Everyday Life

Today is rainy and cool. In my opinion, the perfect Autumn day.

We have finished school today, a big thanks to Liberty's Kids for taking over History for us today :)

We've finally(!) started painting around here. No beautiful colors, but fresh paint always feels so nice.

The boys wrapped up their fall soccer. We did Upward this year and absolutely loved it. They learned so much more than soccer. They loved it so much that we are started basketball in a few weeks. They've never played, but I'm sure they'll love it!

Speaking of a few weeks. Uh hm. The holidays are already upon us!? I kinda thought this year just started.
I am pretty excited about sharing another holiday season with the boys. They absolutely love this time of year. It's so special.

I'm reading Women Living Well and joined the Bible Study over at Biblical Homemaking. I am learning SO much. I truly appreciate the wisdom of godly women.

I found these pictures Tristin took of Brighton last week. Oh these boys make me smile!

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Every Day Life

We have had the busiest summer. I think every single day had somewhere to be in June. If you know me you know I don't love being busy all the time. I find you can't make time for what's most important when you are going 100 miles an hour. This month, thankfully, is a bit slower. Although this week is still quite full, it's full of important things like celebrating the life of a wonderful man and hugging his sweet family...our family. And then a date night with my husband. It's been a long time and I just can't wait to see him. Then on Friday I have a family day planned. In fact I have one planned for the next 3  Fridays in a row. I found a card for $20 each we can get into 3 area water parks/pools. We've never been to any of them and the boys have no clue. I can't wait to surprise them!

For Father's Day the boys picked a one on one date each with dad. This one picked ice cream and the zoo. They loved having dad all to themselves. I love this picture because it shows the stick collecting phase this boy is in!



We finished soccer! this was Brighton's first year. He did a great job and had a really cute little team.



We spend many mornings and evening out here on the porch. It's one of my favorite spots!



Sometimes he just needs a few minutes to himself. I find it so nice that he's taking the time to regroup when he needs it. I remember at his age walking alone in the dark around my block just talking to God. I loved it.



One night we decided it was time for a good ol' shrimp boil! No reason at all, just because it's summertime.



After the shrimp our neighbors asked if we wanted to join them at the splash pad for a bit. So we did.



It's been unusually chilly for July in Texas so I think they spent more time on the playground than in the water that evening, but still so much fun.

This week is in the 70's and rainy. That's my kind of weather!!

Daily Life and Goals

We have been having such a wonderful Spring! The weather has been a little funny, but that's to be expected in Texas :)

We have started a (very) small garden. We have a ton of shade at our house so we have to use containers, which is nice for a beginner like me.

We have kitchen herbs. Basil, cilantro, and mint. And outside we planted onions, spinach, and lettuce. I'm planning one more container with tomatoes and peppers in a few weeks.



We're moving right along in school, and loving it more than ever! Of course there are many really hard days, but the good outweigh the bad. It still amazes me to see how much the boys are learning and I'm so thankful I get to see it right in front of my own eyes!

I have been praying for a while for God to give me a heart completely for Him. It amazes me how much he's teaching me about loving others, having friends, and serving my family. I am an introvert. I love to be home, but I also realize that relationships are really very important, and God is teaching me how to reach out to others more and be more hospitable. Another area he's working on is making plans and being a good friend. It seems everyone is so busy all the time which made me feel uncomfortable to take the first step to actually make plans. He's leading me to step out and at least ask :)

If you've been around for very long at all, you know my love for setting goals. It's such a great challenge for me, and helps me grow. I'm usually not too open to share them though. Maybe for fear of failure? I don't know. But, not anymore. I want to share my goals with you in hopes that I'm kept accountable?? hint hint ;) and maybe to encourage each other. If you have any goals, please feel free to share them with me? You can bet I'll pray for you and check up on you if you want me too!

So my goals and lists of things to do for this week were:

Daily:
   *read the word - right now I'm reading lasts months' she reads truth study on prayer
It seems God really brought prayer to my attention these past few weeks, and I know I was really needing help in my prayer life.

   *Cook for my family.
If you follow me on Instagram, you know how I LOVE cooking healthy meals for my family everyday. Morning, noon, and night. Honestly, I don't think their are many days when I actually leave the kitchen!
Some meals we loved this week were: Edie's honey garlic pizza, mango basil shrimp served with rice, and these easy pork chops (I baked ours).

   * cleaning. Of course. I've been working very hard to make a schedule that works for me. I'm finally think I'm getting there, and will post my new schedule next week!

   *homeschool. Lots of reading, writing, math, nature study, a few science videos, and I've finally made projects a priority, and oh how we've had fun with this! I'll share more of that soon too.



