Meet Lauren!

Lauren Sheard with hubby and kids, @farmsteadmeatsmith

I'm very glad to join this communion of fine ladies.  I'm a west coast girl: born in Phoenix, AZ; grew up all over Northern CA and Reno, NV; schooled in Southern CA and now live in a small island in the Puget Sound: Vashon Island, Washington State to be exact. I love the spaciousness of this part of the world and cherish the quiet and rootedness of living in the midst of a Douglas fir forest on a 2.5 acre plot my husband and I homestead with our 6 kids.  Brandon and I married almost 11 years ago.  We met on a blind date (sailing camping trip to Catalina Island) when we were finishing up grad school, I at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego.  

We homeschool, work out of the home, homebirth (when the babies allow--our last was in an ambulance!), and grow most of our protein at home as well.  Our home is very much my scourging pillar; in a beautiful, domestic-church sort of way.  I focus the homeschool on a classic/CharlotteMason/read-aloud/"Morning-time" model (though the boys do require some military discipline at times) and my MA in Theology (plus my protestant background) allows me to focus on catechism, scripture and theology with them.  I'm most proud of the fact that the kids already know about typology and paradox while not yet able to read a calendar or tie their shoes.  My eldest, at 10 years, still daily asks what day it is today. 

Together, Brandon and I started Farmstead Meatsmith in 2010, but while my over-(read: obsessive)conscientiousness helped start our email list, keep a job schedule and plan class events, I've had to slowly loosen my iron grip and allow (read: trust) my husband to truly take over this past year with the arrival of our 6th baby and homeschool on the rise.  It's been a big maturation/conversion for me, but like all things the natural law teaches, it's sufferings have yielded rewards most bountiful.  To keep my cool, I walk a little most days, look forward to reading every night before sleep (about 2-3 pages in several books at once), drink hot lemon water to sooth me when all the kids are in bed while I keep up with current Church events with Brandon, and make sure to put enough maple syrup in my coffee on Sunday afternoons.  

1. Are you a cradle catholic, convert or revert? 

 I converted from being what I call an Evangelical Mutt.  My childhood church was a mega-evangelical-type-but-officially-Assemblies-of-God congregation, (a very sincere and strengthening experience), my dad is Calvinist in theology, my college and grad school experience was mostly Wesleyan with a stint of Oxford Anglicanism during a semester away in England.  I ended up Catholic for lots of reasons, but think much of it was due to my father fostering in me the ability to ask questions, and encouragement to never stop asking them until I got a satisfactory answer.  Theology of the Body is what immediately brought Brandon and I 'in on it' together as we already intuitively wanted contraceptive-free intimacy once we got married.  We always say that adherence to natural-law alone will bring you to this approach if one is philosophically honest (for health, environmental, ethical reasons alone, much less combined) so when we learned that a church actually teaches that approach from a spiritual perspective, we were very quickly sold.... you throw true teaching about Mary, tradition and the sacraments into the mix and it was a sealed deal very quickly.  Oh yes, a master's thesis on the Eucharist (as a protestant) also guided me intellectually into the right arena with St. Thomas Aquinas as my guide.

2. Between homesteading, working alongside your husband and raising 5 kids, what helps you the most to balance all these plates? 

Morning Offering; Rosary (or most of one) every afternoon while laying the girls down and the house gets a little (only a little) quiet; a Benedictine charism of rootedness, rhythm & hospitality (I'm extremely extroverted (and you can forget traveling with this large young clan!) so we often have people come to us); learning to say 'no' so that I can more happily say 'yes' to the essentials; Ignatian Examine and quiet prayer nightly.

3 . Listening to your podcasts @farmsteadmeatsmith, one quickly learns that the 'end' of  your abattoir and educational operation is to cook and eat well.  Do you enjoy cooking?  If so, maybe go into the details surrounding that, such as: what do you cook? How did you hone your cooking skills? Growing up, who was your inspiration for cooking?

Oddly enough, I've enjoyed it more as I've let more go of the business side of things.  Often I struggle with the "plumber-not-plumbing-his-own-home" syndrome, (or is it the "cobbler's-children-needing-shoes" syndrome?).  But I have learned really from Brandon who is the inspired chef of the family.  I didn't grow up learning the domestic arts, so I've had to learn some basic principles: Is it bland? Make sure it's got enough fat and salt.  Is it too salty? Add some vinegar.  After browning meat, always de-glaze with some wine and add stock for a reduction...this makes any meal spectacular., etc.  So it still comes in fits and spurts (I resort to easy lunches for the kids like anyone), and I definitely look to Jane Grigson & Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall for inspiration. 

