# Homemaker Portrait | Michele Marshall

An episode of [The Art of Home: A Podcast for Homemakers](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1557993655), 25 Oct 2023, 1 h 16 min.

Audio: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1587457/episodes/13835590-homemaker-portrait-michele-marshall.mp3

Send me a text about this episode! Join me for this In-the-Trenches Homemaker Portrait. Michele has been keeping a home with husband, Seth, for 12 years. They are raising 3 children and helping to train lots of horses in the business they run from their home. We talk about some of the similarities of training kids and horses as well as learning to claim the badge of homemaker without qualifiers, excuses or adding other titles to somehow legitimize your choice. Lots of great insight and ideas from Michele in this interview. Enjoy! FROM THIS EPISODE All links and resources will be available in this week's free newsletter. Click the link below to subscribe. *For future reference, check newsletter archive, Season 16 Episode 4 HOMEMAKING RESOURCES • Free Weekly Newsletter, Homemaker Happy Mail • Newsletter Archive Free Audio Version and Study Guide for JR Miller's "Homemaking" • Listen to the Audio of the book in our 2023 Summer Reading Series • Get Your Free Study Guide SUPPORT & CONNECT WITH US • Leave Us A Review • Love The Podcast (works on any device) • Stay In Touch with The Art of Home Podcast • Leave Us a Voicemail • Instagram | Facebook | Website | Email • Follow The Art of Home on Your Listening App • Follow The Podcast (works on any device) • Support The Art of Home • theartofhomepodcast.com/support (detailed instructions for sharing, reviewing and tipping) Support the show HOMEMAKING RESOURCES • Homemaker's Journal, AoH Seasonal Magazine • Private Facebook Group, Homemaker Forum • JR Miller's Homemaking Study Guide SUPPORT & CONNECT • Review | Love The Podcast • Contact | Text/Voicemail-use the link at top of description | Website | Email • Follow | Follow The Podcast • Support | theartofhomepodcast.com/support DISCLOSURE • **Buy | as an Amazon affiliate, AoH receives a small commission at no extra cost to you when you use our links to purchase items we recommend • AI Content | Portions of this episode’s copy and/or show notes may have been drafted with the assistance of AI and then reviewed and edited by a human, Allison Weeks.

## Transcript

[0:03] Allison Weeks: Hello, homemakers, and welcome to the Art of Home podcast, where we are exploring how Homemakers cultivate a place to belong.
[0:09] Allison Weeks: I'm your host, alison Weeks.
[0:11] Allison Weeks: I am a wife, a mom to four grown kids, a granny to one baby boy, and I have been practicing the art of home for 31 years now.
[0:20] Allison Weeks: Well, welcome to the halfway point of this season.
[0:25] Allison Weeks: This is season 16 plus.
[0:28] Allison Weeks: That's the plus because we normally do six episodes per season, but this time you're getting eight episodes.
[0:36] Allison Weeks: That's because I had a great response to you all when I opened up applications for guests, for listeners to be guests of the show, and I wanted to accommodate as many of you as possible.
[0:47] Allison Weeks: So we will be going right up until the day before Thanksgiving with this season and then, right after Thanksgiving, that next Wednesday, we will start our third annual holiday homemaking series.
[0:59] Allison Weeks: And if you are already in the holiday mood and you want to get a jumpstart with some ideas, make sure that you go back and listen to holiday homemaking 2021 and 2022, as both of those are filled with fabulous recipes and ideas and inspiration for your holiday plans and celebrations as you keep your home throughout the holidays this year.
[1:23] Allison Weeks: If you're new here, I'm so glad that you found us.
[1:26] Allison Weeks: Thank you for tuning in today.
[1:27] Allison Weeks: Thank you to all our regular listeners for tuning in, for sharing, and for commenting and lending your support and sending emails.
[1:35] Allison Weeks: It really means a lot to me to know that this podcast is making a difference in your everyday homemaking life.
[1:41] Allison Weeks: If you're already signed up for the newsletter, hooray.
[1:44] Allison Weeks: I hope it is an encouragement to you on Friday mornings when you're finishing up your homemaking week and headed into the weekend.
[1:50] Allison Weeks: If you have not signed up for the newsletter yet, what are you waiting for?
[1:54] Allison Weeks: This is a free publication.
[1:56] Allison Weeks: It comes out every Friday morning during our regular seasons.
[2:00] Allison Weeks: It is the only place where you're going to get detailed show notes from each of our guests, and that includes any resources that they share and recipes that they share.
[2:09] Allison Weeks: So you want to make sure that you're signed up for that.
[2:11] Allison Weeks: Just go to theartofhomepodcastcom.
[2:17] Allison Weeks: Today on the podcast, I'm talking to another listener, michelle Marshall, and Michelle is a mom of three.
[2:27] Allison Weeks: She just had a baby not too long ago.
[2:29] Allison Weeks: She was expecting her third baby when we did this interview earlier this fall and she is not only a caretaker of children in her home, but she is a caretaker of horses.
[2:38] Allison Weeks: She and her husband met through horses.
[2:41] Allison Weeks: They have a horse training business that they run on their property, and so we spend some time talking in this interview about the differences and the similarities between training horses and training children, and that's a really interesting conversation.
[2:56] Allison Weeks: But aside from that, michelle has a lot to offer.
[2:59] Allison Weeks: She's got some great ideas, some great insight.
[3:02] Allison Weeks: She candidly shares some of the things that she struggled with, some of the things that the Lord has been teaching her as she's on this journey as an in the trenches homemaking mama.
[3:12] Allison Weeks: So whatever you are applying your hands to as you listen today, I know you will enjoy Michelle's story of home.
[3:21] Allison Weeks: Welcome to the art of home.
[3:22] Allison Weeks: I am here with my new friend, michelle Marshall.
[3:25] Allison Weeks: She is an in the trenches homemaker and we're going to hear all about her story of home.
[3:30] Allison Weeks: Before we go back to the beginning of your story, michelle, why don't you just introduce yourself to the audience?
[3:37] Allison Weeks: Tell us a little bit about yourself, like, who are you today?
[3:41] Allison Weeks: What are your hobbies?
[3:42] Allison Weeks: What do you?
[3:43] Allison Weeks: What do you fill your time with?
[3:45] Michele Marshall: Okay, I am a wife of 12 years to my husband, seth.
[3:50] Michele Marshall: We have two children, almost three Actually.
[3:54] Michele Marshall: I'm 38 weeks pregnant, so we have a little girl and a little boy, and one more on the way.
[4:02] Michele Marshall: I am a lifelong horseman.
[4:05] Michele Marshall: I've been involved in the equine industry since I was a small child pretty much agricultural industry, but then that turned into strictly horses for me.
[4:15] Michele Marshall: So that's a big part of my life and my family's life.
[4:21] Michele Marshall: And then one other hobby we love, and I love personally, is hiking.
[4:26] Michele Marshall: So lots of horses, lots of hiking and kids.
[4:31] Allison Weeks: Oh, wow, that's so cool.
[4:33] Allison Weeks: Okay, I didn't know that you were pregnant, so congratulations, thank you.
[4:36] Allison Weeks: 38 weeks, so you're right there at the end.
[4:40] Allison Weeks: How are you feeling?
[4:43] Michele Marshall: I feel really good.
[4:44] Michele Marshall: Yes, I've been very lucky and blessed that.
[4:47] Michele Marshall: This has been pretty easy.
[4:49] Allison Weeks: You've done all the nesting things or like are you in that phase still right now?
[4:54] Michele Marshall: I'm mostly through it, but it's kind of never ending with two others around the house, so we got to keep.
[5:01] Michele Marshall: Every time I see something I'm like, oh, we got to do this now, we got to do this now.
[5:06] Allison Weeks: Right, right, and I know I'm just fascinated about the horses and I want to talk more about that in a little bit.
[5:14] Allison Weeks: But you do have a business right, you guys?
[5:17] Allison Weeks: You train horses.
[5:18] Allison Weeks: That's what you do, because you have your job outside of homemaking is running your business.
[5:23] Michele Marshall: Yes, so we have our business here.
[5:26] Michele Marshall: We live on land with our barn and our horses and we run an equine facility, so we train horses and we train people.
[5:35] Michele Marshall: So we give riding lessons, we train horses, we show horses.
[5:39] Michele Marshall: My husband and I are both working to become licensed judges for competitions and it's something we've both been involved in our whole lives, so it's trying to bring our kids up in that as well.
[5:53] Allison Weeks: That's cool.
[5:54] Allison Weeks: Did you guys meet through horses, or how did you meet your husband?
[5:57] Michele Marshall: Through horses.
[5:58] Michele Marshall: Yes, we actually both rode.
[6:00] Michele Marshall: We took riding lessons at the same stable when we were kids.
[6:04] Michele Marshall: So that's how we met and then kind of met again as teenagers, and that's that.
[6:14] Michele Marshall: So here we are now.
[6:16] Allison Weeks: Oh, that's so cool.
[6:17] Allison Weeks: Okay, so when?
[6:18] Allison Weeks: Let's go back to the beginning.
[6:20] Allison Weeks: Okay, you've met your husband as in childhood.
[6:22] Allison Weeks: So then, when did you first become a homemaker?
[6:25] Allison Weeks: And then, when you did, did you have skills, any skills?
[6:28] Michele Marshall: So I found that question really interesting because if you had asked me before I listened to your podcast and had time to think about these things for a couple of years I would have said a few years ago, but it wasn't.
[6:43] Michele Marshall: I homeschooled the last part of my schooling journey, so as a high schooler, because I was showing horses and you can't be gone all the time showing horses and be in a public school so I was homeschooling, which then allowed me to move out and work some jobs pretty early.
