One Thousand Gifts: Overcoming the Whine

Is it just me, or do you also sometimes feel whiny, like everything happens to you and everyone else has perfect lives? I've sort of been feeling like that lately, at least off and on. It's pathetic, I know. I have a wonderful life, filled with so many blessings! I've let all sorts of *stuff* lately prevent me from taking the time to count my many blessings. Today I've determined not to do that.

0391. soft Spring breezes coming in the window

0392. a chorus of frogs in the backyard

0393. kiddos playing contentedly together

0394. digging in the dirt, planting my seedings

0395. sweet handmade surprises on Mothers Day

0396. *high art* watercolor paintings by my kiddos to hang on the wall

0397. sunshine after what-feels-like-a-month-of-rain

0398. the first just-grilled-on-the-patio burger of the year

0399. having my whole family over for lunch

0400. receiving windows of opportunity from God

0401. the chance to teach my children at home, even when it's been a rough day

0402. the scent of honeysuckle wafting in the air

0403. having a hubby who will kill big bugs for me (even when he hates them just as much)

0404. picking fresh strawberries

0405. picnics

0406. water gun fights

0407. swinging on a swing and feeling like a kid again

0408. the smell of freshly-cut grass

0409. second chances

0410. afternoon naps

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...

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 ...

Door Hanger Chore Charts

My kids have had a chore chart for a while. It's one of those magnetic boards and they share it. However, it's not by their rooms and often they (and I) forget to update it. Plus it's a little bulky. When I saw the concept of a door hanger chore chart on Pinterest, I loved it! It was compact, right there were the kiddos could see it coming out and going into their rooms, and it costs almost nothing to make. I headed over to one of my favorite stores: Hobby Lobby, of course. They have these little wooden door hangers for .79. I also grabbed a couple of packets of decorative buttons for $1.99 each. I already had the clothes pins and the paint so those cost me nothing. I began by painting the door hangers (I used tempera paints because that's what I had). Then I grabbed a fine point Sharpie and the clothes pins and started writing chores on them, making sure to write them correctly so they will ...

my blessed life

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