Spouse

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    It was wonderful starting last week off with a Holiday!  We were able to get some extra items done around the house and spend some time together as a family.  Having the holiday on a Monday did through off our week a little bit, but we adjusted just fine!  We had a spontaneous dinner and gathering midweek with extended family which was a lot of fun too!  The girls had fun at bike camp while Jake and I tackled projects at work.  We’ve been busy working through a lot of items and project around the house as well.    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. – finished reading it, the girls loved it!
    2. Read 7 more 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. Reflect 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. Work on family projects together
    13. Daily 15 minute “Speed Clean” for entire family to keep the daily clutter under control

    Kid Goals

    1. Have kids do work in their Summer Workbook(s)
    2. Encourage Kids to read independently at least 30 minutes a day
    3. Have kids work on our approved educational websites to encourage growth (at least 2 hours for the week)
    4. Have kids work for at least 1 hour on this week on improving their typing skills
    5. Each kid finish creating at least 2 blogs posts for their Fun with Sis blog
    6. Spend time Monday –Friday encouraging the kids to find creative ways to learn and grown their skills
    7. 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 – not so great on this one, got out of my regular routine
    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
    7. Read over the kids blog posts

    Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day – it took more than 1 day with everything going on this week
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
    3. Clean House (Focus – Clean Living Room)
    4. Organize Chaos (Focus – Label & Hang Up Kids Necklaces)
    5. Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Pick up Sticks found in the yard from the past couple of storms)
    6. Pet Care (Focus – Work of the Goat & Dog Fences)
    7. Repairs – (Focus – Check on Water Heater Recall Notice we received) – haven’t been able to do this one yet

    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 – need to wrap up one more
    5. Notes typed for work – need to update with new information
    6. Meeting regarding work goals and upcoming tasks completed – update and review
    7. Folders Labeled for work – working on it
    8. Training on new projects – making progress
    9. Desk drawers organized – getting it there
    10. Do at least 5 blog posts this week
    11. Catch up on Hootesuite
    12. Upload pictures from last few weeks and update – have more of them completed

    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 – narrowing down the schedules
    2. Payoff Other Outstanding Debt – working on it
    3. Pay Bills & File Paperwork
    4. Go grocery shopping one time this week and stay within budget – went more than once with the impromptu family dinner with 17 people on Thursday night! 🙂
    5. Sell, giveaway, donate, or through away items no longer use – making good progress, but still have a ways to go
    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

    My goals for the upcoming week

    Family Goals

    1. Finish reading The Forgotten Filly by Karle Dickerson to the kids.
    2. Read 7 more 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. Reflect 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. Work on family projects together
    13. Daily 15 minute “Speed Clean” for entire family to keep the daily clutter under control

    Kid Goals

    1. Have kids do work in their Summer Workbook(s)
    2. Encourage Kids to read independently at least 30 minutes a day
    3. Have kids work on our approved educational websites to encourage growth (at least 2 hours for the week)
    4. Have kids work for at least 1 hour on this week on improving their typing skills
    5. Each kid finish creating at least 2 blogs posts for their Fun with Sis blog
    6. Spend time Monday –Friday encouraging the kids to find creative ways to learn and grown their skills
    7. 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
    7. Read over the kids blog posts

    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 – Family Room)
    4. Organize Chaos (Focus – Laundry Room)
    5. Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Blow off deck, sidewalk, & driveway)
    6. Pet Care (Focus – Refill Goat & Dog Food)
    7. Repairs – (Focus – Check on Water Heater Recall Notice we received)

    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. Meeting regarding work goals and upcoming tasks completed
    7. Folders Labeled for work
    8. Training on new projects
    9. Desk drawers organized
    10. Do at least 5 blog posts this week
    11. Catch up on Hootesuite
    12. 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

  • What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say?

    Our fortunes!

    Recently we had Chinese food and the following were our fortunes from the meal:

    • Jake – “You will be traveling to distant lands for business purposes” (He travels a lot of places for work!)
    • Bridgette – “You will travel to many exotic places in the next few years.” (I LOVE to travel.  I have already been to many amazing places over the years and I cannot wait to see more of the world.  Plus, sometimes I get to travel with Jake when he goes on work trips.  Maybe our fortunes were suppose to be together, sounds like more fun for me though! 🙂  Already looking forward to these exotic places we are going to together!)
    • Brina – “You have a flair for adding fanciful dimension to any story.” (She is definitely the more fancy of the two kids!)
    • Karlie – “You will soon be involved in many gatherings and parties.”  (I am curious about what she’s going to be doing!)

