We finished term 3 of our “kindergarten” year!

We finished term 3 of our “kindergarten” year! Are you schooling through the summer? I shared a rough breakdown of our summer plans in my stories this morning! ✨

I also have a full review of this math curriculum on my blog + @youtube channel if you’re looking for something for Kindergarten for your child next year! I’ve already started planning school for next fall and I have to say I am SOOO excited. 😱✨❤️

Tonight the review video & my thoughts on our handwriting curriculum + phonics practice (explode the code) will be live! 💓 #lichomeschool

I've waited about four years to be able to share t

I've waited about four years to be able to share this in this space, so here we go... on Father’s Day. I first laid eyes on my father at the age of 27. I can’t even describe how surreal it felt to see his face for the first time and see myself so clearly.

I had been told my whole childhood that we didn't know who he was and that I'd never be able to find him, so after years and years, I simply gave up. I accepted the inevitable. I'd never know my Dad...I was okay with it. I was used to seeing other girls...women have relationships with their fathers and I knew that that would never be me. You sort of grow numb to the reality of it as the years go by.

But, right before I gave birth to my now three-year-old, we miraculously connected, through a friend of a friend. It’s an extremely long, detailed, and complicated story of how this came to be and why I haven’t shared about him for so long. But the short version is this: I contacted him after learning his name. After a few back and forths, we both agreed to take a paternity test. We got the results back and we found out that we were indeed related! It became a joyous new adventure from there on out. We had our first phone conversation, tried to make up for lost time, shared our favorite things, our life stories.

Now he wishes me a happy birthday, happy mother's day, happy everything.... on every holiday, each year. He sends me birthday cards (I’ve always wanted a birthday letter from a parent!) 😭 He asked me to call him Dad pretty much during our first conversation, and he's been there for me through birth, death, the pandemic, and more.

I finally met my father face-to-face at 29, and this is the only picture I have of him and I together, but I hope to change that very soon. <3

I want to encourage you today, if you don't know who your father is, or you've been told to give up hope, don't. Don't stop praying and don't stop looking, because it could happen. It's something I didn't know I needed. Now, I have so many answered questions, so many new family members to meet (that’s my brother!) and spend time with. So many new memories to be made.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad. 💓 #fathersday

We are having a heat wave now, but the mornings an

We are having a heat wave now, but the mornings and evenings are still breezy and glorious. That’s when I pull out all my sweaters to layer with tank tops and summer dresses.

Remember when I used to spotlight my favorite #slowfashion brands? I need to bring that back, so today I want to share with you @lenvers_fashion. L’ENVERS is a small family owned business based in Spain. The items in their shop are made-to-order, which is wonderful! Providing made-to-order items benefits the customer because garment measurements can be customized, BUT, more importantly, L’ENVERS is only making the garments they need to sell...and nothing more! This is a WAY more sustainable approach to selling clothing and I wish more brands would follow in their footsteps!

The cardigan is made of cruelty-free, pure merino wool sourced from Spain. I find it to be incredibly soft compared to other wool I own (which can sometimes feel itchy). In this photo I am wearing the “Claude” cardigan in the color Camel, and I took a size XS, then I asked if I could shorten the body of the sweater to 23 inches. If you’re on the hunt for a sweater that will last for YEARS, you’ve got to check out L’ENVERS. The quality is superb and their approach to sustainability is something I am proud to support. Their motto is: “We make it slow to make it last.” 😍 #gifted #larissawears

Experienced the most peaceful moment this morning.

Experienced the most peaceful moment this morning... I lit a candle, turned on Josh Garrels, sipped my coffee, all while I..... I folded towels 😅 I know this is unpopular, but I find folding laundry extremely therapeutic, and I actually ENJOY it 😱😂

What is your favorite mundane household task? ✨

G (6) helped me unpack the pantry a few weeks ago and she wrote the name of each flour on top of the jars for me so we could identify them until we get a fancy label maker. (We have like seven types of flour!) I had to capture this, because her sweet little handwriting and spelling of “spelt”, and the way her face beamed when I handed her my special “mommy” pen just melted me... I want to remember it forever. 💓

