One thing I have talked about with homeschooling is being able to create the atmosphere my children are in each day, and intentionally creating a family culture. This is one of the biggest reasons why we homeschool. Why homeschool? Sometime in spring of 2018, I was driving in traffic from school drop-off. I was listening to the audio book Essentialism by Greg McKeown in my car. In the book he asked something to the affect of what is your highest goal in life? Mine is to have a strong, connected family. He then asked what takes the most time away from that (family time)? It was obvious the answer was school. And finally, is what takes the most time, in support of your highest goal (a strong, connected family)? My decision to ...
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Spring came for the weekend
Last weekend I was whining to Mr. Miller about how discontented I felt. He nodded knowingly, and then reminded me of how I get like this every winter, and had good news for me: Spring was on it's a way. He was right, because this weekend was the most beautiful of the year so far. The blossoms are blooming in our neighborhood, the warm sunny weather has returned, and so has my contentment. We did our Saturday chores with the windows and doors wide open. Poppy, our bunny, hopped happily about, and I must say, she adds to the "spring experience". The kids ran around with their friends in the neighborhood, caught frogs in the evening, and I researched strollers for our baby who will be here in the last days of spring/first days of ...
hello from hiatus
Check one, two. Is this thing on? It has been months since my last post. I don't think I've gone that long without posting since I started this blog in 2008. I have missed this space, and wanted to get back to it, but didn't know how, so today I'm just going to jump in! The last two years have been a doozy, and I have never needed more time to sift through myself than in these past couple of years. I have pivoted in many ways. After my sister suddenly passed away, she gave me a gift in being able to clearly see what was working, and what wasn't working in my life. What wasn't working became absolutely unbearable in those heavy months of grief. A lot changed around me, and my head was spinning trying to keep up. I found it ...
Home Sweet Homeschool – year 2
I wanted to share what we're using, and some things that have helped me settle into our first and now second years homeschooling! (read last year's post HERE) I am really loving the comfort this year has brought. It feels good to be back to our routine and a little more settled into this lifestyle. Preparation To prepare for the year, I read through Raising Godly Tomatoes again on tomato staking. The act of holding your little ones close to you rather than away in time-out as a discipline. I hesitate to recommend the book because the style of parenting displayed is vastly different than mine, but the idea of tomato staking as a lifestyle has really stuck with me through the years. When one of my children is acting up, they stay ...
We painted our house | One Year Later | exterior renovation
I can hardly believe it's been a year since we started our exterior renovation.. starting with painting our house white. I have had so many overwhelming moments this summer of days I hoped we'd have here last year. It's such a neat thing to watch an idea come to life, and for me, this is especially fulfilling in house projects because it enhances the way we live. This year's before and after feels a lot more "finished" than our first post last year. Along with adding shutters, we took out some overgrown bushes in the front, which opened it up a lot. I'm hoping by next spring we have even more pretty color lining our front flower beds... I'm a learning flower gardener, so cross your fingers for me! We've come a long way! Let ...
lessons from the island
Over the last several weeks, since we got home from Hawaii, I have been processing much wisdom I gained while we were there. Before Hawaii, I had been in the darkest depression of my entire life. I suffered my closest loss, and dealt with endless negative circumstances surrounding that loss. My life felt like it had a tangible darkness wrapped around it, blinding my eyes from seeing past my painful present, my heart from feeling anything but darkness, captivating my capabilities. The trip planning became a teensy speck of light, that grew brighter as we walked toward it. Our first evening in Oahu, we walked to secret beach to watch the sun set. As my little girls played on the sparkling shoreline, my two guys sharing a sweater ...
