TRANSCRIPT WITH KRYSTAL EVENSEN
Shanxi: Hello, this is Shanxi Omoniyi, host of MPE’s Homeschool Hints podcast to encourage you wherever you may be on your homeschool journey.
Today we're going to talk about Women's Encouragement Day, and I have with me Krystal Evensen. Krystal, would you like to go ahead and tell us a little bit more about yourself?
Krystal: Yeah. Hey, everyone. So I am Krystal Evensen, as she said, and I'm a homeschool mom of 12. And gosh, I love when we get ready for this time of year when women's encouragement days almost, it's like right around the corner. We go through the holidays and I know it's almost here, and I get so excited about it because it is so life giving to me as a young mom. I came, I think my oldest was six. Someone told me, come to the women's Encouragement day as I was feeling really like, what am I doing? You know, I had six kids, I, maybe seven at the time, six and under. Like, I had a lot of little kids and I was trying to homeschool and it was like, come and glean from the Word and from other women how we were supposed to encourage one another.
And I jumped in kind of like, not knowing what to expect. And I remember showing up and just being greeted and, and knowing I'm in a really good place. Like it just made me feel good. My heart felt good. People were greeting me, shaking my hand, and I was like, okay, I can try this out. And I am an extrovert, so I do like going and meeting new people and going to new places. So that part wasn't maybe as scary for me, but being around a bunch of homeschool moms who maybe done this for a while and what are they gonna say to me and what are they gonna, but oh my goodness, the wealth of people inside of our city and the surrounding areas is just also a great thing. So yeah, I think I came a young homeschool starter out mom, you know, trying to figure out my way, trying to figure out my path.
And this was just, this gift dropped in the beginning of the year, which is the beginning of the year, but it's the middle of the year for homeschooling. Like for the school year. And so, the moms coming around and encouraging me and sitting at tables, like getting to chat with them. The speakers that they have brought in have always been so life-giving to me. I feel like I come, I feel weary. It's probably cold outside because it's January, although we do get the one off. Like, it's not that bad, but it's, it's cold. It's, you know, I don't really know. It's Saturday. Maybe I just wanna stay in bed. And it's this bright glimpse of hope again, to be encouraged in the word, to encourage one another, to keep running our race. We've chosen to homeschool our kids and to be around like-minded people and a like-minded speaker all anchored in the Word to encourage one another.
We all just have such encouraging things to say to one another. And I was so excited to be able to eat food <laugh>. I mean, as a mom, right? I mean, you get a day where someone takes care of you. Like, I mean, there's a whole team of people. There's a bunch of teens that offer their day and they're like, would you like some more chocolate? Can we get you some more coffee? You know, you sit down and you eat your meal hot. Uh, I can't, you know, in a month count on one hand how many times I get to eat that meal hot, you know? And how it's so special. So even those little things as a mom, a homeschool mom, as you're juggling all the things to get to take a day and not just throw it away, I'm always like, oh, is this day worth it to take the day away from my family when everything kind of slows down normally?
And I'm like, this day is such a gift. So I just remember being a young mom and now with, um, I've been, you know, continuing to go kind of join the team just cuz I wanna encourage and be alongside like, yay, we can do it. Come on, let's link arms. And now I have a junior this year how it's probably been a sustaining thing for me to keep continuing on my race, to just have that point in January, beginning of February, where I'm like, yes, the Women's Encouragment Day's coming and someone's gonna, someone, many people, I should say many mamas coming alongside and encouraging me and how life-giving it is in the midst of, oh, are we gonna do this? Are we really gonna do this? We're gonna do this. So anyways, my story is I came as a young mom, desperate for community and to be encouraged on a journey.
I didn't understand being a, something I did not understand <laugh>, what am I doing? Uh, and just realizing how life-giving it was and how we need each other. And we might not see each other in our homes when we're homeschooling as, you know, we're all kind of like stuck and we feel alone. But it's that point of like, no, we're all kind of doing this and even if we can't see each other like every day or once a week, or here's a touch point, like, we're all here now. Maybe you can make a friend or maybe you can, you know, make a group even. It's definitely a highlight for me and something I just get really excited about every year. And I remember years where my kids were little and, you know, I didn't have anyone to stay home and my husband worked weekends and I looked forward so much to the Women's Encouragement Day that I, because I had started coming and I made friends with older, like, that had older children.
