Oh he makes my heart melt!

We love being at home. It’s a good thing because we spend a lot of time here.

Rue (FINALLY) got fixed this last week. I had visions of her getting pregnant while she sneaks away to the park unnoticed. One cattle dog is all we can handle. While at the vet, they asked us to come get her early because these kind of dogs are sensitive to being left there and they didn’t want her spending the night. We didn’t bother sharing that she barks non stop while in her kennel when we are gone and she would be a terrible overnight guest. How do we know that? Because our neighbor 2 HOUSES down told us. Rue likes us that much that she must be with us AT ALL TIMES! The vet’s office also told us to keep her inside and calm for 7-10 days. UM. SHE IS A CATTLE DOG! She stayed calm for exactly 24 hours. Then she was outside chasing squirrels and kids and barking and barking some more. I think she actually has picked up speed since last week. Lucky for her she is so stocky that she can’t reach her incision so she hasn’t touched it once. And lucky for us she has a high pain tolerance so she hasn’t complained once. I do have to say a sedated cuddly cattle dog might be the best thing ever. Too bad it only lasted one night. I know she’s glad to be home too!

Because we homeschool and field trips are necessary for a mama that needs a reset….we headed off one morning for a walk on the beach. It was the day before a hurricane was set to hit North Carolina so the swells were big and the tides were high and the life guards were out in force getting people out of the water that weren’t surfing or had a board. There was definitely a feeling of waiting to see what the storm was going to do this day at Tybee.

We are praying for you North Carolina and anyone in the path of the hurricane. I don’t know what it’s like to have everything destroyed or the feeling of starting over so praying you feel the prayers and strength to overcome this hard time!

I vaguely remember Home Economics in school. Or maybe I should say the one part I do remember somehow set the tone for how well I would cook in the kitchen. I remember being in middle school, and we were making cookies for the homeless. My recipe was to make red and white candy cane cookies. I failed….miserably. My cookies were so bad they weren’t even edible. Fast forward many years to my early days of being a wife. I could barely follow a recipe let alone feel any confidence that it would turn out good. If I forgot the salt for the cookies, I would pull them back out of the oven mid cooking cycle, and sprinkle it on. This does not make for a good dessert. I barely knew how to chop vegetables. Apparently there is a “correct” way to use the knife. Let’s just say, I never woooo-ed Rad with my cooking. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He was the one that taught me the finer side of meal prep and cooking. While we were dating, he would make elaborate unbelievably delicious dinners. Things I had never tasted or even heard of. And he prepared all of it with such ease. Apparently yes…it was a turn on because I married this incredible chef.

Fast forward 20+ years later and I realize the impact a helpful husband has on his family. So welcome back middle school home economics. My first child just enrolled and this week we had lots of lessons. Gress washed all the veggies and fruit, cut all the veggies for snacking. We prepped several meals for the week (grating, chopping, cooking) and even made a few meals to put in the freezer for future dinners. He loves being in the kitchen doing this kind of work. He also loves to taste test and eat good food so as long as we can mostly cook things that are edible, I think these skills will be able to be carried on for years to come!

You turn around and bam, 5 years have passed. Welcome to your 5th year Mabry. I love watching you grow up!

When you find friends who love a good adventure as much as you do, you know they are keepers! I have been lucky to find a homeschooling mama that makes my heart sing. She an I were instant friends from the moment we met and last weekend we got to bring our families together for the first time. We went on a boat trip to Shark Tooth Island. While the rest of us were looking for shark teeth, 2 of the kids were busy getting spa treatments. The rain only happened over our boat while we were off exploring so we managed to miss it. We had the island all to ourselves and spent time playing, hearing stories of how they met, where they are from, and where life is taking them. It was a good for the soul kind of day! 

We love getting to celebrate another year with our kids. I have to say that time passes really quickly from one year to the next and I look back at photos and wonder where the time has gone. Mabry is no longer little but becoming a sweet big girl! She just celebrated her 5th birthday. We love so many things about her from her sweet personality, to her spunk and fiery spirit, to her matter of fact facial expressions, to the way she still loves to cuddle, and make cards for people. She is tough, and girly at the same time. She is loud and gentle. She is curious and sometimes shy. And she loves people! We are so thankful to have this special girl in our lives! Happy 5th birthday Mabry!

What have the kids been up to? They have been loving puzzles lately. It started with Mcree waning to get one. He started with a 60 piece and completed it in no time. He moved up to a 100 piece and that was a bit harder with the nature scene that was mostly the same color. Our next challenge is a 500 piece puzzle. Gress came along for the challenge. He wasn’t so sure it was going to be his thing but it turned out the art of finishing it is pretty addicting!

The majority or the kids fort is finished. While the school busses roll by between 6:15am and 7:30am, my kids are partaking in some P.E. by getting all their energy out on the swings. Rad did a great job getting this completed!

And if you happened to walk by my house last week, you would have seen a sweet cattle dog sitting at the fence with butterfly wings on. It was so funny. Until she ripped them up and continuously rolled on them.

We sure do miss our friends who just recently moved back home to Augusta. Our friendship has spanned almost 8 years just before our second boys were born. The boys have been best of friends since then. I have learned a lot from Amanda and William. I love seeing how William earnestly teaches my boys how to be the best they can be. He instills a sense of confidence in them and gives them a lot of responsibility and then backs off to see how they rise to the challenge. I have had to learn to quiet my mama bear protective ways and let him work his magic. It is truly a special gift. This labor day weekend we went to visit them and he took the two oldest boys on a dove hunt which included skinning and cleaning the doves. You know Gress LOVED this whole experience.

No doubt it is a lot to entertain a family of 5. Amanda does it with such patience and grace. She makes you feel like everything she has is yours and her pace reminds you to slow down and savor the moments right in front of you. Her gentle spirit with her kids and husband is truly inspiring. I have a lot to learn from her. Amanda and I have spent A LOT of time over the years at the beach. She was never fond of getting in the ocean so it was so fun to get the chance to frolic in the lake with her. They took us out on the boat 2 days in a row and it was a blast. My favorite part might have been inner-tubing with her at way too high speeds thanks to William. The kids learned to knee board, had a blast inner-tubing (which they have never done) and Gress even water skied. Rad even tried to impress me with his knee boarding skills. It was quite the adventurous get away. I’m thankful for friends who share these opportunities with us.

Even though the many hours separate us, we hope to see each other often! They truly are a gift to us!

This year we have FULLY embraced a certain style of homeschooling called Charlotte Mason. Part of our studies include nature study and lots of time outside to explore and observe. Sure, the kids spend lots of time playing, but to walk through a park and see all the details around you and taking time to observe a certain insect or tree and learn it’s ways is something totally different. We have been lucky enough to be involved in a Nature Study group with other families who school the same way we do. What is even more special is that the moms meet once a month to read through the Charlotte Mason books and discuss the many methods Charlotte Mason laid out. This group has been so encouraging and life giving to us all. We have made some really sweet friendships.

This last week we met for a hike at Skidaway Island State Park. There were about 25 kids and 7 moms. The kids ran wild in the marshes and played capture the flag for hours. We hiked and searched for seeds and learned more in depths ways to journal our time in nature. The kids ran wild in the pouring rain, and the moms got lots of time to get to know each other better. It was so great for us and I can’t wait to gather with these families again.