330. What Older Moms Want Young Moms to Know | Large Family Life, Homeschooling, and Letting Go of Pressure | Jennifer of A Country Life

Summary

Simple Farmhouse Life, Episode 330

What Older Moms Want Young Moms to Know | Large Family Life, Homeschooling, and Letting Go of Pressure

Guest: Jennifer Brockman (A Country Life)
Host: Lisa Bass
Date: February 24, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this heartwarming and practical episode, Lisa Bass invites Jennifer Brockman, a seasoned mother of seven, homeschooler, and cranberry farmer, to share wisdom from her decades of experience. Together, they reflect on life with a wide age range of children, navigating special needs, homeschooling realities, and the lessons older moms wish young moms knew. The tone is relaxed, honest, and reassuring—emphasizing grace, flexibility, and the beauty of ordinary family rhythms.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Surprise Joys and Realities of a Wide Age Range in Large Families

• Both Lisa and Jennifer share experiences raising children spanning over 16 years apart.
• Jennifer discusses how older children naturally become allies and helpers, shifting family dynamics in positive ways.
• The progression from hands-on parenting to shared family responsibility tends to happen organically over time.

Quote (Jennifer, 05:32):
“You think at that point when you have a six year old, a five year old, a three year old and a newborn, you just think they're going to remain little and it's going to be this difficult dynamic all the time. And then all of a sudden...they become your ally.”

Timestamp: 05:32-10:15

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2. Letting Go of Pressure and Embracing Family Uniqueness

• Both mothers reflect on how much pressure young moms put on themselves—about tidiness, routines, and “getting it right.”
• The importance of developing a personal vision for family life, rather than stressing about perfection or external standards.
• Learning to overlook minor concerns (cleanliness, matching shoes, nap schedules) for the sake of peace at home.

Quote (Jennifer, 12:16):
“You definitely see what is important and what is not really the hill to die on.”

Quote (Jennifer, 19:14): “I really wish that when I look back...I could have just stopped the noise. I guess being able to see the beauty through the toys would have been a really great thing for me to...experience. But that wasn’t my experience. I only saw the toys. I only saw the mess.”

Timestamp: 10:15–25:40

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3. Large Family Logistics & Natural Personality Differences

• Discussion on the challenge of keeping a tidy home with many kids—especially when parents (and their kids) aren’t naturally tidy.
• The humorous realization that some families just naturally produce neat or messy kids, and that’s okay.
• Letting go of image management (kids’ matching outfits, perfect house) and focusing instead on what works for YOUR family.

Quote (Lisa, 21:00): “If you’re a messy person and so is your husband, I think you produce messy kids...and I only know it by comparison.”

Timestamp: 20:33–26:09

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4. Homeschooling with a Wide Age Range and Special Needs

• Jennifer shares her approach to homeschooling her son with Down syndrome—focusing on simple goals, progress over perfection, and breaking learning into manageable skills.
• Rejecting the myth that all schooling has to happen simultaneously or along conventional grade lines.
• Encouragement that homeschooling can adapt to very different needs, and daily life doesn’t have to look like a classroom.

Quote (Jennifer, 28:13): “There you don’t have to have like this is first grade and second grade and third grade. It’s just these are skills and some skills we might learn at 5 and some skills it might take us till 12. And that’s okay...it’s just progress.”

Quote (Jennifer, 36:09): “You don’t have to homeschool every single child at the same time every single day altogether...it can vary. And I mean, I’m good with that. I like that schedule.”

Timestamp: 26:31–41:21

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5. Avoiding Comparison—Wisdom for Young Moms

• The challenge of not measuring oneself against Instagram, Internet “hot takes,” or other families.
• Jennifer shares that reaching a certain age brings confidence ("Once you get to my age you don't even care"), but she validates how real the struggle is for younger moms surrounded by information overload.
• She encourages young moms to change their minds, do what works for them, and not stress about every decision.

Quote (Jennifer, 44:14): “Oftentimes I just kind of make a little joke about it like, ‘Oh, once you get to my age you don’t even care,’ which is not...a joke. It’s actually true.”

Quote (Jennifer, 48:20): “A hundred percent agree with that. Overthinking things. When once you get through whatever it was that you just overthought and then you think about it for a moment, you’re like, this would have happened even if I hadn’t overthought it in the first place.”

Timestamp: 41:21–51:13

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6. Internet Pressures, Changing Seasons, and Embracing the Chaos

• Lisa and Jennifer discuss the mental exhaustion of parenting in the social media age, analyzing and responding to “hot takes.”
• Jennifer advocates focusing on real-life priorities and responsibilities, using the Internet as a tool, not a measure.
• As the family grows, seasons shift—chaos is part of the beauty. Jennifer notes her diminishing interest in conforming to outside expectations.
• Embracing the noisy, messy, joyful reality of family meals and big gatherings.

Quote (Jennifer, 61:18): “Multiple conversations going on...it’s loud. And someone forgot to put a fork on the table...elbows bump things and it spills and it happens. And it’s kind of like you just embrace that.”

Timestamp: 51:13–62:03

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7. Grandparenting While Still Parenting & Evolving Family Life

• Unpacking the unique dynamic of having grandchildren while still raising younger kids at home.
• The joy and novelty for grandkids having aunts and uncles close in age (“like cousins”).
• The continual evolution of family roles, and the joy to be found in embracing each new season, even the unpredictable ones.

Quote (Jennifer, 55:19): “It’s almost like cousins, really...it’s definitely a different dynamic. I mean, I love it, it’s just super fun.”

Timestamp: 53:03–57:43

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jennifer (05:32): “You think...they’re going to remain little and it’s going to be this difficult dynamic all the time. And then all of a sudden...they become your ally.”
• Jennifer (12:16): “You definitely see what is important and what is not really the hill to die on.”
• Jennifer (19:14): “I only saw the toys. I only saw the mess.”
• Lisa (21:00): “If you’re a messy person and so is your husband, I think you produce messy kids...”
• Jennifer (28:13): “[With Joseph, my son with Down syndrome]…it’s just progress.”
• Jennifer (44:14): “Once you get to my age, you don’t even care.”
• Jennifer (61:18): “And it happens. Elbows bump things and it spills and it happens. And it’s kind of like you just embrace that.”

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Where to Find Jennifer Brockman

• YouTube: A Country Life
  • Family life, day-in-the-life, large family food, and cranberry farming content.
• Cookbooks: Available via her channel and mentioned on YouTube.

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Takeaways for Young Moms

• Parenting “rules” relax over time: Focus on big-picture values, not daily details.
• Comparison is a trap: Every family is unique; your solutions should be, too.
• It’s okay to change your mind: New information or changing circumstances may shift your approach.
• Progress, not perfection: For all children—typical or special needs—move forward at your family’s pace.
• Embrace (some) chaos: Real family life is messy, but it’s also beautiful and meaningful.

