Meet the Moms

Hi, I'm Jessica...

I graduated from Western Illinois University with a degree in music education and spent 7 years teaching anything from elementary general music to junior high band in the public school system in Illinois and Michigan. I decided to stay home and homeschool when our oldest was in first grade and I'm so glad I took the plunge. I've been homeschooling since 2014 and have a passion for helping other moms get started on their journey. I live in Iowa with my husband and four girls. In the fall of 2019 we were able to take a month long trip to Europe to tour 5 countries. It was because of homeschooling that we could do this in the off season with our family. I loves connecting with other moms, sewing, cooking, and helping others maximize their health and time in my free time.

The picture below is of my husband Adam, me, and our four girls in Southern Spain visiting some caves there.

UPDATE 6/11/2022

We are still homeschooling and I have a high schooler, a junior higher, an elementary school, and a preschool/pre-k kiddo! We are busy. I wanted to share an updated picture with you all.

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Hi, I'm Beth...

I graduated from Western Michigan University with a degree in industrial education and spent 6 years teaching drafting classes to high school and college students in Southwest Michigan. When my second child was born in 2011, high school graduation requirements change to include more core academic classes, and elective classes (like mine) saw a decrease in enrollment. I was informed that I'd be a part-time employee next year, and for the foreseeable future - a hard pill to swallow when you have 2 young children needing daycare! In this way, the Lord directed me home, worked on my heart and patience with littles, and opened the possibility in my mind to homeschool. Two years later, when our oldest was 5, my husband and I decided to consider all the educational options, did tons of research, and determined homeschooling to be the path for us. I've been homeschooling since 2014, and also have a passion for helping other moms get started on their journey. Our family lives in Michigan, and my husband and I have 3 kids - a girl and two boys. I enjoy baking, sewing, camping, biking, coffee, and playing board games with my family.

Here's a picture of our family in St. Louis, waiting to see a solar eclipse!

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How we met... Jessica's Story

My husband Adam and I moved to Kalamazoo, MI from the Chicago suburbs. I had a teaching job in Vernon Hills, IL right out of college and Adam graduated 6 months after me. He had a job in Chicago but we quickly discovered how expensive it was to live there so when he got offered more money in Michigan and we found out how much cheaper it was to live there he asked me to marry him and move to which I said, "YES!" He was hired at a company called Stryker in their IT department and that is where he met Phil, Beth's husband. I was pretty much fresh out of college, one year teaching experience, and had no friends, no job, and was in a completely new area. Did I mention I'm a people person? I would lament daily about having no friends and call my husband. Phil and Adam got to talking and suggested Beth and I go out for coffee. Here is the funny part.... we met at a coffee shop in the mall and chatted. I remember walking away thinking, 'We'll never be friends. We don't have anything in common.' Boy was I wrong. It's now been since 2006 that we have been friends and make it a point to get together a few times a year. We started hanging out for dinner regularly before kids and then I had my first. Beth and I were pregnant with our second kids at the same time 3 weeks apart. Beth invited me to do a pregnancy water fitness class with her and we would also cook a fancy dinner before we headed to class. All while each of us worked full time and I had one little one. We've had so much fun over the years and I'm super blessed to have such an amazing friend like Beth. She's been with me through the death of both of my parents, through moving a few times, and through life stuff. Now here we are partnering together to help you guys on your homeschool journey and we are so excited!

How we met... Beth's Story

Imagine my hesitancy when I, an introverted home-body, was encouraged to go meet Adam's wife, Jessica, for coffee because she needed a friend. Well, my husband has always been pretty perceptive about people, and he was *sure* we'd be fast friends. I wasn't convinced that I needed a new friend, but I was willing to try. So yup, we met at the mall, and had an awkward first conversation. A few months later, Phil and I put our house on the market, and when interested buyers needed to come see, we needed a place to go - the Stortz's house. We slowly found our friendship developing, both became pregnant, and after selling our house and moving (same area, house upgrade), came up with new reasons to keep in touch. Now we would learn to do some gourmet cooking together, followed by a pregnancy water aerobics class, and then dessert (of course!). This was a weekly occurrence until we had our babies, the Stortzes moved into our neighborhood (we pretty much shared a backyard), and started coming to our church - I can't remember the order of these things. We had become so close, sharing morning stroller walks, couponing excursions, and several dinners every week. Then, the unthinkable happened, and the friend I never thought I needed moved away. Our families have since grown, and we've taken on new interests, but we've remained in touch over the years, loving and supporting each other with every step.