Homemaker Portrait | Colleen Rockwell

Join me for the first Homemaker Portrait of 2026. I'm chatting with In-the-Trenches homemaker, Colleen Rockwell, about homemaking, homesteading and homeschooling. After working many years as a full-time nurse, Colleen left her job to stay home with her 3 children. They moved to a more rural area, got some animals, started homeschooling and haven't looked back. 

Colleen admits, "My biggest challenge was, and still is, running my home smoothly, learning the best systems to clean, cook, and preserve food." We cover all of this and more in her story of home. Be sure to listen till the end for this episode's emoji. :) 

NOTES & RESOURCES

Full show notes will be up on the blog soon! 

www.theartofhomepodcast.com/blog

Connect with Colleen | @littleridgeacres

Mentioned in This Episode:

Passionate Penny Pincher Planners

Transcript

Allison 0:01

Hello, homemaker. Welcome to the Art of Home podcast, where we are exploring how homemakers cultivate a place to belong. I'm your host, Alison Weeks. I'm a wife, a mom, a granny, and I've been practicing the art of home for over 33 years. Thank you, new listeners, thank you, old listeners, everyone who's tuning in today to hear this homemaker portrait. I am just so honored that you're going to trust me with some of your valuable, precious time, and I pray that it will be fruitful for you and encourage you in your own homemaking journey. Normally in this part of the podcast, I would check the mailbag and read some of your mail and respond or maybe give you an update on one I've been up to. But I'm not going to do that today. My beloved grandmother died about a week and a half ago, and I went home to Louisiana last week to visit with family and attend her memorial service. And so I didn't have as much time as I normally would. And honestly, my heart is just not quite in it yet. Fortunately, um, I can thank my past self for recording some things well before the Christmas break. And you'll be able to benefit from that today because I'm going to go ahead and air my conversation that I had with uh Colleen Rockwell about her story of home. But you're pretty much getting the raw audio. I have not edited this. Um, I just do remember, and looking back over my notes uh from our conversation, I do remember that it's a really great conversation, and I know that you're going to be encouraged by all that Colleen shared. I will pop back in at the end with the Long Haul Listener Emoji code so that you guys can let me know if you listened all the way through by dropping that secret code in a text or in an email or comment on Instagram. Thank you so much for listening today. Thank you for trusting me again with some of your valuable time, whatever you are applying your hands to as you listen. I know that you will love Colleen's story of home. Welcome to the Art of Home. I am here with In the Trenches Homemaker Colleen Brockwell. We are gonna talk all about her keeping a home and it sounds like lots of animals are involved as well and some homeschooling. And she's up in New Jersey in the northeastern part of the states. But before we go back to the beginning of your story, Colleen, why don't you say hi to everybody and tell us a little bit about who you are today?

SPEAKER_02 2:33

Yes, my name is Colleen. I am so excited to be here. Um, longtime listener, very, very excited to be here. Um, I'm a mom of three. We do homeschool. My oldest is turning 11. Then I have a four-year-old and a three-year-old. So we are definitely in the trenches. And you were right, we do have a lot of animals. We have goats, we have chickens, we also have dogs. So each spring is seems to multiply more.

Allison 3:01

And you are homeschooling, right? You said homeschooling? We are homeschooling, yes. And that's a fairly new thing for you, right? Within the last few years.

SPEAKER_02 3:09

Yes. This is our third year homeschooling. Yep. You know, I made the decision to become a full-time homemaker when we made the decision to also homeschool. So it's everything at once. It's a lot.

Allison 3:22

It is a lot, it's a lot, it's challenging and it's so rewarding though. Yeah. It really is. Okay. I'm excited to hear more about that later on. So, do you have time for hobbies? Would you say that home like homesteading animal stuff is your hobbies, or do you have other stuff?

SPEAKER_02 3:36

Definitely homesteading the animals. Um, I love to garden. So I have a huge garden that all the kids help me with, and uh, I also love to read.

Allison 3:45

Okay. Okay. So I have a couple questions. Are what are you gardening? Are you doing flowers, vegetables, or all of the above?

SPEAKER_02 3:51

All of the above. All of the above. We do have uh some fruit trees around the property. We have lots of vegetables, and then I do a lot of flowers too.

Allison 4:00

That's so funny. A little of everything. Yeah. Is your growing season pretty short up there?

SPEAKER_02 4:05

It is. I do start some seeds inside. I start that early spring, and then we start getting everything out right around Memorial Day, and then we're good through early fall, and then that frost hits and we're done for the winter. That's it. Uh huh. Okay. And then reading, what do you like to read? Oh, a little of everything. I really like uh historical fiction. And honestly, revisiting all the classics with my oldest now with homeschooling, we do a lot of family read alouds, and it has been so good to go back to all of the books that we all grew up reading, it's been so rewarding.

Allison 4:44

Your oldest is that a girl or a boy?

SPEAKER_02 4:46

It's a girl. Okay, your oldest is a girl.

Allison 4:48

Yep, she's in fifth grade. Oh, that's so that's such a fun age. Um like you're doing little women and stuff with her. Yes, yep.

SPEAKER_02 4:56

Little women's actually next on our list. Oh, cool. Um, we're currently uh she is in love with Harry Potter right now. So we are finishing those because uh they get a little intense. They do, the later books, yeah. Yes, so we do those together. But uh yep, little women is uh next on the list. And uh even with the little ones, now we're like we start doing Charlotte's Webb with my three and four-year-old all together, and my 10-year-old reads, and it's just the time together is just so good.