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Timestamps for Quick Reference

• Introductions & Family Background: 01:54–05:32
• Life with a Wide Age Range: 05:32–10:15
• Letting Go of Pressure: 10:15–19:14
• Housekeeping & Personalities: 19:14–26:09
• Special Needs & Homeschooling: 26:31–41:21
• Comparison & Overthinking: 41:21–51:13
• Grandparenthood Dynamics: 53:03–57:43
• Family Chaos & Embracing Reality: 61:18–62:03
• Where to Find Jennifer: 62:47–66:15

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This episode delivers reassurance, practical wisdom, and laughter for moms at every stage—encouraging all listeners to trust themselves, lean into their own family rhythms, and find the joy hidden in everyday mess.

Transcript

[Jennifer Brockman]

When I was young, it bothered me so much when there would be toys all over or there would be, you know, like the house was just getting chaotic. And that's something I look back and I think, you know, I wish I could have just kind of realized this is pretty short lived. When I look back, I think that's something that I could have just stopped the noise and I guess being able to see the beauty through the toys would have been a really great thing for me to like, experience. But that, that wasn't my experience. I only saw the toys. I only saw the mess.

[Lisa]

My name is Lisa, mother of nine and creator of the blog and YouTube channel Farmhouse on Boone. On this podcast I like to talk about simplifying your life so you can live out your priorities.

I help you learn how to cook

from scratch and decorate on a budget through this podcast and my courses Simple Sourdough and the Simple Sewing series. I will leave links to these resources in the show notes and description box below. Now let's get into the show.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Foreign

[Podcast Host]

welcome back to the Simple Farmhouse Life podcast.

[Lisa]

Today I'm going to be chatting with

[Podcast Host]

Jennifer Brockman of A Country Life. We're going to chat all things homeschooling with a wide range of ages, special needs. Jennifer Brockman is the creator of A Country Life where she shares everyday life on her family's farm in rural Wisconsin. Along with her husband, Jennifer raises their children, homeschools, cooks from scratch, and works on their cranberry farm, all while documenting the beauty and reality of country living. Through her videos, recipes and cookbooks, she offers encouragement and practical inspiration for families who want a slower, more intentional home life. Rooted in faith, food and togetherness, Jennifer's work gently reminds others that meaningful rhythms are built in ordinary days right where you are. I think you're going to find this interview very encouraging. I know I did. I love hearing from mothers who have been doing it longer than me and who have learned a lot. So let's dive in.

[Jennifer Brockman]

All right.

[Lisa]

Well, Jennifer, welcome on. I'm really looking forward to chatting with you. We got a lot of great audience questions, you know, with homeschooling and different special needs and a large age range. So with that, let's start with introductions. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Well, Lisa, thank you so much for having me on. This is just such a pleasure to be here with you. I am, yeah, Jennifer, I'm from the YouTube channel the Country Life and I am married 29 years now and we have seven kids. We have three grandchildren and our Kids range in age from. Our oldest is 28 and our youngest is 12. So we have seven kids in there. Kind of a little, you know, we've got some close together, some further apart in there. We have one child with down syndrome. He is not quite in the middle. He's number five of seven. And, yeah, just navigating that. And we. We own and operate a cranberry farm here in Wisconsin. So that's just a little bit unique, I guess. I. I had never. I mean, before I married my husband Warren, I didn't know anything about cranberries. So that's been just, just a huge learning opportunity for me. And what else can I say? We've homeschooled all along. And. Yeah, I think. I think that's it.

[Lisa]

That sums it up in so many sentences. But there's a whole lot more in that massive story. You're about 10 years ahead of me in motherhood and marriage, and it's. It's so fun to hear from people that are further along in that because that's a pivotal 10 years and you're very much still in the thick of it with little kids at home, too, that you're still currently homeschooling, Correct?

[Jennifer Brockman]

Correct.

[Lisa]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yeah. So, yeah, we have a seventh grader, an eighth grader, and then our son Joseph, who has down syndrome. He's 17. So he is kind of a senior. Ish. Junior. Senior kind of right in there.

[Lisa]

So you have a wide age range of children. I also do. So yours. Let's see here. Yours is about quick math. What'd you say, 28's your oldest?

[Jennifer Brockman]

28 to 12. So I have like 16 right there

[Lisa]

with what I have. We currently, it's. Ours was around 16 as well. She turned 17 shortly after the baby was born. But around 16 years is how old our oldest was when the baby was born. So it's the same age range. And I found that there's a lot of things that I didn't really anticipate. Not that like, oh, this is just, you know, I just, I think I just didn't even think about that, like, when I was having all these kids when I was younger and. And now, too, I don't think I really thought through what that would look like when, you know, they're these ages. Like, I think when you're a younger mom, for whatever reason, you always just picture all your kids little and it's hard to see, like, very soon you're going to have teenagers and very soon you're going to have adults. Like, I'M still, I'm still in that phase because to even picture them being adults with their own kids, I think about it hypothetically, but not something that's happening like anytime soon. Even though if I look back and think I'm like, oh wait, that happened really quickly. So what were a few things that maybe you didn't expect or think about? When it comes to having a wide age range of kids or in the season of life you are right now with some married, some at home, what's something maybe you didn't expect about that?

[Jennifer Brockman]

Well, I mean, just going back to what you were saying when all those kids are little, like even just our first four were little, you think at that point when you have a six year old, a five year old, what did I have a three year old and, or a two year old and a newborn, whatever it was at that point you just think that, right, they're going to remain little and it's going to be this like difficult dynamic all the time. Everybody's gonna be so needy like this. And then all of a sudden like life just keeps going and you have more babies and all of a sudden you look and you're just like, oh my goodness, I have an 11 year old or a 12 year old and she's my ally. She's no longer like pulling on me in ways that, you know, make, make like more difficult. Right? They become your ally. And that was something that I just, I had never really thought about. And then with each year that passes, like another child becomes your ally, they're like helping you out. They're, they're, they're just, it's a good thing, it's like a good dynamic. And that really is such a neat thing to see. And it's just one of those things with a big family that when you still have little, you know, there's still little babies and those older kids, like they just jump right in. And I know some people will say, oh, that's just so terrible for those older kids. I don't know if you ever get that. You know, older kids, they have to take care of the ones and things like that. It's like maybe they want to, maybe they're enjoying their little sibling. Not always, but for the most part, you know, they're enjoying, for the most

[Lisa]

part, that's been my experience. And, and people put that guilt on you. And so I'll say to my teenager, I'm like, hey, stop doing that. You don't have to do that, you know, but we live in the same house and so, you know, they see a need, they jump in and you're not even telling them to do it. And you're like, hey, you know, just so you know, if you get older and somebody says like, hey, did you have to do this with your little siblings? You, you're the one who just did

[Jennifer Brockman]

it without even saying it right? You, you did it.

