Encourage = “Put Courage In”{Day 33} ♥️🌿

I invite you to scroll through these beautifully encouraging pieces! I submitted mine awhile back and it was included (last piece, Amy M. Pine) with these others. They really are testimonials of God’s love and faithfulness! Just what I needed to peruse this morning as we are wrapping up our home school year. ♥️🌿

🩵🤍🩵🤍🩵🤍🩵

Unique Things We Love ♥️ {Day 29}

1. Manga Classics! Manga is a Japanese cartoon type story telling that you turn the pages left to right. There are a lot variations and genres out there ( including po*n graphic -so beware!), but our family has really enjoyed many English translated stories . Our favorite BY FAR is Manga Classic retellings of our beloved favorites. Above our just a few of the ones we own. They are a bit spendy, but we collect them for birthdays or Christmas.

    2. The Anno Math Game books were so fun for my youngest to do with my husband. Definitely for younger kids but such delightful illustrations and unique ways of looking at mathematics.

    3. I’m privileged to write and collage for this Christian homemaker women’s letter. It has grown from a few friends who met years ago via Instagram and blogs. A new website has launched for subscribers and it would make a wonderful gift for any mother!

    4. Last but not least, I highly recommend these GORGEOUS sticker packs from Peter Pauper Press. You can get them on Amazon. My favorites are definitely the Cottagecore and Enchanted Forest books!

    Happy Saturday! ♥️~

    Day in the life of…🌲{Day 26}🌲

    Today…

    Made coffee.

    Talked with 18 yo.

    Read a few chapters in Luke.

    Tried to pray.

    Got more coffee.

    Snuggled with 6 yo old.

    Wrote out homeschool list.

    Plugged in dying phone and kindle.

    Made my hubby’s breakfast.

    Listened to 17 yo’s narrations.

    Talked schedule with hubby.

    Looked at dinner pool list to decide what I have in cupboard for dinner. Nothing needs thawing.

    Made my yogurt bowl for breakfast. Got kids finishing breakfast (fend for themselves) and starting math and piano practice.

    Unpacked a few things from car that we left after arriving home late last night.

    Texted with daughter at college. She got my card. ♥️Sent her video she wanted.

    Collected cold coffee and yogurt bowl, grocery list, random journals, and pens and took upstairs.

    Ran downstairs, washed out and filled water bottle.

    Forwarded email someone wanted me to pass on to mom’s group.

    Sent recommendations to my daughter’s soon to be MIL.

    Ran back upstairs.

    Listened to Marco Polo group messages while eating and settling up my journals.

    Caught up on some journaling.

    Ran downstairs. Printed off book covers for reading journal.

    Sat down with four kiddos for our morning time.

    Listened to narrations and popped popcorn for snack.

    Did reading lessons with little boys. Read them a couple chapters of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

    Buzzed boy’s hair, helped them with showers, and finger nails.

    6 yo and I spread the hair clippings to birds outside .

    Texted my best friend, my sister!

    Listened to 17 yo narrate again.

    Helped 21 yo son with his college paper for 10 minutes.

    Got out leftovers for lunch, heated up ham veggie soup for my husband and I! Washed spoons.

    Cleaned up while kids outside.

    Got out big block of cheese, gallon bags to split and freeze. Can’t find serrated knife?

    Went back upstairs and journaled a bit more, started grocery list/menu plan.

    Tried to go on walk, super windy and cold. Listened to audiobook. Grabbed my son’s laundry that was on clothesline because it looked like rain. Admired the violets!

    17 yo left for extended music lessons.

    Call three younger in, work on each child’s history, science, and copy work. Work on some reading with my current dyslexic.

    Make more popcorn and cheese and cracker snack.

    Send them out to play.

    Set up nature outing with friends via Voxer.

    My 6 yo and I thoroughly enjoyed this together. ♥️

    I found missing serrated knife. 🤪 Finished cheese project and I froze some of the cheese.

    Sat down and started listening to The Raphael Affair, almost finished.

    Watched one Booktube video.

    Got kids ready for going with dad and picking up cousins for church. Found socks, shoes, sweatshirts.

    Now blogging 😅 and thinking of dinner prep (egg sausage casserole), and which book to read.

    Need to finish grocery list/menu plan.

    Need to finish unpacking car.

    Maybe start packaging up books for an east coast friend or write a pen pal letter?

    I could sweep kitchen floor and scrub table too. 🤔

    Fun 🤩 favorites reads from April!