Allison 5:26

I love that. That's awesome. Okay, so let's go back to the beginning and tell us when did you first become a homemaker and did you bring any skills with you?

SPEAKER_02 5:38

We I got married 14 years ago, and I was actually nursing school. I'm a nurse, an RN. And we lived with my parents for two years while I was finishing nursing school. So we were very spoiled. I was very spoiled. My mom still did the majority of you know the cooking and everything of the household. So I really became a full-time homemaker when we got our first home about 12 years ago, and I came with barely any skills. I'm very lucky that my husband could cook because I think we would have probably starved that first year if he had not been such a good cook. Oh. So it has been a learning experience for me from then on.

Allison 6:17

Yeah, yeah. That is a unique experience that you got to be. So you were with your parents, you said not his parents, your parents.

SPEAKER_02 6:23

With my parents. So we had a little basement apartment, but we shared a kitchen. So we had a living room, bathroom, and all that. You know, we cleaned it took care of, but I shared a kitchen. It was still very much my mom's kitchen. And she spoiled us.

Allison 6:34

Oh, I bet. In the best possible way. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Oh, that's cool. So, what would you say at this point is your biggest homemaking strength?

SPEAKER_02 6:44

I would say the ability to just give myself some grace. Honestly, that's a big saying in our house. Give yourself some grace. Say it to myself, my husband, my kids all the time. Um, because I feel like homemaking comes with a lot of fails.

Allison 6:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:57

In terms of trying to get a routine down, trying to get a schedule down, especially when the kids are growing and their routines change so often that I think my biggest strength is just realizing that this season that I'm currently in won't last. This season is different than, you know, six months from now.

Allison 7:17

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Okay. So, what about your biggest homemaking weakness?

SPEAKER_02 7:22

Ooh, I fail a lot. Yes. Um, when I say I had no, you know, I didn't come with any experience. I really had to learn from the bottom up. I can bake. I could always bake. Cooking was never my feat. I would say that is probably still my biggest weakness is planning out everything. Dinner every night.

Allison 7:46

Dinner every night for the rest of your life. For the rest of my life. It does get easier when they when you have an empty nest. I will tell you that. Yes. I only cook like three times, three times a week, maybe. So oh, that's good. And then we can do uh leftovers. Do you need does somebody need you?

SPEAKER_02 8:03

Apparently, my husband's probably on a call because now my youngest is making your dream. Yeah. As they all know, don't bother me for for a little while.

Allison 8:15

That's not a problem. No problem. If somebody needs you, we can take a break for a second.

SPEAKER_02 8:21

Hey, Addy, I'm so sorry. No worries. Addie, go ask Daddy. I'm sorry. That is the three-year-old.

Allison 8:34

That's the three-year-old. That's the three-year-old. My grandson is three. And um, yeah, he's very much a three-year-old. So, anyway, we were talking about cooking every night for the rest of your life, but you don't have to do that once your your nest is empty. You can cook like every other or every third night, um, as long as you're cool with leftovers or sandwiches or cereal for dinner or something like that. So it does get better. Um, okay. So, who or what has had the most influence on your homemaking?

SPEAKER_02 9:03

My mom, hands down. Yes. I mean, she could always just do it all. You know, she worked, yet she always had dinner on the table for us. We always had family dinner when I was growing up. Yeah. House was clean, it was mostly organized. You know, I'm one of three as well. So as much organization as you can get with a bunch of kids running around. But yeah, she made it seem like it was so easy. She really did. So I thought it would be so easy too. But she she's given me something to try to be a goal one day.

Allison 9:36

Wow. That is, I I think I don't know if it was because they had fewer distractions. Cause my mom worked too, and and went to school at night. And I was like, I don't, I don't know how you did all of that. Um and I don't know if it's just because they they didn't have social media and Netflix and stuff like that. It's true.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

It's true.

Allison 9:58

So maybe. Um, I don't know. Maybe you could ask your mom. Say, hey, you know, how'd you how did you do all that? It might be a good conversation. Okay, let's talk about expectations. What are some things that surprised you about homemaking? Something good or bad that you did not expect.

SPEAKER_02 10:15

I really thought, again, because my mom made it seem so easy. I thought that when I went from being a full-time nurse and nursing, you juggle when you're on shift, you're doing a million things for different patients. So I thought I was great at multitasking and that it would just come so easy. I would have an organized home, I would have everything clean, I'd be on a tight schedule, and then real life happens. And uh I realized that is not always the case, you know. I uh I expected that it would just come very natural and easy. And it's not, it's a really hard work.

Allison 10:55

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I would I can see how because this is this, I'm actually having an epiphany right now. My mom was also a nurse. So are you a floor nurse? Do you work on the did you work on a floor?

SPEAKER_02 11:08

I spent seven years in a hospital. I also did other nursing, but yeah, seven years in a hospital on a floor. Yeah.

Allison 11:13

So she did floor work. Uh, she worked for a cardiologist for a long time and she did like some outpatient stuff. And I'm I'm getting now a recollection of she is a very organized person and like she learned that through nursing. And you have to be when you're taking care of that many patients and you're managing medications for you know a whole floor full of patients and all that kind of stuff. And that definitely translated into her homemaking, um, because she had to do it because she was doing so many other things. So that makes a lot of sense. But yeah, it's a it's a different, it's a different kind of work. So is you're not at I think that maybe the difference correct me if I'm totally off here, but maybe the difference is that with nursing, your patients, they don't move like they're like they're kind of a captive audience, you know, like confined to their bed, they're not going anywhere. And when you're taking care of a home with kids, they're mobile and they're everywhere. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:11

And at the end of a 12-hour nursing shift, you can go home. That's right. When you're homemaking, you live at your place of work. Yes, you are always on the clock.

