About Me

Hey friend — I’m so glad you’re here.

I’m LeLe — wife, homeschooling mama to four, homesteader without barn animals (yet!), and oily mama. I’m also a Moyamoya warrior, walking through life with a rare, incurable disease while raising a family and healing from deep childhood trauma.

I grew up in foster care and experienced post-adoption abuse — things I rarely heard people talk about growing up. For a long time, I felt alone, voiceless, and disconnected. Now I’m learning to rebuild — to root myself in healing, nourish my family and soul with faith, and be sustained by grace, one imperfect day at a time.

That’s what The Essential Schoolhouse is all about.

It’s where I share:

• Honest reflections on motherhood and marriage
• Natural living with essential oils and from-scratch cooking
• Homeschooling tips, real-life routines, and grace-filled learning
• DIY projects, waste-saving hacks, and slow living
• Encouragement for mamas healing from trauma while raising babies

This blog is for the woman trying to grow something good in the middle of a hard season. It’s for the mama holding brokenness in one hand and hope in the other. It’s for anyone choosing healing over hustle, intention over perfection, and grace over guilt.

If that’s you — welcome home.

Let’s grow through it together.

With love,

LeLe