    It was a fun evening of relaxing with the family, eating Chinese food, and laughing about silly fortunes.  We have so much to be thankful for in our lives.  We are richly blessed and take many things for granted every day.  Let’s treasure the time with have with our friends, families, and those around us.  It is not impossible to run into people that you know even if you are across the world.  Our lives leave an imprint of each person we interact with whether it is only once or many times!  Make each moment count for good!

  • Counting My Blessings: Week In Review

    It was a busy week, but we had a lot of fun.  The girls came into work with me first thing in the morning for a little bit.  They helped unlock the doors, turn on lights, and get set up for the day before spending time working on their summer workbooks for some time before I took them into camp.  They did a Music & Technology camp in the morning and a Rube Goldberg creative experiments in the afternoon.  It was super neat seeing what cool creations they developed over the course of the 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 an opportunity to spend some time chatting with the girls on the way to work and their help getting everything set up for the day.

    Tuesday – Thankful to have an chance to see and hear all the neat things the girls are learning and creating in their week at Summer Camp.

    Wednesday – Thankful for a dentist near home, that gets me in for an early appointment, and that I didn’t have any cavities or items that need to be done! Yay!

    Thursday – Thankful for the girls curious and inquisitive minds.  They are not afraid to ask questions so they can learn more from people in various areas.

    Friday – Thankful for some quiet one-on-one time with Jake.  It was nice to relax, catch up, chat, and spend some time together.  Grateful for his thoughts and for being a sounding board regarding my crazy ideas.  He brings peace, calm, and great insight to areas that am I trying to figure out.

    Saturday – Thankful for an opportunity to spend time my family!  We got a lot of accomplished, but also had fun together!

    Sunday – Thankful for the freedom to attend church, learn, and grow.  Grateful for a refreshing and much needed moments with my family.

    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.

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    It was a whirlwind week of work, summer camp, and activities.  We had a lot of fun, got items done, and made progress along the way.  Even though we were exhausting by the time Friday hit we were very thankful for a relaxing and productive weekend at home.  Glad to have some time with my family and get some projects moving along at home too.    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. – almost done!
    2. Read 7 more 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. – did some of them
    4. Read through 7 more pages of History Trivia with the kids.- did not make it through 7 pages
    5. Reflect 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 – the girls road, but we did not get a chance
    13. Work on family projects togetherthe girls were a big help getting items done around the house and yard this weekend
    14. Unpack suitcase from last family adventure
    15. Daily 15 minute “Speed Clean” for entire family to keep the daily clutter under control – we did a lot of cleaning, but didn’t get to the speed clean everyday (some days by the time we got home, ate dinner, took showers, we were ready to just hit the bed).

    Kid Goals

    1. Have kids do 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 Programssigned up for all 3 counties Summer Reading Programs near us since we are in each county eve
    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 – some days were better than others
    3. Do yoga at least 5 times a week – did it three times during the work week, but had a couple mornings that other priorities popped up
    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 dayit took 2 days because we were busy working on other projects together as a family
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
    3. Clean House (Focus – Normal Maintenance Cleaning)
    4. Organize Chaos (Focus – Start getting the Laundry Room back together and organized so we can clean up the family room downstairs)
    5. Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Plant Lilly Flower and Blueberry Bush – weather permitting)
    6. Pet Care (Focus – Refill Skipper’s Feeder)
    7. Repairs – (Focus – Check on Water Heater Recall Notice we received)

    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 – want to get caught up on some of my notes for easy reference
    6. Meeting regarding work goals and upcoming tasks completed – worked on some of these items but need to fine tune it
    7. Folders Labeled for work – got some of them labeled but need to get more
    8. Desk drawers organized – getting closer
    9. Do at least 5 blog posts this week – did my regular posts but was not able to get the additional ones that I wanted to done
    10. Catch up on Hootesuite
    11. Upload pictures from last few weeks and update – got some of them completed, needs more work

    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 – narrowing down some dates with Jake so can confirm our schedules
    2. Payoff Other Outstanding Debt  – working on it
    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 – getting through some of the items we need to get organizes
    6. Take items to the recycling distributor – hopefully taking those in this week
    7. Make meals with items from pantry, refrigerator, and freezer to use up what we have and eliminate any extra spending – doing better this 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 more 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. Reflect 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. Work on family projects together
    13. Daily 15 minute “Speed Clean” for entire family to keep the daily clutter under control

    Kid Goals

    1. Have kids do work in their Summer Workbook(s)
    2. Encourage Kids to read independently at least 30 minutes a day
    3. Have kids work on our approved educational websites to encourage growth (at least 2 hours for the week)
    4. Have kids work for at least 1 hour on this week on improving their typing skills
    5. Each kid finish creating at least 2 blogs posts for their Fun with Sis blog
    6. Spend time Monday –Friday encouraging the kids to find creative ways to learn and grown their skills
    7. 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
    7. Read over the kids blog posts

