• Look Out World! I am BACK!!!

    Guess what!? I am BACK! Did you miss me? Well I missed you a lot!!!!

    It means a lot to know you are here even though it has been quiet around Blessings Multiplied for quite some time. I know it has been a long hiatus. Thank you to my sweet followers from the earlier years who have hung on with me. Many have continued to be a blessing and encouragement to me even in the quiet years on this blog. I am grateful to have you along for the journey again. I have missed it.

    The past season has been a whirlwind of many precious days with my family. Now as I start turning towards a new chapter in life I decided it was time to dip my feet in the water and get back into blogging world again.

    The years away from blogging have been valuable for my family. As the kids were getting older, life crazier, and work busier I was finding myself spread out too much. I was overwhelmed and struggling to keep everything balanced and since the kids are only “home” for so long I decided to take some time away from blogging to be able to spend more time with my family. Did I use every second of the time away as wisely I should? Umm… no, but there were a lot of amazing moments, fun adventures, and great times together. It was worth being able to spend more intentional and quality time with my family. Some days were better than others, I still shed a few tears (mostly over silly stuff) but overall it has been a great time of joy.

    I do not have my blog ideas and goals 100% figured out know yet or even how often I will be posting especially as I start back up and get things rolling again. Hang on with me as I take the first step and dip my toes back into the water again. Looking forward to seeing you around! Give me a shout if you pop in. I would love to hear from you!

  • Starting to Plan the Kids Summer Break

    Even though we have only just hit the Spring Season and entered into the month of April we are already making plans for this summer.  I was looking back through our schedule last year.  It was packed full of fun, adventures, and a lot of great memories.

    As I get ready to plan for this summer I am remembering all the good stuff we were able to do last year.  Although, I cannot know for sure what this summer may bring I am moving forward with the planning.  The picture above shows the girls brief version of our calendar for July 2012.  The calendar was simple but it helped them keep track of the big events and activities that were coming up.  We kept it on the fridge so they could see it whenever they wanted, typically they would cross out the days as they ended.

    What we would like to do:

    • Travel – last summer we visited Charleston, Florida, Kansas, and Colorado.  We are not entirely sure what it will look like this summer but we are hoping to go to at least Charleston and Kansas again.  Thankful that the girls travel well! 🙂
    • VBS – the girls love VBS and have a great time.  It also provides great opportunities for learning too.  We would like to attend at least one VBS program this summer.
    • Camp – last summer the girls attended Swim Camp as well as Horse Camp.  We would like for them to go to at least one camp this summer.  They are currently signed up for WeDo Robotics Lego Camp at Roper Mountain Science Center and Swim Camp.
    • Participate in the Library Summer Reading Program – the past 3 years the girls have participated in the Summer Reading program and have enjoyed it (as a bonus they usually earn rewards & free tickets to special events which help motivate them even more).  We plan to participate in the program again this summer!
    • Learn & Explore – we went to several educational places over the summer like Roper Mountain Science Center, Battery Park, took a Historical Carriage ride in Charleston and more.  We plan to do more educational adventures this summer, some may be the same or similar, but we are hoping to branch out and try some new activities too!
    • Relax – all the activities above are important but it is also valuable to have some time built in to rest, free time, play, and relax whether that means swinging, playing in the yard, drawing with chalk, hanging out with family, friends (and pets), riding bikes, roller skating, riding scooters, etc…

    It doesn’t seem like a lot of activities but if you figure in the traveling and the fact that we only had two months of summer vacation we really did pack a lot into it.  We hope to make the most of our summer break this year by planning some of our adventures in advance.  It will be nice to catch up with some family, spend time learning, and make some great memories.  What are your summer plans?