Fall Activities
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
The girls have a four day weekend so I am enjoying a little extra time with them. YAY! Jake was on-call all weekend so we stayed close to home but were able to get some items done around the house. Glad we stayed close to home because he had a lot of calls and work items that needed his attention. Hopefully this week I will be able to tackle more items on my list!
Last week’s goals:
Family Goals
- Read to the girls and have them read to me daily- we missed Halloween night because we were out celebrating
Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night beforeDaily School Activities & Homework CompletedAttend After School ActivitiesPlan one special Activity with the FamilyCelebrate Halloween with the Family
Personal Goals
- Exercise at least 5 days this week – missed a couple of days
Drink 8 glasses of water each day- Finish reading The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith – working on it
- Reading / listening through my Bible – doing the 90 day plan through YouVersion – faithfully reading through it
Home Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week- Tackle Fall Cleaning & Organization Project (Focus – Office / Garage) – made some headway, both were big projects!
Pay all upcoming billsFinishing cleaning up from Community Group Camp out- Put away all the Halloween Items – have everything picked up just need to put them in the container & into the attic
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming (November) blog postsKeep up with the day to day items that need my attention- Schedule November work dates – have a couple days left to put on the calendar
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or LunchWrite and Send Out Community Group Email
Financial Goals
Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4- Payoff the Van – was able to put a little extra on it this month
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses (we are trying to build this back up because we had to take some out for unexpected expenses recently.) – working on it (with paying off the van this isn’t our first priority but we are moving forward slowly).
My goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Read to the girls and have them read to me daily
- Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
- Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
- Attend After School Activities
- Plan one special Activity with the Family
- Spend extra time with the Girls since they have a couple days off school
Personal Goals
- Exercise at least 5 days this week
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Finish reading The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith
- Reading / listening through my Bible – doing the 90 day plan through YouVersion
- Vote in the 2012 Election
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
- Tackle Fall Cleaning & Organization Projects (Focus – Office / Garage)
- Pay all upcoming bills
- Winterize the Garden
- Put printed pictures in the photo album
- Clean Out Fridge
- Recycle old Magazines & update with November editions
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
- Send out invoices
- Finish scheduling November work dates
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- Write and Send Out Community Group Email
- Re-organize the Alms & Legs Food Pantry
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Payoff the Van
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses (we are trying to build this back up because we had to take some out for unexpected expenses recently.)
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.
November 30-30-30 Challenge: Saying Thanks 30 Ways to 30 People for 30 Days (Day 3)
As I was reflecting back on the many amazing blessings in my life I realized that don’t let those around me know how much I truly appreciate them enough. The idea of participating in a “thankfulness” challenge for the month of November was started a few months ago when I purchased cards for my family to send out for the Thanksgiving Holiday (see the picture of the front of the card below).
It is my wish to show my gratitude to the people I interact with day to day. For the month of November I am planning a 30-30-30 Challenge. It is my goal to say thanks in 30 ways to 30 people for 30 days. Each day I plan to do at least one activity expressing my thanks to one person every day for thirty days.
Day 1
Who: Hair Stylist
I needed a hair cut after putting it off for several weeks so I headed to the salon. My hair has a pretty simple and easy cut so it usually only takes a few minutes for a hair stylist. I had never met the person who cut my hair before, but took the time to learn a little bit about her. She has two small kids, ages 2 and 6. For my expression of thanks today I made it a point to give her a generous tip and tell her “thank you”.
Day 2
Who: My Spouse – Jake
I am so thankful for everything Jake does for our family. He works really hard, is an awesome Dad to our girls, and loves me. Jake is my best friend and I am very grateful for him. He takes good care of all of us and I don’t tell him “thanks” enough. Today I gave him a hand written thank you card and a bag of chocolate truffles.
