Author: Melissa Ringstaff

My name is Melissa Ringstaff and I've been blogging since 2001. I'm a pastor's wife and homeschooling mom living in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains of Southeastern KY. I believe you can create a home you love and I'm here to help you do exactly that. I'm so glad you're here with me. I hope we can be friends!
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    ABC’s of Summer Fun {J is for Jumprope}

    You can find all of the posts in this series here. When I was a girl, one of my favorite activities was jump roping and singing jingles while we jumped! Today’s children are often sedentary and perhaps your child has never really been introduced to the fun that can be had with a jump rope….

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    James and Hannah’s Wedding

    On April 17, 2016 my son married his precious bride, Hannah Claire. {I’m calling her Hannah Claire because my 15 year old daughter’s name is also Hannah and it can get a little confusing!) The wedding was the loveliest wedding I have ever attended. Everything was just perfect. My daughter Emily played the music for the…

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    Happy Mother’s Day

    To all you Mamas out there, I hope you had a special day! My morning began like every Mother’s Day morning that I can remember for the last decade. My girls brought me breakfast in bed. It’s been their tradition for a long time. Dad doesn’t help them – they do everything themselves and make…

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    8 Tips for a Less Stressful Bedtime for Kids

    One of the most stressful parts of the day for many moms is bedtime. Kids fight sleep, get out of bed again and again, or just plain make the whole process difficult. Sleep matters — for growth, for development, for their ability to focus the next day — and these tricks can help take the…

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    5 Creative Ideas for Disciplining

    Disciplining your children can be hard work and sometimes you may just not know the best way to deal with disobedience. I’m sharing creative ideas for disciplining today… Some of these ideas are more suited to older children so use your best judgement. Remember that by being consistent and always following through you’ll teach your child…

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    Disciplining Better When Your Child is Older

    Hello! How was your week? Ours was busy as usual. We spent Wednesday at the ice rink and Hannah, Laura, and I spent the night so she could get some practice in on Thursday morning before we went home. She has a competition coming up at the beginning of April and needs extra practice time….

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    Update + Ice Skating

    So, it’s no secret that life around here has been crazy, hectic, and stressful the last few weeks/ months as Sarah has battled Crohn’s Disease worse than ever and had surgery one month ago. Two weeks after the surgery, she ended up back in the emergency room with a new, large abscess that stretched across…