Young home educating moms have much to learn: how to teach math and phonics, how to keep records for portfolios, and eventually, how to make a transcript. While these are all valid things we should learn, we too often forget that mom needs to learn something else as well – something that can spark creativity … Read more
One of my favorite hymns to sing is Count Your Blessings. It was written by a man named Johnson Oatman Jr. Mr. Oatman grew up in New Jersey singing hymns with his father. His father had a big, beautiful singing voice. However, Mr. Oatman was not quite a blessed with the same gift. He did … Read more
Whew. This has been a year of adjustments, changes, and just plain ol’ letting go. That’s hard for me. Really. Really. Hard. Let me give you a run down of this year for us with James – our oldest. April: We originally though James would be attending the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in the fall … Read more
Our 18-year-old daughter Marissa Renée is a professional portrait artist who never took a “real” art class in her life. Part of her success is sheer determination, part is remarkable talent, and part is the art experiences of her youth. To spark some ideas if your own artist is budding and your budget isn’t, I’ll … Read more
My first job in high school was doing odd jobs at a family-run assisted living place. One of my coworkers was Jay Fullmer, and he could draw anything. Seriously. Among other things he’s done, he had his work in the Birds in Art exhibit at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum one year. His birds … Read more