Meet the Contributors

Meet the women who make up this amazing community of writers. They're homemakers, mothers, and wives. Thy're not perfect, they don't have it all together, but they're doing their best as they travel this road, just like you.

Take a moment to get to know these ladies a little bit, visit their own websites, and look forward to what they have to share. 

Beth Ricci

Beth blogs at Red & Honey, a lifestyle blog for the naturally-minded homemaker. She recently began a passionate love affair with coffee and her life will never be the same. She has had three babies in less than four years, is a professional laundry-avoider, and loves to stay up way too late making weird stuff from scratch that normal people tend to just buy in a store. Hence, the coffee.

Read posts by Beth.

Brandy Ferguson

Brandy is a wife of 15 years and a homeschooling mom of eight boys.  She spends most of her time teaching, cooking and managing a busy, happy home. She also enjoys writing and encouraging mothers at her blog where she also shares household tips, homeschooling resources and recipes at TheMarathonMom.com

Read posts by Brandy.

Courtney Dunkin

Courtney is the wife to her best friend and the mother of six children. She spends her days raising her little ones while homeschooling and managing the home. She loves order and routine (and might be a little obsessed with making schedules and lists), but often reminds herself to capture and embrace all those simple, small moments the Lord gives her to impress upon her children’s hearts. Every day brings new joys and new lessons to be learned, for her children and herself! Only through constant prayer can she find the strength to complete what the Lord puts before her each day and only through the Holy Spirit can she embrace contentment in the joys and the challenges of motherhood. Courtney is passionate about natural and simple living. She believes in taking the time to nurture her family with nourishing food and healing through nature, knowing that God is the giver of life and that he has supplied us with ample resources for health and healing. She blogs at Simply Nurtured, where she shares her thoughts on raising a healthy family, with the belief that the foundation for a healthy life begins in the womb and in the early years. She also owns the Simply Nurtured Shop, where she sells natural products for mom and baby.

Read posts by Courtney.

Diana Bauman

As a first generation American, Diana shares her family’s traditional Spanish and Mexican recipes at her blog, My Humble Kitchen. As a mami and urban homesteader she also writes about her faith, family, organic gardening, raising backyard chickens and preserving the harvest.

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Emily McClements

Emily McClements is a blessed wife and mama to three little ones. She is passionate about caring for God's creation by taking simple steps that lead to big lifestyle change over time. She is sharing some of those simple steps every day this year as a part of her Green in 365 series on her blog Live Renewed.

Read posts by Emily.

Erin Odom

Erin is a believer in Jesus Christ and stay-at-home wife and mom of two little redheaded girls. She writes for several print and online publications, including Carolina Weekly newspaper group and Modern Alternative Mama. She and her husband met while serving as missionaries to Costa Rica in 2003-2004. Before becoming a mom, she worked for a Latino advocacy agency in Memphis, TN and taught ESL in Mississippi. Her family also spent a semester working with immigrants in Vancouver, BC. She enjoys mission work, speaking her second language--Spanish, breastfeeding, cloth diapering and researching how to live a healthier lifestyle. She blogs about natural living and homemaking at The Humbled Homemaker.

Read posts by Erin.

Kate Tietje

Kate is a wife to Ben, her God-given soul mate, and mother to three children, Bekah 4.5, Daneil 3, Jacob 1 and is expecting her fourth. As a family, they love Jesus and are involved in their local church, including a small group. Right now Ben is working a “real” job, but someday they dream of owning a farm together and working completely from home. For now this dream is still a bit far off! This fall, Kate will begin homeschooling Bekah, taking mostly an “unschooling” approach.

In October, 2009, Kate began Modern Alternative Mama because she had so many things she needed to say and she needed to share them with the world! Plus the people around her were a little tired of listening sometimes. :) The dream was to create a site where Kate could talk about being a rather “alternative” mother in a very modern world, one in which she frequently does not fit. This opened up the blog to discuss natural parenting, real food, green living, religion, and many other topics that are important to Kate.

When not blogging, Kate is busy being a mother. She leads a local mom’s group and is also active in a church playgroup. She also enjoys playing with her children, reading, sewing, crafting, and cooking. Locally, she reaches out to people who are just beginning the “natural” lifestyle, helping them to find farmer’s markets, reasonable meal plans and other resources. She loves her life even if it keeps her busy 24/7!

Read posts by Kate.

Kelly Smith

Kelly loves the Lord, her family, and sharing her passion for real food cooking and meal planning with others. She is a full-time homemaker who loves spending time with her awesome hubby and two sweet boys. Kelly's real food journey began five years ago when she was diagnosed with a chronic auto-immune disorder. Since then, the Lord has blessed her with an amazing recovery - a testament to His grace and the health benefits of eating real food. Kelly shares her knowledge and love for whole food cooking at The Nourishing Home, Facebook and Google.

Read posts by Kelly.

Kresha Faber

Kresha Faber is the primary writer and blog editor at NourishingJoy.com, a website dedicated to real food, sustainable living, natural homemaking, and joyful parenting. She is the mother of three young children, the wife of one incredibly good man, an opera singer, a cloth diapering instructor, and an avid researcher. She and her husband share a passion for living life thoughtfully and intentionally in response to God's grace in their lives and she loves to share good meals (and good wine) around a very large table.

Read posts by Kresha.

Mindy

Mindy blogs at Creating Naturally to encourage other women in their faith, their kitchens, their homes, and their hearts.

She believes in eating real, whole food in the way that God intended for it to be enjoyed. Her desire is to live a healthy, God honoring, purposeful life.

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Natalie Klejwa

Natalie is wife to Joe and home educating mother to nine children ages 18 and under. When she isn't teaching children, changing diapers, or cleaning the kitchen, she administrates the Visionary Womanhood blog and runs their family's cottage business, Apple Valley Natural Soap.

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Rachel Marie

Rachel is a mother to 2 preschoolers and a wife to a chiropractor. Her passions are faith, family and health. She supports her husband in helping to change the way people look at their health and uses her blog as a tool to do that. You can find her writing about her family adventures and inspiring you to make healthier choices for your family and more at day2day joys or on Facebook.

Read posts by Rachel.

Stacy Karen

Stacy believes the home is an important place where hearts are shaped for eternity. She strives to create a healthy, happy home through natural living, real food eating, moment cherishing, and God following. Stacy is wife to a truth-seeking preacher and grateful mother of three funny kids. She enjoys homeschooling, but often struggles with her own distractible nature, resisting the urge to toss lessons aside and cook all day! Mildly obsessed with making things from scratch, Stacy thoroughly enjoys creating anything from chalk to chocolate torte. Concocting herbal preparations and homemade body products is a favorite pastime. Stacy shares tips for finding peace and joy at home on her blog, A Delightful Home.

Read posts by Stacy Karen.

Stacy Myers

Stacy is a stay-at-home mom to her two children, Annie (3) and Andy (newborn). After an “awakening” in March 2011, her family switched to a more natural, whole foods diet. She likes to blog about how to live on less than you make and how to eat good food while doing it. Her passion is teaching others how to save money and she tag teams with her husband in this endeavor. At Stacy Makes Cents you’ll find information on how to save money in the kitchen, how to have fun with your kids, and how to be thrifty in all areas of life. Her passion is teaching others how to live debt free. Make sure to follow her on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with her daily antics.

Read posts by Stacy Myers.