Mary Ostyn Interview

Last year I came across the book, A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family by Mary Ostyn of Owlhaven and found myself devouring it, nodding in agreement to what I read and making mental notes of things I didn't want to forget. Then I noticed Mary had written another book, this time on frugally priced family meals titled Family Feasts for $75 a Week, a book filled with grocery wisdom and delicious recipes. Both books are excellent! Today you'll get the chance to win one of Mary's books so keep reading for the details after the interview.
Here is Cultivating Home's interview with Mary Ostyn of Owlhaven. Hope you enjoy it!

For our readers who are not familiar with you, Mary, could you tell us a bit about yourself?

I married my high school sweetheart 23 years ago. People thought we were nuts to marry at 19, but it was the best decision for us! We have ten kids, 6 of whom are adopted. Our oldest is a 22 year old newlywed. Our youngest daughter is five. I worked as a registered nurse at a birthing center for ten years, but became an at-home mom when our 5th child came home. I’ve been writing since 1996, blogging at since 2006. I’ve written two books, which both came out in 2009.

You wrote the book, A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family. Did you always desire or plan on having a large family?

Absolutely not. I am the oldest of 8 kids and when I was a teenager, I swore I’d never have more than 4 kids. My husband thought 3 would be about right. God must have been smiling. He worked on our hearts in a gradual way, and blessed us beyond our dreams. We would’ve missed so much joy if we’d said no to God’s leading and stopped at four children. I’m not saying our life is easy— frankly, there are moments when the task feels bigger than our ability. But that’s what keeps us leaning on God. And our kids are so worth the work!

In your book, A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family, you mention that several of your children are adopted. What first opened your hearts to adoption?

When our 4th child was three, I felt a longing for another child. At the same time, my eyes were opened to the kids in the world waiting for families. There are so many kids who literally will never have a family, and I can’t think of a sadder thing for a child! My husband had reservations about adoption at first. For awhile I thought adoption would not happen for us. But God did a work in my husband’s heart, and now here we are with 6 adopted children. God’s grace boggles my mind!

What encouragement or advice would you give to a couple, perhaps ones with older children who are looking forward to an empty house in a few years, to encourage them to look into adoption?

Pray about it, come to agreement about it, and then trust God’s leading. I know that some people fear their heart-feeling toward their adopted kids won’t be the same as towards kids born to them. And when you adopt older kids, it can take awhile to feel like family—there’s just so much to learn about each other. But especially with little kids, it doesn’t take long at all before your heart knows they’re yours, plain and simple. For me, it happened within days of holding them in my arms. And each child is such a gift.

I thought your book, Family Feasts for $75 a Week was fabulous and well balanced, but tell me, with your family size, how much do you typically spend a week on groceries?

We spend around $200 a week to feed 10 people on a daily basis, along with weekend guests. Each weekend our oldest daughter and husband, and our second daughter and her boyfriend hang out and eat with us for a meal or two or three. So it’s not uncommon to have 12-14 people at dinner on weekends.

If I am frustrated with the amount of money I am spending on groceries, what is one change I could quickly implement that would make a noticeable difference in my wallet?

Simply put: shop less often. Plan meals 2 weeks at a time, and do a ‘big’ shop only twice a month. Make in-between trips brief, essential, and sales-driven. Whenever possible, be creative and do with what you have instead of going to the store for one or two items. Fewer trips to the store mean less impulse buying, and that always translates to more money in your pocket.

Mary, you also homeschool your kids. Does your homeschooling fit into a certain category (classical, relaxed, unschooling). Also, can you tell us what grades you are currently homeschooling?

I’m definitely a relaxed homeschooler. This year I have a senior, a sophomore, four kids in the 6th/7th grade range, a 2nd grader, and a kindergartner. I’ve homeschooled long enough to know that my laid-back approach gets good results—my older kids have been successful in college. But that doesn’t mean I don’t try new things. I just bought a new math program for my ‘middle’ kids that I’m really excited about. It’s called Teaching Textbooks. The kids are taught and do their work on the computer, and the computer automatically grades their work, which thrills me. For awhile there I was sinking under the load of stepping 4 kids through fractions and decimals at once, so I’m really glad to be doing something different.

Can we expect another book from you in the future, perhaps on adoption or homeschooling? Or is there another topic you'd like to write about?

I’ve thought about sharing our adoption story in more detail, so I might write about that at some point. But cooking is my current passion. I’ve gathered together a bunch of recipes, and would love to write another cookbook, maybe one with pictures this time. But we’ll see!


Many thanks to Mary for granting me this fun interview! Mary is being very generous and offering a copy of each of her books, Family Feasts for $75 a Week and A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family for a giveaway! All you have to do to enter the drawing is leave a note in the comments, making sure there it has your contact information. Share the giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog and leave a comment letting me know you did. You'll be entered again for each time you share! Comments will close on Friday.