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.



Thursday, December 26, 2019

GHW Yearbook photos


Recently we received our Co-Op yearbook photos and I absolutely love how they turned out! Especially mine because I was so sick last year when I took my yearbook photo. For 2020 I am once again going to challenge myself to use my big camera {Canon 60D} more. It's so easy to just whip out my iPhone because it takes great pictures too, but Mr. M replaced my beloved Sigma lens this Christmas so now I have no excuse. I haven't decided if I am going to join in any monthly photo challenges or to just challenge myself to take a picture everyday. Do you have a favorite photo challenge? If so, let me know! I have 6 days to decided so time will tell. 







© 2008 - 2019 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 25, 2019

Merry Christmas 2019

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! We hope this letter finds all of our family and friends happy, healthy, and blessed by this Christmas season. Our family has had an amazing 2019 filled with exciting trips and equally exciting news and events!





Highlights of our year:









~ Marie graduated in May from Liberty University, Magnum Cum Laude, and secured an IT Software Engineer job at shipyard. She is currently on track to move out to a new apartment complex in early 2020 and to return to school for her Masters degree.







~ Madison officially graduated high school in June and is attending the University of Oklahoma on a 4yr-Air Force ROTC scholarship. She is excelling in her Physics major and thriving in college life, including making the Dean's List for first semester. 





~ Mikayla is a Junior in high school and striving to secure a collegiate scholarship to compete college gymnastics. She has not narrowed down a school quite yet, but we are prayerful that will come within the next few months or at least by signing day November 2020. She is competing her third year as a Level 10 and working hard to attend JO Nationals in WA State, her birthplace, in 2020.





~ Montana is an official teenager and in 7th grade and has really stepped up to be my right-hand girl since Madison left. She is doing great in school as well, when she wants to. Yes, I have another Madison on my hands, but this time I am prepared and know how to challenge Montana so she is most successful and challenged. She is still playing softball with the local Christian school team and loving it. Montana also enjoys drawing and creating and reading.



~ McKenzie is in 4th grade and doing great! Math and Science are her two favorite subjects with spelling being her least favorite. We have officially gone Gluten Free for her and it seems to be helping curb the side effects that she experiences from her diagnosis last year of Gastroparesis ~ delayed stomach emptying. She has grown about 2.5 inches since last December so this is great progress. This year she is competing Level 7 for gymnastics.





~ Micah is in Kindergarten and officially a beginning reader! While school is not his favorite thing to do, I have figured out what works best to complete his daily lessons while leaving plenty of time for play with his beloved cars and action figures. Micah joined Cub Scout Lions in September and plays Shetland baseball in the Fall and Spring. Next year he wants to try wrestling, oh my!



~ Mr. M has been home for since mid-November and we are all enjoying this time together before he heads back to Mississippi. He has just a few short months before he returns back to VA permanently for his next set of orders, yay! He has picked up some new hobbies while away including fishing/crabbing and flying drones with his friends.


~ I am busy holding down the fort, managing the house and educating the kids with my trusty color-coded planner(s) not far from my side. For 2020 I am pursuing my journey to complete my Court Reporting studies to become a freelance Stenographer. I actually started reviewing my Theory in November and I am writing cleanly at 40 WPM. I hope to gain a scholarship to an online school in March/April when I am fully ready to start speed building. 



~ We added a new four-legged family member when Montana got a Russian Blue kitty in early December. She finally decided to name her Smokie even though I think she looks more like a Maggie. Smokie is a great addition to our family, everyone just loves her! Plus, she doesn't aggravate Marie's allergies so that is a huge plus. Max and Mollie are doing great as well. They are full of energy and love to play, especially with Micah.


 From our house to yours we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 




© 2008 - 2019 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 18, 2019

Wordless Wednesday




© 2008 - 2019 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 11, 2019

Wordless Wednesday




© 2008 - 2019 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 4, 2019

Wordless Wednesday



© 2008 - 2019 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, November 27, 2019

Wordless Wednesday ~ inside joke with cousin




© 2008 - 2019 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, November 21, 2019

Fun Literature kits from LitWits ~ a TOS review

Happy Thursday Friends! I can’t believe Thanksgiving is just one week away! Today I have an aweseom literature study if you are a book-loving family. Since we are a book-loving family that uses a literature approach to homeschooling, I am always on the lookout for ideas on how to get the most out of books we read. I jumped at the chance to checkout LitWit Kits from LitWits. We were given access to 4 LitWits but for this review I choose to have Montana work with the LitWits Kit for Island of The Blue Dolphins.


Reading to your children is a big deal as far as growth and development. The less screen time and the more snuggling and reading does wonders for the brain and body. LitWits were created by, Becky and Jenny, who are sisters and best friends. Since they love great books they wanted to instill a literature rich generation of book lovers starting with their own children. With the LitWit kits your child will get a hands-on, multi-sensory learning experience about selected literature.



Each kit offers a variety of activities to fully engage with the book. From puzzles, games, preparing and eating food, to preforming short skits there are so many learning activities to accompany each novel being read. Each LitWit Kit is delivered in a digital format PDF file and can be accessed online in your account. With over 40 novel titles to choose from there is sure to be a novel you’ll want to check out with your family.





Montana worked through the LitWit Kit for the novel Island of the Blue Dolphin, a novel in which I have fond memories of reading when I was her age. Having access to this hands-on literature study helped her connect with the novel’s main character, Karana. Montana especially enjoyed the art projects involved in this kit. She loved doing her cave drawing with the oil pastels.




She didn’t really want to complete many of the other activities that went with this novel but I made sure she looked at them all. McKenzie and I are starting to read The Witch of Blackbird Pond and I look forward to sharing the LitWit Kit with her. We are only on Chapter 3 but she is eager to play the games and to create her own hornbork.



