The Ways of Her Home

Embracing the homeward call

Hello, Pumpkin!

We've added a furry family member to our home! Meet PUMPKIN! We got Pumpkin a couple of weeks ago, and my daughter asked this week if I would write a post about her. Sweet. This baby girl is the softest and sweeeeetest little puffball. She came at a purrrfect time for our family for a couple of reasons. First of all, an orange kitty in October is such a lovely autumn blessing! Second of all, having her around the house has lightened our spirits during this busy and stressful season of life. She loves to be held and loves to play. The tension of the day melts away. My son's observation put it best, "Mom, God sure made cats really cute! Barney gets supervised visits with ... Read more

Swiss Family Robinson Feast

For a summer read aloud with my son, I chose the unabridged Swiss Family Robinson. I LOVE this book. The unabridged version includes so many amazing details that abridged versions omit. It is packed full of inspiring adventure and countless character-building lessons. I’d need a week of posts to cover them all! We read this with my girls one summer when they were younger and concluded the reading with an island party that included a seafood feast, oceans crafts, silly lobster hats, and watching the Disney Swiss Family Robinson movie. We’ve held such fond memories of that summer read aloud with our girls, that I knew I wanted to read it again with my son. Of course, we repeated the ... Read more

One Week. Six Meals.

I love menu-planning! But sometimes I get into ruts and find it helpful to look at menus posted on other blogs and Instagram. Seeing what other women are cooking really inspires and motivates me to get in the kitchen. Last month I participated in the 31-day "Happy Homemaker Challenge" on Instagram, hosted by Whitney at Come Home for Comfort, and one of the photo prompts was called "On the Menu". So after posting my menu for the week, I thought I might as well snap a photo of each night's meal and post them here. Our weeks are pretty busy, but I still want to put healthy meals on the table. These are a few of my easy go-to's for quick, healthy weeknight meals. Monday~ Greek turkey ... Read more

Teach Them Tuesday: First Day Traditions for Homeschoolers

This Friday starts a new school year for our us! We sure like our little family school! It's been quite an adventure for the last 12 years with sooo many fun memories made! One of those memories is our back-to-school tradition, and today I'd like to share with you how we make the first day of school special and a success. I have many photos from all of our first days of school, but almost all of them have my kids in them (naturally) and I don't post photos of my children on the blog. First of all, I had to come to realize years ago that cramming in a special breakfast, back-to-school buckets, first-day photos, notebook-making, and a full day of schoolwork in each of our subjects was ... Read more

Teach Them Tuesday: First Favorites

I believe one of the most rewarding works my hands have been blessed to do as a mom has been holding a book open to read to my children. In my very unprofessional opinion, reading to a child in our laps or sitting beside us gives opportunity for physical closeness and quality time together, making it a wonderful way to bond with that child. I have always loved reading with my kids, and, like many of you mamas, would have done so regardless of homeschooling. Today I'd like to share my favorite early literature guide for children. First Favorites by Veritas Press has a very special place in this mama's heart. It was the tool that helped expand the subject of reading into a love for ... Read more

Fourth of July 2020

I hope you all had a great Independence Day! We enjoyed some "safe" entertaining over the weekend which gave me a fun reason to decorate a little. Nothing too fussy--just flags, flowers, and chalkboards! White crepe myrtles and flags tucked in blue and white vases were just enough! I added flags and patriotic ribbon to old wreaths. Pretty simple! This one is in the front hall by my front door. I snatched the blue bow from my lemon wreath. And this one sits on my mantle. The night before the 4th, we had some friends over for hot dogs and fireworks! Most of our time was going to be spent outside so we cleaned up the backyard and put out a few festive ... Read more

Teach Them Tuesday: My Bible Coloring Book

Good Tuesday morning! Today I want to share a coloring book that I used with my kids for many years. It's Shirley Dobson's My Bible Coloring Book. This recommendation is not just for moms, but would also be great to have on hand if you're a grandmother, aunt, babysitter, or Bible class teacher! It covers 119 Bible stories with a coloring page and scripture reference for each Bible story. It's a fun way to go through the entire Bible with children. For my pre-readers or new readers, I would either tell them the story or read it from a beginner's Bible and then let them color the picture. Later, when they were independent readers, I would cycle the coloring book again, having them read ... Read more

A Stroll Through Huntsville Botanical Gardens

I'm delighted today to bring you photos of our recent trip to the beautiful Huntsville Botanical Gardens in Huntsville, Alabama! My two daughters, my son, and I went to visit my sister and her family a couple of weeks ago. After having to cancel travel plans for The Biltmore Estate in March, and then for Virginia and DC in May, we were all thankful to still be able to get in our summer trip to my sister's home--a tradition we've kept since even our oldest children were just little ones. One of our favorite excursions while there has always been the Botanical Gardens. When we were just young mommies to babes in strollers, my sister and I would push our little nappers around while we ... Read more