Whole Hearted Motherhood

5 Tips that helped us clear over $30,000 of Debt

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You can accomplish whatever you focus on!

Hello Friends. Let’s talk Debt.

Sundays are delicious aren’t they? Thus, I decided it was long over due to share ‘what’s up’ in our sweet corner of the world.

I know how long it has been since our last update. I do have plans to upgrade our blog. But again, this blog is really a caption of our busy bohemian life with ELEVEN souls (one in the making). A part of this crazy fun and chaotic life we live includes our Debt FREE journey!

We have had some great progress this year with our debt snowball already, in spite of an unexpected job change, and events that added to the intensity of daily life.

Here are 5 Tips that helped us clear over $30,000 of debt since January of this year, 2021.

If you would like to learn more about our DEBT FREE JOURNEY click HERE.



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Tip #1. Don’t Allow Boredom to Kill Your Progress

This is probably common sense, but sometimes we don’t consciously realize how much money we spend when we allow boredom to infiltrate our day. Ah-yes. The almost mindless “Add to Cart”. And thanks to a near “Frictionless” shopping option, you can purchase in ONE CLICK.

Something that has really helped us stay focused in this season is to STAY BUSY. I have a couple little “side gigs” to keep me occupied in the pockets of the day between meals, homeschooling and Large Family Life requirements, that have also been a small financial blessing in attacking our debt!

But if you are looking for ways to stay focused during the ‘in between’ moments of the day, when we often hop on “Amazon”, or Facebook and see ADs for dreamy things we’ve been thinking of, here some alternatives that have kept me, what I like to call, “Distracted-Focused” and not ‘buying in one-click’.

Exercise for DEBT FREE FOCUS

Seriously. I’m for ALL the Healthy Habits. Especially the ones that overlap.

Did you know getting out of debt can actually make you feel liberated in other ways too? Many people who begin breaking free of those antagonizing payments, tend to lose the unhealthy weight that has been dragging them down for years. It makes sense. The more you work your ‘discipline’ muscle, the more that spills over into other areas of your life for your betterment!

And exercise is my first choice of distraction from overspending. It clears my mind, gives me a free boost of serotonin and ‘feel goods’ and re-focuses my heart on my goals.

I am also a Health Coach which helps me stay accountable to myself FIRST, so I can show up for women in my group who need my support. And in turn, I am supported by the incredible women in our private groups! I use some incredibly inexpensive tools that cost me less than $0.50 a day to have access to hundreds of powerful workouts that have absolutely been my “go-to” for focused distraction during our debt-free journey.
If you are interested in joining my team of women fighting for good health, you send me an email here, or follow me on Instagram @healthyhabitsvillage.

Exercise, and following a very strategic program to get in incredible shape is an excellent and inexpensive way to feel like you are making PROGRESS daily. Just that feeling of success alone can push you forward in your journey of becoming DEBT FREE! Believe me, it has been pushing me joyfully forward each day!

But even getting outside for some vitamin D and fresh air can be a beautiful distraction from online impulse purchases!



Eat IN instead of OUT

Now, besides the rare occasion I have been caught too long at a doctors appointment and grabbed a cheap burger, we have avoided eating out while paying off debt. Well, actually it is EXTREMELY expensive to eat out as a large family anyways, but we did occasionally budget for it before we began our Debt Snowball.

Instead, for a fraction of the cost of going OUT for food, you can usually get higher quality and better tasting food when you make it at home yourself. We will do a “treat” day once a week that usually involves an “ice cream party”, “Pizza Party” or something to that extent. We can purchase ALL the ingredients, plus extras for less than the cost of just grabbing something at a restaurant. Plus it is an excellent way to make memories as a family, having an “ice cream bar” with little goodies and chatting or playing games together.

If You Are an Avid Reader Try the Kindle APP to kick boredom and stay focused on paying down debt!

I personally prefer holding a physical book in my hands. But truth be told, you can get lots of FREE books, as well as books you have been wanting to read at a fraction the cost of a paperback on your Kindle app. I LOVE reading and it really is a wonderful past time to help encourage your mind to stay focused on your goals.
Here are some excellent Titles that are worth checking out:

  • Atomic Habits by James Clear
  • 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
  • Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey
  • Know Yourself Know Your Money by Rachel Cruze

You can also always use your local library, which is the BEST option for free books!

Tip #2 (But really the MOST Important) TALK WITH YOUR SPOUSE OFTEN About Your DEBT FREE JOURNEY

There is little success rate amongst couples wanting to pay off all their debt who do NOT work together, versus those who do.

If you do ANYTHING in your debt free journey, it is to be sure you are on the same page financially with your spouse.

Yvan and I try to meet once a week to just reflect on our months budget, and talk through if we need to make adjustments. This month our toddler broke our second son’s glasses AGAIN, for example, and we needed to rearrange some items to fit the need.

Not only does working together to pay off debt give you a sense of support and teamwork, but it brings you closer as a couple KNOWING you are fighting for a dream you both share.

Tip #3 Unsubscribe from Ads

Ok. I love a gorgeous INSTAGRAM feed as much as the next person. But reality is, when you cut your life style down to a minimum you need to protect your headspace. And having Ads parading across your screen for items that would “improve” home, family, vacation time, etc. means you are asking for ‘discontentment’.

That’s not to say you can’t dream for things down the road and ‘window shop’. But Advertisers are not stupid. They know their audience and they will bombard you with good deals and ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunities. Or they may simply sow so much dissatisfaction in your current surroundings that you cave and make that unnecessary purchase.

Remember…EVERY DOLLAR you throw on debt instead of spending unnecessarily, gets you a step closer to total financial FREEDOM.

Tip #4 Stay Accountable

This can be a hard one if you do not have people in your circle who understand or support your mission. If you are NOT eating out, for example, in order to pay off debt faster, but have friends who want to eat out with you weekly, it’s going to be a challenge to stick to your goals.

Obviously, I’m not saying to give up friends. But I AM saying you need to draw a very clear line in the sand that nothing will stop your commitment to accomplishing what you set out for.

Yvan and I count ourselves rich in the friends departments. We have very conservative, environmentally conscious and frugal close friends who for the most part have paid off their homes decades early and/or live with the ‘end goal in mind’, rather than just for today. I cannot put into words how this has been a blessing to us, when we foolishly gave our life away to payments a decade ago because YOLO. They have come alongside of us with wise words and encouragement and we could not be more thankful.

But even if you do not have friends or family with that kind of wisdom, you can still check in to DEBT FREE JOURNEY communities online for support. We ALL need support if we have big mountains to conquer. Going “solo” is foolish and prideful not wise. We have to admit to needing others advice, wisdom and encouragement to keep going when we want to give up!

You can check out Dave Ramseys “Baby Steppers” FREE group on Facebook for daily support if you have any questions. It has over 158,000 members and in all stages of their financial journeys.

Tip #5 USE CASH AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE to crush DEBT

Ah, cash flow. If you want to see more cash piling up towards paying off debt, STICK TO USING ONLY CASH or MOSTLY cash.

We struggled with this, this past year. Some local stores at different points in the pandemic would not even accept our cash. So we just had to budget more carefully.

I know how silly that sounds in our “card charged” world. But the advice definitely has the “grandma” wisdom attached to it, of helping us live within our means. I appreciate that my father has been someone to use cash most of his life. The benefit shows in his responsibility towards finances and he has kept him self functioning well with such methods.

Now, while we cut up our credit cards a while ago at the beginning of our journey, we still have a DEBIT Visa which works for 99% of online purchases. We occasionally still purchase necessities online, such as homeschool materials and bulk food items, using our DEBIT Visa card. But overall we try to stick to CASH whenever possible.

You know what paying CASH will prevent you from doing? Impulse spending.

If you dedicate CASH only in an envelope for FOOD and head to the store, believe me you will avoid throwing unnecessary items in your cart to be sure you don’t end up over your limit at the cashiers. Even if you have plenty of extra money in your bank account, sticking to CASH helps you stick to your budget.




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Debt Journey Update

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Our year has taken off at a beautiful pace, and it is about time for our debt journey update. As some of you may remember Yvan and I are ‘going against the grain’, in more ways than one. We have made it our mission to humbly and assertively chase total freedom from DEBT.
Last year we laid the foundation in preparation for INTENSE focus starting January 2021. This is not our first attempt, but it is most assuredly our last. Our children, our marriage and our homestead dreams matter too much to us to allow debt to consume our lives another year without doing something pro-active about it.