I've honed my cooking skills the same way you hone any skill (including art, prayer, communication, etc.) simply by doing a thing over and over again, making lots of mistakes and after each attempt getting back on the horse for a slightly better try next time.  I say begin with the conviction that to be a good cook is a good in itself.  That will give you the motivation to keep at it and learn the disciplines or principles necessary.  Right now, I'm teaching myself to draw after a lifetime of being told (by others and myself) that I couldn't/shouldn't be artistic.  I'm starting with the belief that it is a good thing to know how to 'see' a thing and I want to give this desire to my children by modeling it.  I have been able to attach some recently acquired theological principles of life to this pursuit--if a thing is True, it's True across all disciplines--and I must say I'm just off to the races, surprisingly!  (For interest's sake, these principles are 1) that it's the light that gives a thing definition, and 2) Therese's Little Way: the smallest strokes often make the biggest difference.  I would say these may be able to be applied to cooking too, though I've not thought about it before...) Anyway, all one needs is to desire to learn.  Drawing is my new weekly therapy....every Saturday morning after the house is cleaned, we all get our pads of paper out and draw something.  Cooking can be similar.  Don't try to make 3 magnificent meals a day.  Maybe just focus on making Sunday dinner a little nicer than normal.  Then add something to Saturday night or morning, etc.  Above all, let it be a gift to your family (don't do it out of obligation or media pressure or it will never last), and you'll find it raises everyone's spirits and gives inspiration to your husband, kids, etc. in unexpected ways.  

Oh yes, one more quick encouragement here.  I know it's hard.  I. Know. It's. Hard....but try to incorporate your kids in the kitchen.  I even allow them to hold knives.  I know.  My mom wants to kill me.  But I do. And they even cut themselves.  But, with my supervision, I think we need to allow them little tasks,  or they will never feel welcomed in the kitchen and the desire to participate in food (the way our Savior communicates himself to us!) is a chapter in their lives that will almost certainly close (at least without much heavy lifting later).  Do bite your lip that extra bit and allow the kids some kitchen prep space; just once in a while.  The rewards you will reap here cannot be overemphasized: natural conversation fodder with your kids (right? like who wants to talk about hard things while staring right at each other....give the little hands something to work with), skill-building, self-esteem growth, memory making, hearth-strengthening, food-testing! and so much more.

I guess one last note here: Yes, we do go meatless on most Fridays.  Having a business around feasting with meat has informed us so much on the material, formal and efficient causes of our food—and our personhood in God—but only fasting from it occasionally can teach us our final cause.

4. If you could invite any three people to dinner, who would you invite? 

Brandon's Grandparents (never met them, and I think we are a lot like them).  I'd make them my steak and kidney pie.  Also, St. Joan of Arc.  I'd make something very peasant Frenchy for her: duck confit. 

5  It seems you are very competent in many things, is there a skill with which you struggle? 

Hand-writing.  It's starting to really show as I teach my kids.  Also, interior design.  Having your own business means you pour every extra cent into it, and having a farm business means it often goes to the outdoors or to media needs.  Our house is starting to have one-too many dry wall holes for me to stomach anymore, so I'm getting the bug to paint or re-envision, but I could use some pointers...Any inspiration sources from your audience?

6. What are some things you avoid (personally or as a family)?

 Candy.  I think it's been a good move.  Also, we only do movies once a week.  It was hard, but I made the decision to forego daily TV time and it drastically improved everyone's mood.  It's still hard and definitely a constant siren song, but I'm happy with the results. No microwave, no fast food. Brandon says we generally avoid fun. I do try a little in this area.

7.What book(s) are you currently reading? 

Just finished Fulton Sheen's "7 Words of Jesus and Mary; Lessons from Cana to Calvary".  Fr. Timothy Gallagher's "The Discernment of Spirits".  Fr. Jacques Philippe's "8 Doors of the Kingdom: Meditations on the Beatitudes."  Cline and Fay's, "Parenting with Love and Logic" & Brant Pitre's "Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary".  Highly recommend them all.

8. What is the best advice (parenting or otherwise) you've received?  

 Don't joke about your husband to other people...even in front of him...even in sarcasm. It's never attractive. 

9. Who inspires you?  

Mother Mary and Jesus.  I know that's pretty old-hat, but they are my go-tos.  The Wedding at Cana is my all-time favorite mystery.  It's got it all, and I often return there in my heart.  To that end, my sons (10, 8 and 6) are starting to really impress me at times as well.

THANK YOU LAUREN!