    I love these sort of post as I don’t often realize all that I’m doing while in the midst of it! Also it’s a record and a memory of a wonderful life! I’m so blessed to be a home keeper and home schooling mama. A favorite quote I heard again this past weekend was about “a long obedience in the same direction”. May that be so of my faith journey and my relationships. 🙏🏻♥️

    What did you do today? I bet you’d be surprised if you jotted down the minute details as closely as possible. Happy Wednesday! ♥️

    Favorite Blogs and Booktube Channels to check out! {Day 22} 📽️📚

    Happy Thursday! I ‘tried’ to group these by main genre topic. ♥️ I’m hoping to add more for reference! A few of these don’t regularly update, but there is a TREASURE TROVE of back posts!

    Writing/General Memoir/Nature:

    Adrienne Morris

    Beating the Bounds

    Merhling Muse

    Words & Herbs

    Poetry (among other gems):

    Beautiful Messy Life

    Dreams from A Pilgrimage

    Kourtney Garrison

    Leaf and Twig

    Tea & Paper

    writing in north norfolk

    Essays/Articles:

    Enthusiastically, Dawn

    Dr. Lizzie Rogers

    The Marginalian

    Home/Domestic/Family:

    Fancied Freedom

    Gathering Light

    Good to Be Home

    Haven Hedgerow

    Heavens to Betty

    Melissa Wiley

    Rabbit Patch Diary

    Renaissance

    Reading/Homeschool:

    Sage Parnassus

    The Book Worm Chronicles

    Woldenburn

    Booktube Absolute Favorites:

    Kate Howe

    Chantel Reads All Day

    Miriam Elizabeth Reads

    Gloria Z Thompson

    Cozy Cottage Chapters

    Happy reading/watching! This would be a perfect place to dive into on your next rainy day! So thankful for creativity and words! 🌲♥️😍

    Dust and Dreams {Day 20}

    Wowsers. 😜😮‍💨 Nothing like packing up parts of your home for a much needed renovation project to see how terrible of a cleaner/organizer I am! 😧🫨😆

    We are, Lord-willing, finally getting our walls properly insulated and a new floor! 😍 Among other things, hopefully! BUT that means taking down my shelves that my FIL built 10 (!) years ago. So LOTS of books have to be packed up!

    It’s a great opportunity for me to purge and organize. So many memories with all my children and these wonderful books we thrifted, hunted down, and treasured over the years. 🥲😍🥰

    Thank God for motherhood and the opportunity to home educate. 😍🥲♥️

    Any projects on your horizon? I hope to update about this and my gardening soon! 🤞🏻♥️

    Monday Ponderings {Day 19}

    Merrily Gareth ask’d

    ‘Have I not earn’d my cake in baking of it?

    Let be my name until I make my name!

    My deeds will speak: it is but for a day.’

    So with a kindly hand on Gareth’s arm

    Smiled the great King, and half-unwillingly

    Loving his lusty youthhood yielded to him.

    Gareth and Lynette, Idylls of the King, Tennyson

    ‘Damsel,’ Sir Gareth answer’d gently, ‘say

    Whate’er ye will, but whatsoe’er ye say,

    I leave not till I finish this fair quest,

    Or die therefore.’

    Gareth and Lynette

    I’m slowly getting into my buddy read of Idyll’s of the King and I was struck remembering this lovely picture book version of this part of the poem. The Kitchen Knight retold by Margaret Hodges is lovely, largely due to the illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman!

    Happy Monday, friends! Our weekly quest has begun! Go forth boldly and without fear! 🙏🏻♥️😍

    Poems & Paths 🌿{Day 17}

    Inspiration:

    “Six feet down in the sand
    There’s creatures that made a hole
    Do speak, I’m begging you, please
    There’s beauty outside control (Outside)”

    ~RM💜

    My friend, Sam’s devotional about the Mundanity of God ♥️

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    “Prayers of a Fool”

    Cathedral carvings hidden
    Full-time home hearth lovin’ forbidden
    Fool, don’t do that again
    Takes long, second gone, down drain, amen.
    Wash, rinse, sunrise driven
    Plant, weed, kiss that bruised knee
    Blood, sweat, things that don’t make sense.
    Paint, scribble, lock it in a drawer, forgotten.
    Cathedral songs stir, long-dead-dusty, silent
    Heart strings strum violent
    Prayer painting skies violet.
    Fool, don’t do that again.
    It don’t make sense.