I remember a season where my friend Susan, I hit the Women's Encouragement Day and I was all registered and I was so excited to go. And I just texted her and said, Andrew's working and my babysitter fell through and I just have to stay home. And I was crying. I remember being like at the table trying to do something with all my little kids, like crying. And she like showed up at the door with her daughter and she, her daughter was probably 14 or 15 at the time. And she's like, she's here to serve you and you go get dressed. We're going to the Women's Encouragement Day. And just even that, like being able to have friends then that can help pull you out and know that it's life giving for you. Like, I got that because I built community by coming to this. So I'm excited. My journey with this has always been like, yay, I meet so many cool people and I've heard so many great speakers that I just would never hear because, you know, I just don't have a lot of time to go out. So <laugh>. So yeah. It's such a touchpoint for me in the of the year.
Shanxi: Yeah. Speaking of which, can you tell us a little bit more about this year's speaker?
Krystal: Oh yes. Okay. This year's speaker, oh my goodness. I just started following her on Instagram because a fellow mom of 10 …
Shanxi: M is for Mama. She wrote a book. Abby Halberstadt, M is for Mama. You wanna go ahead?
Krystal: Okay. Yes. M is for Mama, see, and I'm excited. She's from Texas. So she's gonna bring some southern southern part to our Midwestern, um, part <laugh>, whatever kind of, it'll be exciting and it'll be fun. I I love meeting people from outside of our community even, yeah. But fellow mom, homeschool mom of 10, her Instagram's like, she had twins twice. Now I have 12 kids. I've never had twins. I already am like, what? She's awesome. But she wrote a book, M is for Mama. And all of my friends who've read it, like, we went to a meeting and that was the thing that everyone was like, have you read this book? It's about regaining like motherhood and being encouraged and being a mom. And I was like, yes, let's encourage one another to be a mom. So I'm excited to read the book and to hear more of her story.
Shanxi: You mentioned that a friend told you about Women's Encouragement Day. So how were you, and you said you were a new homeschool mom at the time, <laugh>. What got you interested into homeschooling in the first place?
Krystal: I think what got me interested into homeschooling, I kind of have a different story than most people because I don't really like school. Yes. I don't like the structure and I didn't like it when I went to school. I went to public school and I'm not a homebody. Like, I love going out and doing things. I wanna be like the CEO of a company. I wanna like be someone, get paid a lot of money, go do stuff, go places. And I, for me it was, I had sent my, my daughter, she's my oldest. I sent her to a private school for kindergarten. And when I took her to kindergarten, she loved it. She excelled. And I was like, this is what we're doing. Private school. Amazing. Because of course I didn't wanna put my kids in public school.
I have my own stories, you know. And I remember giving birth to my sixth child when she was in kindergarten. And she would come home and the kindergarten teacher would say, uh, Jerusalem is drawing pictures of her baby brother and her baby sister, and she just wants to know everybody's okay. And I kind of started having a conversation with the Lord. Okay. So my daughter's drawing pictures of like, we're all okay. And I just felt inside me and that the Lord said, I didn't give you all these children to separate them like I picked you. And I was like, oh, no, no, no, Lord. Like that can't be that you want me to homeschool cuz you know that I'm not really like a teacher type. I'm not very skilled. I'm not trained at all and I don't wanna stay home like home <laugh>.
That doesn't sound very fun to me. And so I went on the journey of just being like, no, this can actually be really fun too, because I kind of only like to sign up for things if they're fun. So my story of homeschooling is that I kind of got tricked by the Lord in that he wanted me to be with my children and not running out, doing all these things for myself. But He actually equips us to do things that maybe we didn't think we were called or even wanted to do. But He loves that He gave us children and He made us moms. And the schooling part is just kind of, we have something fun to do. I mean, it's not always fun, but most of the time it can be if we try. So yeah, I mean, I didn't, like, I've always dreamed about this. I'm kind of stumbling in real messy almost because it wasn't something I had dreamed about. It was something that when I had a conversation with the Lord, He changed my heart. And so He’s the one leading and guiding and I remind Him that, that that's how we started and how much I need Him to help me on this journey too.
