Teaching our Children

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    I am getting back in the swing of things now that schedule is returning to the somewhat normal.  One kid is in school and the other one is home recovering from surgery.   Last week my goals were pretty basic.  I did get a lot of items done and I am hoping to make some big headway this week (fingers-crossed).

    Last week’s goals

    • Bring in the 2013 New Year – Celebrating with Family and Friends
    • Spend some one-on-one time with my man
    • Spend Quality time with the girls
    • Daughter’s Surgery
    • Go over our goals for 2013 – started, but with a little one recovering from surgery and Jake having to work extra this weekend we were not able to get it completely done

    There were a few more noteworthy ones on the list that I didn’t write out that I was able to do as well:

    My goals for the upcoming week

    Family Goals

    1. Read Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder to the girls
    2. Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
    3. Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
    4. Attend After School Activities
    5. Plan one special Activity with the Family
    6. Take care of the little one recovering from surgery
    7. Write Thank You Notes
    8. Finish going over our 2013 goals

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise at least 5 days this week
    2. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    3. Start with my new YouVersion plan(s)
    4. Finish reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

    Home 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. Finish Wrapping & Prepping for the Christmas Events
    4. Pay all upcoming bills

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. Complete a current client work project

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Write and Send Out Community Group Email
    3. Email a meeting reminder to the Alms & Legs Ministry Team

    Financial Goals

    1. For my January Grocery Budget I am replacing my typical Groceries $40 for 4 with my Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping in order to use up some extra items in my fridge, freezer, and pantry.
    2. Payoff the Van
    3. Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses

    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.

  • Blessing Lives Everyday with Special Surprises (B.L.E.S.S.): 25 Days of Christmas Blessings (Week 4)

    We had a blast playing the 5 Second Rule game by Patch with extended family today!

    We just finished our fourth and final short week of  25 Days of Christmas B.L.E.S.S. (Blessing Lives Everyday with Special Surprises).   It was a really busy week and I didn’t have as much time to take pictures (and a couple of the ones I took didn’t turn out).  It has been an awesome doing the daily activities and finding ways to be a blessing to those we meet.  Seriously, I feel like we walk away from an activity feeling more blessed then we did going into it because it is so much fun bringing cheer to the people around us.   What a joy it has been participating in intentional acts of kindness during the Holiday Season.

    In some cases we get to see who receives our B.L.E.S.S. gift and in other cases we will never know who is on the receiving end.  We pray that whoever receives or finds these gifts will experience joy during this Holiday Season.  Each night we take down the B.L.E.S.S. activity for the next day and read the verse and the activity then pray for those who have and will receive our little BLESS’ings.  Throughout the week we also try to find additional ways to brighten people’s days so sometimes we do multiply activities during the day.

    Our B.L.E.S.S. Activity Adventures:

    • Day 22 – went to the store to purchase a couple items for Christmas Dinner.  Spent some time talking with the cashier and person bagging our groceries, including asking them about their families and Christmas plans.   She thanked us for waiting to check out and for asking about her family.
    • Day 23 – went to church with the family and ran a few errands afterward.  We were able to run in and pick up a couple things we needed, but towards the end of our errands Jake got a phone call from work and had to head home to handle some work issues.  Every where we went we made a point to smile at everyone we met and ask them how they are doing.  A smile and kindness will go a long way during a busy day.
    • Day 24 – was able to spend some time with extended family today.  We ate a delicious dinner, played, and had the kids exchange gifts.  Thankful for our family and the opportunity to spend time together.  Sometimes the best gift or blessing you can give to others is the gift of time. 

    Shortbread cookies ready to go into the oven!

    • Day 25 – Enjoyed some time with my family.  I actually didn’t go out at all on Christmas Day so today I decided to make a special treat for my sweet, hardworking, kind, loving husband. I am thankful for him and all he does for our family.  He is my best friend and I always love my time with him.   I made him one of his favorite Christmas cookies – shortbread (with sprinkles on top)!  🙂

    It has been a lot of fun working on ways we can be a blessing to others.  This verse talked about “humility” which can be difficult at times because sometimes we want people to notice us.  We talked about why it is important to demonstrate humility.  One of the ways we decide to practice humility was by leaving gifts anonymously if we don’t know who was on the receiving end of the B.L.E.S.S. it is a lot easier to not be proud.  We all agree that leaving “surprise” gifts are one of our favorite activities because we completely leave-it-up-to-God to choose the person to get the blessing.