    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 – Clean Living Room)
    4. Organize Chaos (Focus – Label & Hang Up Kids Necklaces)
    5. Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Pick up Sticks found in the yard from the past couple of storms)
    6. Pet Care (Focus – Work of the Goat & Dog Fences)
    7. Repairs – (Focus – Check on Water Heater Recall Notice we received)

    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. Meeting regarding work goals and upcoming tasks completed
    7. Folders Labeled for work
    8. Training on new projects
    9. Desk drawers organized
    10. Do at least 5 blog posts this week
    11. Catch up on Hootesuite
    12. 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

  • Counting My Blessings: Week In Review

    It was a wonderful week packed with adventures and memories with family and friends.  We were able to spend time with people we hadn’t seen in quite awhile and meet some sweet little ones (new nieces and nephews that we are meeting for the first time).  The girls have had a blast meeting the sweet babies, playing with family and friends, spending time with cute animals, and making memories with a lot of people in our lives.  Thankful for an opportunity to travel and catch up with family from a variety of different areas.

    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 an opportunity to spend a day with my cousin Renelle and her family.  We even were able to go to Estates Park, a hike, and visit to Bear Lake.  It was great spending time with family and in the Rocky Mountains!

    Tuesday – Thankful for a chance to explore the Denver Museum of Science and Nature.  The girls especially loved the Robotic Revolution exhibit!  We spent a few hours there prior to going to the airport.

    Wednesday – Thankful for safety as we flew back on South Carolina.  Our flight was delayed, but we made it home with about 2 hours to spare before heading into work.  Grateful for our friends who took really great care of our house and pets while we were away!

    Thursday – Thankful for the girls help in getting the suitcases unpacked from our trip and for a full nights sleep back in our own beds!

    Friday – Thankful that the kids had a chance to hang out with their friends from church at a pool party.

    Saturday – Thankful for an opportunity to spend time with Jake’s cousin and his family, Luke and Kristen!  Always great catching up and the kids played well together!

    Sunday – Thankful for a chance to celebrate Father’s Day with Jake.  We spent actual Father’s Day with extended family and waited until we were back home to celebrate with Jake.  It was fun hanging out together and having fun.  Thankful for Jake and everything he does for our family!

    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

  • Counting My Blessings: Week In Review

    It was a wonderful week packed with adventures and memories with family and friends.  We were able to spend time with people we hadn’t seen in quite awhile and meet some sweet little ones (new nieces and nephews that we are meeting for the first time).  The girls have had a blast meeting the sweet babies, playing with family and friends, spending time with cute animals, and making memories with a lot of people in our lives.  Thankful for an opportunity to travel and catch up with family from a variety of different areas.

    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 the an opportunity to spend time with Jake’s cousin and family.  See a little bit of Boston with its great history.  As well as a chance to catch up with our great friends Mike and Ashley with their little ones in Maine.

    Tuesday – Thankful for friends that are like family that we can spend time with and have a blast whenever we get together.  It was wonderful catching up with Mike & Ashley.  The girls were thrilled to meet Savannah, sweet girl with lots of personality, and Bradley. Grateful for the ability to fly as we head out to see my family in the Midwest, even though going through airports can be an adventure it does save time if were are wanting to see people that are spread out over many miles and more on a specifically on a limited time frame.

    Wednesday – Thankful for a chance to spend some time on the farm in Kansas with my parents and family.  The girls always love time spending with the family and animals.

    Thursday – Thankful for time in the Midwest with extended family.  Grateful that we can see a number of people in this area.

    Friday – Thankful for another day with extended family.  The girls have grandparents, great grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and more people to enjoy time with during our stay.

    Saturday – Thankful for a safe trip to Colorado to see my cousin Renelle and her family.

    Sunday – Thankful for some time to hang out with extended family in the Denver, Fort Collins, Johnston areas.

    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!

  • Relationships: Reflecting on Memories

    Sunflower / Yellow Flower

    • Across the fields the summer sun
    • Is shining, and the breeze
    • Flows gently through the trees
    • Like waves upon the summer seas.
    • The wild flowers all along the fence
    • Are dancing in the sun.
    • The bees are buzzing through the fields. . .
    • I’ll bet their work is fun.
    • Look, there’s a path upon the hill;
    • Please come and walk with m.
    • For overtop the hill and down,
    • A meadow we will see.
    • For in the meadow there’s a brook
    • That I once waded through,
    • And in the meadow there are flowers
    • Of every shade and hue.
    • Come walk, with me along that brook
    • And share this day with me.
    • As carefree children once again
    • We live in memory.

    – Bonnie Gaunt

    Our lives are sprinkled with a variety of  memories.  Some of those memories bring a smile to our face while others bring a tear of sadness to our eyes.  Memories can come rushing back when one or more of our senses are spiked such as a familiar place, smell, or sound.

