Recommendations

  • North Georgia Zoo & Farm (Cleveland, GA)

    North Georgia Zoo & Farm is a great place to visit with your family, especially if your kids enjoy animals.

    That turtle and zebra have familiar faces….  Thankful that the girls still occasionally “humor” me with the cheesy pictures!

    Baby goats!

    This porcupine has a fantastic breakfast, look at all those fruits & veggies!

    The beaver is munching on his veggies too!

    Beautiful animal!

    Are you sure you don’t have another treat for me!?

    Albino Kangaroo napping in the shade!

    Singing dog, so wanted to hear it actually sing!!!

    Brina loving all the animals!

    Jake and Karlie waiting for the Animal Show to start

    Soft….of course the girls wanted at least one when they found out that they sale them at this location

    Fascinating to watch it run awhile!

    A lot softer than we expected.

  • Cowboys & Angels Restaurant (Helen, GA)

    Jake and I went away for a weekend while the girls were on a Student Council Leadership Conference.  We stayed in Cleveland, Georgia not far from Helen.  After Jake was done with work we headed into Helen to grab a bite to eat.  We had looked at a few restaurant reviews prior to going so we had an idea of some of the places we may want to check out.

    Once in Helen we parked on the edge of town and took a stroll through the quaint little shopping area.  We passed several of the restaurants that we were considering.  We finally settled on Cowboys & Angels Restaurant When we first arrived there were only a couple tables inside (but they were reserved) and several tables available outside.  We considered staying because it was probably going to get cooler as it got darker.  The hostess and staff reassured us that they had outdoor heaters.  They found us a table in an area that would be a little warmer and a little quieter.  A musician from Nasheville, TN was singing on the outdoor patio, but wasn’t too loud.

    The weather was a little bit cooler, but it was still comfortable.  The staff was quick and accommodating.  The food was delicious.  Jake had the Longhorn Burger with Broccoli.  I had the Grilled Maverick Chicken with a House Salad both were delicious.

    Pros:

    • Location is in the heart of the shopping and tourist district of Helen, GA
    • Food was delicious and for a reasonable price
    • Atmosphere was good with live music
    • Hospitality was excellent and pleasant with prompt service from the staff

    Cons

    • Limited indoor seating.  If it is a cooler day when you visit and the restaurant is busy you may be eating outside.
    • NOTE: Staff indicated that they were in the process of expanding and hope to have more indoor eating space in the future (not sure of the exact plans or timeline).

    Overall:  Yes, would definitely try again on a future visit to Helen, GA.  They would probably benefit from more indoor seating especially during the cooler months, but I can imagine it would be a really neat venue for eating on the porch & patio throughout the Spring and Summer seasons.  The food was great and the service was excellent so if you are looking for somewhere to eat while visiting the area we recommend you check them out.

  • Song: Good Good Father by Chris Tomlin

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBwXHpKVS5I

    I am thankful for my Dad, my husband who is a wonderful Daddy to our girls, and many other Father figures in my life from Grandparents to friends and more, but there is one perfect Father.   Our earthly Father’s will stumble, God never will.  We can be grateful for the Father’s God has chosen to give us, however, our focus should be on our Heavenly Father.

    I’ve heard a thousand stories of what they think you’re like
    But I’ve heard tender whispers of love in the dead of night
    And you tell me that you’re pleased
    And that I’m never alone

    You’re a Good, Good Father
    It’s who you are, it’s who you are, it’s who you are
    And I’m loved by you
    It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am

    I’ve seen many searching for answers far and wide
    But I know we’re all searching
    For answers only you can provide
    Cause you know just what we need
    Before we, we say a word

  • Brina & Karlie’s Awards Ceremony! Congratulations Girls!

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     Brina and Karlie with Ms. Osbey.  They loved spending time in the library as Library Assistants helping her!

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     Proud of these two girls!

