About Us

Hello, my name is Darcie and I am the author of this family blog. 

Our family life has been full of unexpected surprises. My husband Geoff has spent his life striving to eradicate poverty, which has provided years of meaningful challenges and positive work. After seven, intense years building a company, his health failed and he resigned. We moved to Southern France for a year so he could convalesce.

Wanting no outside obligations during this time, I began homeschooling our three daughters, Tennie, Adele and Ceci. We struggled through this year in many ways. At the same time we discovered a lot about our girl’s learning styles and unique strengths, ate delicious, fresh food, explored the Mediterranean coast and beyond, grew close as a family and developed a stronger relationship with God.

After a year in France, Geoff was still not 100%, so we moved in with his parents in Auburn, California where we continued to homeschool. This set-up had its challenges, but his parents had a large home on five acres and our girls lived an idyllic childhood building forts, catching frogs, caring for animals and putting on endless plays and performances.

During these years we took extended field trips to the Southwest to study Native American history and culture, as well to the Northeast to study early American history. We spent six weeks in Nicaragua and Costa Rica learning about rainforests, practicing Spanish and yoga and taking surf lessons. We love new places and experiences. We also had a very influential art teacher who taught us to love nature, to take the time to observe, and to love the creative expression of painting. We continue to value these skills. Those were magical years.

It took three and a half years for Geoff’s full health to return. He took a position in Salt Lake City where we have lived for five years. We have lived in a downtown apartment, which was quite a change from the wide-open spaces of Auburn! For the first two years we homeschooled, then after seven years of being taught at home, our three girls entered public school. I loved having some time to myself during the day, but missed the flexibility of homeschooling. And I missed my girls!

As Geoff was finishing up his job in Salt Lake City, we realized that in six years all of our girls would be gone. We were determined to take advantage of our final years of them living at home, and for starters, decided to figure out a way to travel for up to a year. It hasn’t been easy securing a work-from-a-distance income, or convincing our oldest, who is a senior, that traveling with her family is better than being with her friends, but we’re doing what we can with what we have to make it happen.

The most important thing to know about us is our knowledge that God lives and his son, Jesus Christ, is the Savior of the world. They have helped us through the ups and downs of our lives, and we have had many! This blog will include this faith, as it is inseparable from who we are.