Family Fun
Book: “More Than Enough” by Dave Ramsey
On a recent trip I read the book More Than Enough by Dave Ramsey. I have read a couple other of Dave’s books and have enjoyed them. This book is geared more towards self improvement and motivation. Dave emphasizes the importance of being content and living an ethical life. While this book does discuss money it’s primary focus is how finances relates to your spouse, children, work and every other area of your life. The book makes us pause and reflect on our character, values, discipline, and how we interact with those around us. Some of the areas discussed:
- Discipline
- Goal Setting
- Values
- Accountability
- Patience
- Generosity (both time & resources)
Even though this book was a little different from Total Money Makeover I believe it contains some key components to having a successful life. Having all the money in the world isn’t much if we are not content or don’t have someone to share it with. As with anything we can find ourselves being too extreme when it comes to finances (too frugal or too loose with money). I like how he ties it all together and builds on the importance of family, goal setting, values, generosity, and finding contentment beyond our finances.
Also, included at the end of each chapter in this book are Thoughts from Sharon which is a paragraph or two from Dave’s wife and her insights regarding the topic that was discussed. In the appendix of the book there are several financial worksheets that you can use to help you get started with your finances.
Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Ring
My cousin makes an awesome Buffalo Chicken dip that our entire family loves so when I saw this recipe on Jayesel it looked similar but wrapped in crescent rolls and I had to try it! I tweaked the recipe a little bit, added shredded cheese, and it turned out really well. The first time I made it I took it to a get together and it was a huge hit. It is a delicious recipe that we have added to our collection. This is a great meal or can be used as an appetizer.
Buffalo Chicken Ring
- 8 oz Cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 packet Ranch Powder Mix
- 2 tablespoon Buffalo Hot Sauce
- 2 Chicken Breasts, cooked and shredded
- 2 packages Crescent Rolls
- 1 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheet and spread the unrolled crescent rolls out leaving a small circle in the middle. Mix chicken and buffalo sauce to taste. In separate bowl, mix softened cream cheese, 1 cup cheddar cheese, and ranch packet together. Mix all ingredients together. Scoop the mixture by the spoonful onto the crescent rolls. Fold the crescent rolls over the mixture to create a ring shape. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese over the top of the ring. Bake for 15 minutes or until the crescent rolls are brown. You can serve with buffalo hot sauce and ranch dressing.
Travel & Vacation: Shilparamam Park in Hyderabad, India
Entrance to Shilparamam Park. It was pretty close to where Jake was staying in Hyderabad, India.
Water fountain in the park
Hyderabad’s version of the duck boats! Not sure I would want to go splashing around in the water though.
Not sure about the wiring in the park! This was a pretty common sight in the various places we visited. I am sure Jake’s cousin who is an electrician would have something to say about this one, ha!
Jake patiently waiting on the bridge for me to catch up!
Peaceful pond full of duck boats looks so pretty.
Cow with its horns painted blue and all decked up pulling a cart with items they plan to sell at the market place
Huge elephant statue you walk under to get to another part of the park.
This was interesting…..in the park they had a section which was a museum that told some of the history of Hyderabad, India and trades found in the area but they did it using all props.
Sankranthi Festival Display – outside props that were part of the museum portion of the park. I loved the bamboo fence, it was really pretty!
The largest patch of green grass I saw in Hyderabad! It was a field for concerts inside the park. Grass was not something you seen a lot of in the part of town where we were located. I bet the cows, goats, and other livestock I seen on the streets going through trash to find something to eat would have loved a chance to nibble on this grass!
Cool waterfall in the park….the smell reminded me of Reedy River at Falls Parks. Beautiful but not ideal swimming or splashing around in water.
Watching a group of people in the park play a party game. It kind of looked similar to “Duck, Duck, Goose” or “Musical Chairs” They were having a lot of fun!
Elephant fountain in the park. The bottom row of fountains are elephants spraying out water through their noses. We were told that elephants were a symbol of “good luck” so you see them often. Although we have been told various stories as to why they are good luck and what type of luck, not sure which is accurate or if there are just several stories that go along with the elephant symbol.
“Living Rock Gallery” inside the park. The rocks have plaques on them explaining their symbolizism and place of honor. I have heard of rock gardens but never a living rock garden so it was something different that I haven’t seen before.
If you pause for even a split second or happen to look in the general direction of someone’s shop they will rush out to greet you and try to get you to look at the items they have for sale. This guy was trying to get us to buy his fabric. They did not hestitate to sale you anything from rugs, to flowers, pottery, clothes, knick knacks, bangles, spices, and much more! Most people were ok when you said “No, thank you” but there were a few who would literally follow you around asking you to look, touch, and buy their items. You could spend an entire day going from shop to shop and having them sell you their goods if you wanted to, thankfully I am not a big shopper and Jake had already purchased a couple items for the kids before I arrived.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Family Outings: Ice Skating
Karlie and Brina ice skating for the first time with Daddy!
