The Homemaking Cottage Staff Here are the faces behind this website. We thank you for visiting this website and supporting homemakers across the globe. We feel that homemaking is the most important role a woman can fill. (See our Mission Statement .) Read a little about us and why we write. We appreciate having this opportunity to give homemakers a voice. We support you! May we all, in the words of Gordon Hinckley, "Try a little harder to be a little better". Shiloah Baker Owner, Editor, Writer Shiloah (shy-low-ah) Baker is the founder, owner and editor of The Homemaking Cottage, She is also a contributing writer.
She is the CEO of the Baker Household, teacher and mentor at home to her seven children. She is a Christian and is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She and her husband Ben currently reside in North Carolina. Three of her children have special needs: one has Sensory Integration Disorder, one has autism, and one has Asperger's.
Aside from her passion for homemaking, some of her hobbies include: running or any kind of exercise, writing, crafts, paper crafts, scrapbooking, cross-stitch, sewing, reading and entertaining.
She began The Homemaking Cottage in December of 1998 and in June 2005 founded the Enrichment Cottage. Visit Our Blog | Valerie Steadman Deluxe Edition Writer 
I’m Valerie Steadman! I’ve been a fan of the Homemaking Cottage for years, and I can’t believe I’ll be writing articles for this great website. I hope that my articles prove to be of the same caliber you’ve come to expect. I am a stay-at-home mother of two, and wife to my dear husband Nate. I was born in Logan, Utah. I was raised in Logan. I met and dated my husband in Logan. We married in the Logan Temple. I have had both of my daughters, Alycia and Hailey, in the Logan Hospital. I just may take my last breath in Logan, Utah.
I am an amateur photographer. I’m also learning how to bottle fruit, and love canning jam! I love things with history, and have a great time fixing up the 95 year old house we call home. Organization skills are a topic of great interest to me because we definitely lack in storage space in an old house! I’m a big fan of home cooking, and trying new recipes is fun. I’m Mexican-American, and I plan to bring a little spice to the recipe department. Scrapbooking, clever recycling, and decorating are all passions of mine. I was married in October, and Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. The harvest, raking leaves, warm cider and soup, and fond memories from the past summer just make fall my favorite season of all.
But, most of all, I take great pleasure in serving as a homemaker to my family. Caring for their emotional and physical
health is a treasured task. The great Aristotle put it nicely. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” | Lori Nawyn Deluxe Edition Writer
August 2007-current
Utah native Lori Nawyn always dreamed of being an author/ artist when she grew up. Now, she is living her dream. She did the graphic design for the popular children’s book, Sarah Jane’s Very Best Story Ever, and the artwork and design for acclaimed musician C.S. Bezas’ CD, A Time for Ana. Her art and illustration work have appeared on home décor products and greeting cards and she is a featured artist at Latter-dayVillage.com. Her writing credits include numerous award winning articles and inspirational stories for magazines and newspapers across the country. She has also co-authored three books, Hearts and Hands: Stories of Hope for Mothers, and The Magic and Miracle of Christmas, volumes I and II, all of which are available at DeseretBook.com. Her cookbook, Peach 101: Recipes Your Mother Never Told You About, was released nationally last fall. The book, which includes several of her original peach recipes as well as many favorites from family and friends, has been featured in the Deseret News, Bella Magazine and Meridian Magazine as well as on Utah’s ABC Channel 4 program Good Things Utah and the KUTV Channel 2 Morning Show. Currently, Lori serves as a contributing editor for Latter-dayAuthors.com and works as a freelance graphic artist, illustrator, and photographer. She is married to a firefighter and they have four children and one granddaughter. Lori has a special interest in helping her children, and those she works with in her ward and community, recognize their talents and abilities. You can learn more about Lori and her work at her website: www.lorinawyn.com or her blog: http://ldsartist.blogspot.com | Katie Amos
Deluxe Edition Writer
December 2007-Current Mother of three and eternal companion to one. Loves all things crafty and is learning to love cooking (but still hating the clean up). Just a gal in my 30’s trying to enjoy life with my Scout Master husband and three cute as button kids. I was just called as the Enrichment councilor in the Relief Society Presidency. All this and I just moved in. I am grateful to be able to share my tips and hints as well as my random musings with you. | Raejean Roberts Deluxe Edition Writer
January 2009-Current 
