The Ways of Her Home

Embracing the homeward call

Fluff the Nest Friday: The Great Summer Cleanout and the One Year Rule.

Happy Friday, friends! The kids and I have been chipping away at our summer cleanout list and we follow one simple rule. A year after my husband and I were married, I cleaned out our whole house--all 1292 square feet of it--and was shocked at how much we'd accumulated in that little house in just a year's time. I then made up the "One Year Rule" which I still follow. If we haven't used it or worn it in the last year, it has to go! Of course, there are a few exceptions to this rule like my wedding dress, the children's keepsakes, special china and dishes, etc. But I'm talking about the stuff that is supposed to be the everyday stuff that just isn't getting used like the kitchen gadget we ... Read more

Ladies’ Day Out

Yesterday was the first day of a fresh new month--Hello, August! --and my girl and I got to do something fun! My friend, Missy over at The Woods at Whippoorhill, and I have been trying to plan a day just to sit down and discuss a couple of new projects we'll be working on together this year, so we decided we'd make a day of it and meet up in a lovely little historic downtown about 45 minutes away. Our daughters joined us too! Our first stop was a tea and coffee room that had such a fun chic boho decor! I mean, every light fixture, table, cabinet, chair, handle, knob--you name it--were unique and lovely. But the beverages were the showstoppers! Oh. My. We all enjoyed our ... Read more

Snapshot Saturday: A Week of Meals

Today's snapshots are all about food! I'm a food pic girl. If someone posts a photo of their lunch, cookie, or cup of coffee I immediately think, 'Oh, that looks good! I hope they share the recipe!' I also like to take pictures of my own plates of food (My kids and husband will attest to that!) as a way of sort of cataloging meal ideas. Today I’m sharing pictures of the meals we ate this week. I challenged myself to make as many meals as I could with what I already had in the fridge, freezer, and pantry and make them as healthy and colorful as possible. If food pics aren't your thing, I get it and it won't hurt my feelings if want to skip this post and check back another day. ... Read more

Adoption Day x 2!

(At the end of this post is a little blog announcement.) Tomorrow is a special day. It will be the 8th adopt-iversary of our son! He was three when we adopted him, and each year we have a little family celebration with just the five (now four) of us. Nothing over-the-top, just a special meal, maybe an activity, and a gift. Celebrating his adoption into our family is a special occasion each year! We also celebrate another kind of adoption around here: the adoption of our children into God's family! My oldest daughter made her most important decision ever 14 years ago this month when she became a Christian! "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children ... Read more

Teach Them Tuesday: Family Bible Time

Hello, Tuesday friends! Today I'd like to share how our family Bible time has been a huge blessing in our home. I know there are plenty of families who already do this, but if you don't and you're already sweating at the thought, let me assure you that this does not have to be formal, deep, or complicated in any way. And let me also assure you that this is not a judgmental post to say that all families should do Bible study our way and with the same frequency as we do. We don't do it perfectly. This is simply to share the idea and blessing of time together in the Word as a family. When I found out I was pregnant with our first baby, I went to a bookstore and purchased three books: two ... Read more

Snapshot Saturday

Hello! I don't have too many photos to share from this week. Covid went through our household which meant plans were cancelled for the week and my husband worked from home. Thankfully, we all had mild cases with just cold-like symptoms so we were able to get a pretty good bit of work done at home. Yard Work I took this picture the day after Joel tested positive for Covid. He can't be kept down for long. Incidentally, his shirt (a t-shirt my daughter gave him) says "The Man, The Myth, The Legend". I think he's living up to that! ***** The Big Summer Cleanout! Every summer the kids and I do a major cleaning out of all rooms, closets, cabinets, and drawers. ... Read more

Perfect Popcorn

Friday nights are what our family looks forward to all week! We don't watch television during the week, so we catch up on Friday night. We've worked hard and we're ready to crash and enjoy a relaxing evening. We start with pizza and a few episodes of The Andy Griffith Show followed by our movie-of-the-week. My husband never could watch a movie without popcorn (even at home), and he now has us all trained to expect the same. He makes the popcorn every Friday night and it's simply the best! Today I'm sharing his recipe. (You'll see my hands in the photos because he was sick this particular night so he talked me through it.) You'll need 1 cup of popcorn kernels, a blob of coconut oil, ... Read more

Makeshift Kitty Litter Box

My apologies for the topic of this post. If you're not a kitty owner, there are still some cute Floyd photos at the end. I'll try and keep this as polite and non-offensive as possible. I once said I would NEVER have a little box in my house. Pretty funny, right? Well, ok so I do have one now but this time I mean it when I say I will not ever have TWO litter boxes in my house, haha! I plan to have both cats eventually use the same litter box but have heard it's best to wait a month or two before new kitty invades older kitty's "powder room". Still, I don't want to pay for a new box now when they will end up only needing one in the long run. So, my solution was to make a temporary litter ... Read more