There is a local ice skating rink in our town that is open all year. The first time the girls went ice skating was for a friends birthday party and they had a blast! Even though ice skating traditionally is a “winter” sport it is a wonderful way to spend a couple hours cooling off during the heat of the summer too! If you look around you can often find tickets to your local ice skating rink as well. Who knows you may even run into a friend or two (we have) which makes it even more fun!
Here are some pictures from another fun ice skating adventure!
Brina skating backwards?! No just turning around to look at Mommy
Karlie getting around on her own….with a little help from the wall!
Daddy pushing his girls around the ice skating rink
Daddy and Brina skating
Mommy pushing Karlie around the ice rink!
Family Activities: Roller Blade Fun in the Basement
Karlie roller blading downstairs….I wonder if she’ll do the splits!
It was hilarious watching as the girls started to learn how to roller blade. Roller blading is a fun indoor activity both on the cold winter or hot summer days! The first few times we had them try out the roller blades on the carpet to make sure they could at least keep themselves upright. It was a little easier to move on the tile but also much easier to fall down too. They had plenty of falls, splits, and crashes that first time but eventually started figuring out how to move so they could stay upright.
Brina working on her roller blading, much more serious and focused on keeping her roller blades together.
As with any new skill your learning you may “crash”! Karlie giggling about her fall.
Brina getting back up after one of her crashes!
Someone’s having too much fun…..Karlie trying to scare me as she coasts across the room on her roller blades
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Jake had to travel last week for work so we tagged along with him since the girls were out of school. We spent a fun week in Charleston swimming, playing, exploring, reading, and enjoying some extra time together. We even made it to the beach which was a special treat! Hopefully this week I will have a chance to get back up to speed with my goals and household obligations. The pets were happy to see us come home too. You will notice that some of my goals have shifted to reflect my priorities over the summer, it is more important to me to spend time with my family while the girls are on summer break then to ignore them so I can meet all my other goals. Yes, I will continue moving forward with those goals as well but my highest priority the next couple months will be family since we have more time together.
Last week’s goals:
Family Goals
Connect with each family member at least once a dayEnjoy time doing one fun activity with the girls every day– spent a lot of time at parks, swimming, and spending time together in CharlestonRead at least one book to the girls every dayListen to the girls read at least one book to me or Jake every day– the girls read through a whole bunch of books at parks, in the hotel and in the car, thrilled to see them get even more excited about readingSpend some extra time catching up with family and friendsFinish 1/3 of the Summer Reading ProgramSpend time at the pool playing with the kids
Personal Goals
Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week– walked with the girls in the parks and went swimming everydaySpend quality time with my kids & Jake– spent time together in CharlestonFinish reading Am I Messing Up My Kids by Lysa TerKeurst- Finish reading More Than Enough by Dave Ramsey – started it
Home Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day- Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week – the dinner menu was based off of Jake’s schedule and whatever coupons we could find for the Charleston area so not every dinner was planned with us being out of town (
but every lunch was planned) Plan Summer Organizational SchedulePay all upcoming bills
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention – did as much as I could remotely
- 1o minutes a day Cleaning / Organizing my desk – wasn’t able to do this since I was in Charleston
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch- Email the updated schedule to our Community Group – didn’t get the email out but prayed for and tried to connect with each girl in our group
Financial Goals
Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4– actually stayed under with us being out of town, just brought items from home for some of our lunches, dinner, and snacks (breakfast was included with the hotel)- Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses – temporarily on hold as we save for another family car
- Save money for another vehicle to replace the one that was totaled – working on it
- Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes – on hold while until we get another car
My goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Read at least one book or a chapter in a book to the girls every day
- Listen to the girls read at least one book to me or Jake every day
- Participate in at least 2 fun Summer Activities with the Kids
- Take the girls to Vacation Bible School – VBS
- Get to the 1/4 Goal Mark (500 Hours) on the Girls “Swim Into Reading” Summer Reading Goal (total 2,000 Reading Hours)
- Go to the library with the kids
- Go on a Date Night with Jake
Personal Goals
- Exercise – at least 5 days this week
- Finish reading More Than Enough by Dave Ramsey
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week
- Start My Summer Organizational Schedule
- Pay all upcoming bills
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
- 1o minutes a day Cleaning / Organizing my desk
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- Email the updated schedule to our Community Group
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses
- Save money for another vehicle to replace the one that was totaled
- Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes
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
Book: Just Me and My Puppy by Mercer Mayer
Brina loves animals….really any kind of animals dogs, cats, horses, goats, sheep……anything. As she continues to pick out some of her own books to read to me I have started to notice a common theme, pretty much all of them are about an animal. She has read Just Me and my Puppy by Mercer Mayer several times over the past two weeks. The girls have always enjoyed “Little Critter” and all the stories he is in but this one has been a favorite especially for Brina.
