In this episode, Jami chats about her list of top 10 books that have impacted her as a homemaker. Listen in!


Listen to the Podcast:


Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

 	
Say Goodbye to Survival Mode

 	Interview with Crystal Paine here


 	The Read Aloud Family
 	Glimpses of Grace: Treasuring the Gospel in Your Home
 	The Lifegiving Table: Nurturing Faith Through Feasting, One Meal at a Time

 	My interview with Sally: Cultivating a lifegiving family https://findingjoyinyourhome.com/cultivating-lifegiving-family-sally-clarkson/


 	Eve in Exile and the Restoration of Femininity
 	Refresh: Embracing a Grace-Paced Life in a World of Endless Demands

 	Embracing a Grace Paced life interview with Shonna Murray


 	The Time Saving Mom by Crystal Paine
 	Adorned: Living out the Beauty of the Gospel Together

 	Biblical Discipleship and mentoring interview with Many Demoss Wolgemuth


 	Finding a Mentor, Being a Mentor by Donna Otto
 	Comparison Girl: Lessons from Jesus on Me-Free Living in a Measure-Up World

✨Announcements in this episode ✨
1️⃣ Our fall shop opening will be October 2nd-8th, one week only! It will feature TWO new fall dresses and all our books in print.

2️⃣ Our next round of the 14 Day Meal Planning Bootcamp will kick off Oct 2nd. Grab your spot here: https://findingjoyshop.mykajabi.com/2023-14-day-meal-plan-bootcamp 

3️⃣ We are kicking off a Get Dresses challenge over on IG: https://www.instagram.com/jamibalmet/ and in my community: http://findingjoycommunity.com/ 
Links and Resources:

 	Join our private community to chat about this podcast episode: FindingJoyCommunity.com
 	Watch the podcast on YouTube if you want! Finding Joy in Your Home on YouTube
 	Keep an eye out for episode 7 of Baking School with Jami coming this week: Baking School with Jami
 	Our Sponsor:  Get 20% OFF @honeylove by going to honeylove.com/HOME 
 	Our Sponsor: Head to acorns.com/home to download Acorns to start saving and investing for your future today!

10 Most Impactful Books for the Homemaker – S3, E8

In this episode, Jami interviews the lovely Phylicia Masonheimer about anxiety and how to battle it biblically. Listen in!


Listen to the Podcast:


Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
Links and Resources:


 	Join our private community to chat about this podcast episode: FindingJoyCommunity.com
 	Watch the podcast on YouTube if you want! Finding Joy in Your Home on YouTube
 	Check out more from Phylicia here: phyliciamasonheimer.com
 	Keep an eye out for episode 7 of Baking School with Jami coming this week: Baking School with Jami
 	Our Sponsor: For 50% off your first Care/of order, go to TakeCareOf.com and enter code home50.
 	Our Sponsor: Go to HelloFresh.com/50homemaking and use code 50homemaking for 50% off plus 15% off the next 2 months!

On Battling Anxiety with Phylicia Masonheimer – S3, E7

In this episode, Jami shares her own battle with anxiety and her journey through it. Listen in!


Listen to the Podcast:


Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
I am so thankful to be able to sit here today and share that: anxiety does not dominate my life. I no longer struggle with panic attacks and while I absolutely can become anxious and have to battle against it often, anxiety is no longer the dominating force it once was.

Anxiety is something that we need to be talking about today because it’s something that so many of us struggle with and we have come to think is normal.

I had panic attacks as a teen and struggled greatly with anxiety, even though I didn’t know was it was. As a newly married 20-year-old, I ended up at the doctor with shooting pain in my chest, thinking I was having a heart attack. I went through rounds of tests and wearing heart monitors and stress tests, all to find out that I was having anxiety issues.

God taught me so much through that season. And I know he was bringing me through those trials at the time he did because he was equipping me for what was right around the corner: Having twins and then losing my mom suddenly when they were 10 months old, only to have a second set of twins 1 year later (so 4 babies, 2 and under), and so much physical stress and strain on my body.