[Lisa]

You need to go hide in your room.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Go ahead. Exactly, exactly. And that's, that's just one of those things where, I mean, there's just so, there's so many opportunities when you have those wide age range, have a wide age range of children. There's so many opportunities for growth in those kids because they do, they just, they get, they just understand like what it means to be part of a family. Not that when you only have a couple kids, they don't, but it's the wide age range. I think it's having a 16 year old and a 2 year old. You know, they, they just get so many opportunities to just sort of understand the way families work and understand how when you do participate and help out, how much nicer everything goes, you know, everything just works out, it's smoother, it's more fun for everybody. And yeah, I think just kids becoming like my ally, that was just such a turning point when I felt like they're on my side, you know, they're not just needing me all the time for every little thing. They're like actually on my side. They actually want to help plan things and they want to help be a part of things and, and take ownership in like family events or family activities and things like that. And that's. Yeah, yeah. So fun. We just had actually through our church, a lady organized a Christmas tea party and it was like for women. So you, you hosted a table. And like I was a table host, but my daughter, so Maria, she's 12, she did like so much of the work, so much of the planning and the making the food and she did all like the table favors and like, she just did so much and I think, wow, I, I don't, I couldn't have done it without her, you know, she was just so much help.

[Lisa]

Yeah. Yeah. I definitely have some kids that if we, we had that same situation where we had like a table and all, we would, I would definitely be like, okay, this is yours, you know, and I would just be able to completely step back and that would be their thing and it'd be fun. So. Yeah, I do, I do know what you mean. And I guess that's something you don't think about, I mean, you know, intellectually that all your kids are going to grow up. So you could like extrapolate out the years, like, okay, this is how it's going to be in this. But like, it just feels like it's never really going to happen. It's like always a very far future thing. And so when you're there, you're like, oh, you know, and then this is how this is.

[Jennifer Brockman]

And then it happens. I mean, I'm at this point here right now. I mean, our three oldest kids are married, our oldest has children. And you're just like, wait a minute, when did that happen? How did we get to that point? And I know, you know, when I talk with other, I mean, even when I talk with our daughter, right. She has three little kids and she feels like we're never going to get out of this time period. Everything's always going to be three little kids. It's like, oh, wait, you just wait. You're going to look back and even though no one likes to hear that said, right. You're going to look back and go, that went so fast. It went so fast.

[Lisa]

And then they always tell you that, you know, but there's really like nothing you can say that'll really make it feel that way. Because I'm always telling that to my youngest sister too, because we had our last two babies at the same time, but they're my eighth and ninth and then she, they're her first and second. And so it's, it's so interesting parenting the same age children but with one. It being your first and your second but in close proximity. And she said it's really helped her see a lot of things. Like we'll be somewhere and it'll be like, normally her friends would all be worried about a nap time because they all have little kids. And she's like, but you're there and your kid, is it napping at all because you're there with your big kids? She's like, so I guess they can skip naps. I'm like, yeah, I guess so.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yes. As a mother. Yeah. Having a wide range of ages of kids too, Right. It just makes you like, relax, if that's the word. And it just.

[Lisa]

Because they just have to go along,

[Jennifer Brockman]

you know, they have to. Because you're not going to stop your life, you know, and you're not, you're sure not going to stop teenage life. I mean, they, they have to, they have to keep going. Teenagers have to. And so you just, they just go along and they just get used to napping on the go or not having a nap at all.

[Podcast Host]

You.

[Jennifer Brockman]

It. It's just. Yeah, you definitely, definitely see what is important and what is not really the hill to die on. Right?

[Lisa]

Yeah. Yeah, you definitely do. You're like, man, if I could just go back and have that same mindset with the first couple, how easy those years would have been. Like, they're just. They would have been so free and easy, but, yes, so different like that.

[Jennifer Brockman]

It would have been so different. So different.

[Lisa]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yeah.

[Lisa]

Because I find that that was kind of what made those years difficult for me was worrying about a lot of things, like worrying about what they ate and nap time and just so many things. And now it's even worse.

[Podcast Host]

Just.

[Lisa]

Just the amount of pressure things moms think of.

What was it?

There was something. I'm always. I always have a new thing I'm mentioning on this show of like, oh, now I heard about this, and I'm like, I cannot believe moms are worried. Oh, what was it? It was something like, if babies suck their fingers, it means they're not regulated

[Podcast Host]

in a certain way.

[Lisa]

And I was like, oh, you poor moms.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yes, you poor young mothers. If that's what you're worried about. Yes, yes. I think having that vision forward. So, I mean, when I had just two little kids, right, I. I wish I would have been able to have more of a vision of what. Not just a vision of what the future was going to be like, but a vision of what I wanted my family life to look like. And it's like you want it to be peaceful and loving and, you know, you want your kids to feel content and I think just like relaxing, as, you know, once you have a few children and you just learn relax, it's like everything is so much more peaceful. Everything is so much more. Like, it just feels like people are more content and there's more joy and that I think, you know, for the young moms, right, who are now seeing that, oh, if your baby suck their fingers, this is what it means. It's like if they can just pull back from that and say, what is my vision for what family life looks like even in today? Like, what is. What is it that I want? And then try to set your expectations at that and just let everything else go. Just push it away, push it away. There's so much noise, huh?

[Lisa]

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Yeah. What are the big things? So in, in that what, what would be examples of like what you wish you would have maybe from the very beginning thought okay this is the big goal.

[Jennifer Brockman]

So the, the big goal for family life.

[Lisa]

Yeah. Yeah. Like what that would look like.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yeah. So I think you know the, the big goal would be to have husband and wife on the same page and to all be working towards kind of the same goal in your home. Having things run fairly smoothly, enjoying each other's company. Yeah, I think, I think that's kind of it just things running smoothly, running smoothly for the most part. And people wanting to be at home like enjoying walking through the door and wanting to be in that home feeling good about that and you know, if, if everything is so stressful and one day you're worried about pacifier time and the next day you're worried about

[Lisa]

oh

[Jennifer Brockman]

I don't even know, you know, next day you're worried about something nutrition. And then there's always something you're worried about. Yes. You know, there's always something. And now I mean what are the things like I've been seeing lately? Just like, like your finger sucking one. I mean there's, there's so much, so many things out there and I'm always like so many things just it's like push it away and, and just think what, what's our goal for our family here? And then set those your kind of like your priorities and your expectations to match that. Don't worry about what someone else's home looks like. That was a big one for me in those young years that was really hard for me to just let go was like how my house looked.

[Lisa]

Oh yeah.

[Jennifer Brockman]

And I am not, I am not a neat person. Like I. By nature.

[Lisa]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Brockman]

It, it but it did for some reason when I was young it bothered me so much when there would be toys all over or there would be, you know like the house was just getting chaotic. And that's something I look back and I think, you know, I wish I could have just kind of realized this is pretty short lived. Granted you have a lot of kids so it is going to come up over and over and over again. Kind of that messy, chaotic toy kind of thing or whatever. But I, I really wish that when I look back I think that's something That I could have just stopped the noise. I didn't have to have my house look like at that time. There really wasn't Pinterest or anything or Instagram at that time. It would have been Good Housekeeping magazines or something like that. But, you know, you look in those and it was just always so beautiful. And I guess being able to see the beauty through the toys would have been a really great thing for me to. To, like, experience. But that. That wasn't my experience. I only saw the toys. I only saw the mess.

[Lisa]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Brockman]

And since I'm not naturally super tidy, it was a trick to try to keep things, you know, keep things at some kind of level of like, we can still. We can still walk through the living room, right?

