The Ways of Her Home

Embracing the homeward call

The Love Language of Food

Oh, my friends! My HEART is so happy it’s the first day of February! My girl and I will be putting out our few little Valentine's decorations today. Nothing over-the-top, just some kisses of red and pink around the house. And since this month is all about love, I'd like to share one of my favorite love languages. I'm sure most of you are familiar with Gary Chapman's five "Love Languages": words of affirmation, quality time, physical touch, gift-giving, and acts of service. I can most certainly identify with more than one of those languages, however, I'd like to propose another love language: FOOD! And maybe it’s not really it’s own separate love language but rather it encompasses ... Read more

Sunday Lunch

Let’s talk Sundee lunch. No, that's not a typo. It's just how we say it around here, except it's sort of blended together into one word: "Sundeelunch". Say it to yourself and see if that doesn't have a happy sound to it! There's just something special about a meal that follows a time of worship. Feeding our bodies after being fed the Word is like a celebration, and most everyone I know has their own unique way of setting this meal apart from other meals of the week. For some, a homecooked meal with all the fixings is the way to go, while for others, eating out with no kitchen cleanup is the real treat. Occasionally, our family will brave the crowds and eat out (Asian and Mexican restaurants ... Read more

Christmas Memories 2021

Hello, friends! I got behind in my holiday posts due to illness in December, so today I'm going to try and quickly wrap up Christmas and New Year's in one clean swoop of a post. We began decorating the weekend following Thanksgiving, but it took me a few days to really get into it and finish it all. I don't like to get too themey with Christmas--I mean, Christmas is a theme in and of itself, right?--but the last couple of years I've gone with more of a natural, woodsy vibe. I adore the outdoors and the woods behind our house, so it just felt very natural to use evergreen garlands, pinecones, and starry twinkle lights. Last year I used blue for my main accent color; this year I went ... Read more

“Make Sure You Add Some Sprinkles in 2022!”

Happy New Year! It's 2022!! I have a festive little New Year's party to share with you today, compliments of my niece! At the young age of 7, my niece is already the party planning extraordinaire!! Her mama (my sister) has taught her so well! She reminds me so much of my girls when they were growing up, throwing parties for baby dolls and family pets. So precious. One day recently, my sister mentioned that my niece would probably enjoy a day at my house "baking and making". Of course I said yes immediately, and we later decided to throw a cousins' New Year's celebration! It was a small affair due to so many of the cousins already committed to other holiday obligations, but, as ... Read more

Teach Them Tuesday: Thumbprint Angels and a Christmas Story

Yesterday I mentioned a Christmas party we had with our homeschool friends. My friend, Kelli, hosted the event and did an amazing job planning and orchestrating a rotation of activities to accommodate our large number of kiddos! She arranged areas around her home for four stations: story, craft, cookie decorating, and games. She took care of the story time and asked three more of us mamas to take the other stations. I was assigned the craft station, so I planned a craft that would go along with the book Kelli would be reading in her station. The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree, by Gloria Houston, is a heartwarming story about a little girl, Ruthie, and her parents living in the ... Read more

Teach Them Tuesday: Thanksgiving at American Village

If you live in Alabama and have had the privilege of visiting American Village in Montevallo, you know what a fantastic educational experience it is. My kids and I have been four times and it has never failed to exceed our expectations. Our "First Friday" group--a homeschool co-op we do field trips with on the first Friday of each month--recently participated in American Village's Thanksgiving program for our November field trip. We enjoyed a day of inspiring American history and lovely fall weather! I have a few photos to share from this most recent trip, but be sure and check out my post from a previous visit for details about American Village and photos of its beautiful colonial buildings ... Read more

Fluff the Nest Friday: Tips and Tidbits for Thanksgiving Prep

Good Friday morning! Fall has flashed by in a blur and Thanksgiving is less than a week away! I'm not hosting Thanksgiving but I did host our small group's annual "Friendsgiving" this week. Beside the usual weekly cleaning routine, here are a few extra preparations I worked into the week leading up to our little feast! Even though I'd put out a few fall-ish items at my front door early in the season, it was time to freshen things up a bit. My summer ferns were still looking too good for me to move so I left those, swept the concrete, added a fresh door mat and a couple more pumpkins from my son's pumpkin patch (more on his pumpkin patch soon!). I took one of my winter wreaths and added ... Read more

Elegant Autumn Celebration Cake

A couple of weeks ago, my sister-in-law hosted a lovely birthday dinner for my mother-in-law. She and my other SIL prepared a delicious meal of family-favorite party foods and asked me to bring dessert. I asked the birthday girl what kind of cake she would like for her special day, but she said I could choose, which meant my husband and kids hinted at an Italian cream cake for several days after that, heehee. So, Italian cream cake it was! My sister-in-law said she would be decorating in a fall theme, so I wanted the cake to reflect her decor. As I mentioned a few months ago when I first posted the recipe for this cake, it really lends itself to so many different occasions with it's ... Read more