Memories
Counting My Blessings: Week In Review
Last week was a whirlwind of activities as we got back into the regular school and work routine! It was a busy week, but I am thankful for time together with the family too. There was so much to be thankful for last week.
I want to be accountable to you so the following are snip-its of some of the things I am thankful for this past week. Counting My Blessings – Week In Review:
Monday – Thankful for my Mom and the opportunity to celebrate her birthday! Wish I could be there to celebrate with her. Also, grateful for the nurses and Doctors looking after my Grandma in the hospital. We had a scare today, but thankfully everything is okay.
Tuesday – Thankful for two kids who work hard at school even when it isn’t always easy. We received their report cards today and I am very proud of them.
Wednesday – Thankful for those people who help keep me accountable.
Thursday – Thankful for Jake and he’s willingness to pitch in and help anywhere I need it from homework to meals and around the house. He is very thoughtful and considerate, I am blessed.
Friday – Thankful for an opportunity to go to the Zoo with the family and for a Date Night with my sweet Brina Bee.
What are you thankful for today? I encourage you to take the time to write down a few blessings that you have in your life today. It will help cheer you up and turn your focus on the amazing blessings you encounter each day!
Travel & Vacation: Walt Disney World Epcot (Orlando, FL)
Spending the day at Epcot
Thankful for a chance to spend time with the family at Disney’s Epcot. It was so much fun. The kids kept up remarkably well and had great attitudes the entire busy day. I am grateful for kids who love to learn and explore new places. They just soaked in all the neat stuff going on at Epcot in. The second day was not as hot which was nice too.
They got me to go on Mission Space again. This time we went on the Orange ride which is more intense. Let’s just say I was looking a little green after this ride, thankfully this picture was taken before take off.
Jake and Brina cruising along
Image Works was a cool place to explore
Playing music at Image Works
Our own little Mickey Mouse. Karlie wanted the black hat and ears.
Our own little Minnie Mouse. Brina wanted the headband with a red and white Minnie Mouse bow.
Walking with Dad, so exciting!
Sweet girls.
All smiles
Pausing graciously to let me take a picture even though she’s worried about missing something!
Brina Bee
On the move
Taking in all the cool sights around her
We found a place that engraved names onto leather bracelets.
The girls have unique names which makes it impossible to find items with their names on it so we got these for them as a souvenir. They were fascinated watching the worker do the engraving and proud of their bracelets.
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week was a busy one as we unpacked from our Spring Break Atlanta trip and got back into school and work full time again. We had a lot of activities going on this week which made it fly by quickly. Thankful for the time with my family. Hoping that it is a wonderful week and that we will be able to get a lot accomplished. Here are my goals for this week:
Last week’s goals
Family Goals
- Finish reading Samantha’s Pride (Thoroughbred Series #7) by Joanna Campbell to the kids – busy week and we just got started
Plan one special activity with the family– we did a kids date night and trip to the zooPlay a Game with the KidsPrepare for Upcoming Spring EventsSpend time Monday –Friday helping the kids with HomeworkAttend After School ActivitiesLunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night beforePrep for upcoming Family AdventureWork on the kids Science Fair Projects– we made some good progressPrep for upcoming Summer Break
Personal Goals
Drink 8 glasses of water each dayContinue my YouVersion plan(s)Keep up with my FitBit Goals– I DID it this week (over 10,000 steps a day, 5 miles, 10 sets of stairs, etc)! Thankful to be excited to be moving more again since my herniated disc!Go to my Doctor Appointments Scheduled this week- Update Counting My Blessings and Other journal entries daily – I didn’t do as well staying on top of it this week
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned out for the weekClean House (Focus – Unpack Suitcase and Items Away from Atlanta Trip this weekend)- Organize Chaos (Focus – All pictures downloaded & organized from FL, STEM, and Atlanta trips) – almost done
Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Clean Out Van from Road Trips)Pet Care (Focus – Brush Goats & Dog – starting to shed with warmer weather)
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog postsRespond to Inquiry – Business Relation EmailsKeep up with the day to day items that need my attention- Work completed for clients
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Payoff the Car – working on it
- Payoff Medical Bills – working on it
- Payoff Other Outstanding Debt – (replacement microwave, refrigerator, hot water heater, bed, and other debt) – working on it
Pay Bills & File PaperworkGo grocery shopping one time to one store this week and stay within budget
My goals for the upcoming week
Family Goals
- Finish reading Samantha’s Pride (Thoroughbred Series #7) by Joanna Campbell to the kids
- Plan one special activity with the family
- Play a Game with the Kids
- Prepare for Upcoming Spring Events
- Spend time Monday –Friday helping the kids with Homework
- Attend After School Activities
- Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
- Prep for upcoming Family Adventure
- Finish the kids Science Fair Projects
- Prep for upcoming Summer Break
Personal Goals
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Continue my YouVersion plan(s)
- Keep up with my FitBit Goals
- Go to my Doctor Appointments Scheduled this week
- Update Counting My Blessings and Other journal entries daily
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
- Clean House (Focus – All Winter Clothes Pulled out of Closets & Dressers and Put into the Attic)
- Organize Chaos (Focus – All pictures downloaded & organized from FL, STEM, and Atlanta trips)
- Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Clean Off the Deck)
- Pet Care (Focus – Get Another Water Bucket set Out for the Goats)
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Respond to Inquiry – Business Relation Emails
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
- Work completed for clients
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Payoff the Car
- Payoff Medical Bills
- Payoff Other Outstanding Debt – (replacement microwave, refrigerator, hot water heater, bed, and other debt)
- Pay Bills & File Paperwork
- Go grocery shopping one time to one store this week and stay within budget
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results.
