Family
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
It was great to have Jake back home again last week! Although, I didn’t get everything done I hoped (do we ever get caught up) I was able to make progress in the right direction. Hoping to make some more progress this week.
Last week’s goals
- Read Imagination Station: Showdown with the Shepherd by Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker (Book 5)
Plan one special Activity with the FamilyPlay a board gameLunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night beforeDaily School Activities & Homework CompletedAttend After School ActivitiesSchedule dentist appointments for (Jake & Bridgette)– Jake’s already gone to his and mine’s next week- Schedule eye appointment for Bridgette – didn’t get to this one
Personal Goals
Exercise at least 5 days this weekDrink 8 glasses of water each dayContinue my YouVersion plan(s)- Finish reading Overcoming Dyslexia by M.D. Sally Shaywitz (someone gave me this to read) – getting closer to being done!
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned out for the weekPay all upcoming billsWork on Spring Cleaning- Get paperwork signed for new Home & Auto Insurance Policies – almost completed
- Remove remaining leaves from the lawn – didn’t get to it
- Clean up the sticks and trees that have fallen & had been cut down – other items took priority this weekend
- Reseal Jungle Gym & Swing – it rained
- Give Skipper a bath – decided to wait since it rained
- Treat the lawn – didn’t want to treat it since it was going to rain
Work on the deck– still have more to do but made progress this past week
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog postsKeep up with the day to day items that need my attentionWork completed for clients
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or LunchWrite and Send Out Community Group Email
Financial Goals
- Groceries $40 for 4 – went over budget
- Payoff the Van – hoping to make an extra payment
- Pay medical bills in full – making payments
My goals for the upcoming week
Family Goals
- Read Imagination Station: Showdown with the Shepherd by Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker (Book 5)
- Plan one special Activity with the Family
- Play a board game
- Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
- Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
- Attend After School Activities
- Bridgette’s dentist appointment
- Schedule eye appointment for Bridgette
Personal Goals
- Exercise at least 5 days this week
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Continue my YouVersion plan(s)
- Finish reading Overcoming Dyslexia by M.D. Sally Shaywitz
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
- Pay all upcoming bills
- Get paperwork signed for new Home & Auto Insurance Policies
- Remove remaining leaves from the lawn
- Clean up the sticks and trees that have fallen & had been cut down
- Reseal Jungle Gym & Swing
- Give Skipper a bath
- Work on the deck
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
- Work completed for clients
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- Write and Send Out Community Group Email
Financial Goals
- Payoff the Vehicles
- Pay medical bills in full
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.
- Read Imagination Station: Showdown with the Shepherd by Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker (Book 5)
A Mother’s Job Description…
A Sandwich Container & Dry Erase Marker
The best part about packing a lunch for my husband and kids is I get to sneak in a note occasionally. These sandwich containers are great because I can write on them with dry erase markers, put them in the lunch box, and erase them before washing them once they are back home at the end of the day. If you are looking for a super simple way to “send some love” and remind your family members how much you love them try writing in a dry erase marker on their sandwich container and see what they say about it.
Roper Mountain Science Center
Holding a snake
The girls always love going to Roper Mountain Science Center. They have second Saturday themed events that are fun for the whole family with a lot of educational information. The animals are always a great hit with our kids. For more information about Roper Mountain Science Center, the upcoming second Saturday events, or activities please check out Roper Mountain Science Center’s website.
What do you think she is holding? If you guessed baby mouse you are correct!
So soft! Chinchilla!
Karlie trying to play one of the games
Brina and Karlie having fun!
Adding A Little Something Extra
Smile sandwich maker
I picked up this sandwich imprinter at the Dollar Tree at the beginning of this school year. The girls love getting surprises in their lunch boxes. Usually they make their lunches, but occasionally I will make them for them if it has been a busy day or to give them a break.
When I make their school lunches I always try to add in something special. Sometimes after their in bed I will double check their lunches to make sure they packed everything they need and add a little something extra to it. It could be a note, an special snack, a imprinted sandwich, or something else. They always enjoy discovering the something “extra” in their lunches.
I have used these sandwich imprints many times over the past few months. It is simple and easy, yet the kids love it. All you have to do is make the sandwich, imprint the bread, and pack it into their lunch. It only takes a few seconds, but it is worth it because the kids enjoy it so much.
A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is always better with a smile!
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week was busier than normal while Jake was out of town the whole week at a conference. I am so glad to have him back home again! It was a rainy weekend, but thankful to have some time together with the family. I was able to get caught up on a few projects last week too.
Last week’s goals
Family Goals
Read Imagination Station: Revenge of a Red Knight by Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker (Book 4)
Plan one special Activity with the Family- Play a board game – we didn’t play a board game but we did a contest and game outside together including an obstacle course designed and laid out by the girls
Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night beforeDaily School Activities & Homework CompletedAttend After School ActivitiesSchedule May Volunteer Dates- Schedule dentist appointments for (Jake & Bridgette)
- Schedule eye appointment for Bridgette
Personal Goals
- Exercise at least 5 days this week – I almost did it (it was 4 days this week)!
