A day for blue hair

I have a confession to make. For much of my life, I have been someone who valued externals. Sometimes this has been at the expense of finding a depth of inward beauty that does not conform outwardly to a guideline I thought was necessary. As a mother who must show the way to her daughters, the […]

There’s room at the table of true religion

James 1:27 says that “pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” It is not without design that I have not blogged here since the beginning of this year. The journey I have […]

Favorite ♥ Moments Captivated

For a few years now, Pete and I have been praying over and selecting a word for the year for our family and homeschooling. There is nothing magical about picking a word as a focus for the year. It can have as much or as little emphasis as a family is willing to give it. […]

When Simple Isn’t

I love the time of year when I get to reflect on the previous year of schooling and see the growth of the children and myself. Every year we have areas where we hoped for more fruit than what developed, and every year we have areas of unsuspected weakness that turned into opportunities for great […]

Do hard things

Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Proverbs 3:3

The grit of feelings

It’s not often I come across an article referencing Common Core standards that doesn’t mention the catchphrase “grit” and relate it to what we must be building in our kids in the modern world. While I agree with the idea of helping our kids develop perseverance and tenacity – in essence a strong work ethic […]

Fossils and LEGO

We’ve been doing school through the summer for a few years now, so it’s nothing new to the kids when the sounds of warm weather reach us in our school room, windows open and light breeze beckoning us to bask in the sunshine with our read alouds. By design our schedule is less packed in […]

What we do for Bible, Worldview, and Discipleship Studies

#teachallthethings There have been many different Bible programs and studies we have done over the years. Some have fallen flat and been a disappointment, a waste of money and time. I won’t focus on those here. I want to share some of the very best resources we’ve found because they are so captivating and have […]

Favorite ♥ Moments First Day of School 2017

Here we are embarking on our eighth year of being a homeschooling family. This year will bring some new challenges and new rewards. I look forward to the many hours of discussions we’ll have and watching wisdom and understanding grow in the eyes and words of my children even as their physical bodies grow. Our […]

A 10th birthday blessing for my second daughter

My precious girl, you are finally here at this day you’ve looked forward to for such a long time! I myself can hardly believe how swiftly these years with you have flown by. The way you entered the world is the way you live your life. You came to us on a windy, golden November morning with […]