Anxiety is a whole-bodied issue that goes far beyond “don’t stress as much”. Anxiety can be caused by so many issues and made worse by others. And so when we approach this topic of anxiety, we need to approach it from a holistic standpoint, meaning we need to look at our whole bodies and our whole lives.

Christians can tend to fall into one of two ditches: Either they ignore anxiety completely and don’t give good resources OR they go to the ultra-therapy side and leave God completely out of the discussion of dealing with anxiety. Thankfully, I see that trend changing and there are so many good holistic approaches to anxiety and our health today.

We well and truly can trust God 

This is honestly where so much of my stress came from. I was not trusting the Lord with my life, not really.

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust he was sovereign, I did. But I trusted it so much that I was afraid it meant that Jason would be taken from me tomorrow. I had a warped view of God’s sovereignty and I didn’t realize it.

Until I read Jerry Bridge&#39;s book, Trusting God. In it, he so beautifully laid out what it means to trust God and that as our Heavenly Father, God does want our good. He will act according to his will, but he will also do this with our good in mind. We don’t need to fear what his sovereign hand will do. He does allow things to happen that are hard and painful, but we can trust Him in the process.

“That which should distinguish the suffering of believers from unbelievers is the confidence that our suffering is under the control of an all-powerful and all-loving God. Our suffering has me

My Journey with Anxiety and Overcoming it – S3, E6

In this episode, Jami skirts around the controversial topic of parenting, particularly comparing older versus newer ways of doing it. Listen in!


Listen to the Podcast:


Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
There’s a reel going around, the 80&#39;s parent versus Millennial parent, and I think we need to address a few things.

In the comments, OVER and OVER again it was moms saying “I wish I could be the 80s mom!”

And now, this isn’t really about being an 80s mom versus being a millennial mom. 80s moms did things wrong too. There’s good info we do have access to today, there are times to be aware of what our children are doing.

But, I think this viral reel hits at the core of what a lot of us moms struggle with today.
Access to too much information is not always a blessing.
You google literally anything today and it’s going to eventually tell you to head to the ER because you are dying.

I am so thankful for the internet today, I am so thankful for access to good and useful information, but without a high level of discernment, the level of information we have access to can turn from being a blessing into a curse.
Having SO many opinions and voices all screaming at us can crowd out our God-given discernment.
We need to be careful that we are not letting other people’s opinions take over and crowd out what God is calling us to. When that anxiety and that overwhelm hits, are we off to see what our favorite IG influencer has to say or what Dr. Google recommends before and above praying and asking God for discernment in the situation?
We can come to despise the older generations&#39; advice, and this is a dangerous situation.
Older moms, older generations, are where we should be getting our motherhood advice from. And when we end up in an echo chamber of just our own generation, on the internet, in often harmful chat rooms, we are not learning from older and wiser generations.

NOW, this can be actually quite tricky right now. I am fully acknowledging that. We are a generation right now that is changing things. In many ways, we are the generation that is turning the tide back to how our great-grandmothers lived and raised their children and we are having to figure out what that looks like in our modern world. This is not easy and there is no clear way to do this. It takes a high degree of discernment which comes through prayer and wisdom.

Just because we have access to more answers than our grandmother’s day, doesn’t actually mean we know more.
Our children do not actually belong to us, they belong to the Lord. We need to trust that ultimately HE is the one in control, NOT us
Ladies, we have a very false sense of security and control in our modern world. Thank the Lord, we don’t see high mortality rates in our babies. We don’t have to give birth to 15 children to just have 4 of them survive to adulthood. We have access to clean water, good food, doctors, medicine, and more.

A lot of this ca

On being a modern parent, anxiety, and doing ALL the things – S3, E5

In this episode, Jami chats with the fantastic Alex from Sweet Siestas all about helping to solve children's sleep issues. Listen in!


