Homeschooling has been more of a gamechanger for me this year than I thought it would be. I think you can loosely compare starting up homeschooling to being a first-time mom. You can read all the right books, talk to all of your friends, research the best methods, and pray all you want about it, but ... Read More about Homeschooling lessons, year two
Humble Handmaid Blog Archives
The golden years are fast and slow
My parish has some of the sweetest older ladies in the world. Rarely does a Sunday mass go by without one or two of them walking up to Michael and me to tell us what a beautiful family we have, what a great job we're doing (no matter how awful the kids behaved in mass), and that we will one day miss ... Read More about The golden years are fast and slow
Different gifts
Why are we mothers tempted to dwell so much on the gifts we either can't or don't give to our children? I've struggled for years with this. I've listened to many mothers of all ages worry about what they can't, don't, or didn't give their children. Here are some gifts that I can't or don't ... Read More about Different gifts
Three Things That (Finally) Made Morning Prayer a Habit for Me
I've spent most of my adult life as a Christian having "morning prayer time" as a "that'd be really nice' kind of goal, but it was a goal that always felt like a dream that I'd get to...someday. I'll start that when that baby sleeps through the night. I'll start when things aren't so stressful. I'll ... Read More about Three Things That (Finally) Made Morning Prayer a Habit for Me
New year, same marching orders
Baby Franco #4 is five months old now, and I've been itching to distance myself from the survival mode months of the newborn stage. The timing is right, and I'm using the new year to give myself a practical fresh start with homemaking and homeschooling. First of all, I bought a fantastic new ... Read More about New year, same marching orders
Waiting on my playset, and learning how to pray
Right around this day two years ago, Michael and I walked into our monthly Domestic Church circle meeting at the home of some close friends in the circle, the Romeros. We came in the back door, and everyone was chatting about the big new playset that the Humble Handyman (my hubby) had just recently ... Read More about Waiting on my playset, and learning how to pray
Patience and (not being) a gold coin
I've been making my way through Thomas a Kempis' The Imitation of Christ since Michael and I received it as a wedding gift from a friend. There is a reason it is one of the bestselling and most-translated books of all time. There's also a reason that I've had to digest it so slowly. It's that ... Read More about Patience and (not being) a gold coin
Mary’s “yes” to the mess
I was reading Luke 1 again the other day, and the Holy Spirit lifted something new for me out of this favorite passage of mine. After Gabriel tells Mary that she will bear the Son of God, she asks him, "How can this be, since I have no husband?" I wonder the same thing sometimes about God's ... Read More about Mary’s “yes” to the mess
How homeschooling is going, and why I’m not brave
I've had a lot of people ask me lately how homeschooling is going. "I could never do it" they say. "You're so brave!" they say. Am I? Brave by grace, maybe.:) I did have a chance to get my feet wet last year when I kept Faith home for PreK. This fall, having a Kindergartener and a First Grader ... Read More about How homeschooling is going, and why I’m not brave