Counting My Blessings: Week In Review
Last week went by in a whirlwind. We wrapped up the girls Science Fair projects, Jake had a lot going on at work, I had several appointments, and everything else that we managed to squeeze into the week. Thankful for some time together over the weekend both at home and in Georgia. There was so much to be thankful for last week.
I want to be accountable to you so the following are snip-its of some of the things I am thankful for this past week. Counting My Blessings – Week In Review:
Monday – Thankful for a day to re-group after a busy weekend.
Tuesday – Thankful for a being able to get my appointments back-to-back so I could get most of them completed in one day (and that none of them ran too late so I was able to make it on time to every one).
Wednesday – Thankful for Jake and his encouragement. He is always willing to listen and loves me despite all the crazy things I do.
Thursday – Thankful to have an opportunity to meet a friend for lunch today and catch up.
Friday – Thankful that the girls got their Science Fair projects completed and turned in today. Grateful for an evening with my family and excited about the fun adventures planned together for the weekend.
What are you thankful for today? I encourage you to take the time to write down a few blessings that you have in your life today. It will help cheer you up and turn your focus on the amazing blessings you encounter each day!
30th Annual Georgia Renaissance Festival
Last weekend we made a trip to Georgia to attend the 30th Annual Georgia Renaissance Festival. We’ve never gone to the festival before so the kids were very excited when we told them what we were doing. We arrived just a few minutes after they opened and were surprised to see the amount of people that were at the festival. The only traffic we ran into was the last two miles before the festival because traffic was backed up a little as everyone was trying to get in and park. They had plenty of parking and attendants helping get the cars in as efficiently as possible. It had rained the day before so it was a little muddy in a few places, but it wasn’t bad.
We had a great time watching all the neat shows and going through the various shops. The kids thought it was fascinating and were even chosen to participate in one of the shows which was fun. The people performing were very interactive with the audiences. There were a few “adult humor” jokes in some of the performances, but nothing that the kids picked up on. It was Roman and bring your pet weekend so there were lots of dogs which the girls loved. We only saw one cat though!
They had a lot of different food options as well from giant turkey legs, key lime pie on a stick, funnel cakes, and more. The kids thought the funnel cake was delicious! There was alcohol available for purchase, however, with it being a day event most people were drinking casually so that wasn’t a problem. They do allow smoking so occasionally you would have to walk around a group of people who were smoking usually around the picnic areas. Overall it was a great experience, entertaining, fun, and a good family activity.
We got to see almost all the performances throughout the day. Usually each show performs several times during the day so if you don’t catch one time you get another one. We were there close to 6 hours and were able to watch at least part of every show that was performing that weekend. It was neat to see a lot of tricks and talent.
Here are some of the pictures from the shows we attended and really enjoyed:
King announcing the jousting tournament!
The warrior princess to be won in the knights competition
One of the warriors
Karlie and Brina on stage being lassoed by Cirque du Todd on Fools’s Knoll stage
He got a bunch of kids inside the lasso
Having fun in the performance!
Juggling a large knife, garden spike, and jalapeno spam
Cirque du Todd balancing on a board while juggling fire sticks and fire spinning around his head and feet.
Sirena Dog Show at the Garden Cottage Stage
She had a lot of different dogs doing various tricks
Huge poodle that could jump high!
Birds of Prey show, this guy flew over our heads!
The owl is ready!
We had an empty seat next to us and one of the workers would call the birds so they would land right next to us.
He’s got his little helmet on to keep him calm during the performance.
Petting the animals
Wheel of Death act at the Marrakech Mews area
He was walking and doing the jump rope while this huge wheel was spinning way up in the air. Amazing!
Barely Balanced was entertaining on the Halfwit Harbour Stage
Juggling knives over his friend
Now that’s a way to stretch.
He is balancing on a board while she’s on his shoulders juggling the knives. Barely Balance is a husband, wife, and friend who perform together.
She is standing on a large ball while they are juggling the knives around her.
It started the weekend of April 18th and goes through June 7, 2015. There were many more performances we saw while at the festival. Hope this gives you a taste of what you will see while you are there!
If you are looking to go to the Georgia Renaissance Festival you can use this promo code for another few days! Also, next weekend, the first weekend in May kids under 12 years old get in free!