    It is fun be to be a blessing to others not because we anticipate any rewards or benefits from it, but because we were given the greatest gift of all.  God’s love, grace, and mercy.  He wants us to give cheerfully from the heart.

    I am super excited to see how great this B.L.E.S.S. activity is going already.  It has been a true joy sharing with others (many of whom we’ll never meet).  It has been a great experience and I look forward to seeing what will happen with our fun adventures this week.

    The main purpose of this activity is to teach our family the joy of giving and sharing to those around us.  I plan to do another update on our fun B.L.E.S.S. adventures next week.  Sometimes it’s the little stuff that can make the most positive impact.  I would love to hear how you are spreading the Christmas cheer this Holiday Season.

    To learn more about our 25 Days of Christmas B.L.E.S.S. activity and what we have done far check out the links below:

    Below are the printable versions of the  25 Days of Christmas B.L.E.S.S. activities, verses, and sheets to handout so here they are for your family to enjoy as well:

  • Blessing Lives Everyday with Special Surprises (B.L.E.S.S.): 25 Days of Christmas Blessings (Week 3)

    Gifts for the girls teachers

    We are into our third week of  25 Days of Christmas B.L.E.S.S. (Blessing Lives Everyday with Special Surprises).   It has been an awesome doing the daily activities and finding ways to be a blessing to those we meet.  Seriously, I feel like we walk away from an activity feeling more blessed then we did going into it because it is so much fun bringing cheer to the people around us.   What a joy it has been participating in intentional acts of kindness during the Holiday Season.

    In some cases we get to see who receives our B.L.E.S.S. gift and in other cases we will never know who is on the receiving end.  We pray that whoever receives or finds these gifts will experience joy during this Holiday Season.  Each night we take down the B.L.E.S.S. activity for the next day and read the verse and the activity then pray for those who have and will receive our little BLESS’ings.  Throughout the week we also try to find additional ways to brighten people’s days so sometimes we do multiply activities during the day.

    Karlie wanted to leave her dollar and card inside the candle holder box at the store.

    Here is what we have done so far and a couple pictures to share of our adventures:

    While the little one was taking a nap the older 3 cousins did their Gingerbread and Christmas Tree Craft together

    • Day 15 – Spent time watching my two nephews while my brother worked and my sister-in-law had Christmas program practice at our church.  The girls had a blast with the boys.  We played cars, built with legos, did a craft, ate a snack, and more fun stuff during the morning they were with us.  The girls played really well and were very willing to help their cousin start to get the peels off the stickers.

    Gingerbread men goody bags to hand out to classmates

    • Day 16 – We picked  up and put together items for the girls school Christmas Party.  They will share these goodies with their classmates.  Both were very excited to share with their friends.  Some of the items they picked up were cookies, cupcakes, grapes, carrots, pencils, stencils, twizzlers, stickers, balls, and a couple other some things.

    As we were sticking a deposit in our banks night drop box with left a note and candy cane for the next person!

    • Day 17 – Since we had a make a trip to the bank on the way home from another activity we decided to spread a little cheer by sticking a note and candy cane on the night drop box to be a blessing to the next person who drove through.

    Brina placed her dollar to share in the craft section at Dollar Tree

    • Day 18 –The girls went with me for a quick trip to Dollar Tree.  On the way to the store we discussed our B.L.E.S.S. activity and prayed that it would be an encouragement to someone today.  Brina chose to leave her dollar in the craft section at Dollar Tree.  Karlie’s location surprised me a little more, she wanted to leave it in the candle section so an adult would find it.   She also decided that it would be best to leave the dollar folded so the person that found it would see the note and know that it is ok to take the dollar.

    Left a note and candy cane on the pump at the gas station

    • Day 19 –The girls and I were filling up with gas earlier this week.  They decided it would be a great place to leave a candy cane surprise for someone else.  So we taped a note and candy cane to the pump.  As we were pulling out of the gas station both girls and I each prayed that God would lead the perfect person to it when they went to fill up with gas.   (a neat side story…..the person who received the note, Mary, contacted us to say “thank you”!  What a blessing it was to find out that we were able to brighten her day!)

