Travel
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week our family had the privilege to go to Orlando, Florida with Jake. He had a work conference and the girls and I got to spend some time exploring the area. We found a lot of great activities to keep us busy while Jake was working. Once Jake’s conference was over he was able to spend the rest of the week with us. We had a blast going to the Disney parks and doing other fun activities while in Orlando. The week went by really quickly and we packed a lot into the week. We created a lot of great memories during our stay. Now that we are back into the normal work and school schedule we have a lot to get done around home. Here are my goals for this week:
Last week’s goals
Family Goals
- Finish reading Rascal by Sterling North to the kids – last week we didn’t read much with all the other activities going on in Florida
Plan one special activity with the family– we went to Orlando and explored some of the Disney parks, the kids loved it!Play a Game with the KidsPrepare for Upcoming Winter & Spring Events (Spring is just around the corner)- Prep for upcoming Family Adventure – our Orlando adventure went really well, was a hit, and we created some family memories
Spend Extra Time with the Family– spent time together in Orlando and Jake joined us after his conference ended
Personal Goals
Drink 8 glasses of water each day– drink a lot as it was up to 90 plus degrees a couple days we were in FL- Continue my YouVersion plan(s) – my phone was burning through the battery so I didn’t listen during last week, but was already caught up before leaving on the trip thankfully
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week– the kids and I made and ate our dinners at the hotel while Jake was at the conference and he joined after the conference had ended. The hotpot worked really well for easy prep items.Clean House (Focus – Basic House Clean Up)
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts – some ideas were bouncing around, but for the most part I enjoyed my time with the kids
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention – some items got pushed back but hoping to get back up to speed this week
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
Pay Bills & File Paperwork
My goals for the upcoming week
Family Goals
- Finish reading Rascal by Sterling North to the kids
- Plan one special activity with the family
- Play a Game with the Kids
- Prepare for Upcoming Spring Events
- Spend time Monday – Friday helping the kids with Homework
- Attend After School Activities
- Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
- Prep for upcoming Family Adventure
- Get the kids caught back up with Homework from missing school last week while in Florida
- Prep for upcoming State STEM Competition
- Prep for upcoming Spring Break
- Take kids to Eye Dr and Dentist for regular Cleaning
Personal Goals
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Continue my YouVersion plan(s)
- Go to my Doctor Appointments Scheduled this week
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
- Use up food items in our pantry and freezer
- Clean House (Focus – Extra Laundry Done from Traveling)
- Organize Chaos (Focus – Unpack All Suitcases and Put Items Away from Florida Trip)
- Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Clean Out the Van from the Florida Trip)
- Pet Care (Focus – Pick Up Hay for the Goats)
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Respond to Inquiry – Business Relation Emails
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
- Work completed for clients
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Payoff the Car
- Payoff Medical Bills
- Payoff Other Outstanding Debt – (replacement microwave, refrigerator, hot water heater, bed, and other debt)
- Pay Bills & File Paperwork
- Go grocery shopping one time to one store this week and stay within budget
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results.
Josh & Megan’s Wedding Reception (New Harmony, IN)
Josh and Megan at the reception in New Harmony, IN
After the wedding we headed over to New Harmony, Indiana to celebrate more at the reception. As the bridal party was getting some outside pictures taking the wedding guests made their way to the reception hall. They had a photo booth, kids coloring station, and other fun things to do as we waited for the bride, groom, and wedding party to wrap up the last few pictures. The food and cake at the reception was delicious!
Reception table sign! Neat idea!
All the adult guests got a jar of jam made by Megan (YUM) and the kids got crayons – super fun!
Mouth full of cake! They were nice and didn’t make a big mess during this exchanging of cake tradition!
Our family with the good looking groom and lovely bride at the reception. Thankful that we were able to be a part of their special day!
The kids chatting around the coloring table!
Busy kiddos coloring their pictures! Great idea having a kids coloring table at the reception!
Brina and my adorable nephew Nicko coloring!
Time for some sparkler fun to send off the happy couple!
There they go! Congratulations! Hope you have a fun and relaxing honeymoon!
Watching the rest of the sparkler burn down.
Important sparkler lesson learned via Karlie…once the sparklers are done, the wire is still very hot. After the reception clean up we headed to Walgreens for some burn ointment this picture was a couple days later after it started healing. Poor kiddo, glad it wasn’t any worse. Although she will probably be more careful the next time around sparklers!
