Reader Spotlight: Kelly @ Becoming Crunchy

It’s time for another Reader Spotlight! Reader Spotlight is where I tell you all about an A Little Bit of All of It reader. I choose someone that is either a commenter, subscriber or Facebook fan to highlight.

I’m really looking forward to telling you about Kelly at Becoming Crunchy! Kelly is a subscriber, commenter and Facebook fan! (She must really like me.;)) Her first comment here was on my Outdoor Furniture post. When asked to share a favorite, she couldn’t narrow it down to just one. The miscarriage story posts “spoke to me and helped in some ways to bring healing to my own experience, though it’s still something I struggle over.” She also enjoyed the story of how our co-sleeping relationship ended. She says, “it’s a huge encouragement for a time I am not really looking forward to (though I still have awhile to go with baby in our bed).”

Kelly and her husband met “very randomly” as Kelly puts it. 🙂 After going to college in Minnesota, she went to visit 2 married college friends in Canada for a couple months. During that time, she met and befriended her future husband. “After I went home, we stayed in touch and he came to visit me over New Year’s and the rest was history… :)”

They got married outside her grandmother’s house “out in the country and her house is on top of a huge hill overlooking a gorgeous valley.” It was an amazing experience for them where they were surrounded by their best friends. Kelly says,

It was October – my favorite month – unfortunately FREEZING cold that day, but you can’t tell from the pictures. My mom bought my wedding dress, which was white with red embroidery all across the bodice. I had henna done on my hands and feet. My aunt made a gorgeous wedding cake with real flowers for decoration. My cousin did my hair and makeup. The man who married us was one of my favorite teachers from college and an amazing pastor. Dave was smokin’ hot in his white tux. 🙂 I walked up the aisle to ‘Fade Into You’ from Mazzy Star; our recessional was ‘You’re So Lucky’ by Franz Ferdinand. I made everyone go barefoot for the ceremony and found out later all my friends had sweat pants underneath their dresses because it was so cold. We did have outdoor heaters for the tent and garage where the ceremony and dancing took place. We ordered food from a local BBQ place (I had wanted potluck but Dave refused). My brother stood on my side along with 4 of my best girlfriends and Dave had 2 girls on his side along with 2 of our guy friends. We had another amazing pastor friend say a prayer and amazing toasts from all our bridesmaids/groomsmen. The only thing I regret is that we didn’t get it on video.

These days Kelly and Dave are the proud parents of their little Bean. Kelly describes her parenting as a mix of things: “AP/Natural/Crunchy/Intactivist/Lactivist (even though I don’t nurse…the things I’ve learned)/Co-Sleeping/Babywearing/Child-Led/Gentle Discipline/Lots of Research combined with Going With the Flow”. Motherhood has many lessons, humility being the biggest for Kelly. “Seriously – that has been the biggest lesson I’ve learned (and somehow seem to need to keep learning…). I’m something of a control freak and really thought I could plan how everything would be – every day that idea seems to get tossed out the window. But more and more, I’m OK with it. I’m also learning to think outside my box in major ways all the time – not exactly comfortable, but loving it all the same.”

Along with being passionate about crunchy living and motherhood, Kelly loves to read (books inspire her), play video games, travel, cook and show hospitality by having people over. In addition, as you can tell if you spend any time reading her blog, she is “very passionate about sharing knowledge and helping people where I can.” As a result, she has a dream of becoming a doula and eventually a midwife one day. She says, “I’ve become very involved with the idea of helping women, particularly.”

Christianity is also a passion of Kelly’s. God is continually showing her reminders of His faithfulness. As she says, “I’m afraid I can tend towards thinking He’s let me down, getting discouraged – and then He hands me some gift and I’m in awe once again.” God has also given her a dream, “something I had once that I thought may be gone forever.” She is also learning to be more open. As she says, “It’s like, there are so many more questions than there are answers – but that’s OK – because God is behind all of it. And it’s also like a whole new world of study is opening and I have a lot to learn and look into now!”

When asked what inspires her, Kelly says, “I find myself most inspired by people, I think.” She specifically mentions “friends and teachers that I greatly admire” and bloggers as well. “I consider them to be friends – just ones I’ve never met.” Also nature, “the beauty God has created”, makes her “want to be a better person.”

Becoming Crunchy, Kelly and her husband Dave’s blog, focuses on an average family making changes to a more sustainable, healthier lifestyle. Blogging, for Kelly is about community. “I love that it seems to be helping others in some ways as well, and I love mostly that it’s a conversation. It’s humbling and lifegiving to have so much interaction with so many people around the world, and I hope to have that connection for a good long time. It does take a village to raise a child – and here is where I’ve managed to find my village.”

I always enjoy and am inspired by Kelly’s posts at Becoming Crunchy. Here are her personal favorites and some great ones at that:

  • My Breastfeeding Mistakes, Part One and Part Two – Things she’s learned to help her, and hopefully other new moms, make breastfeeding work next time around
  • It’s Just Too Hard – Her “green epiphany” and reminder there will “always [be] more that I can do when it comes to being more sustainable”
  • Passionate and Compassionate…How do We do It? – Kelly’s exploration of compassionate advocacy and “how those of us who wish to change the world (whether in a big or small way) can actually do so without defeating our own purpose by just making people angry – and without being prideful”
If you’re looking for Kelly, you can find her blogging at Becoming Crunchy, on Facebook and Twitter as well.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge

%d bloggers like this: