Rooted & Renewed with Bekah

Our last family outing of the year was a special one! 🥰🍂

We headed out to Penn’s Cave for a little adventure—and, of course, we’re calling it a field trip, because when you homeschool, pretty much any adventure can count as school! 😂📚

Ava and Liam got to learn about the caves, the natural world around them, and the fascinating things God has created beneath the surface. 🌿🪨 We love being able to turn ordinary days into opportunities to learn, explore, ask questions, and experience things together rather than simply reading about them in a book.

Afterward, we found a nearby park and enjoyed a simple picnic lunch together. 🧺🍎 Nothing fancy—just good food, fresh air, a little play, and time together as a family.

And honestly, those are some of my favorite school days.

The ones where we close the books, get out of the house, breathe in some fresh air, and let our children experience the world around them. ❤️

Our 2026 family field trips may officially be coming to an end, but I’m already looking forward to wherever our little homeschool adventures take us next year!

So thankful for the gift of being able to learn together, explore God’s creation, and make memories along the way. 🍁❤️

Sometimes vacation looks a little different when you have neurodivergent kiddos. ❤️

Sometimes it means Mom stays behind with the little guy while Dad and the other kids head out for mini golf.

Liam was up very early this morning—thanks to one window that apparently decided curtains were optional 😂 (we've since covered it with towels for tonight!). By evening, we knew keeping him out late just because we're on vacation wasn't going to be the best choice.

So he stayed back with Mom, settled into the room, and got the quiet his nervous system needed.

And you know what? That's okay.

The other kids get to have fun with Dad. Liam gets downtime. And nobody has to push past their limits just to make vacation look a certain way.

We're learning that fair doesn't always mean everyone does the same thing.

Sometimes one child needs adventure while another needs pajamas and quiet. Sometimes Mom and Dad divide and conquer. Sometimes the best vacation memory is simply knowing we honored what our child needed.

God made each of our children uniquely, and part of loving them well is learning to honor those differences instead of forcing everyone into the same mold.

We're not missing out.

We're making room. ❤️

And tonight, some of our kids are out making memories with Dad…

…and one little boy and his mama are resting quietly back at the room.

Different doesn't mean less. Sometimes different is exactly what our family needs.

Grateful for the opportunity to attend Vespers tonight at this beautiful little Orthodox Church that shares the same name as ours.

Always a blessing to be in church together as a family.

Vacation is also teaching me a little something about nourishment. 🤍

I’m currently trying to follow THM, and while I’d love to say I’m perfectly “on plan” while we’re away…well, vacation is vacation. 😂🌴

There will be meals that don’t fit perfectly. There will be treats. There will be eating out and enjoying food with my family. And I’m learning that I don’t have to turn that into an all-or-nothing situation.

So I brought along a couple of simple things that help me stay grounded in my goals—my Optimized Collagen and EAAs. 💪🏼

If nothing else, I can prioritize getting enough protein and giving my body some of the nourishment it needs, even when the rest of my meals aren't exactly what I would choose at home.

And honestly, that feels like a much healthier mindset for me.

Nourishment doesn't have to mean perfection.

It can look like enjoying the special meal and making sure I get my protein.

It can look like a treat without deciding the whole day is “ruined.”

It can look like giving my body what it needs while still enjoying the gifts of a family vacation.

I'm trying to remember that caring for the body God gave me isn't about punishing it when I don't follow the plan perfectly. It's about learning to nourish it well, with grace, wisdom, and consistency—even in the imperfect, beautiful moments of life.

So here’s to vacation, family, good food, lots of swimming, and finding that balance between enjoying the moment and still taking care of ourselves. 🌿☀️🤍

We are away as a family for a little vacation and one of the things I’m especially thankful for while we’re here is being here at this time of year, when things are a little quieter. 🤍

Last night, we practically had the pool to ourselves—and for some of my neurodivergent kiddos, that makes such a beautiful difference. 🏊‍♀️💦

A crowded, noisy pool can bring a lot of sensory overwhelm. The splashing, the shouting, all the movement and people can turn something that should be fun into something that feels stressful and exhausting.

But today there was space.

Space to breathe.
Space to move.
Space to laugh.
Space to simply enjoy being kids.

And as I watched them relax and have fun, I found myself thinking about how wonderfully and uniquely God created each of my children. ❤️

We live in a world that can sometimes make us feel like everyone should be able to enjoy things the same way, tolerate the same things, and fit into the same environments. But God didn't create a world full of identical people. He created each of us with our own sensitivities, strengths, needs, and ways of experiencing His creation.

