The Ways of Her Home

Embracing the homeward call

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Hello and happy Valentine's Day! I have a few photos to share from our homeschool Valentine party with our field trip group. In addition to our monthly field trips, we also have holiday parties and one service project each year. February was my turn, with my friend Ahsley, to plan our gathering. We decided to combine our Valentine party with our service project for the year and put on a Valentine's brunch for a group of widows. Ashley works with a widow's ministry through her church which sees to the needs of widows throughout our city and proposed that we help the children host the leaders of the group (also widows themselves) who work tirelessly to minister to so many other women. We all ... Read more

Great Wolf Lodge Birthday Trip

Last week my son turned 12 years old! For our children's birthdays we've always given them the option of a birthday party at home or a day trip with just our little family. Some years are very low key and they just want to have a quiet birthday at home with no hoopla and other years are a little more festive. If they choose a day trip with the fam it's to somewhere an hour or two away and not an overnight. However, since the last two years have brought cancelled birthday plans for our son due to covid and bad weather, this year we made an exception and took an overnight trip to the Great Wolf Lodge in La Grange, Georgia. This place did not disappoint! It was clean and full of fun! Very ... Read more

Teach Them Tuesday: Bonding Through Books

Reading is a family favorite in our house! When I was growing up, I spent more of my time outside playing and climbing trees than I did inside reading, so I wasn't a strong reader but now I've spent my entire adulthood soaking up all the books I can get my hands on (since climbing trees is out for me now, ha!). And I wanted my kids to be strong readers, so I started reading to them as early as possible...the womb. I had a little basket of baby books in the nursery just waiting for baby, so while pregnant, I'd sit in the rocking chair and read those little books to my bump. Sounds silly, I know! Read-alouds have probably been our favorite part of homeschooling. In fact, my son says that's ... Read more

Snapshot Saturday

Hi, friends! We've been busy around here finishing one month and beginning another. Here are a few snapshots from our week. Birthday Trip! January ended with our son's 12th birthday and a special overnight trip to the Great Wolf Lodge in LaGrange, Georgia to enjoy their indoor water park and slides! More on this adventure next week but here's a sneak peek. We all got complimentary wolf ears at the lodge which my son just had to torment the poor cat with. But I must say, it was pretty hilarious how long Floyd left those ears on Our cats put up with a lot! ***** Blogiversary Also at the end of January was my blog's 4th anniversary! You can read my very first post ... Read more

Creating a Family Identity

Good morning, friends! As a follow-up to my post on the importance of family identity in a child's life, I'd like to share some ideas for creating that identity. I am in no way a trained expert; these are just some ideas that Joel and I have found to work for our family. And although I have given this post a lot of thought, I haven't been able to give it much time in the writing, so it's by no means polished and tidy. I'll just be speaking from the heart as if we're sitting here together over coffee or tea. Back when we went through foster care training, in one of the classes the topic of family identity came up as an important element to carrying your current family through the ... Read more

Cook by the Book: Three-Cheese (& Ham) Quiche

(Friends, I was not able to finish the adoption post planned for today because we were busy celebrating a birthday yesterday! So, instead I’m plugging in a recipe post that was ready and waiting and I will be back Thursday with the adoption post.) Last year I set out to use my cookbooks more often and to give my reviews here on the blog, and I have a few new ones to share this week! Today's recipe is a Three-Cheese Quiche from Joanna Gaines's Magnolia Table. My daughter and I served this at our Winter Wonderland Tea. I made the crust, and she made the filling. It was our first time making it, but fortunately, it was a hit! Three-Cheese Quiche 6 large eggs 1 cup heavy cream ... Read more

Snapshot Saturday: January 2023

I did not keep up with my weekly "Snapshot Saturday" posts during January so here's just a quick summary of the whole month. These are in very random order. I'll start with the pets. King Kat Floyd has a way of lounging on our beds with this expression of confident ownership. When he does this Joel calls him "King Kat". If I Fits, I Sits My daughter says this is Pumpkin's life motto because she tries out everything to see how it "sits". I had just emptied this basket in my bedroom, and she did not hesitate to fill it up with herself. Partners in Crime I left the linen cabinet open one morning while I was getting ready, and the cats couldn't resist jumping ... Read more

A Field Trip to Dalwhinnie Fields

Our homeschool group takes a field trip together once a month and January's was one for the books! We went to Dalwhinnie Fields in Marion, Alabama for a day of Medieval living history and I think it's got to be the coolest. field. trip. ever!! The program began in the Feast Hall with a brief history of knighthood and knightly virtues. This was followed by a demonstration of a knight's armor, the purpose of each piece, and how it was worn. Fascinating! Each piece of armor was passed around for us to hold and let me tell you they were heavy! Next was a demonstration of hand-to-hand combat strategies and there was no shortage of volunteers from our boys! We then were taken ... Read more