Week in Review

This was our last week of "freedom" before we start homeschooling again, but I am honestly so ready to get back into our routine. Zoey will be four in September, and she is finally showing interest in schoolwork and learning and books! Zeke will be eight in November, and he is also ready to have schooltime in the mornings again.

We've looked through our books and curriculum choices several times this week, making Instagram and Facebook reels! 

I've also been lesson planning for Zeke and Zoey and working on lesson plans for my co-op classes. The first class is September 10, but we have orientation August 27.

On Wednesday, Titus got his cast off and he is so glad. His arm is healing perfectly, but he still won't be able to play football, ride bulls, or anything else "high risk" for two more months. 

While we were in the "big city," I took Silas and Titus back to school shopping. They didn't need much, thankfully, since our school now has "uniforms" - just a school spirit shirt and jeans. I got them each two pair of jeans from Cavender's, and Silas got some more Hey Dudes. I pick up their spirit shirts next week in town.

Thursday was Titus's 14th birthday. He finally got a phone! We've made all the kids wait until 14 or even later to get phones, and he was more than ready for one. I have to say, though, he never begged or really even asked for one. He knew the time would come and it did! He also got some football cards from me and money from the grandparents. 

Instead of cake, he wanted puppy chow, so I made a big bowl of that. He also asked for baked ziti for his birthday meal, and I rounded it out with black eyed peas and garlic knots.

Friday, we went to the other nursing home to do VBS with the residents like we did last week. 

Friday evening, we had a birthday party for one of our friend's daughters who was turning five! It was a lot of fun with a lot of friends.

How was your week?

Share 4 Somethings

I'm sharing four somethings with Jenn today!

something you loved

I loved spending a week with my grandson! Daniel is five, and my youngest two children are 7 (Zeke) and 3 (Zoey). It's a little crazy having grandchildren and children intermingling their ages, but it is so much fun, and it makes coming to "Maemae's house" that much better!

 something that sustained you

Ministry sustains me, it fills my cup, and blesses my heart so much. We volunteered at the nursing home last week to put on a one-hour VBS for the residents. Playing games, making crafts, singing hymns, and just talking with the people there was such a breath of fresh air. My kids all attended, too, and it's something they enjoy doing.

something you're carrying forward from this month to the next

Homeschooling will begin next week, and I'm really excited about starting! I've been organizing, planning, and purchasing all month, and this will continue into August. Who am I kidding - it will continue on all year!

My homeschool cabinet that hides, I mean holds, our homeschool resources!

 something you're making space for

I'm making space for Homeschool Co-Op this year! It's not that big of a commitment - ten weeks in the fall, ten weeks in the spring - but I am teaching two preschool classes. That will require more planning, organizing, and purchasing! It will be a change and will require that we dedicate our Thursdays to this new adventure for a while. 

Thanks for providing this fun link-up, Jenn!

Week in Review

Some of my favorite moments from this week were:

Meeting my daughter at the halfway mark to pick up my grandson, Daniel, for a week! I drove nearly 3 hours and she drove 2.5 hours, and we met at a Dairy Queen. I got to get some hugs and love from Kenna, my 2-year-old granddaughter, and then we took Daniel with us to spend some time before school starts.

Titus rode with me to keep me company!

Tuesday, we went to one of the nursing homes in our town to do Vacation Bible School with the residents. It was such a blessing for us and for them! We hit around balloons with fly swatters, made a cute flower wreath craft, sang some old hymns and Sunday School songs, listened to a story from Rod, and fed them a snack of ice cream cups! Next Friday we will go to the other nursing home in our town and do the same thing for them.

Wednesday night, we had Children in Action at church. I had Zeke, Zoey, Daniel, and Wednesday, their other cousin who lives in Colorado but came for a few weeks to visit her grandmother.

The kids made up a game that they wanted to play all day, every day! I can't really explain it all, but they got into the fort on the swing set, and they picked different worlds to go to. All I could see was a lot of running around, fighting invisible enemies with sticks. They had so much fun! 

They all coordinated to wear the Toy Story shirts!

Lunchables for lunch one day!

