Books
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week was crazy, but good as we celebrated a lot of great rewards that the girls had earned for all their hard work throughout this past school year including watching them graduate. Thankful for our girls and their excitement to learn. They had a lot of activities and times when it was tough to get everything done, but they pushed through it. Jake and I are proud of our girls.
I have added a “kid goals” section to my list of goals. Now that they are getting older and realizing the importance of improving and maintaining goals I want to be intentional about keeping up with their learning as they grow older. Here are my goals for this week:
Last week’s goals
Family Goals
- Finish reading Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein to the kids. – was not able to finish with all the extra school activities this week, but read a couple of night
- Read 7 Stories from the Bad Pets on the Loose by Alan Zullo book to the kids. – read a couple, but not 7
- Go through 7 more Brain Quest Flash Cards with the kids. – did a handful only
- Read through 7 more pages of History Trivia with the kids. – hoping to pick this back up again this week
- Do devotions and prayer time with kids every night. – prayers yes, but it was really late a few nights so kept it short
Plan one special activity with the family- Play a Game with the Kids – we didn’t have enough free time in the evenings to play a game
Spend time Monday –Friday helping the kids with Homework- Attend After School Activities – attended all the activities including celebration / graduation meetings, regional Science Fair Competition & Awards, Graduation, Awards Ceremony
Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before- Prep for upcoming Family Adventure(s) – working on it, but still has some more to go
- Prep & Figure out Schedule for upcoming Summer Break – getting closer to finalizing everything
- Ride Bikes with the Kids – the extra activities took more time than expected
Work on family projects together– we worked on several items together as a family including items in the house including the laundry room. The girls LOVED helping paint!Brina & Karlie’s Graduation Ceremony– great seeing the girls graduate!Brina & Karlie’s Award Ceremony– the girls received A LOT of amazing rewards! Both received trophies, several certificates, award pins, medals, and more. Once again we were blown away by how well they did and all they received. Evidence that the hours they spent working on school work really did pay off. They were part of several great groups and had a wonderful team of teachers / coaches. We will miss this school that they have been at for 7 years, but looking forward to what middle school has to offer!Prep & decorate for Graduation party (Meet with people Mon / Wed) after schoolTake Brina to the Science Fair Competition– not only did we take Brina to the Regional Science Fair Competition – SHE WON!!! FIRST Place in the Regional Science Competition so proud of her! Way to go Brina! She received a trophy, medals, certificates, and a cash prize! She was shocked, but excited. The last 3 months of baking cupcakes for her “Cupcakes on the Rise” Science Fair project were worth it. We calculated that she made over 410 cupcakes by herself these past 3 months. She’s gotten really good at making cupcakes!
Personal Goals
Drink 8 glasses of water each day- Keep up with my FitBit Goals – did so well this week with the exception of forgetting my fitbit at home on a day where I did a lot of moving around at work and after school activities. Oh well…
Do yoga at least 5 times a week- Go to my Appointments Scheduled this week – Jake took Brina to set up for the Science Fair over lunch on Thursday so I could work my regular hours, thanks Babe!
Update Counting My Blessings and Other journal entries daily- Tackle some lingering projects on my “to do” list – I did get several things moving forward, but nothing completely crossed off so officially I cannot cross this off my list….
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day – my laundry room is still being renovated, I was unable to get in to do laundry on my normal schedule. Hopefully this will be complete or at least in a more working condition by the end of next week! 🙂 It’s going to look awesome though, Jake has done a fantastic job and the girls have pitched in and helped a lot too!
Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week- Clean House (Focus – Laundry Room Remodeling Work (get all of the subflooring cleaned and help Jake with getting at least 1/2 of it completed) – flooring is up and was stalled a little bit by another issue that caught our attention that needed to be fixed prior to doing more in the laundry room (thankful for a husband who can do so much). Having an older home can have a lot of fun and unexpected surprises that take extra TLC! 🙂
- Organize Chaos (Focus – Find Bins / Containers / Baskets to put on shelves in Laundry Room once up) – I have some ideas, but waiting a couple more days until I figure out how the new laundry room layout will look like prior to committing to any specific bins/containers/baskets. I want the items I get to be practical, efficient, and uniform as much as possible.
- Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Plant Lilly Flower and Blueberry Bush – weather permitting) – the laundry room took up more time than we expected as well as a couple extra activities with school and other events were more time consuming than we original planned.
- Pet Care (Focus – Give Skipper her vitamins) – Brina especially is good about keeping up with Skippy’s vitamins!
- Repairs – (Focus – Refinishing our Laundry room, tearing out the old linoleum and sprucing it up) – All the old flooring is up, we are starting to paint and work on other areas. Looking better already, cannot wait until it is complete! Will be very nice!
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts- Respond to Inquiry – Business Relation Emails – few more need to be completed
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention – a couple of days got away from me with all the activities last week, hoping as we get into rhythm with the new summer schedule I can tackle a few more of this necessary items
- Work completed for clients – have a couple more projects to complete
- Notes typed for work – I got them started (kids and other family activities took priority this past week.)
