Hello + Welcome!
I’m Shelly. I love making a home + living the adventure of life with my family, teaching my children + most days feeling that I’m the one learning the most, growing in my faith and finding beauty in the everyday!
“Every day in each inch of space, each rhythm of time, each practice of love, we have the chance to join God in coming home, in living so that we make a home of this broken and beautiful world all over again. Love is enfleshed in the meals we make, the rooms we fill, the spaces in which we live and breathe and have our being.” ~ Sally Clarkson
Our family of seven made a huge life change earlier this year when we moved from Pennsylvania to Northwest Arkansas to pursue our longtime dream to farm. Shocker, I know. People look at us funny all the time when we get into this conversation. We don’t know how long this will last, but in this stage of life and with the ages of our children, it felt like the perfect time. Read more about our decision process *here* and how we parted with the home we built, and the somewhat “perfect life” we enjoyed in Pennsylvania with the people we loved. We get asked about this a lot~other families are also in the middle of change or looking for answers in their family’s season. Maybe our story will encourage you.
One of my greatest passions is pointing women to the resources that will potentially change their lives. When I have experienced good, I can’t help but pass it on!! I mean, it could be as simple as a good shopping deal, but typically something bigger. 🙂 When something has truly changed me and impacted our family, I can’t keep quiet. Consider yourself properly warned! 🙂 Usually it’s anything from food {because we’re definitely foodies} + recipes, to natural health + supplements {I was *born* with this passion and wanted to figure out a way to help others feel better}, to the people and words who have changed my heart and inspired my soul~because at the end of the day, good food and feeling great are just a piece of the puzzle~heart peace and knowing the ONE who gives peace, is where it’s at! It makes all the other amazing parts of life the deep, rich, joyous gifts they were meant to be.
Sitting with friends~and especially over coffee + beautiful food is one of my favorite things EVER! There.is.nev.er.e.nough.time!! We’re just constantly looking for ways to squeeze it into the nooks + crannies, the few extra minutes of our lives, because having people who get you and listen, offer their tips, pray . . . . it’s all a vital part of living a rich, full life! I have a feeling that if you resonate with anything I’ve said already~EVEN A LITTLE BIT~ you would fit right in with our tribe. Come sit with us here!
So I’ve mentioned friends, love of food + recipes, and how I love to pass goodness on to others. Would you believe that within the space of about two weeks, back in May, I lost my biggest and best recipe-binder-collection of 12+ years. OLD family favorite recipes, recently-loved ones, and a tear-out, jot-down stack still begging to be worked on… I lost my blog of 13 years due to the fact that my husband Phil closed down his old website and had no way of remembering (no warnings of “are you sure you want to delete?”) that my blog was hosted on the same account which meant that one little stroke of a finger sent my writings and photographs into oblivion forever…and then we moved and I lost the nearness of the best friends in daily life.
I cried a little and have wondered a lot what God was up to with these losses of “identity” and things I valued so much. I still don’t know all the answers. I am trying to live open-handed and open-minded to new chapters, new stages, and fresh, new things He wants to do in me. Because one thing I have learned in life is that God calls us to remember the things He has done for us in the past, but not to live in the past….He is constantly doing new things, breathing fresh life and hope into the “now” of our lives. “Behold, I am doing a new thing…”
So here we are at the beginning of life in a new place, plus the challenge of starting fresh in a new blogging space. I pray it will be life and refreshment for those who gather here from time to time.
As always, I love to hear from you!! So please get in touch if there are questions or particular recipes (I get frequent requests for those!) that were on my old blog! I’ll do my best to get back to you and also keep reposting some of the old favorites!
Much love, grace + gumption,
Shelly