By Holly Giles | Motherhood
I am always the one behind the camera. You know what I mean. Making sure all of those moments since I gave birth to my sons are being recorded for posterity. It also gives me an excuse to hide behind the lens. I do not wear make up most days, my hair is going gray, […]
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By Holly Giles | handicrafts , Simple Living
Mason Jar Outdoor Light Chandelier Sprucing up my back porch is a yearly effort. Florida weather can be rough on anything exposed to the elements. Therefore, each season calls for a fresh look. My free-flowing mason jar outdoor light is now a welcome sight with my morning coffee and the birds. Collecting mason jars is a […]
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By Holly Giles | Florida , Great Outdoors , homeschooling , popular , Recipes
In my book, Blaze New Trails, I devote a chapter to U-pick farms. I share how food can teach math in a hands-on way. Two families joined us and we jumped right into strawberry math at Oak Haven Strawberry Farm. Our goal is to find out how many strawberry plants are on the farm and […]
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By Holly Giles | Family , Inspiration , Mama's Musings
This morning was not anything out of the ordinary. It is the weekend, yet I had office work I needed to do. But something happened, like a bullet that pierced my heart. I am blessed to work mostly from home, yet the lines get blurred between working mom and just mom. Especially when young children […]
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By Holly Giles | homeschooling
I found three bean seeds on the kitchen counter. Later, I found a handful in Crockett’s pants pocket while doing laundry. What is going on?Grayson came in from outside and I asked him about all the seeds. He had a sheepish grin. “I have been planting them,” he said. “In the backyard?” I […]
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By Holly Giles | Field Trips , Florida , homeschooling
We met up with a few families to tour the Sanford Armory last week. The sergeants told us they don’t really do field trips, but would give it a whirl. By the end of our tour, my boys decided this was the BEST field trip ever! I am ashamed to tell you that the armory […]
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By Holly Giles | Family , handicrafts , homeschooling
Life Skills The Giles Frontier had a booth at the Gifts of Grace arts and crafts fair. It was an opportunity for success and teaching life skills to sell our repurposed feed sack totes, lip balm, jewelry, homeschool curriculum, and slingshots. It can be a lot of work setting up a display, spending most of […]
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By Holly Giles | DIY , Simple Living
I have wanted to try my hand at making lip balm for a long time. I tucked the idea in the back of my mind, especially since Grant has such skin allergies and dry lips. We have been through many tubes of lip balm, and at the price of “natural”, my wallet is chapped! At […]
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By Holly Giles | Boy Crafting , Florida , homeschooling
How to get a car for free My husband came home with a FREE car one Sunday afternoon. A friend was moving and asked for help and then said, you get a car for free if you want. This car had been sitting for a year at a friend’s house. What transpired from there is […]
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By Holly Giles | homeschooling
Mondays seem to be the do-over day for homeschool in our house. When the week before did not go as planned, Monday is always around the corner to make a fresh start. Today was no different. Last week we had several fun distractions that kept us from staying on our homeschool tasks and I spent […]
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