5 Things That Are Helping Us Gain Traction with Debt RIGHT NOW:

  • BUDGET TOGETHER as a couple.
  • Dream Together
  • Meal Plan
  • Pay off Debt Smallest to Largest
  • Be Creative- Refinance to a Lower Term


We Were Financially Lost

I remember shortly after getting married Yvan handed me his first check with a smile and went back to whatever he was occupied with. I never expected my husband to implicitly trust me with the household finances, and it flabbergasted me. We had discussed finances briefly in pre-marital counselling, but we did not have a real “plan” for how to handle it.

Yvan had full confidence I would do a good job handling the paperwork at home. I deeply appreciated his BELIEF in me.
But the problem, was, I did NOT always do a good job. Yvan was soon working three or four jobs and it just made the most sense for me to take care of it. However, I had not had any real experience with handling money WELL.
I fumbled so clumsily through creating a budget each month. I would seek advice continuously from friends who seemed to be crushing it with money goals. But I was often met with, “I don’t really pay attention, my husband handles the money”, or “We don’t budget, we just don’t spend much”.
I couldn’t piece together what good budgeting should look like. I began reading books on finance and stumbled across Dave Ramsey’s, “Total Money Makeover”.

Budget As a Couple

One of the greatest gifts we ever gave our marriage, was getting on the same page financially together.
For years I just paid our bills and Yvan worked tirelessly with no real plan for the future in sight. But once we began ‘budgeting as a couple’ we saw a clear picture of the mess we had made.

Our weekly “Budget meetings” were wildly disorganized. Yvan sat there after a fourteen hour shift, exhausted and trying to stay awake, while I rambled off a random list of bills and he nodded. It took us time to figure out how to work together.

As time went on, we realized a KEY aspect our finances were missing was DREAMING together. We cannot plan if we do not know what we want to accomplish.

Dream Together

Most healthy couples do this. It may sound pretty basic, or it may be a strain for your couple. But dreaming together is a KEY component we soon discovered in our budgeting.
I have heard many couples tell me over the years that they want to “retire early”, or “Go on a Cruise for their 20th Wedding Anniversary”. These are beautiful dreams. Yours may look starkly different. But what are you doing, as a couple, on a daily basis to work BACKWARDS from that point in the future to now?
Yv and I have had many “Dream Dates”, whether over coffee at 4am or our ‘at home’ dates once the kids are in bed. We are blessed to share the same vision for the future. But we also have to consciously work towards those goals if we WANT to see them become a reality.

Hence, our DEBT FREE journey. This plan (Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps) has given us VERY practical tools to work with each time we come together. It helps us evaluate if we are sticking to our goals or if we need to ‘re-adjust’ because of an unexpected event. But we have learned the importance of jumping right back on track.

Find the LEAK

If you are not careful with your finances, every budget has a “leak” somewhere. There were several “leaks” in ours and you might discover the same. Some main ones were online “Subscriptions” we were not getting enough use out of, random Amazon Prime purchases, and our FOOD BUDGET.

You can evaluate where your leaks are, by writing down EVERY ITEM spent for the next month, keeping careful track of both cash and debit/credit purchases. If you are not laser focused on your budget, or if you do not have a plan, your will likely uncover a few “Leaks”.

MEAL PLANNING

Food is a major topic in our house. We discuss it, learn about it, and devour it with joy. It is also an area of our budget we never restricted. One being we have a LOT of mouths here and we LOVE to eat.

Another reason is that it I can be a headache to meal plan and I love the freedom of walking in a grocery store and throwing whatever I feel like in the cart. This often resulted in more than $3000 a month shelled out to basic groceries. I thought we were crazy until I talked to a family with three kids, whose mom said she spent a whopping $2800 a month just in LUNCHES for her kids.

Turns out we still were kind of crazy, but that we were not alone. We eat very healthy, nutrition dense foods in our household and I am ALL FOR spending whatever it costs on that, within reason. But I also avoided Meal Planning for so long that we ended up with “waste” throughout the month.

Once we began meal planning and PREPARING meals for the month, we shaved $1500 off our food budget (Check out the Post About this Specifically HERE), without compromising abundance or nutrition. We also eliminated WASTE.

The SNOWBALL

Now that we stopped up the LEAKS, and have been working together as a couple towards our financial betterment, we were ready to re-attack our debt once and for ALL. If you do not know why I said “Re-attack” you can check our our first attempt at getting out of debt HERE, the mistakes we made and lessons we learned.

Number one, we have CUT all ties to NEW debt. No OPEN CREDIT CARDS. GONE. This is an unbelievably critical step, and was one the great downfalls of our history with debt repayment (“Let’s just keep one open for ’emergencies’). Shut it down. Pay Cash or Debit.

Second, we have prepared to follow Dave Ramsey’s program to a tee. That means $1000 in Emergency Savings and EVERYTHING else gets thrown at your debt. What constitutes as an emergency? Well, if you had to choose between repairing a car to get to work versus upgrading your phone because the term was up…which is really an “emergency”?

Next we are paying off all debt smallest to largest. While this may not make sense on paper, it does make sense. In a perfect world, we would pay off the highest interest rate first because that’s what makes sense on paper. But in a perfect world there would be no one enslaved to their credit card statement.

As Dave Ramsey’s plan explains, if this was about ‘what looks accurate on paper’ we would not be in debt in the first place. THIS is a BEHAVIOUR problem. When you begin by paying off debts smallest to largest you gain ‘momentum’, which encourages you like CRAZY to keep that fire blazing.

This month we cleared our first nasty debt of the year and are already feeling CHARGED.
For those who are on plans to keep “upgrading” their cell phones, PAY FOR YOUR PHONE UPFRONT. Not paying for your phone in cash upfront is DEBT. We just shaved more than $200 off our monthly expenses by paying off both of our phones. That’s BANANAS y’all!

The Gift of Refinancing

I cannot remember the last time I felt as much giddy excitement as I did yesterday. Ok, I might get a little ‘geeky’ for a second but we refinanced our home from 20 years to 7!! The fact that that excites me, really says something about the stage of life I am in, I suppose. But who doesn’t feel relief from cutting ties to debt?
We purchased this home five years ago. But do you know how much we were paying towards the principle each month? About a third of our monthly payment actually hit the principle payment. Only a THIRD! Do you know what percentage we are attacking our house payment with now? 92%!!

Some of you may realize we said we wanted to pay down our house by forty, which is in less than five years…NOT seven. But we chose a seven year term because we are still attacking some other crappy credit card debt and loans that need cleaning up first. Then we will put an aggressive amounts down each year and try to clear it up before that five year mark.

Check out this video to learn more about what paying off your mortgage early could mean for you!

Interest Rates Are LOW

I encourage you to talk with your financial institution as soon as possible and see what the rates are currently. We were able to get a temporary promotion of only 1.99% by choosing a seven year mortgage. You may find something lower than that or perhaps you already have an interest rate that low. But I still would highly recommend refinancing for a shorter term, and here’s why:

Most of us know that paying off your mortgage early will result in paying less interest overall. But did you KNOW that by paying a mortgage of $250,000 over 20 years will result in you paying more than half MORE of the original loan amount? Yikes.

Often we are ‘well-intentioned’ to pay off our mortgage early, but the only way we are guaranteed to pay off our mortgage early is to take shorter term. I cannot tell you how freeing it is to know that regardless of how aggressive we are with debt in the next seven years, we will be mortgage free by the end.

Debt Matters to Our Homestead

Dreams are important. But we do not get anywhere with our hopes if we do not PRO-ACTIVELY chase them.

Yvan and I have big hopes and dreams to expand our homestead. That’s why getting rid of debt is going to change not only our ability to accomplish those goals but it also affects the legacy we leave to our kids.

We do not want our children drowning in debt. We want them exhilarated to show up at their jobs (whatever those are) and CRUSH their goals because their income is working FOR them and not against them. Even the most satisfying job loses its “glow” if you are drowning in debt. On the other hand, even the most stifling job can bare hope if you are ganging traction each month towards your dreams. You cannot gain traction by staying in debt forever.

No matter what your debt IS or what amount you have to conquer, there is ALWAYS a way out. It just takes a SOLID plan, focus and determination. And if you need support I highly recommend reading one of Dave Ramsey’s books, subscribing to his YOUTUBE channel to feel the excitement of the “Debt Free Screams”, and get on a written plan to conquer your own goals. If we can do it…anyone can, believe me.