Listen to the Podcast:


Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
Links and Resources:


 	Join our private community to chat about this podcast episode: FindingJoyCommunity.com
 	You can find Alex and her excellent sleep training at sweetsiestasllc.com
 	Watch the podcast on YouTube if you want! Finding Joy in Your Home on YouTube
 	Keep an eye out for episode 4 of Baking School with Jami coming this week: Baking School with Jami
 	Our Sponsor: Use our exclusive link to get 20% off - honeylove.com/HOME

Fixing Your Child’s Sleep Problems with Alex – S3, E4

In this episode, Jami continues the planning discussion from episode 1 and digs into all the ways she's planning for the upcoming Fall season. Listen in!


Listen to the Podcast:


Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
In episode one of this season, we discussed 5 ways that we waste time as homemakers, and what we can do about it. Today we are taking this lesson one step further and discussing how we can actively plan for the next busy season.

I’m building out new schedules for the fall right now, let’s discuss how I’m doing it!

 	Brainstorm and dream
On the way home from our recent road trip, Jason and I took some extended time to really talk through our plans and hopes for the fall. We both have some areas we want to work on and incorporate into our schedules. But we are trying to make sure that we are being realistic with these plans and not trying to jam-pack way too much into our schedule! So we started out just really talking about ideas, kind of like a brain dump. We both talked about health goals we both want to work on, things we’d love to add to homeschool, etc.
It helped to have a time where we just kind of brain-dumped all the things!
 	Go category by category through our plans
After we had that more general brainstorming session, I then took my Kindle Scribe and went category by category into our plans through the rest of the year. Here’s what we discussed:
1. Our health goals
2. Homeschool objectives and we developed a schedule
3. Big work projects and WHEN they will happen.
4. We discussed the Christmas budget and what our ideas are for the kids this year. I now have my Christmas list done and I’m on the hunt!
5. Then personally, I have my own goals and plans to work on: my cleaning routine and meal planning around the house, etc.
 	Make sure to look back over the last season to see what worked well and what didn’t.

 	It’s not just about productivity, it’s about designing a schedule that works well for our family




 	Be really clear on what your priorities truly are.

 	Remember, these priorities can change every few months.



Links and Resources:


 	Join our private community to chat about this podcast episode: FindingJoyCommunity.com
 	Watch the podcast on YouTube if you want! Finding Joy in Your Home on YouTube
 	Keep an eye out for episode 3 of Baking School with Jami coming this week: Baking School with Jami
 	Our Sponsor: Go to magicmind.co/home and get up to 56% off your subscription for the next 10 days with my code HOME.
 	Our Sponsor: Go to HelloFresh.com/50homemaking and use code 50homemaking for 50% off plus free shipping!

5 Ways I’m Planning for a Busy Fall Season – S3, E3

In this episode, Jami chats with the wonderful Melissa K. Norris all about food preservation. Listen in!


Listen to the Podcast:


Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
Links and Resources:


 	Join our private community to chat about this podcast episode: FindingJoyCommunity.com
 	Melissa's excellent book on food preservation: Everything Worth Preserving: The Complete Guide for Food Preservation at Home
 	Watch the podcast on YouTube if you want! Finding Joy in Your Home on YouTube
 	Keep an eye out for Baking School with Jami coming this week: Baking School with Jami
 	Our Sponsor: For 50% off your first Care/of order, go to TakeCareOf.com and enter code home50!
 	Our Sponsor: Go to GreenChef.com/homemaking50 and use code homemaking50 to get 50% off plus
free shipping!

Everyday Food Preservation with Melissa K. Norris – S3, E2

In this first episode of Season 3, we&#39;re chatting about time wasters, and how to stop it. Listen in!


Listen to the Podcast:


Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
Hello friends! Welcome back to my podcast, Finding Joy in Your Home. We are here for season 3 with some fun new changes. I’m going to give you a few announcements and then we will jump into today’s topic of wasting time as a homemaker, and what we can do about it.

Some of you right now are watching me over on YouTube as you listen to this podcast! As of this episode, my podcast is now also a video podcast over on YT. If you listen to the audio and you just want it to stay that way, that’s totally fine!

But as of this week, we are officially relaunching my YT channel in a big way! Each week we will be publishing my video podcast (if you want to watch on video or keep listening to audio). AND I have a brand new weekly show starting on YouTube called Baking School with Jami! Each week we will learn something new about baking and then make a new recipe together!

