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On the Road Again!

by Lisa on June 17, 2013

Today will be spent driving, driving then driving some more.  Thirteen hours and 28 minutes according to Mapquest and they probably didn’t take into consideration the frequent potty stops and Sonic emergencies we will face.

Three of the girls and I are headed to the OYAN Summer Workshop in Kansas.  These girls have been planning their outfits and packing the van since May in excitement of this week.  Writing sessions, fellowship, encouragement, adventure…..it is all waiting for us just a short 13 hours and 28 minutes from home.

Since memories of this same drive last year still haunt my cankles, I am planning to stop every couple of hours and walk around.  I have an internal radar that picks up every Target and Chick-fil-A and occasionally can sense if there is a Home Goods in the area.  Those will be our stopping destinations.  I can never get enough of Target’s Dollar Spot and if I have to I will scour every one between here and Kansas City.  Not that I need anything.  I just like to scour.

While the girls attend sessions I plan to wrap up my book and get it ready to send off to be edited.  I will have a hotel room to myself and I am going cold turkey from the outside world.  LOL!  I know, I know….it sounded as ridiculous to me as it did to you.  I will likely be sending out Instagrams and Tweets, but seriously, I am going to stay off of the phone and no mid-day episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show to distract me from my mission.

But don’t worry about missing me because I have some great posts scheduled for this week and on Friday I will be showing you what the girls wore all week.  The workshop has a camp-like atmosphere so that will be fun!  I won’t be showing you what I will be wearing this week because it can be summed up in two words.  Pa-jamas.

Next Tuesday (June 25) after I get home I will be doing a Facebook party with my friend Jill at Blessed Beyond a Doubt. We will be talking about a Bible curriculum we love by Deeper Roots Publications. The kids and I have REALLY enjoyed doing it together. You can click here to register.

Be sure to visit me on Facebook and Instagram!

The Romance is Still Alive

by Lisa on May 21, 2013

I missed my post yesterday because James and I took a couple of days off together.  We had some much needed Mommy & Daddy time.  Just me and him in a mini van ready for an adventure.

We started the big date on Sunday morning by going to Lowes and shopping for a new lawn mower.  Nothing says romance like yard maintenance equipment.  Then we looked for some screws because, well, we don’t have any and we didn’t have anything else pressing to do.

After that excitement and some lunch, we headed to downtown San Antonio to go to the Tower of the Americas.  We had never been there and always wondered what was the big deal.  It’s a staple of the San Antonio skyline and we often wonder, what’s really up there?  It was interesting.  A bird’s eye view of the whole city and some serious wind.  When I say wind I mean my skirt flew up over my waist leaving me walking around the observation deck like a Marilyn Monroe wannabe.  My efforts at modesty kind of go out the window when a dozen Korean tourists are taking pictures with my Spanx covered behind in the background.  My hair will never be the same.

After that we walked around the city and had dinner in a great restaurant where they served tableside guacamole.  Or as I like to call it, heaven on a chip.  I wonder if James realized on our wedding day that what he was actually ending up with was a wife who would eventually have avocado all over her face while complaining that her feet hurt too much to walk back to the hotel.  I’m like a real life Disney princess.

We did have a wonderful time.  Sure we walked at a snail’s pace and had a bit of indigestion, but we laughed and saw the city we love from a new perspective and felt no pressure to be anywhere in particular.

On Monday morning we caught an early showing of the new Star Trek movie before heading home.  Yes, we are those people.  As we pulled up to the theater I was chattering on about something when he shouted, “STOP!” It turns out he was just reading aloud the word STOP that was painted on the ground of the parking lot.  But I thought he was talking to me, wanting me to stop talking.

So I froze and stared at him, completely quiet.  He gave me a puzzled look and said, “What?”

“You told me to stop,” I said, “So I stopped.”

He gulped, “You mean that would actually WORK?!”

Oh, the joys of a healthy marriage relationship.  We needed that time together to laugh, be outside, have no agenda and let the wind blow through our hair.

