Shari has been married to her best friend Douglas for just over 17 years and is so grateful for each day they have together! Douglas is a farmer and works at the aerobic digester on Shari’s family’s farm in northern Indiana. He used to work in construction when they met in 2006 but by the end of 2008 the construction business had slowed significantly and he started working as mechanic on her family’s farm.

Shari is a mom to five wonderful, energetic children ages 13 to 2! She is expecting their 6th baby in January 2027. Before her oldest was born in 2013, Shari worked as a kindergarten teacher for almost six years.     

Motherhood has been a journey with many joys but also hard things Shari never imagined! She accepted Christ at a young age and has been growing and learning every year through the different seasons of life.

In 2018 Shari lost her 19 year old brother in a farm accident only sixteen days before her third daughter was born. She and Douglas have also been through multiple miscarriages and a minor cancer journey. This has changed the way they view life and treasure the family and friendships they have been given! Douglas had surgery for the cancer and has been cancer free for over two years now. Through it all, Shari is learning that life is such a gift!

Some favorite things to do as a family are biking, traveling, fishing, camping, and adding to their pets or hobby farm. Douglas and Shari always have a variety of animals around, and it’s anything from alpacas to chickens! 

Shari enjoys sewing, outside work, and baking anything with sourdough. Recently she has also recently started milling her own wheat, and she finds it so delicious and rewarding! 

Douglas and Shari love quiet mornings with a cup of Mama Java coffee or taking it to-go on the busy mornings (which is more often). Before Mama Java, Shari never used to drink coffee black, and rarely even drank any coffee at all because of how it made her feel, but Mama Java is definitely different! Now she enjoys it black most of the time, or sometimes in an iced latte on a hot summer day. As a family, they have tried a lot of flavors and enjoy them all, but Dad Joke Fuel and Messy Bun are their most frequent orders!