One of the exciting gifts we received in our Pay it Forward package from All Things Beautiful was Old Bay Seasoning. Ideally you use a few shakes of this on a pound or two of shrimp. Of course, after a full day at the beach jumping waves, building sandcastles…See why I loved this box of […]
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Summer Camp at Home Update
Morning devotions, praise and worship songs, crafts, nature, art, snacks, sleeping bags, s’mores and more! Sound like summer camp to you? With a little bit of planning, you can host your very own summer family camp. Frugal and fun! It’s time to share our annual habit of Summer Camp at Home. In the past we […]
I Was Born to Do Tricks
I was born to do tricks. She said it at 8:50 Friday night, when it was past tucking in time. “Look, I should be in the Olympics!” When I wanted her to quiet down. She was stretching her legs long, touching the top of the bunk. I started to sigh. But her words hit me. […]
Homeschool Post A B See Photo Meme Prize!
Look what came in the mail! See, for the last several months I’ve been journeying through the alphabet with the Homeschool Post’s A B See Meme. It’s been so much fun that I was sad when I reached Z. But I brightened when I realized that Hodgepodge children can participate! Pictured is the prize I […]
Helpful Habit: Getting Away
These last weeks I’ve shared the basic habits that bless our homeschool. One of the habits that is most important, especially for Mama, is getting away. Now, you don’t necessarily have to spend big bucks on a get away. You can plan an at-home retreat. Or Just Step Outside. Wow, what 15 minutes of alone […]
Homemade Cookie Cake
I used to do this by opening a tube of store-bought cookie dough and squishing it flat in the shape of a circle. Baking it for 20 minutes then decorating. You can still do it that way. Now, because it tastes so much better and because of the allergies of our youngest two, I do […]
Pay It Forward
I was the happy recipient of a lovely Pay It Forward package from Phyllis and her family at All Things Beautiful. I have to tell you that I’ve always heard of friendships forged over the internet. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Phyllis in the Charlotte Mason and Outdoor Hour Challenge communities we […]
Watermelon: A Pastels Tutorial
Eight-year-old’s watermelon slice. What says summer better than a luscious watermelon? A quick, simple pastel tutorial from Nana. A wonderful start to the summer. First you start with a green rind which looks like a smile. Skip up about an inch – this leaves space to show the white part of the rind. Draw a […]
Baby Steps to Frugal Living
Creak. Creak. Stick. Stick. That’s the sound my sandals made as I walked across the kitchen floor. It was yucky. I couldn’t avoid it any more. Time to get the mop out. When I reached under the kitchen sink, I found no floor cleaner. {Sigh.} But I spied the baking soda on the counter. There […]
Beautiful Birds
Eldest Boy, a.k.a. My Backyard, has a passion for bird watching, is our resident bird feeder filler and is sharing our May bird study today. He wrote this up last week during our study… For our bird study, we picked the most interesting birds we’ve seen in our backyard lately. Brown Thrasher – The brown […]
Looking Back Over the Years of Homeschooling
In just a few weeks, my homeschooling journey will end. This road I have travelled so comfortably for the past fourteen years will narrow, becoming another avenue to another calling on my life. The first narrowing of the road came when my first child graduated from homeschool. Now my second (and youngest) will graduate a […]
You Must Do This
From the archives because this is the week Eldest Son goes on his twelve year old trip. Make the plans, slowly set aside the money, move forward praying through the obstacles… Soak up the reward, laugh and laugh, enjoy the freedom to focus your time, twirl and play, relax and be honest, channel the investment […]
The Habit of Moral Living IV – Willful Ignorance
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. –John Adams, October 11, 1798 What happens to people who reject God? For He is the very moral underpinning of a civil society. Without Him, the republic cannot subsist any length of time. First […]