It’s being a little while since I introduced “Home and Family Chats“. However, I haven’t had a moment to share another one until now. Moving and relocating to a new state, making home, homeschooling, developing other posts for this blog, etc. it’s a lot. Along with that, there were times I’d pick up my computer to create a “chat” post but couldn’t find the words to penn. So I’d just leave it and work on something else.
Home and Family Chats
As a reminder, these posts are mainly casual chats. You can read more about my purpose behind them here. I used to write a ton of these (weekend in review) posts about what we did over the weekends. They gave such a nice break from the well-curated, DIY, recipes, home décor, organizing, etc. posts. It’s a chance to catch up and get to know a little behind the scenes. I may be a blogger on here but I’m just a mom and homemaker like you.
But I thought I would share some recent family happenings today. It’s a mix of accomplishments, activities, travel, and inspirations. I’m learning that tangible things are not the only source of happiness. There are more that comes with experiences that bring joy and growth.
Note: The photos for these types of posts may be a mix of iPhone and camera, depending on the type of post. Only the first photo in this one was taken with my Cannon. Everything else is iPhone. I want to keep them as relaxed as possible since they’re more journal type posts.
Home and Family Favorites, Accomplishments, Activities, Places, etc.
House – We bought a new home! In a new state that is! It’s a fully remodeled “old” home and very pretty. But it’s taking some time to figure out how to make it work for us. The homes here are a lot older and built differently than the homes we are used to. As an example, there’s no garage or closets to store stuff. That in itself has been somewhat of a challenge.
Family – My husband got his long earned doctorate! Say what? It’s been quite a few years with tons of hard work but this guy powered through. The no sleep nights and 4:4m bedtime, the getting up in the week hours of the morning to finish an assignment, the taking days of work to get assignments turned in, it all paid off. Meet Dr. Turner:) Congrats hon!!
Homeschool – When we moved we decided to pick back up with homeschooling the kids (for various reasons). We started late in the semester and had a deadline to meet with the school district. So I was a bit worried that we would not get the work done on time. But the girls worked very hard and some days we doubled up on subjects. We finished 4 weeks earlier. I’m just so proud of them and most of all, Thankful to God for helping us through.
Our first little one moves on to 3rd grade, cue the mama tears:( and our second little one completed Kindergarten – cue more mama tears:( Also, our preschooler loved doing school activities along with the girls – signs that he is ready to begin some kind of schooling. Cue more mama tears:(
Kids Swim – The kids have been in swim lessons since we moved. The area where we are is very different and doesn’t have many activities close by. So we thought it would be best to get the kids involved in an activity as we try to adjust so they could be around other kids.
Inspiration – I baked some bread from scratch the other day. I love baking bread but hadn’t baked any in a while. Usually, I have to find a recipe but this time, I tweaked one to make my own. I think it turned out pretty well. My mom used to bake bread almost every Saturday. The smell and taste of hot bread right out of the oven brings back some of the joys of childhood. So nostalgic. I can just taste them now! So I baked a 2 loaves and we ate one right out of the oven and saved the other for later.
Flowers – Someone gave us this hydrangea plant at Easter. I couldn’t love it more! I’ve always bought fake hydrangeas to decorate but never had real ones before. This was a pleasant surprise. Got to admit that the flowers don’t look this pretty anymore. The stem thought looks like a little tree. I think I want to transfer it from the pot and plant it outside.
My hubby surprised me with flowers, too. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the moving craziness. My husband had left for a week-long business trip and decided to have a company deliver flowers to encourage me some. Essentials oils – Love diffusing them but I also think a little break is good from time to time.
Personal: Got my nails done…. in a long time. I usually do mani-pedi on my own but hubby asked if I wanted to get a mani-pedi for Mother’s day. At first, I felt like it would be better if I didn’t because I didn’t want it to hinder my duties around the house (cleaning, cooking, taking care of the kids, etc.) But then I decided to go for it. Just for the sake of relaxing and doing something nice. I got my toes painted in a pattern and my fingers in acrylic. I was a bit iffy about the acrylic but once I got it, it looked so fancy. My husband and the kids really loved it, too.
And my fancy purse – Hubby took the kids shopping to get me a gift for Mother’s day. They bought me a really pretty outfit and one of them picked out this Liz Claiborne purse. I love cute purses but this one was kind of a surprised to me. Ahh, so pretty.
Books – This is a very tiny book I bought and I am really loving it! You can see how small it is. It’s filled with 1 minute of inspirational reads on each page (based on scriptures). It’s very encouraging for moms and women and meets you where you are.
Family Travel – We took a weekend trip to DC. It was a spontaneous idea from my husband. We wanted to take the kids to a local fun museum to celebrate the end of school. Hubby called me from work asking if I think we should go to D.C instead. Since we had nothing else on the agenda, I felt OK with going. It was a 4 hour drive. The trip was quick but so much fun. Honestly, I think it was exactly what our family needed.
That about sums it up for this post. I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little more behind the scenes. What are some things you are doing, did or got recently that you enjoyed? Has there been any recent changes and things you’d consider a blessing in your home and family?