Allison 12:20

Yeah, it's very different. It's very different. Okay, so what's an expectation you've had to let go of for your own well-being and the well-being of your family?

SPEAKER_02 12:30

I I have had to let go of the fact that I'm never going. Well, I won't say never. Right now, I am just not gonna have that Instagram worthy house, that clean house that everyone strives to have. Yeah. I'll be getting, you know, I'll clean the kitchen and organize it. I'll turn around, the living room will be like a bomb went off because the kids are in there. Or I'll do the living room and the playroom will be crazy. And that I've just had to kind of embrace that that the kids are having a great time. And that's really what it comes down to is I want them to have a fun childhood. And that's not gonna happen if they can't play and go crazy.

Allison 13:09

Yes, there is a proverb. Um, Rachel, um Rachel, oh my gosh, I'm blanking on her name. Rachel Jankovich. She wrote um You Who and some other stuff. Anyway, she has a podcast with her sister and really smart lady. She's got like eight kids. Um, but she always does, she always quotes this proverb, and I'm not gonna get it right, but it's basically like uh where there are no oxen, the stall is clean. And it's like, okay, you you're gonna have a clean stall, but you're not gonna have an oxen there. You know, if you have kids, the stall is not gonna be clean, it's just not. And it shouldn't be really like not the way what you're talking about, like that Pinterest, Instagram perfect, nothing is ever out of place, and that's not realistic, but it's also not actually what we want because we want our family to do life in our house, and life is messy.

SPEAKER_02 14:04

So yes, yeah, yep, that's absolutely correct. I you know, what I say to my husband, look around after they go to bed and it's like, you know, one day we're gonna have that clean, immaculate house. Yeah, and it's gonna be quiet, it's gonna be so quiet, and we're gonna miss this loud, crazy time.

Allison 14:22

Yeah, you will, for sure. So that's good. I'm glad, I'm glad you have that perspective. That's great. Okay, so we'll just shift right into the parenting questions because we're kind of already there. How did the addition of children challenge and enrich your homemaking?

SPEAKER_02 14:38

I mean, they've just enriched our entire lives, they are truly such a blessing. Um, you know, we got married, we were 25, but we waited a few years since I was in nursing school before we even thought of having kids. Looking back now, we shouldn't have waited at all. We should have had more kids. Um because they're just so much fun and so hard, but they are so much fun. I mean, it's truly life's greatest blessing, is my for my husband and I just getting to see these little people grow up right before our eyes that you know that we're helping to shape. And it's just amazing. Um, for homemaking, it's it's like I said, it's definitely tough keeping up with them. But they're just so much fun. It's just so great, especially being home with them all the time. It's truly a blessing that I I love being a nurse, but being home with them, it's just such a different experience. Getting to be around the kids all the time. Getting to really know them, I think is is the coolest thing for us lately.

Allison 15:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:47

We just uh I think for me as a homemaker, I just want to strive to to foster an environment and create a home life for them.

SPEAKER_00 15:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:54

That they feel comfortable in, that they are gonna look back one day and remember growing up and they're gonna love it. Um, my mom was born in Holland and she always there's like a term that the Dutch people say called Hassel. And we want our home to feel Hassel, warm, inviting, cozy. And that's kind of what I always strive for in homemaking.

Allison 16:17

Oh, I love that. Is that kind of like uh hooga, hooga, hooga? What's that one? There's another one that's called hooga. It's spelled like H-Y-G-E-E. And it's not Dutch, it's but it's Scandinavian, I think. It is a similar thing, it's like a feeling of coziness and warmth. Yep. Yeah, that's so cool that you come from Dutch heritage. Have you ever been um over there? Yes, yep. That's so fun.

SPEAKER_02 16:45

My parents were just there over the summer, too.

Allison 16:47

Yeah. Oh, that's really cool. Um, I was gonna say something and I forgot what it was. Okay, so we were talking about kids enriching homemaking. Um, it'll come back to me. Okay, how do you encourage your kids to participate in the homemaking with you? So you've got 11, four and three.

SPEAKER_02 17:04

Four and three. Okay. I mean, they're just with me all the time. So everything that I'm doing, they are right there with me. Everything from cooking, you know, my four-year-old loves, he absolutely loves to be in the kitchen with me. He loves to to chop vegetables, to peel potatoes, peel carrots, anything that I'm doing, they want to be with. The three-year-old loves helping with the animals, our goats and our chickens. Okay. Um, so does the 11-year-old. She does 4-H, so she's all about the goats. But whether it's that, whether it's gardening, they're right there in the dirt next to me. I'm probably getting more dirt on them than anywhere else, but they're just always with me. So I feel like for them it's coming so natural. Where my 11-year-old said, you know, I want to make daddy uh, you know, a shepherd's pie. Okay, I'll get make sure all the ingredients are in the house and I'll help you. I'll oversee the oven. But other than that, she's able to do that on her own.

SPEAKER_03 18:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:03

I wasn't able to do that till I was in my 30s. So I feel like I am just, since they're doing it with me so much that they're gonna be set up for life. Like they're learning these basic skills that are just how to make a house a home.

