About - The Padilla Family Homestead

Welcome to my little corner of the world.

This is me…

My heart yearns to help people like me find a way to slow down and live with…

My Love…

One day you move from surviving to living. Where that line happened for me…

My Inspiration…

The moment I became a mom the desire to lead by example was strong. When I was…

My name is Jennifer Padilla and I am the woman behind every blog post, video, and just about anything here at The Padilla Family Homestead.

This Is Me

My heart yearns to help people like me find a way to slow down and live with intention. 20 years ago if you would have asked anyone around me where I would be in my life they would not have guessed the journey I went on and they would not have guessed where I am now. When you look at a child you can see characteristics that will form the core of who they are, but there is no way to tell what road they will travel. A few things in me that have not changed over the years are my desire for truth, my heart for teaching others, the ability to think way outside the box and the undeniable need to love. Now those core truths of who I am have come out in many different ways. As I have matured, I have learned a lot of paths I do not want to go down, and which general direction I am headed. A few years ago, I kind of did a 180 and really changed a lot of my daily habits, which opened a new world to me. But let’s start at the beginning…

My Inspiration

The moment I became a mom the desire to lead by example was strong. When I was 23, I had a beautiful little girl. She stole my heart right away. During most of her childhood I was a single mom with 50% custody (ages 4-12). There is a whole world of conversation to go over about that time, and I will touch on in off and on in blog posts. For now, the important part of the story was the struggle and the hope. Being a single mom with split custody life is different and has its challenges. I worked a lot, I ate just to eat, and as cheap as I could. With my schedule I didn’t have my daughter at home for many meals, so those meals were our healthier and more expensive ones.

My health started taking a turn for the worse and about a year before I met my husband, I really felt the need for something more and something better but couldn’t find the way there. My example during this time for my daughter was how to be a survivor, how to love and how to follow Christ. That was all I could manage at that time. This is something we will go into depth on in another post. My only reason for sharing this, is that it is my origin story. This is where it began. This my rock bottom. I had joy, I had hope, and love, but everything else was survival. Which allows me to cherish what I have now so much more.

I know that there are a lot of other people like me who went through or are going through the struggle. Who live off of fast food and soda, knowing they need something more, but not knowing how to get there. That is why I share. For this exact reason I share way more then my extended family is comfortable with, because I know what is possible.

My Love

One day you move from surviving to living. Where that line happened for me was in 2016, I met the love of my life in a very unconventional way. We both came from very different backgrounds but a had a few of the same core truths and in 2017 we said I do to forever. We process things completely differently and see the world through two different lenses, somehow, they complement each other and balance each other well. I could not have asked for a better husband.

Him loving me was actually the catalyst to me making many changes in my life. I needed to learn how to take care of myself and I finally had the support and the time to do so. His love and support gave me the sense of freedom and the time to dig into all the things I hadn’t allowed myself to focus on and learn. In the same way my love for him has made me want to learn new skills to care for him the best I can. The Padilla Family Homestead was formed from our growth, our journey and our desire to help others learn what we have.

It is now 2023 when I am writing this post and creating a new company and diving all in. Life is different. I am married to a wonderful husband. My daughter is a beautiful young woman who loves the Lord with her whole heart. We eat 90% homemade food, make our own bread and have found a way to afford it. We live in an apartment in the city, in northern California and are working towards owning our own home with land to thoroughly homestead. Until we reach that point, I have taken it on to use this time as my classroom. I am learning new things every day and one by one new skills become routine and leave room and time to learn something new. Our finances our tight, our apartment is small, but our hearts are huge.

In the last few years my daughter has needed to go Gluten Free, my husband HAD type 2 diabetes, and I now have to get my blood pressure down, these three things have created challenges in the kitchen each one we have learned to overcome. These challenges have led to solutions that we get to share with all of you. My hope is to inspire you to do the next thing in front of you. That you don’t have to wait for someday and that you can do a whole lot right where you are. So, grab a mug of coffee or a cup of tea, cuddle up in a warm blanket and let’s get inspired…