   * eat well, drink water, exercise 3 days a week, do my hair and get dressed hehe

This week:

Memorize: (with the boys)

The LORD Is My Shepherd

23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green [1] pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest [2] my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. [3]

Visited 2 friends (Tuesday and Thurs)

Went vacation shopping for snacks etc for our upcoming trip to Branson MO!

Jaiden had a dr appt. (please be in prayer for him as they have to test his thyroid)
Get our dog groomed
Call the bug man to come spray

Clean out our school stuff and get rid of anything I don't need.

That was my week! I did almost everything on the list, but still need help getting my workouts in.

Oh and if you're wondering? I wrote this post Monday...had some trouble with the pictures, and finally got it all finished today.I almost didn't post, but I guess it's better late than never!

Squirrel!

Think the dog that yells squirrel on the movie Up.



I walked in the family room the other day to this.



Oh, but that's not all.



Yup. But not just one, there were two squirrels chasing each all over this tree.
Poor dog. ha

Waiting for Spring, And a Texas Blizzard Y'all

I has been a very nice winter here in Texas. A lot of the days have been nice enough to go outside for a walk or just to play,  but I'm always freezing. Always.

I'm very ready for the smell of fresh cut lawns, big thunderstorms rolling in, and eating breakfast, lunch, or even dinner outside.

I was looking at pictures from last April, and man it sure got me excited!





Pots ready to be filled with gorgeous flowers!



That will all have to wait a bit longer though. Outside our window is sunshine, but it's melting the 15 or so inches of snow we just had. What a storm it was! The boys are sure enjoying it though.



They built forts in the front yard the first day, and got creative on the back deck steps yesterday. They stayed out for hours! I cleaned house and had nutella and peanut butter hot chocolate hot and waiting for them to tire.

Saturday Family Traditions

I have really fallen in love with creating our own little family traditions. I love getting ideas from all over the place, but as I wrote a few months ago, I was getting overwhelmed with "keeping up" with all the fun stuff there is out there. So, I pretty much dropped it. I took my own advice and went with what I knew would really make a difference in our boys' lives.

Remember the everyday things like books before bed, family devotionals, pizza on Fridays, chores on Saturday. Those are the things children will find comfort in. Those are the days they will remember.

Without even thinking about it, I started lingering in bed an hour later on Saturday mornings, slowly getting up to the sounds of boys playing in their rooms. I'd head down stairs for a cup of coffee and open my wonderful southern cookbook and find the most beautiful pictures and recipes. I started craving the biscuits and gravy, the brown sugar and buttermilk waffles, the honey pecan coffee cake. Although I cook breakfast most mornings, I wanted this to be different. So, around 9:00 AM on Saturday mornings, I start what we call our Late Saturday  Morning Breakfasts. The boys make orange juice together and set the table while I whip up waffles, eggs, and bacon, biscuits and gravy, omelets, stuffed french toast, or sometimes just fruit salad and toast. Some other times, we make homemade donuts with our little donut maker.

It's all about enjoying each other, in no rush.







We read our Bible together, talk, and listen to old hymns or classical music. It has quickly become my favorite day of the week!

After we are finished, I go online to Lego Quest Kids and pick a challenge for the boys and their Legos. They spend the remainder of the morning coming up with their creations! They LOVE it! I also saw that Phyllis just started LEGO challenges on her blog too, so we'll add that one to our list.







I'm taking pictures for them and have plans to make a little book for him.

These are the traditions I love. It doesn't take a lot of effort and planning. It's not over the top or elaborate, and by no means an original idea. It is special and simple, and that's what makes it so amazingly wonderful!

Everyday Life

Everyone in our house was sick last week. I just wasn't feeling good, but the rest had what I'm guessing was the flu. It really seemed like the longest, quietest week. We didn't go anywhere, no homeschool, the boys weren't even up to playing. I thought Jaiden had escaped the sickness until I got a call from school Thursday morning that he was indeed sick.

This week has felt more like recovery mode. We were all still tired, and I had a migraine for a few days. Today, I'm happy to report everyone is what seems back to "normal"!

 I had a nicely clean and quiet home for a few days and I was so happy to take care of everyone. I didn't need to cook much because we weren't eating much. I honestly had nothing much to do but rub backs, do a lot of laundry, and run warm baths for achy bodies. After a day though I missed the loud, playing boys. I missed everyone doing all sorts of things all over the house. I missed cooking for this little family of mine.

It's funny that it can all seem like so much sometimes, and when you get a tiny break from it all you miss it. It really showed me even more than I already knew, that I need to savor these moments. To stop and enjoy these boys of mine. The quiet can get lonely. Fast.