Allison 18:20

Yeah, that's so good. I love that. Um, yeah, I tried to do that with my daughter. And actually, I wish I had done it a little bit more with my boys. I was really intentional with my daughter because she's my daughter, and I, you know, that's just I felt that natural. And she was naturally more interested. Um, but I wish I had been a little bit more intentional. All the boys can cook. I just I had they had to learn it a little more when they were look when they were older and they got out on their own. Um, so I encourage you and anybody listening, get the boys in there too. And it sounds like your son already is there in the kitchen and loving it. So that's good. Give them those basic skills, like teach them whatever your signature family dishes are. I I would say try to make sure they know those dishes. All your kids know how to make those before they leave home. Because they'll definitely call you if you don't teach them and they'll be like, How do you make your meatloaf? Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 19:13

I still call my mom. Yeah. I still call my mom for recipes and for advice.

Allison 19:20

Absolutely, which is a good practice. Everybody should do that too. Yes. Okay, what are some practical steps that you do to um set your priorities and to keep your priorities?

SPEAKER_02 19:33

Uh, you know, honestly, it's it's not easy because it's so easy to get distracted. I think we touched on this before. Yeah. Having the phone is is an issue. Um even just getting so wrapped up into whatever task I'm doing, I kind of you can get even with the kids in homeschooling, it's easy to lose sight of the priorities. So it's constantly kind of taking a step back, different parts of the day where I have to kind of press the reset button and see what was the goal for today. And that that's always changing because with kids, depending on their mood, my mood, and whatever's going on in the world, our world that day. Yeah. But it it is, it's tough. Um, we do try to do a lot of Bible readings in our homeschool, which I think that helps just kind of set the day. I find that when we don't do that in the morning, it kind of sets us up for a harder day. Um, you know, a big thing for us is we always have family dinner at night, even if my oldest now is big into sports. So even if that family dinner happens at 4:30, um, in order for her to get to practice, we still do that. You know, we still praise a family before a meal and we have our family dinner. That's a big one. Um that I think helps all of us keep our priority as our family. Also, for my husband and I, I feel like we have to always remember that if our foundation isn't strong, the rest of the family isn't going to, it isn't gonna matter if he and I aren't always on the same page. We're not always on the same page, but um we have to keep our relationship really strong. And right now, again, the season of life that we're in, it's not easy for us to go out on date nights all the time. Yeah. You know, with a three and a four-year-old who still need us, you know, they can't sleep out, they can't do this, but we still try to do little things. So for us, it's very important for our kids to see us, just show each other affection and love, whether it's you know, him hugging me when he comes in or giving a kiss in my living room going, oh gross. I still want them to see that that mom and dad, hey, we love each other, and that's what holds our family together. That's the glue.

Allison 21:55

Oh, that's so important, absolutely. Um yeah, date nights. Are tough when when you've got toddlers. You know, that's and that's I think it's a good um, you know, it's a good goal to have, but it's we have to be realistic. And so being intentional, I would say what you're talking about is even more important. You do need to have time separately away together, but that what you just said, let them see you hug one another and love one another. And that is so important because like studies have shown that that gives a child so much security um to know that mom and dad love each other and that they that they are in a safe, secure place as far as their home being intact and strong. So that's really great. Um, so are you because I want to talk about social media here next, but this these two these two questions sort of relate because you were talking about being distracted by the phone and and this is a question about priorities that I just posed to you. Um, are you a are you a list maker? Do you have like a schedule that that you keep, a binder or something like that, or do you do it on your phone? And I was just wondering if your phone, because some people find find it hard to keep their schedule on their phone because the phone is so distracting. Like you go to check your schedule and you're like, oh, there's a notification. Somebody sent me an email or somebody replied to this comment. And so what do you do? Like, how do you manage that? I'm pen and paper girl.

SPEAKER_02 23:24

Are you I yes? I have my planner, my home planner that everything goes into our schedule, my meal planning, um, all of my lists, my to-dos for the day, or my running shopping list. I am pen and paper. I find I get kind of gets lost on my phone. Yeah. When I'm on my phone, it's it's more social media distraction. Whereas if my planner's out, it's more like I can laser focus in on what we have to do, whether it's homeschool planning or just keeping, you know, softball, basketball schedule straight. It's so much easier to see visually the month calendar open before me, the daily calendar, all of that. Yeah. Do you have a favorite planner that you use? I do. I use um from the passionate penny pincher. The I love it.

Allison 24:13

She just got hers. I just got one for 2026, so I could try it out and just because I love I want to have her on the show maybe next year. Um wouldn't she be great? She's that would be amazing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:24

But I wanted to do stuff too. Love it.

Allison 24:27

Yes. So I got one of her little boxes. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 24:29

Slow cooker ones. I think it's the slow one.

Allison 24:31

I think it's the slow cooker one. I can't remember. Anyway, so I wanted to try it out because it's been coming up on my feed for years, right? And I've been wanting to try it. So okay, I'm glad to know that you're a fan and it's worked well for you.

SPEAKER_02 24:43

2026 will be my third or fourth year using it. And then I've tried like other ones and I'm like, uh, no, I gotta go back to it. It's great because it has, you know, it has your daily Bible readings. It also has checklists in there, which was great for me starting out as a homemaker because it gave me something to follow.

Allison 25:02

She liked did the thinking for you, like she did all the planning and figured all that out. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:07

Okay, good. Yeah, I also love that planner.

