Welcome to Grace Carried Me. I'm so glad you're here.
My name is Jennifer. I'm a wife of almost 30 years to my husband, Jim, a stay-at-home mom, homeschool teacher, caregiver, floral designer, and someone who believes that God's grace really is enough—even on the hardest days.
This website wasn't created because life has been easy. Quite the opposite.
The ideas behind Grace Carried Me were born during one of the darkest seasons of my life. Like many families, we've experienced our share of heartbreak, but the last ten years have stretched us in ways I never imagined possible.
Last December, our family made a decision that surprised just about everyone who knew us. We sold most of what we owned, packed the rest into storage, and moved four hours away into three small travel trailers in a campground near Blythe, California.
It wasn't an adventure.
It wasn't a vacation.
It was survival.
After years of caregiving, overwhelming medical debt, and trying to juggle life while caring for three daughters with chronic illnesses and complex medical needs, we realized we couldn't keep living at the pace we were. We needed to breathe. We needed to simplify. We needed to step away from some of the noise and focus on healing—physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually.
And in many ways, it worked.
Life became slower. We spent evenings watching sunsets instead of rushing from one activity to another. We learned new skills, spent time on the water, enjoyed grandparents more often, and rediscovered the beauty of simply being together.
But trailer life also came with challenges we never expected.
Those are stories for another day.
One unexpected gift of living in such a small space was time. Time to think. Time to pray. Time to evaluate where I've been and where I want the next fifty years of my life to go.
I thought about the choices I've made, the things I wish I'd done differently, and the legacy I hope to leave behind.
During that same season, I also found myself walking into another unexpected chapter—perimenopause.
As I tend to do, I jumped in with both feet. I spent countless hours researching hormones, nutrition, strength training, supplements, natural living, sleep, stress, and everything I could learn to feel healthier. Not just for myself, but for my daughters, my nieces, my friends, and hopefully anyone else searching for answers.
As life often does, our plans shifted again.
Although we hoped trailer living would be a longer season, our girls' medical needs changed. One daughter needs another specialist, another requires more therapy than we can manage living four hours away. After months of praying, searching, and more than a few disappointments, we finally found a house and will be moving in at the beginning of August.
The reasons we moved into the trailers haven't disappeared. Financially, life is still challenging. Caregiving is still our daily reality.
But sometimes God changes the path without changing the purpose.
Somewhere in the middle of all of this, Grace Carried Me was born.
This is where I'll share our everyday life—the victories and the disappointments, the answered prayers and the waiting, the lessons God is teaching me, our journey toward healthier living, homeschooling memories, caregiving, faith, perimenopause, recipes, encouragement, and all the ordinary moments that somehow become extraordinary when you stop long enough to notice them.
You'll also find products I've created, many inspired by this very season of life. My hope is that this website not only encourages others, but also helps provide another source of income so we can continue giving our girls the care they need while allowing me to remain where I believe God has called me most—to my family.
If you've found your way here, I don't believe it's by accident.
Whether you're here because you're navigating perimenopause, raising a family, homeschooling, caregiving for someone you love, trying to live a little healthier, or simply looking for encouragement, I hope you'll find something here that reminds you you're not walking this road alone.
Thank you for being here.
I hope you'll grab a cup of tea, stay awhile, and come back often as we begin this next chapter together.
Welcome to Grace Carried Me.
I'm so glad you're here.
Grace carried me yesterday-Grace will carry tomorrow
Thank you for walking this journey with me
-Jennifer