The Diacogiannis'

I grew up with divorced parents so I grew up going back and forth between Idaho and Washington State. My summers were spent in Washington with my dad and spending a lot of time at my grandparents.

Some of my best memories were from the summers spent with my grandma and spending time in kitchen with her baking cookies. To this day she is still the one I go to for advice in the kitchen, she's also the one who taught me how to pressure can when I was terrified to start.

In 2011 I was attending a community college in Washington and would spend my time studying in a local coffee shop. That's where behind the counter was a man that captured my attention. One day he invited me out to lunch and during that lunch I couldn't get over his eyes and how fun he was. Not even a year later he asked me to stop by the coffee shop on my way home from work. I walked in to find tea light candles lit on every table, my favorite Michael Bublé song playing, and across the coffee shop walking towards me was Gregg. I was so confused as to why he was in a suit as he was walking towards me and that's when I realized this was the moment. He was purposing!

In 2012 my husband, Gregg, and I married and soon after had our first son. About a year later Gregg had asked me if I had looked into preparedness and I had no idea what he was talking about. Preparedness for what?

That's when I started reading books, scrolled though countless blogs, and searched through Pinterest. I was in love and overwhelmed by the idea of preparedness all at the same time. At this time we had already experienced a job loss and finances were tight. I learned how to coupon and budget which was the start of our journey. 

In 2015 we moved from Washington to Oklahoma. At that time our middle son was a year old and we were hopeful for a fresh start in a new area. We lived in an 800sqft apartment and I continued to stock our pantry shelves. I taught myself how to water bath can. I had found an incredible deal on cutie oranges which were a favorite of the boys, so I figured why not try and can them. I stored the jars on a shelf in Gregg and I's walk in closet because there was very little pantry space in the kitchen. During our time in Oklahoma my husbands job was commission based and there were times we had to rely on our extra stocked pantry because the grocery budget was extra tight.  

We spent 3 years in Oklahoma and after our youngest was born we felt the Lord calling us to Idaho. In 2019 we bought our first home in a small town here in Idaho and we're so thankful the Lord called us here. We love our community. 

Our first year here we had an in ground garden and the second year my husband built temporary raised beds. Every year I have tried to grow as much as I can to preserve and stock our shelves. In 2022 we added backyard chickens for fresh eggs. It's been a huge blessing to our family. Especially during 2021 when it was impossible to find eggs and flour. We felt more at peace while everyone else was worried. 

In our over a decade of prepping we have experienced several moments of needing to pull from our extra stock. Each time feeling at peace knowing we were able to still take care of our family. 

It's become a passion of mine to help other families feel that same peace. Because who really wants to live in fear? 

Simplicity, slow living, peace, and learning how to homestead where you are is my hope for you.