[7:01] Michele Marshall: And each of those places the ranches or farms I was working at out of state I had accommodations, usually very nice small accommodations, and I loved making those places my own, like that was.
[7:16] Michele Marshall: I love to decorate, I love the rhythms, I love to keep everything in order.
[7:21] Michele Marshall: So I kind of got a little glimpse at that time.
[7:25] Michele Marshall: And then I got married at 21 and it started.
[7:29] Michele Marshall: Then.
[7:30] Michele Marshall: It's gone through many stages.
[7:31] Michele Marshall: You know changes.
[7:32] Michele Marshall: When I was first married, my husband and I were both working a lot outside the home and on our business, so we shared a lot of duties inside the home and then it just kind of evolved as we go forward.
[7:48] Michele Marshall: I was taking over more, children were born, I took over more and you know it just continued and now I homeschool the kids and I'm home full time with them, so it's more of my domain at this point, but it started about 12 years ago.
[8:08] Allison Weeks: I love that you recognized that time that you spent in your little spaces.
[8:13] Allison Weeks: You were actually making a home.
[8:15] Allison Weeks: How long were you in those places where you would stay?
[8:18] Allison Weeks: Was it just an?
[8:19] Michele Marshall: So each space would be six to 12 months usually, but there were several different spaces and it was really fun because they were all different, but they were all mine for the time.
[8:33] Allison Weeks: That's so cool.
[8:34] Allison Weeks: So were you able to hone any particular skills, Like did you feel equipped in the area of homemaking when you started keeping a home with your husband when you got married?
[8:47] Michele Marshall: Yes and no.
[8:48] Michele Marshall: I had a lot of areas to grow.
[8:50] Michele Marshall: Nothing seemed new, just the general, you know, the day to day tasks.
[8:56] Michele Marshall: None of that seemed new because I had done that for myself a lot.
[8:59] Michele Marshall: But I think what I brought to the table most for myself was management skills.
[9:05] Michele Marshall: I had had to manage my time and my business before, and so that has really helped with the practical side of homemaking, just bringing in management.
[9:16] Allison Weeks: Yeah, definitely that's a big plus.
[9:18] Allison Weeks: Well, okay, let's talk about what you were lacking in.
[9:22] Allison Weeks: What's something that you had a real steep learning curve for.
[9:25] Michele Marshall: Cooking.
[9:25] Michele Marshall: For sure I've never enjoyed cooking, or it's less about the cooking and more about the preparing and having to figure out what we're going to eat and, you know, making sure everything is healthy and balanced and on time with food.
[9:44] Michele Marshall: But I've been working at it, so cooking has been the steepest learning curve.
[9:50] Michele Marshall: I didn't like it, of course, so I didn't do it on my own, so I didn't have many skills with it.
[9:56] Michele Marshall: But we're getting there, you're getting there.
[9:59] Michele Marshall: I always admire when I hear people say you know, they just love to cook for everyone and I think that is wonderful.
[10:06] Michele Marshall: I don't know how to find that, but maybe one day.
[10:14] Allison Weeks: Yeah, I don't know.
[10:16] Allison Weeks: I mean I enjoy the cooking and the I enjoy the.
[10:20] Allison Weeks: I think what it is that I love about cooking, especially for larger groups of people, is the result and seeing them satisfied with what they've been given and loving it.
[10:34] Allison Weeks: And you know, I love feeding people.
[10:36] Allison Weeks: I guess is maybe more, but I do enjoy the cooking part.
[10:40] Allison Weeks: But I'm with you and I really like this distinction you made between the prepping and deciding, because it's like mentally taxing often to figure out what.
[10:50] Allison Weeks: Okay, now it's like Monday is here again, or for me it's Sunday nights.
[10:54] Allison Weeks: I make my grocery list and then I put in my order to go pick up the next on Monday morning and it's like it's already Sunday again and, oh my gosh, I got to come up with, you know, seven dinners and some breakfasts and some lunches and it just hurts my brain sometimes and I don't love that aspect of it as much as the actual cooking.
[11:14] Allison Weeks: Maybe that's why those mail order cooking things are so popular, because it takes that brain work out and they just deliver all the ingredients to you and then you can actually do the cooking part, which is the fun part.
[11:27] Michele Marshall: Yes, I agree because the cooking, once I get to it, I think, well, this isn't bad, but you know you have so many other things to manage and that's just my weak spot and I'm still working on trying to get in.
[11:39] Michele Marshall: If I would meal prep, it would probably be easier, but the meal prepping alone is its its own thing.
[11:46] Michele Marshall: So, yeah, right, exactly.
[11:50] Allison Weeks: Well, that's good that you're fine, you recognize your weakness and you're working towards improving that's.
[11:56] Allison Weeks: That's our goal, right?
[11:57] Allison Weeks: Okay, let's talk about influences.
[12:00] Allison Weeks: Who has had the most influence, would you say?
[12:02] Allison Weeks: Or just who has had a big influence on your home making?
[12:06] Michele Marshall: Yeah, so that would be one of my aunts actually, my aunt Diana she's actually passed away when I was a teenager, but she had the biggest influence and I didn't realize that until having this conversation with my husband.
[12:22] Michele Marshall: It's funny, a lot of these things you, when you ask these questions and speak with somebody who's close to you, the answers that come up can kind of surprise me.
[12:31] Michele Marshall: But my aunt was a huge influence.
[12:35] Michele Marshall: She stayed at home, ran the family business and watched kids during the summer, so me and my cousins would stay with her, but she also I.
[12:48] Michele Marshall: Just one of the things I remember the most was she would you know, we had lunch ready for the guys that were working on the farm every day, so they would be out working, the kids would be inside playing and then lunch would be ready.
[13:03] Michele Marshall: We would be there all the time at the same time and I loved helping with that not the cooking part, but getting everything out and the cleaning up and just seeing that happen every day and seeing everyone come in.
[13:19] Michele Marshall: They had been out working hard, they would get to come in and sit down and eat and then they went back outside and I just loved that.
[13:27] Michele Marshall: That and she took care of the house and the kids.
[13:30] Michele Marshall: Just kind of she took care of us Also.
[13:33] Michele Marshall: We kind of just ran wild and she kept us alive, but she had a big influence.
[13:39] Michele Marshall: And then my second thing was actually some podcasts this one and one other one but the more I listened to them the more I thought I really this means a lot more to me than I ever gave weight to.
[13:55] Michele Marshall: So that turned into some long conversations with my husband and he encouraged me.
[14:02] Michele Marshall: He kind of said well, this is what you've been saying for years and doing, so you need to just go for it.
[14:09] Michele Marshall: So that's how I ended up here, but I love it.
[14:15] Allison Weeks: Yeah, oh, I love that.
[14:16] Allison Weeks: That's really good.
[14:17] Allison Weeks: I love their story about your aunt and it reminds me my great grandmother.
[14:21] Allison Weeks: They ran a farm and my grandmother fondly remembers the same thing.
[14:26] Allison Weeks: They would get up early and start the cooking early in the morning.
[14:30] Allison Weeks: They'd go out to do the gardening, weed the garden, all that stuff, and then come in and I forgot how many people they were feeding.
[14:36] Allison Weeks: It was a lot.
[14:37] Allison Weeks: Every single day for lunch she said I just remember these huge pots stirring these huge pots of food.
[14:44] Allison Weeks: So that's really cool that you got to experience that, because that's kind of uncommon for you to have that experience with this generation.
[14:53] Allison Weeks: There's just not as many people who would have that experience anymore.
[14:58] Allison Weeks: And then the podcast.
[15:00] Allison Weeks: Thank you, thank you for listening and I'm curious what's the other podcast that was impactful?
[15:06] Michele Marshall: So the first podcast I listened to was Femina.
[15:09] Michele Marshall: Oh, nancy Wilson.
[15:10] Michele Marshall: It's just short clips, yes, short clips of encouragement, and that got me on the search and has been a big encouragement in my homemaking journey.
[15:24] Allison Weeks: Yeah, yeah, she's great.
[15:25] Allison Weeks: Those are really helpful, because they're so short too, which is nice.
[15:30] Michele Marshall: Yes, I love that.
[15:31] Allison Weeks: Okay, well, let's talk about expectations.
[15:33] Allison Weeks: What are some things that surprised you about homemaking?
[15:38] Allison Weeks: Good or bad, just something that you did not expect.
[15:43] Michele Marshall: So the biggest thing is actually outside of the home, but it does have to do with homemaking.
[15:49] Michele Marshall: I don't think I was too surprised by any of the practical things.
[15:53] Michele Marshall: I already knew what I didn't like and what I did like.
[15:56] Michele Marshall: You know, you're always growing.
[15:58] Michele Marshall: I'm always trying to find more efficient ways to do things.
[16:02] Michele Marshall: But the biggest surprise has been people's responses to me when they find out I'm primarily homemaking and no longer primarily running a full-time business, and thankfully it doesn't discourage me anymore.
[16:17] Michele Marshall: But it's almost funny because it's like they're like oh, I'm sorry, you know almost like there's something Like are you doing this on purpose?
[16:29] Michele Marshall: Oh well, of course I am.
[16:30] Michele Marshall: But that has been kind of a shocker because I don't expect it.
[16:36] Michele Marshall: I'm like oh, in my world I'm doing exactly what I want, I'm loving it, my husband supports it and since it's not as common now, it just you get a whole variety of fun responses.
[16:50] Michele Marshall: So that's been a surprise.
[16:56] Allison Weeks: Yeah, we've talked about that in our resources and on the show.
[17:00] Allison Weeks: I think it depends on where you live.