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The Wonder of Raising Meat

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Friends. Happiest new year. And I pray it truly is for you. For us, we have had the extraordinary realization of a dream we have carried since our earliest days married. Raising meat is almost a cult. Our hunger to engage and participate was astounding and was you’re hooked, “you’re hooked”. Our first harvest is now packed in our freezer, with some in our bellies and much wonder tucked in our hearts.

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How to Create Your Own Christmas Traditions

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Here are some simple ways how to create your own Christmas tradition this year and HOW we surprised our kids this week. I know this post will be stepping on the toes of a few who hold traditions in the most sacred of shrines. But after much reflection the last few years, we decided 2020 was the year we needed to make our own traditions more meaningful. So this week, we gave our kids an unforgettable memory. It was something Yve and I had talked about for years, and for some reason 2020 gave us the guts to try it out!

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Gluten-Free Gingerbread Maple Glazed Donuts

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Jump to Recipe

It’s that time of year again! These Gingerbread Maple Glazed (Gluten-free & Dairy Free) donuts taste like Christmas, and are an irresistible addition to your holiday menu. Baked to perfection, these donuts offer a friendly nostalgia reminiscent of Gramdma’s kitchen.

Made with simple ingredients, a donut tin, and a half hour, you can have some fresh donuts ready for your afternoon coffee!

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25 Family Activity Advent Ideas

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Here are some of our favourite 25 Family Advent Ideas! Tradition has long been of great worth to me. I did not grow up with a vast amount of family ‘traditions’ per se, but I certainly enjoyed the abundance of simple habits that other families created around the holidays. From that passionate pursuit, I delved into the vast world of Advent calendars. Yet, I could not find something I wanted to continue year after year (besides the traditional readings that we love). Thus, last year, we began a new tradition all our own. Here are some ways to get creative as a family and make your own traditions for advent too!

Easy Advent Ideas for the Whole Family!

Here are some ideas we have done, and ones we are adding or changing this year. Most require little or no financial investment, though some could require a purchase of something bigger like a family oriented game. But as always, these are simply suggestions, so feel free to swap them out with some of your own traditions too!
The first year we did this, I happened to visit a city farther from our tiny homestead. It gave opportunity for purchasing some unique Advent Family activities to add to our tradition. But this year we are mixing up some of our ideas again. The beauty of a “Family Activity” advent is that it gives complete freedom to add or replace activities. Some years ‘younger activities’ will be appropriate, while in a decade from now we can get into older board games or activities beyond ‘googley-eyed’ Christmas crafts.

Reading Your Way to Christmas

Traditionally, an “Advent” is a daily “pointing ahead” to the birth of Christ our Saviour. There are so many ancient ways of pursuing this but some uncomplicated family readings are available as guides. I love these ones particularly!

You can also follow the world renowned Icelandic tradition of reading much loved books you are gifted for your advent each night of December and devouring yummy chocolates!

25 IDEAS for a Magical Christmas Advent Box

This is what we have been doing the last couple years. Yv and I decided that with so many kiddos we wanted something more than a “tiny door” that open each day (though the idea is beautiful!). Instead, we purchased a simple cardboard gift box (with a magnetic lid) to reuse until we make something more lasting.

Inside we fill it with a family activity or special treat for each evening of December, until Christmas. Our children actually cried when it had to be put away until next year! We had so much fun with it, but as with every tradition, they are special because they do not happen every day. It gives us something to treasure the thought of all the year through!

Here Are some Advent Box Ideas for Each day!

#1. Christmas Tree!

This is our Christmas tree decorating time! Inside the box I put a miniature tree or a tree branch with ornaments or even a drawing of a Christmas tree. Even if the kids know what to expect that day, they still love the joy of it! I always throw in some candy canes too!

#2. Traditional Gift.


We chose to do Oranges/clementines this year. This is a traditional gift and gives way to the story of Christ and references His gift of “gold” or the traditional St. Nicolas story of the “gold coins” he placed in stockings.

#3. Funky Christmas Socks!

We LOVE funky Christmas socks! If you already have too many socks, try making or purchasing some wild slippers for the whole gang!

#4. Christmas Mugs for Everyone (with a batch of Hot Cocoa and Marshmallows to share!).

I don’t know if something thrills our kiddos more than when I announce we are having hot chocolate in their favourite Christmas mug. Getting a special hot cocoa mug for each of your kiddos during advent is SUCH a sweet memory for them (no pun intended!).

#5. A Christmas Board Game Night!

With so many littles at home we love “A Charlie Brown Christmas” board game.

#6. Family Christmas movie marathon!

Cuddle up with some cozy blankets and popcorn ( I love adding sea salt and chocolate chips to ours!) and enjoy a night in with some classic Christmas laughs!

#7. Make a Christmas Wreath as a Family.

Gather around the table with some funky Christmas decor and create a beautiful wreath as a family. It can be artificial or “real” but the joy of creating something welcoming for the door as a family is truly special.

#8. Christmas Cookie Fiesta!

Be sure to have lots of candies, decorations, cookie sheets, rolling pins and a pipe hot oven on hand! Make several batches of your favourite cookie recipes and have a blast making them as fancy or silly as you can.

Here are some yummy oatmeal cookies you can use as a base and add in some Christmas candies!

#9. Spread the Cheer!

Take time one evening to make Christmas cards as a family, with handwritten notes of love and encouragement, and drop them off at a senior home. So many seniors especially this time of year, are their loneliest. Love on someone who may be feeling a little forgotten this season!

#10. Read Aloud

Cozy up on the couch together for at least ONE Advent night and read a stack of Christmas stories until the littlest family member falls asleep. Don’t forget some candy canes to enjoy while everyone listens!

#11. Paint a Memory

Buy a Canvas and some paint. Have everyone in the family contribute to the painting of their “Favourite Christmas Memory”.

#12. Create lasting “Handprint” Ornaments.

This is such a sweet memory during Advent to look back on over the years. Simply mix 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, and cold water until the consistency feels like play dough. Make the handprint in the dough, cut off excess dough around ‘handprint’ and bake at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours. Allow to cool and paint if you so desire.

#13. Secret Santa Surprise

As a family, make or buy a Christmas gift for someone who needs a little extra cheer this year! Leave it outside their home anonymously (with zero contact social distancing intact!).
Here are some Secret Santa Gift Ideas that we love:

  • $25 Amazon Gift Card For some who need a little cheer, and if you are not sure what to get them, let them choose it themselves!
  • Most people LOVE coffee, especially this time of year. Here is a ready-made Starbucks Gift box complete with a card!

#14. Sleepover Under the tree

Be a kid again. Set up the sleeping bags, giggle until late, tell jokes and stories from when you were a kid, as the whole fam sleeps under the Christmas tree. Add some extra twinkle lights for sparkly fun!

#15. Make the Biggest Snowman EVER.

The whole family should participate in creating the biggest snowman you can (with whatever snow you have). Take a picture with the family in front of it each year for a memorable collection. If you do not have snow in your region, try making the biggest MARSHMALLOW snowman on your dining table!

#16. Have a “Gadget-Free” Day (or at least evening!).

Turn off the phones, shut down social media and texting…breathe deeply, and gaze at the lights on the Christmas tree. Re-connect as a family. Ask deeper questions to your kids and let let ask you deep questions too. Make memories in simply enjoying each other’s presence.

#17. Have a Christmas Pizza Contest

Make an extra big batch of homemade pizza dough. Then divide it evenly and have everyone shape their dough into a Christmas themed shape/design. Everyone should vote (not for themselves!), and the winner gets a Prize! (Free from helping with the dishes for a week? A $10 gift card? Have fun creating the prize as a family!)


#18. Create a Christmas Time Capsule

Grab a box or even a bag. Everyone should add something to it if you will seal it for the next decade or two. Or you could add one thing each Christmas and every year you get the joy of looking through all the memories! You could add a newspaper article of your town’s annual Christmas parade, or a new Christmas ornament each year with the year marked on it. You could even add your family Christmas card or homemade drawings of Christmas from your children. Grandkids will love to see those someday!

#19. Christmas Candy Hunt

Gather a variety of Christmas candies (oodles of them) and have one adult hide them all over the house. Hand out little miniature stockings to collect the candies in!

#20. Christmas Family Pajamas!