Day 3
Who: Daughters – Brina & Karlie
I am very thankful for my two girls! They light up my world, make me laugh, and help build extra character in my life. It took many prayers and a few tears before God gave these two precious blessings in my life. You can read more about my journey with my Loosening My Grip: Why Can’t I Get Pregnant? series. As a way of saying thank you to the girls I gave them thank you notes and spent time reading some of our current book Little House in the Big Woods together.
People appreciate sincere thanks. I want to make a positive impact on the lives of others. As I share my 30-30-30 challenge with you I hope it will spark your imagination and encourage you to share your story too.
In everything give thanks!
– 1 Thessalonians 5:18
November 30-30-30 Challenge: Saying Thanks 30 Ways to 30 People for 30 Days (Day 2)
As I was reflecting back on the many amazing blessings in my life I realized that don’t let those around me know how much I truly appreciate them enough. The idea of participating in a “thankfulness” challenge for the month of November was started a few months ago when I purchased cards for my family to send out for the Thanksgiving Holiday (see the picture of the front of the card below).
It is my wish to show my gratitude to the people I interact with day to day. For the month of November I am planning a 30-30-30 Challenge. It is my goal to say thanks in 30 ways to 30 people for 30 days. Each day I plan to do at least one activity expressing my thanks to one person every day for thirty days.
Day 1
Who: Hair Stylist
I needed a hair cut after putting it off for several weeks so I headed to the salon. My hair has a pretty simple and easy cut so it usually only takes a few minutes for a hair stylist. I had never met the person who cut my hair before, but took the time to learn a little bit about her. She has two small kids, ages 2 and 6. For my expression of thanks today I made it a point to give her a generous tip and tell her “thank you”.
Day 2
Who: My Spouse – Jake
I am so thankful for everything Jake does for our family. He works really hard, is an awesome Dad to our girls, and loves me. Jake is my best friend and I am very grateful for him. He takes good care of all of us and I don’t tell him “thanks” enough. Today I gave him a hand written thank you card and a bag of chocolate truffles.
People appreciate sincere thanks. I want to make a positive impact on the lives of others. As I share my 30-30-30 challenge with you I hope it will spark your imagination and encourage you to share your story too.
In everything give thanks!
– 1 Thessalonians 5:18
A Spooktacular Halloween
Monster bags, note, and goodies on their bar stools at breakfast. They were excited to see a little treat waiting for them at breakfast. These bags were too cute, the package came with a variety of eyes and mouths that you could put together in any combination.
Here is a picture of one of the pancake, sausage and bacon Halloween monsters the girls ate for breakfast.
Jake even got festive Halloween sprinkles on his toast!
Karlie’s goody bags to share with her class are all packed and ready to distribute!
Brina’s Halloween class goodies are packed and ready to go!
Teacher Halloween Gifts
A monster and note waiting on Karlie’s seat when I picked her up from school.
Brina had an orange monster and note waiting on her seat in the van when I picked her up from school.
Our little Dancer and Superwoman!
The girls were super excited to have the opportunity to meet up with their cousins (we were able to capture a picture of the adorable blue crayon….there was also a cute little monkey that joined us that evening)!
Every day for the month of October the girls got a little treat in their pumpkins (if they did well at school, after school activities, and at home). On Halloween Day they got their last little goodies. Some of the items they received were Halloween socks, Halloween Underwear, books, glow sticks, crafts, and more!
Recipe: Apple Pie
One of the best parts of Fall is the delicious food, which includes APPLES! If you want to make a homemade apple pie or need to use up some of those apples here is a great recipe to use. You can get a pie crust from the grocery store or make my Great Aunt Noami’s Never Fail Flaky Pie Crust. The only thing I should have done with this pie is put some foil over it to keep it from browning so much, it still tasted amazing!
Apple Pie with Never Fail Flaky Pie Crust:
First is the pie crust (if you are using store bought or another recipe skip this step). This recipe makes crust for 2 pies (top & bottom).
