Family Activities

  • 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

    1. Connect with each family member at least once a day
    2. Enjoy time doing one fun activity with the girls every day – spent a lot of time at parks, swimming, and spending time together in Charleston
    3. Read at least one book to the girls every day
    4. Listen 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 reading
    5. Spend some extra time catching up with family and friends
    6. Finish 1/3 of the Summer Reading Program
    7. Spend time at the pool playing with the kids

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – walked with the girls in the parks and went swimming everyday
    2. Spend quality time with my kids & Jake – spent time together in Charleston
    3. Finish reading  Am I Messing Up My Kids by Lysa TerKeurst
    4. Finish reading More Than Enough by Dave Ramsey – started it

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. 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)
    3. Plan Summer Organizational Schedule
    4. Pay all upcoming bills

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention – did as much as I could remotely
    3. 1o minutes a day Cleaning / Organizing my desk – wasn’t able to do this since I was in Charleston

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. 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

    1. 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)
    2. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses – temporarily on hold as we save for another family car
    3. Save money for another vehicle to replace the one that was totaled – working on it
    4. 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

    1. Read at least one book or a chapter in a book to the girls every day
    2. Listen to the girls read at least one book to me or Jake every day
    3. Participate in at least 2 fun Summer Activities with the Kids
    4. Take the girls to Vacation Bible School – VBS
    5. Get to the 1/4 Goal Mark (500 Hours) on the Girls “Swim Into Reading” Summer Reading Goal (total 2,000 Reading Hours)
    6. Go to the library with the kids
    7. Go on a Date Night with Jake

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – at least 5 days this week
    2. Finish reading More Than Enough by Dave Ramsey

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week
    3. Start My Summer Organizational Schedule
    4. Pay all upcoming bills

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. 1o minutes a day Cleaning / Organizing my desk

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Email the updated schedule to our Community Group

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses
    3. Save money for another vehicle to replace the one that was totaled
    4. 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

  • 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?

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    The girls are officially out of school and on summer break now we have two 2nd graders in our household!  I am super excited to spend some extra time with the kiddos and have a lot of fun activities planned.  This week didn’t go quite as planned….Jake got in an accident so I am a little behind on some of the goals and had to rearrange other ones but thankfully he is okay and healing well.

    Last week’s goals:

    Family Goals

    1. Connect with each family member at least once a day
    2. Final Prep for Summer Break
    3. Read at least one book to the girls every day
    4. Listen to the girls read at least one book to me or Jake every day
    5. Spend some extra time catching up with family and friends
    6. Confirm the Schedule / Flights for upcoming Family Reunion

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – didn’t get this one done
    2. Update my goals
    3. Finish reading  Am I Messing Up My Kids by Lysa TerKeurst – time was spent in other areas this past week

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week
    3. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up & cleaning the house

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. 1o minutes a day Cleaning / Organizing my desk

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Email the updated schedule to our Community Group – didn’t get the email out this week

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4 – went over budget again
    2. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses – still saving up
    3. Save money for upcoming trips – put on hold with the accident this past week
    4. Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes – temporarily put on hold with the accident

    My goals for the upcoming week:

    Family Goals

    1. Connect with each family member at least once a day
    2. Enjoy time doing one fun activity with the girls every day
    3. Read at least one book to the girls every day
    4. Listen to the girls read at least one book to me or Jake every day
    5. Spend some extra time catching up with family and friends
    6. Finish 1/3 of the Summer Reading Program
    7. Spend time at the pool playing with the kids

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
    2. Spend quality time with my kids & Jake
    3. Finish reading  Am I Messing Up My Kids by Lysa TerKeurst
    4. Finish reading More Than Enough by Dave Ramsey

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week
    3. Plan Summer Organizational Schedule
    4. Pay all upcoming bills

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. 1o minutes a day Cleaning / Organizing my desk

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Email the updated schedule to our Community Group

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses
    3. Save money for another vehicle to replace the one that was totaled
    4. 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

  • Creative Kids: Lego Fun

    Karlie’s Lego Rocket

    One of the best parts about legos is that pretty much all kids enjoy playing with them…..boys…..girls……toddlers (with the bigger legos) all the way up to grown ups.  It’s one of those toys you can have in the house and pretty much any kid (or kid at heart) will have fun playing with and building cool items.  Even though the girls are twins they have very different tastes when it comes to what they like which isn’t a problem when it comes to legos because they have all kinds of sets, styles, colors, and more.  I love watching the girls sit down, follow the directions and put the legos pieces together until they create a master piece.

