mud, motherhood and meaning

Today is March 23rd, 2026 and today I am starting again.
I have been on the proverbial fence about starting a blog or some sort of writing “situation” for years—literal years.

I would love to channel my inner Carrie Bradshaw (Sex and the City) and wander around town, dressed in a beautiful, billowy skirt wearing heels, and just looking “the part.” However, I have traded those dreams in and can instead be found in mud boots or tennis shoes most days, galavanting about our rural property chasing children, chickens, ducks, or pigs.

My, how the aspirations have changed. Ha!
While I do love a good daydream about that life, this is the life I chose.
It has taken quite awhile to get here. Right here. Right where I am today. It has not been easy. Not one single day of my life has been easy. But, every single day, I choose it.

Hello there!
I am a married, mom of six. I have been a stay at home mom since 2016. I left my full-time job in the agriculture industry. (I LOVED my job.) I met my husband while working that job, actually.

I was married and divorced at a young age. I had two children within that marriage. Those two children are wholly accepted as our children within my current marriage. This was a requirement of mine. We came as a package deal.

Since being married in 2014, we have added four more kids. In total, we have five girls and one boy. The men are greatly outnumbered here. Our kids range in age from one all the way to almost seventeen.

We live in the country and wouldn’t trade this lifestyle for anything. Though, everyone says that. Very cliche.

We have all sorts of critters; typically these are my idea. Currently, we raise pastured pigs, a couple sheep, a cow, ducks, and chickens. We, also, have several dogs and one basement dwelling Siamese cat.

My goal in starting this blog is to bring a sense of understanding to those like me. I spend my days caring for and about each member of this household, plus all of the creatures. Sometimes, I get lost in the mix.
I come from a long line of family dysfunction. I am hard at work attempting to heal the childhood trauma, and stop the cycles from repeating. Not only am I working on myself, but having a large family requires me to help each of them as well. I haven’t always held the capacity to heal myself or to help those around me. However, the last six years have truly changed me.

You’ve heard the term “rock bottom.” I am sure of it. Well, I have been there. I have sat there in the muck. I would say that I waited for someone to help me up, but I didn’t. I knew no one was coming to help me. (Hello, childhood trauma!) I had to pick myself, my husband, and my kids up and tread water.

I stepped up. I stepped up when every single second was hard.
And, now, I want to provide some solace, some understanding, a place of community to those struggling to pick themselves up and get through that muck.