[Lisa]

Yeah. Well, and I think there's sort of a genetic component too. Like, I think if you're a messy person and so is your husband, I think you produce messy kids. Not necessarily because you modeled it, because I've modeled. Like I. Since my adult life, I've been very tidy, but I'm not naturally that way. Like, when I was a kid, my younger sister used to, like, clean up after me because she. I would leave a path, like between the door and the. My bedroom of just stuff. And so therefore my children, you know, nobody's naturally that way. Like, I've grown into it. But even our oldest kids, like, they're not. They don't look around their room and think, oh, it's a disaster. They just can sit and read a book. You know, that's just naturally how they are. So I think that that also can be a challenge. We have a large family, and you have two people who aren't naturally clean. Then you have a bunch of children who aren't naturally like that too. Hey, you might laugh like it's not a real thing. My sister and her husband produced seven naturally clean kids. Like, when they're one, they like, put their shoes where they go. Like, they've never once had them just laying, like outside or up in their room. Never once has that happened. And so I'm like, that's actually a thing and I only know it by comparison.

[Jennifer Brockman]

You know, it's funny that you say that, because when our oldest two were. Were little, they were pretty good. Like, not so much with toys, but just their, like their coat, their mittens, their. Their boots, their shoes. And one time my husband's uncle was over and he actually commented that he couldn't believe. I think they two, at the time they came in from outside, they were probably hunting or Something. And they took their coat. They weren't. But they were with, you know, their. Yes. The adults who were hunting. We have to clarify that. Yes, you do. But three and two year old road hunting. But they came in and they hung their coat up on these two little hooks that we had hooks low for them. And they hung their coats up and they put their little boots, little rubber knee boots there. And I just remember my husband's uncle like looking at me and looking at the kids going, what is this? And so I've had some that are more naturally.

[Lisa]

Okay.

Produced one. Not one that would do that.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Oh yeah. I'm sorry.

[Lisa]

I mean, it's okay.

[Podcast Host]

I just.

[Lisa]

You kind of almost have to like sort of give up. Like, don't expect that your house will look a certain way. And it's not that, you know, you can tell them what to do. And we do and they help. Like if, when I tell my kids, I'm like, hey, we're all gonna do this and they'll do it. But it's not like it's a innate thing like where my sister's kids, like they, they all were that way. Like they put, they just. It came like wired in to do that.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Right. It's just they almost yearn for it. Like it's their own personal desire for the things to line up versus mom's desire. And we'll line them up one when she tells us to. Right?

[Lisa]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I think. I don't know how we got on this rabbit trail, but it's a constant thing that my sister and I like to talk about because it's, it's just so interesting to watch how different two people's kids can be. Just like from the beginning, like age one, taking off the shoes and putting them in the right spot without anybody ever saying, hey, this is where the shoes go. We do this thing.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Right, Right.

[Lisa]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Because I mean, I have one for sure that their shoes are never together. I mean, not one item of theirs is ever together, able to be located.

[Lisa]

Well.

And that's the thing is it can really be like a large family logistics thing when you need to leave the house and you can't find what you need to leave the house. It's. Yeah, right. It can be a challenge to.

[Jennifer Brockman]

It can be a huge challenge. And that is one of the things I would say that I learned over the years to kind of lighten up on too is that like we go to church now. I mean, now I have a 12 year old and 14. I mean they, they can deal Handle it.

[Lisa]

Yeah. Even though she's mess.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Right? Yeah, they can, they can handle it for the most part. Right. But I mean, when they're seven and eight.

[Lisa]

Yes.

[Jennifer Brockman]

You know, one of those things that I got to. It's just like, you've got shoes on fine.

[Lisa]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Brockman]

I don't care.

[Lisa]

They're not your Sunday with your suit.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yeah, yeah. It. But it. For a while, that was important to me. And that's another one of those things where it's like the more children you have, you just start to see that is so unimportant because nobody cares.

[Lisa]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Nobody out there. Nobody at church. I sure hope not. Goes home and says, oh, did you see those kids that had tennies on with their dress? Nobody cares, you know?

[Lisa]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Brockman]

And so that's, that's one of those things where with each child, I learned to loosen that up. You're like, okay, we're going to go with the flow. Rather than get worked up about these types of things. Just go with the flow and, oh, life is so much better. Yep.

[Lisa]

There's definitely some things that you have to let go when you, you kind of figure out your family's capacity, figure out, you know, who you are and, and, and do your best. Within that, like, I sometimes see people take personality, like, well, it's just me. I'm just not a good person, you know, but within that, like, there might be some things that you're. You're just gonna have to let go.

[Podcast Host]

Yes.

[Lisa]

I'm with you on that a hundred percent. Yeah. And so you're fifth born, what has down syndrome. Now, that probably adds another element of, like, trying to figure out how we're gonna homeschool with the special needs. And then, you know, I don't know exactly what that looks like, but I'm sure that added another element of, you know, you have your age range and then you have your different ranges of, of, you know, like, special needs. How did that look like with homeschooling and everything, for that matter?

[Jennifer Brockman]

Sure, sure. So, I mean, at first it was scary just because there's all these things running through. At least for me, there was all these things running through my mind. And they all started with, he's never going to be able to. He's never.

[Lisa]

Right.

[Jennifer Brockman]

He's never, he's never. And then all of a sudden, like, you realize, wait, he's. He's a baby. He's a baby. He's doing all the baby things. I mean, he's one and maybe he's doing, he's doing things Maybe a bit slower, but it's not never. It's just slower.

[Lisa]

Okay.

[Jennifer Brockman]

And so once I kind of, I was able to get into that sort of mind shift. I mean, things. It's, it's, it's good. It's good. Does it add a layer? It adds a layer for sure of sometimes difficult, sometimes silliness, sometimes, you know, just all the things. But one of the things for sure as far as homeschooling that I really lean into is just progress and.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Lisa]

Not like, stop.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yeah, there you don't have to have like this is first grade and second grade and third grade. It's just these are skills and some skills we might learn at 5 and some skills it might take us till 12. And that's okay because. And that's where I kind of came back to like just myself. It's like there's skills even in motherhood, right, that you want to learn a new skill. You don't know every single skill. At the beginning of your marriage. You learn skills kind of when you need them, when they feel important to you. And that's kind of what we found too with, with Joseph is same thing. It's kind of like just progress. And one of the things that, that I've done all along for him is just to pick like three little things, three simple goals and we really break it down. And that might be the goal for an entire month. So rather than have, you know, we're going to do science and social studies and all these things with him, it's just a lot of skill based learning. And so that really has taken, I think the stress off of it too. I mean, I think it's taken the stress off of it. And I just base that on what I've compared with like friends who have kids with special needs who are in a school, like the stress that they experience from IEP meetings and you know, things like that. I think the homeschooling and just really breaking it down and focusing on progress instead of. He's has to be. Yeah, this is where he should be. He doesn't need to be anywhere. He just needs to be making progress. I mean, if he was, if he wasn't making any progress, that would be a difficult thing. And I'm. I think there are situations out there where kids do probably kind of stagnate a little bit. But for us, this, it's worked. It's just worked. At least for me. Inside of me, I know that, you know, every week, every month we're making progress and, and that's that's where I focus.