Friday night, all three of the littles went to my mom's house for a sleepover. Silas had a rodeo about 2 and half hours away from here, and it was his first time driving that far away all by himself. I was nervous about it, but he made it safely and will be home tonight. Rod, Titus, and I were the only ones home so we ate Blue Bell ice-cream and watched Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle - something we couldn't watch with the little ones at home! It's been a busy week, but I have been so glad for the time with Daniel. He goes back to his mom and dad on Sunday. 

We're planning to start homeschooling the first or second week of August, so I've been getting prepped for that! Our co-op starts September 10, so I have a little time to work on those lessons. Summer seems like it just flew by this year! Of course, we will have temps in the 90's for a few more months, but I'm talking about the "school's out" summer! The older two boys will go back to public school August 13. 

Tomorrow is church and that will wrap up our week!

Week in Review/Friday Favorites

Week In Review/Friday Favorites

We had a hot week this week! Some of my favorite moments were:

A library visit! Zeke is a bookworm and reads tons of books each week. We also turned in their reading logs for the summer reading program.

I took Silas and Titus to the orthopedic doctor to get their broken hand and broken arm checked out. Silas's hand is healing pretty good, and he was cleared to play football and ride bulls if he wears a brace. Titus's arm is healing perfectly! They took off his cast, let his wash his arm with soap and water, and then put a different cast on. It's still above his elbow, but not quite to his armpit. He goes back in two weeks to get the cast off for good!

Rod and I went to see Young Washington in our town's theatre. It was such a good movie, and it was nice to have a date-night for the first time in a while. The last movie we saw together in the theatre was Twisters. The Fiske Theatre is really nice! It's been in operation since 1928. Here is a little more information if you're interested: 

Other than that, we had a pretty slow week, thankfully! Here are a few pictures:

Zeke loves washing things off with the water hose, so he cleaned my rigs for me. 

I finished printing Zeke and Zoey’s first 26 lessons for Bible! That’s 4 pages for each lesson, but I did front and back printing. 

Zoey learned to write a “Z”!

I finished Genny Beth’s stocking, other than sewing on the back and adding her name.

Gendeling! Starting to really show!

Old Habits Die Hard?

I have been writing a weekly article in our newspaper: West Carroll Gazette. I thought it would be fun to share the short little articles here on the blog! This week's article is titled:

  Old Habits Die Hard?

I’m sure you have heard the phrase, “Old habits die hard.” Most of the time, people say this to excuse their bad behavior or explain why they can’t quit doing something.

It can be difficult to discard our old habits because they become like a second nature to us. Sometimes we can give them up for a while, but then we slowly drift back into that sin.

First Peter 1:14 and 15 warn us against this very thing: “So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.”

The first thing this verse tells us to do is to live as “God’s obedient children.” Obedience is an essential part of our salvation. In John 14:15, Jesus tells us, “If you love me, obey My commandments.” First Samuel 15:22 tells us that, “...obedience is better than sacrifice.” Living as God’s obedient children means casting aside all of our sin, even the sins we have lovingly nick-named our “bad habits.” 

Next, we are told not to slip back into our old ways of living. This is also known as “backsliding.” When someone is considered to be “backslidden,” it means they have fallen back into sin, returning to their old habits, after being saved. Backsliding happens gradually; it’s a slow drift. If you’ve ever floated on a river, you understand how this can happen. You don’t feel yourself moving, but when you look around, you realize how far you have drifted from your original spot! As Christians, we must continually examine ourselves lest we drift away without even realizing it. When we get complacent, we quit reading our Bibles as much, our prayer life becomes shorter, our tolerance for sin grows, and before we know it, we are back where we started - stuck in sin! 

The thing about drifting is, it’s easy to drift. It takes no effort. But when we have to paddle back, it takes work! We must push against the current, paddling hard, with the sole intention of getting back where we need to be.

Those old habits must be killed. Whether it’s gossiping, lying, stealing, sexual sin, or foul language, we must decide to lay down that sin and walk away from it. Let’s not excuse our sin or behavior, but allow God to transform us into new people. Every decision we make brings us closer to God or farther away from Him. Just like floating on the river, there is no standing still. We are either actively moving towards God or drifting away from Him. 

Now that we are saved, we “must be holy in everything” we do! I’ve heard people say, “Know better, do better,” and I think that applies to us as Christians. Luke 12:48 tells us that where much is given, much is required. Salvation is the greatest gift we have been given. We can never earn our salvation, but we can show our thankfulness to and love for God by living holy, obedient lives through the power of His Spirit.

