Happy 14th Birthday, Little Blog! And A Giveaway!

Fourteen years ago today, I started this little space to keep pictures and thoughts about our family's life on something new to me, something called a blog. I had begun to read a few blogs and thought it would be fun, although I certainly had no idea what I was doing! Madison helped me get started, and I somehow fumbled my way through the first few months without throwing in the towel. I am so glad I kept going. This space here has recorded our lives for the past fourteen years in a way no scrapbook could. I have written thoughts on raising my children and keeping a home. I have documented recipes and holidays here, as well as many joyful events like weddings and new homes. I also have shared thoughts on extreme sadness during the loss of both my parents and my mother-in-law, too. I have vacations documented here, as well as my favorite: the ordinary and blessed days of being a wife, mother, and homeschool teacher to four amazing children. These are things I created this space to document.

To celebrate, I am sharing one random photo from every year of Afternoon Coffee and Evening Tea.

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

Something I did not anticipate when I began blogging, however, was the wonderful friendships this space would allow me to make, and the joy, knowledge, comfort, and smiles those friendships would provide me. I am so very thankful to you, my friends, for reading, visiting, commenting, praying, encouraging, and even consoling me during times of sadness. I am so blessed to have made friends I would never have known had it not been for this little space of the internet. I am thankful to you all and am going to celebrate you today with a little drawing for one of five Amazon gift cards to be given away on Friday, August 7, 2026, during a highly sophisticated process of Rhett using a number generator on his phone! If you would like to enter, just leave a comment below. Please provide your name, as anonymous entries cannot be considered. I will post the winners on Friday, August 7, 2026. If you are chosen...YAY!...and please make sure I have an email address to send the gift card to. That's it!

Have a wonderful Monday, my friends!

Billie Jo

A Friday At The End Of July And Shark Week Recipies

Good Friday morning! It is Friday. It is also the last day of July. I have said for years that after the Fourth of July, summer passes in a flash. This year is no different. You know I LOVE fall. LOVE. As I get older, however, I find a certain kind of peace, calm, and joy in these long, warm summer days. And beauty. 

Summer can also bring impromptu movie afternoons. We saw The Odyssey this week. It was long, but very good. It is always interesting to see Hollywood's take on a piece of literature I have studied and enjoyed.

I am finally getting around to decorating some spots around the house, after almost living here a year. I picked up the ginger jar and coral on our trip to the Hamptons last week. I am glad I waited!

Who would have thought, years ago when we were twirling the cord of our home phone attached to the wall in the kitchen, that we would one day take some quick pics of a beautiful moon on phones we carry around with us?

Steve sees some beautiful things on his afternoon walks. And I told him I would share them here for you!

Years ago, a random summer day would find me taking a vanful of kids to swimming lessons, coming home to wash suits, and fix lunches on colorful plastic trays, followed by naptime for some and movie time for others. There were sprinklers and water tables, ice cream cones and swingsets too. Now, my summer afternoons are different, as my kids are grown and living their own lives, working and driving, just as they are supposed to be. I read, do laundry, clean and tidy, and talk to them on the phone several times a day! I also am lucky to be the dog sitter for Flynn while she is at work. And Marty knows the drill! Cozy time it is!

I wanted to share some of the recipes from our Shark Week Party this week. They were fun and delicious, and super easy to put together. The Seaweed Dip was a hit, and I will definitely be making that again. The Seafood Pasta Salad is also amazing, and one thing I would change is making it a day in advance. It is even better the second day!

Easy Peasy! I found these at Walmart.

SEAWEED DIP

SEAFOOD PASTA SALAD

Walmart! I prefer to make my own, but in the interest of time, these are great.

JELLO CUPS

Walmart. Again. : )

Ok. That's all for today, my friends. Have a lovely weekend, and I will see you back here Monday...in August!

Billie Jo

Well, That Was Fun!

 

Shark Week Party 2026

What began years ago with little ones freshly bathed and cozy in clean jammies following a hot summer day spent swimming, swinging, and playing outside, gathered on the sofa with snacks, watching a Discovery Channel show about sharks every night for a week, has grown into yet another family tradition each summer. I tend to do that, I suppose. Make things a tradition. I am blessed that my family indulges me and has fun, too. 

Happy Wednesday!

Billie Jo