[Lisa]

Yeah. I mean, it. It'd be like if, for adults, if you said, okay, you have had children for 12 years. This means that you need to know, XYZ, you are on grade whatever of parenthood. You know, we don't do that. But with kids, it's a very standardized thing. And that's the beauty of homeschooling, too, no matter what the ability is, because all kids are different. All different levels, different skills. People have strengths and weaknesses.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yeah. Everybody has their own thing that they're interested in, too. You know, like sometimes when, you know, you have conversations. Like, I have conversations with my kids. Right. And someone says, I'm not good at math or I'm not good at this. And it's like, I say, you know what I'm not good at? Repairing car engines. But I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna get all worked up about that and feel bad about myself. It's not a. It's not a desire, and, you know, it's not something I desire to know about. And so I'm not gonna put my effort. Now it's a little different. Right. With kids, because there are some skills that they just kind of have to at least get to a certain level. Everybody has to know. It's a good. It's just a good lesson for kids. I think when, like, we, as. As mom and dad say there's things we're not good at, too.

[Lisa]

Right.

[Jennifer Brockman]

And that. That's okay. There's things we're not good at. There's things we could get better at if we wanted to, and there's some things that we just don't.

[Lisa]

And you'll never have better. You know, there's things that you'll never have to know. You can outsource it.

[Jennifer Brockman]

You never have to know.

[Lisa]

Yeah. So.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Right. And you can look it up.

[Lisa]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Brockman]

There's so much that you can look up when you want to know it.

[Lisa]

Yeah.

I was actually having this exact conversation with one of my sons this morning in the car, because we were driving to the build site and back, and I was telling him we were having this exact conversation because I was like, well, what if you did this? Like, well, I don't. I'm not good at that. I'm like, well, you're just not interested in that. And I have things that I'm not good at because I'm also not interested in them. But if I needed to know, I could do it. But, you know, maybe I don't ever need to. And maybe. Yeah. I think it's important to sometimes think about the big goal. Like you were saying with your family life, thinking about the big goal. I think homeschooling is the exact same way.

[Jennifer Brockman]

It, it totally is. It totally is. And, and again, I mean I just always come back to. With each child I learn that a little bit more and more you're just like. And especially when you start to have those teenagers and, and maybe they start to go out into the working world, like part time jobs and things like that. You start to really see. And they start to see kind of what the important things are too and you know, the things to kind of focus on. One, just one example of that kind of thing. Years ago I had made espe when all seven kids were at home and everybody had to kind of take responsibility for a room and tidying it up. Well, not the tidy part, but more of the cleaning part. And so I made, I printed up like kind of the steps of what needed to be done in each room and inside some cupboard door of whatever room, I just taped that. So then when it was their turn to go in the bathroom, they kind of knew. Wipe down the mirrors. Wipe down, you know, I had like a little list of maybe six things that they had to do. And our, our one daughter, you know, she, sometimes she be like, oh, you're such a control freak because you want us to wipe down the mirrors and do it this way or whatever. Right. Well, she went off and she got a chair job as a, like a car hop at a little outdoor, little, you know, little restaurant, like a hamburger stand kind of a place. And one of the things that they had were these checklists in a binder. And the checklist was the closing checklist. And she had come home and she was complaining about someone, someone who was working there and how they had checked stuff off but hadn't actually done it. And I was like, oh, there's checklists that you have to complete in order to close down the restaurant at night. And, and she's like, yeah, they're just like the checklists you have in the bathroom. And it was just funny because it, all of a sudden it, you know, it. Finally at that point, she was pretty young actually when she got that job, I think like 14 or something. And, and it just like hit her like, oh, that's important. I see why you have check checklists so that everyone doesn't have to go around and check up on every other person. Right. You just.

[Lisa]

Right.

[Jennifer Brockman]

And when you don't, when you don't pull your Weight. What, what a problem that can be for the other people because they all wanted to leave work. Right. But they couldn't something here because it wasn't getting done. So then all of a sudden she's like, oh, I see, I see why that, you know, happens. So anyway.

[Lisa]

Well, no, it's just all those logistic things like managing a large family where, you know, your house, every square inch of it is touched by someone when they were all home, like they're all using the house, which means that there's a lot of wear and tear on a house when there's that many people, like, no matter how good of a housekeeper you are, turn around and it's just all dirty again.

Right.

So you have to have the help and the systems in place to do that. Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. Now, one of the questions, I bet you get asked a lot because I get asked this and I don't have any children with special needs, but how you're able to give attention to all the children. So specifically, somebody asked, how do you balance meeting the needs of a child who requires extra support while still caring well for your other children? I think a lot of moms have this fear.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yeah, I do get that question. And definitely it's the fear. Yes. Because we are part of some different groups where, you know, everyone has a child with down syndrome. And of course, when it comes up that we homeschool, it's right away, it's all the, oh, I could never do that. Because how do you. I mean, xyz. I mean, right. Anything it. How do you. Anything pops into that question? So one thing that I guess I always say is just number one, I. School doesn't have to be done at a certain time. There isn't. You know, I mean, I'm a product of public school and I feel like school should start at 8 o' clock in the morning and we should all be getting it done. Let's just. Even though I homeschool, my brain still always wants to get up, get it done, and then we can move on. But I have come to realize it, that just doesn't always work. Some kids, especially if they need that one on one, I may have to let Joe just kind of do his own thing. Play, listen to music, dance, all the things he loves to do. And I might be working with my other typical kids, right. And then once they're kind of off doing their own thing, then I may grab Joe and then it's time for me to kind of work with him. And so it doesn't have to. You don't have to homeschool every single child at the same time every single day altogether. You know, kids can be. You know, our son could be out checking his traps and on the snowmobile and doing whatever. And our one daughter, you know, we only have the three at home. I mean, she could be doing her math, and I could be doing something in the kitchen, and Joe could be just dancing and listening to music. And then in 20 minutes, everything changes. Now, all of a sudden, the girl is like, setting a puzzle. You know, our daughter's setting a puzzle, and I'm working with Joe. And, you know, it can just. It can vary. And so. And I mean, I'm good with that. I. I like that schedule. I can bounce back and forth pretty easily doing things like that. And so I think that's. That's kind of it. Did I. Did I get that question? Just kind of how?

[Lisa]

Yeah, you do. I think it's just so hard to really imagine what it looks like for each individual family. And when you're on the outside, you're kind of picturing like. Like we're picturing you there. Or I imagine sometimes people hear you. You have seven children. It's like there's these seven little kids just everywhere, and it's just crazy. And they never imagine that you're just in your house alone with Joe, which happens. Like, I have those times, too, where this kid's doing this, this one's doing this. Luke has these four over at the farm, and it's like, oh, okay, I'm just home with a couple. Or, you know, a few are. Maybe one's napping, and there's just a few here. Like, it's. It's just kind of hard to picture what it might look like. So I think it's one of those questions that you kind of understand when you're in it more definitely.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Because, like, even relatives. I'll get that question, you know, how do you homeschool them all at the same time? It's like, well, I don't necessarily have to homeschool them all at the same time. We can if we want, but we can. We can bounce back and forth. And I think they picture, like, imagine seven of them at home. I think they're picturing seven little desks, and they're picturing me teaching spelling to a first grader and a second grader and a third grader. And, you know, they're picturing that, and they're thinking, how in the world. And then that's when they say, oh, you must be a saint.

