Blessed Rain

An unexpected rainstorm dumped a half inch of rain on our place… has it been over a week ago?! This was the storm whose violent lightning shut down our internet for five days. It also blew out the control box for our electric livestock fencing. Powerful. But all too short. Afterward, it looked like a different world outside, with the dust washed away and the sky still half... Read More

A Visit to a Local Farm

We spent a day at a local organic farm recently. There were games on the lawn… a hay rack ride… (Click here to read more or leave a comment on A Visit to a...)  Read More

Carrots and Freckles

My internet was down for five days – one of those blessings in disguise. I discovered, while I had a chance to gather my thoughts, that I have a backlog of farm pictures. I’ll post several of them next week. But I’ll start today with these: My son picked carrots in the sweltering heat with his dad, never mind the sweat and grime (or overdue haircut… what... Read More

4th of July Pencil Topper Craft

The kids are begging to learn to sew, so I’ve been hunting around for children’s beginner sewing crafts that are easy enough for the earliest learners. I was inspired by some crafts that use felt, pinking shears, and embroidery floss. We tried a very simple version as a 4th of July sewing project. We made our flag pencil toppers out of rectangles of red and white felt.... Read More

Firsts in June

We celebrated several childhood milestones in the past month-ish. I can’t make them stop growing up. 🙁 First 100-piece puzzle (of course it’s a cat): First phonics reader (we love Nora Gaydos): First time riding without training wheels (with Grandpa cheering on): First – and only – time turning 2 (sob!): First time in five years feeling like there’s... Read More

Homeschooling Q&A with Mom

Beginning to homeschool can be nerve-wracking. In these early phases of gathering information and finding our homeschooling style, it has been helpful to gather people around who have “been there, done that.” I started counting the BTDT families around me (though not necessarily physically nearby). I’m blessed with at least nine or ten families who can field my... Read More

Angel Food Cake with Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

It’s always a treat when Annie comes to our house! Man, can my sister ever cook! Usually, Annie likes to make things up as she goes, but when it comes to baking… well, sometimes she still makes things up as she goes. For this angel food cake recipe, though, she followed every step exactly. And it turned out… heavenly. The recipe is from Glenda, a woman in Annie’s... Read More

Turtle Shell Rabbit Trail

Last week… we ran across a hexagonal turtle shell pattern while looking at an art book… which led to looking at pictures of turtle shells to see if they’re ever truly hexagonal (sort of, just not symmetrical)… which led to our attempt to re-create the original, mythical, symmetrical, hexagonal turtle shell. It doesn’t take much to entertain us…... Read More

Infertility Post #10: Happy Ending

Here we are at the end! This is where it gets a little crazy. As in… were these events just a coincidence, or…?? If you’re up for finding meaning in “coincidence” (with a couple of goats thrown in), please read on. Almost-seven years is a long time to go through infertility. By the time I neared the end, I was becoming confused and frustrated by stories... Read More

Décor à l’école

“When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking.” I learned this as a kid, and ever since, I’ve been mispronouncing words like bear, build, and group. Just kidding. But I taught this rule to my kids last week, and now I’m noticing exceptions everywhere. I’m also noticing that the kids don’t know which letters are vowels. We’re... Read More