    Christmas goodies packed up in the box for the teacher (a picture of the outside of the boxes is at the beginning of the post)

    • Day 20 – We wrapped up some goodies to give to the teachers for Christmas.  The girls picked out some of the items they wanted to give their teachers.  They gave Hand Sanitizer, Clorox Wipes, a box of Kleenex, Glue Sticks, Fresh Citrus Christmas Potpourri, and a Christmas Card with a photo.

    Left a Christmas Card and a bundle of Fresh Citrus Christmas Potpourri for our mailman

    • Day 21 – We left a Christmas Card and gift for our mailman.  He always delivers our mail with a smile.  Whenever he has a package to bring to the front porch asks how the kids are doing and stops to pet Skipper.  We’ve had the same mailman since we moved here over 10 years ago so he has delivered a lot of items to our house!   We are thankful for the people we have gotten to know a little better over the years. 

    One of our favorite verses this week went along with our Day 17 activity.

    With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.   – Ephesians 4:2

    It has been a lot of fun working on ways we can be a blessing to others.  This verse talked about “humility” which can be difficult at times because sometimes we want people to notice us.  We talked about why it is important to demonstrate humility.  One of the ways we decide to practice humility was by leaving gifts anonymously if we don’t know who was on the receiving end of the B.L.E.S.S. it is a lot easier to not be proud.  We all agree that leaving “surprise” gifts are one of our favorite activities because we completely leave-it-up-to-God to choose the person to get the blessing.

    Twizzlers and pencils are ready to be packed for the girls class party!

    It is fun be to be a blessing to others not because we anticipate any rewards or benefits from it, but because we were given the greatest gift of all.  God’s love, grace, and mercy.  He wants us to give cheerfully from the heart.

    I am super excited to see how great this B.L.E.S.S. activity is going already.  It has been a true joy sharing with others (many of whom we’ll never meet).  It has been a great experience and I look forward to seeing what will happen with our fun adventures this week.

    The main purpose of this activity is to teach our family the joy of giving and sharing to those around us.  I plan to do another update on our fun B.L.E.S.S. adventures next week.  Sometimes it’s the little stuff that can make the most positive impact.  I would love to hear how you are spreading the Christmas cheer this Holiday Season.

    To learn more about our 25 Days of Christmas B.L.E.S.S. activity and what we have done far check out the links below:

    Below are the printable versions of the  25 Days of Christmas B.L.E.S.S. activities, verses, and sheets to handout so here they are for your family to enjoy as well:

  • Teaching Our Children: How to Wrap Gifts

    Letting the kids wrap their own gifts

    As I sit in the middle of the floor with little scraps of Christmas wrapping paper around me I have to smile…..  The girls LOVE going to the store to pick out the perfect gift(s) for each person.  They also really like to wrap the gifts!  While they have a tendency to make a mess, use more wrapping paper, put on too much tape, and take a long time wrapping they have a blast doing it.  Although, I have noticed that every year they get a little better and more efficient.

    Each girl starts the gift wrapping activity by picking out their own roll of wrapping paper to use for their gifts.  They use that roll of wrapping paper on all the gifts they have to wrap until there are no more gifts to do or the wrapping paper is gone.  They do the entire wrapping process on their own from cutting the paper to taping and even labeling the gift.

    While we still have the occasional – “Mom, I didn’t cut the wrapping paper big enough” overall they are getting better at the whole process.  At times, I’ve even had problems not cutting the paper big enough!  Typically, we spend an evening or two (depending on the amount of time we have) doing a “wrapping party” while listening to Christmas music.  As they wrap their gifts I will tackle some that I need to do as well.  Everyone has fun and we get a lot accomplished at the same time.

    I love that they take the extra time to not only wrap the gifts but label, add little notes, or draw pictures on the outside of the gifts.  They started doing this on their own last Christmas.  It was so cute reading their notes and talking about their drawings as we opened the gifts.  They were so proud of the gift and the wrapping which they did from start to finish.  Here are some of the sweet drawings and notes we found under our tree last year:

    Silly notes written on the gifts…..made me smile

    Brina even picked out turtle food at the store for the turtles and wrapped it for them.

    Karlie drew a planet, specifically Saturn, on this gift

    I Love You note on the gift

    Brina drew little “heart” people on the outside of this Christmas gift.