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    Karlie receiving her Accelerated Reading Trophy! 🙂  She broke the school record in AR points!  Loves her books!  Way to go KARLIE!!!

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    Fifth Grade Awards Ceremony!

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    Hanging out with friends between Graduation and the Awards Ceremony

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    Safety Patrol!

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     Brina’s fantastic Homeroom Teacher this year Mrs. Husso!  She was an amazing teacher and Brina learned a ton in her class!

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     Brina’s reading teacher for the past several years Mrs. Whitmire!  She is AWESOME and has helped Brina so much with improving her reading skills!  Wish we could take us with Brina to Middle School!!!

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    Karlie & Brina – 5th Grade 2016 Class Graduation & Awards Ceremony!  Proud of these girls!

    Karlie & Brina 5th Grade Awards Ceremony

    Both Karlie & Brina were the Highest Student in Social Studies for their home class!

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    Karlie & Brina were the highest student in READING for their home class!  WooHoo Brina, she has learned so much over the past few years even with handling dyslexia.  Proud of both of our girls!

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    Karlie highest student in Science for her home class!

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    Jet Toy Competition!  Both Karlie and Brina’s individual teams went on to compete in the Regional Jet Toy Competition this year!

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    Brina won her class Science Fair and went on to win 1st Place Grand Prize in our Regional Science Fair competition!  Very proud of Brina and all her hardwork!  We calculated that she made over 400 cupcakes throughout her Science experiment!  Way to go BRINA!!!

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    Award for Academic Excellence!

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    Last week was crazy, but good as we celebrated a lot of great rewards that the girls had earned for all their hard work throughout this past school year including watching them graduate.  Thankful for our girls and their excitement to learn.  They had a lot of activities and times when it was tough to get everything done, but they pushed through it.  Jake and I are proud of our girls.

    I have added a “kid goals” section to my list of goals.  Now that they are getting older and realizing the importance of improving and maintaining goals I want to be intentional about keeping up with their learning as they grow older.   Here are my goals for this week:

    Last week’s goals

    Family Goals

    1. Finish reading Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein to the kids. – was not able to finish with all the extra school activities this week, but read a couple of night
    2. Read 7 Stories from the Bad Pets on the Loose by Alan Zullo book to the kids. – read a couple, but not 7
    3. Go through 7 more Brain Quest Flash Cards with the kids. – did a handful only
    4. Read through 7 more pages of History Trivia with the kids. – hoping to pick this back up again this week
    5. Do devotions and prayer time with kids every night. – prayers yes, but it was really late a few nights so kept it short
    6. Plan one special activity with the family
    7. Play a Game with the Kids – we didn’t have enough free time in the evenings to play a game
    8. Spend time Monday –Friday helping the kids with Homework
    9. Attend After School Activities – attended all the activities including celebration / graduation meetings, regional Science Fair Competition & Awards, Graduation, Awards Ceremony
    10. Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
    11. Prep for upcoming Family Adventure(s) – working on it, but still has some more to go
    12. Prep & Figure out Schedule for upcoming Summer Break – getting closer to finalizing everything
    13. Ride Bikes with the Kids – the extra activities took more time than expected
    14. Work on family projects togetherwe worked on several items together as a family including items in the house including the laundry room.  The girls LOVED helping paint!
    15. Brina & Karlie’s Graduation Ceremonygreat seeing the girls graduate!
    16. Brina & Karlie’s Award Ceremonythe girls received A LOT of amazing rewards!  Both received trophies, several certificates, award pins, medals, and more.  Once again we were blown away by how well they did and all they received.  Evidence that the hours they spent working on school work really did pay off.  They were part of several great groups and had a wonderful team of teachers / coaches.  We will miss this school that they have been at for 7 years, but looking forward to what middle school has to offer!
    17. Prep & decorate for Graduation party (Meet with people Mon / Wed) after school
    18. Take Brina to the Science Fair Competition – not only did we take Brina to the Regional Science Fair Competition – SHE WON!!!  FIRST Place in the Regional Science Competition so proud of her!  Way to go Brina!  She received a trophy, medals, certificates, and a cash prize!  She was shocked, but excited.  The last 3 months of baking cupcakes for her “Cupcakes on the Rise” Science Fair project were worth it.  We calculated that she made over 410 cupcakes by herself these past 3 months.  She’s gotten really good at making cupcakes!