Shanxi: That is awesome. Well, thank you so much. What would you say to maybe a mom who's maybe a little bit less, um, outgoing? Somebody who thinks, I don't really want to walk into a room full of strangers, that's not my style. Should I still consider coming to this event anyway?
Krystal: Well, I mean, I feel like Shanxi, you can kind of speak into that because yes, that's kind of you.
Shanxi: Yeah, that's kind of me too. So I just wanna explain, I don't have 12 kids, I'm sorry, <laugh>, I just have two and I always feel …
Krystal: No, no. Here, when I, when I talk to people, I don't let him just say just because the Lord, He designs good things. He gave you two.
Shanxi: This is true. Yes, that's right. And every child is so unique and so precious. I mean, even if you're just a child, even if you're just, you know, have one child, you are that child's mom. You are that child's parent and God put you into that family for a reason. So yeah, you're right, <laugh>, when I say just yes, I just mean just as in number wise, not importance wise, but yeah, definitely. Even though I was homeschooled as a child, I always knew I wanted to homeschool. So, and in that sense Krystal, our stories differ a little bit, but I remember feeling just that sense of overwhelm when I started homeschooling. I was like, wow, how did my mom do this again? Because <laugh> life is so different from when I was being homeschooled. And I'm not sure that I'm fully equipped even though I was homeschooled, to now turn around and start homeschooling someone else.
So yeah, that was my story. And I would say that being part of Women's Encouragement Day, being part of the MPE committee team that works together and puts this on every year, you can come, even if you don't know anyone there, there are a lot of moms who just hang <laugh>, hang back in the seats and just let the music and the speaking, um, just minister to them wherever they are. Even if you just wanna come and just sit. You know, I've seen moms who will just come and sit the first few times that they're there and just, you know, let whatever God is speaking to them on their heart, let that move them. And then maybe in a few years time, once you know more people, it will become more of a social event. But just for that first time, even if you don't know anyone there, I highly recommend just coming, making it a priority just to come sit and see what is in store for you for that day.
Krystal: Yeah. I feel like I've seen many moms come and maybe even they're extroverted, but they just are so tired from pouring out, and they find themselves a seat kind of away from everyone. You know, I find myself doing that more with the amount of people in my house. I love people, but I will find myself kind of needing a quiet space. And so I would say if you don't know anybody, come and just be in the room. Be a part of worship with other homeschool moms and be encouraged by a speaker. Get some free, I mean, somebody's making food for you, someone's taking care of you. Yes, there's coffee, there's drinks, there's treats, there's chocolate. Like, just come and take the day away. Like bring out your journal, start talking to the Lord and let him come encourage you because he is the best encourager. Even though we have a lot of great encouraging moms. Like even being in that space where everyone's hungry to be encouraged and, and just hear the Lord.
Shanxi: Another thing I just wanted to mention is there are also some giveaways too. We have a special giveaway component to our women's Encouragement day. And I know there are women on the committee team whose job is to just reach out to area businesses, area organizations that are friendly to homeschool, and they have some amazing prizes that we just love to, you know, love on other moms and let them know, you know, you are not alone. You are in good company, other people have got your back, and we can do this journey together.
Krystal: It is a highlight. People come and there's some pretty cool gifts usually, I mean, great Wolf Lodge mm-hmm. <affirmative> will give away. I mean, in the winter when you got all your kids at home and you're homeschooling a gift to go let them swim at Great Wolf Lodge. Yes. That's a great prize. I mean, and so many businesses donate really great things for us, and we have people put them together and it's just beautiful. But it is a highlight for a lot of people because it's always great to get an unexpected gift too. Yes. When you come.
Shanxi: That's right. And I would also say, because everybody on the team is so different, I think it's really wonderful how you see everyone on the team bringing different things to moms at their different places. Like you were mentioning earlier, the teen girls, I've heard so many moms say, I come to Women's Encouragement Day just to see the girls who are ministering to us. Because seeing them gives me an, uh, kind of like a role model to look forward to for my kids because say your kids are really young and you don't have those teenage girls yet, but you can see in, you know, the moms of others who have gone before you, what your child can grow up to be and just their heart for serving other moms. Their appreciation, their gratitude. It's really lovely to see.