Georgia Renaissance Festival Promo Code Discount:
- Get $4 off Adult and $3 off Child (6-12) tickets! Use Promo Code: “castle” when purchasing discount tickets on our secure website at www.garenfest.com. Tickets are good any day of the 2015 Season (Weekends and Memorial Day Apr 18-June 7). Online discount only. Not good with any other offers.
A special thanks to U.S. Family Guide and Georgia Renaissance Festival for offering a special discount to our readers. Any specific product information was provided by Georgia Renaissance Festival and U.S. Family Guide, however, the opinions expressed in this post are our own. We did receive tickets so our family could visit the festival and share our experience.
What’s for Dinner: Our Weekly Menu Plan
The kids have State testing almost all week so I am sure they will be tired by the end of their school days. Plus we have several after school activities planned too. Jake has a full work schedule so there may be some later evenings. It will most likely be another busy week, but hopefully we’ll be able to pack in some fun stuff as well. I want to get the menu planned out so we have more time to do the activities that we need or want to accomplish throughout the week. Here is our menu plan for the upcoming week:
Our Weekly Menu Plan
- Monday (Beef or Pork Entree): Crockpot Roast, Mash Potatoes
- Tuesday (Kid’s Night to Cook): Hamburgers, Fresh Salad
- Wednesday (Chicken or Vegetarian Entree): Chicken Stir Fry, Vegetables & Rice
- Thursday (Pasta or Seafood Entree): Pork Chops, Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
- Friday, Saturday, & Sunday: Leftovers, Family Preference, and Hosting
I have a general pattern I try to follow for my weekly Menu Plan (for example Monday we have a beef or seafood entree and so forth). It is my goal, at least in the beginning, to have at least the main dish and one side planned. I will put together the remaining side dishes (veggies / fruits) based on the food items that need to be used up first and compliment the main entree.
Setting a weekly menu plan helps me utilize my time better, thus freeing up extra time to spend with my family. On the days that I am working longer hours I can prep the meal in advance so it will be easier to pull together once I am home. As I go through the menu planning process I will try to share some of our favorite family recipes. If there is a specific recipe you would like please let me know and I will do my best to accommodate (some recipes are a toss together meal and I do not use any set measurements).
As a family of four our life can get busy. What’s for Dinner is our weekly menu planning series and one of the ways to help keep us organized, on schedule, and within budget. Our family typically eats 6 to 7 dinner meals at home a week. We do try to go out to eat at least once a month as a special treat. Breakfasts are eaten at home before work and school, lunches are eaten at work, school, or home, so dinner is our main meal together as a family. Dinner is our time to reconnect, share, and enjoy being together after a busy day. Our weekly menu plan covers Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday only because the weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) is our time to spend with family and friends. The weekends tend to be more spontaneous and my husband (who is the better cook) likes pitching in therefore we keep the menu open for variety. We use up the leftovers throughout the week for our lunches and on the nights that we are busy or can’t cook.
Photo by Liz
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
We flew through last week with all the school, work, and other activities going on. The girls finished and turned in their Science Fair journals and display boards on Friday! WooHoo! It was so nice to get them done. They hand wrote over 100 pages in their journals and spent countless hours on the project. They don’t actually present the project until the middle of May, but the majority of the work is complete and turned in for the teacher to grade. This past weekend we were able to get away for a little bit to Georgia and have some fun! We went to the Georgia Renaissance Festival which was very entertaining; I will share more about that in a later post. This week the girls have a bunch of their year end State tests so hoping there is not a lot of homework so we can do some stuff around the house, yard, and have some extra fun in the evenings too. Here are my goals for this week:
Last week’s goals
Family Goals
- Finish reading Samantha’s Pride (Thoroughbred Series #7) by Joanna Campbell to the kids – we actually got to get a good start on this book, hoping to wrap it up this week
Plan one special activity with the family– we had fun in Georgia over the weekend and went to the Georgia Renaissance FestivalPlay a Game with the Kids– we played Destination USA and a couple other ones togetherPrepare for Upcoming Spring EventsSpend time Monday –Friday helping the kids with HomeworkAttend After School ActivitiesLunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night beforePrep for upcoming Family AdventureFinish and turn in the kids Science Fair ProjectsPrep for upcoming Summer Break
Personal Goals
Drink 8 glasses of water each day- Continue my YouVersion plan(s) – it was acting up last week, hoping to get caught up soon
- Keep up with my FitBit Goals – I blew it away on a couple of days and missed my target on a day or two, so probably if I average the week I hit close to my goal
Go to my Doctor Appointments Scheduled this week- Update Counting My Blessings and Other journal entries daily – it doesn’t get written down every day, need to do better
Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day – took 2 days with the altered schedule this past week
Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week- Clean House (Focus – All Winter Clothes Pulled out of Closets & Dressers and Put into the Attic) – it was cool and one of my daughters wanted to wear long sleeves last week so hoping to get it put up this week
- Organize Chaos (Focus – All pictures downloaded & organized from Atlanta trip) – almost done!
Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Clean Off the Deck)– the kids actually helped get this donePet Care (Focus – Get Another Water Bucket set Out for the Goats)
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts- Respond to Inquiry – Business Relation Emails – have a couple more to do
Keep 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 Lunch
Financial Goals
- Payoff the Car – working on it
- Payoff Medical Bills – working on it (finished another one, now if we can just not go to the Dr again for a few months, ha)
- Payoff Other Outstanding Debt – (replacement microwave, refrigerator, hot water heater, bed, and other debt) – working on it
Pay Bills & File PaperworkGo grocery shopping one time to one store this week and stay within budget
My goals for the upcoming week
Family Goals
- Finish reading Samantha’s Pride (Thoroughbred Series #7) by Joanna Campbell 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(s)
- Prep & Figure out Schedule for upcoming Summer Break
- Ride Bikes with the Kids
Personal Goals
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Continue my YouVersion plan(s)
- Keep up with my FitBit Goals
- Go to my Doctor Appointments Scheduled this week
- Update Counting My Blessings and Other journal entries daily
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
- Clean House (Focus – All Winter Clothes Pulled out of Closets & Dressers and Put into the Attic)
- Organize Chaos (Focus – All pictures downloaded & organized from Atlanta trip)
- Yard / Garage Cleanup (Focus – Re-Stain the Deck – weather permitting)
- Pet Care (Focus – Give Skipper a Bath)
- Repairs – (Focus – Replace our HVAC Unit – it died a few weeks ago the joys of owning an older home)
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.
Listen & Silent…
Flashback Friday: Naps with Tigger
Brina sleeping soundly on her boppy with Tigger!
Today’s Flashback Friday takes us back 10 years ago. The girls were only a couple months old. They were great nappers and would sleep pretty much anywhere (from their cribs, swings, boppies, pack-n-plays, and other random locations). We usually rotated them to different spots to take naps so they got used to sleeping anywhere in the house. At night we would always put them to bed in their cribs, but were more flexible with their napping locations. Looking back on it they were awesome travelers because of this too. They could sleep at anyone’s house or a hotel and it never bothered them the least bit. Probably their favorite place to sleep was their swings, they LOVED their swings!!!
There is something so peaceful about a little one that is sleeping. So thankful for these two little ones. It doesn’t seem like that long ago they were rolling around on the floor, taking naps throughout the day, and playing with the little Tigger toys. The years have went by quickly, but I am grateful for these precious moments.
Karlie on her boppy with Tigger on her tummy and her foot sticking out of her clothes. She had a way of wiggling her toes out of the closed-toed outfits!I Love You Too!
“I Love U” spelled out with their Magformers Set
It is always a pleasant surprise when you walk into a room and find a nice saying or artwork waiting for you. The other day I walked into the dining room and this is what was on the kitchen table. An “I Love You” message and smiley face.
Thankful for my kids. Their creativeness and their little ways of reminding us that they truly do appreciate and love us as well. They requested that I take a picture of their artwork so they could send a message to some people and let them know that they were thinking of them on this particular day.
It’s the little things like this that make me smile. Parenting can be tough some days, but it is also very rewarding too. Grateful for these special moments when they demonstrate love, happiness, and the desire to brighten the days of others.
A Magformer smile waiting to be discovered on the table!Insta-Snow Powder for Fun Indoor Snow Activities!
Super cool fake snow!
