In the past few years Carrots has grown from one reader (my mom) to thousands and yet I often forget that not everyone reading today has been with us from the beginning of this blogging journey. So for all of you who are new and might not know our story, here’s a little post about who we are and what we’re doing.
I’m Haley Stewart, a Catholic convert, and wife to Daniel (affectionately nicknamed Daniel Bearman).
I’m a bookworm, British costume drama aficionado, and former ballerina (and ballet teacher). I was homeschooled 3rd-8th grade and spent most of my time reading outside on a blanket and doing musical theatre. I’m a super anxious driver, but I rarely get nervous before speaking gigs anymore (and I love them, so let me know if you want to book an event).
Daniel and I were highschool sweethearts in Tallahassee, FL. We met at age 15 at a Switchfoot concert, started dating at 17 and married at 20. We’re about to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. (That’s right! No longer in our 20s! Middle age, here we come!)
We both graduated from Baylor University and studied Great Texts. I focused on medieval studies (let’s talk about King Arthur!) and Daniel focused on biblical languages. We were married halfway through college and drank a lot of coffee on couches at the college coffee place. I’ve always wanted to be a barista but the closest I ever got was working at a french pastry shop. After graduation, I immediately got pregnant and started working in publications at Baylor.
After our first baby was born, we converted to Catholicism. I started blogging about the Christian Year and being a new mom. When he was 15 months old we moved back to our hometown so that I could do a grad program (which I promptly quit.) I have zero regrets. I started blogging more intentionally and working from home as a writer. The podcast was born and I started doing speaking gigs.
After a great five years back in Tallahassee and two baby girls later, we decided to turn everything upside down. Daniel quit his stable 9-5, we sold our house, we got rid of most of our stuff, and we moved back to Texas for him to begin a year long livestock internship at a non-profit sustainable agriculture training farm.
We took a 6.5 week road trip around the country last summer with our three kids (basically we went north from Florida, west to Oregon, down the west coast, and east to Waco–the long way to Texas.) We camped at national parks, stayed with friends, did a couple of speaking events, and had the time of our lives. I’m pretty sure we’ll look back on that summer as “the good old days.”
We live in a 650 sq ft apartment on the farm with 3 kids and no flushing toilets. We homeschool. Life is full. Next up for us is buying a house (if all goes well, we close May 9th!) because we adore quirky Waco. We’ve got plenty left to figure out, but the adventure is in full swing!
And if you have any questions you want me to answer, I thought it would be fun to do another Ask Me Anything vlog answering them all in the near future. So leave questions in the comments, friends!
Thanks so much for reading and being part of this little corner of the internet! To connect with me and the wonderful Carrots readers, you can join in on the Carrots FB page or on Instagram. I’m also at Twitter and Pinterest. And to receive my little newsletter of secret posts that won’t show up on the blog, you can sign up here (for free, of course). Thanks a million!
I love your story and I’ve really enjoyed following your blog, especially since becoming a Mom last year 🙂 Thank you for being you, and for your witness! I work in the diocese of Dodge City so I’m hoping that someday soon we can invite you to our diocese to speak 🙂
blessings and peace!
Aw, thanks, Deanna! That would be so fun!
I think it’s so neat to see just how many crazy things God has done in your life in the span of just a few handfuls of years! It’s a great reminder to be open to whatever direction He leads us in 🙂 Thanks for sharing your journey with all of us!
Thanks, AnneMarie!
I love your story, especially the part of converting to Catholicism and your road trip. I’ve always dreamed about a road trip through Alaska or maybe Lapland.
May I ask you a question? How do you make enough time to blog as a (homeschooling) Mom of three? To me it’s always a balancing act…
I wrote about this a couple of years ago. It’s really a matter of having a supportive husband who helps me make the time. And it continues to be a big balancing act! http://www.carrotsformichaelmas.com/2014/05/15/how-does-a-busy-mama-make-time-to-write-for-the-love-of-blogging-series/
Please tell me the house you’re buying in Waco is a fixer upper and that Chip and Joanna are going to fill it with shiplap and farmhouse tables. Because that would be perfect!
I was just thinking the same thing!
Ha! That would be pretty cool, but nope. For some reason being on Fixer Upper doesn’t appeal to me at all. Sounds stressful! But I’m sure they would do a lovely job.
Which parish are you members? I went to Baylor for graduate school May 1995-August 1996. I went to St. Jerome’s in Hewett(?).
St. Peters! We go to the Latin Mass there, but our new house is closer to St. Louis.
I am so happy to have met you when you visited Boise during your epic road trip. We are wanting to move back there sometime soon and I keep hoping that one day I’ll open your blog and see that you all have decided to move there, too 🙂 I’ve loved getting to watch your family grow and am blessed by your writing. Take care!
Jackie! That was such a highlight of our trip. Daniel and I still talk about that night all the time. SO fun. <3
What will Daniel be doing when you move off the farm?
Working somewhere! Not 100% sure yet. We have lots of leads, but still a few months until his internship is over.
I think we’d be friends! I am a Baylor graduate turn Catholic as well. Sadly, I live in California. Ever come out here? 🙂
We were there for the first time this past summer! Loved it! Sic ’em, Bears <3
Plus I also have three kids and I love your style and I love British period shows and literature. Just sayin’
Hi Haley! Here’s a pretty personal “Ask Me Anything”… I’m a bit of an anxious driver and already uncomfortable about the prospect of driving around my future (God willing) kiddos. Any chance you’d be willing to chat more about that? What’s your go-to?
For me, I have to make sure I’m hydrated and not hungry (or else the driving anxiety will make me light headed–that fight or flight response like you’re going to pass out.) And I keep snacks in the car! It’s definitely a mind over matter thing for me. Listening to audiobooks, putting on calming essential oils, and taking routes that don’t stress me out. I’ll go 10 minutes out of my way to take a relaxing route over the highway! I can definitely talk about that in a vlog, though.
Thanks for sharing. Would love details on how you do homeschool.
Hi Julie! Here’s a little run down of what we did this year. http://www.carrotsformichaelmas.com/2015/05/15/our-homeschooling-plans-with-a-1st-grader-a-preschooler-a-toddler-and-a-cross-country-move/ We also joined a Catholic homeschool co-op that meets one morning twice a month.
I love your hair! (Oh yeah, and your writing too!) What color products and techniques do you use to get such fun colors on a budget?
I’m so glad you did this! I’ve gone back to past posts and listen to the podcast so I’ve picked up pieces here or there about your story. It’s so inspiring. I love learning about other converts. I converted last year and so happy I finally did.
I’m late to the party…
I hope this question isn’t too personal, but what is your tattoo of? I see glimpses of it on the blog, and it looks really pretty, but I can never quite make out the design.
It’s of Our Lady Star of the Sea 🙂
Hi, Haley, I’ve read your blog for a while and I’m sad I missed out getting to know you in Waco! I did the same kind of studies at Baylor as you dis and mostly went to St. Peter’s, and occasionally elsewhere for the Latin Mass. I volunteered on the same farm a few times and my husband (who has the experience) and I hope to homestead later down the road. I graduated in 2013 but still visited a lot until I moved farther away in 2016.