Allison 25:10

Okay, so let's talk about temptations and challenges. Which of these temptations have you struggled with the most? Okay, and what is God teaching you through it? And I'm interested to hear your answer to this because you've only been full-time homemaking for a few years now. So A, comparison to other women, B, I am just a homemaker, I'm not getting paid, it's not a real job, or C, Superwoman trying to do all the things. Comparison. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 25:38

Yep, comparison. Um, and I think that hands that goes hand in hand again with social media and this idea that uh especially with the homesteading, the homeschooling communities, that they do all these amazing things. They are able to do it all and just make it seem easy. And that's just it's easy to get sucked into that comparison of real life and and you know, the the fake social media world.

Allison 26:12

Oh man. Yeah, I we have to say it, don't we? Because I know there's a lot of people out there who are genuinely making really great content and they're just like high capacity people, but there's a lot of posers out there too. There's a lot of people who present a picture and say, look at this beautiful life, but what we don't see is what's going on behind the scenes, and that they've got basically an army of people behind them helping them present this brand, which is really what it is. It's a brand image.

SPEAKER_02 26:43

So and honestly, some of my favorite posts are when people are showing you, you know, their beautiful tablescape or their dinner, and they're like, Okay, but here's the reality behind me, and it's like a kitchen, like a tornado went through. And it's like, ah, see, yes, anyone can make that portion of a room or a garden or whatever look beautiful, and you know, their kids are perfect. And even with the homeschooling, a lot of my favorite people that you know, the content creators that I follow will say, I have to put all the beautiful music to these because if I don't, this is what it sounds like. And you hear the kids screaming and you hear real life happening, and it's like, ah, yes. Yeah, yes, yes, don't let don't get sucked into that comparison. It's not always real life.

Allison 27:31

Yeah. I know that Lisa, um, well, I can't remember her last name, but she does Farmhouse on Boone. I don't know if you follow her. Um, oh, she's great. You should follow her. Yeah, she has like eight kids, I think, and has done the whole home studying homeschooling thing, but she has been blogging and doing social media stuff for a really long time, but always her videos are generally um voiceover. It's voiceover where you don't hear. She's filmed herself all day long, and she has done that before, where she said, People have asked me why don't you, you know, sh like do actual live audio? And it's she said it's because this, and then you hear screaming kids and dogs and all this stuff in the background. Yeah, that's that's very true. It's not all that you see on the screen is not as it appears. It's a good thing to remember. Um, okay, what about special challenges? What is a special challenge that you faced in your homemaking journey and how did you work through that to adapt and grow?

SPEAKER_02 28:27

I think probably uh, you know, I actually spoke with my husband about this question because I think for us it was financial, was our biggest difficulty. I went from um, you know, I was a lead nurse in a doctor's office, and you know, I made pretty decent money as a nurse. And then after my third, my daughter came, my third child, I said, I can't do this. This isn't the life that we're going down a trajectory that I we don't envision for ourselves. Right. So we wanted to up and move and for me to quit my job and to stay home full-time. So we went down from double income down to one income. And so it really was a chance for us to take a step back. And we've had to change a lot. Um, you know, we were used to going out to eat a lot, we were used to ordering food, we were, you know, Amazon coming all the time. And now we have to be a lot more intentional with what we want, what we need. And I definitely cook a lot more, you know, not as much eating out. So that was very that was the first time that we've really had to be more conscious about where our finances were going and what our priorities were. Yeah, for sure. Was that when you did the big move when you moved? Yeah, we downsized, we downsized, um technically not house-wise, but we went to a more rural rural area. Okay, and we actually got a lot more property, which is great, was all the things that we wanted. But you know, our family and friends were like, What are you doing? Why are you guys doing this?

Allison 30:08

So this is a what did you have to change communities and like oh yeah, we moved an hour away.

SPEAKER_02 30:14

Okay, yep. We moved an hour away um so that we could afford for me to to not work and still afford, you know, our house and everything. Yeah, yeah. So we sold our house after we had renovated it and it was great. And we still miss that house, but we have just gotten so much back in return. Yeah, we I felt a calling. I said, God is telling me that this is the time we have to do it. If we're gonna make a change, we need to do it. And every day we're we're so happy that we did. It's not easy, but it's so worth it. Yeah, you have a visitor. The dog just left.

Allison 30:50

Oh, the dog. I thought maybe, I thought maybe like one of your children was coming to say hi. So one of the fur the fur babies. Okay, that is a lot, okay. That's a lot of change all at once. So you moved an hour away, you quit nursing, and you came home full time, and you started homeschooling.

SPEAKER_02 31:12

Yeah.

Allison 31:12

Oh my gosh. How was that like first year?

SPEAKER_02 31:17

It was a lot of growth. It was a lot of change. Honestly, looking back now, I think I should have waited a little bit longer to jump into homeschooling, not keep all, not keep my oldest home, but as soon as we moved into the house, I don't even think our boxes were impact. I said, Okay, let's start. Uh I should have taken more time just to settle in with her. Um and honestly, it went from my kids were in daycare, they were in, you know, my oldest who was in public school was in before care and after care. Being with them from sunup to sundown, I was like, oh my goodness. It was a it was almost a culture shock, which is terrible to say because they're my own kids, but I felt like I had to really get to know them again. Yeah. Seeing them for a couple of hours each night and on the weekends, it wasn't enough for us.

Allison 32:12

Yeah, yeah. How did they do with the transition?