“May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.” Proverbs 5:18

 

Lots Going on Around Here!

by Lisa on May 15, 2013

There are so many things I haven’t caught you up on since April ended.  That was a really crazy month for us with me doing so much traveling and James wrapping up tax season.

1. Our daughter Hope is graduating this year.  She has worked really hard to finish all of her school and be done with it.  She’s not a natural student, so I think she’s looking forward to having time to do some things that are more of her own interests.  We are not having a graduation ceremony.  She didn’t care about it and we couldn’t find a good time to do it, so we’ve decided to take a little trip instead.  That fits her personality better.  But we will send out announcements.  Here’s the picture we are using….she’s a beauty!

2. Speaking of traveling, I’m planning a few simple summer trips:

*In June some of my daughters and I will head to Kansas City for the One Year Adventure Novel Summer Workshop.  If you have a budding writer, this workshop is fabulous!  We went last year and my kids were so inspired that we can’t wait to go again.  I’d be glad to answer any questions about it if you think it’s something you might want to do.

*Most of us will be attending the Teach Them Diligently Marketplace in Houston in July.  I don’t know if my whole family will go since we have the farm animals to tend to.  But it will be nice to also visit with my parents while we are there.  If you’re going, please let me know so we can meet!

*In August I will be heading to California for a women’s retreat in Rancho Mirage, CA.  I will be the keynote speaker and I am super excited!  If you are in the area and are interested in attending let me know and I can email you more information.

3. We’ve got new products in the shop and more on the way!  I’ve added Mason Jar Straw Lids with Acrylic Straws for the kids.  We did a fun photo shoot last weekend for those and my boys clowned it up for the camera.

4. Lastly, I have a great series coming up about siblings.  I get so many questions asking how we did it….our kids get along so well.  So I am working on a 6 part series starting in June on that subject.  Stay tuned!

Have a wonderful day and enjoy your family!

Teach Them Diligently Marketplace

by Lisa on May 1, 2013

This post contains affiliate links, but I am genuine in my excitement over this conference and can’t wait to see some of you there!

If you’ve ever been to a homeschool convention then you know it can be a bit overwhelming.  So many books and ideas and people and curriculum choices.

But they are also filled with inspiration and encouragement and refreshment (by refreshment I don’t mean cookies and punch….although that is where my mind goes when I hear that word).  I love going to them and finding other homeschoolers who are in the trenches with me to talk with and ask questions.

And this summer there’s a new convention making its way around the country and it’s looking like it’s going to be exciting!  The Teach Them Diligently Marketplace is popping up in 9 different places and I am really excited about it!

It’s a one day market place with HUGE exhibit halls and promises to have more curriculum, books and displays than you’ve ever seen.  There will be workshops and hands on resources….I am seriously excited about going.

I got to meet the founders, David and Leslie Nunnery, at the 2:1 conference a few weeks ago and let me tell you….they were inspiring to listen to.  God is moving through them and I want to be a part of it.

My family will be making the trip to the Teach Them Diligently Marketplace in Houston, TX on July 6.  That’s the other awesome thing about it….the whole family is welcome!  And it’s only $15 per family.  No, I’m not kidding.  That’s a bargain.

Check out the website to see if there’s a Teach Them Diligently Marketplace coming to your area.  The Houston event is about 4 hours away from us, but I think it will be worth experiencing this new kind of convention and letting my family enjoy the day together.

 

A Great Weekend and Now I’m Tired

by Lisa on April 22, 2013

I am so, so, so, SO glad to be home at last!  If you don’t hear from me for a week or so it’s all because I’m busy hugging my kids.  I’ll try not to bruise anyone but I may not be able to help it.

I spent last weekend in Salt Lake City at the SNAP! Conference.  It was a gathering of creative bloggers.  You wouldn’t have believed all of the cuteness in these women.  It was just one adorable moment after another and I am exhausted. I did so much Instagramming that my arms ache from holding my phone out to take pictures of myself.