I look forward to using the other two LitWit Kits we picked out, A Wrinkle in Time and From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler after the Christmas holiday break. I will be reading these two books aloud to McKenzie and Micah and I look forward to doing all the fun activities these LitWit Kits contain.

LitWits Kits {LitWits Reviews}
My CrewMates also reviewed a variety of different LitWit Kits so be sure to click the banner below to see their thoughts. We enjoy them and I look forward to adding more to our collection for next school year.

LitWits Kits {LitWits Reviews}

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© 2008 - 2019 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.
 http://astablebeginning.com

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Wordless Wednesday




© 2008 - 2019 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, November 19, 2019

Online Math with Thinkwell Homeschool ~ a TOS review

I have a great review to share with you today if you are looking for a comprehensive math program. When my students hit middle school age and arise from their puberty fog my goal is for them to become more independent in their studies. Using Thinkwell’s 6th to 8th Grade Math course with Montana and the High School Math course with Mikayla has been the perfect way to supplement math learning in our home.


Thinkwell Homeschool offers Video based math courses for students in 6th - High School, including honors courses, advanced math, and college level math in an online format. Having an online format enables your student to have access to the material 24/7. This feature is especially convenient for our family especially as we head into our busy travel season.



We received access to two math courses for this review, 7th Grade Math and Pre-Calculus. I used Montana (7th grade, 13 years old) and Mikayla (11th grade, 16 years old) respectively for the programs. Once we received access setting up the courses and assigning access for them was really easy. We have been using the program as a supplement 2-3 days a week (typically on Monday and Friday, to our main math program and it has been working out great for the girls.



Each course is scheduled out with suggested lesson plans for the entire school year which I love. With day-to-day and week-by-week plans you can keep your child focused to finish the complete level in a timely manner. If for some reason you need to go a bit slower, that’s perfectly okay as well! The Thinkwell program allows for flexibility in the courses and I don’t have to stress out about how fast or slow the girls are progressing.



Chapters within each course contain videos, worksheets, and extra enrichment activities that your child can complete. Worksheets and notes can be printed out and stored in a math binder for easy reference. You also have the option to purchase all the notes and worksheets from the company if you don’t want to print. I found it easy enough to just print the worksheets we needed day by day.




The 320 engaging videos are presented by Ph.D Professor Evan Burger and are clear and concise. There is no fluff and I like that about the program, especially in the higher level course like Pre-Calculus. I also love that the program is ready right after setting up your account. This makes it easy to know that even if we can’t hit the hardcover math books, Thinkwell is there for us and we can still get lessons in on the go.

6th to 8th Grade Math (Pre-Algebra) and High School Math  (Algebra to Calculus) {Thinkwell Reviews}
Overall, Montana and Mikayla are excited about using this math curriculum. I certainly love it as well because the girls don’t complain when it’s a Thinkwell math day. We definitely will be continuing to use our Thinkwell 7th grade math and Pre-Calculus courses for this school year 2 days a week. Be sure to check out what my CrewMates think of this online math curriculum to see if it is a good fit for your family by clicking the banner below.

6th to 8th Grade Math (Pre-Algebra) and High School Math  (Algebra to Calculus) {Thinkwell Reviews}

Company ~ Thinkwell 
 Product ~ 7th Grade Math and Pre-Calculus 
 Format ~ online homeschool math 
 Price ~ $125.00 and $150.00
 Ages ~ Middle school and up


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© 2008 - 2019 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. 
 http://astablebeginning.com

Friday, November 15, 2019

God's Mail, Volume 3 ~ a TOS review

Happy Friday friends! Another week is nearly done and we are inching towards the Christmas season. Today I am excited to share with you a devotion book that I have been reading from Ron Hardin called, God’s Mail Volume 3.

Mr. Hardin has penned three volumes of his God's Mail series that includes over 500 poems in total. Ron has a familiar story of being saved as a young boy but in his teenage and early twenties turning away from God. During this time he found himself wrapped up in the twisted world of gangs, alcohol, and drug activity. Then on Christmas Eve in 1983 he turned himself around and returned home and to the church.

As Ron worked to turn his life around he says he felt God encouraging him to write about the stories of his life. And that is just what this volume of God’s Mail is…a book of poems to tell the story of God’s truth and love for us, His people.

 “where the word of a king is, there is power”. ~ forward 
I received a Kindle edition of the book. It contains pages of original poetry written by Mr. Hardin. Each poem is accompanied with a page or two of scripture references for each poem. The format is the same , poem and then scriptures as you swipe to the right through the Kindle edition. The scripture comes from many different versions, The Message, NKJV, God’s Word Translation, and TLB. There is a softcover option of this book which is 8x11 and contains illustrated pages behind the poems and scripture.

I read through this Kindle book myself and I was pleased with it. Many of the topics discussed within the book are things that we can relate to in the world such as trust, abortion, forgiveness, and divorce and more. While I did appreciate the different scripture translations, I did find myself looking in my own personal Bibles, NIRV, to cross reference what was being said.




I am grateful for the opportunity to review this book. I think I would have enjoyed it more as a softcover. For me, it was hard to read on my iPad Kindle app. I am not sure that the Kindle edition of this book is something that I would recommend unless you absolutely love eBooks editions.

God's Mail: Volume 3 {God's Mail Reviews}

But, don’t just take my word for it. 24 of my CrewMates also reviewed this book in both softcover and Kindle editions. Be sure to check out their thoughts by clicking the banner below and decide for yourself if you would like to read it.

God's Mail: Volume 3 {God's Mail Reviews}

Company ~ God’s Mail 
 Format ~ Kindle version 
 Price ~ $9.99 
 Ages ~ older teens – adults

Crew Disclaimer



© 2008 - 2019 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.
 http://astablebeginning.com