Autumn Reflections {beauty in death, peace in change}

There is a beauty in death, if you can look beyond the pain to find it. The leaves, in all of their glory, have been radiating across the countryside for weeks now, their vibrancy lighting up the landscape like fire. Nothing quite compares to a New England fall, the variety of colors astounding even those of us who have lived a lifetime here. But now their beauty has faded and, in a last effort to cling to the life they had lived, each one holds on with a surprising tenacity. Their resistance is pointless, but I don't blame them. They are holding on to everything they've ever had, clutched in a vice-like grip on the last semblance of living they have left. No, I don't blame them at all. I envy them. At least they're still holding on.

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Homeschool Mama Planning Guide

Over the past 6 years of homeschooling I've narrowed down what I really need to plan, keep records, and adequately schedule our homeschool year. And I finally had an extra minute to put it all into a little digital download that I can share with you!

Resisting Rest {the discipline of inactivity}

I can't be the only one that is still reeling from this surreal turn of events. March is cancelled. April is most likely cancelled. The rest of the school year is potentially cancelled. Summer is on probation, and nobody is able to see far enough into the future to make accurate predictions about the fall. It's absolutely nuts! But what is crazier is how I've been dealing with it. 

Handprint Thankful Tree

I love Thanksgiving! I love everything about it, from the cooking, the place settings, the timeless traditions, to the smell of pumpkin spice. Yes. ALL THE PUMPKIN SPICE. But the one thing I love more than anything is the opportunity to remind my kids {and myself} how very much we have to be thankful for. We always do some kind of Thankful Tree, and this year we found a new fun and special way to talk about thankfulness, a grateful heart, and our blessings!   

When In The Desert {thoughts on perseverance}​

There is a time in every journey when the shackles of crisis fall away, leaving you free to pursue the Promise Land, but yet you still have more road to travel. Not still waiting to move, but unable to find a resting place - you're not in Egypt, not yet in Canaan - it's the desert.

5 Reasons to Love Grove Co.

Subscription boxes have recently become a thing, and as much as I'm always super excited to try one, there's always that risk that they'll send you something you don't want or can't use. I'd just find myself wishing that I could custom pick my personalized box with products that I needed and that it didn't always have to be the same amount of money every month, that it could be flexible.

THAT is the biggest thing that I love about Grove Co. 

Last-Minute 4th of July Cookies

Needing a quick, easy, crowd-pleasing treat that you can whip up for the festivities? I definitely was and these cookies were IT. I mean the 'IT' of the party! Delicious and pretty, they took me less than 10 minutes from start to finish (and that was including the time it took me to photograph them!)

Spilled Milk {teaching your kids how to deal with failure}

"No use crying over spilled milk", the saying always goes. Which is true... unless you're the one who spilled it OR you're the one that has to clean it up. That was how my morning started today, and I'm beginning to wonder who ever thought that was a good thing to say in the first place. Whoever they were, they obviously didn't have kids! However, they might have known a thing or two about grace.

Intentional Parenting: Training Your Kids for Success

We didn't want to have endless fights with our kids and we especially didn't want to be reactive parents. We wanted to be purposeful, proactive, intentional. And then we stumbled upon the one truth that changed the way we raised our kids.

Finishing Deployment Strong

I was tired. Not lonely, hysterical or even sad tonight. Just tired. One of the many unexpected side-effects to a long deployment is an emotional numbness that creeps in toward the halfway mark.

I missed my husband. I hated living alone. I couldn't wait for it to be over. But there was nothing I could do about that, so I climbed back into bed and went to sleep.

Welcome to the second half of the deployment. The unexpected truth? It's harder than the first.