Woodwater Farmhouse

So I have been real bad about posting this summer on the blog... I apologize for that ....if you follow me on Instagram you know how busy we have been...I wanted to catch you up on what is happening around Woodwater ... We vacationed (not shown) in the finger lakes area early August (NASCAR) and had a great time as always.  We moved my mom up about a mile and 1/2 from our new home (she retired July 30) . Seeing her more often has been wonderful. We are enjoying all the nature here at Woodwater and can't wait to see what Fall brings to the estate. Of course with all these record breaking heat in NY, we have been swimming everyday.    Zachary had a pool party for his 12th birthday at the end of July. It rained most of the party but the kids got an hour or two of swimming in. The rainbows have been frequent here and we are soaking it all in (pun intended) .  School has continued throughout the summer  - scattered teachings here and there....

It's been a month since I had a blog post up and with good reason.  We moved!!!    We found, what is as close as we could get without building ourselves, our dream home.  It has not been without sacrifice, hard work and lots of prayer that brought us to this place.  I give all the credit to HIM! It's a 20 year old farmhouse that has modern twists on the inside.  I fell in love with the wrap around porch and all the character and charm of the house.  My kids feel in love with the pool and the 9.5 acres of land (including a side of a mountain) .  My husband feel in love with the privacy of a private road and all the land.   We went from 2100 sq feet to 4200 sq feet and I can tell you I have no idea how we fit all our "stuff" into the other house when I am finding it hard to find space here!  We still have not closed on our old house yet but that is forthcoming.  We have been so busy, cleaning, unpacking along with keeping ...

WOW, I can't believe I got a post up this week! It's crunch time here at The Joys of Home Educating as we are nearing the end of our journey in this home.  Only 14 days until we close on our new home and 2 weeks after that we turn this home over to the new owners!  Last Friday:  We started our Kids Bowl Free Program up again. Except for some bowling league members, we were it at the place (usually the case until public school lets out) . Kids did well for their first time out this year! Saturday:  We attended a 130th Anniversary town celebration for the local family owned hardware/lumber store.  There was a lot to see and do. The girls had a blast! Other things:  I took the kids out to lunch one day by the lake where my FIL used to live. A few towns over. It's pretty and a nice time out away from all the packing and boxes!   The stuffed dog was a "find" in a box up in the attic!  It was my oldest (soon to be 28) stuffed do...

It's been a few weeks since I have shared our world with you on the blog (Instagram is another story) . It's been a BUSY few weeks!  We started our summer school schedule this week and packing is kicked into high gear. We have only 3.5 weeks until we close on our new home and two weeks after that the movers come. (we are doing some work before we move in) Sadly the Cardinal baby and unhatched egg were gone one morning from the nest 8(   Molly in her 1st fashion show. The designer uses the same sewing studio as Molly has lessons and they have become fast friends.  It was a night to remember for sure.  My mother and I went to The Castle in Tarrytown, NY (quaint river town on the Hudson) It was a belated birthday present for me and afterwards we did some antique shopping. Fun afternoon! School has been winding down and we scheduled a vacation right before the house "stuff" gets rockin and rolling. We spent better part of a week...

Hi Y'all!  I am so glad to be able to sit and put my thoughts down in a quick blog post. It's been crazy around the house these past weeks but life moves forward. I wanted to catch everyone up on what's been happening! The weather is beautiful this week in southern New York and the children have taking full advantage of it.   I am finally sharing a picture of our new home!  We are not moved in yet but weeks away!  Packing has been a priority along with purging - gosh how much stuff one family can accumulate in 9 and one half  years. WOWZA!  This home and property has 95% of what was on our wish list. We have worked so hard and been so faithful in our finances and making smart decisions over the last 9 plus years it's finally paying off!  This is a "farm house look" on the outside with all the farmhouse charm and more modern inside!  There are 9.5 private acres and you betcha I will use all of them to the fullest for homeschooling...

Top O' The Mornin' To Y'all Happy Friday! We have BIG NEWS!  Our house sold and in only 2 weeks!   Thank you Jesus.  Since we had already found a house to move to and that process is moving along, we were a little concerned that our home would not sell quick, but it did!  We already had the inspection also.  The weather was great this week with warmth on our faces most days.  We went to the park with friends (no pics) and had some quality outdoor play time.  Sammie started Camp Google this week. It's a fun FREE camp on line and perfect for 1st - 3rd graders.  On the blog on Monday (Make It Monday) I had a quick DIY Easter Wreath that you can make from dollar store items.  Watch for more Make It Monday posts coming up this month.  loving this quote this week - Have more than you show, Speak less than you know! Trying to mix up the spelling this week with some different activities:  Molly wrote her word...

Happy First Friday Friends!   I can't believe we are in the first Friday of March!  We got a little dusting of snow last night but I think this might be it...we will be saying good bye to winter!  Bring on spring! We had a busy week... Last weekend we had an open house at our home. Had some great traffic and already got 1 offer (too low but it's moving in the right direction) .  The other home we are buying is moving along also...inspections are done, well test done and radon test done. Just waiting for some commitments back from the sellers on some repairs per the inspection and then we should go to contract!  HOMESCHOOL HAPPENINGS Leap Year - Monday my littlest was sick with a fever (over the weekend also) and so I just had two for school on Monday. We talked about Leap Year and the science behind it.  Also talked about frogs.  Molly (3rd) started learning how to use the dictionary (I mean the REAL paper versi...

Happy Friday Y'all!  So glad you stopped by to check in on our homeschool happenings... Last weekend (Monday actually) was my 48th birthday celebration weekend and it was jam packed with fun experiences! If you follow me on Instagram you were in for a lot of posts from the city! I invited two friends into NYC with me to have a fun world wind 24 hours (we live about an hour away from the city but rarely go in).  We took the train (Metro North) into Grand Central Station.  We stayed at the Marriott across from Bryant Park and I would HIGHLY recommend this hotel to ANYONE who visits the area. It had a nice kitchen and two queen beds. FULL breakfast in the morning was included and free wifi! My friend who is facing the wall in the upper picture was talking and listening to me whisper from the opposite side of the arch in front of the Oyster Bar at Grand Central. It's amazing how she could hear me among all the hustle and bustle of the terminal. Ca...