SPEAKER_02 32:16

I feel like they uh they did great, they were happy. Yeah, I can't ever ever say I regret it because the three of them are so close to each other now, and it is just the the coolest thing to see them just play and be around one another. Yeah. It's amazing. And I wish we would have done it sooner. Yeah, you know, I wish we could I wish we would have done it sooner.

Allison 32:41

I have to say, I I've said it before. This that's probably one of my favorite things. Uh probably in my mind, that's the one of the biggest benefits that we experienced from homeschooling was how close our kids became during those years. And we didn't do it, we did it for eight years. We did so they did like a little bit of homeschool, a little bit of public school, a little private. Um, but those eight years just really solidified their relationships that have carried on through into adulthood. So I'm so grateful that we did that.

SPEAKER_02 33:11

Yeah, and that's what we're hoping, you know, that's what we want. They they just have so much fun together. Yeah. It's just so much, it's so great to watch.

Allison 33:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:20

Just be a part of.

Allison 33:22

They'll have so much fun and get into trouble. I'm still I'm still hearing stories. Listen, I still get stories every so often about, oh, remember that time, mom that we said we were gonna go on this nature walk, and yeah, that's when Joe, you know, fell out of the tree and almost died.

SPEAKER_02 33:37

I'm sure.

Allison 33:39

Yeah. Okay, let's talk about hospitality. What is one practical way that you show hospitality in your homemaking?

SPEAKER_02 33:46

We really do like to, we like to host um for us. So we have uh our backyards, you know, a few acres. So we like to, especially in the spring and summer, we invite all of our families up. We have we're very blessed to have a big extended family. So it obviously makes it easier in the summer when we can have everybody up for parties and and barbecues. Uh, I think if you ask my daughter, one of the best things would be that we all camp out in our backyard. Oh so we have the fire pit going, we're barbecuing and you know, playing games, and then they all everyone sleeps sleeps outside in tents, and all the cousins are just going crazy. Oh, I love that.

Allison 34:26

Yes, that's so fun. You can do that up there where you have nice mild summers.

SPEAKER_02 34:31

Yes, yeah. Oh, nice and hot. It's great. We have a brook that goes through a property, but the kids are fishing in and splashing in and catching crayfish, and it's just I think it's probably one of the best things that my husband and I get to do is like watch our family enjoy everything that we've sacrificed to get yes, it's it's very it sounds very idyllic.

Allison 34:51

That's awesome. Yeah, that's that's awesome. Okay, so I have some rapid fire questions for you. What is your biggest homemaking fail so far?

SPEAKER_02 35:02

Not following my tried and true systems, meaning yes, like I know this now. I have to do at least one load of laundry complete every day. Dishwasher has to go at night. If I don't do those things, that's it. It's a fail.

Allison 35:18

Those are your non-negotiables. Those are non-negotiables. One laundry load a day, dishwasher must run at night. Yep. That's good. Those are those are good ones. Okay. Um, recent homemaking win.

SPEAKER_02 35:31

Um, my my oldest daughter went to visit family with my parents, and she went to visit my uncle, her great uncle. And he and my parents called me after their little trip and said, Natalie, my daughter said the best thing what she wanted to be when she grows up. She wants to get married, she wants to have a little house on some land and be a mom.

Allison 35:55

Oh, I love that.

SPEAKER_02 35:59

These tears in my eyes, honestly. Yeah. And they said, You guys are doing so good because that's what she sees, and that's what she's seeing is important. Yeah. And that's yeah.

Allison 36:13

That's that's my biggest one. Yeah. That's good, good answer. Um, okay. A homemaking product or resource that you are loving right now. We actually already touched on it.

SPEAKER_02 36:26

I was gonna talk about my paper planner, my physical planner. Because honestly, that really does. It's it's such a savior for my schedule having that written planner.

Allison 36:37

Yeah. Okay, so um, in case you don't know, I will link this in the show notes. Passionate Penny Pincher is the brand. And her name is Laura, Lori, Laura. Oh, I can't remember her name. I should I mean, but if you look at Passionate Penny Pensure, it'll take you. And she has these beautiful binder style. They're like uh spiral bound and they open and they'll lay flat, which is wonderful. They do um and they have like check boxes for like every single day. She will basically hold your hand through your homemaking day and make sure that you get things done.

SPEAKER_02 37:08

That's what I has an AM checklist and a PM checklist.

Allison 37:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 37:13

And uh it's easy to you know to change around things and to customize it for your needs. Yeah, but it really does help hold your hand. And I find when I don't use it, things don't run as smoothly. So, yes, big shout out to that planner. It is so helpful.

Allison 37:28

Okay, awesome. And you've also used her because she does have like a meal planning um, like these really cute little recipe boxes, and she'll integrate her. You don't have to do the recipes, but if you need help with the recipe area and cooking and stuff, it will integrate with the planner as well, right? Like she has like all the systems kind of work together.

SPEAKER_02 37:48

There's a place in the planner for meal planning, which is you know, that I actually that is another non-negotiable for me. It makes life so much easier. But yes, she sells boxes, recipe boxes that are so easy and simple. There's everything from sides to um my favorite are the the like crock pot recipes. Okay. So she's got I've got like two of those boxes alone, which are like a whole box of just recipes. Yes, and everything she gives, even desserts that you can throw in there, but the dinners are are what I love because it just it takes the guesswork out of it and it just makes it simple.

Allison 38:29

Okay, well, we've sold you on that, hopefully, and I'm gonna try to I'm gonna try to get her on the show.

SPEAKER_03 38:33

But I can't wait.