    A.M.P. 🌲♥️

    Wednesday Wonders •Homeschool History/Geography Edition• 🗺️🧭 {Day 15}

    Fun, adventurous story set near the Amazon River!
    Favorite history/geography/architecture picture book series by Elizabeth Mann!

    listening to and reading♥️🌿~ we are really enjoying our read aloud of Journey to the River Sea. We’ve kind of poked our head into South America, this year while studying Early American history, explorers, etc. We have some Ancient reading going on and early European too. It’s seems to be opening up ideas and interesting discussions and narrations. 😍

    A few individual things with different children we are enjoying! Oldies, but goodies. Trying to ‘use my shelves’!
    Two Favorites here!

    •watching and noticing•♥️🌿

    One child mentioned within my hearing how The Divine Comedy 🎭 and the podcast The 100 Days of Dante were coming together with other things. My heart cheered inside. 😅♥️ I’ve noticed that Marvel and the Percy Jackson Series have been being connected to Greek/Norse myths we are always enjoying in our Literature. My older kids enjoy some of the Marvel movies and ALL of my kids have appreciated Percy Jackson’s adventure stories.

    Tornado 🌪️/ thunderstorm weather in our area! 😱😬

    What have you been listening to, reading, watching, and noticing? I’ve been so interested and pleased with our history adventures this year! Thank You, Lord! ♥️😍📚🥰

    Rabbit 🐇 trails ~ {Day 11}

    Links 🔗

    Interesting short essay about Dante’s use of water in The Divine Comedy ~

    Listen to this beautiful piece while reading Dante article!

    Hidden track song that I’m thinking about ~

    My daughter sent me this beautiful version of a favorite ~

    We went to a favorite nature haunt and I finally saw the flower of the skunk cabbage!😍♥️

    Little spores puffed off of these red bits when I ran my fingers over them! 😃♥️
    Worlds with the world

    Our friends said this is Hepatica
    Woodpecker evidence!

    How was your week? We are just itching for it to warm up a bit more, but overall a good week! We had homeschool co op, my tulips/daffodils are peeking up their heads and looking 👀 around suspiciously, a local play that two children are involved with, and one of my children is being baptized! ♥️😍

    Wednesday Wonders ♥️🌲{Day 8}

    The Queen 😻🐈

    Good morning! ☀️ Resurrecting my Wednesday Wonders series…I recently answered these questions here, but they are always changing, so indulge me again?! 😄♥️🌷

    listening to•♥️🌲~ I’m finally getting to the sequel in L.M. Montgomery’s Silver Bush duology, using this audiobook recording of it that is fantastic! I’m LOVING Mistress Pat even more than the first. Patricia is growing up and feeling the growing pains of possibly having to leave Silver Bush and everything changing! I identify with change being hard! 🥲I also want to listen more to this Josh Garrels release!

    Music practice always going on around here! So thankful we have the ability for lessons!

    •reading•♥️🌲~ My mood shifted yesterday 😅 and I started rooting around for things to read. 😂📚 I think I’m leaning towards cozy classics, charming characters, and delicious nature descriptions. Of course, I first picked up, my gal, Maud Montgomery! Hence, Mistress Pat! A memory I have is rereading the whole Anne Series when I was pregnant with my first. Her name is Ann-E 🥹♥️😅 and she getting married later this year! Maybe I’ll reread the series this year in honor!? 😭😍

    Moody stack!

    watching•♥️🌲~ I’m slowly rereading all the greats with my younger set. The Wind in the Willows is one of the current ones. It’s such a great book for spring! I was craving the claymation? film version and so enjoyed watching it. The peaceful atmosphere (except Toad 🐸😂) was just as I remembered it.

    noticing•♥️🌲~ Our Black Willow trees sustained a lot of damage in a recent ice storm, but I salvaged a few branches with buds for the table. The robins have been so cheery even though it’s been rainy and cold. I’m waiting not so patiently for warmth and usually by the end of April, the Barn Swallows are back! 😍♥️

    Sunset 🌅
    Slow strolls and shadows
    Coming to the end of this in our homeschool co op!
    Beautiful 🤩 chaos – so thankful for life and color!

    What about you? ♥️🌲 What are you listening to, reading, watching, and noticing TODAY?! ☀️🌷💜🌿🍃

    Monday Ponderings {Day 6}

    “The fruit of silence is prayer, the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith is love, the fruit of love is service, the fruit of service is peace. “

    ~ Mother Teresa

    Thinking and praying on this as a week of homeschooling, wedding planning, cooking, and extras stretches before me. 🪴🌷🌿🍃🌲What’s on your heart? 💜