Krystal: It is really lovely to see. And I, from the other side now, my girls used to hear about, oh, there's these girls that come and they serve us. And just how much it blessed me as a mom with young children and now them being the ones that come and every year we stop, like the day is done, we're cleaned up, and the first thing they say is, can we sign up next year? Did you sign us up for next year to do this? Because they love being around moms and helping with their babies and serving them. I think we all kind of love to help one another and it gives them the opportunity to do that. And it gives us moms as like that hope. Like, okay, I just have to keep pressing in. Like there is like light at the end of the tunnel from the little years, you know? Yes. Where it feels overwhelming.
Shanxi: Tell us what it was like to go if you have a baby. Because a lot of people ask that, especially first timers, like, should I bring my baby? What happens with babies?
Krystal: I would say, if you can leave your baby, you know, you're not nursing anymore and someone is able to care for your baby, take the opportunity and come if you have a nursing baby or you have to bring the baby, because I know a lot of husbands get uncomfortable with toddlers. You know, the babies are welcome, we're all moms and you know, babies are crying and we're just kind of like feeling bad for that person. Like, can I help you? But it doesn't bother us. So come with that, that weight off of like, everyone's gonna be bothered by my kid. But man, every year we had like a whole space of moms who brought pack and plays and blankets and strollers because they had had to bring their nursing babies or their toddler maybe that wasn't, you know, they didn't have a babysitter for that toddler.
And you know, we have a nursing mothers room and it's all stocked with all this stuff and oh my goodness, do my girls hope that some mom will ask them, can you hold my baby? Like last year, I think one of the moms came up to me because they were like, you know, if you need a baby holder, like we love babies. And, and she needed to go to the bathroom and she said, I found one of your girls and I let 'em hold my little one and that was so wonderful. And I'm like, yeah, because we're, we're all in it together. And we understand his moms, sometimes you have to bring your baby mm-hmm. <affirmative> and that is harder for you when you have to do that sometimes, but not harder for the room and bring them like, it's so mom friendly. There's people there to help, there's places for you when you wanna go nurse or kind of need space to put your baby to sleep in a stroller or something. I just think bring, if that's the one thing holding you back, bring your little infant or your toddler and we've got, even those teen girls get a break, they will help even, I'll walk around and hold a baby. Like, I mean, it's mom culture. Yes. And homeschooling mom life. I mean, we take our kids everywhere so we get to leave. Most of them are all of them home this time.
Shanxi: <laugh>. That's right. <laugh>. Okay. Well, thank you so much. Is there anything else that you'd like to mention about Women's Encouragement Day? Anything that we've maybe missed or haven't talked about?
Krystal: Okay. So my friend Sarah Edwards is coming to lead worship and she's a songwriter, homeschool mom of four. And man, I could just sit and listen to her sing all day. So she just, her heart is so alive and I'm so grateful that she's taking the day to be with us and to share her gift with us in worship that we could enter in together, you know, a fellow homeschool mom up there pouring out her heart. I almost feel like in this spot of becoming a mom and a homeschool mom, my heart to the Lord is so real and raw and she just sings with everything. And so I'm excited about her getting to come this year and just bless us. So there's that. I'm so excited about that.
Shanxi: And Krystal's going to be the emcee there, so you'll see her up on stage. She'll be leading us all through the day, and she does an amazing job.
Krystal: I had a steep learning curve last year when they needed someone. And I do, I do like the microphone, so I was like, all right. Yeah. But I'm excited to just, you know, weave through the day and ask the Lord, you know, for encouraging things for us as we, as we journey together through, through the Women's Encouragement Day.
Shanxi: Thanks so much for listening. We hope you are encouraged in your homeschool journey. Please continue the conversation with us on our website, midwesthomeschoolers.org, or email us at podcast@midwestparenteducators.org. We're also active on social media if you'd like to connect with us there. Thanks to Kevin McLeod of incompetech.com for providing this royalty free song Wholesome, which is licensed under creativecommons.org.
Women's Encouragement Day For Homeschool Moms