Degrees in Idealism

exploring how we would live if we truly believed life was meaningful

Why I’m a “prepper” and what that actually means.

02.09.2023 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // Leave a Comment

Almost three years ago, my family and I moved to the country and started homesteading. Every day, it seems, we are learning new things— we are learning about raising and slaughtering, fermenting and curing, chopping and heating, planting and harvesting— all new things to us, but not to the world. These are old skills— and […]

Categories // Uncategorized

Reflections on a Twelfth Night

01.05.2023 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // 1 Comment

The first time I really understood that Christmas was twelve days was when I visited Mexico as a child. I think the churches in America were probably still singing Christmas songs but nothing ever really felt like Christmas after New Year’s the way it did in Mexico. Ever since experiencing that, my family and I […]

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Mysteries and Miracles

10.18.2022 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // Leave a Comment

One recent Wednesday morning in September, my almost-two-year-old son wandered away from our house and into the woods, completely out of our sight. After a quick search of the immediate, usual areas, we called for help from neighbors, and then 911. Help came in abundance. Multiple fire departments, law enforcement agencies, canine units, volunteers on […]

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Diapers, Flies, and Humility

08.12.2022 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // 2 Comments

I was twenty-two and pregnant with my first child. We were attending a high school graduation. In the bleachers in front of me was a new mother who was probably even younger than me. I watched her, reflecting on the wonder that awaited me, when suddenly I saw her undress her baby and change him. […]

Categories // Family, Homestead, Soul

Let’s Talk About The Weather

06.07.2022 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // Leave a Comment

A few years ago I got off of social media. Along with getting off of social media I mostly stopped following any news source on a regular basis. But there is still one website I still check every morning. The Weather Channel. Sometimes I even find myself checking it multiple times a day. Especially if […]

Categories // Culture

My Homeschooling Philosophy

02.02.2022 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // 2 Comments

As a homeschooling mother of a lot of little kids I often get asked what kind of curriculum I use, how I do it with so many babies and toddlers, what our schedule looks like, etc. So I thought I would share— especially for those who are considering homeschooling but maybe find the possible answers […]

Categories // Family

So do all who live to see such times…

09.22.2021 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // Leave a Comment

It feels like the church is falling apart. It feels like our country is falling apart. It feels like the world is falling apart. These are things that many of us feel right now. And rightfully so. Corruption seems to reign supreme. You find it in one corner so you run to the other corner, […]

Categories // Culture, Soul

Why Sheep?

06.23.2021 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // Leave a Comment

When we moved to the country we knew we wanted to get more animals. We went back and forth about which kinds of animals but we eventually ended up with sheep. Why sheep? I am often asked, and I sometimes struggle to answer. Of course, sheep have many uses: wool, meat, milk, and lawn mowing— […]

Categories // Homestead, Soul

A Theology of Birthdays

06.08.2021 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // 2 Comments

A birthday can be a lonely sort of thing. After all, no matter how much other people may be celebrating you, it really is all about you, and as Pooh says, “it’s so much friendlier with two!” I believe this is part of the reason adults often have trouble celebrating their birthdays at all. Sure, […]

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The Blessing of a Worn Out Body

06.01.2021 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // Leave a Comment

For most of my adolescent life I struggled with insomnia. When I was 23 I had my first baby. He kept me up all night. But I finally learned how to sleep! Next week, I’ll turn 31. I have spent the last decade pushing my body to the point of total exhaustion. It hasn’t always […]

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The Sadness of Easter

04.05.2021 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // 2 Comments

Now that it’s Easter I’m going to turn on some happy Easter music! I told my kids when we got in the car. Gabriel’s Oboe came on first, followed by Morning Has Broken. In response to each of these songs my five-year-old remarked, but Mommy, those songs sound sad.  We then launched in to a […]

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Why My Christmas Tree Is Still Up

01.30.2021 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // Leave a Comment

There are all sorts of debates about when Christmas actually ends. Liturgically speaking, we know that it does NOT end on December 26th. In fact, it is just as much Christmas on December 26th as it was on December 25th. It is, liturgically speaking, full-strength Christmas through January 1st. After that things get a little […]

Categories // Culture, Family

The Latin Mass: For Distracted Children Like Me

12.13.2020 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // Leave a Comment

I first went to traditional Latin Mass when I was a teenager. I remember it feeling cold— both in temperature and in mood. I did not want to go back. Now, whether it was actually cold or simply unfamiliar I do not know. I do know that, at that time, most of the devout Catholics […]

Categories // Beauty, Family, Soul

Surviving and thriving with lots of little kids

11.16.2020 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // Leave a Comment

As a mother of five little boys seven and under I often get asked how I manage. Of course, two alternative answers are that 1) I don’t. Or 2) By the grace of God. But here are the more specific strategies: Be intentional about your village. It is tempting, especially as a mother, to try […]

Categories // Family, Marriage

Mass in the Time of Covid

09.04.2020 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // Leave a Comment

We have been going to in-person Mass with our four children since May. I have had a lot of other people ask us how we do this, if we feel safe, if it’s been difficult, etc. Now, everyone’s risk factors are different and no one person can decide for another person whether in-person Mass is […]