Travel & Vacaation: Disney Epcot’s Butterflies on the Go Flower Garden (Orlando, FL)
Beautiful flowers at Epcot
The kids had a blast going into Disney Epcot’s Butterflies on the Go Flower Garden during their International Flower and Garden Festival. The flowers were absolutely beautiful and butterflies were fluttering all around us. You could even see butterflies emerging from their chrysalis! It was pretty neat seeing these winged creatures buzzing all around and a house containing rows of chrysalis. Not to mention educational for the kids too!
Resting on a leaf
Rows of chrysalis in various stages
You could actually see some coming out and stretching their wings for the first time which was really neat
2 butterflies hanging out in the flowers.
Loved the flowers as much as the butterflies. Epcot’s gardens were amazing!
Travel & Vacation: Disney Epcot’s Countries Around the World (Orlando, FL)
Hanging out together at Epcot
The kids loved learning about the various countries in Epcot’s World Showcase. We got to see many shows, talk with a lot of people, learn about the countries, visit the Kid’s Epcot sections and more. We were not able to get a lot of pictures from the actual shows because several of them do not allow photography during the presentation.
At the China World Showcase we got to watch the Dragon Legend Acrobats! It was fascinating. They did some awesome jumps and tricks over basically a thin carpet pad and cement.
She flipped up into this chair which is being held by one of the guys on their team.
Neat formation
The flying jumps were awesome, even if they made me a little nervous
A stunning performance!
The girls loved talking with all the people at the Kidcot stations at every country. They had their passports stamped and signed in all the different languages around the showcase.
Hanging out with Daddy
Beautiful tower lit up at the Morocco World Showcase
Hanging out in Morocco
On our way to visit Canada
Beautiful gardens in the Canada World Showcase
Canadian Lumberjack Show takes place on the Mill Stage. It was a neat competition including axe throwing, log rolling, sawing, and more.
The red and blue team competing on a log in the water.
Giving the kids in the crowd “high fives”!
Those on the front row did get a little wet from this competition, but the girls thought it was awesome
It was a neat show to watch. The kids were able to get up front and see everything which was cool.
Travel & Vacation: Visiting Disney’s Epcot (Orlando, FL)
My sweet princess!
We saved Epcot to explore last since it was one that Jake wanted to go with us. It was so much fun riding all the rides, exploring the various countries, watching the shows and so much more. We had a blast, so much fun in fact that we decided that on our last day we wanted to go back to Epcot for one more day. Thankful for a great time packed full of wonderful memories with my family.
Feeding the manatees some lettuce
Ready for a bright and sunny day at Epcot
You can see this Epcot ball from our hotel
Our picture from the Spaceship Earth adventure together
Playing an energy game, pretty cool
Brina racing her car
We’re ready for the show!
The Space section was a hit especially with Karlie!
Our first Mission Space ride. They generously chose to do the “green” (aka easy level) first since I get sick on some rides. Thankfully we all survived!
Delicious snack at one of the bakeries! We split this heart shaped waffle with tasty jam inside.
Stopping for a minute to rest while we check out the map for the next place we want to go.
We’re ready and thankful for a moment to relax!
The kids did amazing with their camel backs. Not once they complain or get dehydrated or hungry (although we did have more potty breaks).
Biotechnology Lab at Epcot. It looks really neat and you see all kinds of cool produce being grown that will be used in various Disney restaurants. The only odd about this ride is the second time we road it there were animal (dog shape) paw prints in the sand (not sure where those came from).
Turtle Talk with Crush – super cute and very interactive with the audience!
Living Seas Hydrolators and Seacab
Ride 
Looks like the shark at a couple kids!
Karlie is loving her time at Epcot
Travel & Vacation: Riding Around Disney on Buses, Monorails, and Boats (Orlando, FL)
Relaxing on the monorail
While at Disney we spent time riding around on the various transportation systems. The girls had fun going on the boats, monorails, and buses throughout the week. At each location the girls had fun collecting the various transportation cards. All you have to do is ask the driver or one of the workers for them. Many times the driver would give them several trading cards at one time. The only place they didn’t always have the cards was on the buses. They did get some neat ones and have fun collecting them. I am not sure how many they collected throughout the week, however, they had quite a stack.