I have five wonderful children ranging from 7 – 18 years old; there are six children if you count my husband. I am blessed to be a stay-at-home mother here in Arizona. I am excited to share my thoughts on mothering, homemaking and being a woman with you. When I am not meeting the needs of my family, I enjoy writing (obviously), scrapbooking, family history and reading. I also spend time volunteering in my children’s classrooms, slowly getting my college degree and serving at church. |
Angie Hodes Deluxe Edition Craft Writer
August 2009-Current 
Hi, I’m Angie Hodes. I’ve lived in Utah most of my life and I’m so grateful to be raising my children in such a fantastic place! I’m a single mom of three; Nina, Alyssa and Caleb. I work in an art center and absolutely love it. When I’m not working or volunteering at the charter school my kids attend, I love to bake, craft, read, thrift store shop (treasure hunt) and blog. You can learn more about me at www.theamericanhomemaker.blogspot.com and www.facebook.com/angiehodes . | Trina Boice Deluxe Edition Writer
September 2009-current
Trina Boice grew up in California and recently moved to Las Vegas. In 2004 she was honored as the California Young Mother of the Year, an award which completely amuses her 4 sons. She earned two Bachelor’s degrees from BYU where she competed on the Speech and Debate team and the Ballroom Dance Team, winning national titles for both teams. She was President of the National Honor Society Phi Eta Sigma and served as ASBYU Secretary of Student Community Services. Trina also studied at the University of Salamanca in Spain and later returned there to serve an LDS mission in Madrid for 1 ½ years. She has a Real Estate license, Travel Agent license, 2 Master’s degrees, and a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, although she’s the first one to admit she’d pass out from fright if she were ever really attacked by a bad guy. She worked as a Legislative Assistant for a Congressman in Washington D.C., and was given the “Points of Light” Award and Presidential Volunteer Service Award for her domestic and international community service. She wrote a column called “The Boice Box” for a newspaper in Georgia, where she lived for 15 years. She taught Spanish at a private high school and ran an appraisal business with her husband for 20 years. She currently writes for Roots Television and Go2.com and is the Executive Marketing Director for Multi-Pure International. Trina was selected by KPBS in San Diego to be a political correspondent during the last election year. If she told you what she really did she’d have to kill you. Trina is the author of 7 books and can’t wait to write her next one! To learn more about her books and speaking engagements go to www.boicebox.com | Donna BushDeluxe Edition Writer
September 2009-Current 
Pleased to meet you, I’m Donna Bush. I am married and have a son and a daughter. In addition to taking care of my family, I am a work at home freelance writer and editor with special interests in family health and fitness, sports, cooking, and entertaining.
I believe that every day should be a celebration. I am always looking for new ways to take an ordinary day and turn it into a special occasion, even with a limited budget and resources. I’m very right-brained and love to cook because it fuels my creativity. Poking through cupboards to find just the right seasoning, trying new recipes and creating fun theme meals is one of my favorite pastimes. As a result, I rarely measure anything. I find the science of baking too restricting—all of those exact measurements and formulas are best left for people like my husband who enjoy math and science!
Another passion of mine is family health and fitness. It breaks my heart to see how many families have given up on good health and nutrition and have settled for the path of least resistance. I have made it my mission to spread the word that it’s not as difficult as it seems, if you will just try. Every day we are confronted by the convenience of drive-through windows and the appeal of inactivity. I saw myself, a former athlete and fitness instructor, fall into that trap and knew I had to fight my way out of it. So I laced up my tennies, got active, changed my diet, and started blogging at http://familyfitnessfiles.blogspot.com/ to talk about my personal journey to better health and fitness. I am also the Healthy Living Examiner for Boise and you can read those articles at http://www.examiner.com/x-12262-Boise-Healthy-Living-Examiner . Finally, you can read more about my freelance writing at www.dbwrite4u.com .
I am a huge baseball fan, still supporting my San Francisco Giants after all these years. I also love football and ice hockey. As a family, we love to be outdoors and some of our favorite activities include going rafting or floating down our local creek, or taking the kids fishing.
I’m looking forward to writing for you here at The Homemaking Cottage and hope you’ll find my contributions useful and inspiring.
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