    Brina’s Log Cabin

    Above are just two of the ones they have done over the past few months.  Karlie did the rocket one and Brina did the log cabin.  The neat part is the first time or two they put together their lego creations when they were younger we had to help almost every step of the way.  As they continue to put together different ones we have to help less and sometimes they’ll completely surprise us with a new design which is fun too.  I think learning to follow directions, using creativity, and skills are just a few benefits of playing with legos.  I have found the legos can keep our girls entertained for quite a long time too!  Do your kids enjoy playing with legos?  What was one of their recent creations?

  • Travel & Vacation: Charleston Trip

    Had to stop on one of the road trips because someone was getting car sick…..Daddy taking her for a walk to get some fresh air.  Poor kiddo!

    She hasn’t gotten car sick for quite awhile, but on one of our trips recently she started getting queasy.  Stopping for a little bit of fresh air for a few minutes seemed to do the trick.

    Found a cool tree house on Daniel’s Island, great place to play and have a picnic!

    Karlie having fun

    Hanging out at the turtle park

    Pool time!  Karlie holding her breath under the water!

    Brina hanging out under water

    Is it me or does the road seem to end in the sky?  Actually this is one of our favorite bridges near Daniel’s Island.

    Looking at the beautiful sunset from the bridge

    Karlie enjoying her blue rock candy treat

    Brina with a bright pink tongue

    Brina having fun

    Karlie splashing around

    Brina swimming under water

    Giving us game directions

    Karlie lining up her knee board

    Karlie spinning and having fun

    Brina’s ready to spin

    Brina having fun in the pool

    Brina going for the diving stick

    Karlie sitting at the edge of the pool chatting away

    Having fun in the pool

    Brina flying through the air

    Playing with Daddy in the pool

    Silly Karlie

    Brina shark is after me

    Karlie has a knack for losing teeth when we are traveling….once in an airport on a trip and this one at the hotel in Charleston (after eating an apple)

    Brina zooming down the slide

     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!

  • Bath Time Fun with H2Goo Gelli Baff

    Mom it feels like applesauce….  It was pretty funny watching the girls reaction to the H2Goo.

    I was able to get Gelli Baff from ThinkGeek with a coupon as a gift for the girls.  They had a blast playing in the water and Gelli Baff.  It has the consistency of applesauce and jello.  I got the hot pink color for the girls.

    Bathtub full of clean water ready to add the H2Goo and the kids

    Pouring the magic H2Goo into the tub. It will soak up 400 times its weight which turns the water into a colorful and gooey gel.  The girls wouldn’t get into the “goo” until it was mixed because they were a little unsure of what was going to happen.

    Scooping it up in the cup.  The H2Goo will not stain the kids, tub or towels.  When the kids were done playing all you had to do was add the dissolver powder and the goo converted back into regular pink bath water before draining.

    Hot Pink bath fun!  The girls had a blast splashing around and playing with the gelli bath.  It turned the water to hot pink gelatin.  You can see it on the legs.  The H2Goo is safe, non-toxic and makes the skin softer.

    Two sets of twizzle toes peeking out!  This was probably the longest bath the girls have ever taken (and they have taken some really long ones)!

    Pouring it into Daddy’s hand.  This stuff was so fascinating that even Jake and I had to check it out.  It was definitely a fun consistency.

    Pouring it on her leg.  They loved scooping it up on a cup and watching it slowly slide down their legs, arms or bathtub.

    It comes out kind of clumpy because it is thicker so it was fun stirring and pouring.

    I was able to get this from Think Geek below are more Gelli Baff details (also known as H2Goo or Squishy Baff Bath it has several names).