I’m convinced that the best way to learn to bake is by trying out just one new recipe a week and learning it as you go! And we are going to do this together during Baking School with Jami. For this show, you will need to hop over to YouTube to watch. Just go to BakingSchoolwithJami.com to find the link and to sign up to get the printables and recipes each week!

Now let’s get to today’s episode: 

It can so often feel like we are just spinning our wheels when it comes to getting things done. I have felt many times in my motherhood journey that I have been busy, busy, busy without actually getting much done.

How is it that we can feel pulled in so many directions but not actually making traction in the few areas that actually matter? As we kick off season 3, I think this is an important place to start.

I don’t know about you, but Fall always feels like such a busy time. School is kicking off again and with that comes new co-op opportunities, sports and activities, Bible studies, and the looming holidays.

I know that I’m going to blink and it will be January and we will be kicking off a New Year. So as I stare fall in the face and try to get my new schedules and routines together, I think this is a really important topic: How can we stop wasting time?

I think it’s so important, every new season, to reevaluate what’s working well and what isn’t. And a big thing for me, with so many modern distractions, is making sure I’m using my time well and not wasting my days away, which unfortunately is all too easy to do.

 	Do you need to be getting up earlier? And/or using your evenings better?

This is one I struggle with. I am GOOD at getting work done at night, but I struggle in establishing better morning routines. Some of you definitely don’t struggle with this and that’s awesome!

I’ve found the opposite to be true though too: If you are excellent at getting

5 Ways to Waste Time as Homemakers – S3, E1

In this final episode of Season 2, we&#39;re going to talk about learning to cook, bake, and make all sorts of things. Listen in!


Listen to the Podcast:


Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
When @jasonbalmet and I got married 14 years ago, I had ZERO cooking skills.
No, seriously. My skill set included top ramen (which we use to eat uncooked with the seasoning sprinkled on top as kids. 😂 Anyone else do that??)and microwaving frozen burritos.
I didn’t know how to cook anything, meal plan, meal prep, grocery shop, compare prices…you get the idea. But when we got married, my domesticity snapped into place and I knew I needed to figure out how to cook and manage my kitchen.
I knew that the time we had before kids was the most free time we would likely ever have again (and did I mention we were both working full time and finishing college full time). I’m not sure how I had that wisdom back then, but I’m so glad God gave me that mission to take it seriously to learn how to cook. But it was a sloooow process.
For the past 14 years, I feel like I’ve had a crash course in cooking, but in tiny weekly baby steps. For about the first 3 years of marriage, Friday night was my night to experiment with cooking. For years, I consistently picked one new recipe a week to cook. Many recipes failed. Some burned. Some were inedible. Some were fine. And some were surprisingly good. But persist I did. And the failures became less and less and the winners became more and more.
I still have a looooong list of things I’d like to learn. And really, that list now more just stuff I want to get into a regular habit of making since my skills in the kitchen have grown so much (Praise God)! I’m a very simple cook. I cook a lot of just real foods. I’m not fancy but I’ve learned how to feed my family 🙌😍I want to encourage you: if you feel a huge desire to take control of your kitchen, there is hope! Start with one small task at a time. Pick one new recipe and go from there.
What I’m going to be tackling next: I’m finally ready to jump back into sourdough. But this time, I’ll be tackling sourdough from freshly ground whole grains. It’s a whole new challenge 😅 But I’m ready for it 💪
So on Instagram, I asked what items you guys wanted to learn how to make/bake/cook and today I’m going to share the responses with some advice from me on how to get started. I asked them to fill in a box that said “I want to learn to cook/bake/make _____” 
Just using my pressure canner: This is such a fun goal! Pressure canning is really fun but can also feel totally overwhelming. My go to cookbook for pressure canning is The Complete Guide to Pressure Canning: https://amzn.to/3YbSVis 
For anyone who really wants to learn how to can but you are a total newbie, I highly recommend learning first how to water bath can. It’s like low stakes canning. All you need is a big pot (as opposed to an actual pressure canner

If you want to learn how to cook/bake/make _______ – S2, E45

What is tea, and the difference between types of tea? What are the nutritional values of tea and how are the nutrients found in true tea good for you? Jami interviews tea expert Marla in today's episode to answer all those questions and more. Listen in!


