my blessed life

Here's wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving today!   I'm looking forward to a lovely day with my family.   We'll be busy eating too much, talking too loud, and  just enjoying being together.   Here's what's on our menu for the day:

So it's already November!  I absolutely cannot believe how quickly this year has gone by.   And it's not just an adult thing--my kiddos keep saying the same thing.  It makes me a little sad that they feel the years speeding up already.  I think it took me a little longer as a child for that to sink in.   No doubt it's a sign of the busy lives we lead.  I sometimes long for quiet days with no appointments or obligations.  Days where our time is truly our own and we can take our time doing whatever we want.  Reading books, baking cookies, taking walks.... As homeschoolers, we do have much more control over our time.  But it's almost impossible to not be caught up somehow in the busyness of life in 2016.  It's a fast-paced world we live in here in the United States. Which is perhaps why I feel a deep longing to savor this Thanksgiving season a little bit more this year.  It just seems that focusing on the ...

Merry Christmas from our house to yours! mini trees the kiddos' trees I just realized this morning that I haven't posted here all month!  It's been so busy:(   This week I am slowing it down and focusing on baking Christmas goodies with my kiddos. I hope that your Christmas season is lovely and that you are finding time to slow down and enjoy it as well.  Here are a few pictures of our home~it's all decked out for the holidays!  I was happy to get it all done early on in the season since I was hosting a couple of parties at our home and have been able to not stress about that but just enjoy. our Dickens' village the learning room Christmas around the house our master bedroom Happy Holidays to you and yours!

First of all, I have to say that we had a lovely Easter weekend and I hope that you did, too!  We enjoyed a relaxed Easter brunch with our family following our morning worship service.  SO much nicer than standing in line in a crowded restaurant!   My kiddos were excited about their baskets--although waiting until after church was a bit difficult for my oh-so-impatient son :)  That's what happens though with your dad is a pastor and has to leave super early in the morning.    Last week's meal plan went so very smoothly~made my week so much easier!  After the busy weekend I haven't been much in the mood to plan yet for this week, but I'm pressing though. Here's what's on the plan for this week: Monday:   Sandwiches & chips (made with an amazing fresh loaf of sourdough bread!) Tuesday:  Dinner out at Bob Evans since the kids can eat free :) Wednesday:  {small group night} I'm taking Baked Cavatini Th...

I love Easter!  Not only is it in the lovely season of spring, it represents all that makes life worthwhile--HE LIVES and because of that I can live in fullness of life, too.  Not just in Heaven, but even here on earth.  I'm so thankful for that! As long as I can remember Easter has always been a "busy" day for me.  I grew up in a minister's home so my dad was always preaching somewhere on Easter--whether as a guest minister or in the church he pastored for several years.  Then I married and my husband and I have also been in ministry full-time for 14 of the 18 years we've been married--the past 4 years as senior pastors. And the Easter weekend just gets busier.  But it's a good kind of busy.  Like today, we were at our church nearly all day for a fun event we like to call Easter Eggstravaganza.  It's a fun day for our church to simply bless our community with free food, games, petting zoo, some fun giveaways, and an egg hunt for the kidd...

Welcome!  Come on in! I've enjoyed decorating this year~more so than some years.   Not that I had new decor--I've used my old faves--but I've felt a little more relaxed about it this year and that's made things much more  enjoyable for me.   Thanks for dropping by for this virtual home tour!   I wish I could actually share some cookies with you :)  Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

our family Christmas trees We have been having so much fun this Christmas season that I just haven't had a lot of time to be around here.  I'm sure you understand though.  Have you been 'hustling and bustling' or are you feeling merry?  We've been doing a little of both here. We have made an effort to simplify a little more this December.  Or at least take the time to enjoy the season more.  We've said "no" to some activities and we've scaled back the gift buying.  But I am having more fun with my family this year than in previous years and it makes my heart happy. Since we began our homeschooling journey --and I realized how hectic it gets in December and how the kiddos' ability to concentrate on school work flies out the window-- we generally take off the entire month of December.  This year though we took a late vacation in the month of November so I just couldn't justify taking off the whole month.  So we schooled the first tw...

It's almost time for the big day!  I love Thanksgiving and am really looking forward to it this year.  We'll be having our meal at my parents' house--which is very close by--with family and friends.  I've been busy the past few days finalizing our menu with my mom and sister and making my grocery list.  As usual, we have gone overboard and are preparing a ridiculous amount of food!  I can hardly wait! :) Here is our menu (links are included for the recipes we'll be using): Thanksgiving 2014 Appetizers Stuffed Date Rumaki Pickles & Olive plate Main Course Roasted Turkey Crockpot Dressing Giblet Gravy Cranberry Sauce Mashed Potatoes Green Bean Casserole Corn Casserole Brussels Sprouts Sweet Potato Casserole Baked Macaroni & Cheese Buttered Corn Copper Pennies 9-Layer Salad Fruit Salad Rolls Dessert Chocolate Cream Pie Deep Dish Pumpkin Pie Apple Pie

I know I haven't been blogging much this month.  It has been nice  to step back from the computer a little more and just enjoy  the Christmas season with my family.   Here's what we did this month: Mr. B just keeps losing his baby teeth~he's got a super-gappy mouth right now:) We took in a local, musical performance of A Christmas Carol. The kiddos had fun caroling with our homeschool group at a local nursing home. Of course, there was the annual "fun" picture with Santa (we always do the freebie one at Bass Pro). While we were at the Bass Pro Shop we hung out a little with the Robertsons. We had tons of fun at our church's Christmas party's photo booth! The Princess helped me make lots of Christmas goodies. We loved looking at the local Christmas lights! Our family had its now-traditional meal at Patti's 1880 Settlement. We did a little ice skating in Nashville~then grabbed lunch at ou...