    Picture of the sweet sisters on the gift

    While the gift wrap my not win a decorative prize the girls are proud of their work and are excited to share.  They are learning many lessons during this too (hand-eye coordination, measuring, sharing, giving, etc….).  Pretty soon I will have to start delegating more gift wrapping tasks to them! 🙂

  • Gift Giving: Christmas Cookies in Decorative Tins

    Christmas Cookies in a tin with Candy Canes on top

    Our family loves baking Christmas goodies!  In the past we have made large batches of goodies and delivered the items to our neighbors, family, and friends.  Other years we do one or two tins whenever we are baking to give away to friends, family, or to who ever we think it may be a blessing to that week.

    It is a simple gift that has been a big  hit (and fun for the kids to help with too).  All we have to do is bake our favorite cookie(s), put them into a decorative tin, add two candy canes on top, and deliver them.  The girls love putting two candy canes on top of the tin in the shape of a heart.  Making these treats bins are really easy and they always great reaction from those we have delivered the goodies to in our area.

    Christmas Tins

    • 1 Tin Container
    • A  batch of your favorite cookie(s) or candies to fill the tin (or you can do a variety of recipes)
    • 2 Candy Canes
    • 2 pieces of Tape

    You can get any tin or plastic container in any size, shape, and color at your local dollar store this time of year.  I used double-sided tape but regular tape would work too. If you are wanting to make up several tins this is a great gift to do because you can make a large batch of cookies to fill them and do an assembly line with your kids.

    When we deliver items and Christmas cards to our neighbors we bundle up in our coats, put all the goodies in a big basket and walk from door to door (great exercise and fresh air for the whole family).  By the time we walk door to door and spend a few minutes catching up with each neighbor an hour or two or more has gone by but we have had a blast and hopefully were a blessing to those living on our street too.

     Here are some cookie recipes we have used in the past:

    Sour Spiral Cookies

    Oreo Truffles

    Chocolate Crackle Top Cookies

     

    Peanut Butter & Candy Cane Cookie Cups

    Super Chocolate Cookies

  • Introducing……the Newest Members of Our Family – “Coconut,” “Oreo,” & “Snowball”

    The 3 newest family members of our family “Coconut,” Oreo,” and “Snowball”

    If you had asked me even a year ago if I would ever have goats as pets I would have laughed.  Goats, seriously!  I don’t know how to raise goats, what would I do with them…..  Guess what!?  Life has a funny way of changing my perspective.   We have GOATS!  Three adorable, fluffy, social, fun loving, goats that have become such a sweet part of the family!

    This one cracks me up……silly Oreo!

    The girls immediately loved these little balls of fluff…..and as hard as it is to admit it didn’t take long  before they had stolen a piece of my heart too.  They are always thrilled to see you.  I love driving into the driveway and seeing them come racing across the yard to greet us.

    Our little “Oreo Sunday”!  He is the smallest of the 3 but makes up for it with his colorful character!

    The girls are overjoyed to have goats.  They do a pretty good job of taking care of them too.  The goats love it when the girls are outside playing.  All three are very social and are great with kids.  The only thing we are still training them not to do, they’ve gotten better, is to not jump up on people. We have already trained them with several things already.  One of the best things we did for training was to teach them to head into the goat pen for their grain or a treat whenever we  rang a bell rings so when we need to put them into the pen it is really easy.

    Sweet baby “Snowball” coming to say hello!  He is the most timid of the 3 goats and especially in the beginning he would bolt to the pen whenever he saw Skipper or if he was startled.

    It has been over a year in preparation for these little guys.  They are a neat addition to our family or as the girls call it “our small farm”!  It all started with me reading an article on goats.  Followed by months of researching, building a goat house and pen, and finding the perfect critters to adopt into our family.

    Our “Toasted Coconut” chewing happily on some leaves.  Coconut’s our adventurous eater, he’ll try anything before the other two goats (even your hair if you get it too close).

    These little guys have been a fun addition to the family.  Skipper was excited to have more friends in the yard as well.  It didn’t take long to train her not to chase the goats and for the goats to not be scared of the big black lab charging through the yard.  After researching how to train them to stay in certain parts of the yard we decided to get them collars similar to what we use with Skipper (they wear the collars and the wire for their boundary is underground).  After a little trial and error it has worked like a charm.  The goats have their boundaries and Skipper has hers.  The goats are not allowed in the driveway because they would most likely climb on the vehicles or in the front yard (they would eat any of my flowers on the front porch or garden).

    Our twin goats munching on something delicious!

    The whole process has been an experience to say the least.  There was moments of excitement and even some moments of tears…..I will share a little more of that part of the story a little later.