Listen to the Podcast:


Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
Let's take a look at herbal teas (tisanes) and how you can create your own types of herbal teas. What are some simple tips/tricks to look for when deciding what herbs to use to create your teas? A couple of easy herbal tea blends you can make, using herbs you may have in your own herb garden.

Marla is the woman behind the MaraBette & Co, Tea and Hospitality, LLC, a wife, daughter, friend. She is an unconventional, God- loving tea & hospitality enthusiast with a no-nonsense approach to helping people discover the joy of hospitality and serving, through the time-honored art of taking tea and having afternoon tea. Through her company, MaraBette & Co, Marla has established a unique line of artisan teas reflecting the love of family, home, friendship, & hospitality, bringing to many a new sense of wonder through her many tea blends.
Links and Resources:


 	Join our private community to chat about this podcast episode: FindingJoyCommunity.com
 	Book Recommendation: Growing Your Own Tea Garden; The Guide To Growing & Harvesting FlavorfulTeas In Your Backyard-By Jodi Helmer
 	Book Recommendation: Homegrown Tea; An Illustrated Guide To Planting, harvesting, & blending teas & tisanes-By Cassie Liversidge
 	Our Sponsor: Treat yourself to the best shapewear on the market and save 20% Off at honeylove.com/home.
 	Our Sponsor: Go to AquaTru.com and enter code “HOME” at checkout for 20% OFF any AquaTru water purifier.

Creating Tea Blends With Marla – S2, E44

For many years, I’ve functioned well with a loose meal planning system. I needed my days to be extremely flexible and it’s worked well for the most part. This past year or so I’ve felt the need to take my meal planning to a new level but getting things more planned out and a bit more rigid, but still with the flexibility I need. Today I’m discussing the new rotating seasonal meal plan I’ve been talking about. Listen in!


Listen to the Podcast:


Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
I am excited to say that my first of 4 meal plans, my summer plan is almost done. Today I’m going to give you a run down of how this is working and what I’ve been learning about meal planning along the way. 
As the manager of my home, the kitchen is such a large area of responsibility that can either run like a well oiled machine or feel like complete and utter chaos. The past 6 months has seen more chaos than I’d like. So I’m going back to the drawing board and asking “What does my meal planning need in this new busy season?” 
I’ve come up with my plan: Rotating seasonal meal plans. My goals are a few: 1) To make more food from scratch in order to save money 2) Increase the health of my families food so that we all have vitality and energy to tackle the things that God has called us to and 3) Free up brain space and put more of my meal planning on autopilot for smoother routines. 


 	The most important thing to me for finally getting to this more advanced level of meal planning, is having family favorite recipes down. If you are in a stage of need to meal plan for the first time, I suggest you come up with a loose plan that allows you to try out new recipes and hone those recipes that your family loves. Don’t just drift through life and meal planning, come up with a plan to figure out those recipes and save them. 
 	Decide on a meal plan and then stick to it. Honestly a huge part of meal planning is literally just having the discipline to stick to it. 
 	With that said, start with the simplest version of meal planning that you can and build from there (the MVP idea). 
 	Stick with it and develop it as you go so that it makes sense for your family! 

Links and Resources:


 	Our Sponsor:Go to HelloFresh.com/homemaking16 and use code homemaking16 for 16 free meals plus free shipping!
 	Our Sponsor: For 50% off your first Care/of order, go to TakeCareOf.com and enter code home50.
 	Check out our bookstore opening through 7/21 at FindingJoyBookstore.com
 	And join our meal planning bootcamp at FindingJoyShop.com 

Creating Rotating Seasonal Meal Plans: what I’ve been learning – S2, E43

In today’s episode, Jami chats with Jason all about their mid year reading goal statuses. They also discuss their plans to read more classics, as well as introduce them to their kids, as well as how they are raising their kids to love reading as much as they do. Listen in!
Listen to the Podcast:

You can find all the links and notes for this episode below!