- 3 cups Flour
- 1 cup Shortening
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- 1 Egg, well beaten
- 5 tablespoon Water
- 1 tablespoon Vinegar
Mix flour, shortening, salt with pastry blender. Combine egg, water, and vinegar then combine with flour mixture. Mold into 4 balls chill awhile then roll out for pie. Balls will keep up to 2 weeks in refrigerator for additional pies. Yields: 2 double pie crusts
If you want to just do enough for 1 complete pie crust (top and bottom) cut the recipe in half.
Apple Pie Filling
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 6 cups thinly sliced and cored apple
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease a pie dish. Mix sugar, cinnamon, and flour. Stir in apples and place into the pie crust. Dot with butter and cover with the top crust. Cut a slit in the top of the pie to let the steam escape. Seal the top crust to the bottom one by pinching the edges together. Cover the edge of the crust with a strip of aluminum foil. Bake pie for 50 minutes or until the crust is brown and the juice begins to bubble through the top.
November 30-30-30 Challenge: Saying Thanks 30 Ways to 30 People for 30 Days (Day 1)
As I was reflecting back on the many amazing blessings in my life I realized that don’t let those around me know how much I truly appreciate them enough. The idea of participating in a “thankfulness” challenge for the month of November was started a few months ago when I purchased cards for my family to send out for the Thanksgiving Holiday (see the picture of the front of the card below).
It is my wish to show my gratitude to the people I interact with day to day. For the month of November I am planning a 30-30-30 Challenge. It is my goal to say thanks in 30 ways to 30 people for 30 days. Each day I plan to do at least one activity expressing my thanks to one person every day for thirty days.
Day 1
Who: Hair Stylist
I needed a hair cut after putting it off for several weeks so I headed to the salon. My hair has a pretty simple and easy cut so it usually only takes a few minutes for a hair stylist. I had never met the person who cut my hair before, but took the time to learn a little bit about her. She has two small kids, ages 2 and 6. For my expression of thanks today I made it a point to give her a generous tip and tell her “thank you”.
People appreciate sincere thanks. I want to make a positive impact on the lives of others. As I share my 30-30-30 challenge with you I hope it will spark your imagination and encourage you to share your story too.
In everything give thanks!
– 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Halloween Candy Buy Back Programs
Hope everyone had an amazing Holiday. Halloween is a great time to create memories with your family. The Fall Festivals, pumpkin carving, hayrides, dressing up and candy…..sometimes too much candy. Every wonder if you’ll be able to eat, share, or giveaway all the candy before the next Halloween hits!
Dentists all over the country are participating in a Halloween Candy Buy Back Program. They buy the kids Halloween candy then donate it to the groups that send it to those in Military Service.
- Example: Holly Tree Pediatric Dentistry in our area (1334 South Hwy 14, Simpsonville, SC 29681 / Phone: 864-297-5585) is Buying Back Halloween Candy and giving the kids $1 per pound ($5 max per child) and a Treat bag. All the candy will be donated to our Troops Overseas.
If it is something you interested in participating in you can read more about on the FAQ page and search for locations near you!
Photo by Rochelle
Halloween Rice Krispie Treats
Green cat with a “K” on it….wonder who that one is for? We also found a purple cat with a “B” on it too! 🙂
While Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa were here visiting we made some delicious rice krispie treats. I made regular rice krispie treats and cut them out with Halloween (pumpkin, ghost, and cat) cookie cutters then the kids and Grandmas decorated them. It was a lot of fun making these tasty treats together.
Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treat
Someone ate a Black Cat…….Karlie!
Brina enjoying one of the rice krispie treats after she finished helping decorate!
Colorful pumpkin!
Spooky green rice krispie ghost!
Decorating rice krispie treats with Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa. The decorating team was MUCH faster than the cookie cutter, ha! 🙂
A plate full of decorated rice krispie treats!
Another tray full of pumpkins, ghosts, and cats…….
