Although my girls have been listening to audiobooks since they were tiny, it's only been this year that I've discovered the beauty of audiobooks for myself. But once I got started, I was hooked. When I'd tried listening to audiobooks in the past, I always felt like my mind was wandering too much and I was missing large…
If I was on top of things, I would have made my plans and shared this post with you on or before Ash Wednesday. But, well, February was a tough month, and something had to give. Instead of focusing on the Easter story for the 40 days of Lent (which I would have preferred), I'm…
I talk a lot about respectful dialogue, listening to what others have to say, and living in the middle, so the title of this post might surprise you. "Why it's okay to believe your way is the best way" Let me clarify: I think it's okay to believe the decisions you make and the way…
Although I'm still learning the basics of doodling, one thing I've started to do in the last couple of weeks is be more intentional about collecting patterns and borders to use as inspiration and to develop my own style (rather than just copying others). As I was working on these pages in my sketchbook, I…
As I've been sharing my newly discovered passion for doodling and hand lettering on social media, I've gotten a lot of questions from other people who want to learn more as well. I spent some time digging into my new books and supplies this weekend and thought I'd share a few more thoughts about each…
For a long time, I avoided rating books on Goodreads. As I've started using it more regularly and connecting with more people, I had a couple of friends ask me to share my ratings on the books that I have read. My problem was that I had trouble defining what each of those star ratings…
Although we have a simple ornament journal as part of our Christmas planner, I really wanted to create an ornament journal for my kids to record memories and notes about their individual collections of ornaments. Our girls get a new ornament every Christmas (plus any they make during the season), and each year we pack…
These candy cane cookies are a staple of our Christmas celebration (although, if I'm honest, I end up eating most of them myself!). Every time I share a picture of them on social media, though, people ask questions or share their stories of failed cookies. Since this is the one "impressive" thing I can do…
Friends of ours gave me a tin of this popcorn at our end-of-the-year celebration for our homeschool group, and I sent her a message just as soon as I took my first bite because it's that good! I wouldn't even call myself a caramel popcorn fan, but I seriously could not stop eating this stuff. It…
Looking for a "healthier" Christmas cookie that doesn't sacrifice taste in the process? This is the one! Made with white whole wheat flour, old-fashioned oats, and coconut sugar, these oatmeal cookies meet my criteria for perfect oatmeal cookies -- slightly crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. With toasted pecans and dark chocolate, they're…