Spent our nine year anniversary apart yesterday. I

Spent our nine year anniversary apart yesterday. I took the girls to nature group while he worked during the day and then we had family dinner and after that I rushed off to a homeschool mom book club 😅 while he put the girls to bed solo for the first time EVER. 😳 We snapped these quick photos before I left though, and I’m glad we have them! Next year is the big 10! ✨

Photos 1& 2 were on our 9 year anniversary.
Photo 3: our first date
Photo 4: the day we got engaged
Photo 5: our engagement photos
Photo 6: our wedding day
Photo 7: pregnant with N

Death is a strange phenomenon. I came home from ch

Death is a strange phenomenon. I came home from church with the girls to find my husband had started some raised garden beds for me to help cheer me up. I’m focusing on things that help me feel joy and peace. Spending time with my babes outdoors. Baking and cooking for my family from scratch. Snuggling our new puppy. Reading my Bible and praying. Spending time with friends that encourage me. These are my anchors; they help me through all of the feelings I have to face. Because I do need to face them, whether I want to or not. It isn’t healthy for me to not settle into this discomfort or sadness. So I’m working through it. Making sense of it a little bit at a time, and I’m working hard at healing. Thanks for bearing with me! I have a new video and a new blog post going up tonight, so stay tuned for those + thank you always for your support. ❤️

(First pic is my beautiful firstborn on her bday, second is a still life painting she did a couple months back 💓, third is our little golden pup, Jack, and the last is N and I at one of our family’s favorite pnw state parks ✨)

The other day we drove through Starbucks (just for

The other day we drove through Starbucks (just for my husband bc I’ve become a coffee snob 😟) and my daughters saw the cake pop picture... so naturally they asked if they could get one.

My response was a typical response any mom who tries to avoid sugar like the plague would have: “oh those do look good! let’s make some at home!” 😂

...and that’s how these grain-free cake bites were born! When I was writing the blog post for these (4 ingredient) bites, just for fun, I took a quick look at the ingredients of the Starbucks cake pops. I shared in my stories if you’re interested 🙃 You aren’t going to believe how many ingredients there are, and some of the worst offenders! (GMO corn syrup, modified soybean oil, palm oil, GMO cane sugar. It wasn’t pretty 😆). So anyway! Try these instead! My kid’s went nuts for them, and I made two versions. Chocolate chip cookie dough (with @hukitchen chocolate gems) and birthday cake (with Watson dye-free sprinkles.) enjoy! ✨ #livingincoloreats

We have a new family member in the house! Meet Jac

We have a new family member in the house! Meet Jack von Trapp! 🐾 He’s a golden retriever puppy from a friend of a friend’s litter of puppies! We jumped at the chance to welcome this little cutie, and the girls are just smitten. Jack is insanely good-natured and extremely tolerant of their constant love and handling. 😂 The timing isn’t ideal (we moved like 10 days ago 🤣), but this was sort of a perfect situation for us, as we wanted to either rescue or find a small pup that needed a home. We are excited to have him join in on our family adventures!

Now, if you feel like you know us pretty well, can you guess how my girls came up with our pup’s name? Do you have a family pet?! #jackvontrapp

#ad Spring around here means transplanting our see

#ad Spring around here means transplanting our seedlings to the bigger garden beds, cleaning up the bird feeders to refill, and dreaming up our new backyard plans. @mrsmeyerscleanday hand soap is a tried and true favorite around here for after messy gardening afternoons. It's biodegradable, made with plant-derived and other thoughtfully chosen ingredients, and free of artificial colors, phthalates, chlorine bleach, parabens, and phosphates. You can grab some Mrs. Meyer's Hand Soap 'Rain Water' scent for your home at your local @Walgreens. #MrsMeyers #mrsmeyerscleanday

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I'm Larissa. A mama to daughters and wife to my college sweetheart. I am passionate about sustainable fashion, whole foods recipes, and Charlotte Mason home education. I also love being outdoors with my family. You can usually find me sporting a wide-brimmed hat, with a baby on my back.

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We finished term 3 of our “kindergarten” year!