A quick picture at the photo booth after a busy day of wedding celebrations.
You can see they are getting tired, but they were troopers through all the activities. They were a big help with cleaning up after the wedding and reception too!
The “Hendrich” banner behind the bride and groom!
Rehearsal Dinner Decorating & Rehearsal Event (Mt Vernon, IN)
Josh and Megan’s table at the Rehearsal Dinner
Thankfully my Mom and Dad had all the prep work done prior to the rehearsal dinner. All we had to do on Thursday evening is help set up and put out all the decorations. With the help of family and friends it didn’t take long and it turned out well. Glad we were able to celebrate with Josh and Megan on their special weekend. The “Congratulations” sign was made out of corrugated tin and looked pretty cool hanging above their table.
A big “H” for Hayes, nope not this time it is for “Hendrich”!
One of Josh’s old toy combines on the table full of freshly cut corn. Made the perfect table decorations plus the kids loved having toys to play with at the rehearsal dinner!
The table decorations were perfect for Josh and Megan’s rehearsal dinner!
My Mom put together these beautiful vases of Sunflowers, Roses, Wheat, Milo, and Baby’s Breath! They were bright and gorgeous!
Great Grandpa CE playing a game with the girls. I never had a chance to play but it was set up on a huge table and had several balls involved. They seemed to enjoy it!
Great scripture quote hanging on the wall for the rehearsal dinner – “And the greatest of these is LOVE!” Corinthians 13:13
The mason jar bases of the flower and crop arrangements were filled with fresh corn, brilliant idea!
Josh’s John Deere cap
It turned out well, now just waiting for the rehearsal practice to finish so we can have the rehearsal “party”!
Rehearsal practice!
Rehearsal went smoothly now to party!
The highlight of the rehearsal dinner for the girls was the roasted pig! They were FASCINATED!!! It was delicious too!
Table full of fun kids!
Megan and Josh handing out bridal party and parent gifts!
Karlie was super excited the caterer let her have the apple straight from the pig’s mouth! Crunchy…Munchy!
Hanging out with my girls!
Jake and his girls! Thankful for my family and the opportunity to celebrate with my brother and his new wife (AKA my new sister! Yay!)
Pre-Wedding Activites – Family Fun, Bridal Brunch, & Reception Decorating (Evansville & New Harmony, IN)
Wedding Welcome Basket!
We arrived for the super fun Wedding Celebrations! When we arrived at the hotel for my brother Josh’s wedding there was an amazing Welcome Basket waiting for us. My Mom put together the welcome baskets complete with a sweet letter, schedule of events, maps with directions, drinks, snacks, games, post it notes, gum, kleenexs, and more great items!
Since we arrived the afternoon before all the official wedding festivities began we got in on helping set up, prep, decorate, and enjoy some time with family. All of us were staying at the same hotel in Evansville, Indiana, so almost any time you were on the elevator or lobby area you could almost be certain to run into someone you know. It was a lot of fun spending time with extended family and friends. We super excited to be celebrating Josh and Megan’s big day!
Swimming in the indoor hotel pool, a hit with the kids!
Brina and Karlie hanging out on Grandma Penny’s lap and chatting away!
I am sure Pastor Jim is getting an ear full from the girls….who knows what they are talking about! Thankful for my parents and brothers Pastor and his family pitching in to help with various set up, decorating, clean up and so much more over the wedding weekend. They were a huge help!
Karlie hanging out with Great Grandma Willa! Thankful that Grandpa CE and Grandma Willa were able to join in all the wedding fun, it was wonderful spending extra time with them.
Brina and Nathan….waiting patiently!
Karlie sharing a fascinating story to Grandpa CE
Amber and Grandma Willa
Heading into the Bridal Brunch for Megan. Great Grandma Willa and Karlie talking on the way up the walk!
Bridal Brunch at the Red Geranium Restaurant in New Harmony, Indiana! They had delicious food on the Bridal Menu – Chicken Salad Croissant, Red Geranium Club Sandwich, Soup & Salad!
Brina hanging out at the Bridal Lunch!
Karlie sitting next to me at the Bridal Brunch!
Megan and Mom at the Bridal Brunch
Megan with the Moms! Teresa Petty (Megan’s Mom), Megan, and my Mom Penny Hendrich
Grandma Willa and Mom helping fluff flowers for reception decorations for Josh & Megan. The flowers went on the photo booth, cute idea!
