When I learned I had Lyme disease, I went through a strange jumbled up mess of emotions. The doctor's office called and told me my test came back positive. They wanted me to come in as soon as possible to talk about beginning Lyme treatment. I was near tears. The tears welling up in my eyes were tears of happiness. I was happy to finally know what the cause of all of my strange seemingly unrelated symptoms were. At the same point, I was angry. I was angry at all of the doctors who told me nothing was wrong, the doctors who told me it was just chronic fatigue and I shouldn't worry about it. I was ...Read More
Homeschooling FREE Summer Spelling & Coloring Pack
During the summer you will most likely find my children outside playing. But, during the "heat of the day," I like to bring them inside for some cool-down time and let them rest. And even though no "formal" schooling is taking place, we still practice some of the basics - such as reading and handwriting - over the summer months, especially during those young, formidable years. But, if you approach them with anything that remotely resembles schoolwork, they will revolt. So, I try to use creative tactics for practicing those essentials. One of those ways is through some fun Spelling and Coloring pages. So this year ...Read More
Pamper Your Husband for Father’s Day: A Gift He’ll Never Forget
As many of you know, I was recently diagnosed with Lyme disease. The combination of my symptoms and, at times, the crazy side effects of some of the drugs I'm taking means I spend a lot of time in bed. A lot. Some days (the days I take the crazy meds) I sleep 16-17 hours—but the fatigue is never ending. Both in the months leading up to my diagnosis and since that time, my husband has picked up the slack around the house. He rises early to pray so he can be ready when the kids get up to make breakfast and get them ready for school. He works a full day and comes home from work and hits the ground running. He usually ...Read More
DIY Itch-Be-Gone! Paste
Summer is here, and with it comes a slew of new "friends," some of whom are a tad too friendly for my taste. Thank goodness for homemade items like Itch Be Gone Paste, which only takes two ingredients to make! Down here in the South, we've been dealing with some of these friends for far too long already. The beginning of April saw the fire ants coming out to play, and by the middle of the month we were being visited by the ever-friendly mosquitoes. Though I do use homemade bug repellent on my kids, they often run out to the backyard to play without me spraying them down first. And of course, with four kids ...Read More
{DIY} Non-Toxic Bug Repellent Spray
Our family loves to go camping and spend as much time outside as we can during the summer months! With the weather warming up, we’re looking forward to hikes and days in the water. Do you know what we’re not looking forward to? Bug bites! While we're out enjoying nature, we want to make sure our family doesn't get eaten up by mosquitoes! On the other hand, we also don't want to use all those harsh chemicals. Enter this DIY bug repellent spray! What we put on our skin matters. Skin is a very important organ that can have a huge impact on our overall health. It is highly absorbent, and toxic ingredients can wreak ...Read More
FREE Summer Copywork Printables
And just like that, we're done with our regular schoolwork and on to summer. Can you believe this year is almost half-way over? I think it's definitely true, that time goes faster the older you get. Crazy how that works! Even though we don't do a full "formal" day of homeschooling in the summer, I try to give them some minimal schoolwork at least a couple times a week. Handwriting is one of those subjects that I think needs constant work. It is a skill that takes a while to master and if kids don't use it for a while, it's easy to slide backwards into bad habits again. So this month I created some fun ...Read More
Foods What’s Really the Difference? Nutritional Differences in Whole vs. Processed Foods
For years people have asked the question, "Is there really a difference between raw food (or real food) and processed food?" Many people believe what the packages promote and the T.V. ads imply: "No." But what is the truth? When working on my Master Herbalist course, one of the projects we were to work on was finding out the difference in certain processed foods and real or raw foods. This was right up my alley. I looked forward to this project because I really enjoy the nitty-gritty. I love seeing evidence and finding out the truth. So here are a few results that I found. I am not going to share my whole project ...Read More
Summer Sanity: 12 Ideas for a Purposeful Summer with Your Kids
Summer is my very favorite time of the year. It's been that way for as long as I can remember. How I looked forward to summer break when I was a kid! I fondly remember childhood days of lazy mornings and long, warm evenings playing outside. I think I anticipated summers even more as a public school teacher, and perhaps most of all now that I'm a homeschooling mom. I'm a creature of structure and routine, but my inner rebel relishes the freedom of relaxed schedules and shorter to-do lists. Although, as my kids get older, I've noticed a less-than-delightful trend. After the first week or two away from the ...Read More
