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
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
Teach Them Tuesday: The 4th of July!
I’m starting a new series today called “Teach Them Tuesday”. As a homeschooling mom and Bible class teacher, I’ve always benefited from the recommendations other moms and teachers have offered on books, curricula, and other resources for teaching our children. This series is nothing more that: endorsements for anything I’ve used and found beneficial. I do not claim to be any kind of expert! These recommendations are just from the humble heart of a mom! With the 4th of July this week, I thought I'd share a couple of books that we've read in the past that have helped frame our minds for this historic occasion. Since July 4th falls during the summer break, children sometimes miss the ... 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
Fluff the Nest Friday: Rub a Dub Dub, There’s Some Yuck in My Tub!
Around here, Friday is the day to fluff the nest, which is just a much cuter way of saying “clean the house”. Am I right? So my Friday posts are all about tidying up and getting the house fresh and in order for the weekend. Some weeks my nest-fluffing comes more easily than others. I need motivation each Friday. Today I want to share a cleaning product that has been a game changer for me. When we bought our current home, I was so excited to get a soaking tub. My then 8-year old daughter called it the DREAM TUB! Cute. The only thing that wasn't too dreamy about it for me was the fact that it was jetted. I wondered what grew inside the jets and how I could be sure they were clean since I ... Read more
Spring 2020: Counting Every Blessing
Spring 2020 was a doozy. These days just the mention of 2020 comes with sighs and eye-rolls. Covid-19 has brought hardships, stress, and loss to many. Our family has dealt with the heaviness as well in a number of ways, but the Lord has also showered blessing upon blessing on us. I love the song "Counting Every Blessing" by Rend Collective and have had that song in my head since The Rona hit. So today I'm counting every blessing of Spring 2020! And because there were so many, this is an incredibly long post, but mostly photos. Blessing 1: The Great Outdoors Not a single day passed during all of isolation where the sun did not rise! And with each sunrise came new mercies and ... Read more
Hello, Instant Pot!
Any Instant Pot people out there? I may be way behind on the trend, but after having absolutely no interest for the last year in purchasing and making room in my cabinets for another appliance, I finally took the plunge and got one! What finally won me over? Well, besides learning that I could cook frozen meat in an hour, and dried beans in less than an hour without presoaking, what really stopped me in my tracks was hearing about the EASY PEEL EGGS!!! WHAT?! I love boiled eggs, egg salad, deviled eggs, you name it. But I absolutely loath peeling the eggs! So much so, that when I ask a hostess what I can bring to a meal, I’m secretly saying in my mind, “Please no deviled eggs, please ... Read more
Butterscotch Pie
Hello, friends! Earlier this week I attended my cooking club and the theme this month was “Family Favorites”. I took Cottage Pie and Butterscotch Pie. The Cottage Pie is a scrumptious meat and potatoes dish which I posted Tuesday. Butterscotch Pie is nothing less than a sweet dream on a plate! Butterscotch Pie has been a favorite at our house for more years than I can remember. In just a minute I’ll tell you where I got the recipe from. It’s kind of cute, so stick around. I already have a few pie plates in my cabinet, but none of them were ideal for pudding pies. I had been looking for a new one that was deep, but with a good slant to the sides so the crust would not sink down. I found ... Read more