- Folders Labeled for work – I actually got a decent start of this one. I finished some of the categories that I was doing, but have a handful more to wrap up before I am officially done.
- Desk drawers organized – getting closer….does that count?!
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Schedule a meeting with the Financial Advisor – have a couple I need to follow up with this week
- Payoff Other Outstanding Debt – made another extra payment
Pay Bills & File Paperwork- Go grocery shopping one time this week and stay within budget – went over with the graduation party celebration and other big activities that filled up our week
My goals for the upcoming week
Family Goals
- Finish reading Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein to the kids.
- Read 7 Stories from the Bad Pets on the Loose by Alan Zullo book to the kids.
- Go through 7 more Brain Quest Flash Cards with the kids.
- Read through 7 more pages of History Trivia with the kids.
- Do devotions, reflecting on our blessings, and prayer time with kids every night.
- Plan one special activity with the family
- Play a Game with the Kids
- Attend After Work Activities
- Lunch Boxes packed the night before work & other planned activities
- Prep for upcoming Family Adventure(s)
- Prep & Figure out Schedule for upcoming Summer Break
- Ride Bikes with the Kids
- Work on family projects together
- Start packing suitcase for next family adventure
- Daily 15 minute “Speed Clean” for entire family to keep the daily clutter under control
Kid Goals
- Have kids do 1st week in Summer Workbook(s)
- Encourage Kids to read independently at least 30 minutes a day
- Sign up kids for the Easley, Anderson, & Greenville County Summer Library Reading Programs
- Sign up kids for Barnes & Noble and other similar reading programs
- Have kids work on our approved educational websites to encourage growth (at least 2 hours for the week)
- Have kids work for at least 1 hour on this week on improving their typing skills
- Each kid finish creating at least 2 blogs posts for their Fun with Sis blog
- Spend time Monday –Friday encouraging the kids to find creative ways to learn and grown their skills
- Kids start packing suitcases for next family adventure
- At least 30 minutes of outside play, fresh air, or activity time a day
Personal Goals
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Keep up with my FitBit Goals
- Do yoga at least 5 times a week
- Go to my Appointments Scheduled this week
- Update Counting My Blessings and Other journal entries daily
- Tackle some lingering projects on my “to do” list
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
- Clean House (Focus – Laundry Room Remodeling Work Completed
- Organize Chaos (Focus – Refill Kids Snack Bins – hope to focus again on the laundry room in the future once further along)
- Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Plant Lilly Flower and Blueberry Bush – weather permitting)
- Pet Care (Focus – Replant grass in Goat pen)
- Repairs – (Focus – Refinishing our Laundry room, painting and laying new flooring)
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Respond to Inquiry – Business Relation Emails
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
- Work completed for clients
- Notes typed for work
- Folders Labeled for work
- Desk drawers organized
- Do at least 5 blog posts this week
- Catch up on Hootesuite
- Upload pictures from last few weeks and update
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- One-on-one quality time with Jake (talking, date night, or doing an activity together)
One-on-one quality time with Brina (talking, date night, or doing an activity together)One-on-one quality time with Karlie (talking, date night, or doing an activity together)
Financial Goals
- Schedule a meeting with the Financial Advisor
- Payoff Other Outstanding Debt
- Pay Bills & File Paperwork
- Go grocery shopping one time this week and stay within budget
- Sell, giveaway, donate, or through away items no longer use
- Take items to the recycling distributor
- 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.
Organized Chaos: Kid’s Bookshelves
Kids bookshelf
Our family loves books! It has always been something we have done together. When the girls were little we would read to them everyday. Now we read more chapter books, library books, and special books together as a family. We do a rotation on who gets to pick out the next chapter book we will read as a family. Sometimes if Jake is traveling he may miss a chapter or two otherwise we usually do this activity together.
When the girls were little we barely had any kids books. We started collecting them, the kids got some as gifts, and they have also bought some with their spending money. Over the years these books have accumulated. For one of their gifts a couple years ago Jake made the girls a bookshelf for their room. They LOVE it! For the most part they do keep it pretty neat, but every once in awhile it needs a little cleaning and organizing.
As you can see from the picture above they have books piled on top of the books on the shelf, books leaning all directions, random items that are not books on the bookshelf, and various books out of place. Since they keep it in decent order it doesn’t take long to freshen up the book shelf, put books away, dust, and we had it looking better in no time.
We have their books arranged in specific order. On the top are the kids classics and chapter book series. The 2nd shelf down we have more chapter books or series. On the 3rd shelf from the top we have the Golden Classics and soft cover books. The 4th shelf from the top contains all the kids reference and educational books. On the 5th shelf from the top we have hard cover books. The very bottom shelf contains more hard cover books, including some series.
Bookshelf is all dusted and organized!