Who doesn’t love a new soft pair of cozy pj’s? Especially around the holidays! You can choose matching ones, or if that is too tacky for you, just get everyone a pair they will love (or even just some funky PJ bottoms!)

#21. Winter Woodland Walk

There is something magical about the woods around Christmas! If you do not live near the woods but have some within a short driving distance (or even a park) I encourage you to take time as a family in the crisp air one evening!

#22. Go Sledding as a Family!

This has to be one of the BEST memory making activities around. I truly wish you snow for Christmas, but in case you never get any, maybe try some edible homemade “Snow cones” instead!

#23. Chat with Someone Needing Cheer

Video chat has never been easier these days. Pick up the phone or schedule a video chat “date” with someone whose holiday feels more ‘strained’ than joyful this year. We know, that Christmas is not always happy for everyone, especially if they have recently lost a loved one. Spread some love and concern for others by reconnecting with someone who needs compassion.

#24. Open ONE Gift

We always allow our kids to open ONE gift on Christmas Eve night. it is a nod to a Christmas tradition from my childhood, but more so to my husband’s French Quebec roots of celebrating True Christmas on the 24th rather than the 25th. Our kids LOVE the burst of excitement in opening a gift before Christmas morning.

#25. Christmas Morning “Treat”.

I feel like this is one of the BEST parts of Christmas (and certainly one of my favourites). Christmas Morning Cinnamon Buns (stay tuned for a recipe!) are something our family looks forward to all the year through!
It does not have to be cinnamon buns for you, or even something homemade if you HATE baking. But create a tradition with a special treat at Christmas time that is unforgettable. It brightens the day even further while you tear through presents, make memories as a family, or read the Nativity as we do and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.



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Easy DIY Whipped Body Butter

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Since I was a young girl, whipped body butter or lotion was a part of my daily ‘self-care’ ritual. No matter the season of life, little else makes you feel more nurtured than smooth soft skin. I never realized until my first pregnancy, how the chemical components of lotions and creams seep beneath the surface of our pores and into our blood stream. Ew. My days of perusing Bath & Body Works ended. I needed to find a more natural solution to my skin care routine. While I did find some amazing companies over the years, offering exceptional products, making my own gave me peace of mind. Plus, it was FAR cheaper and often higher quality. This Easy DIY Whipped Body Butter is the perfect addition to your “daily glow”. It is also a PERFECT Christmas gift for loved ones!

Clean Ingredients

I am not only a HUGE fan of clean ingredients, but I consider them absolutely VITAL to a clean home. Whether it be in food items or beauty products knowing what we put in our body and environment impacts our health in a major way. Clean ingredients also help balance out our hormones rather than disrupt (you can read more on hormone disruptors in your beauty products HERE.)

But I often spent a fortune buying products with LESS ingredients. Does that make any sense to you? It didn’t to me. Except we know that major companies often monopolize the market and care little for what they put IN their products. We have to be our own advocates sometimes. Even for our budget!

When I discovered the quality and frugality of Doterra Essential oils, I decided to take the leap and make my own products as much as possible. Something, I am still experimenting with weekly!

Beauty products that could easily cost hundreds of dollars a month end up costing pennies per use.

And BEST beauty benefit? My skin became softer and less prone to irritations.

Why DōTERRA?

You’ve heard me say it before, but I will say it again for those new to this page. Quality of ingredients REALLY matters. Particularly when it comes to essential oils.
I could never endorse using oils of low quality (something typically found at your local pharmacy or even health food store) even if they are touted as “organic”. Oils that are not CERTIFIED PURE THERAPUTIC GRADE are not held to any standard of quality. They often have HIGHLY CONCENTRATED toxins or pollutants or debris that can bring more harm to your health than benefit. Be vigilant and do some research for yourself. I highly recommend the book, “Smart Moms Guide to Essential Oils“. It details why quality is so vital when it comes to oils. The two top international companies for HIGH QUALITY oils are Young Living and DōTERRA. We know that DōTERRA, however, holds itself to a particular standard above all other companies. You can read more about their CPTG Quality tests HERE.

Their oils might seem pricey, but they in fact ridiculously inexpensive for the quality and value you get. And a few drops goes a LONG way in cleaning up your home environment (especially in providing a green, clean home for kids) and beauty products you can trust! I have saved hundreds of dollars a month by using oils and creating my own products.

I ALWAYS recommend signing up as a Loyal Customer with Dōttera. You get 25% off oils and reward points back each month on your orders that you can use to purchase more oils.

The HEALTHY START collection comes with 10 incredibly powerful oils that will infuse health and wellness in your home and can be used to create your own cleaning products, beauty products, added to food or water (ONLY the dietary safe oils) as well as to clean the air in your home. A diffuser is also included for that reason! The oils in this collection are ones I use daily and have lasted over a year!

What You Will Need:

Here are some basic ingredients that will make enough body butter to give out as gifts OR to last you the year through!

  • Organic Shea Butter
  • Organic Coconut Oil is easy to come by, but this one is around $10. I use coconut oil is SO many products and recipes at home, so I often but this Kirkland 84 Ounce tub, which lasts us a long time!
  • Raw Cocoa Butter is something I discovered more recently for its health benefits! Loaded with healthy fats it is deeply nourishing and can even be added to smoothies!
  • Olive Oil
  • Dōterra Essential Oils of choice. For fragrance, I love this whipped body butter with Wild Orange and Lavender or Lavender and Frankincense. Frankincense has incredible rejuvenating properties that benefit the skin and promotes relaxation (perfect before bedtime). Wild orange is a wonderful energizing mood booster! Lavender deeply calms and is an oil that is gentle enough to use on babies (No more than 5 drops per cup of cream). Keep in mind the most economical way to purchase dōTERRA oils is to purchase a COLLCTION like the “Healthy Start” so the LRP sign up fee is waved. Plus you get a plethora of oils that will help you create products for only pennies! I have saved hundreds of dollars a month creating my oil natural home remedies.
  • Copaiba oil is something I love to add in to my body butter. It is rich in ability to heal the skin and promote wellness and that ‘youthful’ glow.
  • Arrowroot flour. I know that ‘homemade’ creams are often greasier than their conventional counterpart. But, this Easy DIY Body Butty is so much healthier for your body than a chemical laden product. Plus, just a Tbsp of arrowroot flour will absorb extra oil from the coconut oil, to give this more of a ‘conventional’ product feel.

Benefits of Basic Ingredients

Shea butter is one of the most healing natural products available today. I often try to buy from companies that I KNOW are ethically minded and support women. Shea Moisture is such a company. They are dedicated to advocating for women in their products and company, by providing jobs and fair trade. You can read more about their story HERE. You can find their shea butter HERE. I personally love supporting fair trade companies. I still get a TON of product when I make it myself and it still costs me only pennies per use!

Coconut oil has been used for generations and is loaded with anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties.

Cocoa Butter is loaded with Vitamin E, which is incredibly healing to our skin. It is a wildly beneficial health product that can be even added to smoothies! My favourite part? It smells like a decade chocolate bar! Read more about the benefits HERE.

Olive oil is essentially the “medium” or “carrier oil” in this recipe. But it is PACKED with skin soothing benefits too. It can aid in acne production as it is anti-bacterial!


WATCH THE Body Butter VIDEO!

Make it!

Get out your ingredients and a double boiler (if you have one). I no longer have one, thanks to minimalism! But I never miss it. I simply use a bowl placed over a pot of boiling water. So no worries if you are like me and do not keep one in your kitchen!

Place one cup each of Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Olive Oil and Cocoa Butter in a bowl. Melt over a pot of boiling water, stirring occasionally. Once melted, remove from heat.

You have the OPTION at this point of blending in 1 tbsp of ARROWROOT Flour to absorb some extra “greasiness”of the oil.

Place in a cool spot to harden. I usually stick mine in the freezer for it to cool faster.

Once it is a nice creamy white colour and the mixture is hard but still malleable to the touch, add in your oils.

If this is a cream for adults, add up to 10 drops of each oil. For children and babies stick to 5 drops of one oil per cup.

You can now blend your oil mix on high until it becomes fluffy and white like whipped cream.

Be sure to add a little PIZZAZZ to your gift. A simple sprinkle of Lavender buds and a sprig of holly to seal it off, adds a beautiful touch!

Storage

I often try to up-cycle a container from either a mason jar, a coconut or shea butter jar or even asking friends for their beauty product containers.