[17:03] Allison Weeks: Well, if you're in the States, it depends on what coast you're on, which part of the country you're in and then whether you're in an urban area or what your circles are.
[17:15] Allison Weeks: But even country to country, it depends on what kind of response you get.
[17:18] Allison Weeks: You may get that love that you said.
[17:21] Allison Weeks: It's like they feel sorry for you, Like oh, so sorry.
[17:24] Allison Weeks: It's like you told them you were unemployed or something, or your dog died.
[17:28] Michele Marshall: Right, exactly.
[17:30] Allison Weeks: But I think there's a lot of people who actually get hostile reactions when they explain that that's their choice, is to do this job full-time and that's their calling.
[17:44] Allison Weeks: And in certain countries it's actually very frowned upon Like you are a dredge on society.
[17:52] Allison Weeks: You know you are a leech, you're sucking all the benefits out of society and you're giving nothing back, and that's pretty common in certain countries.
[18:03] Allison Weeks: So I feel grateful that we have the freedom that we do in this country without that sort of social stigma to that extreme.
[18:11] Allison Weeks: But there is a social stigma definitely.
[18:13] Allison Weeks: But I find the older that I'm getting, the less I care.
[18:17] Allison Weeks: And I just say it, you know, I just say it.
[18:21] Allison Weeks: Yes, I am a homemaker.
[18:23] Allison Weeks: That has been my career my whole adult life and I am proud of that.
[18:27] Michele Marshall: Well, I love that and that's something I'm working toward.
[18:30] Michele Marshall: About half the time that's what comes out, and then about half the time I feel I need to also let them know what else I do.
[18:39] Michele Marshall: You know, I am a homemaker, and that's true.
[18:41] Michele Marshall: But then I feel this urge to well, I also homeschool my kids and I also run our business, which those are true, but it's funny how it's almost a built-in defense, you know and I'm trying to get away from that because homemaking is its own career but you feel the need sometimes to just say, well, I also do this and I also do this and I also do this, so that it's enough.
[19:09] Allison Weeks: Exactly.
[19:09] Allison Weeks: Yes, I totally agree with that.
[19:12] Allison Weeks: It is a temptation to have to resist.
[19:16] Allison Weeks: So was there an expectation that you just had to let go of, put in the ground and bury for the wellbeing of your family and your marriage and all of that?
[19:29] Allison Weeks: And it could be something deep, but it also could be something like dirty socks on the floor.
[19:36] Michele Marshall: Well, yes, a little bit, but it's funny because it's also outside of the house, it's an expectation on me.
[19:45] Michele Marshall: I had to and I'm still working on it.
[19:50] Michele Marshall: Everything I answer I'm probably still working on.
[19:52] Michele Marshall: But I had to really let go of the expectation of being able to run our business the same I did before.
[20:02] Michele Marshall: I had two almost three kids and two of them schooling.
[20:06] Michele Marshall: But I had a very hard time feeling like I was doing well enough for the family because the business has a tangible financial, you know, aspect to it.
[20:18] Michele Marshall: So I did that when the kids were young I had a nanny three days a week who would help while I worked full time.
[20:26] Michele Marshall: I was at home but I was working at the barn, and then my husband has transitioned to taking over that because now I'm schooling the kids as well.
[20:34] Michele Marshall: So I've been working pretty hard the past couple of years to try and let that go.
[20:39] Michele Marshall: I cannot be at the barn working for five, six, 10 hours a day, depending, and also doing the family any good.
[20:50] Michele Marshall: Otherwise, you know I can bring in money but I can't raise the children, I can't homeschool them.
[20:55] Michele Marshall: So that's been a hard one to let go, but I think I'm pretty close to that.
[21:01] Allison Weeks: Yeah, I imagine that that would have been really challenging, because it's right there too.
[21:06] Allison Weeks: The proximity would probably also make it challenging.
[21:09] Allison Weeks: It's not like you have to get in your car and drive to an office.
[21:14] Allison Weeks: You could just walk across the property.
[21:17] Michele Marshall: Exactly.
[21:18] Michele Marshall: I can step out the door and work and feel like I'm doing the same thing.
[21:22] Michele Marshall: I was before and I did that for a time.
[21:25] Michele Marshall: There was a time that I did that and then realized I would come in and the house would still be, the laundry didn't do itself and the kids didn't school themselves.
[21:34] Michele Marshall: So you see that at night when you come in, you see unfinished items that were yours to do and I thought, okay, that makes you really think a lot, but we've got a much better routine now.
[21:47] Allison Weeks: So Good, good.
[21:48] Allison Weeks: What did you say is the one thing that you changed or the one thing that you did that's helped you get to that better routine?
[21:56] Allison Weeks: What's maybe something practical that you implemented?
[22:00] Michele Marshall: Safar is stepping away from the barn.
[22:02] Michele Marshall: Honestly, a lot of prayer on that one.
[22:07] Michele Marshall: I really just had to have a lot of faith that this was the right decision and that I could leave that and I don't leave it, but I could leave that full-time job behind.
[22:21] Allison Weeks: Yeah, that's always good to start with prayer.
[22:23] Allison Weeks: Well, I wanna shift a little bit into parenting, because I wanted to ask you about your experience with horses, and how does horse training relate to parenting?
[22:40] Allison Weeks: Are there similarities?
[22:42] Allison Weeks: I would think that there would be.
[22:45] Michele Marshall: Yes, funny enough, I think they're very similar, especially so horses are pray animals, they're flight animals, which reminds me a lot of I very much like to study on my own time childhood development and brain development and it seems like they're very similar.
[23:09] Michele Marshall: They need a lot of comfort, they need a lot of structure, they need a lot of help, essentially, and they need leadership.
[23:16] Michele Marshall: So my children are, I would say, raised much like my horses are trained, and it has worked out really well.
[23:26] Michele Marshall: But there's so many similarities.
[23:29] Michele Marshall: They need consistency, they need understanding, but they also need firm boundaries, so it's fun to add in the boundaries.
[23:40] Michele Marshall: The horses need it because they're 1200 pounds and have a very small brain and are only interested in survival.
[23:48] Michele Marshall: The kids need it for obvious reasons, but then they also need so much encouragement and so much care, so you have to have to have a good mix.
[23:59] Michele Marshall: But yeah, child rearing is much like horse training.
[24:05] Allison Weeks: Yeah, I read I just did a very cursory because I don't have any knowledge about horses or horse training, but the basic.
[24:14] Allison Weeks: I read an article about training basics and it was like one quote that I thought was really really applicable here.
[24:20] Allison Weeks: It was training is a long game, often taking six or more years to train from start to finish, but you never really finish with a horse and obviously we train our children for more than six years.
[24:31] Allison Weeks: But that you're in there for the long game.
[24:34] Allison Weeks: It's not like we're gonna deal with this behavior and be one and done.
[24:40] Allison Weeks: It's like no, it's a long haul.
[24:43] Michele Marshall: Absolutely, and that's a good thing with the horses it is.
[24:48] Michele Marshall: It is a long game.
[24:49] Michele Marshall: You can train them lifelong, just like people.
[24:52] Michele Marshall: But even to get the good, solid foundation it takes years to get it properly.
[24:59] Michele Marshall: And when you look at it with kids it is shorter with horses, but when you look at it in relation to their mental development it's about the same time span.
[25:08] Michele Marshall: So they start off as babies, where you don't really do much training because they're babies.
[25:15] Michele Marshall: You just keep them alive and then you start adding in age appropriate tools as they grow.
[25:22] Michele Marshall: But it does seem even when they're grown you're still reminding.
[25:27] Michele Marshall: The reminders get more gentle because they can take care of themselves more.
[25:31] Michele Marshall: But it is definitely a long game.
[25:34] Michele Marshall: I like that.
[25:35] Allison Weeks: Yeah, that's great.
[25:37] Allison Weeks: We could probably talk for a long time about this, but I would love oh yes.
[25:41] Allison Weeks: I would love to know how did the addition of your children challenge and enrich your home making?
[25:48] Allison Weeks: So I kind of get the feeling from what you were saying before that it was when the kids came.
[25:54] Allison Weeks: That's when you decided okay, I can't do all of it, so I gotta let some things go here.
[26:00] Allison Weeks: But what are some other things that have challenged and enriched your home making with kids?
[26:09] Michele Marshall: They have been.
[26:10] Michele Marshall: They enrich everything really.
[26:13] Michele Marshall: It's so fun.
[26:14] Michele Marshall: I love taking them out.
[26:17] Michele Marshall: I guess one thing that would be an enrichment for me too is that when I'm taking them out, alongside me with our outside chores or with our inside chores, it's just reminding me to do the best job, do it correctly, do it with a grateful heart and really just take the time.
[26:39] Michele Marshall: I like to get so much done, which encourages me to rush a lot, but they've helped me slow down and really enjoy each part of whether it's the menial tasks or the more fun things like when I get to take them out, we get to check on the watermelon or water the horses together or learn about the tractor or something like that.
[27:05] Michele Marshall: Insofar as challenges this one, when my husband listens he's going to really laugh because I'm going to say they were very easy.
[27:14] Michele Marshall: They were just born and they just fit right in.
[27:19] Michele Marshall: Everything went smooth.
[27:21] Michele Marshall: I'm assuming I was far too sleep deprived to remember just how challenging it was.
[27:29] Michele Marshall: My daughter, which was my firstborn, was a terrible sleeper terrible sleeper To the point that I was just delirious.
[27:40] Michele Marshall: And he helped a ton and my mother helped a ton.
[27:43] Michele Marshall: We had all three of us, but man, she just never slept.
[27:49] Michele Marshall: When she was 16 months old, my son was born and she still wasn't sleeping.