We finished term 3 of our “kindergarten” year! Are you schooling through the summer? I shared a rough breakdown of our summer plans in my stories this morning! ✨

I also have a full review of this math curriculum on my blog + @youtube channel if you’re looking for something for Kindergarten for your child next year! I’ve already started planning school for next fall and I have to say I am SOOO excited. 😱✨❤️

Tonight the review video & my thoughts on our handwriting curriculum + phonics practice (explode the code) will be live! 💓 #lichomeschool

I've waited about four years to be able to share t

I've waited about four years to be able to share this in this space, so here we go... on Father’s Day. I first laid eyes on my father at the age of 27. I can’t even describe how surreal it felt to see his face for the first time and see myself so clearly.

I had been told my whole childhood that we didn't know who he was and that I'd never be able to find him, so after years and years, I simply gave up. I accepted the inevitable. I'd never know my Dad...I was okay with it. I was used to seeing other girls...women have relationships with their fathers and I knew that that would never be me. You sort of grow numb to the reality of it as the years go by.

But, right before I gave birth to my now three-year-old, we miraculously connected, through a friend of a friend. It’s an extremely long, detailed, and complicated story of how this came to be and why I haven’t shared about him for so long. But the short version is this: I contacted him after learning his name. After a few back and forths, we both agreed to take a paternity test. We got the results back and we found out that we were indeed related! It became a joyous new adventure from there on out. We had our first phone conversation, tried to make up for lost time, shared our favorite things, our life stories.

Now he wishes me a happy birthday, happy mother's day, happy everything.... on every holiday, each year. He sends me birthday cards (I’ve always wanted a birthday letter from a parent!) 😭 He asked me to call him Dad pretty much during our first conversation, and he's been there for me through birth, death, the pandemic, and more.

I finally met my father face-to-face at 29, and this is the only picture I have of him and I together, but I hope to change that very soon. <3

I want to encourage you today, if you don't know who your father is, or you've been told to give up hope, don't. Don't stop praying and don't stop looking, because it could happen. It's something I didn't know I needed. Now, I have so many answered questions, so many new family members to meet (that’s my brother!) and spend time with. So many new memories to be made.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad. 💓 #fathersday

We are having a heat wave now, but the mornings an

We are having a heat wave now, but the mornings and evenings are still breezy and glorious. That’s when I pull out all my sweaters to layer with tank tops and summer dresses.

Remember when I used to spotlight my favorite #slowfashion brands? I need to bring that back, so today I want to share with you @lenvers_fashion. L’ENVERS is a small family owned business based in Spain. The items in their shop are made-to-order, which is wonderful! Providing made-to-order items benefits the customer because garment measurements can be customized, BUT, more importantly, L’ENVERS is only making the garments they need to sell...and nothing more! This is a WAY more sustainable approach to selling clothing and I wish more brands would follow in their footsteps!

The cardigan is made of cruelty-free, pure merino wool sourced from Spain. I find it to be incredibly soft compared to other wool I own (which can sometimes feel itchy). In this photo I am wearing the “Claude” cardigan in the color Camel, and I took a size XS, then I asked if I could shorten the body of the sweater to 23 inches. If you’re on the hunt for a sweater that will last for YEARS, you’ve got to check out L’ENVERS. The quality is superb and their approach to sustainability is something I am proud to support. Their motto is: “We make it slow to make it last.” 😍 #gifted #larissawears

Experienced the most peaceful moment this morning.

Experienced the most peaceful moment this morning... I lit a candle, turned on Josh Garrels, sipped my coffee, all while I..... I folded towels 😅 I know this is unpopular, but I find folding laundry extremely therapeutic, and I actually ENJOY it 😱😂

What is your favorite mundane household task? ✨

G (6) helped me unpack the pantry a few weeks ago and she wrote the name of each flour on top of the jars for me so we could identify them until we get a fancy label maker. (We have like seven types of flour!) I had to capture this, because her sweet little handwriting and spelling of “spelt”, and the way her face beamed when I handed her my special “mommy” pen just melted me... I want to remember it forever. 💓

