The Ways of Her Home

Embracing the homeward call

Cook by the Book: Between Seasons Luncheon

Welcome back! In my last post I began to share a little about a luncheon my daughter and I prepared for my mom and my mother-in-law for Grandparents Day. Today I'd like to share the recipes. And since we're between seasons right now I selected recipes that would blend summer and fall! Also, as I've mentioned before, I'm challenging myself to use my cookbooks more, so I planned my entire menu from cookbook recipes. It was true lady food! Between Seasons Menu Rosy Raspberry Soup Chicken Salad Croissants, Broccoli Salad, and Cheese Straws Apple Raspberry Iced Tea Hummingbird Cake & Coffee The first cookbook I want to feature is actually not even a true cookbook but a ... Read more

Between Seasons Luncheon

Good morning, sweet friends! I had a post about adoption in the works for this week but since an adoption post requires more thought than my usual posts about recipes or cleaning, I'll need a little longer to finish it. So instead, I'll go ahead and share some photos from a little "grandmother luncheon" my daughter and I hosted last Saturday. Each year, we like to have our children help with something special for Grandparent's Day! This year my daughter and I prepared a girly luncheon just for the grandmothers while my husband and son took my dad to a downtown restaurant overlooking the river which serves the ultimate "guy food"--burgers, wings, fries, etc. It can be hard to plan a ... Read more

Snapshot Saturday: B is for Back-to-School

This week was back to school for us. Well, mostly. I like to have what I call my "soft opening" to the school year. You know how restaurants have soft openings before the official grand opening? Well, that's how we begin a new school year. We start with some of the core subjects the first week just to get into the rhythm and then ease our way into the extras during the second and third weeks. When my girls were younger, we waited until September to get started but as they got into high school, they needed the earlier start to keep up during the spring activities. Back-to-School Blizzards We usually go out to eat for a back-to-school lunch or dinner but since we'd eaten out several ... Read more

Snapshot Saturday: A Week in Waco

Happy Saturday! This post is coming to you a little late in the morning because I'm typing as we're heading home from Waco! We got to visit our daughter and son-in-law this week in their new hometown, and it was soooo good to see them! We enjoyed several fun activities with the newlyweds who gave us a tour of the town. Having more than just a few snapshots to share this week, I put them in collages so this post wouldn't be so long. OK, here goes! Magnolia Silos I'll begin with the one everyone is expecting from Waco: Magnolia! I've posted on this attraction before, so I didn't take as many photos of the property this time (Be sure and check out my Silos post from last spring!). The ... Read more

Snapshot Saturday: This and That

Hello, friends! I have a few snapshots to share this week but without any kind of theme like I sometimes do. Just some of this, some of that. I'm going to begin with the highlight of our week which was time with our small group! Graduation Fiesta Our small group met at our house this week to reconvene after our summer break and honor one of our sweet girls who's been a precious friend to my girls and graduated high school this past May! We celebrated with a belated graduation meal--a taco bar! Many in our group have been traveling this summer so it was so good to have the whole gang back together. I found some cute cactus paper goods, a pinata, and a cactus garland at Target, ... 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