The story is about “Little Critter” and his new puppy. It goes through all the different activities Little Critter does to take care of his new pet including feeding and training the puppy. I like that it shows how he is taking responsibility even if everything doesn’t go perfectly. The book makes the kids laugh and is silly but captivates their attention at the same time. They enjoy reading it on their own or to me. If you have a child who enjoys puppies this would be a fun one to read with them.
Fresh & Healthy: Our Garden – Beans, Peas, and Tomatoes….Oh My!
Purple Beans, Green Beans, Snow Peas, Red Cherry Tomatoes, and Orange Cherry Tomatoes
The garden is starting to take off and we are getting more of a variety of color as well as veggies. It is so nice having fresh garden produce in the fridge again! I saw more colors popping out this week too. Our family was able to pick purple beans, green beans, orange cherry tomatoes, red cherry tomatoes and snow peas. There’s nothing like eating a vegetable just picked moments before from the garden. It has been great having these for snacks and meals. I am hoping to see a lot more produce ready to be eaten in the next few weeks!a
While we are out of town the people watching the house and animals gets to pick what they need / want from the garden. Hopefully they’ll be able to get a lot of great food for their family too. It is my prayer that our garden will not only be a delicious treat for our family but a blessing to others as well.
What are you eating out of your garden this week?
Teaching Our Children: Is it Really Clean?
The older the girls get the more responsibilities they are taking on around the house. One of the cleaning projects they have tackled this year (and have done really well with it) is their bathroom. To get them started I purchased a small bucket at Dollar Tree, put sponges, rags,scrub brush, and other cleaning supplies into it. Since they are still pretty young I didn’t want them using any harsh chemicals for cleaning so I put in a box of baking soda. Whenever they clean their bathroom they put a little bit of baking soda into a bowl, add some white vinegar, and a little bit of water which gives them a cleaning solution that works well but isn’t harsh on their skin.
The other day as I was finishing up some projects and cooking dinner I noticed this sign posted on the outside of the girls bathroom door “cleaning do not enter”. It made me laugh that they would think to hang a sign! I was curious about what they were doing in there with the door was shut but I could hear the conversation going on inside the bathroom which made me just let them be.
“Do you think I scrubbed the sink good enough?”
“Where’s the blue sponge?”
“This is so nasty!”
After listening for a couple minutes I decided to let them clean in peace and recheck in a few minutes. They seemed to have it under control. When I went back later to check on the bathroom I was pretty impressed at how well they were cleaned it. I went over the basic rules and system with them once several months ago but for the most part they do the bathroom all on their own.
I think it’s great that they have practice cleaning their bathroom as well as realize the amount of time and energy it takes to keep the house clean. Sure they don’t always do everything perfect but every time they do it they get better. Lately there are very few things I have to correct after they have finished cleaning the bathroom. I am thankful for the girls willingness to help. Many times they will volunteer to clean the bathroom before I ask them to do it which is even better.
Creative Kids: The Best Part About a Cardboard Box
The best part about a cardboard box……is playing with it after its been emptied!
Karlie quite proud of her box!
Who ever said you needed to give kids a bunch of toys? Half the time if they have a box they are content to play for hours. Or is it just my kids?! When the girls spot a particularly big box come through our front door they are almost more concerned with whether or not they will get to play with the box after it’s been emptied. If it was up to them they would confiscate every box that came into the house for their box creations, however, I have informed them that only large boxes are available for creative redesign! This is a great rainy day craft if you have a big box already hanging around!
How many monkeys can fit into this box?
This is just after we told them that they could play with the boxes for a few days before they get thrown away. They are almost giddy with excitement as they come up with creative ideas on how to play with this box. They have built houses, tunnels, forts, barns, castles, cars, rockets, and more out of recycled boxes. I am positive that we would have house full of box creations if I didn’t get rid of them myself because the girls have so much fun playing.
I see someone peeking!
It is neat seeing them have fun and get creative over something as simple as a box. They usually color, sometimes tape, reshape and make the box into a “treasured” item. This is the planning phase of the box give it a few more days or a couple of weeks (if I can handle tripping over it for that long) and it will be all decked out! Do you let your kids play with the big boxes and what fun creations have they made with the boxes?
