This blog is my attempt to document our busy but BLESSED lives raising and educating our children for His glory. A child of God, wife to one, and mom to 6 fabulous kids. We are in our 15th year of homeschooling using a Classical ~ Literature based approach.

Come along for the good, the bad & the ugly.



Saturday, December 31, 2016

On the 7th Day of CHRISTmas...

On the 7th Day of CHRISTmas my true love sent to me, SEVEN Swans a Swimming: The Seven Spiritual Gifts {Corinthians 12:8-11} "The gifts of prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and compassion. Seven, is a perfect number in the Bible, it could also refer to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, and fear of the Lord {Romans 12:6-8}. It could also be the seven sacraments. The Swan symbolized the Holy Spirit. The chest has the flame of the spirit".
~ Jesse Tree Treasures

 {We dined on shrimp scampi because my original plan of Swans didn't pan out when my Amazon order failed to arrive. We made due and enjoyed the shrimp.}



©2008 - 2016 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

Friday, December 30, 2016

On the 6th Day of CHRISTmas...

On the 6th Day of CHRISTmas my true love sent to me, SIX GEESE A-Laying: The Six Days of Creation (as described in Genesis 1).
Day 1: The heavens, the earth, light and darkness.
Day 2: Heaven
Day 3: Dry land, the seas, and plants.
Day 4: The sun, the moon and the stars.
Day 5: Living creatures in the water and the birds in the air.
Day 6: Land animals and people.
Day 7: God "rested".
Notice that the Goose is painted in the same colors as the Partridge in the Pear Tree to show the eternal nature of the Trinity.

{Deviled eggs, yum!}




©2008 - 2016 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

Thursday, December 29, 2016

On the 5th Day of CHRISTmas...

On the 5th Day of CHRISTmas my true love gave to me, FIVE Golden Rings: The Five Books of Moses ~ Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. "These books are also called the Torah or Pentateuch. The five rings are intertwined, an eternal link to God".

{5 golden Krispy Kreme donut rings}



©2008 - 2016 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

On the 4th Day of CHRISTmas...

On the 4th Day of CHRISTmas my true love gave to me, FOUR Calling Birds: The Four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. "Each of these men had their own voice and personality in sharing Christ's message and sacrifice. They are depicted as four different birds. The cross is a combination of the Jerusalem Cross, showing how the disciples spread the word to the four corners of the earth and 'The Love of God Cross'".


{We had egg salad on little lettuce and chow mien noodle bird nests}





©2008 - 2016 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

On the 3rd Day of CHRISTmas...

On the 3rd Day of CHRISTmas my true love sent to me, THREE French Hens: Faith {fish}, Hope {butterfly}, and Love {heart}. "These are the three gifts of the Spirit that abide {1 Corinthians 13}. They are looking up to love, the one that remains in the end. Faith, Hope, and Love are called the Theological virtues".
~ Jesse Tree Treasures


{We had roasted rosemary and garlic chicken fryers.}


If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poorand give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
 ~ 1 Corinthians 13


©2008 - 2016 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 


Monday, December 26, 2016

On the 2nd Day of CHRISTmas...

On the 2nd Day of CHRISTmas my true love gave to me... TWO Turtle Doves: Old and New Testaments. "The Bible is divided between the old and new testaments where Love springs forth. The Doves are symbols of the Holy Spirit, peace, and unity".

~ chocolate turtle candies ~






©2008 - 2016 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

Sunday, December 25, 2016

On the 1st Day of CHRISTmas….


Merry Christmas to you and yours! 

Now that Advent season is over we welcome Christmastide and wait for the Epiphany, my family and I will celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas in an edible way. My children learned so much when we learned about the Plagues of Egypt earlier this year so I decided to add a food theme to the Twelve Days as well. 

The 12 Days of Christmas is not just a famous song about someone who receives gifts for 12 days from their true love. However, it was used in the early days when the church was persecuted to teach the children the love of Christ in a decoded song. As a time of celebration, the 12 Days of Christmas starts on Christmas Day and lasts until January 5th, also known as Twelfth Night.

So without further ado I hope you will follow along with us…



On the FIRST Day of CHRISTmas my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree (the birth of Jesus Christ). Tonight we enjoyed pears with whipped cream topping.



©2008 - 2016 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Wordless Wednesday ~ T&A surgery






©2008 - 2016 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Wordless Wednesday







©2008 - 2016 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Micah @ 2.5









©2008 - 2016 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

Preparing our Hearts ~ Our Advent reading selections for 2016


It’s Advent season and we are loving every minute of it! I am a few days late in getting this posted but I love sitting down with the children each night and reading from our Jesse Tree Advent devotional. Today I want to share with you our reading list for the next 28 days of Advent.


This idea of reading children’s books is not my own but that of Jessica who blogs at Shower of Roses. She has even made homemade labels to put on the outside of the wrapping paper. I didn’t use ribbon this year but I do love the look of the solid brown kraft paper. The wrapped books are stored on our tiny bookcase next to our big tree this year.


Each night after reading from our Jesse Tree Devotional one child gets to unwrap the book and then I read it aloud. The same child then puts the Jesse Tree ornament onto our Advent tree in our front library.


Here are the 28 books that I have wrapped up for the 2016 Advent bookshelf. The books that we don’t have in our personal collection are marked with an (L) because I found them at our local library.


November 27: {1st Sunday of Advent}The Story of Christmas
November 28: The Gift of the Magi
November 29: Little Blue Truck’s Christmas
November 30: Waiting for Christmas (L)
December 1: How Many Miles to Bethlehem?
December 2: The Remarkable Christmas of the Cobbler’s Sons
December 3:  The Christmas Tree Alphabet Book


December 4: {2nd Sunday of Advent} The Gift of the Christmas Cookie (L)
December 5: The Legend of the Candy Cane 
December 6: {St. Nicholas Day} Saint Nicholas and the Nine Gold Coins
December 7: How the Grinch Stole Christmas
December 8: The Legend of the Christmas Rose (L)
December 9:  The Sweet Smell of Christmas
December 10: The Pine Tree Parable


December 11: {3rd Sunday of Advent/Gaudete Sunday} An orange for Frankie (L)
December 12: The Polar Express
December 13: Lucia: Saint of Light
December 14: The Christmas Bird

December 15: The Christmas Story

December 16: Nine Days to Christmas (L)
December 17: The Stable Where Jesus Was Born (L)


December 18: {4th Sunday of Advent / O Adonai} If He Had Not Come
December 19: The legend of the poinsettia (L)
December 20: The first Christmas stocking (L)
December 21: The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
December 22: Guess Who’s Coming To Santa’s for Dinner?
December 23: O Holy Night
December 24: The Night Before Christmas


We are also incorporating Unwrapping the Greatest Gift: A Family Celebration of Christmas {not an affliate link} into our Morning Time Recitations. I LOVE this book! Each day in December you read the pages for the day and count down to the days of Christmas. Each story ties into Jesus' family tree and everyday you will begin to unwrap the greatest Gift as you trace the family line and heritage of our own forever family, within the family of God.

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—

    yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root...

In that day the heir to David’s throne

    will be a banner of salvation to all the world.

The nations will rally to him,
    and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.

~ Isaiah 11:1,10 {NLT}



Do you have any special plans for Advent this year? I would love to hear about your family traditions. 

Books for the Holidays



©2008 - 2016 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.