After the girls got a chance to taste test one cookie we sent some of the treats home with the Grandmas, 1 went into each of the girls lunches for the next day, and the rest we brought to Community Group to share with friends. This was a fun and easy Halloween activity for everyone to do.
Family Activities: 3 Big Pumpkins with 6 Different Faces!
One side of the pumpkins had a Mr. Potato Head type face on it! Karlie’s “serious” pumpkin, Grandma Penny & Great Grandma Willa’s “silly” pumpkin, and Brina’s “puppy dog” pumpkin! This side of the pumpkin took a lot less time to do. It was super easy and if you don’t want to mess with carving or cleaning out a pumpkin this is a great alternative. The girls loved picking out the pieces for their pumpkins and designing a face.We were super excited to have Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa come visit us for a few days in October. During their visit we were able to squeeze in a lot of fun activities. One of the activities was carving pumpkins! The girls had a blast hanging out with both Grandmas and have a lot of great memories of their time with us. Thankful that they were able to come visit us. 🙂
The other side of the pumpkins had the carved version on it which was perfect for the evening. Karlie’s “scary” pumpkin, Grandma Penny & Great Grandma Willa’s “cat” pumpkin, and Brina’s “happy” pumpkin sitting on the front porch.
The PROCESS……
Scooping out the pumpkin seeds
Gross……slimy pumpkin hands!
Karlie designed her own “scary” pumpkin face complete with eyelashes! She drew her face on a piece of paper and Jake helped her transfer it to her pumpkin. So proud of her scary pumpkin!
Brina wanted a “happy” pumpkin!
Trying to get Skip-A-Doo to pose with them in front of the pumpkins…..ha! Skipper wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but I have to give them credit for trying to get her to cooperate for the picture!
The girls had a lot of fun doing the pumpkins with Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa. They thought it was neat having a “2 sided” pumpkin with different faces on each side. The jack-o-lantern that they carved was their night pumpkin and the silly faces were their day pumpkins. We used the pumpkins seeds to make 3 Seasoned Pumpkin Seed recipes. Did you carve or decorate pumpkins? I would love to see your pumpkins, feel free to post a link to your pictures in the comment section below!
Leaves + Pumpkins + Ghosts = Oh My….It’s Halloween
Karlie and Brina raked up a bunch of leaves to “stuff” the pumpkin!
What a difference a year makes…..so much has happened over the past few months it is hard to believe it is Halloween again! I like to think that I have learned all the lessons I need to know by now but I find myself still trying to balance this thing called life. At times I am torn between having fun with my family and getting things done on my never-ending and always-growing “to do” list (does anyone else struggle with this or is it just me?!).
Sometimes the best way to get things done is to have fun doing it with your family. For example, you can make raking leaves a game by seeing who can stuff their “leaf pumpkin” the fullest or fastest! You get to have fun with the family plus you get a few extra leaves off the yard all at the same time.
Last year it was much warmer for Halloween so the kids spent almost all their free time outside playing. Only a few days ago we were wearing shorts and it was 80 degrees outside, but with the storm up north the wind has picked up, leaves are raining down on the yard, and there is an extra chill in the air.
Two little pumpkins for my sweet “pumpkins”!
They got these cute little pumpkins from a fall activity we did with a group of friends at a local farm. Since these pumpkins were too small to carve we made delicious Pumpkin Dip and a small batch of Seasoned Pumpkin Seeds!
The girls made these easy “Banana Ghosts” to take in their school lunches!
It was cute hearing them giggle as they put together their little ghosts. We took 1 banana, cut it in half, the girls put a dab of peanut butter (or soy butter) on it, adding raisins for the eyes, stuck a straw in the bottom and put them into bags for their school lunch. The straw was a fun addition because the ghost would “move” (in slow circles) when they held it up which added to the excitement. Sometimes it’s the simple things that you already have in your kitchen that bring the widest smiles!