[27:54] Michele Marshall: Well, I might be a little delirious at that point.
[27:59] Michele Marshall: I think they just came right in and everything was great, but I'm sure he'll get a chuckle from that.
[28:07] Allison Weeks: I've said this before In God's mercy, he removes a lot of that.
[28:13] Allison Weeks: We have such selective memory when it comes to childbirth, the actual birth and those early years, even early months.
[28:25] Allison Weeks: Otherwise we would never have another child If we remembered every detail.
[28:30] Michele Marshall: Yes, we would have one, absolutely.
[28:32] Michele Marshall: I'm good with that.
[28:35] Allison Weeks: Thank you, I don't want to do that again.
[28:38] Allison Weeks: Everything from the pain the physical pain of childbirth to the sleeplessness and all of that, I think in His mercy, he allows us to just highlight in our minds the good stuff so that we want to do it again.
[28:53] Michele Marshall: Yeah.
[28:54] Michele Marshall: With that being said, I'm really interested to see how different my takeaway is in a few years.
[29:00] Michele Marshall: Of newborns in my 20s and newborn in my 30s, I've heard they can look a little different, but we'll see.
[29:10] Allison Weeks: Is there going to be a big age gap?
[29:12] Allison Weeks: I don't remember what you said the ages of your kids but between your first two and this one.
[29:20] Michele Marshall: My daughter is eight and my son is six.
[29:22] Michele Marshall: He'll be turning seven right after the baby's born.
[29:25] Michele Marshall: It feels like a big gap to me because we're so far past everything.
[29:30] Michele Marshall: Baby, this is, I don't know.
[29:35] Michele Marshall: I feel like I'm just starting over and I'll figure it all out again.
[29:41] Allison Weeks: How do you encourage your kids to participate in the homemaking with you?
[29:44] Allison Weeks: I wanted to know do they participate in the business?
[29:48] Allison Weeks: Do they ride or are they involved with horses?
[29:50] Allison Weeks: I imagine they are yes.
[29:53] Michele Marshall: I think the poor kids, they have to do everything.
[29:56] Michele Marshall: No, they do everything.
[29:58] Michele Marshall: Alongside me, I should say.
[29:59] Michele Marshall: I try to encourage them a lot with routine because that is something I struggled with as personally until I got my own space, I think, for them.
[30:14] Michele Marshall: I see in my daughter she's a lot like my husband.
[30:18] Michele Marshall: She likes things very regimented and very streamlined.
[30:24] Michele Marshall: Me and my son are a little more carefree, but I see that routine works so much better for our family.
[30:31] Michele Marshall: I really try to encourage them with just little tasks, like after breakfast and after lunch.
[30:39] Michele Marshall: They wash each of their dishes.
[30:41] Michele Marshall: They know to wash it and dry it and put it away.
[30:43] Michele Marshall: They each have a chore, just simple things.
[30:48] Michele Marshall: My son takes out the trash, my daughter helps empty trash cans before that happens.
[30:53] Michele Marshall: But then they do also have outside stuff and they really enjoy that.
[30:57] Michele Marshall: One of them will be in charge of filling water tanks.
[31:00] Michele Marshall: One of them will be in charge of helping carry hay to animals.
[31:03] Michele Marshall: Then, yes, they also ride.
[31:06] Michele Marshall: My daughter particularly loves to ride.
[31:08] Michele Marshall: My son enjoys it as well.
[31:10] Michele Marshall: He's the less competitive one, so he just wants to have fun and be around the horses.
[31:17] Michele Marshall: My daughter wants to get into showing and she wants to be very serious about it.
[31:22] Michele Marshall: We try to encourage all of that.
[31:25] Michele Marshall: I like them to help in the house.
[31:28] Michele Marshall: The big thing with the housework is I'm trying to make it to where it doesn't feel like such big chores to them.
[31:34] Michele Marshall: This is just a daily thing we do.
[31:36] Michele Marshall: We get up, we wash our plate and it doesn't turn into a oh, now I have to do all of these things Just trying to bring them.
[31:46] Michele Marshall: Thankfully, since I home school, they are around all day and just bring them along beside.
[31:53] Michele Marshall: In the summer it's really busy and we have to.
[31:55] Michele Marshall: When we're cutting hay they might be out in the tractor with their dad until late helping with that, or they might be inside with me trying to get extra stuff ready so that when he comes in the house is in better order and he can finally relax.
[32:15] Allison Weeks: I love what you're saying about.
[32:17] Allison Weeks: Kind of back to your previous point about enriching your home making.
[32:23] Allison Weeks: You're saying you teach them and train them by just routinely bringing them along.
[32:29] Allison Weeks: This is family living, essentially, is not just playing together and living under the same roof, but working together to keep the home.
[32:40] Allison Weeks: I love, though, that you said bringing them along it helps you to slow down.
[32:45] Allison Weeks: Otherwise you'd just be in such a hurry to get to the next thing.
[32:51] Allison Weeks: I can be really frustrating for home makers when we have little ones under foot and they always want to help.
[32:58] Allison Weeks: Mommy, can I help you, can I help?
[33:00] Allison Weeks: Can I help?
[33:00] Allison Weeks: It's like, oh, this is going to take so much longer, but there's a great benefit in that, actually, for us.
[33:09] Allison Weeks: Slow down, because I often ask the question at the end, and I'll ask you too where do you find beauty?
[33:16] Allison Weeks: How do you find beauty in those mundane things?
[33:18] Allison Weeks: Instead of being able to see, the beauty is slowing down and doing the tasks a little bit more intentionally and slowly.
[33:27] Allison Weeks: I love that you linked that with doing it with your kids.
[33:31] Allison Weeks: I think that's a really great observation.
[33:34] Michele Marshall: Well, I have them to thank for that.
[33:35] Michele Marshall: It took me some time.
[33:37] Michele Marshall: When they were really little, especially being so close in age, I was guilty of you know, no, here's some toys you play while I do this.
[33:46] Michele Marshall: But thankfully I did find a place where I thought, no, they need to be involved.
[33:52] Michele Marshall: And then the flip side of that is I'm very fortunate.
[33:56] Michele Marshall: My mother lives right next door on our.
[33:58] Michele Marshall: It's her property and the kids can walk to her house.
[34:04] Michele Marshall: They have to cross a pasture in a creek and that's it.
[34:06] Michele Marshall: They don't have to go out on a road.
[34:08] Michele Marshall: So when I do have tasks that I just think I well, they go there all the time.
[34:14] Michele Marshall: They just kind of go when they want.
[34:17] Michele Marshall: But when I have a task that I've decided, this would really be easier with just me today and I just have to get it done.
[34:24] Michele Marshall: They can go play at Graham's house and I'm so grateful for that for them and their childhood, but also just for the practical side of I can get some stuff done really quick and then try to slow down again and enjoy time with them.
[34:41] Allison Weeks: Yeah, oh, that's such a blessing and that speaks to one of our pillars, which is community, and you're very fortunate that that community is your mom and she's right next door.
[34:51] Allison Weeks: But, yeah, all of us can muster the troops and bring in some reinforcements when we need it, so we just need to be creative sometimes if we don't have family right down the street.
[35:03] Allison Weeks: Well, let's talk about priorities a little bit.
[35:06] Allison Weeks: What is, or what are, some practical steps that you take to keep your priorities in order and make sure that you make time for the most important thing and you know time with God, time to nurture your marriage and all of those things?
[35:21] Allison Weeks: What do you do sort of on a regular basis to keep that in the right order?
[35:28] Michele Marshall: That's probably my biggest area of growth needed still, and it's more just because I need to have better scheduling with it, because I'm transitioning out of needing to work so much outside the house in my own mind not actually needing to and working so much in the house with the kids.
[35:51] Michele Marshall: But what's been a big help is.
[35:53] Michele Marshall: I really like and this is just a practical step, but I really like planners.
[35:59] Michele Marshall: I really like nice pens and markers.
[36:02] Michele Marshall: So I sit down for a couple of weekends and I gathered all my supplies I needed and I made schedules and I really just try to stick to.
[36:12] Michele Marshall: We do.
[36:13] Michele Marshall: We start school after breakfast in the morning.
[36:15] Michele Marshall: You know just these little things and so far as the two most important things to me overall, I guess I try to find some time each day for Bible time.
[36:27] Michele Marshall: Unfortunately I do not have a very scheduled time for that yet, but it happens sometime during the day, usually when the kids are playing off by themselves and keeping open communication with my husband.
[36:41] Michele Marshall: That's been a big one.
[36:42] Michele Marshall: He's traveling now for work, which is new for us.
[36:45] Michele Marshall: He didn't used to travel.
[36:46] Michele Marshall: He works a lot, which is wonderful, but just having to keep a lot of communication with him, whether we call and just chat about, you know, whatever we need to get, whatever we need to get out there, but those trying to get everything in order it is kind of like herding cats around here.
[37:08] Michele Marshall: It's a bit chaotic but I do try to not let Bible time, the children getting their education and time with me, and then communication with my husband, which is the biggest, biggest one that I that and the Bible, like, even if it's 10 minutes, just trying to make sure that we get to it at some point whenever it happens.
[37:32] Allison Weeks: Yeah, yeah.
[37:33] Allison Weeks: How do you?
[37:35] Allison Weeks: Does media play a role in your life and, if so, how do you maintain healthy boundaries there and then with yourself, and then also with your kids?
[37:47] Allison Weeks: What's your approach with your kids?
[37:51] Michele Marshall: Yeah, so we have very little in the way of social media and we just have a Facebook for our business.
[38:01] Michele Marshall: So I'm on that.