    Product Specifications

    • For Ages 5 and Up
    • Turns bath water into colorful gel for a tub full of fun
    • Special powder soaks up 400 times its weight
    • Won’t clog pipes, stain fixtures, linens, or kids
    • Safe and non-toxic – actually softens skin!
    • Includes 1 packet of goo, 1 packet of dissolver
    • One packet treats up to 20 gallons of water!
    • Choose: Red, Pink, Blue, or Green Goo
    • Packing might read Squishy Baff Bath Kit but it is the same as H2Goo

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    The girls were wrapping up their last full week of school so we had a lot of extra activities now we just need to get through the next few days and it will be summer break!  It was hard to get everything done last week with all the year end activities therefore I am hoping to catch up this week.   We have a lot of really great activities planned for this summer.  It will be fun to travel a little and catch up with some family and friends too.

    Last week’s goals:

    Family Goals

    1. Connect with each family member at least once a day
    2. Prep for Summer Break – I got their summer reading wall put up now need to finalize all the other little details
    3. Read at least one book to the girls every day – didn’t get a chance on Monday night it was packed full with KOH, 1 John Ministry – Homeless Dinner, Girls 1st Grade Program and Swimming Lessons
    4. Listen to the girls read at least one book to me or Jake every day – we missed Monday night but otherwise did well
    5. Attend the Girls First Grade Program
    6. Spend some extra time catching up with family and friends
    7. Swimming Lessons for the Kids
    8. Confirm the Schedule / Flights for upcoming Family Reunion – schedules confirmed just need to get flights arranged

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – getting closer
    2. Update my goals – didn’t get to it this past week
    3. Finish reading  Am I Messing Up My Kids by Lysa TerKeurst – I keep leaving the book in random places so getting behind
    4. Finish The Hunger Games by Susan Collins (recommended by several friends) – while the book captivated my attention I have a lot of mixed feelings about the book…..

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week
    3. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up & cleaning the house – had a couple days I let it go with all the activities going on this past week

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. 1o minutes a day Cleaning / Organizing my desk – I ended the week with a stack of papers that need my attention

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Email the updated praises, prayer requests, and schedule to our Community Group
    3. Feed & Serve Homeless – 1 John Ministry

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4 – so close but went over by $1.76
    2. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses – getting closer
    3. Put aside cash for upcoming trips – on hold momentarily
    4. Save money for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes – working on it

    My goals for the upcoming week:

    Family Goals

    1. Connect with each family member at least once a day
    2. Final Prep for Summer Break
    3. Read at least one book to the girls every day
    4. Listen to the girls read at least one book to me or Jake every day
    5. Spend some extra time catching up with family and friends
    6. Confirm the Schedule / Flights for upcoming Family Reunion

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
    2. Update my goals
    3. Finish reading  Am I Messing Up My Kids by Lysa TerKeurst

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week
    3. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up & cleaning the house

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. 1o minutes a day Cleaning / Organizing my desk

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Email the updated schedule to our Community Group

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses
    3. Save money for upcoming trips
    4. 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

  • Dinner Time – Change of Scenery

    Have you noticed that sometimes when you add a slight twist to a normal activity it can make it super special for the kids?  Occasionally we mixed things up a bit around our house just for fun.  Our girls don’t watch a lot of TV so when they do watch a movie or show it is a special treat for them.  We have found that after a busy week sometimes all you need to do is have a quiet evening with your family to unwind and relax.

    It has been a crazy few months around our house so Jake & I decided to make up some of the kids favorite foods, put them on their TV / travel plate and eat while watching a movie together.  The girls were super excited!  Typically, we stop what we are doing for a family meal but as a treat every couple of months we’ll switch it up a bit and eat in front of the TV.  While this meal may not be the most well balanced ones we have made it does have variety, it was simple to put together, we used up some items we had on hand, and most importantly the family enjoyed it.

    On the Menu:

    • Cheesy Noodles (as the girls call them) Mac & Cheese
    • Yogurt Stick
    • Canned Peaches
    • Fresh Clementine
    • Slices of Summer Sausage
    • Cashews

  • Travel & Vacation: Trip to the Pirate Park & Charleston Creamery

    Stopping to refuel…..so thankful the girls both travel so well!