Allison 38:35

Yeah, that's great. Okay, yes. Um, favorite homemaking hack or tip?

SPEAKER_02 38:41

Meal planning.

Allison 38:42

Meal planning.

SPEAKER_02 38:42

Meal planning uh hands down. Um, even I just try to set like 10 minutes on Sunday and just try to go through the week, look at my schedule, see who's got what activities, what meetings, who's going where, and just easy meals, thinking, uh checking the freezer, what I can take out and when, and just getting that organized for the week. It just takes such a mental load off the day, knowing what's gonna be happening for dinner, even if it's leftovers, right in leftovers, and it's like 100% one less thing you have to think about.

Allison 39:16

One less decision you have to make. Absolutely. So, speaking of meals, what is your signature dish?

SPEAKER_02 39:23

You know, we are of my kids love just basic mashed potatoes and meat. So whether I can put chicken or steak or, you know, they or pork, as long as it's got mashed potatoes and corn and a meat, they are happy. So as much as I try new dishes, they will go crazy for mashed potatoes and a protein.

Allison 39:45

Okay. So are you a from scratch mashed potato person or do you use an instant? Okay.

SPEAKER_02 39:50

We are from scratch, yes. Um, we do grow our own potatoes in the summer. Yes, but we usually don't get enough to like last us the whole year, but we are still from scratch potatoes. What's your favorite type of potato to use for a mashed potato? Honestly, I feel like we end up using probably like a russet most of the time.

Allison 40:07

Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I I kind of go back and forth between a red potato and a russet potato. Sometimes red potatoes can be a little waxy, and and that can end up, you can end up with more like a gluey texture. Um, if I want a chunkier mashed potato, that works pretty well because I just won't mash it as much. But if I want a really smooth mashed potato, I think russets are the way to go.

SPEAKER_02 40:32

I think so. We used to, you know, I always used to use like my hand blender to mash them. I don't even do that now. Now we use the old-fashioned potato masher so the kids can do it. Oh, fun. They won't always do it. So absolutely, here you go. There's the masher. And they go to town, and it's another way for them to get involved.

Allison 40:50

Yeah. Do you have a standard mashed potato recipe? Do you put butter in your mashed potatoes? I do.

SPEAKER_02 40:55

I put butter. We also um we go to a local dairy for our milk. So we have fresh whole milk. Thick whole milk. Yes. And then we usually do most times we do garlic mashed potatoes too. Okay. So how do you make them garlicky? Usually I put in um garlic powder, which uh is from the garden that I dehydrate and grind. So my gosh, that's amazing. Yes, garlic is one of the best things to grow. That's hands down our favorite thing to grow. So we use that in a lot of recipes.

Allison 41:24

Okay. Oh, awesome. Do you have a recipe like that you could share with us for your mashed potatoes, or is it something you just kind of do? It's just something we kind of go yeah, just willy-nilly every time. But okay, no worries. But that's a good, that's a good thing. We have you have the basics. Um use a russet, let your kids mash them. Get some really good quality milk, or if you can't get your hands on that, then put a little cream in there and that will give it that creaminess and butter and a little bit of garlic powder. So good. Salt and pepper, yes. Yes, of course, salt and pepper, yes. Okay, so let's talk about talk about the art of home. How do you see homemaking as an art and where do you find beauty in it?

SPEAKER_02 42:07

I think it's an art because when it's done well, which again does not mean the picture perfect house, but when it's done well, meaning your family is happy and they're healthy and everybody's kind of enjoying doing life together, it just makes you as a homemaker feel good. You know, it same way as when you go to a museum and you see beautiful art, yeah, and it warms you. But that's the same way I try to look at homemaking now.

Allison 42:35

Yeah, that's a good way to that's a good way to look at it. Yeah, when you walk into a museum and you see, I just got to go to um my husband has to do international travel once a year. Um, and so we try when we've done this twice now. If we can, uh his tickets paid for, so I can just we'd have to pay for my ticket. And so we got to go to Paris um this this summer, and I got to go in and see some artworks that I love. I've actually got a couple of behind me some some monets, um, that those are old. But I got to see those. I got to see the real ones in person when we went into this museum and some other famous um impressionist paintings, and just that I just, oh my gosh, that feeling of just standing in front of this masterpiece and um thinking of all of the work and the skill that went into creating something so beautiful. Because when you see it on a print, you don't see, especially like with this kind of um the brush strokes, impressionist art, the brush strokes, um, Monet, his brushstrokes, there are like a million colors in there that your eye sees pink, but there's 18 different types of pink in that one little brushstroke, and it's just it's very detailed and it's very intricate and layer upon layer. And anyway, I could make all sorts of analogies with the homemaking, which is why I call The show, The Art of Home. Um, as a wannabe artist myself and a painter, occasional painter, I can see endless connections there to the art and to absolutely it's true.

SPEAKER_02 44:11

The only difference is millions of people will go to Paris and see those paintings. Not millions of people are gonna see the the the brush strokes that you put into creating the art of your house and your home.

Allison 44:23

Absolutely, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 44:24

But the people who matter, yeah, your family are gonna see all the detail, all the brushstrokes that you were trying to put into your home.

Allison 44:33

Yes. Oh, that's good. That's good. So let that be an encouragement, ladies listening. What's something that you are thankful for about homemaking?