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
Links & Resources:

 	Join our private community to chat about this podcast episode: FindingJoyCommunity.com
 	Our Sponsor:Go to GreenChef.com/homemaking50 and use code homemaking50 to get 50% off plus free shipping.
 	Our Sponsor: Go to magicmind.co/home and get up to 56% off your subscription for the next 10 days with my code HOME.

Books mentioned:

 	The creedal imperative
 	The case for the christian family
 	Family driven faith
 	Jason's reading a lot of Steinbeck this year
 	The Convivial Homeschool
 	Modern Miss Mason
 	A Cover for Glory
 	Durable Trades
 	Becoming Free Indeed
 	The Little Women book Series 
 	Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women

On Reading Goals, Classics, and Raising Readers – S2, E42

In today’s episode, Jami interviews Jill Winger of The Prairie Homestead all about growing community and her upcoming book, Old-Fashioned on Purpose. Listen in!
Listen to the Podcast:

You can find all the links and notes for this episode below!



Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
Links & Resources:

 	Join our private community to chat about this podcast episode: FindingJoyCommunity.com
 	Jill can be found over at her amazing website www.theprairiehomestead.com and on instagram @jill.winger
 	Her excellent podcast can be found at podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/old-fashioned-on-purpose/id1475835329
 	Our Sponsor: Head to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code HOME and, depending on the model, you’ll receive UP TO 40% off.

Growing Community Right Where You’re At with Jill Winger – S2, E41

In today’s episode, Jami interviews Brettnay Brazzell of No Higher Calling all about hymns and the value of teaching them to your children. Listen in!
Listen to the Podcast:

You can find all the links and notes for this episode below!



Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
Links & Resources:

 	Join our private community to chat about this podcast episode: FindingJoyCommunity.com
 	Brettnay can be found over on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/nohighercalling
 	Her excellent podcast can be found at https://nohighercalling.org/no-higher-calling-podcast/
 	Our Sponsor: Treat yourself to the best shapewear on the market and save 20% Off! Use our exclusive link to get 20% off - honeylove.com/HOME.
 	Our Sponsor: Get 20% OFF any AquaTru water purifier when you go to AquaTru.com and use code “HOME”.

Learning Hymns as a Family with Brettnay Brazzell- S2, E40

In today’s episode, Jami answers lots of your questions about meal planning. Listen in!
Listen to the Podcast:

You can find all the links and notes for this episode below!



Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
Links & Resources:

 	Join our private community to chat about this podcast episode: FindingJoyCommunity.com
 	Our Sponsor: Go to https://www.magicmind.co/home and get up to 56% off your subscription for the next 10 days with my code HOME!
 	Our Sponsor: Go to HelloFresh.com/homemaking16 and use code homemaking16 for 16 free meals plus free shipping!

Meal Planning Q&A with Jami – S2, E39

In today’s episode, Jami is going to share her fun plan for making a year&#39;s worth of meal plans and how to do it simply! She shares 5 steps she&#39;s using to create these plans. Listen in!
Listen to the Podcast:

You can find all the links and notes for this episode below!



Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
My Goal: I am really excited about this. Over the next month and a half, my goal is to make a year’s worth of meal plans so that I can put my meal planning on autopilot. But I’m not actually making 52 weeks of meal plans. 
I am going to make rotating, seasonal meal plans. I will take each season, broken down into 3 months and create one 4-week meal plan for that season. So summer will have the summer meal plan which consists of 4 weeks of meals, without a ton of repetition in meals. So June, I’ll pull out my summer meal plan and go. July hits and the 4 weeks start over and then again in August. 
Once September hits, it’s time to pull out the Fall meal plan. I’m planning on adding in some easy changes for when your week gets off built right into the meal plan, but in this simple way, I’m going to not only be able to develop a year’s worth of meal plans very easily, but also do it seasonally. 
How I’m going to do it: 