You can also store or ‘gift’ your body butter in these adorable mini wide mouth mason jars.

This wonderful, creamy body butter can last on the shelf up to one year, in a moderate temperature.

Gift Basket IDEAS:

A beautiful and thoughtful gift is a “Self-Care” Basket for someone you love. Up-Cycle a basket you already have on hand or even a cardboard box you received that you can decorate!

Add in a few of the items on this list and encourage someone you love!

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THANKS for Stopping by our homestead!

In grace and gratitude words
couple photo

Minimalist 3 GIFT Guide for Christmas! (What We are Giving to Our Kids!)

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Do you ever feel overwhelm by the sheer volume of presents at Christmas? I know the feeling. Many years ago, we chose to follow a “Three Gift” guide, when it came to presents.

Not only did it reduce the stress of TOO MUCH stuff coming into our house, but it also help us create a very meaningful shopping list.

Here’s how we choose presents for our kids at Christmas, with joy and minimalism in mind.

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DIY Essential Oil Bath Salts

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Christmas is in sight! And the sweetest time of year is when we freely create gifts like essential oil bath salts, that give from the heart.


These DIY Essential Oil Bath Salts are divine! And let me tell you, I would rather escape to a relaxing bath than a crowded airport, jetting off to the Carribean for Christmas. Well, most days, anyways.

But if you really want to give a meaningful gift this Christmas that is budget friendly, consider a beautiful bath essentials basket. These DIY Essential Oil Balt Salts are an exquisite addition, for the person in your life who deserves a little “r & r” .


This recipe is SO so simple to whip up and an inexpensive way to give your loved one a luxurious escape (or even yourself!).

Check Out the Video Below to watch me whip up these Bath Salts!

The Power Of Bath Salts

I remember watching my father , when I was a girl, grab his container of Epsom salts as he headed towards the bathroom. He worked hard, and soaking those muscles became a nighttime ritual.

I remembered that when I became pregnant with our children, and every muscle ached. The power those bath salts bore, to flush away stress and relax every muscle, was profound.

But the REAL impact came when I discovered the highest quality essential oils.

IDEAS for Gifting!

  • Create a basket of BATH goodies and include your mason jar of essential oils in it.
  • Save the clear empty plastic balls from candy machines that your kids might buy from time to time. Fill them with these essential oil bath salts and pop them in a stocking!
  • Create a basket of Essential Oil Bath Salts, ranging from “Calming” to “Energizing” with pretty labels.

The “Escape” of Essential Oils.

When I was pregnant with our fifth, I was so so sick with the lovely ‘all day’ morning sickness that often plagues pregnant women. Nothing could soothe my upset stomach.


A friend reached out to me and offered to send me samples of some essential oils that she was certain could help.

Honestly, I was pretty skeptical.

But it was a free sample!

One particularly rough day I had appointments in town. I was not sure how I would make it through my appointments without being sick.

Swinging by the mailbox, I opened a tiny bubble envelope with teeny bottles of “Wild Orange” and “Ginger”.

The Wild Orange was pure MAGIC.

Where nothing before had soothed my suffering stomach, I sat baffled in my car, inhaling those citrus essences that swept through me with calm.

It was then I discovered the incredible soothing power of pure essential oils.

Why Quality Matters

Isn’t this true of everything in life? Quality counts.

But did you know that the potency of essential oils is really determined by their quality?

It also determines whether they are even SAFE to use, because the essences are so highly concentrated.

There are innumerable certified organic essential oils on the market that do not have to pass quality assurance tests to ensure their safe use.

DōTERRA, goes through extended lengths to be sure their oils are not only ‘safe’ but of the highest quality standards available. They use seven separate quality assurance tests on each batch.

Why does that matter?

The book, “Smart Moms Guide to Essential Oils” emphasizes the importance of purchasing therapeutic grade essential oils. Not only does a higher quality have a more ‘nourishing’ effect on our senses, but they also are significantly more economical and safer.

How to SAVE with dōTERRA Essential Oils

When your essential oils are high quality your product is also high quality.

For example, Imagine you are making these luxurious bath salts using lavender oil, but the particular company you purchased from did not have a high standard of quality. You would end up using MORE essential oils to create the same potent fragrance, with dōTERRA.

DID YOU KNOW that one 15ml bottle of lemon essential oil from dōterra contains around 50 lemons? And one of those 250 drops found in that bottle is FAR more potent than what you could squeeze out of a lemon yourself. (Dr.Snyder, “Smart Mom’s Guide to Essential Oils). And all that for about $10. Not only is this particular essential oil powerful in a diffuser, but I also add one drop to my 1 litre water bottle to hydrate throughout the day (though NOT all oils are food grade!). It is also one of the main ingredients in my homemade cleaning products and beauty products. It is also a great way to ‘energize’, adding a few drops to a diffuser.

Interested in getting dōTERRA Essential at a deep discount and earn 10-30% back in rewards? CLICK HERE to SAVE BIG, sign up as a doTERRA VIP member and access the essential oils I used in this recipe. They help me make cleaning products for only pennies a month!

The EASIEST Recipe for DIY Bath Salts!

I love a steaming hot bath, but not nearly as much as a steaming hot bath with my dōTERRA oils!

There is little that has ever made me feel more rejuvenated. This is the easiest recipe you can re-use time and time again for your own enjoyment.
Have someone in your life trying to get healthy? Skip the “Christmas Chocolates” and gift them some divine DIY Bath Salts! Include the recipe so they can make it too!

What you NEED:

  • LEMON dōTERRA Essential Oil (Or just LEMON EUCALYPTUS for even more savings!)
  • EUCALYPTUS dōTERRA Essential Oil
  • Lavender dōTERRA
  • Baking Soda
  • Himalayan Sea Salt (Easily found at your local Grocery or often cheaper if purchased HERE.)
  • These Epsom Salts are essential and so inexpensive!
  • Citric Acid if you want a little FIZZ.

Make It!

This is one of the simplest and most luxurious DIY gifts on the planet.


  • First mix 1 cup of Baking Soda with 1/2 cup of Himalayan Sea Salt and 1/2 cup of Epsom salts. If you want a FIZZY Bath Salts mix add 1/2 of CITRIC ACID to the dry ingredients NOW.
  • Next Add 2 Tablespoons of a Carrier oil like Olive Oil or fractionated Coconut oil.
  • Add 10-12 drops each of Lavender, Lemon and Eucalyptus (Or “Lemon Eucalyptus”) dōTERRA Essential oils.
  • Blend thoroughly.
  • Add to an Up-Cycled Mason jar. I am up cycling one from a local dairy that we purchase greek yogurt from. If you don’t have any, you can purchase Mason Jars HERE and reusable LIDS HERE.
  • Be sure to add some greenery, a ribbon, or some dried flowers and seal it with a note.


Tips for VARIATIONS:


Feel comfortable experimenting with your essential oils for bath salts. I believe dōTERRA essential oils are like exotic treasures from afar we ‘collect’ over time. It is beautiful to see your collection grow and with it, your enthusiasm for creativity!

  • Be sure your oils are topically safe and whether they need to be diluted or not prior to adding to your salts.
  • Choose citrus scents like lemon and WILD ORANGE for a more energizing bath. Choose calming scents like Lavender or Bergamot or Jasmine for de-stressing.
  • Add some Lavender Buds or dried Rose Petals to your salts for an EXTRA specia

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Blessings to you!

Perfect Paleo Chocolate Cake (Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, & From Scratch!)

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Cake LOVE. We all have it.

This PERFECT paleo Chocolate cake is the epitome of DELISH guilt free. I may have even had some for breakfast a time or two. But don’t tell my children.

And if you are wondering what “Paleo” means, it basically underscores that you can polish off this delicious dessert without the bloated guilt associated with too much CAKE.

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5 Simple Ways to Declutter (And WHY you should!)

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Have you ever felt overwhelmed in your home, by the seemingly endless “To-Do’s”? Certainly I have. With sink fulls of dishes, mountains of laundry and toys scattered everywhere, “overwhelm” comes easily. Is it any wonder we are anxious, and stressed out as a society? “De-clutter” was something I would try and seemed to fail at, as our house would end up full too soon afterwards.

In truth, I have never been someone afraid of letting go of ‘things”. But even just a ‘typical” amount of belongings can be a lot to care for. I have tried innumerable organizational methods, but could never find one that “fit” our large family.