Spent our nine year anniversary apart yesterday. I

Spent our nine year anniversary apart yesterday. I took the girls to nature group while he worked during the day and then we had family dinner and after that I rushed off to a homeschool mom book club 😅 while he put the girls to bed solo for the first time EVER. 😳 We snapped these quick photos before I left though, and I’m glad we have them! Next year is the big 10! ✨

Photos 1& 2 were on our 9 year anniversary.
Photo 3: our first date
Photo 4: the day we got engaged
Photo 5: our engagement photos
Photo 6: our wedding day
Photo 7: pregnant with N

Death is a strange phenomenon. I came home from ch

Death is a strange phenomenon. I came home from church with the girls to find my husband had started some raised garden beds for me to help cheer me up. I’m focusing on things that help me feel joy and peace. Spending time with my babes outdoors. Baking and cooking for my family from scratch. Snuggling our new puppy. Reading my Bible and praying. Spending time with friends that encourage me. These are my anchors; they help me through all of the feelings I have to face. Because I do need to face them, whether I want to or not. It isn’t healthy for me to not settle into this discomfort or sadness. So I’m working through it. Making sense of it a little bit at a time, and I’m working hard at healing. Thanks for bearing with me! I have a new video and a new blog post going up tonight, so stay tuned for those + thank you always for your support. ❤️

(First pic is my beautiful firstborn on her bday, second is a still life painting she did a couple months back 💓, third is our little golden pup, Jack, and the last is N and I at one of our family’s favorite pnw state parks ✨)

The other day we drove through Starbucks (just for

The other day we drove through Starbucks (just for my husband bc I’ve become a coffee snob 😟) and my daughters saw the cake pop picture... so naturally they asked if they could get one.

My response was a typical response any mom who tries to avoid sugar like the plague would have: “oh those do look good! let’s make some at home!” 😂

...and that’s how these grain-free cake bites were born! When I was writing the blog post for these (4 ingredient) bites, just for fun, I took a quick look at the ingredients of the Starbucks cake pops. I shared in my stories if you’re interested 🙃 You aren’t going to believe how many ingredients there are, and some of the worst offenders! (GMO corn syrup, modified soybean oil, palm oil, GMO cane sugar. It wasn’t pretty 😆). So anyway! Try these instead! My kid’s went nuts for them, and I made two versions. Chocolate chip cookie dough (with @hukitchen chocolate gems) and birthday cake (with Watson dye-free sprinkles.) enjoy! ✨ #livingincoloreats

We have a new family member in the house! Meet Jac

We have a new family member in the house! Meet Jack von Trapp! 🐾 He’s a golden retriever puppy from a friend of a friend’s litter of puppies! We jumped at the chance to welcome this little cutie, and the girls are just smitten. Jack is insanely good-natured and extremely tolerant of their constant love and handling. 😂 The timing isn’t ideal (we moved like 10 days ago 🤣), but this was sort of a perfect situation for us, as we wanted to either rescue or find a small pup that needed a home. We are excited to have him join in on our family adventures!

Now, if you feel like you know us pretty well, can you guess how my girls came up with our pup’s name? Do you have a family pet?! #jackvontrapp

#ad Spring around here means transplanting our see

#ad Spring around here means transplanting our seedlings to the bigger garden beds, cleaning up the bird feeders to refill, and dreaming up our new backyard plans. @mrsmeyerscleanday hand soap is a tried and true favorite around here for after messy gardening afternoons. It's biodegradable, made with plant-derived and other thoughtfully chosen ingredients, and free of artificial colors, phthalates, chlorine bleach, parabens, and phosphates. You can grab some Mrs. Meyer's Hand Soap 'Rain Water' scent for your home at your local @Walgreens. #MrsMeyers #mrsmeyerscleanday

I have dozens of photos of me and my girls, dresse

I have dozens of photos of me and my girls, dressed to the nines, laughing while running through fields. Picture perfect. But this one right here...it gets me. It’s our every day. The days I wouldn’t trade for anything.

So honored to be called “mom” by these two. It’s a title that I don’t take for granted. Happy Mother’s Day, fellow moms. Here’s to serving our families with a gentle heart and loving spirit.✨

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