The next big bookshelf project I need to do is to go through all the younger kids books. Our kids have outgrown a lot of the smaller books so I need to decide which ones to keep, donate, sell, etc…. I have slowly been starting to do this by giving some of the younger kid books to kids who I know enjoy those types of books. I love looking into the kids rooms and seeing them reading books either on their own or together. It makes my heart happy. The learning to read fluently has been a journey for our family. Part of my hesitation in going through and getting rid of some of their smaller books means I have to admit my little babies are growing up and to a Momma’s heart it kind of makes me sad. Not sure if I will ever be truly ready, but I will eventually go through the books and eliminate some more kids ones so that it will make more room for their more advanced reading books, just not today…
Summer Reading Program – Swim Into Reading
Swim into Reading Summer Reading Theme
For many years I did a Summer Reading program at home with the girls. Each year I would come up with a fun theme and make a large display for them to see. Every time they read a book they would get to write it down and hang it up for everyone to see. This was awesome especially when the kids younger.
Our kids have always love reading as well as listening to me, my husband, or anyone read books. Audiobooks captivate their attention. We make it a regular habit to read every day to our girls and we encourage them to read as well.
Now that they are a little older we don’t do as elaborate of themes because they don’t need that visual motivate as much. I came across one of the summer themes I did not that long ago that we had a lot of fun with and wanted to share it with you. The theme we used was Swim into Reading. All the members of the family had a different color of fish and when someone finished a book they filled out their filled and hung it in the fish tank. The kids loved it.
I made our reading fish tank out of a table a light blue disposable table cloth hung on the wall. Over the blue table cloth I hung dark blue and green crepe paper.
All set up and ready for the fish from reading books to be added.
Starting to see some different colored books being added to the reading fish tank
The kids are loading up the fish tank with their different color of fish from all their reading. I wish I had taken a picture at the end of the summer. They did so well. Whenever the fan was on or when someone walked by the reading fish tank the crepe paper would move like the fish were swimming. Thankful for kids who love to read.
Catching the Kids Reading
Brina relaxing and reading on the couch
I love walking into a room and seeing my kids reading a good book. There is one kid in particular in our family that is always reading any time she gets a chance while the other one I do a silent cheer every time I see her pull out a book to read on her own. It is great seeing them get swept away into the story and hearing their little giggles as they are reading fun part makes me smile.
Reading came really easy for one of our girls while the other one it has been a lot harder. Thankfully we were able to figure out what was holding her back (dyslexia) and have spent the last few years working with reading tutors to help her develop her reading skills. It has felt like a long (and sometimes painful) process for both me as a Mom and my sweet girl, but we have gone so far. Anytime I see her reading on her own it makes my heart so happy. I love my girls and always want to encourage them as they learn various skills throughout their lives even if it means putting forth a lot of extra time and effort on my part.
All smiles as she relaxes and reads
Soaking up a good story
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week Jake’s sister family spent the week with us. The week went by quickly and we packed in a lot of activities during their stay. It was fun spending some extra time and catching up with them as well as the rest of the family in the area the last few days. On Friday the girls went to church camp for the weekend. The house was really quiet after everyone left! We celebrated Father’s Day last weekend since the girls were away at camp for a good part of Father’s Day. Jake was super sweet and helped get our large pile of laundry started while the girls were away. He also made the most amazing apricot and salmon recipe that I will be sharing in a few days. Here are my goals for this week:
Last week’s goals
Family Goals
Finish reading Romona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary book to the kidsPlan one special activity with the family– went to Otters Creek Water Park with Mirm’s familyPlay a Game with the Family– played several this weekPrepare for Upcoming Spring Events– Spring is done and now we are enjoying summerSpend time working on Summer WorkbooksAttend Evening Activities & EventsSpend Extra Time with Extended FamilyLunch Bags Packed for Work & Errand / Outside ActivitiesPrep for upcoming Family Adventure(s)- Prep & Figure out Schedule for Summer Break – wrapping up some later details
Ride Bikes with the KidsWork on special projects with the kidsHang out at a park with KidsGo to the Library- Find a new local place to visit or new activity to do with the Kids – we went to places we already visited before
Attend an extra-curricular activity or eventGet kids packed and sent off to Church CampCelebrate Father’s Day
Personal Goals
Drink 8 glasses of water each day- Continue my YouVersion plan(s) – running a little behind
Keep up with my FitBit GoalsGo to my Doctor Appointments Scheduled this weekUpdate Counting My Blessings and Other journal entries daily
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned out for the weekClean House (Focus – Vacuum & Dust)Organize Chaos (Focus – Refrigerator)- Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Treehouse Fort) – working on it
Pet Care (Focus – Treat Yard for Mosquitoes / Flies)- Repairs – (Focus – Girls Necklace Hangers) – hoping to get it done soon
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog postsRespond to Inquiry – Business Relation EmailsKeep up with the day to day items that need my attention- Work completed for clients – another project to be done soon
Research and pursue career goalsPrep, plan, and organize content for upcoming summer months while the kids are out of school
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Payoff the Car – working on it
- Payoff Medical Bills – paid more on a couple this week
- Payoff Other Outstanding Debt – (replacement microwave, refrigerator, hot water heater, bed, HVAC unit, and other debt) – working on it
Pay Bills & File Paperwork- Go grocery shopping one time to one store this week and stay within budget – went over budget with the grocery budget
My goals for the upcoming week
Family Goals
- Finish reading Lightening’s Last Hope by Joanna Campbell book to the kids
- Plan one special activity with the family
