Joy at Home

Few things we can do in this world are so well worth doing as the making of a beautiful and happy home. He who does this builds a sanctuary for God and opens a fountain of blessing for men. ~ J.R. Miller

After a busy weekend it has been a pleasure to spend some time at home. Like the title of this blog says my heart is always home.

Winter is starting to make itself know. It has cooled down, the skies are gray and there have been some snow flurries. A perfect time to try a new recipe.


Honey wheat bread. Not a keeper, but that is okay. Sometimes you win and some times you don't.

Laundry washed, ironed, folded and put away.


At least for a moment!

With the grey skies and early sunset there have been more and more candles burning.


I love the warm glow.


It gives me pure joy to sit back in the evening and know that my kitchen is tidy and ready for a new day.

The new toy shelf is working out well.


They love being able to grab a container and take off to play with it. Megan and Abe took the potato heads to the kitchen table.


I love it when they play with things that spark their imagination. Not every moment at home is fun, but if you stop and savor a few simple moments you can find so much joy.

I hope you are taking time to enjoy the simple moments!

My Weekend

It is tradition that the tree goes up the day after Thanksgiving. Megan was so excited she about drove me crazy last week asking how many days until tree day! Things started out great.



In no time the tree was up and ready for the fun stuff. Or so we thought. It is a pre-lit tree and half of the lights were not working. After some trouble shooting it was determined that they were beyond repair. I had to unclasp, untie and cut all of the lights off. Good news is that we did get it finished and the light strings look even better.


Finally we were able to do the fun stuff!


Here it is almost done. My step-mother-in-law used a decorative fence in her decorating one year and we asked to borrow it. Chuck modified it some and this is the finished result.


A tree that I hope is safe from a couple of wild toddlers!

I didn't go out and join in all the crazy shopping Friday morning, but I did step out for a quick run Friday evening. There was a shelving unit that was part of a three day sale. I thought it would be perfect for holding toys in the living room.

The kitchen that I had out was not working. Abe was trying to ride on the doors and Eli dumped out all of the food and dished. I spent Saturday moving things around in Megan's room so the kitchen would fit and swapping toys.


Ahh, much better.

I spent Sunday afternoon working on an Advent.


You can get a free download from Ann at A Holy Experience. I am super excited to do this!

It has been a long, wonderful weekend. I am sorry to see it end.

I hope you are taking time to enjoy the simple moments!

Almost Turkey Time!

I feel like I haven't been around much. I have been dealing with a little one just not feeling her best.

Only a cold, but enough to make her miserable, grouchy and needy. Thankfully she has felt much better today.

Lots has happened in my home today. It started off with pancakes for breakfast.


These are suppose to be turkeys. Chuck couldn't see it in the picture, but the kids loved it.

On a commercial Megan saw where cookies were cut into the shape of your hand print and made into turkeys.



I almost didn't do this because of time. I bought pre-made cookie dough and frosting on a last minute run to the store today. I am so glad that I did. Out of all the activities we have done this month this might be Megan's favorite.

The kitchen has been a busy place today.


A couple dozen eggs were deviled, the kitchen sink was clogged (thanks to my mom taking care of that problem!), brownies are cooling and tomorrow I will make the green beans with potatoes. Then it is off to Grandmas. (Chuck's mom & stepdads)


O Lord that lends me life, Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness! ~ William Shakespeare

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you are taking time to enjoy the simple moments!

Can You Tell..

what I have been doing?


I have been spending all of my spare time (ha!) at the sewing machine. The tree garland should be done soon and then there is a table runner in the works.

I am fairly new to sewing and am having a blast! I hope to be back soon with some finished pictures.

I hope you are taking time to enjoy the simple moments!

Tree Handprint Apron

I enjoy giving gifts that are personal. Megan and I made this apron as a gift for her grandma.


I am so pleased with how it turned out that I plan to make one with the boys I watch. I am sure their mom would enjoy it.

I hope you are taking time to enjoy the simple moments!

Felt Poinsettias

I am working on some crafty things. Things I can make that are inexpensive to decorate my home for Christmas. I saw these over at Kindra's and knew exactly what I would do with them.

I had to purchase the felt and the bells. The cost was under $6.00 and would have been less if I hadn't forgotten my 40% off coupon! Still much less then if I had bought pre-made poinsettias.


I couldn't find my floral wire so I used pipe cleaners instead. They weren't quite as strong as the floral wire would have been. To counter that I placed cotton balls in the jars for stability.


I thought the cotton balls gave it the effect of snow.


My next project will take a little longer as it involves a little sewing. I don't normally decorate until the day after Thanksgiving but I am anxious to get going this year.

I hope you are taking time to enjoy the simple moments!

Giving Thanks

One of the things that I really like about Thanksgiving is that it causes you to pause and give thanks.

To help Megan stop and give thanks we have been working on a thankful book.


We are using the alphabet and daily stop to write in the thankful book.


Certainly something I want to keep so I had Megan write her name and year on the back of the book.


I am always looking for few things to do with Megan. I would love to hear ways to help your children to stop and count their blessings.

I hope you are taking time to enjoy the simple moments!

Sun to Snow!

I finally finished the deep clean of my kitchen. It took my several days, but I am thrilled with the results.


When you look at this picture it might not look much different then it normally does after I tidy up, but I know the difference. I didn't realize my cabinets were so dirty until I had cleaned a couple. Every nook and cranny inside and out has been wiped down. Now if I can only keep it this way!

I did slow down on the cleaning to enjoy a beautiful day. The sun was shinning and it reached 70*!


We were busy outside playing and putting things away for winter. It was so nice that I sat out on the swing until well after dark.


I snapped this picture on my way inside. I love how cozy my home looked. :)

The following day I woke up to rain and it was super windy. The windy brought in cold weather. With the colder temperatures we enjoyed one of our favorite lunches.


Today we saw snow!


There was enough that it stuck to the grass. I know it won't last, but it was sure pretty.

I hope you are taking time to enjoy the simple moments!

Controlled Chaos

That is exactly what I have been dealing with the past few days. I am knee deep in a big cleaning project.


The living room is done and the kitchen is almost there. I am hopeful to have my entire home deep cleaned by the end of next weekend. We'll see. It is a major project and with babysitting and normal life it might not happen.

Megan is a beginning reader. She is constantly sounding out words and asking me to spell things for her. This is what I found her reading this evening.


Oh yes, that is the phone book. She was reading the numbers to us. Silly girl!

If a few days pass and you haven't heard from me you'll know I am busy washing baseboards and vacuuming behind furniture.

I hope you are taking time to enjoy the simple moments!

Around Here

Around here nothing exciting has been happening. Monday night we joined my sister at my parent's home for dinner and some trick or treating.


Megan as a "Jak in Bos" She sounded it out and that is how she spelled it. I am enjoying watching her develop her reading skills.

The weather has been mild and we are trying to get things put in order outside.


All of the flower beds have been cleaned out for their winter rest.


My clematis has a couple of flowers and some of the leaves are starting to green. I think it is confused!


Megan has been spending lots of time outside. Oh, how sad we will all be when most of our time is spent indoors.

Enjoying the sunset.


When I see things of beauty like this it is hard to understand how someone can question or even deny God.

I hope you are taking time to enjoy the simple moments!