Happy 90th Birthday, Grandma!

Today is my maternal grandmother's 90th birthday! What a long and wonderful life she has had. She was born to a poor farming family in rural Arkansas where she grew up picking strawberries and cotton, but with a loving family.

She met my grandpa when she was just 12 or 13 while he was dating her older sister. He insisted that she came along on all their dates, then he dumped the older sister as soon as she was old enough to date. Hearing my grandma tell that story was always so funny.

She married him, the love of her life, at 17 and they had a beautiful family of 7--of which my mother was the middle child.

(my mother is the baby in here)

They were happily married through all kinds of life trials for over 60 years, until my grandpa passed away in 1999. She's really been sort of lost since he's been gone.

Grandma is an incredible cook! Her homemade rolls are the best and of course she never used a written recipe for anything. She also is a wonderful quiltmaker. Her intricate stitches are amazing!! And all of her quilts were always done entirely by hand. Sadly, time has robbed her memory and she suffers from dementia. She no longer remembers how to cook or sew. Today there will be a small celebration with her 7 children at her assisted living facility, since large celebrations now confuse and upset her. And all of our family gatherings are large since she has 7 children, 15 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren and 9 great-great grandchildren--no to mention all the spouses that are in there, too! I wish I were close enough to go by for a visit, even though she doesn't remember my name anymore. She always remembers my face (or so it seems) and loves to have the company. I pray that she has a lovely day!

Happy 90th Birthday, Grandma!

I love you!

The Making of an Egyptian Death Mask

We are learning all about the ancient world this year with Story of the World I and loving it! We've been learning a lot about Egypt, of course, which is completely fascinating. Most recently we have studied the New Kingdom of Egypt, which includes the story of King Tut. So we decided making an Egyptian death mask in the style of King Tut's would be a fun project. First since it was too cold at the time to paper mache in the garage (it probably would have frozen instead of dried-ha) and it was too messy to do it in the house, we decided to pick up a couple of cheap craft masks at Hobby Lobby. Next we cut out cardboard shapes to complete the shape of the death mask, attaching them with hot glue. Vince even put a little detail on the *beard* with the hot glue per The Princess' request. Then the kiddos started to paint them with this metallic gold tempera paint. It worked okay for the cardboard, but would not coat the plastic of the mask. We thought maybe a second coat ...

Arkansas' Crimson Clover

One of my favorite things about Spring is the crimson clover that grows along the highways and interstates here in Arkansas. I say Arkansas because this is where I first grew to love it. We actually saw some in Mississippi on our way here and I saw it in our town in Alabama for the first time this year. But it spreads like that, each year it grows and looks even more beautiful. I'm not sure who decided to plant it in the medians of the interstates , but it was genius! It seeds itself and just comes back more lush the next year. I always want to take pictures, but of course it's almost always in the median of a very busy interstate~which is a little dangerous for photography. However, the other day I found the perfect patch of it on the side of a not-too-busy highway, so Vince obliged me and pulled over:) Isn't it beautiful? I just had to share it with you...

One Way I Refresh During the Summer as a Homeschool Mom

As our homeschool takes some time off this summer, my mind almost never stops thinking of and planning ahead for the upcoming school year. This is probably because I'm Type A and an obsessive planner...lol Whatever the reason, I do enjoy this season of planning. But I also need to be refreshed as a homeschool mom. Homeschooling can be incredibly exhausting and all-consuming. It's not easy and it's a lot of responsibility. And I take that very seriously when I am researching curriculum and planning toward the next school year. So also taking some time to rejuvenate and refocus myself is very important. How do I do this? Each summer I take some time to read something inspiring and motivating that speaks to me as a homeschool mom. Some of my fave reads from past years--that I have nearby on my shelf and refer to often--are Educating the Wholehearted Child, The Well-Trained Mind, The Charlotte Mason Companion, A T...

my blessed life

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