[Lisa]

And you're like, I know, I know. Yes.

[Jennifer Brockman]

No, that's not how it is. It's not how it is at all.

[Lisa]

And so you might, you know, also, like, like a lot of women, you do what you got to do. And so people like, okay, you have a Down syndrome, son. You have all these other children. You must be. And you're like, well, I'm just doing what I got to do. Like, this is what God gave me, and I'm just doing what I'm doing,

[Jennifer Brockman]

you know, doing what I have to do. That's exactly right. And like, with that, sometimes it's just setting the expectations for yourself. Like, you know, sometimes as women, right, We. We think there's these expectations on us to homeschool a certain way or have our kids, you know, maybe have their. Their hair and their clothing look a certain way and our house look a certain way. It's like, take those expectations away. You know, just set your expectations. Something that works for your family and just lean in and. And. And do it. Just do what works for your family. You know, it doesn't have to look like everybody else's homeschool family or everybody else's big family. You know, we have a lot of big families at our church. And I mean, every. Every family looks different. Every family does things different. You know, you have some kids that are public school and some are homeschool and some are, you know, at the private school. It's just, you know, every family looks different and just lean in and do it.

[Lisa]

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I think it's harder for younger moms these days because, you know, you're you and I and you especially because you're 10 years further than me on this whole thing. You're kind of more like, there's like a little bit more confidence because you already had your family. Like you've already seen fruit on the other side of it. You have married children with grand, you know, you have grandkids and all of this. And so it's easy for you to kind of maybe be like, yeah, well that works for you, doesn't work for me and kind of let it go. But for, for younger moms, I don't think they can do that so well. Like a lot of times they want to see like, well, you know, how

do I measure up?

Like what metric should I, you know, use for my success? How do you tell maybe your daughter who's the oldest, I guess, how to like stay in her own lane and not do that?

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yeah, sometimes when things come up like that, I just, sometimes just try to be a little light hearted about it when, because I'm often the oldest mom in like our homeschool co op. I'm pretty sure there could be another way.

[Lisa]

With a 16 year age range you end up being that way because most people have their children like, you know, maybe like 35 and younger and then if you're like me or quite a bit older than that when you had your last one.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yeah, yeah. So oftentimes I just kind of make a little joke about it like, oh, once you get to my age you don't even care, which is not really a joke. It's actually true. I mean, yeah, I found a big shift like probably around age 45, a big shift and just this is me and take it or leave it kind of thing. And then I mean once I surpassed 50, I'm just like, this is this. I don't care. I'm just like, yep, you can be worried about pacifiers or all these. Whatever it might even be, you know,

[Lisa]

it's just training, potty training, curriculum, whatever.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yes. I mean, even I. I do try to dispel some of the little things, like our daughter. So one of. One of hers, and I don't even remember which one, but was using a sippy cup or something like that. And the pediatrician had mentioned something to her like, oh, you know, don't you think they're a little old for a sippy cup? Or this is going to happen, or that's going to. And she was, you know, like, bothered by that kind of like, oh, my gosh, what am I gonna do? I said, look, do you ever put a lid and a straw on your cup? She's like, yeah, I do. And I was like, yes, don't worry about their sippy cup.

[Lisa]

I give all my kids sippy cups because otherwise they spill smoothie everywhere.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yeah, I'm just like, we all do it. What is, like, the number one selling item out there right now? Right? Water bottles.

[Lisa]

Stanley or whatever.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yeah, Stanley's. And oh, Walla was. And because everybody wants a lid on their drink. So I was like, just don't even fret about it. And so sometimes if I do hear something specific, I'll just speak up and say something to that younger mom, like. And I don't know if it works. I don't know if it doesn't work, but I. I do. I am at that point where I'm like, I'm gonna speak up because what do I have to lose?

[Podcast Host]

Right?

[Lisa]

Well, you know, and stuff changes. So you're probably not up with the current, you know, recommendations.

[Jennifer Brockman]

That's right. I'm not up with the current. But. But I have raised children. I. You know, sometimes when they're like, oh, well, that's not how it's done. It's like, well, you know what? It's always going to be how it wasn't done, you know, but still, people make it to adulthood somehow it happens.

[Lisa]

Yes.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yes.

[Lisa]

No, I think it's wise for younger people to listen to mothers who have. Who have, you know, gone before them. Because I know when I was a young mom, too, I heard things, and then I heard other moms say, oh, you know, you can't spoil a baby, or you can't. They'd have things that I had heard otherwise. And I'm like, you just don't know. That was so dumb. Like, what did I know.

[Jennifer Brockman]

You know, Right, right.

[Lisa]

And I think it's. It's worse now than ever. And I think, I think we also have a lot of people who really want to figure everything out before doing it. Like, you didn't know what it would look like to raise seven kids or to be a grandma or to have a son with down syndrome, what it would look like when he's 17 and, you know, 12 and all these different ages and stages. And I think because we have so much information available to us now, we think we can, like, get all the info, then do the thing and avoid every failure. So therefore, people, like, I have this discussion with my little sisters all the time because I have a sister that's 11 years younger than me. And so it's really interesting to compare, like, the way they view motherhood the way like, we do, because it's. It's not a generation, but it. And it's very. It's like halfway through a generation between the two of us and the, the things that they have to, like, make a decision on. Like, it's like a thing like, okay, we are parents who xyz. There's like these decisions that are made that we didn't even think about. Like, they just happened. And then all of a sudden, you know, yeah, I guess I am a sippy cup mom or a, you know, potty train at 18 months mom or whatever. And so I think there's just so much information that I think people really overthink everything. And have you noticed that as well?

[Jennifer Brockman]

I 100% agree with that. Overthinking things. When once you get through whatever it was that you just overthought and then you think about it for a moment, you're like, this would have happened even if I hadn't overthought it in the first place. Does that even make sense? You know, it's just, yes, yes. So much overthinking of things all the time. Whereas I feel like we would, which I think puts a lot of undue pressure and stress on us because we feel like we have to make that. I mean, I guess I don't really feel that, but I think, you know, mothers feel like they have to make the right decision the first time when it's just like, no room for error. You don't have to. You can make one decision with this child and then you, you know what if you want to next week change your mind and if your kids are

[Lisa]

old, presented with new info or whatever.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Exactly. And if your kids are old enough to like, experience you changing your mind? Just tell them why. Well, we changed our mind because of this reason. This is why.

[Lisa]

Yep.

[Jennifer Brockman]

We know. We know new information now. Or we found out that what we did know was faulty. Or I.