- Play a Game with the Family
- Spend time working on Summer Workbooks
- Attend Evening Activities & Events
- Lunch Bags Packed for Work & Errand / Outside Activities
- Prep for upcoming Family Adventure(s)
- Prep & Figure out Schedule for Summer Break
- Ride Bikes with the Kids
- Work on special projects with the kids
- Hang out at a park with Kids
- Go to the Library
- Find a new local place to visit or new activity to do with the Kids
- Attend an extra-curricular activity or event
- Pick up Summer Clothes for the girls (Swim suit, shorts, sandals, pjs)
Personal Goals
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Continue my YouVersion plan(s)
- Keep up with my FitBit Goals
- Go to my Doctor Appointments Scheduled this week
- Update Counting My Blessings and Other journal entries daily
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
- Clean House (Focus – Post Items to Sale and Take Items to Donate)
- Organize Chaos (Focus – Girls Scrapbooks)
- Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Seed Goat Pen)
- Pet Care (Focus – New Collar for Snowball, Hay, & Mineral Bucket)
- Repairs – (Focus – Girls Necklace Hangers)
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Respond to Inquiry – Business Relation Emails
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
- Work completed for clients
- Research and Plan Out Business Goals
- Prep, plan, and organize content for upcoming summer months while the kids are out of school
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Payoff the Car
- Payoff Medical Bills
- Payoff Other Outstanding Debt – (replacement microwave, refrigerator, hot water heater, bed, HVAC unit, and other debt)
- Pay Bills & File Paperwork
- Go grocery shopping one time to one store this week and stay within budget
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results.
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week was super fun with the girls home now on summer break. We packed in a lot of neat activities and got some projects done this week too. The girls have been consistent on working on their summer workbooks and reading. Thankful for extra time with the kids and a chance to do some exciting events together. Jake has been busy with work and working on a big project for the girls in his free time at home. He is such a great Daddy to his girls and comes up with neat activities for them from robotics to building items together and more! This week Jake’s sister and her family are visiting us in South Carolina so the week will be a little different as we focus on spending time with them. Here are my goals for this week:
Last week’s goals
Family Goals
Finish reading School’s Out by Ken Brynildsen book to the kids(it’s an older book & couldn’t find it on Amazon) –
finished it (the girls enjoyed the adventures in the book) and started on the next one that Karlie picked out- Plan one special activity with the family
Play a Game with the Family– taught the girls Hand & Foot, played Golf, and morePrepare for Upcoming Spring EventsSpend time working on Summer WorkbooksAttend Evening Activities & EventsLunch Bags Packed for Work & Errand / Outside Activities– packed Jake’s work lunch and we had 2 days with picnic lunches when we were out and aboutPrep for upcoming Family Adventure(s)Prep & Figure out Schedule for Summer BreakRide Bikes with the KidsWork on special projects with the kidsHang out at a park with KidsGo to the LibraryFind a new local place to visit or new activity to do with the Kids– went to Frankie’s Fun Park and went to the Candy Land Game Activity at the libraryAttend an extra-curricular activity or event– went to the Free Movies with the KidsDate Night with the Kids– I went with Karlie and Jake went with Brina
Personal Goals
Drink 8 glasses of water each day- Continue my YouVersion plan(s) – need to catch up
Keep up with my FitBit GoalsGo to my Doctor Appointments Scheduled this weekUpdate Counting My Blessings and Other journal entries daily
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day– the girls are getting fasterWeekly Dinner Menu planned out for the weekClean House (Focus – 3 Bathrooms)Organize Chaos (Focus – Kids Rooms)- Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Mow)
- Pet Care (Focus – Mix Extra Vitamins in Goat Food)
- Repairs – (Focus – Girls Necklace Hangers)
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog postsRespond to Inquiry – Business Relation EmailsKeep up with the day to day items that need my attentionWork completed for clientsPrep, plan, and organize content for upcoming summer months while the kids are out of school
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Payoff the Car – working on it
- Payoff Medical Bills – working on it
- Payoff Other Outstanding Debt – (replacement microwave, refrigerator, hot water heater, bed, HVAC unit, and other debt) – working on it
Pay Bills & File PaperworkGo grocery shopping one time to one store this week and stay within budget
My goals for the upcoming week
Family Goals
- Finish reading Romona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary book to the kids
- Plan one special activity with the family
- Play a Game with the Family
- Prepare for Upcoming Spring Events
- Spend time working on Summer Workbooks
- Attend Evening Activities & Events
- Spend Extra Time with Extended Family
- Lunch Bags Packed for Work & Errand / Outside Activities
- Prep for upcoming Family Adventure(s)
- Prep & Figure out Schedule for Summer Break
- Ride Bikes with the Kids
- Work on special projects with the kids
- Hang out at a park with Kids
- Go to the Library
- Find a new local place to visit or new activity to do with the Kids
- Attend an extra-curricular activity or event
- Get kids packed and sent off to Church Camp
- Celebrate Father’s Day
Personal Goals
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Continue my YouVersion plan(s)
- Keep up with my FitBit Goals
- Go to my Doctor Appointments Scheduled this week
- Update Counting My Blessings and Other journal entries daily
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
- Clean House (Focus – Vacuum & Dust)
- Organize Chaos (Focus – Refrigerator)
- Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Treehouse Fort)
- Pet Care (Focus – Treat Yard for Mosquitoes / Flies)
- Repairs – (Focus – Girls Necklace Hangers)
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Respond to Inquiry – Business Relation Emails
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
- Work completed for clients
- Research and pursue career goals
- Prep, plan, and organize content for upcoming summer months while the kids are out of school
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Payoff the Car
- Payoff Medical Bills
- Payoff Other Outstanding Debt – (replacement microwave, refrigerator, hot water heater, bed, HVAC unit, and other debt)
- Pay Bills & File Paperwork
- Go grocery shopping one time to one store this week and stay within budget
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results.