 	Figure out some seasonal guidelines. Things like: more ice cream recipes and fresh produce in the summer, pumpkin, gourds, and squashes in the Fall, soups and comfort food in the winter, and so forth I also want to plan around things like: There’s more time for baking in the fall &amp; winter and lots of fun holidays to do so, I don’t want to heat the summer up as much from the oven, so more easy crockpot, bbq, and simple recipes. 
 	Pantry 
 	Put together my first 4-week meal plan, and then spend 2 months adjusting it. This is where I think the simple part of this will come in. I can spend the time up front to make my first meal plan and then spend a month or two tweaking it. As I pull it out again for the next month, I’ll be able to adjust it and take notes! 
 	Put together an individual binder per season. I will have the full meal plan, a calendar view, all the recipes, prep ahead instructions, and grocery list in each binder. This will also allow me to stick other seasonal recipes I come across or want to try into the binder that’s easy to pull out when we need it. 
 	I’m going to aim for a simple version first. As I play with it, I can perfect it and even add to it if I want. What I don’t want to happen is that I make this incredible meal plan that there is no way I can follow. 

I’m doing the pre-work right now in June. I’m gathering recipes, starting to think through season changes, and getting the printables all created and ready to go. July 5th is when I’m starting. I’m committing to 20-30 minutes per day to get my first meal plan totally created and in progress. I don’t have hours a day to commit to this right now. So I

Creating a year’s worth of meal plans, the easy way! – S2, E38

In today’s episode, Jami is sharing 3 seasons of waiting that her family has walked through, and what God has taught them along the way. Listen in!
Listen to the Podcast:

You can find all the links and notes for this episode below!



Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
When my mom died, it took 6 months to get her toxicology reports back. In this season of grief and not understanding, I had to turn to the Lord again and again in my grief, in my anger, and in my utter inability to fix any of it. 
&quot;Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.&quot; (Philippians 4:6-7)
When we tried to sell our house, the market was raging hot, it crashed the week we listed our house and took 12 months to sell. In a season of financial struggle, we learned a lot about trusting the Lord and thanking him for every single dollar that comes in. 
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?[g] 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” - Matthew 6:25-33
When we desired another baby and it took 12 months to conceive, we had to come really to grips with the fact that we are NOT in control of our fertility in any way, shape, or manner and that we can choose peace and contentment no matter what. 
&quot;Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.&quot; (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Now, we find ourselves in a season of waiting once again. We are ready and excited for the next step of building our homestead. We feel a certain amount of excitement and impatience since it feels like our kids are growing so old, so fast. 
But God has said not yet. He is asking us to be patient and

Encouragement for when you are in a season of waiting – S2, E37

In today’s episode, Jami answers your questions on all things homeschooling. Listen in!
Listen to the Podcast:

You can find all the links and notes for this episode below!



Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
Questions Answered in the Episode:
Q: Teaching how to read: https://amzn.to/3N1QOKn
‘DASHIN UINTO LEARNING READERS
TGATB READERS 
Q: Reassurance that when we find a curriculum that continues to work it’s okay to stick with it. Sometimes I feel like my kids will miss out on all the other amazing options out there.
I get it! With so many terrific options out there, it can really feel overwhelming and hard to choose. What I like to do is add in a lot of quality reading, this way, I know we are still hitting all kinds of amazing things! 
Q: Curriculum Recommendations for Age 5? 
MasterBooks, The Good and the Beautiful, And Gather Round. 
Q: My son ins’t in the correct grade level - is that normal? Finishing 1st, going into 3rd.
One of the most beautiful things about homeschooling is the ability to tailor the education to your child. Who says that every single subject needs to be taught and mastered at the exact same age? Do adults function like that? Or do we all learn different things at different paces. I use grades as a general guideline to help me moving forward, but only you know your child well enough to know what they need! 
Q: General Words of wisdom? Starting K this year 
You’ve got this! I know it feels so hard and overwhelming. But K-3rd is a LOT of play and reading. Stick to that and you are golden. Also, read some homeschooling books to get a good idea of homeschooling trips and tricks. 
Q: How homeschool daily routine looks like schooling multiple kids? 
We try and bunch together subjects as much as possible. The only thing each kid does on their own at their grade level is math, everything else is done as a group. 
Gather Round or unit studies is a great way to do this. Especially for K-5th, it’s easy for everyone to study the same thing at a time. Once 5th and beyond, the kids can much more easily study subjects on their own. 
8am: daily worksheets &amp; handwriting during breakfast. 
9am: Morning basket time &amp; Biblio Plan &amp; current GR unit, &amp; then math. 
Done with regular school by noon. 
Lunch break 
Afternoon we do other fun, hands on things. We do art lessons twice a week and a music lessons twice a week. This is also free play art time, play outside, work on coding, quilting, or knitting a hat. No electronic, tv time, or playing until 4pm. 
4pm until dinner they can then play. 
Fridays are project Fridays! 
Q: Do you use a curriculum or make your own? 
Well now, sorta both since we are creating homesteading units! But mostly, I don’t make my own. 
Q: Do you bind your books that you print off? 
Yes! I have a binding machine that is amazing. It’s saved us thousands of dollars. This year we are trying a new method though in 3

