me selfish and mean. So, immaculate is out and reality is in. I even tried hiring housekeepers once, and that was not worth the expense to me.
I guess that's me in a nutshell. There's certainly more to me. LOTS more. But I don't want to completely bore anyone. Maybe there will be more about me as this blog progresses. Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions or things you're interested in learning more about, please feel free to leave a comment.
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