[Lisa]

Or we tried it and it just simply didn't work. And we realized, wait, that's not going

to work for us.

[Jennifer Brockman]

We're gonna try something else. And, yeah, I. I do think that. I mean, just in general, I think that people would be far more, far happier if they were just. Especially with the fertility, you know, if we bring in the whole idea of family planning and everything into it, I think just. Just let nature take its course, and I think people would be so much happier. I do.

[Lisa]

Yeah.

Yeah. Well, then, yeah, there's just like, oh, man, there's so many decisions to be made these days where people have to declare, like, what kind of mom they are. And you know what? We're making a decision about. About these very, very minor things that. Oh, man, it just. It makes it hard. And everybody's got a hot take because, you know, that's what works on the Internet, too, like having a hot take about something. So then you say something that'll get people's attention when it's like. Like the finger sucking thing. Everybody's kids suck their fingers, you know, maybe not. Like mine never did it lasting. Like, they never. But when they're little, they're kind of playing around. And so, yeah. Yeah, you could see how, like, okay, this will work. Like, I'm gonna get some serious attention on this reel if I say, did you know xyz? Because everybody can relate to that.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Like.

[Lisa]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Brockman]

And then it makes people start overthinking it or wondering. Oh, wondering what they did wrong.

[Lisa]

What supplement didn't they take during their pregnancy?

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yes. Yes. Oh, my gosh.

[Lisa]

Oh, man.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yes. Yeah, that.

[Lisa]

That's. It's exhausting being on the Internet.

I don't know.

It's mentally exhausting. Do you feel the same way?

[Jennifer Brockman]

I do at. I do a little bit at times, but I really. I tried to be on Instagram more, actually, as, like, you know, as like part of my job. Right. You know what I mean?

[Lisa]

Like, part of. Not a consumer.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Right. And I tried, and it just doesn't work well for me. I. I'm not an Instagram person, and so I am a consumer of Instagram a little bit. But it's. I think maybe it's just my age, too. It's so easy for me to just pass over a lot of what I consider to be just fluff or Noise or. Yeah.

[Lisa]

Or when you got real world stuff to do. Like when it comes down to it, you know, we're talking about you're a grandma. Like you, you know, I'm sure you're

[Jennifer Brockman]

involved in your grandkids lives too.

[Lisa]

Like, you, you had seven children that you raised and are raising, and then now you're probably taking a pretty active role in being a grandparent.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yeah, they don't live too far from us. So it's, you know, it's great to be able to. It's great to be able to see them, which really does bring up something that is an interesting. One thing that I have found interesting at this age here is that like a lot of our friends waited, so had to wait for grandchildren. You know, their four kids all moved off. You know, they went to college, some of them got married, some didn't. Right. They're waiting for grandchildren. We haven't ever had to do that. And that's. I do have a friend who's in the same situation as us. It's so different talking with that friend versus friends who had to wait for grandchildren.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yeah. You know what I'm. What I'm saying? Like we still had kids at home, so.

[Lisa]

Yeah, you never had a gap where it was just like there's no kids to tend to at all.

[Jennifer Brockman]

There's no children. There's no little. There's no little ones. You know, when our daughter had her first one must have. Our youngest was. Was seven.

[Lisa]

Okay.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yeah. And so I think she was seven. Six or seven, I think. Oh boy. And so we still had like little, you know, she's still little at that age.

[Lisa]

They need lot done for them.

[Jennifer Brockman]

That's really a different dynamic. That just one thing for us, I think it's kept us young. That's for sure. It makes us feel young because like our friends who would be like, you know, similar ages of us, but they didn't have that wide range of children and had to like wait for all the kids to go to college and wait for them all to get married and wait for all of that to happen. You know, some of them had 10 years before having that first grandchild and just what a different. Even as a grandparent, it's different because.

[Lisa]

Because they kind of get out of the, like the, the phase of like, not as familiar with little kids anymore maybe.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Right. Not as familiar with little kids. But even that, that strong yearning for having, having a grandbaby and then everything is just like Granbury. Grandbaby, grandbaby, grandbaby, kind of thing. Whereas like for us with still having young children at home, it was kind of like, oh, she's married and they're having kids. We've got grandbabies and it's super exciting and I love having grandbabies. But when you have these little kids too, those grandbabies like love their aunts and uncles. They.

[Lisa]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Brockman]

You know, whereas like, so somebody comes home and there are no young children at home, they go home, they go to see grandma and grandpa and grandma and grandpa get to like spoil them and do all these things. It's a little different when you have young kids at home still because yeah, they come, those grandkids come over, they're like, oh, hey grandma, hey grandpa. And then boom, they're like with their

[Lisa]

aunts, it's almost like cousins, really. I mean.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Right? It's almost like cousins.

[Lisa]

Yeah, Uncles. Six years older than you is essentially like a cousin.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Exactly. And so it's, it's definitely a different dynamic. I mean, I love it, it's just super fun. But it is something, you know, because when you think about being grandparent, you always think, think you're going to be old. Old.

[Lisa]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Brockman]

And you think you're not going to have any children and you think they're going to come over and you're going to like, they're going to sit on your lap and you're going to read them a story and you're going to

[Lisa]

sit in your rocking chair with your curly hair.

[Jennifer Brockman]

That's not how it is at all. Not at all. They come over, over, they're like, hey, yeah, good to see you. Now we just want to go play with our aunt and uncles, you know, that's who they want to play with. So it's just, it's a different dynamic, but super fun. Super fun.

[Lisa]

Yeah.

Well, it was recent that I was calculating how old my mom was and my mother in law was when I had our first and I was like, they were in their 40s. Like both of them, like, I, you know, that's, I'm 40. So just to think that that's like, yeah, you know, you think that your grandparents are so old, you're like, wait, it could be in their 40s having grandkids.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yes, yes. I mean that my grandma. Right. I was the third grandchild. Yeah. I think my grandma was like 41 years old or something like that.

[Lisa]

And yeah, that's interesting.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Even though in my mind she was still my grandma and she was old, you know, but. Oh yeah, just the dynamics. Family life is just the dynamics of family life I think is just, it's so fun, so fun to see, you know, as your kids get married and I mean you're not at that point yet, but it really is fun. I know some people have mentioned to me, oh, that's so hard, you know, you've got like a daughter in law and you've got son in laws and stuff. But I think it's great, it's just great to watch the family grow.

[Lisa]

It doesn't make sense to view it any other way because it's not like you're going to change it. Like that's what I always tell myself. I'm like, no matter how, like what way I feel about this, what makes it not that I can always like, you know, make my emotions do what I want them to, but it makes sense to embrace family life in the forms that it takes and the way that it evolves and almost just you can't even predict what it's going to look like. So just appreciating it as it comes, as it happens.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yeah, I agree totally.