This is me in my gorgeous Soft Surroundings gown and robe heading out to the pajama party.  You know me, I overdress for everything.

Soft Surroundings gown and robe

Here’s the pajama party.  This room is where we ate, had a market and did the Lowe’s challenge….it’s so cute how they decorated it!

SNAP conference!

Once I got home I slept, then slept some more.  I am now enjoying the easy days of not having something big looming on the horizon.  Although I do feel a pressure to improve my sidebar and try to make Google love me.  All of the things I learned at the conferences are stuck in my head until I get them out and put into action.

My friend Becky and I did a session at SNAP! about time management that went really well.  At least we thought it did.  We got so much great feedback that we’re going to do some online hangouts and share some of the session plus some new ideas and answer questions.  Y’all are welcome to join us.  I will let you know when that will be.

After I rest for a few more days I am planning to get back to finishing up my painting of the kitchen.  I did the living room and dining room and then just stopped dead in my tracks.  I am still trying to decide about the color for the kitchen cabinets.  I’m usually pretty decisive about color choices, but this time I’m having a hard time.  Do I keep the same colors?  Or do I want a fresh look?  I’m even thinking about replacing the cheapo countertops, but don’t tell James.  He freaks out when I start talking about changing things.

You’d think I was making an important decision the way I’m mulling it over so much.  And let’s not even talk about how hard it is for me to decide what to put on the window in there.  I do know for sure that I am over the balloon curtains I have now.  Circa 1995.

Clearly I have some hard thinking to do.  I may need a nap to help me decide.

I hope you all are doing well.  What’s going on in your world?

Washington DC in the Springtime

by Lisa on April 15, 2013

It would be impossible to tell you everything about the past weekend.  It’s been a flurry of new friends and shuttle buses and Tweets.

I flew on Friday to Washington DC to attend the 2:1 Conference.  It was a last minute decision, as in I had less than a week to prepare!  I got a message from one of the conference coordinators inviting me to go.  They had read my post about the negative conference experience I had and wanted me to come and be loved and see the difference in their sisterhood.  And so I went.

And I want to shout from the rooftops…GO TO THIS CONFERENCE!  It was so loving and generous and oh yeah….informative.  I learned a lot about blogging and social media, but my favorite part was the general attitude.  I could walk up to any group of people and feel welcome.  One of the things I noticed right away is that there were no “big stars”.  Everyone was equal…as it should be!  Of course there were people teaching from their experience and wisdom, but they were just regular joes once they were hanging with the rest of us.  I never got a sense that anyone was greater or smaller.  That was hands down my favorite thing about 2:1.

I also met a bunch of fabulous companies (Wait, can you meet a company? That doesn’t sound right).  I will be telling you about them over the next few weeks.  There are so many people out there creating products for those of us that are homeschooling and trying to raise our children well.  I want you to know about them too!

I was also able to drive around and see the National Cherry Blossom Festival.  It was a swarm of people, but it was definitely beautiful!  I missed my kids so much that I started taking pictures of random DC buildings and texting them quizzes, “One point for whoever can tell me what building this is…” or, “What street is this building on?”  So yes, I’m still homeschooling no matter where I am and even if my children are not actually with me.  In the end I texted them to each find one interesting fact about the capitol building and tell it to me when I got home.

The best news around here though is the end of yet another dreadful tax season.  James got it all done and he’s now going to be in his post-tax-season-haze for the next few days.  He wanders around bumping into walls and mumbling to himself…something about midnight postal service.

Now that I am home I literally have 2 days before I fly again to the SNAP conference in Salt Lake City.  I knew it would be rough, but the kids are doing great and have plenty of food and water for the duration.  And there’s always the promise of extra wii time if worst comes to worse.  (How do you say that? Worse comes to worse? I can’t figure it out)

I hope you all are doing great and I want to hear what you’ve been up to lately!

Texas Roads and Make-Up

by Lisa on March 25, 2013

If you follow me on Instagram then you already know that I have been traveling and playing a lot of games.  Yes, it’s a life of adventure and intrigue.