School: Brina & Karlie’s 4th Grade Awards Ceremony!
Proud of my girls!
Brina and Karlie had their 4th grade Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, June 2nd. Jake and I knew the girls did really well this year and worked very hard, but we were still blown away by the amount of awards they received. I honestly don’t think Jake was in his chair for more than 5 minutes throughout the entire Awards Ceremony (seriously). Every time he sat down one or both of the girls names would be announced to receive another award. The grandpa sitting next to me said “Wow, you most be doing something right with those kids. They are very talented!” Both girls did worked hard all year even when it wasn’t always easy so it is something exciting to celebrate with them!
They both had great teachers this school year. The teachers encouraged them to learn a lot! Their Homeroom Teachers, Gifted & Talented Teacher, Reading Teacher, and STEM Club Coaches were all good about communicating with the parents which is always key in helping the kids be successful. Thankful for all the teachers and all energy they put into our kids this school year.
We are VERY PROUD of the hard work these girls did and the amount they were able to accomplish throughout the 4th grade year! The girls have the biggest class in the school so it is a huge honor to get these awards. Their classes are large and it takes a lot of work to get these honors. Way to go girls!!!
Karlie and Brina received 13 Award Certificates + 10 Award Medals + 2 Award Pins:
- 2 – Highest Math Achievement Awards (Both girls were the highest in their classes)! (Received 2 Award Certificates & 2 Award Medals)
- 1 – Highest Social Studies Achievement Award (Received 1 Award Certificate & 1 Award Medal)
- 1 – Highest Reading Achievement Award (Received 1 Award Certificate & 1 Award Medal)
- 1 – Highest Science Achievement Award (Received 1 Award Certificate & 1 Award Medal)
- 1 – Highest Language Arts Achievement Award (Received 1 Award Certificate & 1 Award Medal)
- 1 – “A” Honor Roll Award (Received 1 Award Certificate & 1 Award Medal)
- 1 – “A/B” Honor Roll Award (Received 1 Award Certificate & 1 Award Medal)
- 1 – 1st Place Accelerated Reading Award (Received 1 Award Certificate & 1 Award Medal)
- 1 – Pickens County Youth Arts Award (Received 1 Award Certificate)
- 1 – Children’s Book Award (Received 1 Award Certificate & 1 Award Medal)
- 2 – STEM Club Awards (their STEM Club Team – Solar SySTEM went to state) (Received 2 Award Certificates & 2 Award Pins)
Here are some of the pictures from their big Awards Night! Very proud of our girls!
Way to go Brina and Karlie
Brina’s Honor Roll
Karlie’s Honor Roll
Highest Reading Achievement Award
Highest Language Arts Achievement Award
Highest Math Achievement Awards – Brina and Karlie!
Highest Science Achievement Award
STEM Club Awards
Highest Social Studies Achievement Award
Children’s Book Award
Pickens County Youth Arts Award
Talking with friends after the Awards Ceremony!
Brina showing us her cool projects in the hallway!
Brina and Karlie’s certificates, medals, and pins literally filled our kitchen table!
STEM Club, Highest Achievement in Math (for their class), and Honor Roll Awards & Medals for both girls!
Below are some of the pictures of their medals from their 4th Grade Awards Night (I didn’t take pictures of all of them or they didn’t turn out plus some were similar, but this will give you the idea of what they brought home on their 4th Grade Awards Night)!
2 of these Medals for Highest Math Achievement Medal (1 for Brina and 1 for Karlie)
All “A” Honor Roll for the Entire School Year
Highest Social Studies Achievement Medal
Highest Reading Achievement Medal
Highest Language Arts Achievement Medal
Multiple ones of this medal – 1st Place Accelerated Reading & Children’s Book Award
Highest Science Achievement Medal
All “A-B” Honor Roll for the Entire School Year
We are super excited to see all that the girls have accomplished this year. We are thankful for all their effort and hard work. It is evident that they can do a lot and learned a great deal this school year. They finished strong. It is still hard to believe that this is their last day of 4th grade, they are growing up too quickly.
We are looking forward to a fun summer full of learning, memories, and catching up with family and friends! It is our hope that they continue to enjoy learning and growing as they get older. Thankful for our girls. We are very blessed! LOVE YOU BRINA AND KARLIE!!!
