The Ways of Her Home

Embracing the homeward call

We’re all Still Here!

Good Friday morning, friends! My blog coverage has been a little spotty lately, but we're all still here--kitties included, of course! Each week I have great plans to knock out sooo many posts! The ideas for content just swirl in my head but the time it takes to get it through my fingers on the keyboard for typing and editing just isn't there some weeks. I truly enjoy blogging! It's been a fun, creative outlet for me! BUT, my home and family come first and even though this blog is about my home and family, it would be hypocritical of me to put all my energy into posts while neglecting my family's needs. Oftentimes, I'll set aside a little pocket of time late in the afternoon before ... Read more

Snapshot Saturday: Days of Autumn

This has been a busy but beautiful autumn week! Morning Walks I've switched my morning walk from early in the morning to after breakfast so the kids and I (and dogs) can get some exercise together. The weather has been so nice. ***** Fall Camping Trip We camped last weekend as I shared in this post last week! Such fun fall memories. We always come back saying need to camp more throughout the fall. ***** Soccer Saturdays We love those fall mornings at the soccer field! Usually, our fall games are still warm, but we've had some chilly mornings on the field the last few weeks and we're loving it. ***** Two Year Olds are Funny! I've been ... Read more

Cook by the Book: Emerald Broccoli

Hello, I have a new cookbook recipe to share today! I think I mostly share main dishes or desserts on my blog and I'm not sure why---maybe I don't experiment enough with side dishes and that needs to change. So, here's a quick and easy side dish I tried this week. It's called Emerald Broccoli from The Daniel Plan Cookbook. Several years ago, my husband and I participated in the Daniel fast and so naturally I bought a cookbook for some meal inspiration--any excuse to buy a new cookbook, ha! And wow, it's full of delicious recipes! It's almost a shame to feature a side dish from this cookbook because this book offers some amazing main dishes! But this was a pretty tasty broccoli and it's ... Read more

Fall Camping 2022!

Hello, friends! Any campers out there? Our family has always loved camping and several years ago we started a tradition of a yearly fall camping trip with a couple of other families. This year we couldn't all get our schedules together for the same weekend, so we camped with just one family while the other family made arrangements with another group that they sometimes camp with (We missed you, Rivers!). This year was a little bittersweet as two of our girls are seniors in high school so we knew it might be their last fall camping trip together. Maybe not. Hopefully not! But we made the best of it just in case. I'm starting with the nighttime pictures first because they are some of my ... Read more

Snapshot Saturday

Hello, weekend friends! Wow, the weeks pass so quickly and before I know it, it's time for another Snapshot Saturday. We spent most of this week outside soaking up these early days of autumn! Saturday morning started at the soccer field. We are enjoying our son's fall soccer season, the fresh air, sunshine, and friends! And my husband would also add getting a hamburger from the concession stand at 9:00 in the morning, lol! I don't think we'd crave a hamburger for breakfast anytime other than soccer season, but that aroma coming from the ball field grill smells so good during the games. After the soccer game we attended a special charity walk for our local Down Syndrome group. We ... Read more

Our Family’s Path to Adoption: Part 3

Hello, friends! I'm continuing today with our adoption story. In Part 1 I explained a little about our family and why we decided to pursue adoption. Part 2 shared how that pursuit took a turn into foster and respite care and I left off with us thinking this was where God planned for us to stay. This is the point in our story where, out of consideration of my son's privacy as well as the privacy of others involved, my details will become less detailly so please forgive my vagueness in some of this area. Sometime during the year that we were providing respite care, we got involved with a group home for children. Our Bible study group had volunteered a couple of times with babysitting ... Read more

Snapshot Saturday: From Pool to Pumpkin Patch

Happy October, friends! And where did September even go?! It’s been a while since I’ve done a Snapshot Sat post so today I'm sharing some snapshots from our last week of September '22 which included everything from the pool to the pumpkin patch! I'll begin with the pumpkin patch because our family waited alllll summer for this! We drove by it every time we went to town and watched the corn maze grow all the summer long. So, when it finally opened last weekend, we were there to officially kick off our fall season! And my sweet mother-in-law joined us for the day too. Pumpkins everywhere! I love it! This place is more than a pumpkin patch. They have a corn maze, sunflower ... Read more

Our Family’s Path to Adoption: Part 2

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3 :5-6 I've always enjoyed walking through wooded trails and along interesting paths with twists and turns. The anticipation of "what's around the corner" is so exciting! As we walked our path to adoption, there were so many unexpected changes along the way, which isn't always as fu\n as a wooded path, but watching God's perfect plan unfold was an amazing experience and more than made up for the rough spots. I'm continuing today with our adoption story which much like the pictured path above, took many turns along the way. If you ... Read more