[Lisa]

And it can be, you know, it can be beautiful along the way even if you can't figure it all out. Because, you know, a lot of these questions have to do with like, oh, you know, the, the how to's, how did you do it? And even that question's kind of difficult to answer because right now you're in the season that you're in and when

[Podcast Host]

you were in the other season, you

[Lisa]

kind of, you know, when you had seven kids at home, it looked different than it does right now. Like right now it's probably a little more laid back, trying to get everything done with the children you have still to homeschool. And so you know the how to. Well, I guess you just kind of figure it out.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Right, right, right. And you know, that's one thing that, that I even so when I first started YouTube, I was like talking more about what it was like to homeschool and feedback this large family. And then as that family grew and moved and moved and everything and we're now only five people at home, I am very like, careful. I guess even when I'm talking on YouTube that I always say, like the other day I was like working on a sewing project and I was like, it, it wasn't like this, you know, I'm always like, you know, moms out there. It wasn't like this when everyone was little. You know, I didn't have, I couldn't just set everyone up for school and then run into the Sewing room and work on something in the middle of the day. And it's, it's definitely something that I like, don't take for granted in the sense I try not to take for granted because I remember how that was when, I mean, even with the best routines and the best, best rhythms kind of in place and, and everything, things still are hectic. They can still get hectic. I mean, it's just how it is. And, and I really try not to take that for granted. And like, when I'm sharing with other moms, I try to. It's like, you don't want to be just like, oh, yeah, it's so laid back now. And I can sew when I want and I can leave the house when I want. And you know, you still are like, it's going to happen for you too. I'm always, I'm always prefacing it like that. I'm always like, it's going to happen for you too.

[Lisa]

You know, I was there.

[Jennifer Brockman]

You're going to get to. Yes, I was at that point. Right, yeah. Right.

[Lisa]

Yes. And you remember, and you, you're just so aware of how different. These different seasons just like, come and go. And like you said, I tell people that too, because I've had somebody say, like, oh, you know, we want a large family, but like, we don't want it. We don't want any chaos. I'm like, oh, cannot tell you that that won't happen because no matter what you do, I mean, you know, I talked about my sister and like, they're orderly. They're still, you know, they might have their stuff in order, but it's loud and it's chaotic. And they're like, at dinner time, people like, okay, like, this is the time where you're supposed to like, regulate and digest your food. It should be quiet. And I'm like, you should see my dinner table.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Right?

[Lisa]

It's, it's, it's chaos, like in, you know, that it's, it's not that, you know, like, of course there's always could be improvement on like, you know, the discipline and all this kind of stuff. But like, I think just when you have that many people in a room, like, let's be realistic, like if you have 11 people or whatever, nine people over for dinner, what do you think it's gonna look like? Well, that's every day for every meal. Right, so.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Multiple conversations going on. Not everybody wants to have the same conversation. So you've got, you know, conversation here and conversation there, and it's loud. And someone forgot to put a fork on the table. You know, they didn't do it on purpose, but they forgot. Yeah. Somebody wants water. Somebody wants something else. And I mean, it happens. Elbows bump things and it spills and it. It happens. And it's kind of like you just embrace that. I. That it's gonna happen. That's kind of what's supposed to happen. If it's just. And it's boring and everyone's sitting and no one's sharing and no one's moving.

[Lisa]

Yeah.

Yes.

[Jennifer Brockman]

That's not fun. Yeah.

[Lisa]

What.

What fun is that? I love it when it's chaotic at dinner time. But. But in all reality, I think, you know, this is.

[Jennifer Brockman]

This.

[Lisa]

It's all a learning experience. It all helps to shape, you know, who. Who you are. And there's lots of challenges with it along the way. And, you know, I think that you share it all beautifully. I had some people reach out to me, and they were like, oh, she's encouraged me so much because I have a son with down syndrome. And I think a lot of people do come to you for encouragement on that, especially younger moms who maybe have a Down syndrome baby. So tell us about where you share what you share about where people can best follow along with you and your family and all the things you're doing.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Where I share the Most is on YouTube. And my channel is a Country Life. And so, you know, I suppose you'll have a link someplace, but it's just YouTube.com country life. That's how people can get there.

[Lisa]

Okay.

[Jennifer Brockman]

And I. I've shared on YouTube for. I want to say it's been seven years now or something like that. I really share family life. That's what I try to share the most of in the sense of just encouragement for moms. I had originally intended to share more homeschooling, but one thing that kept coming up over and over and over, because when I started, you know, we had. Everybody was living at home. One thing you do a lot of is cook. And so people started asking a lot of cooking questions and meal questions and stuff like that. So my channel really did morph a lot into kind of day in the life. Food centered, though.

[Lisa]

Yes.

[Jennifer Brockman]

And so that. That would be where I share what I share. I try to just be a source of encouragement for mothers. And I've also found. Actually, I don't. This is just maybe different conversation, but analytics. It's really interesting that I have a lot of older women, older than me, who are part of our community, and I'VE gotten from many of them that they just enjoy. You know, a lot of people don't have grandchildren or they don't have family nearby. And so they enjoy being able to just see the kind of antics of family life. So that's really what I do. I am on Instagram very lightly and. But you YouTube is where it's at for me. And so if people are interested to see my channel or visit with me or whatever, that would be where they'd go. And then in the course of all of that, I did put together two cookbooks. And so I also, you know, that's, that's a part of my channel as well, is just cookbooks and recipes and

[Lisa]

things like that reference for all the things that you're making. Because just, you know, everybody's always looking for new ideas. As a family, it's like, okay, I want to have something. It's fun to see what other people are making all the time because then you think of things that you can throw into your rotation. I love, I love that about YouTube. So. And then looks like you do like a lot of farm life too, because.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yes.

[Lisa]

You're actual cranberry farmers.

[Jennifer Brockman]

We are actual cranberry farmers. Barbers.

[Lisa]

Yes.

[Jennifer Brockman]

And so I do, yeah, I do videos sometimes. A few times my husband has taken the camera and he's done some videos that's been a lot of fun. He hasn't done that in a while, so it's probably time I try to talk him into doing that again. But so especially around Cranberry harvest. So that would be September and October. I share a lot of cranberry related videos and just Harvest and just kind of what that looks like. Looks like. And just what. Working together as a family and just that type of thing. Just kind of doing that. So.

[Lisa]

Yes. Awesome. Okay, well, I will leave links down in the description box or the show notes below, depending on where you are watching this interview, to your YouTube and to your cookbooks. And thank you so much for sharing. I know that there's plenty more for people to dive into over on your YouTube channel as well. Thank you so much.

Much.

[Jennifer Brockman]

Yeah, thank you, Lisa. This was a lot of fun.

[Lisa]

Thanks as always for listening to the Simple Farmhouse Life podcast. My husband Luke and I and our kids work together side by side on our farm in Missouri and use our blog, podcast and YouTube channel to reach other homemakers, home cooks and homesteaders with practical recipes in daily family life. For everyday sourdough recipes, make sure to check out our blog, farmazonboon.com and today dig deeper. We do also offer a course called Simple Sourdough over at Bit Ly Farmhouse. Sourdough course all one word. We also teach people how to ferment vegetables and mill their own grains through our courses, Fresh ferments and freshly milled grains. We will leave links for all of that down in the show notes below.

[Jennifer Brockman]

It.