Last Wednesday I went to Austin, the capitol of Texas for those of you looking for an informational post, to speak with a group there on Thursday.  It’s a 2 1/2 hour drive and the weather was perfection.  I thought I was off to a good start….driving, praying, enjoying the big puffy clouds.

When I arrived I was unpacking my things to spend the night and realized a whole basket had been left at home.  The contents of the basket were some handouts for my talk the next day, a couple of gifts, and most important….MY MAKEUP CASE!

I went into a small panic.  Do I drive 2 1/2 hours home to get it?  That would mean missing a visit with my sister, which was why I went a day early.  But it wasn’t just my makeup, it was all of my toiletries, hairbrush, toothbrush, etc.

I called James and we weighed the options.  We decided that I should go buy more make-up.  I didn’t want to spend that money, but it will get spent down the road anyway so I did it.  Thankfully the girl at the Clinique counter was understanding and threw in as many samples as she could.  My sister provided some of the other necessities and I managed to put myself together the next morning for my talk.  Whew!

On Thursday morning I met with a group of women that were beyond gracious and lovely.  I talked with them for a while and they asked me questions and we had a wonderful time.  It was great for me and hopefully they liked it too.

Of course, I couldn’t just drive directly home.  There’s a IKEA in Austin and I feel it is wrong to go near any IKEA and not stop there.  So I called my friend Lindsay and we met for a few hours of girl talk and power shopping.  There’s nothing like a fellow IKEA-ite to understand the pull of the mothership.

On Saturday morning we had our usual family breakfast and discussion.  I thought you all would like a view from my seat at the table.

We had out of town guests for the rest of the weekend, so it was lots of eating, talking and games.  Our favorite game was called, “Moods.”  Have you tried it?  It’s hilarious!  You have to say a phrase in the mood that it says on the card.  Then the other players have to guess what mood you were doing.  This is me acting “Fussy.”  I had to really act since I am so rarely fussy in my normal life.

Maybe I should have channeled the way I felt when I realized I left all of my make-up at home.

And now I’m tired.  Our company is gone and I need a day of napping to recover from all of my fun.

Have a great week!

Homeschool Moms’ Winter Summit Recap

by Lisa on January 29, 2013

It would not be possible for me to tell you all about my weekend.  From the moment I left the house to make the 8 hour drive to Oklahoma on Friday morning until I plopped back into my recliner on Sunday night at 11:00…..it was an adventure of laughter, tears, friendship, Sonic ice and the Holy Spirit.

The Homeschool Moms’ Winter Summit was so filled with love and grace that I came away refreshed and ready to make some changes in my life.  I had no idea what God would do with a few days in Oklahoma.  But He certainly touched me.

The best, best, BEST part for me was the very last session which involved 4 older women, their children all grown, in a different phase of life than I am, sitting in comfy chairs answering our questions.  I didn’t ask any questions, I didn’t even really have any.  I just soaked in their sweet spirits and generosity of wisdom.  I listened with eager ears to everything answer they gave.  I realized in those moments that I had been a dry sponge and didn’t even know it.  Their words washed over me and I was relieved.  God spoke through them.  It was beautiful.

Titus 2:4-5 “Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.”

In the evenings we would invite friends, old and new, to hang out in our room and talk.  There were MANY tears and prayers happening.  We loved on each other and encouraged one another.

The drive home was much longer than we expected.  With 3 women in the car we took our share of potty breaks.  An hour after leaving the hotel one of us needed to stop, so I rolled into a fast food place.  When she was finished we got back on the road.  We were deep in conversation, involved in sharing what God had done in our lives over the weekend.  Another hour of driving and my friend in the back seat says, “Hey, isn’t that our hotel?”  We all realized in a flash of a second that we had been driving the wrong direction for the past hour and ended up right back at our hotel.