[38:02] Michele Marshall: So far as my personal Facebook, I actually set screen time limits because I didn't want to get sucked in scrolling and scrolling, because that's an easy one to fall into.
[38:12] Michele Marshall: But I'm not I'm not a big media person or a big fan of it myself, so it's been kind of easy on that front.
[38:22] Michele Marshall: That's been an easy thing to tackle.
[38:23] Michele Marshall: The kids don't have any, any personal electronic devices and probably won't for a very long time.
[38:30] Michele Marshall: And then, even so far as the TV, we do watch movies, we do watch Netflix sometimes we you know it's it's not daily, it's just whenever it fits in.
[38:40] Michele Marshall: But, living in a rural area, we have very limited internet options.
[38:47] Michele Marshall: So it's kind of nice because even even Netflix I can only stream so much and then it's my internet's out and we're back to just popping in some old DVDs.
[38:58] Michele Marshall: But we like to.
[39:01] Michele Marshall: We have a lot of the DVDs that my husband and I grew up watching, like the Looney Tunes or you know, just just older cartoons, and I keep those on hand.
[39:10] Michele Marshall: The kids think they're great.
[39:11] Michele Marshall: So we just try not to allow much, much in the way of social media into the house.
[39:18] Allison Weeks: Yeah, You're the second person this month to tell me that they put in front of their kids stuff that they grew up watching, because it just seems to be a little, you know, more gentle and just a little less as far as it's just fun.
[39:36] Allison Weeks: It's not, they're not trying to push an agenda or a message, it's just fun Like Looney Tunes or just goofy.
[39:42] Allison Weeks: They're just goofy and they're funny and that's it.
[39:44] Allison Weeks: That's all they're doing.
[39:45] Allison Weeks: So that's a really great idea and I thought that was that was a really fabulous idea.
[39:50] Allison Weeks: And then, yeah, I totally hear you about having limited internet access.
[39:55] Allison Weeks: It's actually a blessing.
[39:56] Allison Weeks: It's like when we go on vacation and we're out somewhere, you know, because we live in in a urban area, so that's not ever a problem.
[40:03] Allison Weeks: But when we do go away and we can't get any any internet, it's.
[40:08] Allison Weeks: It's maddening at first and you, you like, have to go through some withdrawals and then you're like actually this is pretty great.
[40:18] Michele Marshall: Yes, I understand that.
[40:20] Michele Marshall: And the kids with their school.
[40:23] Michele Marshall: They are online a few days a week doing lessons on the computer.
[40:28] Michele Marshall: So sometimes it is a little aggravating if we have run out of our high speed internet, which is very limited.
[40:34] Michele Marshall: But then it's like, well, you can just get creative, you'll get more next month.
[40:39] Michele Marshall: But it also keeps me from having to be tempted with because I do.
[40:45] Michele Marshall: I love to watch movies.
[40:46] Michele Marshall: I do.
[40:47] Michele Marshall: I don't get time to, but if I did I would, I would indulge, probably too much.
[40:52] Michele Marshall: So I'm like this is kind of just a natural filter I have because of my environment and it works out really well.
[40:59] Allison Weeks: That's good.
[41:00] Allison Weeks: Well, let's talk about some other temptations and challenges.
[41:03] Allison Weeks: Besides tempted to binge watch movies, what's something that you struggle with regarding your homemaking, your homemaker role and I.
[41:14] Allison Weeks: We might have already kind of answered this, but I'm just always curious to see what people say.
[41:18] Allison Weeks: So I'm going to give you the three options and you tell me which one do you most often identify with.
[41:22] Allison Weeks: So A is comparison to other women.
[41:25] Allison Weeks: B I am just a homemaker.
[41:27] Allison Weeks: I'm not getting paid, it's not a real job.
[41:29] Allison Weeks: Or C superwoman doing all the things.
[41:35] Michele Marshall: Well, I'm sure you can guess my primary one, but it was both B and C for a long time and B finally the the.
[41:45] Michele Marshall: You know it's not a real job, not getting paid.
[41:48] Michele Marshall: That finally kind of fell away, and I'm very thankful it did, because that's a stressful one.
[41:54] Michele Marshall: That kind of fell away when both of the kids started in school and I was.
[42:02] Michele Marshall: I work very long hours and I was thinking getting paid or not, this is a lot of work, you know, inside the home, outside the home.
[42:10] Michele Marshall: So I will still say, though I struggle with needing to do all the things all the time.
[42:17] Michele Marshall: So that's definitely, it's definitely C, yeah.
[42:21] Allison Weeks: So let's talk about a special challenge.
[42:23] Allison Weeks: You mentioned in your application that your son was diagnosed with type one diabetes.
[42:30] Allison Weeks: Was that correct?
[42:31] Allison Weeks: Yes, type one diet, so I would.
[42:34] Allison Weeks: I would love to know a couple of things about that.
[42:37] Allison Weeks: You know, was it a long journey to get a diagnosis?
[42:40] Allison Weeks: How did you figure that out?
[42:42] Allison Weeks: And then, like, were you overwhelmed with what that meant, and what kind of changes did that mean for your family?
[42:53] Michele Marshall: It.
[42:53] Michele Marshall: So we do have some other type ones in the family.
[42:59] Michele Marshall: So it was not a long journey to get the diagnosis, thankfully, because I know that can be a whole beast in itself for a lot of families.
[43:08] Michele Marshall: But I noticed some symptoms and because we have some diabetics in our family, I have a little glucose monitor that I keep at home, just a little one that sticks your finger, and I checked him that night because his symptoms I was thinking this is not, this is not adding up.
[43:30] Michele Marshall: At first it was well, he's just a kid, he's just thirsty at summertime, you know.
[43:34] Michele Marshall: But it started not quite adding up.
[43:38] Michele Marshall: So I checked him and sure enough it was.
[43:41] Michele Marshall: He had very, very high sugar at that time.
[43:44] Michele Marshall: So we went straight to the emergency room.
[43:46] Michele Marshall: We were thankful.
[43:48] Michele Marshall: I guess the silver lining is we saw the signs before he became really sick or went into a DKA no-transcript.
[44:00] Michele Marshall: We were able to go to the hospital and they diagnosed him pretty much right away.
[44:04] Michele Marshall: They did the blood draw and and that was that, and that was at about 11 pm and at 7 am the next morning we were in the endocrinologist office and it was I mean, it was a whirlwind, it was.
[44:16] Michele Marshall: So it felt like everything got flipped upside down in overnight.
[44:21] Michele Marshall: So that was a struggle for me mentally, him physically of course.
[44:27] Michele Marshall: But then I had so much guilt, and I don't know why, because it's not something I caused or or could have even prevented, but Because I'm his mom, you know.
[44:41] Michele Marshall: So I had a lot of guilt, I struggled a lot for a few weeks but thankfully, thankfully, the reality was just.
[44:48] Michele Marshall: You just have to Just have to do each thing and keep moving forward and Try to just be thankful that there there is medicine.
[44:57] Michele Marshall: So, even though it is, it's a difficult daily management, but there, but there is a way to keep him alive and healthy.
[45:05] Allison Weeks: So so were you feeling guilty just because you felt like you should have caught it sooner, or you don't really know?
[45:16] Michele Marshall: You know, no, and actually thankfully I caught it soon enough that that we didn't have any Additional complications, which can easily happen.
[45:24] Michele Marshall: I, I don't know, you know, I don't, I don't know.
[45:28] Michele Marshall: I think that was just Something.
[45:31] Michele Marshall: I don't know where it was coming from.
[45:33] Michele Marshall: I just felt guilty and I felt like I I needed to be able to change it, which of course I cannot.
[45:39] Michele Marshall: But I was thankful there was a lot of a little bit of a faith struggle that jumped in there for about a week and and I knew you know, you hear all the time when, when big things happen, that that people go through that, and I had never experienced it until that night when he got diagnosed.
[46:00] Michele Marshall: That was a it hit me, but we all came out on the other side and and and thankfully we have, you know, since my mother lives right next door, you know it's great because she knows how to manage it and we were already homeschooling, so that's another silver lining I didn't have to have the added stress of him going back into school, which many kids do and can.
[46:25] Michele Marshall: But just it's so stressful for the parent because you have to deal with Training the nurse and training the teachers and it's just scary.
[46:34] Michele Marshall: So many things can change with it day to day that there's a lot of fear behind it.
[46:40] Michele Marshall: But we're we're definitely getting at this point.
[46:43] Michele Marshall: We're a little over a year in and at this point it's just part of daily life now.
[46:47] Michele Marshall: So I'm thankful we've reached this point where when I don't feel the guilt and I don't feel I just I hate it for him, but we just go on like normal and we manage it and Try to make the best of everything.
[47:06] Allison Weeks: Yeah, it's, it's not.
[47:07] Allison Weeks: There's nothing like a health crisis for anybody in your family, but especially one of your kids, to bring in all of those feelings and make you feel like what could I have done differently, or you know?
[47:20] Allison Weeks: Then you start asking why, and?
[47:22] Allison Weeks: And then the fear, and so I, I totally understand that that is.
[47:26] Allison Weeks: It can very often be like a dark night of the soul.
[47:29] Allison Weeks: So it sounds like God has really brought you to a place of peace with regard to this and Just trusting yes, and I'm so grateful for that because it it was.
[47:43] Michele Marshall: It was a little bit of a dark time for me when it first happened, but but we are definitely on the other side of that, or I should say I I don't know that my I can't speak for my husband if he struggled with that, but I did and I'm Thankfully very much on the other side of it now.
[47:59] Allison Weeks: Yeah, yeah.
[48:01] Allison Weeks: What are some practical things that you've had to do Just for his diet and you know, is that, do you cook especially just for him or do you just kind of cook that way for everybody?