Especially as homeschoolers, we are ALWAYS home so things are being used ALL day, EVERY day. No matter what I tried we would slide back to “messy” as we added more to our ‘plate’. There just was not enough time in the day to conquer everything and maintain a ‘mess-free’ home.

But think about it. How much time do you spend as a mom cleaning each day? Maybe you are among the growing numbers that have learned to embrace minimalism, or you just are not a “neat freak”, so not much. But if you are a typical North American, you probably have a few items (or many) that you could live without.

Here are 5 Simple Ways to Declutter by embracing the “Minimalist” method and WHY I believe it is SO vital you do!

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Up-cycled Plank Wood Floors

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Our beautiful homestead, held together with dreams and hard work. The same things our new up-cycled plank wood floors are made of.

There are so many countless times during this journey the last few years, that I tried to see ourselves through an outsiders’ perspective. I imagine even what I would have thought, had I peered through my own window, as a young girl, from Baltimore. I think these things out of sheer curiosity, and never apprehension. We do not leave a footprint on this earth to satisfy the Pinterest page of our spectators.

But still. I know how unconventional we are. And I love considering how patched together our homestead is, much like a quilt. It actually delights me.

Perhaps I should have called our blog, “The Patched-Together Homestead” instead of Hope Valley. But isn’t that what “Hope” really is after all; tiny glimpses into what we hope for, sewn together with the threads of belief? Welcome to our “belief”, that beauty really is “In the eye of the beholder”.

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Delicious Healthy Breakfast Cookies

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For years I have tried to convince my kiddos that oatmeal is AMAZING. Two kids believe me…out of SEVEN. These Healthy DELICIOUS Breakfast Cookies are a smash hit in our house. EVERYONE gives them Five STARS. Even the littlest among us.

I can’t blame them, however. Oatmeal was not my favourite breakfast food as a kid either. To recall, “Slimy” was the only adjective that came to mind. Avocados and ripe bananas fall into that same gooey category for my children, so I decided to flip the switch on them and DISGUISE some healthy ingredients in a “cookie-shaped” breakfast!

Jump to Recipe

Oats and Flour

I know. I am a 99% “Grain-free Gal” shovelling grains into my kiddos for breakfast. Well…we’re a work in progress.

If you are “Grain Free” here are some flour options you can replace those oats and all-purpose flour with:

  • Almond Flour
  • Coconut Flour

Make it!

This is one of the simplest healthy recipes to throw together, so I will not over-complicate it for you!

Favourite Inexpensive Tools in the Kitchen:

This post contains affiliate links which means we make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See our full policy and disclosure here.

These measuring spoons are something that EVERYONE comments on. I found them HERE for less than $10 and had to add them to my kitchen. The wood is so equally durable and charming, and even holds up in the dishwasher.

My bowls were a gift that my husband found me HERE. They are nesting bowls that fit neatly in my cupboard for easy storage. PLUS all four sizes are PERFECT for whipping up any recipe in (or TACO NIGHT when you have lots of toppings on the table!) .

Oatmeal (Gluten Free is Best!) and A Flour of Choice!

I used all purpose flour for these cookies but remember you can swap out your for your preference of healthy flour or exclude the oats if you are going GRAIN-FREE!

Don’t worry. My kids realize these cookies are made with oatmeal. But they were pleasantly surprised to discover they like oatmeal this way!

Add the rest of your dry ingredients.



Don’t you just love cinnamon? Can a house that does not smell like cinnamon from freshly baked cookies at some point during the week, really be a home? Blend and set aside.

Time to Mix up those Avocados!

Don’t shy away from avocados that are overly ripe. And DEFINITELY do not throw them out! There are SO many ways to use up ripe avocados! But Cookies are probably my favourite creative venue.

I don’t know about you, but the first thing I think of when an avocado appears is not “cookie”. But the texture is very similar to a mashed ripe banana (another ingredient here), so, WHY NOT?!

Did you know that Avocados are literally BRAIN FOOD for your kids (and YOU for that matter! The healthy fatty complex of avocados helps protect cells that carry messages to our brain. That is something I want my kiddos consuming before we dig into our daily homeschool studies! If you want to learn more about our Homeschool click HERE.


Ripe Bananas are the QUEEN of Egg-Replacement.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not against eggs inherently. I have some gorgeous ‘cluckers’ in my backyard. But I do find I have a bit of an allergy to store bought, and being as they can be a highly allergenic food I try to include some recipes in our diet that leave them out too.

If you can’t stand banana anything, try mixing 3 Tbs Ground Flaxseeds with 1-2 Tbls water as an egg-replacement.

Add’s a bit of extra healthy fat too!

GOOD FATS

Did anyone ever tell you that ‘low fat’ was the healthiest method? They lied. Good healthy fats are so rewarding to our body and deeply restore tissues. It isn’t actually healthy FATS that make us gain weight in and of themselves. While that is a book worth of discussion for another day, just hold onto the invaluable tip that GOOD fats are GOOD. You can dig a bit deeper Here.

Melted Coconut oil is an incredible, tasty replacement for butter, if you are avoiding dairy.

Sweetness

This is really up to you. But I personally do not mind a little sweetness for my kiddos, as long as we don’t ‘over-do’ it, it isn’t laden with heavy chemical ingredients and it’s homemade (with the exception of a few store bought treats that are few and far between).

HONEY is SO good. And by “good” I mean yummy. It is straight up sugar though, so don’t expect it to NOT spike blood sugar levels. It isn’t magic. But it IS tasty and an alternative to the “evil” refined sugar.

Maple syrup also give these cookies an incredible texture and aroma. Just be sure to use 100% PURE maple syrup and NOT “golden syrup”. As a Canadian growing up in the thicket of true blood Maple Production territory…anything but real Maple syrup is an insult to good food.

Time to Combine!

Blend your “Dry” ingredients with the “Wet” ingredients. Don’t forget to add some dried fruit, chocolate chips or unsweetened toasted coconut flakes for extra YUM.

Blend until well combined!

These flavours come together so nicely.

Bake at 335 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 minutes (or until golden brown around the edges, if your oven runs HOT).

Despite our kids HATING the ingredients, they LOVED every bite and kept coming back for more. These are FIVE STAR certified by my picky kids!

Print Recipe

DELICIOUS Healthy Breakfast Cookies

These amazing healthy cookies are egg-free, dairy free and were given FIVE stars by my family, despite them hating the ingredients.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 Cups OATS (Gluten-Free is best)
  • 1 Cup All-purpose flour, or a Gluten Free or Grain Free Option
  • 1 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp PURE Cinnamon
  • 1 Ripe Avocado
  • 1 Cup Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
  • 1 Ripe Banana (Mashed)
  • 3/4 Cup Honey
  • 1/2 Cup Dried Fruit
  • 1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips

Instructions

  • Pre-Heat Oven to 335 degrees Fahrenheit
  • Line a Baking Sheet with Parchment Paper
  • Blend together dry ingredients and set aside.
  • Mash together the ripe avocado and ripe banana.
  • Add coconut oil and honey to the "mash".
  • Pour "wet ingredients" into "dry ingredients" and blend until smooth.
  • Add in your favourite dried fruit, or chocolate chips!
  • Bake for 8 minutes at 335 degrees fahrenheit. Allow to Cool between batches and ENJOY!

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How I Cut Our Food Budget in HALF (And saved an extra $1500 a month!)

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I know what you’re thinking. How can $1500 be only half our monthly food budget?

Well, as a large family living of nine in Quebec where food costs can be daunting, it was no great feat to dump $3,000 a month on food. AND that’s with very very limited processed foods (some dry goods like cereal) and zero packaged snacks, or ‘eating out’.

But, to be sure, we passionately FEAST on our homestead. Gathering around our meal table is one of our greatest joys.

Admittedly, however, at the end of a busy week, I often threw care to the wind and arrived at the grocery store to buy whatever I felt like making that week. I usually donned a list, but the major meal prep sounded so overwhelming that I avoided it like the plague.

During our Debt-Free Journey however, I had this “AHA” moment. I realized I needed to “take control” of our monthly meals that affected so much of our daily life. I knew if I wanted us to save big on expenses and still eat bountifully, I would have to be more intentional about meal preparation.

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Our Debt Free Journey

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Someone once said, talking about debt is like showing someone your dirty laundry.

Well, maybe that’s true.