    Personal Goals

    1. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    2. Keep up with my FitBit Goals – did so well this week with the exception of forgetting my fitbit at home on a day where I did a lot of moving around at work and after school activities.  Oh well…
    3. Do yoga at least 5 times a week
    4. Go to my Appointments Scheduled this week – Jake took Brina to set up for the Science Fair over lunch on Thursday so I could work my regular hours, thanks Babe!
    5. Update Counting My Blessings and Other journal entries daily
    6. Tackle some lingering projects on my “to do” list – I did get several things moving forward, but nothing completely crossed off so officially I cannot cross this off my list….

    Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day my laundry room is still being renovated, I was unable to get in to do laundry on my normal schedule.  Hopefully this will be complete or at least in a more working condition by the end of next week! 🙂  It’s going to look awesome though, Jake has done a fantastic job and the girls have pitched in and helped a lot too!
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
    3. Clean House (Focus – Laundry Room Remodeling Work (get all of the subflooring cleaned and help Jake with getting at least 1/2 of it completed) – flooring is up and was stalled a little bit by another issue that caught our attention that needed to be fixed prior to doing more in the laundry room (thankful for a husband who can do so much).  Having an older home can have a lot of fun and unexpected surprises that take extra TLC! 🙂
    4. Organize Chaos (Focus – Find Bins / Containers / Baskets to put on shelves in Laundry Room once up) – I have some ideas, but waiting a couple more days until I figure out how the new laundry room layout will look like prior to committing to any specific bins/containers/baskets.  I want the items I get to be practical, efficient, and uniform as much as possible.
    5. Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Plant Lilly Flower and Blueberry Bush – weather permitting) – the laundry room took up more time than we expected as well as a couple extra activities with school and other events were more time consuming than we original planned.
    6. Pet Care (Focus – Give Skipper her vitamins) – Brina especially is good about keeping up with Skippy’s vitamins!
    7. Repairs – (Focus – Refinishing our Laundry room, tearing out the old linoleum and sprucing it up) – All the old flooring is up, we are starting to paint and work on other areas.  Looking better already, cannot wait until it is complete!  Will be very nice!

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Respond to Inquiry – Business Relation Emails – few more need to be completed
    3. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention – a couple of days got away from me with all the activities last week, hoping as we get into rhythm with the new summer schedule I can tackle a few more of this necessary items
    4. Work completed for clientshave a couple more projects to complete
    5. Notes typed for work – I got them started (kids and other family activities took priority this past week.)
    6. Folders Labeled for work – I actually got a decent start of this one.  I finished some of the categories that I was doing, but have a handful more to wrap up before I am officially done. 
    7. Desk drawers organized – getting closer….does that count?!

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch

    Financial Goals

    1. Schedule a meeting with the Financial Advisor – have a couple I need to follow up with this week
    2. Payoff Other Outstanding Debt – made another extra payment
    3. Pay Bills & File Paperwork
    4. Go grocery shopping one time this week and stay within budget – went over with the graduation party celebration and other big activities that filled up our week