[48:16] Michele Marshall: So I cook that way for everybody.
[48:17] Michele Marshall: I wanted it to be a whole family change and and it's it's kind of like, well, this is how things go, isn't it?
[48:25] Michele Marshall: Because with the cooking we that we talked about earlier, I had finally gotten into this little routine where I was like this isn't so bad, and then we had the diagnosis and Everything.
[48:38] Michele Marshall: It was like I was starting over from scratch.
[48:41] Michele Marshall: He, we primarily just try to eat very low carb and again I trying to count my blessings there.
[48:49] Michele Marshall: We raise, we raise our own beef, so we have meat available, we have chicken, so we have eggs available, so we have a lot of blessings in that way.
[49:00] Michele Marshall: But but it was just like, oh man, do we have to do this over again, this struggle with food?
[49:06] Michele Marshall: So I tried to just change it for the whole family.
[49:09] Michele Marshall: I feel like we're all better off for it, we're all healthier, we all feel better.
[49:13] Michele Marshall: So that's great.
[49:16] Michele Marshall: And then with him, it's just you know, there's just so many things that go along with us everywhere when we're out, like, say, if we go out on a trail ride.
[49:24] Michele Marshall: He's got his little, his little fanny pack with his monitor that keeps track of his sugar, which I'm very thankful for, because I can see it 24 hours a day.
[49:33] Michele Marshall: But then he's also got to have his juice pouches in case he goes low and his insulin pen in case he goes high.
[49:40] Michele Marshall: But we just, we just pack it along with us and it's just part of him now, mm-hmm.
[49:46] Allison Weeks: How?
[49:46] Allison Weeks: How has he adapted?
[49:50] Michele Marshall: He's been amazing.
[49:51] Michele Marshall: I don't, these kids are awesome.
[49:53] Michele Marshall: I think it was Much harder on me, at least in the beginning.
[49:57] Michele Marshall: I don't know how to look for him later on, but he, he was scared of his very first shot, his very first injection, and that was at the doctor's office and everything since then.
[50:09] Michele Marshall: He's just like Well, you know, he just goes along with it and he gives, he's.
[50:14] Michele Marshall: He's awesome.
[50:15] Michele Marshall: He's six years old right now.
[50:16] Michele Marshall: He gives all of his own injections, with my supervision, of course, but he does the the actual injection himself.
[50:23] Michele Marshall: He checks his sugar.
[50:24] Michele Marshall: It's been great for math lessons because he has to calculate insulin several times a day.
[50:30] Michele Marshall: Oh yeah, but yeah, so he has to.
[50:34] Michele Marshall: He had to learn to divide very early, multiply.
[50:37] Michele Marshall: But he has been awesome and his sister is a big support.
[50:43] Michele Marshall: She really tries to hype him up and tell him how great he is.
[50:47] Michele Marshall: You know, keep him positive about it, because it is hard sometimes when we're at birthday parties I do.
[50:53] Michele Marshall: I mean he still gets to partake, but even though you're getting to partake, you're having to take Extra insulin and then you have to stop playing for a while and then you know.
[51:02] Michele Marshall: So I see it sometimes, but he's been great.
[51:07] Allison Weeks: Yeah, yeah, it's we.
[51:09] Allison Weeks: We don't have the the life-threatening situation of a type 1 diabetic.
[51:14] Allison Weeks: We have the tucilliac kids.
[51:16] Allison Weeks: I mean they're not kids anymore, but they were my, my son.
[51:20] Allison Weeks: So my daughter was diagnosed at almost 18.
[51:22] Allison Weeks: So she had to navigate that through the, through college, which was a no picnic, but then my son the youngest to the oldest and the youngest have it and he was diagnosed in the fifth grade and With the whole eating food different thing, that.
[51:39] Allison Weeks: I think that was the hardest part for him, because it's not, you know, you want to do with all the other kids at the party or doing or whatever, and so I always tried to do whatever I could to, even if it meant making him his own cupcake and bringing that.
[51:51] Allison Weeks: But I found the hardest part with mine was they didn't.
[51:55] Allison Weeks: I had to train them to be advocates for themselves.
[51:59] Allison Weeks: So be willing to speak up for yourself in the restaurant and say, hey, could you ask the chef and find out if this has any regular flour in the sauce, or you know.
[52:09] Allison Weeks: And they just didn't want to do that because they don't want to be that person, they don't want to be the one that's like it's this cool, you know?
[52:19] Allison Weeks: Yes.
[52:20] Allison Weeks: So I think I think they're there.
[52:23] Allison Weeks: They've gotten better about that.
[52:25] Allison Weeks: I hope I mean it's in their hands and God's hands now because they're Adults and and out of the house.
[52:30] Allison Weeks: But that was hard.
[52:31] Allison Weeks: It was hard as a mom to sit back and watch them go through that process and and and let them kind of make the hard mistakes and Get gluten and feel really bad for a week or so and then have to learn from that.
[52:46] Allison Weeks: So I Hear where you're coming from.
[52:50] Michele Marshall: That might be one area that him, that my son being diagnosed young has been a blessing.
[52:55] Michele Marshall: He's too young to be self-conscious about any of it, so he's very, very clear.
[53:03] Michele Marshall: If a friend, we were at the state fair last year showing horses and he was off playing with a group of other Kids about his age, one of them handed him a cookie and he just says I'll take it to my mom, I'm diabetic.
[53:20] Michele Marshall: And I was so proud of him, I thought, yeah, but it's, I was so proud of him.
[53:24] Michele Marshall: I, you know, I let him.
[53:26] Michele Marshall: He got the cookie he just ate it later with a meal and he got the insulin.
[53:29] Michele Marshall: But I, with what you're saying about your kids Initially not wanting to advocate for themselves, I'm sure that's.
[53:36] Michele Marshall: That's probably an age and a, you know, feeling self-conscious Maybe.
[53:40] Michele Marshall: But mine is too little, so he doesn't care, he just tells everybody like it is.
[53:46] Allison Weeks: That's great, that's that is a good, that's a good positive side of it.
[53:49] Allison Weeks: Well, let's talk about hospitality for a little bit.
[53:52] Allison Weeks: I would love to know um Some practical ways that you show hospitality through homemaking.
[54:02] Michele Marshall: So my favorite one is every week for the past Work on about two years now every Wednesday I host a family dinner.
[54:12] Michele Marshall: I Don't ask me what made me want to do that because of the food, but I I host a family dinner at the house and it's it's every Wednesday.
[54:25] Michele Marshall: There is food and I invite, you know, family members and friends.
[54:29] Michele Marshall: It's it grew, it's not family dinner anymore, it's Wednesday dinner basically, but I make sure that there is food here for everyone to eat and Everyone is invited.
[54:41] Michele Marshall: And I love it Wednesdays, you know, wednesday nights.
[54:45] Michele Marshall: I don't always love trying to come up with what they're gonna eat, but Sometimes it's simple.
[54:50] Michele Marshall: Sometimes we're busy and I go pick up pizza and sometimes I make them a big meal in a dessert.
[54:54] Michele Marshall: It just depends on the day, but if really tried to to never skip Due to my lack of food prep, I just make sure there is food and a place to sit and relax and there's coffee on and and I love that.
[55:09] Michele Marshall: I love having everybody come in and they just Hang out and be themselves and eat and stay as long as they want.
[55:16] Michele Marshall: So that was that's.
[55:19] Michele Marshall: That's my favorite thing that we do.
[55:22] Allison Weeks: That sounds amazing.
[55:23] Allison Weeks: I love that and you know anybody could do that.
[55:26] Allison Weeks: It doesn't have to be family dinner, you could just invite neighbors or whoever.
[55:32] Allison Weeks: Yeah, I've read several Several people that I follow either on Instagram or I follow their podcasts or whatever.
[55:40] Allison Weeks: They do something like that, and I just think that's such a good, practical way, especially in the middle of the week like that.
[55:45] Allison Weeks: What a blessing because Wednesday is not called hump day for no reason.
[55:50] Allison Weeks: I mean it's like, oh my gosh, just let's get over that.
[55:54] Allison Weeks: It's because once you get over Wednesday, you're coasting into the weekend.
[55:58] Allison Weeks: So to have somebody.
[56:00] Allison Weeks: Actually we had friends.
[56:01] Allison Weeks: We were at friend's house last night and they they had invited us over for dinner and I spent the whole Wednesday just getting so many little things done around the house and I got to work on my project right up until like four o'clock, which was awesome, because normally I'd have to stop earlier and figure out dinner, but I didn't have to think about it because she was cooking.
[56:19] Allison Weeks: So that was so great.
[56:21] Michele Marshall: So that that's a blessing for your guests.
[56:23] Allison Weeks: Yeah, that's a blessing for them.
[56:25] Allison Weeks: Okay, I'm toying around with a new question in this segment Because so many people have kind of struggled with the community question, so I thought I'd ask I like to ask questions that are Topical and sort of theoretical, but I also like to ask practical questions.
[56:40] Allison Weeks: So it when you've been a guest at someone's home, so when you've been on the receiving end of hospitality, whether for a night or for a weekend or a month, what's something memorable, what is something that kind of has always stood out to you as a guest that you were on the receiving end of?
[57:01] Michele Marshall: Oh, that's a good question.
[57:02] Allison Weeks: You can think about it for a minute, because you weren't expecting this question.
[57:05] Michele Marshall: Okay, I wasn't.
[57:07] Michele Marshall: No, that's okay, though I I've been a guest quite often, traveling with horse shows or or whatever it is we may be doing, and I don't know.
[57:21] Michele Marshall: I don't know if this is the right kind of answer, but I will say what I appreciate and and remember the most.