But I have never been someone to shy away from transparency. Because at the end of the day, it is our ‘honesty’ with ourself and others that drives us to our greatest potential. And if someone can learn from my mistakes, the better the world will be for it.

That’s why I want to take a minute and share with you our debt free journey. It directly impacts so much of our daily life that it would be a dis-service not to share. I would be lying if I said this was not an incredibly painful post for me to share, but it is an honest one. And I hope that means it can help someone.


So here’s a small glimpse of our “Dirty Laundry”.


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3 Easy Healthy Pumpkin Recipes from Scratch

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You know life is good when it includes pumpkins. And I LOVE a good pumpkin recipe! I know the saying goes that there are those who hate pumpkin season and those who long for it. But are there really people who loathe pumpkin everything? I am not one of them . In fact, my favourite season includes lots of extra pumpkins! Here are my 3 Easy Healthy Pumpkin recipes I use every Fall!

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We Bought an Antique and Were Given a House

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I will tell you something. I grew up in the bustle of the ‘city married to suburbs’. The idea that someone would give another human a house for free, is something that happened only in extreme circumstances (think Habitat for Humanity).

Here’s the thing. I am the kind of person when seeking to barter at a yard sale, cannot manage to get $0.50 knocked off an item I am interested in. I think I actually get sweaty just thinking about asking someone to lower the price on something. But my Husband? He goes to pick up an antique dresser and is given a house. This happens frequently. He literally ATTRACTS generosity. But then again, he is a very generous human too.



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Easy DIY Antique Light

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Ah, the projects we have. This Easy DIY Light was another we kept putting off, simply because there was always some other more important task at hand. But today it poured. And though my Yvan does not shy from even the harshest weather conditions (being the woodsman that he is), I was able to convince him today was “the day” we stay in and finish a DIY that was long awaited.


A “Light” Mix of Modern and Antique


Five or six years ago (I told you we put this one off for awhile), Yvan and I would peruse a Flea Market that was magnanimously overloaded with both junk and hidden treasures.

We both spotted this fabulous “Yoke” riddled with grooves of hand carving. Perhaps you would consider this more in the “junk” category, than “hidden treasure”. But Yvan and I saw “potential”.

Those “rose-coloured-lens” are what have always equally gotten us in trouble AND have been the BEST vision of our life. We both see the “best” in things (or persons), when others might reject them simply based on the ‘hassle’.


This was such a moment. I HAD to have it.

I googled and scouted Pinterest for a DIY lighting fixture made from a yoke and found ….nothing. Still, I was particularly captured by its’ rustic charm and the fact that it offered a nod to that secret place in my heart that longs to live in a repurposed barn.

We paid around $40 for it, and left with smiles. Happily lugging it home, it was carted lovingly to the basement to be dreamed of (albeit procrastinated over) for years to come.

Well, today was THE DAY.

I had a light fixture that I had purchased in my impatience “to have a light fixture”. But I hated it and decided to wait it out. Amazingly, we were able to up-cycle my mistake.

Don’t Shy Away from the “Unfinished Project”

I don’t know about you but I despise unfinished projects. I am very “Type A” when it comes to projects in wanting things done yesterday. My husband has a more ‘balanced approach’ in incredible work ethic (he would raise barn in a day himself by sheer effort) but does not stress about a time frame the way I do.

We both compliment and conflict (healthfully) with each other here.

We conflict by seeing a different time frame for projects, but we compliment in that he greatly assists me in patience, while I encourage in ‘forward focus’.

Today, we ‘forward focused’ to a finished project that took altogether about 30 minutes to create, in what took years in the coming.

Now, obviously I could have figured out some ‘how-to’s ‘ in the last several years for an Easy DIY Light. That DOES happen sometimes, when my Yvan is doggedly working his heart out at other tasks. But this one was something we NEEDED to finish together.

And by “together” I mean I witnessed him re-wire everything and I assisted by holding one side of the yoke.

But still. It was a delicious moment!

Re-Create it For Yourself

This simple DIY project can be re-created even if you cannot find a yoke.

Scour your local Antique dealer. Ask a family member or friend with a barn or shed if they have any old fixings from “farm life” lying around.

This yoke worked perfectly for this EASY DIY Light. It had these perfect little holes bored through the wood, like an invitation for creativity.

Here’s HOW to re-create this easy DIY light fixture at home:

  • One Antique Yoke or Pulley often found at local Antique Dealers or Flea Markets.
  • Two (or More) Hanging Light Fixtures such as this to hang from your “yoke”.
  • Drill

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Visualize what you want your fixture to look like. Plan out how you want it to hang (how low, at and angle or straight), and choose a place with enough space. Check out Pinterest for more ideas!
  2. The “easiest” bulb base is a hanging one with “poles” attached. Examine the light fixture and find where to “unscrew” the bulb base. We “up-cycled” a light fixture that I had previously purchased so it required a bit more unravelling of wires to begin. But even with the added complication, we completed this project in under thirty minutes!
  3. If you are also “up-cycling” a used or vintage light fixture, you will need to remove the wiring carefully, keeping it attached to the lightbulb base. If you must cut the wires to remove them, Be sure to leave the wires long enough to attach to the ceiling. Otherwise, simply unscrew the base and stick the poles through the hole in your “yoke”. If you decided on a “Pulley” or another kind of antique farm fixture like a “Whipple Tree”, simply purchase a light bulb base with a hanging wire like this one for easy instalment through wrapping or weaving through handle attached to your antique. Here are some more ideas!
  4. Once you have finished wiring to your yoke or antique of choice, it is time to connect it to the ceiling. Be sure to adjust your yoke to the right height, and “straightness”. Have a friend or family member help visualize the best depth above your dining room, table or kitchen island.
  5. We have an already exposed ceiling from current renovations, which makes wiring and hanging less complicated. But if you are working with sheetrock, here is a link for a simple way to hang a light fixture.
  6. Have a friend hold the yoke while you drill or screw your purchased/up-cycled base to the ceiling. Be sure it is tightly secured to the ceiling before you release the yoke, avoiding the yoke dropping onto the light bulb bases.
  7. Once connected to ceiling and wiring, flip the switch and you’re done!



Here is a Video of Our New Antique Light Fixture in Our Dining Room Currently in Renovations!

Examples:

Gently Pull the Bulb Base through the “Yoke Holes”. If your yoke is without holes you can also “wrap” a loose wire bulb base around the wood, or drill your own holes.

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You can find out more about our family and our crazy homestead adventures by visiting our “About” Page HERE.

BEST EVER Coconut Sweet Potato Soup

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Hello Autumn. I feel FALL arrive in every peculiar emotion of my senses. And when those feelings enliven, it is time for SOUP. This BEST EVER sweet potato coconut soup has the perfect blend of creaminess with a punch of fall flavour. Wake up your senses with a steaming hot bowl of Autumn warmth!

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5 Ways to Give Your Kids Strength of Character

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There is little more valuable than a strong character. Instilling this in children today, requires a little ‘give and take’. But in the end, consistency is what builds the strongest fortitude in a Childs life. It sets them up for success, whatever career path they choose. Here are 5 Simple ways to build ‘Strength of Character’ daily in your children.

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A New Direction

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My Beautiful Friends,

You may be wondering where we are. Well, the good news is we are here, and truly here! But we have heard your cries for us to separate our “Health” side of our homestead from our typical “Ducky and Rabbit” posts. We want to support you! And we are so thankful for those of you who reached out to us! We are also SUPER thankful for those who came to us for health support through this blog! We were surprised and humbled by how that resonated with so many. And quite frankly, I have spent decades studying health and training my own body since I was a small child, so it is my “natural drive”. I love seeing and helping others find wellness that lasts! I think you will absolutely love what we are working on!

For those who are here for the “Duckies” and life things, we LOVE you so much! But we will be reducing our posts from two weekly to two monthly, for the time being, and see how things fare running two separate blogs. We have lots happening, and as we build another website for those seeking wellness in their bodies and minds, we want to be present here too, without spreading ourselves too thin for our fam jam!

The new website is in the works and will debut later this year as we work on building a solid place for wellness and vitality!

We love you all and are so appreciative for each of you who has taken an interest in our humble lives here on our tiny homestead!

Feel free to leave us feedback on your thoughts for the separate themes!

Love,

Tiff ox

Anchor My Soul

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I am pretty sure by the title you can tell where I am going with this. I am, and have always been, a ‘straightforward’ gal. It has been my strength and my downfall, depending on the season and circumstance. But as it is a quality that I appreciate most in a friend, I will continue to grow in always being forthcoming, and open with my life. My favourite question will ever be, “What anchors your soul?” . And on Father’s Day, I cannot imagine a better reflection.