When we arrived at the hotel we parked the van in the parking lot and never went in it again until it was time to come home so we spent the entire week getting from place to place on the Disney transportation vehicles. It was a neat experience for the girls and we met a lot of great people throughout our trips to and fro. It was nice to not have to drive everywhere plus we saved on parking and gas.
Loved riding the monorail!
Relaxing and enjoying a quiet bus ride! Brina is awake now, but she figured out quickly that a power nap on the bus ride really helped re-energize her!
Having fun riding the boat over to Epcot
Sometimes there were lots of seats and other times you had to squeeze into a seat!
Brina found a seat on the life vests
Our last relaxing moment before hitting the park!
Waiting patiently for the monorail
Staying entertained while waiting for the monorail
Flashback Friday: Sharing, Sleeping, & Surgery
Brina and Karlie sharing a pacifier
Today our Flashback Friday hits when the girls were only between 1 – 2 months old after coming home from NICU. They shared everything and could sleep peacefully in the most unusual positions. It was much easier to get their pictures at this stage because they were not mobile yet. Thankful for these little blessings. It doesn’t seem like these days were that long ago.
They were preemies and came home on heart / apnea monitors for the first few months. You can see the wires coming out of their clothes in many of the early pictures. We never had to worry about them stopping breathing because the monitors would always alarm if they did. It wasn’t long before we got used to it.
During this time Karlie also had to go back into the hospital to have surgery. Her stomach wasn’t getting the milk she was drinking and she was throwing up after feeding. It was pretty scary taking our little one back in for surgery. Watching her being wheeled off to the operating room in the huge crib broke my heart. Thankful for Doctors and their help during this time.
Baby sleeping pile
Somehow Karlie managed to scoop herself until her bottom was against the wall and had her feet resting up on the wall while snoozing away.
Karlie resting after surgery with her huge IV bandage
Brina hanging out in the pillow. She thought it was pretty cool standing up at first, but decided after a few minutes she would rather be free.
Travel & Vacation: Epcot’s Gardens (Orlando, FL)
Our wild crew at Epcot!
Our family had a blast exploring Walt Disney World’s Epcot park. It was a lot of fun seeing all the beautiful sculptures made out of greenery all over the park. Many Disney characters were represented in the gardens. It was the kids first time visiting Epcot. They loved it so much we chose to do it 2 days instead of just one. Thankful for the opportunity to spend time with my family while seeing these amazing creations.
Lady and the Trump
Mickey Mouse instead a garden of flowers.
Beautiful flower gardens at Epcot. This was taken while passing through on the monorail.
Snow White
Kiddos in front of Beauty and the Beast
Pausing for a moment! These were my two favorite characters from Beauty and the Beast
My sweet girl.
They did an amazing job making these garden sculptures come to life!
Monorail, flower gardens, and lake.
Cinderella and Prince Charming
Hanging out next to Winnie the Pooh Bear (his red balloon glowed at night).
Look out for Captain Hook
Brina liked the Frozen garden!
Karlie, of course, liked the Buzz Lightyear
Tinker Bell
Too cute!
The Frozen characters garden at night
Beautiful garden across the water from where the boat drops you off at Epcot
Counting My Blessings: Week In Review
Last week was a great week with the kids home on Spring Break! I have so many reasons to be thankful every day. It was a blessing spending extra time with the kids. We packed in a lot of fun adventures, quality time, and more during their Spring Break!
I want to be accountable to you so the following are snip-its of some of the things I am thankful for this past week. Counting My Blessings – Week In Review:
Monday – Thankful for a chance to spend time with the kids at the Greenville Zoo, Cleveland Park, and Library today. We even spent a few minutes with my brothers family and ran into some friends I have known since a little girl from KS at the park (they use to go to my grandparents church in Smith Center) which was an unexpected surprise blessing.
Tuesday – Thankful that my two nephews could come over to play with the kids for a few hours. The kids had a blast playing inside and outside on this beautiful day.
Wednesday – Thankful for finding some good deals to stock up our pantry at a local store that was having a big sale.
Thursday – Thankful for a chance to talk with Grandma Willa today since she will be having surgery tomorrow. Grateful for my family and Grandparents who have been part of my life and the positive impact they have made. Treasuring all the good times and memories.
Friday – Thankful for a great Holiday weekend – Good Friday and what it means in my life. Easter is a wonderful Holiday to celebrate my Savior who gave his life so that I might live. Grateful that Jake was able to take off Good Friday so we could spend the day as a family exploring Atlanta’s Museums, Zoo, and so much more. Love spending time with my family. Thankful that Grandma’s surgery went well.
What are you thankful for today? I encourage you to take the time to write down a few blessings that you have in your life today. It will help cheer you up and turn your focus on the amazing blessings you encounter each day!
