About Me

Hi there! I'm so glad you stopped by. My name is Mary, and I am a stay-at-home (mostly), homeschooling mama of 5 amazing children. My husband, Steve, whom I refer to occasionally as the Canadian Lumberjack (he's not), and I are raising three extraordinarily energetic boys and two sweet and spunky little girls. I am a piano instructor on an extremely part-time basis, and when I feel like it, I do a bit of freelancing work on the side (weddings, etc.). While I adore music and am so grateful to have a gift for it, it's not my true passion. My true passion lies in the kitchen; cooking, baking, and creating for my family. My true passion lies in raising these crazy kids to be kind, compassionate, and caring human beings with a passion for Christ and a deep love for others. This blog is my attempt to document the happenings and musings of our lives. Some random facts about me:

1) I have raised chickens. I've been meaning to write a blog post about this for about 3 years now.

2) I am barely 5 ft. tall, while my half-Canadian husband is 6 ft, 6 inches fall. We are truly the odd couple.

3) I used to be a gymnast. I wasn't Olympic material, but I certainly wasn't awful.

4) I love to tell a good story. The funnier, the better! My childhood was filled with all sorts of bizarre and hilarious events, many of which I will share here on this blog. Like the time my dad built a go-cart for us...without brakes.

5) My husband and I drove from Chicago to Bar Harbor, Maine for our honeymoon. Not all in one stretch! But we do love a good road trip, and we've taken the kids on quite a few treks around the country, and have no plans to slow down anytime soon.

6) French Silk pie is one of the greatest concoctions on earth.

7) I love scrapbooking, and last year I took the plunge and switched to using Project Life to document our everyday life. Project Life is AMAZING, and I figure, hey, if I can do it, anyone can! Google it.

8) Favorite book of all time? Pride and Prejudice.

9) I have a bachelor's degree in music with a double concentration in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy & Literature. I was applying to grad school so I could get my masters in Music History so I could be a music librarian, but found out early on in the application process that I was pregnant with my first baby. :-) So I didn't go to grad school, but you know what? I am 100% totally okay with that.

10) We recently moved from Wisconsin to Yakima, Washington for my husband's job, and I love it. I have a deep passion for the Pacific Northwest, and I think it's an absolutely fantastic place to live.

So there ya go. Stick with me, and we'll have some adventures together.