Drink 8 glasses of water each dayContinue my YouVersion plan(s)– caught up and current once again!- Finish reading Overcoming Dyslexia by M.D. Sally Shaywitz (someone gave me this to read) – reading through it!
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned out for the weekPay all upcoming billsWork on Spring CleaningGet insurance quotes & make a decision on Home & Auto Insurance Policies– got the quotes and made the decision just need to sign the paperwork this week- Remove remaining leaves from the lawn – it rained this weekend so we’ll have to wait to do the leaves next week
- Clean up the sticks and trees that have fallen & had been cut down – since it rained we are waiting on this project
- Reseal Jungle Gym & Swing – the rain delayed this weekend project
- Give Skipper a bath – didn’t give Skipper a bath because of the rainy week and mud
- Treat the lawn – waiting until a non-rainy weekend
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog postsKeep up with the day to day items that need my attentionWork completed for clientsSchedule May work dates
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or LunchWrite and Send Out Community Group EmailSend out the Alms & Legs Meeting Time and Place
Financial Goals
- Groceries $40 for 4 – went a little over on the grocery budget this week
- Payoff the Van – made a payment and included a little extra the first part of the week
- Pay medical bills in full – continuing to make payments
My goals for the upcoming week
Family Goals
- Read Imagination Station: Showdown with the Shepherd by Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker (Book 5)
- Plan one special Activity with the Family
- Play a board game
- Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
- Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
- Attend After School Activities
- Schedule dentist appointments for (Jake & Bridgette)
- Schedule eye appointment for Bridgette
Personal Goals
- Exercise at least 5 days this week
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Continue my YouVersion plan(s)
- Finish reading Overcoming Dyslexia by M.D. Sally Shaywitz (someone gave me this to read)
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
- Pay all upcoming bills
- Work on Spring Cleaning
- Get paperwork signed for new Home & Auto Insurance Policies
- Remove remaining leaves from the lawn
- Clean up the sticks and trees that have fallen & had been cut down
- Reseal Jungle Gym & Swing
- Give Skipper a bath
- Treat the lawn
- Work on the deck
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
- Work completed for clients
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- Write and Send Out Community Group Email
Financial Goals
- Groceries $40 for 4
- Payoff the Van
- Pay medical bills in full
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.
These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
I finished reading These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder to the girls recently. They have really enjoyed reading this series together; These Happy Golden Years is the eighth book in the series. The only thing they are disappointed about is that we only have one book left and it is a short one.
In this book Laura Ingalls gets her first teaching job, at the age of fifteen, in a school twelve miles away from home. Since it is winter time she will not be able to live at home while she is teaching. She wants to work to help pay for her sister Mary’s tuition at the college for the blind, but the place she is boarding while teaching is unpleasant and she is very homesick. The time spent in another family’s home makes Laura appreciate her Pa, Ma, and sisters even more. Laura begins to look forward to hearing Almanzo Wilder’s sleigh bells ringing as he arrives to pick her up from school on Fridays and take her home so she can spend time with her family. While Laura was not teaching she was spending time with family and friends, studying, taking singing lessons, and going for rides in Almanzo’s new buggy. It is in this book Laura’s friendship with Almanzo blossoms into love.
I am so excited that the girls have loved this series as much as I did as a kid. It has been a lot of fun reading through these books (and others) with them. They look forward everyday to reading the next chapter. Thankful for some time to spend enjoying the simple things in life with my girls.
Greenville Drive Baseball Game & Fireworks
Greenville Drive Baseball Game
The other night as we were talking about summer the girls brought up the Greenville Drive and how much fun they had going to the games. There is just something about watching a game in person that makes it extra fun. It’s a great family summer activity too. Plus, if you time it right on certain nights they do fireworks (that is always a big highlight for our kids)! 🙂
We try to go to at least once (maybe more) to a Greenville Drive Baseball game each summer. Also, the past two summers the girls have earned rewards for doing the summer reading program through the local library which includes free tickets to a Greenville Drive game. Way to go girls!
As I was thinking about our conversation I came across some pictures of our last Greenville Drive Game and thought it was a good time to share. If your starting to think about summer break and planning some fun activities for your kids you should check into your local sports teams! For those of you who live near Greenville, SC you can check out the Greenville Drive’s 2013 Schedule online.
Brina and Karlie pausing for a brief moment from watching the game so I could snap a picture.
Fireworks after the Greenville Drive game are always a hit!
Fun Edible Snacks
The girls love it when we put together a snack with a silly edible face. Usually after Awana on Sunday evening while they are taking their baths I will get a small snack for them to eat before heading to bed. I don’t want to give them something too heavy or unhealthy so there is usually a mix of fruits and veggies. On this particular silly face they had:
- Fresh Watermelon Slices
- Fresh Honeydew Slices
- Orange Pear Tomato
- Two Ritz Crackers
- Two Slices of Pepperoni
- Two Whole Cashews
P&G Everyday Effect Movement – 10 Ways We Can Make A Positive Impact
With the celebration of Earth Day fresh on our minds our family has been thinking about ways of how we can be more intentional in our efforts to conserve. While we do our best to recycle we are not always very consistent about doing it. Making small changes as a family can save a lot over the course of a year.
