An important part of being a good parent is being prepared. Being prepared can be as simple as making sure you have extra diapers to as complex as being prepared for natural disasters. One of the things we’ve always tried to be prepared for is car safety. In the winter we keep the tank more than […]
I have a “To-Do” List a mile long. Every time I cross something off, I add another 3 things. LOL So why did I start The Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast? Check out the video and you can find out! I used to do the intro (e.g. “You’re listening to Episode 47 of the Busy […]
I think it is very important that we teach children to cook. My children start learning when they are two years old how to help mom in the kitchen. I give them things to pour and stir and scoop. As they get older, they start learning how to make their own sandwiches and blend their […]
A few months ago, we had some teenage girls staying with us for a week. One evening, I went up and talked with the girls in Brett’s room for several hours. We had a great conversation and a great time. One of the girls said to me, “I wish you could come back to where […]
Many people look at Goat Milk Stuff and think our success was very fast. In a way it was, and in a way it wasn’t. While Jim was able to join the business full time within a year of Goat Milk Stuff’s inception, the foundation for being able to do that was laid years […]
We normally milk our goats twice a day, but around breeding season, we often drop them down to once a day milking. We usually don’t need the extra milk and since the holiday season is the busiest time of the year for Goat Milk Stuff, it makes my boys (who do the milking) very happy. But it […]
If you listened to my podcast about Simplifying and Organizing your Holidays, then you know that the first week of every October, the Jonases sit down and discuss what we’re going to do as a family for the first 25 days of December. These events are very intentional and designed to build memories and make […]
Ever have those moments where you think you’re talking to someone, only to turn around and discover that you are the only person in the room? I’ve had a few of those lately. It’s making me wonder whether I’m losing my sanity, or just losing my hearing. But it got me thinking… It’s […]
Now that the construction is finished at our new farm, Jim and I have a lot of our time freed up. We’ve been talking about where to spend some of that time when it comes to Goat Milk Stuff and in what direction we want to take the business. More wholesale? More internet? More agri-tourism? Since we’re focusing […]
I don’t get political here on my blog. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have very strong opinions about the state of our country and our government. And the children are privy to these strong opinions. And while I think that there are a lot of problems that need to be fixed in America, I […]
We currently have three teenagers in our family – Brett, Colter, and Emery. So far, I’ve been very pleased with the relationships that Jim and I have been able to maintain with them. The hardest part has been making time to spend with just the teenagers without the younger children interrupting. They don’t mind […]
I don’t know about you, but my day is full of decision making. From the moment I wake up til the moment I go to sleep (and often while I’m trying to fall asleep) I’m making decisions. Decisions for myself What should I wear? When should I exercise? What should I have for breakfast? […]
A few months ago, Jim and I had to make a quick run to Sam’s Club. While we were gone, a goat (Zipporah) unexpectedly went into labor and Emery (age 12) had to deliver his first baby goat with his older siblings cheering him on (and Mom on speaker phone giving him directions). Despite his […]
When I first started blogging about my life, I encountered a lot of fear from people that I knew. The general consensus seemed to be that if I put photos of my children and talked about them online, they were going to be stolen or harmed in some way. And people were very verbal about […]
I’m always looking for good movies to watch with the children. I believe that an incredible story with an incredible message can teach and shape and mold the children’s characters. It can also help them remember what they’ve learned because visual images when connected with emotion are very powerful. So when Jim and I watched […]