School Projects: Brina’s Mix Like Magic Science Fair Project
Brina presenting her “Mix Like Magic” Project at the Science Fair!
I am very proud of Brina for all her hard work and time she put into her Science Fair Project. She worked on her project for several weeks in the evenings after homework and on the weekends. It was a lot of work, but she was picked as one of the top 2 for her class!!! She got a 100% on her science experiment journal and 100% on her science experiment presentation! Way to go BRINA!
She really enjoyed doing the actual science experiments and testing. The display board was fun for her too. Probably the most time consuming and least favorite piece of the science fair was the handwritten journal. By the end of the project she had over 80 pages of hand written information recorded in her science journal. We have over 2 hours of video of her doing her experiment and that was only one piece of the whole project!
For anyone wanting to replicate the experiment on their own I am going to include the shortened version (I am serious about the amount of hand written notes) of her science project and procedures she used to go through the experiment. Some of the information such as her title, purpose, hypothesis, and experiment are directly below. Additional information such as her constants, variables, research, materials, step-by-step procdures, analysis, conclusion, future work, and more are at the very bottom after the pictures. Hope you enjoy doing this fun experiment as much as she did!
Brina titled her science experiment: Mix Like Magic
Purpose:
- Do water molecules move faster or slower based on the temperature of the water?
- Would changing the temperature of the water affect how fast the molecules move?
Hypothesis:
- If the temperature of the water is raised, then the mixing rate will be faster.
Experiment:
- Take 2 jars of water (one with food coloring) and see how long it takes for the molecules to completely mix on their own using various water temperatures.
Sharing with another kid about her science experiment.
Sharing her Science Experiment with her 3rd Grade Math and Science teacher, Mrs. Johnson.
Listening carefully to Mrs. Johnson’s questions and feedback about the project.
Answering questions! (Side note – notice how crowded it was during the Science Fair! It was a tight getting through and very loud so when speaking with someone you almost felt like you were yelling.) The kids were having a great time though showing off their projects!
Brina’s display board and items!
She brainstormed about a way to demonstrate her project for people to see since she couldn’t easily do the water. The conclusion was to make a mock demonstration of the experiment using jello and green food coloring. It turned out pretty well and got the point across.
Adding the drops of food coloring to the jars that will be going on the top!
Concentrating as she counts out the number of food coloring drops!
Jar of room temperature water with green food coloring.
Jar of ice cold water with green food coloring (notice the frosty outside of the glass mason jar).
Jar of very hot water with green food coloring (notice all the little tiny bubbles inside the jar).
Brina’s three mason jars with green food coloring – 1 with hot water, 1 with room temperature water, and 1 with cold water!
Talking with Dad about the experiment, hypothesis, and the next steps!
Brina watching the water molecules mixing “like magic” even though the jar is complete still!
Watching and timing the mixing of the two jars.
First round of testing complete!
Making sure it’s completely mixed
Measuring the temperature of the water in each jar and recording it!
The only assistance she needed was flipping the jars so that the one with green food coloring was sitting directly on top of the one without food coloring. The main reasons why we assisted with this piece of the experiment was because the jars were heavy, they needed to be lined up perfectly to avoid spilling, we didn’t want her dumping steaming hot water on herself, and she had to be ready with the stopwatch. Otherwise, she handled the experiment procedures pretty much on her own.
Brina’s display board as she is working on getting it completed. She has most of the information now just to add the pictures (the yellow sticky notes are spots where she wants to add pictures to her display board).
Brina’s Science Experiment Journal! This piece took the longest and required a lot of hand writing, but she got it done!
The back of Brina’s Mix Like Magic Science Journal!
Below is more information about the experiment so you may try it for yourself. It was a fun project. A lot of work, but Brina did fantastic! Her hard work paid off!
Manipulated Variable:
- I will change the temperature of the water.
- There will be one set with hot water, one with room temperature, and one with cold water.
Responding Variable:
- I will test the speed of the water molecules measured by tracking the mixing rate of colored and clear water.
- I will use a stop watch to track this time in order to provide more measurable data for the experiment.
Constants:
- I will keep the volume of water in the jars the same.
- I will use the exact same jars for every trial.
- The stillness of the jars will remain the same for each experiment.
Research:
Water is made up of many small particles. Even a jar of water that is sitting still on the counter has many little particles that are constantly moving. Although the many tiny water molecules are packed snugly together in the jar they are always moving. When you combine water from two jars they will eventually mix together. Particles from one jar will blend with the particles of the second jar.
The scientist that originally discovered that particles are constantly mixing was Robert Brown, a botanist, back in 1827. It eventually became known as Brownian Motion. He noticed that the pollen granules were always in motion in water. He started this theory even though he never figured out all the reasons behind it. Later Maxwell, Boltzmann, Einstein, Langevin, Gouy, and others expanded on Brownian Motion Theory.
Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen atoms that are stuck together. The molecules in water have enough energy to allow the particles to move around each other. Hot water has more kinetic energy than the cold water. Therefore, the hot water should move faster than cold water molecules and mix quicker. You should be able to see this by adding food coloring to containers with different temperatures. The liquid molecules in suspension should move more quickly thus colliding with other suspended particles.*
Materials:
- 6 Clear Glass Jars (same size)
- Dark Food Coloring
- 3 Pitchers
- 3 Divider Cards
- 1 Spoon
- Container of Petroleum Jelly
- 2 Jelly Roll Pans
- Thermometer
- Stop Watch (or Timer)
- Pencil & Paper
Experiment (Step-By-Step Procedures):
- Create a chart to record your data from all the trial
- Put petroleum jelly around the rims of all 6 clear glass jars.
- Put jelly roll pans on the counter top and put 3 jars in each one.
- Fill 1 pitcher of water full of room temperature, 1 pitcher full of cold water (and place it in the fridge until you need it), and 1 pitcher of hot water.
- Get the Pitcher of Hot Water and fill one clear jar to the top with the pitcher. Allow the water to overflow by a trickle. Use a thermometer to measure the temperature of the water and record it on your chart. In the other jelly roll pan fill up another jar ¾ full of hot water. Add 5 drops of dark food coloring and stir until mixed. Slowly fill that jar until at the top with a small trickle of water overflowing.
- Use the divider card to cover the opening of the jar containing the colored water. Carefully turn over the jar and place it on the jar with clear hot water. Once the water as stopped moving remove the divider card and start timing to see how long it will take for the two jars to mix completely. Record the time on the chart.
- Repeat Procedure Step #5 this time using room temperature water and record it.
- Repeat Procedure Step #5 this time using cold water and record it.
- Repeat Procedure Steps #5 to #7 for another 5 to 7 times and record the data on the chart.
Analysis:
I did my experiment over 2 days, however, I kept all the items the same. The data from the 7 trial experiments was collected, recorded, and analyzed. The information that I collected during my experiment was inconclusive.
Conclusion:
Upon the completion of my experiment I brainstormed a few ideas of why there were some larger variances with my data. The data from my experiment was inconclusive. Based on the data I collected I cannot confirm that my hypothesis was indeed correct. Although, I followed the experiment the best I could there were too many variables that may have prevented the experiment from showing consistent results. When you look at my data collection chart and graph you can see there are not regular patterns evolving from the 7 trial experiments I performed.
Ideas on why I did not prove my hypothesis to be true:
- On Day 2 I switched to a different bottle of food coloring. Did that alter the experiment?
- When removing the divider cards were the jars bumped a little possibly skewing the results?
- It is somewhat subjective per person when the 2 jars from each set actually appear to be mixed.
- I decided to add 10 drops of food coloring on Day 2 to see if that would help me see the mixing process better. Did that make a difference in the results?
- The glass jars had some reflection and refraction occurring depending on which angle you stood and looked at them. Did that make a difference?
- Both the hot and cold water were taken from the kitchen sink, however, the room temperature water was taking from the Reverse Osmosis Water Filter System. Did that have an impact on my experiment?
- I did not wait very long between stacking the 2 jars and removing the divider card. Was I pulling the card too soon and the water molecules were still moving too much from stacking the jars to give accurate results?
Future Work
- In future experiments I would like to try a variety of different tests to see which would result in the experiment matching with my hypothesis statement.
- Would a horizontal container with a divider instead of a vertical one work better?
- A non-rounded container may have less refraction issues.
- The use of a color chart may help eliminate the subjectiveness of when the 2 jars are indeed mixed completely.
- It may be better to wait longer for the water to stop moving once set up before pulling the divider card, however, will waiting cause it to cool too much? It would be interesting to see the results.
- There are a lot of things I could change, retest, and alter to see if I could produce the results outlined in my hypothesis.
*Research bibliography and other references are available upon request. We didn’t include all the information in her journal to save a little space, but are happy to share if you wish to have it.
School: Family STEM Activity Night
STEM Club team members getting ready to speak to family, friends, and school faculty.
On Family STEM Activity Night all students and families were invited to participate in dinner, activities, and a STEM Club presentation. Both of our girls spoke in front of all the school faculty, family, and friends that were at the event. So proud of their courage and willingness to speak in front of so many people. They did fantastic at the robotic competitions and speaking at the event.
Karlie speaking. Brina spoke too, but we didn’t get a clear picture of her.
Our little super heroes!
Karlie getting ready to test her balloon rocket.
Mrs. Williams (Brina’s 4th grade homeroom teacher) helping Brina put her balloon on the string so she can race it.
Mr. Moore (one of the STEM Club coaches) timing Brina’s balloon as it zips down the string to the target.
Brina making her container for her egg drop. You got 1 containers and could use 2 items. She picked bubble wrap and yellow feathers!
Karlie picked cotton balls and sponges for her egg drop container!
There goes Karlie’s!
Brina getting ready to watch her egg drop. The girls were the first ones to not have their eggs break on the concrete (almost 40 people went in front of them)!
Jake met us at the school. He was great at building the tower out of spaghetti noodles and marshmallows. They were given a specific amount of dry spaghetti noodles and marshmallows to see how high of tower they could build. They had one of the highest towers when we left the room.