[57:28] Michele Marshall: You know, everyone has these great little things.
[57:30] Michele Marshall: A lot of people leave you little snacks or ask you what your food preferences and all of that, and those are wonderful.
[57:37] Michele Marshall: But what I I think what I appreciate the most is or remember the most I should say not not appreciate is when it just feels Relaxed, like you're just welcome to be there and you're just a part of their day.
[57:53] Michele Marshall: You're not, you're not something they have to To change up their whole schedule for their whole life for because for even for the day, because that always just makes me feel like, oh, it's a little uncomfortable.
[58:05] Michele Marshall: So I love just being welcome into the home and just being kind of part of it.
[58:09] Allison Weeks: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
[58:10] Allison Weeks: That's a great answer.
[58:12] Allison Weeks: Good, thank you.
[58:14] Allison Weeks: Okay, great, thank you for being my guinea pig.
[58:17] Allison Weeks: All right, we're gonna do some rapid-fire questions.
[58:21] Allison Weeks: Tell me a story, if you would like, or just give me a one, one word answer.
[58:25] Allison Weeks: What is your biggest homemaking fail so far?
[58:32] Michele Marshall: Well, I Was watching I don't know if it was a real or whatever on Facebook a while back and it was talking about how people brown their hamburger meat, of all things.
[58:47] Michele Marshall: It was very funny, and so it was like don't just leave it to brown for a little bit Thought.
[58:56] Michele Marshall: Okay, well, that would be easier for me if I wasn't sitting there hovering over it.
[59:00] Michele Marshall: So I do that.
[59:02] Michele Marshall: So I'm like, well, I'm gonna do that, I'm gonna go get some stuff done and I'm going to leave this hamburger meat to brown, uh-oh.
[59:10] Michele Marshall: And then a client pulled in.
[59:11] Michele Marshall: Yeah, yeah, there's a reason I like to stand over the stove.
[59:15] Michele Marshall: We had a client pull in, so of course I have to go help them out, and this client is also a good friend of mine, so of course we're chatting, and my husband is gone at the time, and it's been about an hour goes by.
[59:33] Michele Marshall: Oh no, I start to walk to the house just thinking okay, I still don't remember this.
[59:41] Michele Marshall: I almost burned our house down with hamburger meat, that's the gist of it.
[59:46] Michele Marshall: My poor husband gets home, he drives in the driveway and he sees smoke coming out of the eaves of our house, all around our house, and I'm still oblivious because I'm still out at the barn.
[59:58] Michele Marshall: So I come up about the time I see him pull in.
[1:00:03] Michele Marshall: I think I better go up to the house.
[1:00:05] Michele Marshall: And I start walking up and we both think the house is on fire.
[1:00:09] Michele Marshall: I thankfully know my children are not in it, he does not, so I have to.
[1:00:15] Michele Marshall: You know I'm like, oh, the kids are not there, the kids are fine.
[1:00:18] Michele Marshall: It was just this hamburger meat and it did a lot of smoke damage that I spent several weeks cleaning.
[1:00:27] Michele Marshall: Wow, it was bad.
[1:00:29] Michele Marshall: We were lucky because actually nothing caught on fire, it was just the meat in the skillet.
[1:00:36] Allison Weeks: Was the meat on fire in the skillet?
[1:00:40] Michele Marshall: It was, and it was turning into like a black goo.
[1:00:44] Michele Marshall: And to top it off, it was my brand new skillet.
[1:00:47] Michele Marshall: It was Mother's Day, or the day after I had gotten a new skillet.
[1:00:51] Michele Marshall: On Mother's Day, I picked one out that I loved.
[1:00:53] Michele Marshall: I was cooking with it the next night and I ruined it and almost burned the house down.
[1:00:58] Michele Marshall: So that was.
[1:01:00] Michele Marshall: I mean, I had a great.
[1:01:01] Michele Marshall: I had an answer for that one.
[1:01:03] Michele Marshall: I saw that and I was like, oh, I have something for this oh wow, that's probably in the top five.
[1:01:12] Michele Marshall: Yeah, that's a good one.
[1:01:13] Michele Marshall: It didn't burn the house down, though, and you know what?
[1:01:17] Michele Marshall: I got to declutter a lot, and the house got really clean.
[1:01:24] Allison Weeks: Wow, oh my goodness.
[1:01:25] Allison Weeks: Okay, so don't walk away from the stove, yeah just brown your hamburger meat.
[1:01:32] Michele Marshall: however you like to do it, you do not have to try a new way.
[1:01:36] Michele Marshall: Try a new way, it's just hamburger meat.
[1:01:40] Allison Weeks: Okay, let's talk about a recent home-making win.
[1:01:44] Michele Marshall: Probably thanks to the baby.
[1:01:46] Michele Marshall: I have recently, I think, very successfully decluttered my house from the top down and organized, including my garage, and it has taken so much stress away from me, and actually my kids too, because I did the rooms as well.
[1:02:08] Allison Weeks: So that's my biggest win, that is a good win, especially because you got to the garage too.
[1:02:15] Michele Marshall: Oh, that was a big one.
[1:02:16] Michele Marshall: I did that one last week and it felt a couple of times.
[1:02:19] Michele Marshall: I just sat down and I was like I don't want to finish this but I did and I'm so thankful I did oh very good, congratulations.
[1:02:31] Allison Weeks: Okay, how about a home-making product or resource that you are loving right now?
[1:02:37] Michele Marshall: I don't have a lot of gadgets, but I love, I love a good podcast that keeps you motivated when your kids are playing and you're trying to get through dishes.
[1:02:48] Michele Marshall: This is one of them.
[1:02:49] Michele Marshall: Have a couple others I like and then I really I know I spoke to this earlier, but I really love having a good planner and using it because it helps keep me on task so much better.
[1:03:03] Michele Marshall: And I want to if I have.
[1:03:06] Michele Marshall: If I haven't written on a piece of scrap paper, I don't have any motivation to go see it and follow it.
[1:03:11] Michele Marshall: So, a good planner and a good podcast can really go a long way.
[1:03:15] Allison Weeks: I agree.
[1:03:16] Allison Weeks: Yes.
[1:03:16] Allison Weeks: How about a favorite home-making hack or tip?
[1:03:21] Michele Marshall: What I use the most, and none of these are original to me.
[1:03:25] Michele Marshall: But I keep these little cups and you could do it in a Tupperware too, but these I found on sale for 50 cents.
[1:03:33] Michele Marshall: So I have some, these little paint cups that have a mixer ball inside, and I have one for each main room if the room has a different paint color.
[1:03:45] Michele Marshall: So my bedroom, one for my bathroom and one for my living room and kitchen, and I just keep.
[1:03:51] Michele Marshall: It's essentially a sealed up cup full of paint, but it's small, it's like a solo cup sized.
[1:03:57] Michele Marshall: It has a stirrer in it and then you can do paint touch-ups anytime.
[1:04:03] Michele Marshall: You don't have to drag out your paint supplies.
[1:04:04] Michele Marshall: You don't have to drag out.
[1:04:05] Michele Marshall: I grab a kid's paint brush if I need to, or whatever, and I grab my little paint cup that's already labeled and I know what room it's for and then just touch up, because the kids make that happen a lot.
[1:04:17] Michele Marshall: That is such a good idea.
[1:04:20] Michele Marshall: Lots of paint touch-ups, yeah.
[1:04:22] Michele Marshall: So it's a I love having that on hand.
[1:04:24] Allison Weeks: It's something you made, it's something that is made for that purpose, like a little, or is it-?
[1:04:31] Michele Marshall: Yeah, it's just.
[1:04:31] Michele Marshall: I think it's called like a touch-up cup or something like that.
[1:04:35] Michele Marshall: I never would have got them, like I've seen them on Amazon but, I, think they're too expensive.
[1:04:41] Michele Marshall: They're just a plastic cup.
[1:04:42] Michele Marshall: But I found I was out shopping one day and I found some that were on sale, so I bought them Before I had those.
[1:04:49] Michele Marshall: I just used a little Tupperware container and you can just drop some marbles in it or whatever to stir up the paint, and then you can just stay.
[1:04:59] Michele Marshall: I like it because it's right there in the cupboard or the cabinet and you don't have to feel like, well, I'll touch up that wall when I can get all my paint supplies out Right, exactly, just little paint brush, little bit of paint.
[1:05:13] Michele Marshall: And then the other thing I like to do that I don't know if this is how common it is, but when I make up the beds, I make the bed fully and then pull everything down toward the end and kind of fold it into about into quarters so that the sheets are exposed all day and they can air out, and I've found that really helps without, so I don't have musty smelling sheets later in the day.
[1:05:37] Michele Marshall: But then when you're ready to go to bed you just pull everything up and it's already done.
[1:05:41] Michele Marshall: It's not as pretty, though I will say that yeah, that's good, that's a good tip.
[1:05:46] Allison Weeks: Making the bed, but airing the sheets Yep, I think there's probably two camps on whether you air the sheets or you don't air the sheets.
[1:05:54] Allison Weeks: I'm not sure where I fall.
[1:05:56] Allison Weeks: I always make the bed fully, but I try to let them air.
[1:06:01] Allison Weeks: I try to pull them all back when we're both out of the bed for the morning.
[1:06:05] Allison Weeks: I try to pull them all back and let them air until I get to making the bed, maybe like after I get dressed in the morning.
[1:06:10] Allison Weeks: But I'm not super consistent with that.
[1:06:12] Allison Weeks: But you're right, it does make them smell better when you let them air for a while.
[1:06:16] Allison Weeks: I agree with that.
[1:06:19] Michele Marshall: Well, and we have the way our rooms are set up.
