Intentional Living

  • Teaching Our Children: The Number Crunch Game

    A few years ago I came up with a fun game for the girls to learn their numbers.  It was a super simple, easy, and fun way to teach them the written words for the numbers they had already learned.  I came across it the other day when I was re-organizing their educational cabinet and thought I would share it since there may be other parents looking for a fun and simple way to get their kids to learn the written numbers.  Even though our kids have pretty much out grown the game since they now know their numerical words it is still fun to pull out every once in awhile for a fun reminder.  Here’s how I put it together:

    • Wrote out the Numerical Words in a Word Document (1 to 20 then 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 1000, 1000000)
    • Made the words big and bold
    • Printed the words onto colorful paper (can find for a couple dollars at Walmart)
    • Laminated the words

    I used these for a variety of different games!

    Number Crunch Games (a few options):

    • Line up all the numbers from least to greatest while being timed
    • Line up all the numbers from greatest to least while being timed
    • Pick out all the odd number while being timed
    • Pick out all the even numbers
    • Sort out all the numbers before 10
    • Sort out numbers in the “teens”
    • Find all the numbers above 100
    • Locate any number ending in “O”

    There just a few ideas to get you started.  You can get creative and come up with so many more variations on ways to make learning the written numerical number learning process fun for your little ones.  The reason why I laminated the cards is because I wanted to make sure I could use them for many activities over several years (and they have have held up really nicely of the past couple of years).

  • Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals

    The girls always love taking school lunches.  It is hard to believe that before long the girls will be done with school and summer break will be started.  We are looking forward to a lot of fun activities over the summer together.

    Lunch Box Meal

    • PB&J Sandwich for Karlie & Soy & Jelly Sandwich for Brina
    • Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce
    • Yellow Pear Tomatoes
    • Apple Slices
    • Strawberry Yogurt
    • Chips
    • Water Bottle

    Thankful the girls enjoy taking lunch to school.  It is nice knowing exactly what the girls are eating for lunch.  Over the next few weeks we’ll have a few field trips and other activities over lunch so not too many more days and they’ll have a break from packing their lunch boxes everyday.  We’ll have to make sure to go on a few picnics this Summer to keep up the  fun.

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    We are thankful for our time together this week.  It has been a busy week.  Seems like there is always more to do than time allows.  I made some progress this week, but hoping to make even more with all that I have on my list.

    Last week’s goals

    Family Goals

    1. Read Imagination Station: Showdown with the Shepherd by Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker (Book 5)
    2. Plan one special Activity with the Family
    3. Play a board game – didn’t get to it this week with everything going on
    4. Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
    5. Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
    6. Attend After School Activities
    7. Bridgette’s dentist appointment
    8. Schedule eye appointment for Bridgette – didn’t get it scheduled

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise at least 5 days this week
    2. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    3. Continue my YouVersion plan(s)
    4. Finish reading Overcoming Dyslexia by M.D. Sally Shaywitz – been reading & taking notes

    Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
    3. Pay all upcoming bills
    4. Get paperwork signed for new Home & Auto Insurance Policies
    5. Remove remaining leaves from the lawn – with the rain the leaves were too wet to move
    6. Clean up the sticks and trees that have fallen & had been cut down – got through a good chunk, but still have more to do
    7. Reseal Jungle Gym & Swing – it rained so we are waiting
    8. Give Skipper a bath – didn’t want to wash her in the rain
    9. Work on the deck – it was put on hold this 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. Work completed for clients

    Ministry Goals

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

    Financial Goals

    1. Payoff the Vehicles – working on it
    2. Pay medical bills in full – paid one off, now working on paying down the next one

    My goals for the upcoming week

    Family Goals

    1. Read Imagination Station: Showdown with the Shepherd by Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker (Book 5)
    2. Plan one special Activity with the Family
    3. Play a board game
    4. Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
    5. Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
    6. Attend After School Activities
    7. Schedule eye appointment for Bridgette
    8. Prepare for Upcoming Summer Events
    9. Date Night with Karlie
    10. Date Night with Brina
    11. Extra time spent with the family over the Holiday Weekend
    12. Field Trip with the girls school

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise at least 5 days this week
    2. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    3. Continue my YouVersion plan(s)
    4. Finish reading Overcoming Dyslexia by M.D. Sally Shaywitz

    Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
    3. Pay all upcoming bills
    4. Get paperwork signed for new Home & Auto Insurance Policies
    5. Remove remaining leaves from the lawn
    6. Clean up the sticks and trees that have fallen & had been cut down
    7. Reseal Jungle Gym & Swing
    8. Give Skipper a bath
    9. Work on the deck

    Business Goals

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

    Ministry Goals

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

    Financial Goals

    1. Payoff the Vehicles
    2. 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.

  • A Little Bug In the Lunchbag

    What is in their lunches today?

    The other day after the girls had made their lunches and after they were in bed I put in a little “bug” note for them to read at lunch.  I cannot remember where I picked up this bug note pack (maybe Hallmark?), but the bundle of notes has lasted me a long time.  The girls always enjoy getting the bug notes in their lunch box.

    Whenever I go through their lunch bags (usually to make sure they packed everything & sometimes to double clean the bags) it is pretty common for me to find a stack of these and other lunch bag notes in their lunch bag.  The notes don’t take much time to add to the lunches, but they sure mean a lot to the kids getting them at school the next day.  The bug notes are cute, unique, and have neat sayings on them.