Zoey's Preschool Curriculum Choices (2026/2027 School Year)

This will be Zoey's first (official) year of homeschooling! Although I did do toddler school with her, this last year her schooltime was hit or miss. She just wasn't into it, and I wasn't going to force it on her. It's funny how kids are so different. Zeke loved toddler school and preschool and couldn't get enough!

She will be four in September.

Let's Explore Preschool

This is a curriculum that I wrote and am excited to use it with Zoey. It's a letter of the week curriculum, with four different "Let's Explore" sections. It's available in my Etsy shop for $15.

"Let's Explore Letters" goes through one letter a week with four review weeks built in. She will have a mixture of hands-on activities, worksheets, and crafts for each letter.

"Let's Explore Math" uses the same - hands-on activities and worksheets - to teach and reinforce math concepts such as colors, shapes, numbers, and patterns.

She will also use this workbook as it is scheduled in each day for math, letters, tracing, matching, and other fine motor skills.

"Let's Explore Books" has several book titles and topics each week with crafts and activities for each.

"Let's Explore Science" uses two different spines - Science Play and the First Encyclopedia of Science - to introduce science topics, experiments, activities, and more! Science Play is more nature-based, so there will be lots of nature study and outdoor time.

Bible

She will be using the Beginner worksheets from Bible Study Guide for All Ages alongside Zeke's Intermediate worksheets. She will learn songs, Bible verses, and Bible stories. I'm waiting for the Bible Book Summary cards, Beginner Timeline, and the CD set with the songs to come in the mail! I'm very excited about adding this to our homeschool day

CO-OP

We joined a homeschool co-op this year, and Zoey will be joining four classes, two of which I will be teaching. She will do: Little Problem Solvers: Science, Playtime Pals, Little Problem Solvers: Math, and Storytime Fun. I'm teaching the Little Problem Solvers classes! 

Her total school time will be around 30-45 minutes a day, and maybe a little more when we have nature study. I am excited to start this journey with her!

What was your favorite preschool curriculum?

My Favorite Room in the House: Share Our Lives Link-Up

I have just gotten back into blogging, and this is my first ever Share Our Lives link-up post! This month, the topic is Favorite Room in Your House. 

We just moved into a new home - the parsonage to the church my husband is now full-time pastor at! We moved in April, so I'm still working on making it feel like home.

I love this beautiful home! When I asked myself which room would be my favorite, the dining room popped into my head. This is the room we gather in to eat meals and share conversation, where we will be doing our homeschooling in a few short weeks, where I work on my crafts and writing my newspaper articles, where I do my Bible study. I spend a good portion of each day in this room. 

I love the doors with big windows where I can watch the kids play in the fenced in backyard, watch the rain and summer thunderstorms, and see the sun rays shining through in the morning.

There are quite a few "signs of life" in this room. That's what I call normal family clutter! There is usually a deck of playing cards around, paper and markers from Zeke and Zoey, half-empty cups and water bottles, books laying face-down and open to mark a spot. 

Buzz Lightyear coaster among my pretty coasters

Definitely a sign of life!

I love this cabinet set that I got for my birthday last year which hides our homeschool books, resources, and extra supplies. I also love the painting above it that my great-grandmother (my Grammy) painted.

Lego Unicorn - another sign of life!

My "blue table" as I creatively call it holds my current crafting project as well as some seasonal decor and other tidbits that need a convenient home. The is another painting done by great-grandmother. My husband loves it because of the two deer!

I also love my "new" trinket shelf! This came from my father-in-law's house and I love it. The cow on the top left shelf is actually my great-grandmother's creamer! The pear on the bottom was my grandmother's. The hummingbird cross-stitch was a thrift find by my mother-in-law, and the little bluish green jar was a gift from one of my kids. It's full of arrowhead chips found by my boys! I need a few more items but I'm waiting until I find just the right things for the shelf.

I also love how the dining room and kitchen is so open. It's nice to cook while the kids are sitting at the bar talking to me.

I do love the other rooms in my house, and I may share pictures of those in the upcoming weeks. 

I would love to know which room in your home is your favorite!