Simple Days.

That’s my plan–simple–but often my plan is replaced by life 😉 You too?

However, I wanted to give a peek at what we have been up to lately in our homeschool, our family, and hobby farm life.

Winter has been COLD. I mean, like super super numbing cold. Right after Christmas it turned downright arctic. It was in the single digits and negative numbers for several days and for over two weeks we didn’t make it above the 20’s. 

Hobby farm life was not so fun with those temps. Watering the chickens in the morning was brutal and keeping up with their water (especially for the ducks who need swimming water) during the days was a challenge. But we survived. And the chickens did too 😉 They finally started laying eggs again after they molted and we had such limited daylight. 
This week the temps have been warmer and the nights are getting a wee bit longer. Hurray!

Which also means all that frozen and snowy ground has turned to mud. Pure mud. The ducks love it, I don’t have to keep up with the water so much (they even found the stream to swim in!) and it’s a sign that Spring WILL come again! Even though many days it seems so far off still.

Winter Schooling

Homeschool has been up and down. We have done well with keeping up with our schedule for the most part. A few unforeseen days here and there with *life* getting in the way, but all in all we are on track.

We’ve had some fun days adding in a few extra projects. Today the boys learned about Lewis and Clark. They then were sent outside to the woods to pretend they were on an expedition and had to draw sketches in their journals and return back with specimen collections. It got a bit too cold for more exploring, so next time they are going to walk the property and try to map it out! I love hands on learning. We also want to do some field trips in the very near future.

Most days that we are home have meant working with the younger kids doing math, science, cursive practice, writing, reading, and then read alouds and history. We have read Mountain Born and Mr. Popper’s Penguins so far in January. The high schoolers do mostly all of their work independently. 

Fun Stuff

Last week we took our first COLLEGE visit with my little (almost a woman) girl! Yes, the very girl that was just yesterday a kindergartner and I was breaking the news to my family that I had decided to homeschool! Oh, how things have changed! We had such a fun family day driving out to the school and enjoying our time together. I am incredibly grateful for that.

 

A Look Ahead

I am planning all of my talks for the upcoming speaking season. I will be at four locations for Teach Them Diligently (aff. link) and then at the NCHE Thrive! Conference in NC at the end of May. My family will be traveling along with me, which means we are not taking much time off of school the next few months. I know those weeks we travel will be sparse on the books, but life lessons will abound! It all evens out in the end, doesn’t it?

Simple Life

Even though our schedule feels somewhat busy these days, we have chosen things that are fruitful – so I don’t feel burdened. I try to remember that. It is worth it. By nature I like to be home (A LOT!) but sometimes it is good to be out of my comfort zone. I want to make sure I am using the 24 hours each day God has given me in a purposeful way.

As long as I get my Bible time in, spend quiet time with the Lord, and sit at His feet daily I am exactly where I want to be. Everything else is extra and I view everything else in my day in light of the time spent with Him. Do I mess up? Yes. Often. Do I have days where I am not nearly as gentle and joyful as I wish? Of course. But staying grounded in Him is everything. I can only imagine how things would be otherwise!

So I enjoy my birds, the views of our property, being home with my kids, and mostly LIFE. I try not to fill it with things that will weigh me down and let go of an unnecessary clutter. 

Pretty soon Spring will be spring and we will be in another season…so I am making the most of this one (even if it’s freezing!) and enjoying the simple.

To see more real life snap shots of our simple life here, follow along on Instagram!

Have You Heard the Latest Podcast? How We Have Thrived as a One-Income Family—>special guest with Steve!

---

**NEW** LOW PRICE FOR RETREAT TICKETS! Register today. Space is Limited!

This summer, I am hosting a women’s retreat in Gettysburg, PA. In a world of excess, we are going to focus on that fact that Jesus is enough. The world will tell you YOU are enough. But truly, HE is enough. He is all we need. We don’t rely on ourselves, or earthly comforts, but on Him alone.  I have lived with it all stripped away, and I have seen that yes, Jesus is enough. In fact, Jesus is MORE than enough.

Early Bird Registration is Open! Join us for this life changing and life-giving event. You will spend two days with other sisters in Christ, tired of what the world offers, and ready to live the life that HE offers.

 

Check out where I am speaking in 2018—-> SPEAKING (UPDATED)

Listen to the Podcast—-> PODCAST

Watch my YouTube Channel–->YouTube

Visit my homeschooling site–>Bible Based Homeschooling

Shop Simply Living for Him——>SHOP (new items added!)