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Behind the Scenes

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Behind the scenes
Eden and his ducky friends, having a walk in the creek.
*This post contains affiliate links. See our full policy and disclosure HERE.

There are so many layers to life. We often don’t see the work put in behind the scenes, we only observe the finished product. This year has been hard on so many, but there is still so much happening beneath the surface that we can glean goodnesses from. I love lingering on the ‘back stage’ little longer, watching the work in progress. It’s always been my favourite place. That is where we are, right now, continually pushing forward a little wobbly step at a time, with our homestead, and searching for Grace in every little moment of growth.



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Superfood Power

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superfood power

Years ago, I saw an “infomercial” for a Shake that promised superfood power for your health. I know. It was as tacky and “pitchy” as the word “infomercial”. I literally spent six years of my life joined at the hip to a company that rocked my body back to shape after repeated pregnancies, and I refused to try any of their other products. Then one day, I signed up for a new workout program, after one of my million babies was born, and received a ‘free one month supply’ of Shakeology (I know, they’re good aren’t they?). I was hooked from the first few days. I almost immediately felt better.

My mental clarity improved, digestion began to manage itself like clockwork, my rosacea skin cleared up within a week, and my energy felt clean and natural (instead of “sludgey” on coffee).
So there it is. I discovered a gold mine of superfood power for my day. If you are an ‘eye roller’, this is your cue. But perhaps you are as interested as I was in a natural solution for ailments such as those I mentioned above. If so, read on.

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“Bite Me” Energy Balls

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BITE ME Energy Balls
This post contains affiliate links.

I don’t know about you but I absolutely love food. Especially the “munching” kind, because I am constantly in motion. From breast-feeding to grocery shopping, to corralling children and teaching multiple grades and ages at the same time, these “Bite-Me” energy balls were something I threw together years ago from a NEED basis. There is always a moment (or several) where I need an AMAZING bite….literally a bite… to keep me moving while staving off the HANGRY monster.

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Find Your Tribe

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Find your tribe

Life is all about re-adjusting to find your tribe. The necessity of connection with your village of humans, is as uplifting as it is deeply strengthening on a foundational level. Indeed, discovering that can carry you through the darkest moments of life, and shine the light brighter in the highs.

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5 Ways to Protect Your Marriage

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Back when I was a young blushing bride at only twenty one years old, someone gave me the most incredible piece of marital advice. I did not realize at the time how incredibly it would sustain and protect the intimacy of our union. Moreover, I had no idea, how it would continue to build our friendship and become one of the 5 ways to protect your marriage, that my husband and I have clung to over twelve years of married life.

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Move Me

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move me

I am a sweaty mess right now, sitting here in torn workout gear.

And this one of my favourite moments in my day. It is the moment that will MOVE ME.

I want to share with you what has absolutely THRILLED me for the last ten years. It is my secret that is not so “secret”, to those who know me well.


It is why I gave up paying a fortune for a GYM membership without losing ‘fitness ground’. Yes…even how I abandoned sweating like a pig in front of strangers (ew) and still manage to get healthy. I also found a way to incorporate movement, from the sacred space of HOME.


But MOST IMPORTANTLY, I discovered how to maintain a healthy routine in the most EFFICIENT, FUN and EFFECTIVE way possible. All this while allowing my kids to WITNESS me exercising…my seven kids. I have seven. Seven….SEVEN KIDS (even I have a hard time wrapping my mind around that)… and they get to see my example. If I can do it, SO CAN YOU. Working out daily has kept me sane and strong. Here’s HOW.

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Figuring Out a New Map

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Figuring Out New Map

The waters are deep when trying to maneuver a new health regime. We do not always know which path to take. As we move forward with our homestead, we are working on being more conscientious of that, figuring out a new map with what we grow for food, what we raise, and our daily habits.

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Fight for Life

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Fight for life #autoimmune #autoimmunediseases #letfoodbethymedicine

I have been debating whether to share this part of my life or not. While it is personal, that is not the reason that hindered me. I am generally open about triumphs and struggles in my life. But this, seemed too strange and “Uncertain” to divulge. However, I considered, if my personal journey to a solution, might help someone, it is necessary I include it here. As well, it now affects our homestead, how we eat and what we will raise….so I shall disclose. This is my fight for life.


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Hearty Rainbow Chili

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Hearty Rainbow Chili Healthy goodness
This post contains affiliate links. See my full policy and disclosure HERE.

There is little more I look forward to cooking than this Hearty Rainbow Chili. Because it is SO colourful it leaves the door wide open for innumerable combinations and possibilities for sneaking in veggies! This is my base recipe for our favourite meal, when we need something to ‘stick to our ribs’! And with so many growing kids, this recipe is a ‘go to’ to fill them up and make me feel satisfied they are getting their veggies in too! Here is one of the simplest ways to add flavour and a filling healthy meal to your table.

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The Power of Advice: One MAJOR mistake we made with our Calf the First Week

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The Power of Advice baby Calf one mistake we made
This post contains affiliated links which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure HERE.

Some days, despite all efforts, you unmask “the truth” around each new bend. And confidently life whispers in your face, “You are merely a ‘rookie'”. Sometimes we scratch through humbling experiences, in order to find our way. But the power of advice is a reckoning for all man.
And this week, we made a major mistake our with our calf, that almost cost him his life.


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We Have a Calf!

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Meet “Angus” Friends!

My response to most of life’s propositions has inevitably been, “Let’s do it!”. This is why I met and married my husband within four months of meeting him. And even though we barely spoke the same syllables, we understood each other’s soul. It’s likely, at least in part, why we have seven children. That same gumption springs forth when life brings other enchanting offers our way. More specifically, they appeal to us if they require a great deal of hard labor and finish with the day with joy. One such offer cropped up this month. And now we have a calf.

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Learning to Read

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Learning to Read early reading skills phonics
This post contains affiliate links which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure HERE.

One of my earliest memories in learning to read. Tucked beneath my mother’s arm I loved listening to her methodical voice more than anything. Truly, I never forgot those moments with her. So many days a week, she would cart me to our local library. It was like a treasure trove of adventure and imagination. By doing this, my mother opened up a world to wander through that would long be my escape and comfort. Still to this day, written language has been one of the greatest joys of my life.

There is boundless information available on reading. But this is what has worked wonderfully for our family and we hope you find success with your own child, through some of our hard earned lessons! But be sure to find what it is that works BEST for your child.

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Perfect Homemade Oatmeal Cookies

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PERFECT Homemade Oatmeal Cookies homestead life

There is little more delectable in life, than these perfect homemade oatmeal cookies. They have a sweet crispy edge and a chewy delicious centre! I tried endless recipes for oatmeal cookies, and never found one that was exactly right. But, through some trial and error, these PERFECT homemade oatmeal cookies arrived one day, just in time to feed our hungry tummies after an afternoon outdoors!

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Encouragement for Tired Moms

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encouragement for tired moms mom life

I see you Mamas everywhere. I have been you and I am you. In my last decade plus of being “Mom”, I have gleaned some encouragement for tired moms. Here are some words to uplift and some tips to grow stronger.

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Basic Meal Planning

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Basic meal planning #eat #foodie #foodlove #recipes #mealplan
This post contains affiliate links which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure HERE.

As a large family, we know how to EAT. Despite this, my goal is always to become more efficient (and healthy) when it comes to FOOD. Here are some simple ways to incorporate basic meal planning into your life. Though we may have time in abundance, stressing over “what’s for dinner” is not a way I like to spend mine!

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Easy Homemade Vanilla Extract

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Easy Homemade Vanilla Extract
This post contains affiliate links which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure HERE.

Here is one of my favourite basic recipes for Easy Homemade PURE Vanilla Extract. It could not be simpler to make, and you will save a TON of money by making it yourself instead of buying it at the store.

Perfect Paleo Chocolate ‘Buttercream’ Frosting

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Traditional buttercream frosting is downright irresistible. But this Perfect Paleo Buttercream frosting truly “takes the cake”.

Swooned by my love for cake, I held a desire to create a dairy-free version. And since revolutionizing my own diet for health reasons, I have been hard at work in my kitchen, creating recipes I could love. This one is a personal FAVOURITE.

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