P&G Everyday Effect Program is brought to you by P&G and SheSpeaks! P&G believes the most effective changes start at home first by changing the way we think and making small steps to improve our lives by reducing, reusing, recycling, conserving and more. Here are 10 specific ways our family has been working on changing so we can make a positive impact:
Adjust the Thermostat
By adjusting the thermostat only a degree or two you could save potentially several hundred dollars over the course of a year. Also, when you travel, like we did in April for the girls Spring Break, make sure to adjust the thermostat even more. If we are not going to be home we turn it up or down (depending on the season) as much as possible so that the HVAC unit is not working over time for an empty house. Yes, we have come home to the house at about 90 degrees or in the high 40s but we have also noticed a significant decrease in our power bills those months too! 🙂
Picking Up & Recycling Litter
When it rains all the water from the street next to us runs down into the creek into our backyard. After every rain storm we usually have to pick up a variety of trash that was litter on the side of the road. One of the ways we decided to help is by making it a point to recycle any of the items we pick up instead of just throwing them away. We have an aluminum can crusher in our garage which is one of the kids chores to sort and crush any cans that we have for that week. Every couple months or so we take all the cans the kids have crushed to a salvage yard nearby and get some cash for the cans they have saved.
Using Reusable Water Bottles & Re-purposing Disposable Plastic Water Bottles Prior to Recycling
Our family typically has at least a few disposable plastic water bottles in our cars or lunches or a 24 pack in the house to grab quickly. We are trying to use more reusable water bottles to take to school or work lunches and other places so we are not being wasteful. If we get a plastic water bottle from an event we are making a point to reuse it for something fun (like the snack container pictured above or another craft) before putting it in the recycling bin instead of just throwing into the nearest trash can.
Water Conservative Shower Head & Shorter Showers
Sometimes we tend to take longer showers than necessary in our house. While the occasional long shower doesn’t seem like a lot just cutting it back a few minutes can help us conserve a lot of water for a family of four! We have put conservative shower heads in our showers so there is not as much water coming out as we take our showers which helps us save a little bit more.
Washing Our Laundry in Cool Water & Air Drying Our Laundry
Choosing to wash the laundry in cool water instead of warm or hot can help conserve energy too. Also, when we allow items to air or line dry that saves energy on the drying cycle. We have been more intentional about picking out certain items that would air dry nicely.
Turn Off the Water while Brushing Our Teeth
This is one that we have been working on at our house for a long time. For some reason it seems like it is just so much work to turn off the water while brushing our teeth. If we assume that all four of us brush our teeth for 2 minutes (recommended time) at least twice a day and the average bathroom faucet uses approximately 2 gallons of water per minute our family alone is using over 30 gallons of water a day just to brush our teeth! Yikes! If we took the extra second to turn off the water then to turn it back on only to rinse we could easily cut that amount in half or more.
Grow Our Own Produce & Compost
We make it a point to grow at least some of our produce every year. Usually we have a huge garden with surplus that we are able to share with family, friends, neighbors, and people from church. We only water our garden when necessary and it is on a timer to prevent us from wasting the extra water. This year we are doing a smaller garden because of several big events coming up but we are so looking forward to eating our juicy strawberries and any other plants we put into the garden this summer! If you don’t want to grow your own garden you can buy produce from your local farmers market. One of the big benefits of growing your own garden or eating a lot of produce is you have the opportunity recycle and make great compost for future gardens!
Turning Off the Lights
Here is another one that it seems like we have worked on for a long time especially with the kids. They tend to bounce from room to room without even thinking about turning off the lights. We have talked in depth about the importance of turning off the lights so we don’t waste extra energy. Thankfully, the kids seem to be getting better with this one now too (although they have forgetful moments)!
Pack Our Own Lunches Instead of Eating Out
We have made a point of packing our own lunches for work and school. It saves money by not eating out all the time plus we can use reusable sandwich and other containers as well as a lunch box instead of getting disposable wrappers and containers from restaurants or fast food. I have noticed during the busy months I tend to be a little more relaxed on this one so we pulled ourselves together and stuck to doing this for most of the year so far and plan to continue it. The food that we pack is much healthier, offers more variety, and is packed in more earth friendly containers.
Only Run the Dishwasher When it is Full
I have been known to run the dishwasher half full especially if it seems to be a little “stinky” smelling! This past month we have been more intentional on how we load the dishwasher and only running it once it is completely full.
Even though you are only one family “everyday effect” can make a huge difference over time. We only listed a handful of easy ways to conserve water, energy, power, take care of our environment and more, get together with your family and come up with a few more creative ways you can make a difference!
More about the EverydayEffect movement can be found:
A special thanks to SheSpeaks and P&G for initiating the Everyday Effect Program and sponsoring this post. Any specific program information was provided by P&G and SheSpeaks, however, the opinions expressed in this post are our own.