Welcome

Maybe it's the season of life I am in.  I just find myself taking more risks and being bold when it comes to doing the things I want to do.  I have always loved writing and studying the Bible and sharing that with others.  Additionally, I have always enjoyed creating beautiful things for myself and family.  I have dabbled in home-remodeling projects, jewelry design, knitting, cooking, home decorating, gardening, photography, furniture making and more.

I am energized by seeing an idea come to life.  

Vocationally, I have spent the majority of my married life supporting my family by being the person who gets a bunch of stuff done for everyone else, but doesn't get paid to do so.  This is traditionally referred to as the "stay-at-home" mom.  I've done occasional stints as pre-school and substitute teacher, but the number and spread of our children have made my working outside my home impractical at best.

I actually realized I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom when I was in college pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering.  After, finishing my bachelor's degree, I worked in software for an aerospace company for about a year before I left the corporate grind and devoted my full attention to my husband and baby boy.  

Recently, my husband's firm, Arrow Wealth Management, needed a new website, so I volunteered to design it thinking it would be a fun opportunity to dust off those old software skills.  Combining my artistic and tech skills for that project, inspired me to start my own website, blog, and business.  ALL Homemakers, LLC. is an outlet for me to share my thoughts, journey, goods, and skills with YOU!  Thanks for being here.  

Well apparently there is a lot of emotional baggage for me-seeing as how I have to take a paragraph to cover the topic!  My name is Aileen VanderWal.  I am named after my great aunt.  Her family pronounced her name with a short 'a' sound, "Al-leen", so naturally, that's the way my mom wanted my name pronounced as well.  Just forget about all the annoying English language rules about what 'i" says after "a"-those don't apply here.  Also, if you realize you have been saying my name incorrectly as long as you've known me, I am sorry I haven't corrected you.  It's hard having a name that's different, so please don't be offended.  Hopefully this explanation will have you confidently calling out to me in the grocery store or in line at airport security someday very soon!

For those of you who like numbers more than letters, I also something for you.  I'm a wife of over 20 years, mother of 5 kids, woman in her mid-40s whose loved Jesus since I was a little girl of 9.  I also have 2 dogs!