If I told you the story of these “simple” cards, I’d run out of space to tell ya.  So instead, I’ll just tell you that these were a labor of love (and sometimes frustration) but they’re done and I’m so glad! When we began our year using the Answers Bible Curriculum from Answers in Genesis (which is available in both homeschool or Sunday school format), I knew we needed something to have visually available as the kids and I worked through our scripture memorization.  I searched the internet to see if someone had already created such a thing that I could just print and use along with ..read more

Charcuterie, piccadilly, grown up lunchable – whatever you want to call it in your home – you know it’s so simple, delightful and filling at the same time.  We are long time fans in our home. Several years ago Skyler and I got used to creating what we would call a “Trader Joes Date”.  We’d put the kids to bed at 7, pull out all our delicious finds from Trader Joes – slice cheese, slice meats, fill bowls with olives and pickles, and lay the cutting boards across our laps as we sat in bed and caught each other up on our days or watched The Amazing Race. Our kids have learned to love ..read more

Jacksonville, Florida was mostly just a “passing through” city for us on our way from St. Augustine, FL to Savannah, GA.  Nonetheless, we wanted to make the stop and see what Jacksonville was like! We headed for the downtown Friendship Fountain we had heard about and figured we’d take a stroll down their river walk. The Friendship Fountain was bigger than expected and pretty, and I’ve heard they use colored lights to light it up at night, which I imagine would be beautiful. However, downtown was dead and we were one of few groups of people out and about.  The riverfront made ..read more

Our East Coast Roadtrip started out with us leaving our home in beautiful Sarasota, Florida and heading north east through our state.  We drove through Daytona Beach just to drive through the area since we had never been.  We’d love to head there for some car racing some day! We landed for the day (and night) in St. Augustine, Florida.  As the oldest city in the United States, we figured we needed to start our Revolutionary/Civil War road trip out with a stop there!  We arrived around lunch time and popped over to the St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum first. The ..read more

Andersons are heading out on a month(ish) long East Coast road trip!  We’ll be site-seeing, homeschooling on the road (aka roadschooling), having a family reunion midway, and meeting up with a handful of friends.  This road trip was planned within just a couple of weeks between Skyler coming home from work in Texas to us heading out the door!   I packed our “normal” schooling for some car trips for the kids to work on but most of our schooling will be heavily focused on the Revolutionary & Civil Wars. Follow along on our journey through my Instagram posts and stories ..read more

An Educational Gift Guide How many parents are tired of the endless toy build up that inevitably happens with the holidays?!  *raises hand* It seems like no matter how hard I try to “go light” and only buy a couple gifts, with siblings wanting to buy gifts for each other, husbands who love shopping for gifts, grandparents who love to drop off car loads of presents and then drive away from the aftermath (yeaaaah, I’m looking at you, mom and mom-in-law!! ;))…. the toy build up just happens each year, regardless. In an effort to reduce toys, I have opted to not buy toys myself since I know ..read more

Every year, we make our “First Day of School” a day of celebration! I want my children to always remember the fun of homeschooling and that even though they aren’t “going” anywhere, going back to school can be a fun day and memory for them. A few years ago, my homeschooling buddy Michelle told me how she makes her first day of school fun for her kids and I have since adopted and added a few extras of my own as well! We start our morning out with a big celebratory breakfast – typically some form of egg casserole, bacon or sausage and cinnamon rolls. They get dressed and head outside for some b ..read more

Hope you’ve all had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year! Part of Christmas for me has always been the giving and receiving of hand-written cards and family newsletter updates.  This was always one of my favorite parts of the holidays and I remember being a child and eagerly checking the mail to get cards and read what everyone has been up to for the year.  Of course, this was long before the life of Facebook where we get updates constantly but there is still something so special about receiving them!  Who’s with me?  Do you send and receive newsletters?  I hav ..read more

Standing at the beginning of December, I’m already seeing very full days when I look at my calendar.  The joy and excitement of the Christmas season can often be matched equally with busyness, and busyness quickly leaves little room for anything else. We find packed calendars instead of leaving room for quieting ourselves.  We find ourselves wading deep in stress instead of leaving room for peace.  We begin drowning in parades, lights, parties, baking, Santa, holiday movies and Christmas shopping, instead of leaving room for being still and remembering why we are celebrating ..read more

If you are like me and half of the population and have an iPhone, you may have noticed your “Weekly Screen Time” occasionally popping on your screen, with the most painfully annoying little breakdown of what apps you are spending your precious time on each week.  It’s a little softer than a gut punch but it’s at least cringe-worthy when those numbers stare you in the face. Annoying numerical digits holding you accountable to exactly how many hours you have spent on Facebook, Instagram, or your latest app addiction the past week. “What else could I have done with those hours last week ..read more