Let’s talk Legos, Mama. Legos are BY FAR the most beloved toy in our home. My four older kids play with them for hours each day. And so we gave away the majority of our other toys, and turned our tiny playroom (it used to be a porch) into a room for Legos! There’s aContinue reading “Simplifying & Legos”
Author Archives: nextdoorhope
Hands On Science
This is a favorite book in our home—for the kids, and for me. All the experiments use materials that we usually already have on hand, and there’s very little adult help required. It’s been great for my kids who love science to have something they can pull out whenever the urge to experiment strikes. AndContinue reading “Hands On Science”
Easy Election Resources for Kids
Pausing our regular routines to talk about the electoral process today! Here’s a link to YouTube to see a handful of simple, kid friendly videos our family is watching. Each one is between 2-7 minutes long. Watch one or watch them all! My littles particularly loved the first video, a reading of the book: “TheContinue reading “Easy Election Resources for Kids”
A Steady Presence
Good Morning, Mama. It’s Election Day, and there’s a lot of energy around what today may hold. But no matter what happens, you are still called to be a Mama to your kids. A steady presence. The one they can count on. So take time to pause, and listen to His voice. Fuel your bodyContinue reading “A Steady Presence”
Our Journey to Simplifying
When I first started out as a mom, I thought that part of being a good parent was providing quality, creative, imaginative toys for my children. And although we didn’t have a ton of money, I carefully curated, through gifts and Craigslist and estate sales, a beautiful and quite large collection of “quality” toys. WeContinue reading “Our Journey to Simplifying”
Sundays
Sometimes, Sunday worship looks like all of us heading out the door and joining together with our church family to worship the LORD outside (or inside) together. And sometimes, especially in 2020, it looks like gathering ‘round a table in the living room, and working on crafts (in this case, scratch art crosses) while worshippingContinue reading “Sundays”
Autumn in the Backyard
Fall has finally settled into NJ; we had our first frost last night, and this morning all the grass is tinged with white. We’ve gotten our small backyard all ready for the first campfire of the season tonight; the kids are excitedly planning their s’mores and what hersheys candy they’ll make them with. What areContinue reading “Autumn in the Backyard”
Friday Chores
Often on Friday mornings, we’ll do chores together as a family to make sure the house is ready for us to enjoy together on the weekend. The bigger kids will vacuum or dust, while the littler ones make sure that toys are put back where they belong. It goes really quickly when we work asContinue reading “Friday Chores”
Who Are You Watching?
Who are you watching, Mama? We all spend at least part of our days watching others—through social media, tv, podcasts, books and the in-real-life folks we daily interact with. Are you surrounding yourself with people who point to the woman and Mama that you’re called to be? It can be easy to follow the crowdContinue reading “Who Are You Watching?”
Planting Seeds
We didn’t plant our garden until early May this year; the seeds should have been put in the ground much earlier. It’s going to freeze here this weekend, and we’ll probably lose many of our plants. BUT… after tending the garden all summer, after watering and weeding and pruning, we’ve still tasted some of theContinue reading “Planting Seeds”
Next Door Hope 