Jami Answers Your Homeschool Questions – S2, E36

In today’s episode, Jami invites Jason on to the show to discuss all things tech. They each share what they're currently doing to control tech in their lives, and they also go into details on how they handle tech with their kids. Listen in!
Listen to the Podcast:

You can find all the links and notes for this episode below!



Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
Links & Resources:

 	Join our private community to chat about this podcast episode: FindingJoyCommunity.com
 	Our Sponsor: Go to HelloFresh.com/homemaking16 and use code homemaking16 for 16 free meals
plus free shipping!
 	Our Sponsor: Get 15% Off at dockatot.com with the code HOME.

How we limit and use technology in the home – S2, E35

In today’s episode, Jami fills you in on allllllllll her homeschool plans for the next school year. Listen in!
Listen to the Podcast:

You can find all the links and notes for this episode below!



Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.
Links & Resources:

 	Join our private community to chat about this podcast episode: FindingJoyCommunity.com
 	For Math this year: We are going back to using The Good and the Beautiful. We will be doing Math 5, Math 4, and Math 2. https://www.goodandbeautiful.com/pre-k-8-curriculum/math/
 	We will be starting BiblioPlan: Ancient History in about 2 weeks: https://www.biblioplan.net/
 	We will do a few Gather Round Science Units spread throughout the year: Rocks & Minerals, Human Body, and Dinosaurs to start
 	In the Fall we will be starting IEW for language arts for the 4 older boys: https://iew.com/taxonomy/term/7/?f%5B0%5D=im_field_grade_level%3A7 We will be doing their Grade 3-5th. And Magnolia will do TGATB Level 2 Language Arts since it's free to print off. If we end up not wanting to finish it, I may switch her to MasterBooks language arts, we will see how the year goes.
 	Mid year:  We will add in a typing course for 4 older boys around January.
 	We do Art Lessons twice a week. We look up Bob Ross painting videos, watch Kids Art Hub, and find other drawing, painting and art classes online for free. One of my sons really wants to take a full illustrating course, so I will find a good one for him to take.
 	We do music lessons 3 times per week. We take online classes from https://prodigies.com/
 	We use Project Friday to explore additional hands on skills and training. Most of our Project Friday's lately have been coming from our own new homesteading curriculum: https://findingjoybookstore.com/collections/sterling-spectacles-homeschool
 	The Talk by Luke and Trisha Gilkerson: https://www.intoxicatedonlife.com/store/product/the-talk/ Jason went through book 1 with the older boys last year, he's doing book 1 with the middle twins right now, and will start book 2 sometime this year with the older boys. We highly recommend the series!
 	Our Sponsor: Head to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code HOME and, depending on the model, you’ll receive UP TO 40% off!
 	Our Sponsor: For 50% off your first Care/of order, go to TakeCareOf.com and enter code home50.

Get Started

Download the App