SPEAKER_02 44:44

We touched on this a little earlier, but really just the time. The time with my family, being being able to be present in my home with them. Yeah. You know, it's just, I'm just so grateful for it. Um making a home for my family has just been truly the biggest blessing in my life to show them my love through trying to make a home for them, whether it is, you know, trying to make cookies for them or dinner or cleanup or what whatever the case is, it's just that time of being together. Um that's what that I'm just it's just so amazing to see everybody grow and flourish together.

Allison 45:27

Yeah, yeah. That is a real gift. Okay, let's talk to the other women on either side of you. We'll move into the tightest two encouragement section. Um, you're right in the middle. So first let's talk to the older ladies. What is something that you would like them to know about your generation's experience as a homemaker? And what can they do? What can older women do to come alongside you guys and help you?

SPEAKER_02 45:54

You know, this was a tough one for me when I was thinking about it, because I feel like my generation we were more taught to have to think about going to school, having a career, and then think about getting married and having kids. And I feel like now my generation is really taking a step back and saying, wait a second, we're replaceable everywhere else but at home. Oh yeah. And not that having a career and an education isn't important because it is. But again, they can replace you anywhere except for at home. So I would love the older generation to know that we value those homemaking skills. And I feel like we didn't learn it enough growing up, and we want to know all the knowledge now. Yeah. And, you know, I think that's one place where social media comes in, you know, is a positive thing because you can just learn so much from it. And I would love the older generation to, you know, to really record their tips, their tricks, everything from, you know, the lost art. I feel like my generation is loving canning now, canning food and preserving food. That wasn't a thing that I was ever on my mind 10 years ago when I still had kids then. And uh I feel like the older generation, I would love to just soak up all that knowledge.

Allison 47:17

For sure. Yeah. Um and it's wonderful to get it on Instagram, on YouTube. Um, such wonderful resources. And look for the ladies, look for the ladies around you who have those skills. Um, I think probably just being bold and willing, being bold and willing to just ask them if you know someone who has a skill that you are lacking, just be bold and say, Hey, would you teach me how to do this?

SPEAKER_02 47:44

Absolutely. I feel like um in our community, you know, it's a smaller community, so I feel like there's a lot of opportunity. Um, like I mentioned earlier, we go to a dairy, they're more than willing to, you know, invite you into the barn and talk to you. And it's it's great, it's fascinating just to learn as much as you can. Um all of that, just cooking from scratch and just you know, the ways that people used to clean houses and simple things like that. It's like we want it all. Give us all the information because if you don't use it, you lose it. And if you're not, you know, so much of the younger generation wasn't a big deal, even for me growing up, wasn't on my radar. And now it's like, oh my gosh, I want to know everything. Yeah, exactly.

Allison 48:28

And you you said your daughter was involved in 4-H. Did you say that? Or did I yeah, so that's another great resource too, even just not just for your daughter, but then for you making connections through the 4-H community. Um because that's the kind of skills that they focus on.

SPEAKER_00 48:44

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 48:45

And even in the homeschool community, it's you have veteran homeschoolers who who are just a little bit older, but who have been doing this for so much longer, yeah, that just love to share the knowledge. And it's like, yes, please give us all the knowledge.

Allison 48:59

Yeah. Okay. So what about the younger gals? What would you say to those homemakers who are coming behind you? Um, a word of encouragement or warning or both.

SPEAKER_02 49:09

I would say, you know, a word of encouragement is that you just kind of have to find your own way. Your home is your home for a reason. So what works for one person isn't gonna work for you.

SPEAKER_00 49:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:22

Um, you're gonna have to find your own schedule, your own way of running your kitchen. I think that too was something I struggled with was this is my kitchen. I can do what I want in my kitchen so I can run it the way I want. So to those just starting out, you gotta kind of find your own, your own way. And it might there might be some growing pains, but it is it's such a truly worthy journey just to come into your own as a homemaker.

Allison 49:50

Yeah, I totally agree. That's great. And we have a visitor. It was almost like almost right at the right time. I was just about to say goodbye, but that's okay.

SPEAKER_02 50:04

Um that was my four-year-old. So cute.

Allison 50:10

Okay, well, I think that's it. So thank you for being here, Colin, so much for having me. Oh, it was my pleasure. I loved hearing your story. I love, I love when I get to hear someone from someone who's been in both worlds and done the whole working full-time and trying to do all of that and then made the shift home. And it's been a good experience for you. And I'm I'm really happy for you and your family. So thanks for being here.

SPEAKER_02 50:34

Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it.

Allison 50:36

You're welcome. Thank you so much for listening to this homemaker portrait of Colleen Rockwell. I hope that you've been inspired and encouraged by all the wonderful ideas and um wisdom that Colleen has shared with us today. I loved, loved her ideas about um hospitality, particularly the summertime camp out in the backyard with the family. I just thought that was such a great idea and a great way to use the space that God has gifted uh her family with. So let's make the emoji code for long haul listeners for this episode a tent. All right. So drop me a tent in um either the Instagram post if I manage to get one up, or you can send me a text message using the link in the show notes, or you can drop me an email. I'm always up for a good email. And let me know what are some of your favorite ways to show hospitality, maybe out of the box, like Colleen's idea of hosting a tent campo in the backyard. I would love to hear from you. Okay, well, that's gonna be it for this episode. Thanks for sticking around. Thank you for your understanding, for not getting quite as polished of an episode as I normally would put out for you guys, but I wanted to get it out on time, and this is what I could do for y'all. So I will be back next week with a brand new Monday Motivation series all about courageous acts of homemaking, and then next Wednesday with another all-new homemaker portrait. Until then, keep practicing your art of making the home.