    My goals for the upcoming week

    Family Goals

    1. Finish reading Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein to the kids.
    2. Read 7 Stories from the Bad Pets on the Loose by Alan Zullo book to the kids.
    3. Go through 7 more Brain Quest Flash Cards with the kids.
    4. Read through 7 more pages of History Trivia with the kids.
    5. Do devotions, reflecting on our blessings, and prayer time with kids every night.
    6. Plan one special activity with the family
    7. Play a Game with the Kids
    8.  Attend After Work Activities
    9. Lunch Boxes packed the night before work & other planned activities
    10. Prep for upcoming Family Adventure(s)
    11. Prep & Figure out Schedule for upcoming Summer Break
    12. Ride Bikes with the Kids
    13. Work on family projects together
    14. Start packing suitcase for next family adventure
    15. Daily 15 minute “Speed Clean” for entire family to keep the daily clutter under control

    Kid Goals

    1. Have kids do 1st week in Summer Workbook(s)
    2. Encourage Kids to read independently at least 30 minutes a day
    3. Sign up kids for the Easley, Anderson, & Greenville County Summer Library Reading Programs
    4. Sign up kids for Barnes & Noble and other similar reading programs
    5. Have kids work on our approved educational websites to encourage growth (at least 2 hours for the week)
    6. Have kids work for at least 1 hour on this week on improving their typing skills
    7. Each kid finish creating at least 2 blogs posts for their Fun with Sis blog
    8. Spend time Monday –Friday encouraging the kids to find creative ways to learn and grown their skills
    9. Kids start packing suitcases for next family adventure
    10. At least 30 minutes of outside play, fresh air, or activity time a day

    Personal Goals

    1. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    2. Keep up with my FitBit Goals
    3. Do yoga at least 5 times a week
    4. Go to my Appointments Scheduled this week
    5. Update Counting My Blessings and Other journal entries daily
    6. Tackle some lingering projects on my “to do” list

    Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
    3. Clean House (Focus – Laundry Room Remodeling Work Completed
    4. Organize Chaos (Focus – Refill Kids Snack Bins – hope to focus again on the laundry room in the future once further along)
    5. Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Plant Lilly Flower and Blueberry Bush – weather permitting)
    6. Pet Care (Focus – Replant grass in Goat pen)
    7. Repairs – (Focus – Refinishing our Laundry room, painting and laying new flooring)

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Respond to Inquiry – Business Relation Emails
    3. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    4. Work completed for clients
    5. Notes typed for work
    6. Folders Labeled for work
    7. Desk drawers organized
    8. Do at least 5 blog posts this week
    9. Catch up on Hootesuite
    10. Upload pictures from last few weeks and update

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. One-on-one quality time with Jake (talking, date night, or doing an activity together)
    3. One-on-one quality time with Brina (talking, date night, or doing an activity together)
    4. One-on-one quality time with Karlie (talking, date night, or doing an activity together)

    Financial Goals

    1. Schedule a meeting with the Financial Advisor
    2. Payoff Other Outstanding Debt
    3. Pay Bills & File Paperwork
    4. Go grocery shopping one time this week and stay within budget
    5. Sell, giveaway, donate, or through away items no longer use
    6. Take items to the recycling distributor
    7. Make meals with items from pantry, refrigerator, and freezer to use up what we have and eliminate any extra spending

    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.

  • Mother’s Day Celebration!

    Happy Mother's Day! Family Picture!My family

    Thankful for an opportunity to be a Mom! Being a Mom is an amazing honor and privilege that quite frankly scares me some days.  It’s good to know that the call of Motherhood is not a place for us to be alone, but a place where we get the opportunity to live life alongside other Mothers and sisters who can pray, encourage, and support each other throughout this incredible journey.

    I am thankful for my Mother and the many Mothers and sisters in my life that continue to make an impact on my heart.  We live in a broken world full of broken people therefore it is impossible to be perfect and being a Mom tends to make that oh so clear.  It is essential and refreshing to have people who are willing to speak truth and love into your life on a regular basis.  I am grateful for each and every one of these ladies in my life.

    Mother's Day - Breakfast in Bed

     Breakfast in bed – fresh cherries, fresh pineapple, yogurt, and an omelet (ham, cheese, mushroom, spinach, and tomatoes)!  Delicious!

