Now that we're settling into our home, I've been exploring various opportunities. One of which has been the idea of creating a home-based business. When I considered the many business possibilities available, I kept coming back to the one thing I know best- books. Specifically, children's books. Books are a central element of our family. Over the last seven years, I've been passionately and purposefully creating a home library for our children and filling our days with great stories. There's a significant connection and delight when we read together. So, I determined that childre ..read more

     When I first began blogging over ten years ago (wow!), the homemaking climate was very different. The internet influence wasn't what it is today, and resources on homemaking were few. I personally didn't know anyone who was pursuing this path. I created my blog with the intention of rediscovering this seemingly lost art. I even began writing a book on the subject.       That book draft was shelved when our first baby was born, followed by a sibling every eight-teen months for four and a half years. Within that time homemaking seems to have risen in popul ..read more

  Our fall activities have been what we have predominately done for school time recently. One wonderful aspect of homeschooling the early years is the ability to adapt concepts into fun themes! My goal, as always, is to present concepts in a fun, hands-on manner (with lots of reading as well!). The following are the activities we did to learn while also celebrate the fall season! 1) Leaf Color Sorting        We brought along this activity on a trip, and enjoyed it with the company of a cousin. It's such a simple and fun activity for learning colors!   &nbs ..read more

       I love celebrating occasions with books! There's just something special about reading a book together to welcome in the newly arrived season or holiday. And then returning to those books time and again throughout the season immersing ourselves in the warmth of festive stories.       We have a big basket that I will bring out to house our larger seasonal book collections. It's like Christmas morning when they wake and walk into the living room to see that basket filled with the new season or holiday's books!       Each year I ..read more

    I held off publishing this post until we had gone through enough school weeks to know whether my intentions for orchestrating our homeschool days this year would be successful. I think it's safe to do so now as we have really been enjoying things! In fact, I feel like our days are even smoother, more peaceful, and joyful with school! I knew before beginning coursework that I needed to determine ways to make homeschooling work for our family and for this year. I needed to take into consideration their young ages, the typical motion of our days together, and my goals for their ..read more

                                   It's that time of year! Our next school year has begun. This year we will have a first grader, kindergartner, preschooler, and toddler! It will be busy but so fun to have more little learners in our homeschool.      Homeschooling young children, and doing so with younger siblings present, can be a challenge. One lesson I learned last year was the necessity of keeping things very simple and making school fit into our family's daily life. I think ..read more

    Our kitchen had been on my list of rooms/areas of the house that I wanted to make some changes. (Minor changes. We are not the home renovation kind of people! haha). Our kitchen is a small galley style space with the original dark 1970s cabinets. It was the only wood cabinets in the house that had yet to be painted white. And they just seemed to make the space feel even smaller and certainly outdated. Last year, I decided I would just do it. I was going to paint these cabinets!      Well, may I say that painting cabinets is a big project no matter how small the spa ..read more

            For the first time in six years we no longer have a baby bed in our room. This has been a hard transition for my mama-heart. I have loved looking to the side to see a sweet sleeping babe over the last several years. But, the time had come to move the last little one to the bedroom with all his siblings. In place of the baby bed, we rearranged to create a little bedroom book nook.      I adore this space! It makes my booklover-heart happy to have a place of quiet contemplation. I can sit in the comfy club chair to read a book ..read more

     The more tasks I can take off my mind and have a plan for, the better. This allows me to mentally and emotionally direct my attention to the present moment, as well as reduce my tendency to be overwhelmed or stressed. One occasion that can quickly become chaotic is mealtime. That moment when multiple people are tired and/or hungry is not the time I want to be standing at the pantry or refrigerator deciding what to prepare. And so, I created a list of options for breakfasts, lunches, and snacks for each week.  [Read more about our Master Lists]      A ..read more

       My media time has been on my heart lately. The impact of media (or screen time) has been well documented.. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time until the age of two and then only one to two hours per day for older children. We've chosen to abide by this recommendation for our child*. However, I've been burdened as to if this is sufficient. A child is influenced by screens not just through direct access, but also through a parent's personal use. Though we are media limited in our home, I've grown convicted that the screen time I do have is stil ..read more