Friday afternoon we had a few neighbor friends over for an after-school snack--a sort of "teatime" except I didn't call it that in front of my son and our tea was enjoyed iced rather than hot, perfect for our warm summer afternoon. This was really easy to throw together! When you have stuff in your stash to work with--tablecloths, paper goods, ribbon, baskets, trays, etc.--a simple table can come together without any prep or purchases. The chambray cloth was a hand-me-down from a friend. I made the red checked topper when my girls were little (I use that thing all the time). The green napkins were leftover in my party box, the ribbon and pencils were on hand, and I always keep apples ... 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
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
Teach Them Tuesday: Career Direct for the Homeschool Senior
Y'all, we have another senior! My kids are growing up! For those of you who also have a senior this year (or any high schooler), I'm just popping on here to pass on some information that was very helpful to us recently. Last spring, in preparation for this schoolyear and figuring out what courses she should take her senior year, we talked with our daughter a lot about her future after graduation. If she had some ideas of what she would like to do, she could select senior courses that would benefit her in her future pursuits. We found out about the Career Direct website and survey which helps you narrow down your fields of interest, and spent a Saturday afternoon helping her complete a ... Read more
Friday Five
Happy Fri-YAY! This is not the post I’ve been working on for today. Last night I was too tired and achy to finish that one, yet I really wanted to put up a post this morning. So, I decided to do something fun and quick and just select 5 photos from my camera roll that I snapped this week. So here goes.... Princess Pumpercot I definitely have more than 5 photos of Pumpercot from the week, but this is my favorite. She sticks to a certain room or spot for a few days at a time and then relocates. For the past several days she could mostly be found on my daughter's bed, sleeping like a little kitty angel. Cooking with my girl I was starting dinner late Tuesday afternoon ... Read more
Easter Blessings ’22
Good morning, friends! We had a busy and fun Easter week, so I just want to quickly journal some blessings today. I haven't had have much time this spring to get too involved with my yard, but one morning last week I ran to Lowe's to pick up some flowers to get started on pots and beds. I'd just been gifted a Dunkin' Donuts gift card by Whitney from Come Home for Comfort for answering a Bible-related question on her Instagram story (@homeforcomfort), and since our DD is conveniently located next to Lowe's, it only made sense to swing through the drive-thru and grab a latte to accompany me on my plant shopping trip. This was such a little treasure in my busy week! I mean, flowers and ... Read more
A New Project!
We've been desperately needing to clear out some overgrowth of vines and brush in our woods. For the first few years that we lived on this property, there was enough cleared ground area for playing and picnicking. We even had an area right by the creek for our tent, Adirondack chairs, and a firepit. But over the years, the usable space has shrunk due to the overgrowth. We have plans to reestablish the area this spring and even add some fun new features, so my husband hired someone with all the necessary heavy-duty equipment to come out and clear the mess while leaving our trees. The guy was scheduled to start work at 7:00 yesterday morning and all week our son had been anxiously ... Read more
Teach Them Tuesday: Homemade Viking Costume
Hello, friends! I told you yesterday that I’d be sharing more boy adventure posts this week. Well, what could be more adventurous than going back in time to sail with the Vikings?! Kids love to dress up! When my girls were growing up, we had a whole cabinet dedicated to their dress-up clothes, packed full of princess dresses, colonial and medieval gowns, native American apparel, jewels, crowns, hats--you name it. My son is still young enough to enjoy dressing up and has a tub in his closet for his hero costumes. Through the years, my kids have dressed up for everything. If they read a book, watched a movie, or learned something in history, they suddenly wanted to be their favorite ... Read more