Josh and Megan’s “photo booth” for the guest to use at the wedding. Our crew did the flower fluffing and decorating of this booth, it turned out really well!
Travel & Vacation: Adventure Science Center (Nashville, TN)
During our recent visit to Nashville we went to the Adventure Science Center. The kids LOVED it! It was a lot of fun hanging out, playing, and learning with the kids for several hours. We were there when it opened that morning and left when it was closing 7 hours later, I would say it was a hit with the kids! Even better is our whole family got in free (WOOHOO) because we are members of our local Roper Mountain Science Center in Greenville and the museums are part of the same affiliation.
Brina and Karlie discovered that they CAN lift a car off the ground, using the right tools!
Activity that simulates walking on the moon, they had a blast!
Karlie especially liked the Space Chase room. Standing near her favorite planet….Saturn!
The space room was two stories high, this is looking up from the ground level. Pretty neat!
Chatting with Brina, the old fashion way!
Brave Karlie putting her hand into the mouth of a fish and pulling it out of the log.
The water table was a popular spot for the kids!
Brina checking things out!
Karlie using the wind from the Jungle Gym to blow the sails on the sailboat!
Karlie in the bubble under the dinosaur as Brina points out that the dinosaur is moving.
Karlie generating energy on the bicycle! Pedal faster!
Parachute race! Whose going to win! You raise the parachutes on the pulley system, when it clicks they release and see who lands first!
Locating our house!
Found Grandpa and Grandma’s house too!
Exploring particles and magnets….
Feeding the giant mouth!
Trying to master the digestive track maze!
At the top of the 3 story jungle gym you can look out over downtown Nashville. Great view!
Jake and the girls waiting for me to come down from the top. They obviously move faster, ha! Fun times with the family.
It’s probably been awhile since Jake’s been on a 3 story jungle gym. He was a good sport and allow the girls to “show him around!”
This was a laser game that we played several times. The good activities compete against the germs / sickness to see who will win.
Jake playing checkers with Karlie.
Brina maneuvering the wheelchair around the ramps and basketball court. Takes some skill getting around places in a wheelchair.
Travel & Vacation: Nashville – Parthenon Park
Our family was able to spend a couple days in Nashville, Tennessee recently. We had a little bit of time to burn before heading to our next adventure so we stopped at one of the parks near our hotel. The contained a full-scale replica of the Athenian Parthenon. It was massive! The re-creation was built in 1897 for Tennessee’s Centennial Exposition. The Parthenon represents classical architecture. It was pretty neat seeing it!
Sitting near the statue with the Parthenon replica in the background!
If you look closely you can see two people on the steps of the Parthenon (that is Brina and Karlie). They look tiny!
The side of the Parthenon. Can you see us?!
Hanging out on the steps. We look so small!
This statue near the Parthenon is of John W. Thomas. John Thomas was a native of Nashville and was the President of the Nashville Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway for many years.
The outside of the Parthenon replica in Nashville, TN
Venting some energy out on the play ground for a few minutes!
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Our family had a great time in the Midwest celebrating my little brother’s wedding. It was wonderful seeing my family over the Thanksgiving Holiday. The wedding was beautiful, successful, and hopefully they are now relaxing on their honeymoon! I was happy to welcome another sister into our family, WOOHOO!!! Happy for my brother and his new wife.
Now I am back home and need to make some progress with upcoming projects. Here’s what happened this past week and what is going on this week.