As a mama, I’m still learning what it means to honor that.

Sometimes honoring our children means slowing down. Sometimes it means choosing a quieter time, a different environment, or making accommodations that other people may never even notice.

And I’m learning that those things aren't about giving in or making their world smaller.

They're about making room for them to flourish.

Making room for them to experience joy.
Making room for them to feel safe.
Making room for them to be exactly who God created them to be.

There is so much beauty in learning to see the world through the eyes of our children—and in recognizing that sometimes the quieter, slower, less crowded moments are where the sweetest memories are made. 🌿🤍

Sometimes I feel like it’s just one thing after another when it comes to physical symptoms with my kids.

One little guy deals with acid reflux.

Another often has belly pain that comes and goes, sometimes with nausea.

Another gets nauseous when anxiety hits — and sometimes even when they’re deeply excited. There have been plenty of times when the nausea gets intense enough that they need their prescription medication.

And then there’s Nathan, who has his own collection of symptoms related to Barrett’s Esophagus, POTS, and MCAS.

Some days, it feels like our whole family revolves around somebody’s stomach, somebody’s nervous system, somebody’s symptoms, somebody needing something. 😅

My kids just don’t seem to be the kind of kids who can live on ramen noodles, Captain Crunch, and convenience foods without their bodies letting us know about it.

And honestly? Sometimes I wish they could.

Instead, I’m over here cooking mostly whole-food, nourishing meals and trying to make choices that support their bodies. Could I do better? Of course. I’m far from perfect.

But I’m learning that caring for our families isn’t about doing everything perfectly.

It’s about stewardship.

God gave me these children, and I want to care for them well — not because I believe I can control their health, but because I believe their bodies are gifts worth caring for.

And even when I’m doing everything I reasonably can, they STILL have symptoms.

That can be hard.

Because as a mother, you want to believe that if you just find the right food, the right supplement, the right routine, the right answer… you can make everything better.

But sometimes you can’t.

Sometimes we do all the “right” things and our children still struggle.

And that’s where I’m having to learn to surrender the things I cannot control while faithfully doing the things I can.

With Andrew’s income about to take a hit, some of the supplements I’ve relied on for extra gut and immune support may need to disappear for a while.

So I’m going back to some of the simple things that are both affordable and nourishing.

I’m making kefir again.

I’m getting back into sourdough.

I’ve started freshly milling grains again, so even the flour I use to feed my family is something I can prepare with intention.

Nothing fancy.

Nothing perfect.

Just simple food, made with care.

And maybe there’s something beautiful about that.

There is so much pressure in our culture to optimize everything — our health, our children, our homes, our diets, our routines.

But I’m learning to see nourishment differently.

Sometimes it looks like freshly milled bread.

Sometimes it looks like a glass of homemade kefir.

Sometimes it looks like a supplement when we can afford it.

Sometimes it looks like ordering takeout because Mom has nothing left.

Sometimes it looks like medicine.

Sometimes it looks like rest.

And sometimes it looks like praying over a child whose body is struggling and admitting, “Lord, I cannot fix this. But I can care for them, and I can trust You with the rest.”

I can't control every symptom my children experience.

I can't afford every intervention I'd like to give them.

I can't make our family's health journey look like someone else's.

But I can keep showing up.

I can keep learning.

I can keep nourishing these little bodies as best I can.

And I can be grateful for the ability to do even the small things.

Because this is what Rooted & Renewed is really about for me — not perfection, but returning to what matters.

Faith.
Family.
Nourishment.
Simplicity.
Stewardship.
And trusting God in the places where my own efforts simply aren't enough.

I'm far from perfect.

But I'm giving it my 100%.

And for today, I'm going to trust that God can take that offering — however imperfect it may be — and use it for good. 🤍🌿

🌿 History Comes to Life! 🪨

Today, Ava and Liam traveled back in time to learn about Stonehenge, one of the world's most fascinating ancient monuments!

Liam brought our history lesson to life by building his very own replica with blocks, while Ava captured what she learned through drawing. 🧱✏️

I love watching each of them explore history in their own unique way. One child builds, another creates art, and both are learning, imagining, and making connections with the past.

This is one of the beautiful things about homeschooling—history isn't just something we read about in a book. Sometimes, it's something we build right in our living room. ❤️

✨ Learning through curiosity, creativity, and a little bit of ancient wonder!

"You don't live once -- you die once. You'll live (I hope) every single day until then.

So as Mary Oliver asks us, "What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"