    When we walk along a stream or visit a familiar area with a family member or friend we get a glance into the past.  It’s important to take the time to remember those good times.  Relax in a quiet walk with someone dear to us.  Taking the time to laugh at the good times and great memories we have shared over the years.  Life goes by quickly and no one is guaranteed another day, but we have today so let’s make the best of what we have with those we love.

  • Counting My Blessings: Week In Review

    It was a week fun filled week with a lot of work, travel, time with extended family, and neat activities.  Thankful for an opportunity to travel for a few days to spend catching up with family.  I added the weekend since this week as well.  Grateful for safety as we traveled to see people and for the wonderful memories that were made along the way.

    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 the girls help in getting some tasks done around the house.  It was a busy day of prepping and packing.  The girls packed their entire suitcases by themselves so that saved me time from rounding up all their items and getting them in the suitcase.

    Tuesday – Thankful for friends that are willing to watch our house and pets while we were away visiting family in New England.  It is good knowing that the everything is being cared for while we are away.

    Wednesday – Thankful for a job that I can work part time so I can travel with my family as well.  Jake dropped me off at work this morning and picked me up early afternoon to drive to the airport so we could fly out to see family in New England.  Also, grateful for airplanes and the ability to travel places relatively quickly.  Thankful safety in our travels.

    Thursday – Thankful for time to spend with Jake’s Mom and grandparents in Vermont.  It was cooler in Vermont but the girls had a grand time with Grandma Kay, Nana, PopPop, and their chickens, puppy, and exploring the woods.

    Friday – Thankful for another fun filled day in Vermont to spend time with family.

    Saturday – Thankful for a safe trip to Connecticut and an opportunity to spend time with Jake’s Dad. The girls had a blast!

    Sunday – Thankful for a safe trip to Massachusetts to visit with Jake’s cousin Matt and his family.

    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!

  • Brina & Karlie’s 5th Grade Graduation Party & Celebration!

    5th Grade Graduation Party & Celebration

    Brina and Karlie with Mrs. Johnson at their Graduation Celebration Party!  Mrs. Johnson was Karlie’s homeroom teacher in 2nd Grade, taught Karlie in Gift & Talented Program from 3rd grade up, and was both girls STEM Club Coach for 2 years.  Excellent teacher!!!

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    Such a sweet Daddy spent a lot of time helping get ready for this big day including helping cut starfish, decorate, blow up balloons, and so much more.  Thankful to have a partner that pitches in and takes the time to celebrate with the kids!

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    Luau theme at the Grad Party!  The kids had a blast!

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    Karlie with her homeroom teacher Mr. Moore and her friend David!  Mr. Moore was an awesome teacher!

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    Brina hanging out with her friend at the party!

    P1640622cSweet Sisters!  Thankful for these two girls!

  • Counting My Blessings: Week In Review

    It was a week packed full of a lot of emotions.  With the girls wrapping up at a school they have been attending the past 7 years it has been quite a stepping stone for us.  We are grateful to all the teachers and administration at Crosswell Elementary for the amount of time, energy, and attention they have invested in our girls education.  They have made a positive and lasting impression on our kids.  Wish we could take some of the amazing teachers with us to Middle school.  We are excited to see what Middle School will bring and know that the kids will probably adjust quicker and better than at least their Mom because with them moving up a school their growing up seems more real.  Love my girls and very proud of what they have accomplished over the past year!     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 to have the laundry room renovation started and that we were still able to get the laundry done so none of us have to run around wearing dirty clothes!

    Tuesday – Thankful for the opportunity to spend some time with the girls after school that didn’t include doing a bunch of homework.  We even had a few extra minutes to do a rapid quick clean up around the house and read some more of our books together.  LOVE catching both of the girls reading independently on their own during free time (for those who know our family you know that for one of our kids this is a really big deal)!

    Wednesday – Thankful for time after work to spend with other Mom’s at school prepping for the kids 5th grade Graduation Celebration Party.   We were able to get a lot accomplished and organized during our time together.

    Thursday – Thankful for Brina’s hard work on her “Cupcakes on the Rise” Science Fair Project because we were able to see her accept a 1st Place Trophy, Medals, Certificate, and Cash Prize (we had no idea there was a cash prize as well) for the Regional Science Fair!  Very proud of our Brina Bee!

    Friday – Thankful for an opportunity to watch the girls Graduation and Awards Ceremony!  They did fantastic and both kids received numerous awards, medals, pins, certificates, trophies and other cool awards for all that they had accomplished throughout this year.  Also, Karlie received a trophy for getting all A’s her entire Elementary School years.  Super proud of these kids and the effort they put into their learning.  Praying they continue to have the love of learning as they get older!

    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!