Measuring the tower! It was leaning a little, but could stand on it’s own without assistance!
Our spaghetti noodle and marshmallow tower design!
At the end of the night the school held a drawing for all the people that came. We had the grand prize ticket – an Amazon Kindle! The kindle has already been proven valuable on our last couple of road trips. Instead of bringing extra books they can read a lot of books that we downloaded on the Kindle. It’s been a nice item to have for the kids. They are very lucky girls!
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week was a whirlwind of activity. The girls now only have three more weeks of school. I am looking forward to spending some extra time with them this summer. We are getting closer to finalizing our summer plans. It will be fun to catch up with family and friends over the summer break. I had great intentions last week, but somehow little things took priority over some of the items on my list. Part of the problem is that we haven’t had a full weekend at home to get stuff done in several weeks. I love this time of year with all the celebrations and fun activities, but it does effect productivity. Hoping that I will get some of these ones tackled soon before our upcoming 3 day Memorial Holiday Weekend! Here are my goals for this week:
Last week’s goals
Family Goals
- Finish reading Boxcar Children’s Blue Bay Mystery (Boxcar Children Series #6) by Gertrude Chandler Warner to the kids – were getting closer to the end, we had a bunch of library books we were trying to finish reading first
Plan one special activity with the family– we went to Hollywild (more on that later this week)Play a Game with the KidsPrepare for Upcoming Spring EventsSpend time Monday –Friday helping the kids with HomeworkAttend After School ActivitiesLunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night beforePrep for upcoming Family Adventure(s)- Prep & Figure out Schedule for upcoming Summer Break – getting closer to getting the details worked out
- Ride Bikes with the Kids – we didn’t get this done with everything going on
Work on special projects with the kidsAttend Cousins Baby ShowerKids glasses fixed– finally fixed after 4 trips to the eye doctorKids orthodontist appointment
Personal Goals
Drink 8 glasses of water each dayContinue my YouVersion plan(s)– I am doing it every day, but for some reason it won’t update it anymore- Keep up with my FitBit Goals – I was a little short this week, hoping to do better this week!
Go to my Doctor Appointments Scheduled this weekUpdate Counting My Blessings and Other journal entries daily
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week- Clean House (Focus – All Winter Clothes Pulled out of Closets & Dressers and Put into the Attic) – have a little more to do
- Organize Chaos (Focus – Laundry Room) – I got started….
- Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Deck Cleaned & Prepped) – hoping to get this completed this weekend
- Pet Care (Focus – Mix Extra Vitamins in Goat Food) – some are done, but need Jake’s help on the other vitamin
Repairs – (Focus – Pick Up Replacement Lightbulbs)– few have been replaced, but need to pick up a few more
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog postsRespond to Inquiry – Business Relation EmailsKeep up with the day to day items that need my attention- Work completed for clients – I have 2 more projects to wrap up this week
Prep, plan, and organize content for upcoming summer months while the kids are out of school
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Payoff the Car – working on it
- Payoff Medical Bills – working on it
- Payoff Other Outstanding Debt – (replacement microwave, refrigerator, hot water heater, bed, HVAC unit, and other debt) – working on it
Pay Bills & File PaperworkGo grocery shopping one time to one store this week and stay within budget
My goals for the upcoming week
Family Goals
- Finish reading Boxcar Children’s Blue Bay Mystery (Boxcar Children Series #6) by Gertrude Chandler Warner to the kids
- Plan one special activity with the family
- Play a Game with the Kids
- Prepare for Upcoming Spring Events
- Spend time Monday –Friday helping the kids with Homework
- Attend After School Activities
- Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
- Prep for upcoming Family Adventure(s)
- Prep & Figure out Schedule for upcoming Summer Break
- Ride Bikes with the Kids
- Work on special projects with the kids
- Attend Science Fair Project Presentations
- Annual Pest / Termite Inspection Completed
- Kids orthodontist appointment
- STEM Club Meeting
- Spend extra time with the Family over the Memorial Holiday Weekend
- Finish sending out the remaining Graduation Cards
Personal Goals
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Continue my YouVersion plan(s)
- Keep up with my FitBit Goals
- Go to my Doctor Appointments Scheduled this week
- Update Counting My Blessings and Other journal entries daily
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
- Clean House (Focus – All Winter Clothes Pulled out of Closets & Dressers and Put into the Attic)
- Organize Chaos (Focus – Laundry Room)
- Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Deck Cleaned & Prepped)
- Pet Care (Focus – Mix Extra Vitamins in Goat Food)
- Repairs – (Focus – Take Slide Off Jungle Gym)
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Respond to Inquiry – Business Relation Emails
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
- Work completed for clients
- Prep, plan, and organize content for upcoming summer months while the kids are out of school
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Payoff the Car
- Payoff Medical Bills
- Payoff Other Outstanding Debt – (replacement microwave, refrigerator, hot water heater, bed, HVAC unit, and other debt)
- Pay Bills & File Paperwork
- Go grocery shopping one time to one store this week and stay within budget
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results.