    Curious Oreo, he just had to see what that silver shiny object was in my hands (my camera)!

    The goats are always munching on something.  They like anything from leaves, bushes,  flowers, fruits, vegetables, peanuts, hay, grain, and more.  We feed them grain once a day and in the cooler months make sure they have some hay to eat.  Most days they will spend out in the yard eating or lounging in the sun.  It has been a lot of fun learning what foods they goats love, for example, banana peels are a favorite as are peanuts (whole or just shells).  One of their special grain treats smells like black licorice.  Almost everyday after the girls get home from school they go immediately to see Skipper and the goats (usually bringing them treats).

    Oreo looking over his shoulder to see what was taking Karlie and Brina so long!

    All three goats Nigerian Dwarf Wethers and were born in February 2012 so they are not quite a year old.  Oreo was born in the mountains of North Carolina.  Our twin boys, Snowball and Coconut, were born in the foothills.  When the goats only grow to be about the size of a black lab.

    Buddies…..the girls love playing out in the yard and the goats love having the girls nearby.

    The girls were excited to see meet family members and they have spent hours playing with them.  It took us a few weeks before we came up with their names but everyone agreed on “Oreo Sunday”, “Snowball”, and “Toasted Coconut”.  It has been quite entertaining to have these little guys around.  They have a lot of personality and are always thrilled to see you.

     

    The goats like to climb up onto things….such as fallen tree limbs!  Karlie and Brina hanging out with the “billy-billies” as they call them




    Snack time!

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    On the back of my office door this SMART sign is hanging.  Some days when I look at it am encouraged while others I have to sigh because while I am continuing to make steps in the right direction there are those weeks that it feels like I am moving at a snails pace (or slower).  Maybe this is the week I can get caught up on some items!  Thankfully Jake is back home from his work travels and everyone seems to be healthy so that’s always good.  I am looking forward to the girls getting off school later this week for the Christmas Holidays!

    Last week’s goals

    Family Goals

    1. Read to the girls and have them read to me daily
    2. Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
    3. Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
    4. Attend After School Activities
    5. Plan one special Activity with the Family
    6. Finish Decorating  & Putting up Christmas Bins
    7. Work on Christmas List – working on it, a few more items to get done this week
    8. Blessing Lives Everyday with Special Surprises (B.L.E.S.S.): 25 Days of Christmas Blessings – had a blast doing week 2!

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise at least 5 days this week – need to get back on track with this goal
    2. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    3. Reading / listening through my Bible – doing the 90 day plan through YouVersion – I FINISHED the 90 Day plan I was working through!!!! So excited that I stick to it! I am already looking forward to the next one!

    Home 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. Tackle Fall Cleaning & Organization Projects – with all the Christmas activities going on this had to be put on hold temporarily
    4. Pay all upcoming bills

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Write and Send Out Community Group Email – opps this one fell through the cracks with the busy schedule this past week, we are done meeting until after the Holidays but meant to send out an email to the group

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Payoff the Van – working on it
    3. 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.) – slowly building it up
    4. Stay within Christmas Budget – need to review what Jake & I spent recently, it’s harder when he is traveling

    My goals for the upcoming week

    Family Goals

    1. Read to the girls and have them read to me daily
    2. Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
    3. Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
    4. Attend After School Activities
    5. Plan one special Activity with the Family
    6. Help with the girls School Christmas Parties
    7. Work on Christmas List
    8. Blessing Lives Everyday with Special Surprises (B.L.E.S.S.): 25 Days of Christmas Blessings (Week 3)

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise at least 5 days this week
    2. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    3. Pick out my new YouVersion plan!
    4. Finish reading Significant Work by Paul Rude (super excited about this book!)
    5. Finish reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

    Home 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. Finish Wrapping & Prepping for the Christmas Events
    4. Pay all upcoming bills

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Write and Send Out Community Group Email

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Payoff the Van
    3. 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.)
    4. Stay within Christmas 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.

  • Blessing Lives Everyday with Special Surprises (B.L.E.S.S.): 25 Days of Christmas Blessings (Week 2)

    Fresh Citrus Christmas Potpourri wrapped up and given to friends & neighbors this week

    We into our second week of  25 Days of Christmas B.L.E.S.S. (Blessing Lives Everyday with Special Surprises).   It has been a lot of fun doing the daily activities and doing our best to be a blessing to those we meet.  Seriously, I feel like we walk away from an activity feeling more blessed then we did going into it.   What a joy it has been participating in intentional acts of kindness during the Holiday Season.

