Simply Susan
Musings of a messy mama navigating through the seasons of life: marriage, motherhood, menopause, motorbikes & mess.
Married to the same man for 38 years/blended family/instant step-mama at 18/mama to many/ex-nomadic lifestyle/ nurse/softball/ health/nutrition/ex-defence force family/nutrition coach/cashier.
Follower of Jesus Christ.
I am a 50+yo (closer to 60) woman who delights in being a wife, mother and Nonnie (grandmother). In a nutshell, I’m a Bible-believer, keeper-of-the-home, eclectic, literature-loving, God-fearing, Daughter of The King. I want to proclaim the gospel (in words but more so in action) to my children, and anyone else who will listen.
- I manage the home and family logistics.
- I taught my children at home.
- I built and managed websites. I read and study for fun.
- I drink copious amounts of coffee and eat pecorino cheese by the bucket.
- I don’t always cook but when I do, it’s pretty good.
- Aged Care worker, Nutrition Coach, works in a coffee shop with my daughter as my boss.
- I ride motorcycles.
I love being with my family and love nothing more than a good coffee with a slice of baklava. I’m partial to a good Pecorino Cheese and dark chocolate. I enjoy Bible study, nursing in Aged Care, hanging with family, grandchildren and friends, reading books, studying health and nutrition, pottering around on a block, growing herbs and watching TV. I like a wide range of shows from drama, comedy, docutainments, fantasty and sci-fi. My dirty little secret is Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I enjoy learning about website design and creating websites primarily using Joomla, WordPress, New Zenler and IPB.
I work in a coffee shop, owned by my daughter, Abi. Let me say, it has been a little tricky navigating through this new season of life with a child that I birthed now being my boss.
Why This Blog Exists
We started investigating home education in late 1997 and it was during the Nov/Dec break of the same years that we started homeschooling. Although we homeschooled for about 19 years I consider that we homeschooled all of them, all the way through – because what happens in utero is important and then we go on to teach our babies all those essential learnings. There are many other people who had walked many more miles in this journey than we have. I cannot and do not aim to teach you, the reader, anything nor do I feel that I have anything astounding to offer, except the blisters on my feet from walking round and round the garden path so much because I can be so stubborn and set in my ways.
Who are/were the HomeGrownKids?
It might help you to know the members of our family. There is Beloved otherwise known as John, then myself followed by the kids:
- Mr. D who is 43yo
- Mrs Abi (from Gio & Co) who is 35yo and has 3 beautiful girls with her husband, Ian
- Miss R who is 33yo
- Mister J who is 31yo and a farmer
- Mister C (29) who is married to Mrs D with 2 beautiful little girls
- Master Jax who is a 13yo bundle of joyous mischief.
Abi, R, J and C were all homeschooled. Master Jax has gone to private school, a public school and is currently being homeschooled in 2025/2026.
Labels, Names & Denomination
Baptist? Church of Christ? CRC? Reformed? Presbeteryan? Pentecostal?Actually I’d say I’m all of those and none!
I do not like labels. I don’t like to ‘follow’ or adhere to any particular preaching or teaching. However, for those who really need labels to help define a site or person it might be said that I lean toward a slightly more Reformed and Calvinistic mindset. 🙂 You can see my thoughts here on even calling myself a Christian! Why do we need labels? Why do we feel the need to rally together under any other banner other than Christ?
But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?
What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
1 Cor 3: 1-9
What Else?
My greatest desire is not that my children become great academic scholars or millionaires rather that they learn to walk in the Truth of God’s word, to know Him and love Him. However, I also write for others: not that my words are anything spectacular or insightful rather that I have found that sharing our thoughts with one another via the written word is in itself, stimulating, helpful and illuminating. I do not seek to share anything ‘new’ or profound, rather I seek to share the good news of Christ throughout my everyday life. This doesn’t mean I always share the 4 step plan to salvation or even that I mention verses and chapter in my post for my walk as a believer is a relational walk.
My Story
I have been joyously married to my love John, for over 38 years and together we have four, five or six children, depending upon how one looks at it. Confused yet? Yes, we are a blended family which only adds to the vitality, energy and choas!
I was not raised as a Christian – very far from it! My childhod was… shall we say – um, colourful. Something that those who were raised in the ways of faith will not understand – and thankfully so. Suffice it to say that I carried some baggage with me into my marriage and parenting years. I learned the hard way how to be a parent. In fact, I am still learning even now – as a mama to a 13 yo!
I was a young wife and then a young mother. I’m now a grandmum (called Nonnie) as well as an older mum to a 13yo. I’ve been a homeschool mama and SAHM for most of my life but am now working full time out of the home. I like to say that we can’t Have It All All At Once but we can have it all over the course of a lifetime.
This blog is an attempt to journal my day to day thoughts, struggles, growth and learning in the process of wifehood, motherhood and being a Daughter of the King! Sometimes I may share recipes or the like, as it may be something that I’ve had to type out for a forum so to save typing it again one day, I will post it here. I don’t expect or suppose that others will find this blog to be very interesting or academically stimulating. That’s okay. I primarily post for me…for this is my journey and writing helps me to process my thoughts. I also periodically print my posts out and keep them in a box, just in case my children should like to read them one day, once I have moved on/graduated.
Posts About Susan
The Poem of Susan
Home Grown Kids she is to you, Call her Susan but never Sue. Healthy lifestyle is her passion, Goji Juice the latest fashion.
A treadmill is she said to own: but seldom do we hear the drone, for often is it said than done, Susan would rather be having fun… like working on her blog or sipping tea and eating chocolate log
Things I Firmly Believe
Five Things that I Firmly Believe and are the most important to my life as a Christian. I believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God. It is the final authority for faith and practice. I believe in one God, who is Creator of all, who has revealed Himself in three distinct Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Things I Have Done
Topics
Topics I write about
Our Story
Abi’s Wedding
Reflections
Articles
Code Of Online Ethics
I hold myself to certain standards of conduct. They are:
- I guard my online relationships
- I am careful to visit websites that do not compromise my life in Christ
- I take care that my written communications reflect Christ in my life
- I guard my time to assure that my time online is kept in proper balance with the rest of my life.