Categories // Culture, Family, Soul Tags // #catholic, #covid, #family, #mass

My New Book: A Storybook of Saints

04.06.2020 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // Leave a Comment

My children’s relationship with Saint Nicholas is complex and, at times, confusing. When we had our first son we decided not to “do Santa” in the traditional American way. Because of the questioning personality of our oldest son and the deeply secular, often antagonistic-towards-faith culture we live in, we felt uncomfortable insisting upon the down-the-chimney […]

Categories // Culture, Family, Soul

Coronavirus and the Soul

03.13.2020 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // Leave a Comment

If the coronavirus had hit seven years ago, I would have been terrified. I’m immunocompromised, but I’m also prone to anxiety and worst-case scenario thinking. I always tend to assume that if it is going to happen to someone then it is going to happen to me or the ones I love. But then I […]

Categories // Family, Soul Tags // #coronavirus, #faithofourfathers, #family, #pandemic, #prayer

New Book on the Way and Smartphone Vacation

02.10.2020 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // 2 Comments

I have not posted on my blog in awhile because I have been focusing all my writing attention on a book that will be published in April. I am very excited to share more details about it soon! I am also revamping my blog with a new layout and name on the way.  In the […]

Categories // Culture, Soul Tags // #koselig, #livinginthepresent, #livingsimply, #smartphone

Lenten Music

04.06.2019 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // 2 Comments

A little late, but I wanted to share the playlist that helps me focus on the season. I hope it can help you too!

Categories // Soul Tags // #beauty, #catholicism, #lent, #music

Pregnancy is Strange

04.04.2019 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // 2 Comments

This is my fourth time feeling a tiny person kick around in my belly. And it’s not any less strange than the first time. In pop culture, when pregnancy isn’t being stigmatized or avoided at all costs, it’s being glamorized. I think of pregnant celebrities, baring their bellies on the covers of magazines like fertility […]

Categories // Culture, Family, Soul Tags // #meaningoflife, #motherhood, #parenthood, #pregnancy

Life Without Social Media

02.27.2019 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // 4 Comments

After mulling over it for months (years) I finally permanently deleted my Facebook, thereby removing all social media from my life. Here’s what I’ve learned: I am shocked by how nosy and gossipy I really was. I had already hidden at least 80% of my newsfeed because the content was either distracting or irrelevant. I […]

Categories // Culture, Soul Tags // #koselig, #livinginthepresent, #livingsimply, #millenials, #modernity, #socialmedia, #technologyproblems

Christmas Does Not Belong to Me

12.18.2018 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // 1 Comment

I just want to make sure we have OUR Christmas. I’ve said it to my friends and my friends have said it to me. Somewhere between college graduation and thirtieth birthdays Christmas becomes super, super busy. And we feel like it’s all about other people. All about extended relatives. All about work parties or neighborhood parties […]

Categories // Culture, Family, Soul Tags // #christmas, #family, #parenting

How We Advent (And Advent Music)

12.01.2018 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // 1 Comment

When I was about ten my dad first introduced us to the old custom of Adventing before Christmas and Christmasing until Epiphany. At first, it was quite difficult for me to accept. My dad and I had many debates about how early was too early to turn on the real Christmas songs and all the […]

Categories // Culture, Family, Soul Tags // #advent, #christmas, #family, #koselig, #liturgicalliving

A Baby, The Catholic Church, and Hope

10.15.2018 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // 10 Comments

It was the Eve of the Feast of the Assumption when I got an unexpected positive pregnancy test. I’ve been pregnant every year since 2012 and my youngest child is only ten months old. While I felt joy and excitement that I would get to know and love another tiny human, I had all sorts […]

Categories // Culture, Family, Soul Tags // #catholicism, #hope, #motherhood, #pregnancy, #theassumption

Fingers and Toes

09.18.2018 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // 1 Comment

Counting their fingers and toes… I had heard the phrase before but I didn’t really get it. Why would you count their fingers and toes? You already know how many there are. It wasn’t until my third baby that I finally tried it. One, two, three, four, five… The other little chubby hand was cramped […]

Categories // Family, Soul

When We Play All Day: Part Two

08.06.2018 by Elizabeth Hanna Pham // Leave a Comment

I’ve always thought it would be nice to really celebrate Sunday like a “sabbath”— not just with Church or a break from school or work, but like a true holiday. After the birth of our first child, I realized that this was not simply an intriguing idea; it was something we actually needed.  A sabbath […]

Categories // Family, Marriage, Soul Tags // #beingpresent, #catholicism, #children, #christianity, #koselig, #parenting, #rest, #sabbath, #sunday

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About Me

I'm Elizabeth. I'm a wife, a mother to six children, a writer, and a lover and seeker of the beautiful, the true, and the good. I am a believer in idealism-- that even amidst the chaos and the confusion, the exhaustion and the sadness of life there is always joy to be found, hope to be clung to, and a better path to be taken. I write my thoughts on this blog. Links to my fiction books are at the bottom of the page.

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Storybook of Saints

Book Cover: A Storybook of Saints

A Storybook of Saints

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