If you could have heard the uproaring of laughter, my rib muscles are still sore from my convulsive reaction to not noticing that the direction display right in front of my face had a big “N” on it.  We must have laughed HARD for 5 straight minutes.  I had to pull off the road because I was shaking and tears were streaming down my face.  The entire drive back we would break out into spontaneous laughter just thinking about it again.

Now that I’m home and back to reality I feel like a weight has been lifted.  It’s funny though…..I didn’t even really know the weight was there.  I’m processing all I learned and mostly just trying to be present in the moment and enjoy my family.  I am more aware of God’s presence and that is making the difference.

I won’t miss the Summit next year, Lord willing!  I hope you will be there too!

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Packing is Not My Strong Suit

by Lisa on January 24, 2013

I tell you I am lovin’ these easy, no holiday kind of weeks.  Even though I’ve been decorating for Valentine’s Day it’s low key and playful.  Not like the, “Just try to find a sting of lights that WORKS….people are coming over in an hour!!!” kind of holiday decorating.

Today I’m packing to head north for the Homeschool Moms’ Winter Summit tomorrow.  If you’re going to be there please Tweet me and let me know.  But even if you aren’t you can follow along using the hashtag #hssummit.  I have a feeling it’s going to be a weekend rich with blessings.

Packing for a trip is never easy for me.  I’m not a girl that just tosses a few things in a suitcase and goes.  I need my powders and shoes and menagerie of hair products.  It’s like traveling with the Kardashians.  But with much less paparazzi.

You’d think it would be a breeze since I already posted a few outfits that I was planning to wear to the conference, so all of the decisions would have been made.  But now my mood is shifting and I may wear something else.  I dress for my mood, and whatever doesn’t need to be ironed.  I’d rather spend today with my kids, so ironing is low on the list of priorities.  Whatever I decide, I will Instagram/Tweet a picture of it so you don’t miss the glamor that is me in my Birkenstocks.

Last night I went out for a last minute shopping trip with my friend Sara.  She is going with me to Oklahoma, so we needed to pick up a few things.  We went into Lane Bryant where I was supposed to be helping her by standing outside of her dressing room and going back and forth with new sizes and styles for her trying on pleasure.  But I am easily distracted and before you knew it I was in the next dressing room trying on a few things myself.  She called out for me to bring her another size and I yelled back over the dressing room wall, “Hang on!  I’m half naked!”

I’m such a good friend.  At the ready to help anytime.  Just let me put my top on.

I did get a shirt since they were having a 40% off everything sale.

And a striped skirt.  But don’t tell James.  I want to break it to him slowly.  I’ll start with, “Honey, it was 40% off!”  Even though I know that never really makes him feel better.

Since I’m leaving tomorrow at 6:00 in the morning for an 8 hour drive (plus bathroom breaks and Target emergencies) I will be going to bed early tonight.  Hopefully.  Unless there’s another sale somewhere.

See you on Twitter and Instagram!

And on Monday for the big Valentine’s Day link party!  Whoop!

 

Home School Mom’s Winter Summit

by Lisa on January 3, 2013

After homeschooling for 22-ish years, I still need encouragement and support.  It’s a tough job.

Nothing fills my homeschool mom tank like being around other moms in the same boat.  We face similar challenges and are going against the stream of normal.  And that’s why I love to go to homeschool conferences.  The sessions are great and the teaching is wonderful, but it’s the gatherings of women in the hallways and over dinners that really does it for me.  It lightens my load.

Since they are so refreshing, I am thrilled to be able to attend the Home School Moms Winter Summit!  It’s in Norman, Oklahoma January 25-26.  Their purpose is to “Renew your vision, refresh your heart, restore your strength.” Boy do I need all of that!

How about you?  Do you need a little encouragement and renewing?

Then you’re gonna love this….I get to give away a ticket to the conference!  If you’re within a day’s drive and you need some encouragement to get you through the rest of the year, I hope you’ll enter.  Even if you don’t win…..come on anyway!  It’s going to be such a sweet weekend.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And here are a couple of other blogs giving away tickets….triple your chances to win!

 

See you there!

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