[1:06:22] Michele Marshall: The sun gets to be on them quite a bit, which I know for some would not be ideal because the sun can also damage them, but for me it works out.
[1:06:30] Michele Marshall: They get to sun a little.
[1:06:32] Michele Marshall: I have a made bed.
[1:06:33] Michele Marshall: It all works out, yeah good.
[1:06:35] Allison Weeks: How about your signature dish?
[1:06:39] Michele Marshall: Well, as you can guess, I don't have much of a signature dish.
[1:06:42] Michele Marshall: I'd, before children and being so busy, I had some Nutella cupcakes.
[1:06:51] Michele Marshall: I always made not really a dish dessert, I guess and those went everywhere.
[1:06:57] Michele Marshall: If I went somewhere, my Nutella cupcakes went with me.
[1:06:59] Michele Marshall: But now, and with all the dietary changes, it's we're just trying to eat, so I don't have one at the moment.
[1:07:10] Allison Weeks: I'm searching looking, you're still working on that, okay.
[1:07:14] Michele Marshall: Yes, I'm still working on that.
[1:07:16] Allison Weeks: Well, maybe if you still have your Nutella cupcake recipe, you can share that, because that sounds amazing.
[1:07:23] Michele Marshall: Oh, it was so good and I'm sure I can find it somewhere and if I do, when I do, I will send it to you.
[1:07:30] Michele Marshall: I'll look for it when we're finished.
[1:07:32] Allison Weeks: Okay, thanks.
[1:07:33] Allison Weeks: Let's talk about the art of home.
[1:07:35] Allison Weeks: How do you see homemaking as an art and where do you find beauty in the art of homemaking?
[1:07:50] Michele Marshall: I think it's an art because it is changing so often.
[1:07:54] Michele Marshall: You have to be very adaptable.
[1:07:58] Michele Marshall: You have the power to make it whatever you want it to be, but that does have to change with every season.
[1:08:07] Michele Marshall: So and that actually comes season of life or season in the year, like there's just ever changing, especially if you have outdoor responsibilities as well, and then so far as finding beauty, it kind of goes along with that.
[1:08:27] Michele Marshall: I just love that.
[1:08:29] Michele Marshall: It is whatever you want it to be, which sometimes can be overwhelming because it's easier to just be told what to do occasionally.
[1:08:38] Michele Marshall: But I can make it a space.
[1:08:41] Michele Marshall: My goal is to make my home a space for my family, friends, neighbors which are mostly family and friends but for anyone to come in and feel relaxed.
[1:08:53] Michele Marshall: That's the goal.
[1:08:53] Michele Marshall: I want them to be able to relax and just be here.
[1:08:58] Michele Marshall: So I love that I have that ability to do that.
[1:09:03] Allison Weeks: Yeah, yeah.
[1:09:04] Allison Weeks: What's something about homemaking that you're thankful for?
[1:09:12] Michele Marshall: It makes me slow down because of the kids, which is wonderful, and honestly the biggest thing I'm thankful for with homemaking is it has put me.
[1:09:27] Michele Marshall: It's given me a better relationship with God.
[1:09:30] Michele Marshall: It has made me spend more time in the Bible and a lot of that started as just trying to find answers, but it's really deepened that relationship and helped me want to grow that more in myself, so that's a big thing I'm thankful for.
[1:09:46] Michele Marshall: I don't know that that would have.
[1:09:48] Michele Marshall: I've always been a believer and I would have been in the Bible some, but I don't think it would have happened to that extent had I not decided that this is the direction I want to really pursue with this part of my life.
[1:10:03] Allison Weeks: What about the other women?
[1:10:04] Allison Weeks: Let's talk to those women for a minute to end our time.
[1:10:08] Allison Weeks: You're right in the middle, so I want to talk to the older women and the younger women.
[1:10:14] Allison Weeks: First, let's address the older women.
[1:10:16] Allison Weeks: How can older women come alongside women in your generation and help them?
[1:10:22] Allison Weeks: What is it that?
[1:10:23] Allison Weeks: Something you wish they knew about your experience?
[1:10:28] Michele Marshall: I think there's a lot of.
[1:10:29] Michele Marshall: It's something we spoke to earlier, but there's a lot of temptations now that probably weren't the case with the older generation, and part of it is just the lack of acceptance from our peers.
[1:10:48] Michele Marshall: We don't have a lot of acceptance from our peers in some cases, I'm sure it depends on where you live.
[1:10:54] Michele Marshall: So just providing encouragement, whether it be verbal or teaching a skill you can learn anything on YouTube, but it would be so much nicer to have a pair of hands and it could be any skill but some verbal encouragement and just help teaching a skill would be, I think, would be awesome, and I'm fortunate to be surrounded by people who are doing that.
[1:11:20] Allison Weeks: So that's great, that's a blessing.
[1:11:23] Allison Weeks: Well, let's talk to the younger women.
[1:11:25] Allison Weeks: What's a word of advice or encouragement, or warning, or all of the above, that you would give to the younger homemakers coming behind you?
[1:11:37] Michele Marshall: If they have children trying to not forget what it's like to be the child things.
[1:11:46] Michele Marshall: We need structure and we need discipline and we need boundaries, but we also just need to try to see things through their lens.
[1:11:55] Michele Marshall: Sometimes I think they're so joyful and it doesn't have to be serious all the time and the house doesn't have to be perfect and the kids do not have to have the latest gadgets to be happy.
[1:12:10] Michele Marshall: They just need a parent who really wants to be with them.
[1:12:15] Michele Marshall: I think that's so easy to fall out of, probably with the younger, especially the even younger than me, because there's more temptations all the time and people are more busy and it just keeps piling on.
[1:12:30] Michele Marshall: So just really slow down and be a kid with your kids sometimes.
[1:12:37] Michele Marshall: I like that and then if you want to entertain or if you want to have people this one took me a little bit, but I feel like I'm there now.
[1:12:46] Michele Marshall: Things don't have to be perfect.
[1:12:48] Michele Marshall: Your house doesn't have to be fancy.
[1:12:51] Michele Marshall: That's another hard one because of Instagram and Pinterest.
[1:12:55] Michele Marshall: We want it to look like that before.
[1:12:57] Michele Marshall: We have friends over, but it's not real life always.
[1:13:00] Michele Marshall: So you can have people over and you can feed them crackers and coffee and you're still doing a good thing.
[1:13:09] Michele Marshall: The people want to be there with you.
[1:13:11] Michele Marshall: They don't need a five course meal.
[1:13:15] Allison Weeks: Yeah, that's a good word.
[1:13:17] Allison Weeks: Well, this has been really fun.
[1:13:20] Allison Weeks: Thank you, michelle, for being on the show and for sharing your story of home.
[1:13:24] Allison Weeks: I've enjoyed getting to know you and hearing about horses and all of the fun things going on in your home.
[1:13:30] Allison Weeks: It sounds like it'd be a really a really great place to to grow up and and to visit.
[1:13:36] Allison Weeks: So thank you for being here.
[1:13:38] Michele Marshall: Thank you so much for having me.
[1:13:40] Allison Weeks: You're welcome.
[1:13:41] Allison Weeks: Thank you so much for joining me today for this in the trenches homemade portrait of Michelle Marshall.
[1:13:47] Allison Weeks: I hope you found some inspiration and some encouragement that you can apply right now in your practice of the art of home.
[1:13:54] Allison Weeks: I was so happy that Michelle brought up the point that one of the things that surprised her about homemaking was something outside of her home.
[1:14:04] Allison Weeks: And that was the way that people responded when she told them that this was her primary occupation, that she especially that she had left a job to stay home and just be a homemaker.
[1:14:15] Allison Weeks: And we know that that phrase just a homemaker is a loaded phrase and we want to be able to proudly proclaim I am a homemaker, I stay home, I take care of my home, I take care of my family, I run a household.
[1:14:30] Allison Weeks: That is a full time job.
[1:14:31] Allison Weeks: It is worthy, it is enough, and we don't have to put disclaimers on it and we don't have to say but I also do this and I also homeschool and I also run a small farm and I also do this, this, this, this, this, as if we have to add to it to make it a valid choice.
[1:14:47] Allison Weeks: That's something I personally struggled with all of my homemaking career, and I just want to encourage you that if you're struggling in this area, please know that the work of the home is good, valuable work and it's enough.
[1:15:00] Allison Weeks: You don't have to add to it with any kind of qualifiers to make you a legitimate worker or a legitimate member of society.
[1:15:07] Allison Weeks: It is valuable work and it is necessary work and it is honored work, honored by the Lord.
[1:15:14] Allison Weeks: If you have found value in today's episode, you can say thanks in a couple of different ways.
[1:15:19] Allison Weeks: First of all, share with someone that you know, a homemaker who could use this kind of encouragement.
[1:15:23] Allison Weeks: Just pop into your podcast player right now and hit the little share button and send this episode to her.
[1:15:28] Allison Weeks: The second thing that you can do is leave us a rating and a review on your listening app of choice.
[1:15:33] Allison Weeks: And then, finally, if you would like, you can leave us a tip and our virtual tip jar by me, a coffee.
[1:15:39] Allison Weeks: Tips are given in $5 increments.
[1:15:42] Allison Weeks: You can give one, two, three, four or as many coffees as you would like, and I appreciate that All coffees go to help offset the cost of the production of this podcast.
[1:15:52] Allison Weeks: So, thank you.
[1:15:52] Allison Weeks: Well, that's it for this episode.
[1:15:54] Allison Weeks: I will be back next week with a brand new homemaker portrait of another listener, just like you.
[1:15:59] Allison Weeks: Until then, keep practicing your art of making a home.

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