The rain is falling yet again at our home as I type. The world around us has turned green! For me, this is “Green Season.” In the winter, we have a small mountain view which disappears when the leaves begin to bud. So I tend to gauge time by “Mountain or Green Season” around here.

Welcome to the blog today, friends. I think I want to try something new, with a “Notes from Home” column. Basically, this will be a place where I can share what’s going on around here, along with other thoughts I may have. Most posts might fall into this column, but I’m not quite sure yet. We will see how it goes.

I want to have a clear focus when it comes to this blog, and I want it to be encouraging. I tend to write about what I am doing and consuming, whether it be books or videos. Lately, I haven’t really done that. Some of my thoughts and beliefs have changed, and I guess I feel like my dear readers might not be able to relate to me any longer. I hope this isn’t the case.

Change is a part of life. There have been times when I’ve tried to stop things from changing, but I’ve never prevailed. So whether it be our bodies, our homes, our families, our thoughts, or our feelings…it probably is better to embrace changes and try to learn from them.

I recently changed the tagline of this blog to “Cultivating a Beautiful Home & Life.” I think this fits my vision nicely. Redeeming the bad, and seeing glimmers of goodness and grace in our homes and lives. We have the ability to cultivate a beautiful home, no matter where we live. Sometimes that beauty comes from our words, thoughts and actions. This is the best type of beauty, in my opinion.

For a while there, I was writing about Stoic philosophy as a form of encouragement. I probably will still do this from time to time, but to be honest, right now I’m simply not consuming it. Therefore, it isn’t what is in my mind to write about.

I’m finding a lot of hope and encouragement from female-written memoirs in the Naturalist genre at the moment. I’ve been encouraged to take good care of the earth, my home, and my family.

I’m not sure exactly why I’m so drawn to words written by women right now…possibly because I can better relate to them? Over the past few months, I’ve felt a renewed kinship with other women, which has been a breath of fresh air.

I think we all want a happy, healthy, and flourishing life. Sometimes, we can find encouragement from others when times are hard, or when we’ve had a difficult day. I’ve been finding that in memoirs.

I hope this column will in a way, be a memoir of my own life. My highs, my lows. I am here, sometimes struggling, sometimes flourishing, like everyone else.

Since I’ve written so much already, I will keep the rest of this update short.

Right now, I’m sitting on my couch, thankful that the day is almost done. I’m nursing a cold, but have pushed through to get all of the things done. The homeschool books have been put away, the bread I baked has been eaten, and (most of) the laundry has been sorted.

“A turkey!” My child made the announcement and everyone scrambled to the window. A female turkey strutted across our yard and we watched in amazement. Perhaps this is the turkey I saw take flight about a week ago.

My son hands me a stuffed Gold Finch, and points out its match in a field guide. I smile as he clamors onto the couch with me. It is a good life. Not perfect, but pretty amazing.

I try to remember that there is a purpose even in my sickness. My immune system is strengthening, and I’ve realized that I possibly need to slow down a bit. A bug has a way of reminding you to take care of yourself. So yes, I’m trying to look at the bright side of things.

I hope to share more about my daughter’s birthday and my garden with you soon. So many exciting things have been happening around here.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope your life has been filled with good things!