Last week’s goals
Family Goals
- Read the book Wonder’s First Race by Joanna Campbell to read to the kids – about halfway through the book
Plan one special activity with the familyPrepare for Upcoming Fall EventsSpend time Monday – Tuesday helping the kids with HomeworkAttend After School ActivitiesLunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night beforePlay a Game with the KidsWatch a movie with the KidsListen to an Audiobook with the KidsThanksgiving Holiday – So Many Reasons to be ThankfulCelebrating Josh & Megan’s Wedding & Activities
Personal Goals
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day – didn’t drink enough when traveling
Continue my YouVersion plan(s)Go to my Doctor Appointments Scheduled this week
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day – took 2 days
Clean House (Basic Speed Clean before the Holiday Activities)
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Payoff the Car – working on it
- Payoff Outstanding Debt – (replacement microwave, refrigerator, hot water heater, and other debt) – working on it
Pay Bills & File Paperwork
My goals for the upcoming week
Family Goals
- Read the book Wonder’s First Race by Joanna Campbell to the kids
- Plan one special activity with the family
- Prepare for Upcoming Winter Events
- Spend time Monday – Friday helping the kids with Homework
- Attend After School Activities
- Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
- Play a Game with the Kids
- Start Organizing the Kids Scrapbook Items
- Dr. Appointments for Kids
Personal Goals
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Continue my YouVersion plan(s)
- Go to my Doctor Appointments Scheduled this week
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
- Do at least one “Make 1 & Freeze 1″ Meal Prep (make a main dish to eat that day and one to freeze for later)
- Clean House (Focus – Suitcases Unpacked & Put Away from Wedding / Thanksgiving Trip)
- Organize Chaos (Focus – Snack Bins Refilled)
- Yard Cleanup (Focus – Pool and Leaves)
- Pet Care (Focus – Hay Feeder Filled)
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Respond to Inquiry – Business Relation Emails
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
- Work completed for clients
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Payoff the Car
- Payoff Outstanding Debt – (replacement microwave, refrigerator, hot water heater, and other debt)
- Pay Bills & File Paperwork
- Earn some Creative Cash
- Go grocery shopping one time to one store this week and stay within budget
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results.
- Read the book Wonder’s First Race by Joanna Campbell to read to the kids – about halfway through the book
Charleston: The Charleston Explorer Program
Charleston Explorer Goodies
Since we go to Charleston a few times every year we signed the kids up for their Charleston Explorers Club a little over a year ago. It was a great way to explore the Charleston area, learn pieces of history or science and more plus earn a few prizes along the way. We have always enjoy our trips to Charleston and every time we try to go to a new place which made the Charleston Explorers a great program for our kids.
You could pick up a Charleston Explorer passport at any of the Charleston Area Visitors Centers. It was free for any kid under 18 to sign up for the club. When the kids enrolled they each received a passport, prize, a list of more than 30 participating locations, and information about how the program worked. Each time the kids visited one of the locations they would get a stamp specific to that location and enter the “stamp code” into their online profile and rate the place they visited. Every 5 stamps they would earn a prize that was mailed directly to our house. We never knew what the prizes would be and the kids were always very happy with the neat items that came in the mail.
Some of the places where you got the stamps were free while others required paid admission. Several of the places you could buy discounted tickets if you bundled them together. The program started back in April 2011 and recently ended. It is probably one of the best travel programs we have participated in, it was ran well, the prizes were amazing, and we had a blast doing the Charleston Explorers with the kids. We would love to see them do another program for the kids in the future!
I would encourage you to check out any of these types of explorers programs in your local area or another area where you visit frequently. These are programs can provide great learning opportunities for your kids. It was a wonderful experience for our whole family. I wish more places had kids programs like this one.
Some of the items we received:
- Charleston Explorers Water Bottles
- Charleston Explorers Magnetic Keychains with Flashlights
- Charleston Explorers Binoculars
- Charleston Explorers Pens
- Charleston Explorers Stickers
- Charleston Explorers Bag
- Charleston Explorers Clips
- $25 Wonder Works Toy Store Gift Cards
- iPod Touch
The highlighted places on our brochure are the ones we have visited since we started the Charleston Explorers program! Great places to visit and wonderful times exploring with the kids!
The girls passport books! Here is what two of their pages look like with the Fort Sumter, Patriots Point, Heyward Washington House, Nathaniel Russell House, Edmonston Alston House, and Aiken Rhett House stamps on these two pages. We filled their passport books up. The girls loved getting their stamps at the end of their tours.
One of the prizes they earned was a $25 Gift Card each from Wonder Works a Toy Store in Charleston. The girls can’t wait for our next trip to Charleston so they can use their gift cards!
The girls were so excited when FedEx dropped off a package at our “Google only” household! Guess, we now need to include another platform…. Their final Charleston Explorers prize was an iPod Touch! They were so very EXCITED to receive the iPod! Wow!!! Thanks Charleston for making our trips so enjoyable and for the amazing prizes! It has been a awesome exploring with the family and we look forward to our next visit! We still have several more locations we want to see on our list!
Family Time in Downtown Charleston
Riding the trolley with the girls in Downtown Charleston.
Charleston is a great town to explore a variety of history. One of the neat perks of Charleston is you can park you car somewhere (if you can find parking) and ride the free trolley around the town. When it is just the girls and I we usually park in the parking garage near the Charleston Visitors Center and grab the trolley right there so it is easy to get around town. The trolley takes you right near almost all the historical places so you only have to walk a few blocks here and there. The trolley’s come by every 10 to 15 minutes so you rarely have to wait very long. Just look for the bus stops or trolley signs to catch a nearby trolley ride.