    Jake and the girls made my Mother’s Day extra special.  I received breakfast in bed, hugs, and well wishes.  After breakfast we went to church together and heard a powerful message that hit home in my heart.  When we got home Jake and the girls (okay, mostly Jake) made an amazing lunch followed by a relaxing evening.  The girls gave me sweet cards, beautiful flowers, a blueberry bush, a swing cushion, and other goodies.

    It is not always easy being a Mom, however, there are more good days and great memories than I can count.  Some days are a little tough and I get frustrated with myself for not being able to do better, but I never regret becoming a Mom.  Motherhood is one of life’s greatest gifts and callings.  It is an honor and a little scary at times raising kids.

    Although life gets a little crazy at times I wouldn’t change it for anything.  It has been a wonderful gift seeing these two little blessings grow up.  They continue to amaze me and it is awesome seeing them use their talents.

    Happy Mother's Day

    One of the several beautiful and Sweet Mother’s Day signs.  This one is from Karlie and I discovered it sitting on my desk!  Love my girls!

  • Song: Covered by Planetshakers

    God freely extends grace to us every day.  Our sin, shame, and failures have been covered by our Savior on the cross.  We didn’t do anything to deserve His love, mercy, and grace yet He freely gave it to us.  Thankful that my sin has been covered by my Savior.

    Grace, glorious grace, grace, glorious grace
    At the cross You called it finished
    Grace, wonderful grace, grace, wonderful grace
    At the cross all of my sin is

    Covered, covered, covered by Your grace

    Grace, beautiful grace, grace, beautiful grace
    At the cross, love everlasting
    Grace, powerful grace, grace, powerful grace
    At the cross all of my past is

    Covered, covered, covered by Your grace, 

    No matter what I’ve done, no matter where I’ve been
    No matter how I fall, You pick me up again
    You have removed my shame, You take me as I am
    You call me justified, (now I am covered by) now I am covered by Your grace

  • Song: Made For Worship by Planetshakers

    We were all created with a purpose.  Each one of us was made to worship.  There are so many reasons why we could thank God for the amazing blessings in our lives.  Are you worshiping to your Savior?  Where is your attention focused on today?

    I abandon, every distraction
    My attention is set on You
    My devotion, Jesus my portion
    My affection is set on YouI was made to worship, I was made for Your embrace
    I was made to worship, I was made to bless Your Name

    I will bless the Lord at all times
    I was made to worship
    I was made to bless Your name
    I will shout Your praise forever
    I was made to worship
    I was made to bless Your name

    Captivated by Your goodness
    Overwhelmed by Your majesty
    Swept away in Your Holy Presence
    Giving over all of me

    I was made to worship, I was made for Your embrace
    I was made to worship, I was made to bless Your Name

  • Song: From The Day by I Am They

    We were rescued the day He saved our soul from the bonds gripping it.  There is so much to be thankful for in our lives.  Our eyes have been opened and we have the opportunity to make a positive impact for him during our lifetime.

    When You found me, I was so blind
    My sin was before me, I was swallowed by pride
    But out of the darkness, You brought me to Your light
    You showed me new mercy and opened up my eyes

    From the day You saved my soul
    ‘Til the very moment when I come home
    I’ll sing, I’ll dance, my heart will overflow
    From the day You saved my soul

    Where brilliant light is all around
    And endless joy is the only sound
    Oh, rest my heart forever now
    Oh, in Your arms I’ll always be found

    My love is Yours
    My heart is Yours
    My life is Yours
    Forever

  • Song: Worthy of It All by David Brymer

    He deserves our glory and praise.  By Him all things were created.  We like to take credit and ownership for our gifts and talents when in reality they are really from Him.

    All the saints and angels bow before Your throne
    All the elders cast their crowns before the Lamb of God and sing

    You are worthy of it all, You are worthy of it all
    For from You are all things, and to You are all things, You deserve the glory