    We have been on some long trips with our kids (over 40 hours of drive time) which makes us very thankful that they both love to travel.  They get excited when we tell them they will get to “sleep” in the van.  The girls love it when the road trip is more than 5 hours because that means Daddy will put in the DVD player for them to watch movies while we drive.   They stay entertained when we we take the 2 or 4 hour trips as well with books, games, music, and more.  It is always an adventure no matter where we go and the girls love exploring different areas as well as going back to our favorite parks or places we have visited in the past.   The pictures in this post are from our winter trip to Charleston, South Carolina.  Love seeing their smiles, watching them play, and thankful that they had a chance to relax for a few days.

     

    Karlie relaxing on the bench and blowing some bubbles.

    Brina checking out the pirate treasure chest full of sand at the “Pirate” Park on Daniel’s Island.

    Karlie (she is wearing the black shirt in the middle of the ship) is checking out the big sunken pirate ship

    Brina climbing the lighthouse at the pirate’s park

    Look out…..here comes Karlie!

    Look out BELOW!!!  I can hear Brina giggling as she comes zipping down the slide.

    Getting ice cream from their favorite ice cream store – Charleston Creamery!  In this picture Karlie is choosing her 1st topping.  After they select their ice cream flavors and toppings a robot puts it together for them.  The girls LOVE it!

    The robot is getting ready to make the ice cream.

    Mesmerized by the robot making the ice cream!

    Ta….Da……the ice cream treat is now ready to eat!  Thanks Robot! 🙂  The robot only serves soft serve ice cream but you can get one of their many homemade flavors in a cup, cone, or shake!

    Charleston Creamery has a place for the kids to sit and play with toys while you enjoy your treat too.  It’s a great family owned ice cream store.  It is one of the girls favorite places to visit while in the Charleston area.  For more information about their store, location, upcoming events, specials, or their newest flavor of ice cream you can find them on Facebook!

    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!

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    Our family was able to spend some time in Florida, visiting friends and seeing the area!  We got to go to Kennedy Space Center, Sea World, and Disney Magic Kingdom!  We had a blast visiting the amazing places and spending time with our friends.  Thankful for the awesome opportunities to create memories!

    Last week’s goals:

    Family Goals

    1. Connect with each family member at least once a day
    2. Prep for Summer Break – working on it 🙂
    3. Read at least one book to the girls every day – didn’t do this every day we were on vacation
    4. Listen to the girls read at least one book to me or Jake every day
    5. Plan & go on at least one family Adventure – went on a adventure to Kennedy Space Center, Sea World, and Disney soooo much fun!
    6. Spend some extra time catching up with family and friends

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – almost made it
    2. Review my upcoming goals
    3. Finish reading  Am I Messing Up My Kids by Lysa TerKeurst
    4. Finish reading No One to Call Me Home by Rev James J. Close

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Work on Spring / Deep Cleaning the House – work in progress
    3. Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week – didn’t get home until the middle of the week and with everything going on so didn’t get this done
    4. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. 1o minutes a day Cleaning / Organizing my desk
    4. Work on upcoming speaking engagement

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Be a blessing to a total stranger this week
    3. Email the updated praises, prayer requests, and schedule to our Community Group – emailed the updated schedule and information

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses – working on it
    3. Save money for upcoming trips – starting it
    4. Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes – work in progress
    5. Save money for upcoming home projects – on hold temporarily

    My goals for the upcoming week:

    Family Goals

    1. Connect with each family member at least once a day
    2. Prep for Summer Break
    3. Read at least one book to the girls every day
    4. Listen to the girls read at least one book to me or Jake every day
    5. Attend the Girls First Grade Program
    6. Spend some extra time catching up with family and friends
    7. Swimming Lessons for the Kids
    8. Confirm the Schedule / Flights for upcoming Family Reunion

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
    2. Update my goals
    3. Finish reading  Am I Messing Up My Kids by Lysa TerKeurst
    4. Finish The Hunger Games by Susan Collins (recommended by several friends)

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week
    3. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up & cleaning the house

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. 1o minutes a day Cleaning / Organizing my desk

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Email the updated praises, prayer requests, and schedule to our Community Group
    3. Feed & Serve Homeless – 1 John Ministry

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses
    3. Save money for upcoming trips
    4. Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes
    5. Save money for upcoming home projects

    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