Little Blessings

This week we had a wonderful little blessing in our lives.

As some of you may know--especially those who live here--the South has been experiencing quite the heat wave! It's been HOT, HOT, HOT! So hot that you just don't even want to go outside...unless you have a pool to jump into. Which we did not. But we didn't want to have to keep the kiddos inside too much either.

Our little town actually has a wonderful city water park (big slides and all), but it is pretty expensive. Especially for a family of four and especially if you'd like to be there everyday-ha!

So Vince and I had been discussing purchasing one of those larger inflatable pools, but even the sale prices we'd seen were really stretching our already-stretched budget. Then I saw a sale paper for a local store that had a smaller size for a very reasonable price--something that we could afford and would be perfect for the kiddos.

So I went right over to check them out. However, I must tell you that on my way there I was praying about some things while driving (when you're alone in the car, this is a great opportunity to pray!) and, among other things, I specifically prayed for favor in making a wise decision about purchasing the pool. I even prayed about a certain feature for the pool.

Well, when I got there, they were totally out. Very disappointing, yes. So I inquired about a rain check (they couldn't guarantee they'd get any more) and about a replacement (they weren't interested). Finally I asked if they had a store in the neighboring city (they did) and if they could call and see if they had any left (they said they had "plenty").

So I hopped in my car and drove 20 minutes or so to the other store only to find out they didn't have any. The manager had misspoken because he had seen a few left the night before. He was very nice and very apologetic. And I was, once again, very disappointed. Especially since he'd said they had "plenty". Before I could really say anything though, he said "the only way I can see to make you happy is to give you this next size up for ____ (nearly half off and the price of 2 visits to the local water park)". That came to just a little bit more than the one I originally had gone there for, plus that pool had the specific feature I had prayed about! I said "I'll take it!"

I felt so blessed! We were able to afford a great little pool for the kiddos and it's actually big enough for us to cool of in, too--yea! We'll more than get our money's worth out of it during this summer, too.

God is good. He even thinks of the little things.

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 ...

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...

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...

my blessed life

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