Arlington Honor

My beautiful and one-of-a-kind Nana was finally laid to rest with the love of her life at Arlington Cemetery. Our family joined together for a special and hard day remembering her legacy and the way she impacted each of our lives. It was also a reminder that family, though sometimes challenging, is worth the fight, the forgiveness and the attention. There’s nothing like family, and I know the way we came together honored the woman who was the matriarch for so many years. We love you, Nana.

Homeschool Beginning

When we knew we were moving from King William to Hanover and Frazier only had one more year of elementary school, he threw out the idea that I should homeschool him. I think he pictured easy days with lots of LEGO building. He forgot who his mother was! Once he understood expectations, and I had a good feel for his abilities, strengths and growth areas, we have had quite a ball (most days). I'm learning and re-learning so much right along with him, we are taking so many fun field trips, and getting to know some new friends through a weekly homeschool group. 

Our Friday group meets weekly with rotating focuses on a monthly book, a service project, a field trip and a nature lesson. One of the families has a missional cut flower garden she offers to the community, so we were able to make lovely flower arrangements and cards for someone who needed it in our lives. 

We made a cake, and Frazier drew the continents in icing. Throughout the year we're studying cultures and geography of the world. (after this lovely cake was made Amos jumped on the counter and ate half of it)

This was just funny. No lesson here. 

We took a trip to Henricus Historical Park to learn how the early settlers and Indians lived. Frazier is taking a turn using a hoe as most boys his age would have been doing back then. 

We took a trip to a local pumpkin patch, and the owner/farmer shared a lesson on crop rotation and how farming has changed over the generations in his family. 

Hay ride!

Another baking lesson as we wrapped up our study on the United States. We baked a Pennsylvania Dutch apple pie from scratch, and it was delicious! (Amos made another appearance and ate the first homemade crust dough, so we had to do that over again.)

We took our silent reading time to the rooftop of the workshop on our new property. 


Another service project Friday had the children packing 50 boxes for Operation Christmas Child. 

The Virginia Museum of History and Culture had a Homeschool Day, so we took Poppy along (he worked here for 20+ years), and enjoyed a tour of the Story of Virginia, the history of democracy and more. 

So far, I can see the appeal and benefits of homeschooling though I don't plan to make it our way of educating forever!

Fall Flurry

So much fun and family moments have been had this fall. We have settled into a rhythm with new school routines, expectations and influences (the good and the bad, which makes for important and necessary conversations!). Here are some highlights in pictures. 

The girls started That Dance Thing (aka TDT), which is a Christian etiquette/dance event that takes place 2 Friday evenings a month. The oldest couldn't wait to go, and the youngest shed some real tears about us making her do the worst thing ever. After 3 evenings, they both really like it, talk the entire ride home and are learning enough to teach mom and dad. 

It's always fun to sleepover with the Senters!

The fall is my busy work season as we launch small groups for the season. This was our best year yet with more than 70% of our congregation joining and participating in a small group! This is a picture from one of our leader trainings. 

Mary-Michael has found her new favorite sport playing on the middle school volleyball team at her school this year. She has grown tremendously and finished the season as a starter. We are so proud of her!

Benaiah took his first stab at rock climbing at a birthday party and surprised us both with his bravery. 

Let's go Lady Kings!

We enjoyed hearing Dr. Ben Carson speak this fall at the Family Foundation's annual gala. What a resounding message of hope and truth he gave!

We took a quick trip to the Virginia State Fair mostly to see Jacey (our business partners' daughter) run and win the barrel race. We had to sneak in a visit to the tractors, of course. 

Leila's first year in public high school has had it's ups and downs, but when we received notice she was receiving a character award in that first month, it was such a bright spot.

Great job, Leila! 


Frazier enjoyed fishing on a cool, fall morning with some friends. 

The girls and I took an evening trip to the mall to find a homecoming dress for Leila's first homecoming dance. After weeding through dresses the length of a t-shirt (seriously, I don't know how the girls could dance in them), we found just the right one.

At our church's Fall Festival, Frazier won the pie-eating contest. 

Daddy took the kids on an overnight tent camping trip combined with a few hikes. They all did really well, even Daddy!

Leila was so happy to be able to take her best bud, Emma, (also from Niger) to her homecoming dance. They had a lot of fun, and we had so much fun getting them ready. 

Mimi and Poppy came to see the lovely ladies off. 

Philip and Erica's little one, Emery, was dedicated at church this fall. Though Philip is now taller than Geoff, he's still like a little brother. We are thankful for our 15+ years of friendship.

"Punkin Day" was all Benaiah talked about for a week leading up to the event. Here's his prized possession. 

We hosted 8 of Mary-Michael's 7th grade friends for an evening of fall fun - riding on the trails, hot dog roasting, s'mores and kickball. It was so fun to get to know some of them better and see how much they enjoy each other. 

First Day of School 2022

This year will be one for the books with a child each in preschool, elementary school, middle school and high school and engagement in public school, private school and homeschool. Whew! All are settling in well, and I am thankful to be closer and driving less and to have an amazing husband who is so helpful and involved in our children’s lives.

Reverse Inclusion Pre-school program at Battlefield Park Elementary.

Final year of elementary (5th grade) in homeschool with Mrs. Mom.

7th grade at Grace Christian School.

9th Grade at Mechanicsville High School.

Sand, Sun and White Wing Doves

We had an incredible family adventure with Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Kam in south Texas over Labor Day Weekend. South Padre Island was a beautiful place to wrap up the summer with its warm Gulf Of Mexico waters, shallow coastline and beautiful scenery. We were a little over an hour from where Geoff’s parents grew up and met, which is so close to the Mexican border. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing the sights and culture that were significant parts of their childhood, as well as visiting an historical home (The Rabb House) that Grandpa’s great aunt lives in and visiting with Uncle Mike.

A significant part of the trip was dedicated to hunting white wing doves, which is only allowed during a very short season in the valley. The boys had success with this venture! Other highlights of the trip include seeing the wall and talking with Border Patrol about the realities of the border, eating delicious Tex-Mex and BBQ and making great memories with family.