    Each “bug” note is different

    Bug notes for the girls lunches

     

  • Kids in the Kitchen

    Karlie’s so proud of her “heart” shape plum

    The girls love hanging out with us in the kitchen.  They pack their own lunches for school (almost everyday) plus they like to pitch in with making dinner many nights too.  Learning to use a knife to cut fruit, vegetables, and other items was an interesting process, but they have done really well and are getting better.  While they are cutting produce and we are making dinner we enjoy a few minutes of chit-chat and catching up from that days events.

    Brina cutting up her peach

  • 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

    1. Read Imagination Station: Showdown with the Shepherd by Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker (Book 5)
    2. Plan one special Activity with the Family
    3. Play a board game
    4. Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
    5. Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
    6. Attend After School Activities
    7. Schedule dentist appointments for (Jake & Bridgette) – Jake’s already gone to his and mine’s next week
    8. Schedule eye appointment for Bridgette – didn’t get to this one

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise at least 5 days this week
    2. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    3. Continue my YouVersion plan(s)
    4. 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

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
    3. Pay all upcoming bills
    4. Work on Spring Cleaning
    5. Get paperwork signed for new Home & Auto Insurance Policies – almost completed
    6. Remove remaining leaves from the lawn – didn’t get to it
    7. Clean up the sticks and trees that have fallen & had been cut down – other items took priority this weekend
    8. Reseal Jungle Gym & Swing – it rained
    9. Give Skipper a bath – decided to wait since it rained
    10. Treat the lawn – didn’t want to treat it since it was going to rain
    11. Work on the deck – still have more to do but made progress 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. Work completed for clients

    Ministry Goals

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

    Financial Goals

    1. Groceries $40 for 4 – went over budget
    2. Payoff the Van – hoping to make an extra payment
    3. Pay medical bills in full – making payments

    My goals for the upcoming week

    Family Goals

    1. Read Imagination Station: Showdown with the Shepherd by Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker (Book 5)
    2. Plan one special Activity with the Family
    3. Play a board game
    4. Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
    5. Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
    6. Attend After School Activities
    7. Bridgette’s dentist appointment
    8. Schedule eye appointment for Bridgette

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise at least 5 days this week
    2. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    3. Continue my YouVersion plan(s)
    4. Finish reading Overcoming Dyslexia by M.D. Sally Shaywitz

    Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
    3. Pay all upcoming bills
    4. Get paperwork signed for new Home & Auto Insurance Policies
    5. Remove remaining leaves from the lawn
    6. Clean up the sticks and trees that have fallen & had been cut down
    7. Reseal Jungle Gym & Swing
    8. Give Skipper a bath
    9. Work on the deck

    Business Goals

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

    Ministry Goals

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

    Financial Goals

    1. Payoff the Vehicles
    2. 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.

  • 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

    1. Read Imagination Station: Revenge of a Red Knight by Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker (Book 4)
    2. Plan one special Activity with the Family
    3. 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
    4. Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
    5. Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
    6. Attend After School Activities
    7. Schedule May Volunteer Dates
    8. Schedule dentist appointments for (Jake & Bridgette)
    9. Schedule eye appointment for Bridgette

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise at least 5 days this week – I almost did it (it was 4 days this week)!
    2. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    3. Continue my YouVersion plan(s) – caught up and current once again!
    4. Finish reading Overcoming Dyslexia by M.D. Sally Shaywitz (someone gave me this to read) – reading through it!

    Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
    3. Pay all upcoming bills
    4. Work on Spring Cleaning
    5. Get 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
    6. Remove remaining leaves from the lawn – it rained this weekend so we’ll have to wait to do the leaves next week
    7. Clean up the sticks and trees that have fallen & had been cut down – since it rained we are waiting on this project
    8. Reseal Jungle Gym & Swing – the rain delayed this weekend project
    9. Give Skipper a bath – didn’t give Skipper a bath because of the rainy week and mud
    10. Treat the lawn – waiting until a non-rainy weekend

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. Work completed for clients
    4. Schedule May work dates

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Write and Send Out Community Group Email
    3. Send out the Alms & Legs Meeting Time and Place

    Financial Goals

    1. Groceries $40 for 4  – went a little over on the grocery budget this week
    2. Payoff the Van – made a payment and included a little extra the first part of the week
    3. Pay medical bills in full – continuing to make payments

    My goals for the upcoming week

    Family Goals

    1. Read Imagination Station: Showdown with the Shepherd by Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker (Book 5)
    2. Plan one special Activity with the Family
    3. Play a board game
    4. Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
    5. Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
    6. Attend After School Activities
    7. Schedule dentist appointments for (Jake & Bridgette)
    8. Schedule eye appointment for Bridgette

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise at least 5 days this week
    2. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    3. Continue my YouVersion plan(s)
    4. Finish reading Overcoming Dyslexia by M.D. Sally Shaywitz (someone gave me this to read)

    Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
    3. Pay all upcoming bills
    4. Work on Spring Cleaning
    5. Get paperwork signed for new Home & Auto Insurance Policies
    6. Remove remaining leaves from the lawn
    7. Clean up the sticks and trees that have fallen & had been cut down
    8. Reseal Jungle Gym & Swing
    9. Give Skipper a bath
    10. Treat the lawn
    11. Work on the deck

    Business Goals

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

    Ministry Goals

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

    Financial Goals

    1. Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Payoff the Van
    3. 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!