We met up with Jake and ate at the Noisy Oyster in downtown Charleston. Pictured above is what I had for dinner the Noisy Oyster’s Grilled Salmon BLT sandwich. It was delicious!
Brina all smiles as Karlie checks out the traffic downtown Charleston. The horse carriages always tend to get her attention.
We took a walk through downtown Charleston after dinner. The interactive water fountain in Waterfront Park is always a hit with the kids.
Hanging out by the fountain and “trying” to not too wet!
Walking through Waterfront Park in Charleston.
Hanging out with Daddy near the Pineapple Water Fountain in downtown Charleston!
Well, “Hello Friend” found this little guy scurrying across the path in front of me on our walk.
When we walked down the Waterfront Pier we noticed that the dolphins were out swimming in the harbor. It was getting dark by this time, but it was beautiful watching them glide through the water in front of us.
Jake and his girls at the pier watching the dolphins swim.
Hanging out with my girls in Charleston!
Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge and Patriots Point all lit up at night across the harbor.
A relaxing evening swinging on the pier swings!
Wrapping up a fun and busy day in Charleston! Time to walk back to the car! Charleston is a great town to walk through at night with all the things to see, do, and it is usually bustling with people, horse carriages, bike tours, and more.
Charleston: Historic Aiken-Rhett House
Ready to visit Charleston’s Historical Aiken Rhett House!
The Aiken Rhett House was the final house on our house tours through Charleston that day. We finished with this house last because it was the closest one to the parking garage and we made a full circle around downtown Charleston. It was a fun day of learning and exploring some amazing places in Charleston. We look forward to visiting other houses and historical sites in the Charleston area in the future. Who knows were we will be exploring the next time around. Thankful for some extra time with the girls.
The original owner of the Aiken-Rhett house was John Robinson who was a shipping merchant. A few years after the house was built John lost several ships at sea and had to sell the house due to financial hardship. William Aiken Sr. purchased the home from John Robinson in the late 1820’s. William Aiken was an Irish immigrant who was a Charleston merchant. Originally William and his wife, Henrietta Wyatt Aiken, used the house as a rental property. William Aiken died unexpectedly in a carriage accident leaving behind his wife Harriet and his only son William Aiken Jr.
When William Aiken Jr. married Harriet Lowndes they decided to make this house their main place of residence and started renovating the property. William Aiken Jr. was known as a prominent businessman, rice plantation owner, politician, and the Governor of South Carolina. When William and his wife made trips to Europe the would bring back beautiful pieces of art and furniture. William’s put his cousin, Joseph Daniel Aiken, in charge of overseeing the building of an Art Gallery to house these fine pieces. The Aiken’s more than 2000 volume library that they acquired on their travels throughout Europe is now in the care of the Charleston Library Society, the majority of the books were published in the 1800s. The back yard of the Aiken-Rhett house contained the kitchen, laundry, carriage and stable house, outbuildings, and slave quarters.
This house was unique to tour because they took a very different approach to preserving its history. They have done very little updating or restoration to house so it looks much older than some of the other ones we toured because it still had a lot of the old wall paper and items in the home. Instead of having a guide take us through the house they gave you an audio devise and headphones that took you through the house and yard. No pictures were allowed in the house, however, we were able to take a few pictures outside the house. Probably my favorite comment from the girls was “This is really neat seeing how the house looked so many years ago, I can even smell the history!”
This picture is taken in the backyard near the servants quarters. The yellow building is the house and the gray with green doors is the stable and carriage house.
Beautiful trees in the backyard. The girls thought this picture was cool because the sun shining through the tree looks like a star burst.
Brina and Karlie checking out all the buildings on the property. The one they are currently in was the original privy (yes, bathroom). Thankfully it was clean and no longer in use. They had two in opposite corners at the very end of the yard (one for the men and the other for the women).
Walking through the back yard while listening to the audio history facts. I got the thumbs up from Karlie.
A view from the stables side of the yard. This picture faces the back of the house (yellow building) and the kitchen and servants quarters.
Enjoying a breeze and a cool view of downtown Charleston from the Aiken Rhett balcony.
Listening to the audio history while joggling for a few minutes on the balcony.
Charleston’s Historical Aiken-Rhett House at 48 Elizabeth Street!
