raising rileys

mount up with wings as eagles

Mount up with wings as eagles. I love that phrase and imagery taken from Isaiah chapter 40. I want to “mount up with wings as eagles” figuratively in how I live life! Here are some of my thoughts on this topic.

Lately I have been thinking about seasons and energy and rest and goals and revelation. Maybe it’s because in my heart I want to do so much! But this season has been an exhausting one for me —wonderful, wonderful blessings, but none-the-less exhausting! It has been an intensive season of work. I think most any mother can relate.

Motherhood, Life I Love, HomeschoolElizabeth RileyOctober 7, 2018motherhood, faith, scripturesComment

a homeschool life conversation with brandi mcintosh

With some difficulty (not a morning person) I rise around 7 each morning and get started on breakfast. This morning Ellie surprised me with eggs ready. She's my early bird and frequently helps in this way, knowing how much it helps her morning zombie of a mama out. (Mamas of young children - easier days - they are coming)! By the time breakfast is ready, the younger kids are up and Gavin (15) joins us with a little help. ;) We've all agreed we prefer to get going somewhat early so that we can move through our day at an unhurried pace and have time for what matters.

we moved!

Well, we moved! And my goodness, it felt totally stressful to me and to us! Jeremiah calculated that it was the fourth time we've moved in five years. And of those four moves, three of them were while pregnant...no wonder I'm beat!

Life I LoveElizabeth RileyMay 2, 2017Family, family, faith, Motherhood, BlessingsComment

Christmas 2016: a time of gratitude

It has been a glorious Christmas season for our family! Not because we did everything I hoped we'd do, but because I have felt a heart full of gratitude. Perhaps it didn't start that way. We were considering buying a different home for our family. But none of the homes at that time were coming together very well for one reason or another--we were too slow on our offer or we ended up not feeling right about it or had trouble communicating with the seller. Long story short, I began the season feeling very frustrated! Frustrated because I felt like we were trying to do the right thing, and it just wasn't coming together quite right. Have you ever felt like that?

Life I LoveElizabeth RileyDecember 30, 2016prayer, Blessings, faith, Fasting, Gratitude Comment

grumpiness and a gorgeous autumn day

Ever have those mornings where there's a general aura of grumpiness going around? Maybe not in your home, but it occasionally happens in our home. I think it usually relates to one sort of stress or another when it comes from me or my husband, and when it comes from one of the kids, I can oftentimes correlate it to not enough sleep or some sort of little sickness (a cold or something) making it's way through our home. Either way, the reality is that sometimes grumpiness takes a bit of a hold on us.

on humility & time management

It’s Monday, and the school year is fast approaching. I am excited for it! Last school year when Matthew was four, I viewed it as my ‘preparation year’ for homeschooling. The year I’d take to develop the self-discipline to homeschool and to figure out how to weave it into our family’s busy life and to try out some different teaching techniques. It was a wonderful year and agreat learning experience for me. I feel so drawn to homeschool for our children, for our family—but along with many other moms, I’ve asked myself, “but how?? How can I find the time in my already busy life to do this?” Here are a couple of things that are helping me. I hope that maybe they are helpful you too.