    In some cases we get to see who receives our B.L.E.S.S. gift and in other cases we will never know who is on the receiving end.  We pray that whoever receives or finds these gifts will experience joy during this Holiday Season.  Each night we take down the B.L.E.S.S. activity for the next day and read the verse and the activity then pray for those who have and will receive our little BLESS’ings.

    Gift bags full of goodies for our Community Group members

    Here is what we have done so far and a couple pictures to share of our adventures:

    • Day 8 – Gave a donation to the Salvation Army at a local Big Lots store.  Brina was the one with me when we put the money into the red container.  It was a great opportunity to discuss what Salvation Army was and why they collect money during this time of year.

    Fresh Christmas Potpourri gift

    • Day 9 –  Put together little gifts (Fresh Christmas Potpourri and a bag of Chocolates) for the families within our Community Group and delivered them at our Christmas Social.  Thankful for the neat people God has placed in our group this year.

    Brina and Karlie helping me put away all the AWESOME food families donated during the Awana Food Drive.  The pantries are restocked and ready to be a blessing to people within our community.  Thankful for the girls help getting everything put away (love those chickadees)!

    • Day 10 – Organized and put away food items into the Alms & Legs Food Pantry after the Awana Food Drive.  I was SUPER EXCITED to see the cabinets full again!  Praying that the food will be a huge blessing on the lives of those who need it.
    • Day 11 – Brought a bag with goodies to the tutor for Christmas to brighten her day and spread some cheer.

    Lasagna, garlic bread & Coke are in the van and on their way to a friend

    • Day 12 – Made and delivered a meal to a friend to help out.  The girls had a lot of fun delivering the meal and playing for a few minutes with their friends.  Praying for our dear friend as she is going through radiation while trying to take care of her family, we hope the meal was a blessing to them this week.

    One of the baskets full of goodies for our neighbors

    • Day 13 – Delivered Christmas goodies to our neighbors.  I made Fresh Christmas Potpourri and homemade sweet treats!  The girls look forward to this activity.  The have a lot of fun delivering the gifts and catching up for a few minutes with each neighbor.  Thankfully our neighborhood is fairly small so we had plenty of time to do it in the afternoon after school.
    • Day 14 – While at KMart checking out I was talking with the cashier asking about her day, if she was ready for Christmas, and such.  Through the conversation I found out that she is a single Mom with a girl the same age as my girls.  I felt led to be a blessing to her.  Even though I paid cash for the transaction I told her to keep the change (which wasn’t a lot) and put it towards something little for her girl this Christmas.  Even though Jake has to travel sometimes I am very grateful for him and everything he does for our family, I cannot imagine how busy it must be as a single Mom.

    One of our favorite verses this week went along with our Day 13 activity.

    This is my commandment, that you have love one another as I have loved you.  – John 15:12

    It has been a lot of fun working on ways we can be a blessing to others.  This verse talked about “loving others” which can be difficult at times because some people are just hard to get a long with.  We talked about why it is important to show love and compassion to those around us.  The girls decided that when we find it hard to love someone we should ask Jesus for help and to adjust our attitude towards that person because there are many days we are not lovely people ourselves yet God always loves us.

    It is fun be to be a blessing to others not because we anticipate any rewards or benefits from it, but because we were given the greatest gift of all.  God’s love, grace, and mercy.  He wants us to give cheerfully from the heart.

    Basket full of goodies to deliver with the meal on day 12 – Rice Krispy treats, fruit salad, lettuce salad, and a box of Angry Bird fruit snacks!

    I am super excited to see how great this B.L.E.S.S. activity is going already.  It has been a true joy sharing with others (many of whom we’ll never meet).  It has been a great experience and I look forward to seeing what will happen with our fun adventures this week.

    Neighbors gifts are ready to be hand delivered!  The girls LOVE delivering the gifts and catching up for a few minutes with the neighbors!

    The main purpose of this activity is to teach our family the joy of giving and sharing to those around us.  I plan to do another update on our fun B.L.E.S.S. adventures next week.  Sometimes it’s the little stuff that can make the most positive impact.  I would love to hear how you are spreading the Christmas cheer this Holiday Season.

