Hey! I like your new template! Great colors.
Karen Joy
I’m a homeschooling mom with four kids — three boys aged 10, 8, and 6 years, and a baby girl who is 1 year old. My dear hubby is a home designer (like an architect w/o AIA certification) for a large home builder, and he’s also the worship pastor at our church .
We school with Sonlight, which IMO, is an excellent program: literature-based, Christian but not dogmatic, heavy on history and reading. I like everything about SL except for the Language Arts. We are in our 6th year of hs’ing. I initially started hs’ing simply to teach my oldest to read, so he’d have a leg up on things when he went to “real” school. But when he learned to read with ease, and his then-3yo brother right along with him, I decided to stick with it.
I like birding, camping, shorter hikes (the legs of my littles can’t go so far…), doing about anything out in nature. 
If you’re a glutton for wordiness, there’s more about me on this page .
Responses
By: bordermama on January 11, 2007
at 10:14 pm
Great blog!
-J. Kaiser
By: totaltransformation on February 20, 2007
at 1:57 pm
Howdy. Way off topic, but you may find this useful. I saw your attempt to post a jewishworldreview link to a Mallard Fillmore cartoon over at gottsegnet.blogspot.com.
Try this site: tinyurl.com. It turns long urls into short ones. No ads, no pop-ups, no gotchas.
The Friendly Grizzly, lending a helping paw…
By: the friendly grizzly on February 23, 2007
at 9:05 am
Hi!
I am from Croatia.
Are you ever been in Europe ?
By: Dubravko on March 6, 2007
at 6:17 am
No, Dubravko, I’ve never been to Europe. I’ve been to the UK, but that’s as close as I’ve been. I’d like to visit Croatia some day.
By: onlysometimesclever on March 6, 2007
at 9:59 am
Hey Karen!I got your comments!You’re blog is interesting.I like the style.I’ll see you at church!
By: Maggie Mae on April 16, 2007
at 8:04 pm
Hello Karen!!
I don’t have a web-site yet, but I think your site is amusing
Say hi to your husband for me.
I love you.
Chloe
By: Chloe Scott on April 16, 2007
at 8:08 pm
hello, i’m jan. i ran into your blog awhile ago. i keep reading it from that time on because i’m on the plan to homeschool my niece and nephew too. do you mind if i put this blog in my blockroll?
jan
By: pattriya on August 6, 2007
at 12:07 pm
A pleasure to read!
By: celiacgourmet on September 13, 2007
at 1:30 am
Thanks for your help and comments on my blog. The pic was in the beautiful Smoky Mountains.
I just filed the intent to home school and we are on our way. I am using the format the charter school used and will supplement for now. We have some attachment issues (and behavioral) that we are working on as well.
Thanks so much for coming by. I will be back to your site for sure!
Debbie aka The Real World Martha
By: realworldmartha on October 26, 2007
at 12:56 pm
Dear Karen,
I found your website by chance. I was looking for a gluten free recipe. I found your space very well presented and inspirational and I simply wanted to congratulate you.
Thank you
By: Chrissy on December 4, 2007
at 1:34 am
Hi!
Great to find your blog, and your sugar cookie recipe that I can’t wait to try. My youngest son was just diagnosed this week with Celiac. (Older sons bloodwork came back this week with negative results ~ yea) My little guy just had his biopsy on Monday… We were pretty sure about the results and started cleaning out the kitchen over the past several weeks.
My sweetheart was born with Down syndrome over 9 years ago in Tempe. Open Heart surgery at PCH, then diagnosis of hypothyroidism, now the Celiac challenge.
We have now become Californians, I miss all my friends in the Phoenix area.
Look forward to your tips and recipes. I am hoping to find a staple recipe for chicken nuggets….
Sincerely, Lori
By: LoriLinnaz on December 14, 2007
at 7:39 pm
Nice blog!
We have much in common! I homeschool my 5 kiddos ages 10-11 months, 3 boys, 2 girls. We used sonlight for two years and now do an ecletic mix using sonlight’s books as a core but doing my own maps/schedule ect. My son and I have celiac diseas. I am a runner-wanna be. I hope to run my first marathon next year. I’m a christian, too 
thanks for the great blog!
julie in maine
By: julie in maine on December 27, 2007
at 7:36 am
Hi nice website I actually stumbled upon it looking for a banana muffin recipe. We also homeschool all 9 of are kids 19-2 1/2 months and have celiac disease.
Looking forward to more recipes.
-Lexi
By: Lexi on February 19, 2008
at 2:19 pm
Hi Karen,
Don’t know if you remember me, but I was there when you joined. It sounds like you have a very full plate to keep up with in your life now.
These comments are meant to uplift you in the place your are now. Let’s see:
1. Wife of a worship leader and particpant on the worship team.
2. The mother of four children and homeschooling
3. 13 years of leadership, growth and maturity under the scrutiny of all of those around you, kinda feel like your in a fishbowl.
God has entrusted you with so much because He knows your heart. He knows YOU. YOU are approved and loved by the God of heaven and earth.
He has entrusted to you the heart and soul of Martin. To love him, support him. What a precious gift he has given you. The Father took a look at a young girls heart all of those years ago and knew Karen could love, protect in prayer, survive all of the attacts that come against a worship leaders life. He knew you in your mothers womb and knew the wife you would be.
Then on top of that He he gave you the souls of four precious children to raise in this crazy world. How the Father must trust you.
Then He put you front and center in a smaller church to be the worship leaders wife and mom of four children where everyone is watching you. The Fathers confidence in you is great.
Sometimes when you feel your a wife, a mom, a leader, just remember HE KNOWS KAREN, down to the marrow of your bones. In the Father’s eyes you are KAREN and only KAREN and His love for you is deep.
When you picture yourself in one of the roles that God has granted you, please remember He see’s only you and knows your heart, know s the purity of your personal worship of Him.
He’s give you a lot to do in this time in your life, but He has done it because He knows who Karen is deep inside.
He has also given you wonderful mature women around you to mentor you and serve as an example of faithfulness and staying on course no matter how tough it gets.
Karen after reading this, my admiration for you grows. Don’t ever loose yourself in the roles you play, find the woman God has entrusted with those roles and know HE ONLY KNOWS KAREN and loves her. Then he trust her with those roles.
By: Jane on February 24, 2008
at 8:50 am
Hello, I stumbled upon your blog as I was searching for gluten free cereal. I have celiac and I was homeschooled too so I found your blog really interesting! I’m in med school now but I still thank my mom for homeschooling me. God bless you!
By: Bre on April 21, 2008
at 4:34 am
Hi Karen,
What fun! I stumbled across your blog site and read your 101 list. I thought I knew a lot about you and now I know even more interesting things. I should be doing my data entry but am bored and got off track
Love,
Cristi
By: Cristi on April 30, 2008
at 9:41 pm