Our friends Mike, Ashley, and Bradley gave the girls Insta-Snow Powder for their birthdays! It is AMAZING! The girls have spent hours playing with it. Ok, I will admit it I have been playing with it too. It’s just so cool to play with inside!
It is super simple to make (just add water to a measured amount of powder). The canister we have makes 2 gallons of snow. We have only made a few batches and still have the snow we made from the last several weeks. It lasts a really long time if you put it in a ziplock bag. It is fascinating, not cold, and funky to play with.
The girls were wanting to go somewhere with snow for their birthday so our friend sent “snow” to them. They had the snow out almost immediately and within a couple of days of playing with the Insta-Snow we got real snow outside in SC. The kids are convinced our friends are good luck because every time they played with the Insta-Snow they sent them it would snow again in SC (which means no school too).
It is a fun activity for the kids. If any of the snow particles do get on the counter or floors they are easy to wipe up or if you miss them they will dry back up into the powder which is easy to sweep or vacuum up off the floor. We are gearing up to do a science project and the girls are convinced that whatever they decide to do they will need to add some of the Insta-Snow powder to give their science projects an extra WOW factor, ha!
I think the next thing we are going to try is to dye the snow different colors to see how it handles that and what it looks like when you mix various ones together. Thankful for thoughtful friends who know how to brighten the lives of the little ones (and big ones) in our home! THANK YOU Ashley from Reflecting on the Simple Things in Life for providing hours of entertainment at our house!!!
They thought it was neat being able to write messages in the snow!
The Insta-Snow Powder came in this canister and it makes 2 gallons. The snow expands rapidly to 100 times its original size. It goes from being a dry granule to fluffy white snow-like substance in a matter of seconds.
Inside the canister there is a scoop for easy measuring!
First we measured the insta-snow powder into a red cup than poured the water into it.
Mixing up the snow and water. It literally grew in her hands. Super cool!
Playing with it!
So fascinating they wouldn’t even look up for the camera
Pile of fake snow to play with inside.
Felt really neat!
Loved looking at all the little pieces and playing with it.
Building a volcano!
Look it’s snowing inside!
You could play with it for hours with your bare hands because it is not cold like actually snow plus it doesn’t melt and it’s easy to clean up!
Brina playing with the snow!
Creating a replica of the Great Wall of China which we were just talking about the other day!
If you are looking for a fun and indoor activity you can find Insta-Snow Powder and other Snow like items on Amazon.
Song: I Am Set Free by All Sons and Daughters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkLr2YvvHX4
Thankful that God forgives. Even when you mess up, He still loves and forgives you. His mercy and kindness are always available for you. He covers us with his grace even we don’t deserve it. You can be set free from sin today!
You broke my chains of sin and shame,
And You covered me with grace,
And You mend my life with Your holy fire,
You cover me with grace,And You are the hand that reaches out to save,
And I am set free, oh oh oh,
I am set free, oh oh oh,
It is for freedom that I am set free,And yes Lord,
We are grateful,
For Your grace,
And for Your loveCounting My Blessings: Week In Review
Last week was crazy busy with everything going on with school. Extra projects, Science Fair, teachers trying to get the kids ready for all the state testing we have this year (which seems like it’s a lot). Not to mention Jake was traveling and a mirad of appointments that I had to go to throughout the week. I am thankful for some time we got to spend together over the weekend even if it was still pretty packed full. There was so much to be thankful for last week.
I want to be accountable to you so the following are snip-its of some of the things I am thankful for this past week. Counting My Blessings – Week In Review:
Monday – Thankful for a library that waives late fees periodically. I needed this grace extended on my account. One of the kids books got misplaced and I hadn’t checked my account for awhile so a small amount accumulated on my account during that week.
Tuesday – Thankful for a husband who works hard to provide for our family.
Wednesday – Thankful for an orthodontist who is helping with kids teeth.
Thursday – Thankful to have Jake back home again. When he travels we all miss him very much.
Friday – Thankful for an opportunity to make some progress on the girls Science Fair Projects and especially thankful that Jake is willing to pitch in and help too. With two kids doing completely different projects it can get quite crazy at times with everything spread out!
What are you thankful for today? I encourage you to take the time to write down a few blessings that you have in your life today. It will help cheer you up and turn your focus on the amazing blessings you encounter each day!
