Some things that make me smile these days: - An elderly woman named Bedie in my bible study group who speaks her mind (mahhhnd) with the longest southern drawl you ever did hear and wears crisply ironed clothes and gorgeous patent leather shoes - Lela's neck rolls. Or just everything about this child. - The very Southern saying "having a time," as in...

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Phew! What a summer. We've had so many visitors, it's been crazy and so happy and exciting. Last week my little sister flew in with my cousin Emily. The next day my cousin Tiffany and her husband Jake and their three kids all drove in from Kansas so we jumped ship and rented a beach house in Outer Banks. Can I just pause...

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I wanted to give Logan a fun year of schooling. This move hasn't been easy for him. He left a neighborhood full of boys he'd play with for hours a day and an excellent homeschooling community with more social outings than we could even think to attend. Here we live on land with only neighbors we can see from beyond the trees, none...

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I posted my last book review on Instagram, but it was a little lengthy so I'll start writing the reviews here on the 'ol blog. These books - GEMS! All of them! So here it goes: 1. Anne of Green Gables, Montgomery I love the movies but have never read the books, so for reading-fiction-every-once-in-awhile-cause-it's-good-for-you's sake, I dived in. The language is beautiful...

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Summer zucchini, isn't it so versatile? Also, maybe stores sell zucchini year round, I just never think to look because I only think of zucchini in the summer. Kind of like how eating pumpkin feels wrong any time other than fall. Here's my favorite way to make zucchini: Chop up a zucchini. I like to do it at an angle so I have...

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I've been thinking a bit about how mothering gets easier with every baby. Breastfeeding feels more natural and I feel more relaxed and confident in my way of doing things. I've kept three kids alive this long, so I must be doing something kind of okayish. Anyway, I was thinking the other day about advice I'd give my baby sister when she has...

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Summers here mean the following cycle: Swimming Eat Sleep Swimming Eat Sleep With a few library and duck pond trips thrown in for a chance to wear clothes. We're having a 1950s summer. I've signed my kids up for nothing, save Vacation Bible School, so we have nowhere to go. People ask my plans and I come up with...um...grocery shopping? Maybe mop a...

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The sconces that adorned the kids' bathroom wall were pretty nasty, so we knew we needed to replace them, but since we spent $$ on new sinks, a new toilet and new tile, we didn't have a lot of cash to buy a pricey light fixture. I saw this tutorial on lgn and thought I'd try it for indoors. We bought two chicken...

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