    To learn more about our 25 Days of Christmas B.L.E.S.S. activity and what we have done far check out the links below:

    Below are the printable versions of the  25 Days of Christmas B.L.E.S.S. activities, verses, and sheets to handout so here they are for your family to enjoy as well:

  • Kids in the Kitchen: Colorful Gingerbread Cookies

    Tray full of Gingerbread cookies to share!

    The girls love helping out in the kitchen.  At some point over the Christmas Holidays we try to make cookies.  The girls really enjoy decorating the cookies.  We have done a variety of different cookies from sugar to gingerbread and more.

    We typically turn on some Christmas music, whip up a batch of cookies, and play a game or read a book while the first batch is cooking.  Once the first batch has cooled enough and others are baking in the oven we start decorating.  As you can see from the pictures we used a couple varieties of frosting and decorations.  The girls decorate them however they want and as many as they want (they stick to the decorating until the very last cookie is done).

    It has been really neat seeing their skills improve over the past few years.  You can actually tell what the shapes of most cookies are after they are done decorating nowadays.  Plus, they have learned not to “lick” the frosting or their fingers during the whole process, ha!  🙂

    Starting to fill the tray with colorful Gingerbread cookies.  I especially like the Betty Crocker writable frosting because their easy to use for kids, only a little bit comes out, and you can stack the cookies together once they have dried.

    Just looking at these make me smile!   Some as you can see from the tops of the Christmas trees broke in the decorating process.  Love seeing the girls creative juices get flowing.

    Another rack of delicious gingerbread cookies, decorated with love! 🙂  Thankful for those quiet afternoons that we can spend relaxing and decorating cookies together.

    Next time I need to do better about taking pictures of the kids too.  I only have a couple of pictures of the girls just starting to make the cookies that didn’t really turn out.  Once we got into the cooking and decorating I got swept away with the fun that I didn’t pull the camera back out until all the cookies were done.  Hopefully, next time I will have more kid pictures to share. Does your family like to decorate cookies, if so what kind is your favorite?

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    Oh, I am so not a fan of being sick.  The whole family went to the doctor last week because we were all not feeling well and had temps from 101 to 104.  Somehow we had managed to get strep throat and a couple ear infections.  Thankfully we all seem to be on the mend.  I am hoping that this is our last round of sickness for a long time.  Maybe this week I can get caught up on some items!

    Last week’s goals

    Family Goals

    1. Read to the girls and have them read to me daily – we didn’t read for a couple days when everyone was really sick
    2. Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
    3. Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
    4. Attend After School Activities
    5. Plan one special Activity with the Family
    6. Finish Decorating  & Putting up Christmas Bins
    7. Work on Christmas List – working on it, still have more to do
    8. Blessing Lives Everyday with Special Surprises (B.L.E.S.S.): 25 Days of Christmas Blessings – we finished week 1 and it was a neat experience for everyone!
    9. Date Night with my Man

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise at least 5 days this week – with being sick I didn’t get this done
    2. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    3. Finish reading The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith – working on it
    4. Reading / listening through my Bible – doing the 90 day plan through YouVersion – faithfully going through the days, love being able to listen it on my phone
    5. Make my first fresh Wreath at a Wreath Party with Friends

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day – it took me 2 days to get it done this week
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
    3. Tackle Fall Cleaning & Organization Projects – was put on hold with being sick this week
    4. Pay all upcoming bills

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Write and Send Out Community Group Email – missed Community Group so didn’t get the email out
    3. Community Group Christmas Social at our House

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4 – between Jake and I going to pick up things I didn’t have all the receipts by the end of the week
    2. Payoff the Van – working on it
    3. 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.) – moving forward
    4. Stay within Christmas Budget – staying up-to-date

    My goals for the upcoming week

    Family Goals

    1. Read to the girls and have them read to me daily
    2. Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
    3. Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
    4. Attend After School Activities
    5. Plan one special Activity with the Family
    6. Finish Decorating  & Putting up Christmas Bins
    7. Work on Christmas List
    8. Blessing Lives Everyday with Special Surprises (B.L.E.S.S.): 25 Days of Christmas Blessings

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise at least 5 days this week
    2. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    3. Reading / listening through my Bible – doing the 90 day plan through YouVersion

    Home 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. Tackle Fall Cleaning & Organization Projects
    4. Pay all upcoming bills

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Write and Send Out Community Group Email

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Payoff the Van
    3. 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.)
    4. Stay within Christmas 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.