Take a Leap of Faith

 

This old photo, paired with the age old wisdom of the Bible, is still relevant in 2021. Amen 


PS. When I posted this on FB, all the mamas were aghast at this photo of Dastroyah doing something so dangerous, and I chuckled to myself a little about what it is like to be a mama of all adrenaline-junkie boys. I'm never bored, that's for sure. 

It Is Holiday Hustle Time!

This last week saw Thanksgiving arrive and depart, leaving the Holiday Hustle in its wake. 

The holidays are upon us, friends. And whether you celebrate Christmas, observe Hanukkah, enjoy Kwanzaa, or you’re too cool for Yule, the holidays always mean an avalanche of extra events to attend, cookies to bake, and gifts to purchase. 

Consider this a friendly reminder of two kinds...

1. Plan, plan, plan! Sit down with your calendar at your earliest opportunity and put a few things down in stone (things that are very important to you and your family), put a few things in pencil that would be nice if there is time or other things don’t get scheduled on those days, and especially pen in a few days to stay home with family to rest, relax and enjoy your family. 

2. It’s OK to say no to things that don’t fit with your family’s schedule or priorities. Don’t be guilted into taking on so much that you can’t enjoy the holiday with your family. 

The holidays don’t have to be the most stressful time of the year. Take time to enjoy them with those you hold nearest and dearest.
In other news, take lots of pictures.
Because otherwise, moments like this eventually slip from your mind.

PattyCakes donned the tree skirt like it was a kilt and things just got funnier from there. 

#100HappyDays: Day 95

 

Day 96 of #100HappyDays
My evening in a nut shell. Painted nails, good book, planner love with colored pens, relaxing while caring for my family, sweet tea.
The laundry pile is smaller, there are clean sheets on the beds, the dishwasher has worked its magic, I got to read and sip tea and plan our meals and be excited about 'Shua and Lauren's upcoming visit.
Life is good.

#100DaysOfSummer
#SweetTeaAmen
#OldLadyAdventures

— feeling happy at The Man Crew House.

 

#100HappyDays: Day 74

 

Day 74 of #100HappyDays
Making new school year plans!

#100DaysOfSummer
#Homeschool
#PlannerNerd — feeling happy at The Man Crew House.

#100HappyDays: Day 67

 

Day 67 of #100HappyDays
A surprise package of stickers in the mailbox for my planner from my friend, Kimberly. Can't wait to use them!!
I am so blessed with a glorious tribe of beautiful friends.

#100DaysOfSummer
#PlannerNerd
#SoBlessed — feeling happy at The Man Crew House.

Planners, Planners, Planners!

When you get the kiddies all tucked into bed, hubby is out of town and the teenagers are saving the world from the zombie apocalypse via video games, and you have a few minutes to yourself, what do you do? Sometimes I read, I often fold clothes or tidy the house (just being honest) and occasionally I just drop into bed. But what I like to do is use the quiet, uninterrupted time to plan meals for the week, look ahead for upcoming anomalies in the schedule so I can set an alarm so we don't miss it, make sure I've got time to get all the people to the right places, on time...or at least know in advance that I can't be in two places at once so I can make alternate arrangements. At any rate, tonight I thought to myself, "It's been a few days (OK, more like a week) since I spent any time updating and working in my planner. I'll work for 20 minutes and then head off to bed with less mental clutter." That was nearly 1.5 hours ago. Oops.
I just LOVE my planner! Just call me a planner nerd. I won't mind. 😍

I've used nearly a kajillion different planners between my years as a student, as a young wife, as a new homeschooling mama, and as a seasoned veteran of wifely duties, homeschooling organization and lively motherhood. I've used everything from simple pencil and paper (any little scrap will do), a homemaking binder with tabs, color coding, highlighters, schedules and every piece of info anyone walking into my shoes would EVER need, to a desk calendar, daily dockets, fitness tracker apps, daily email reminders, FlyLady website, the much loved "Chandlers" school assignment notebook of yesteryear, and even an app that sent me notifications of when to clean things. I currently have 11 daily alarms to help keep me showing up at the right time and place each day. I lead a B-U-S-Y life and until the last year or so, had never found the perfect balance between usability, portability, affordability, longevity and efficiency. But this one is just right for me. It's called the Print and Go planner by Life As Mom.
A planner that you can print as you go and pop it into a 3 ring binder, or all at once and have it spiral bound somewhere like Staples or Kinkos. It's got a monthly overview page for each month, plus a week's worth of daily time schedule/meal plans/to do lists on each 2 page spread. Also featuring a few pages of lined pages for notes, plus a goals page, which I'm really enjoying this year. Now then, I DO color code my people's activities so I can see at a glace who is where at any given time, but the rest is cake. A few post-it notes, some colored pens, a good black pen, and some white-out tape and I'm ready to plan ALL.THE.THINGS.
From this planner nerd to you, check it out. You won't be sorry.
What do you use to keep your ducks in a row?

My Book Reading List for 2012

I thought it might be fun to copy Money Saving Mom (http://www.facebook.com/#!/MoneySavingMom) over on FB and post a list of the books I intend to read this year. It's only 24, so I'm sure I'll read more than that, but I wanted to be a bit more intentional about what I feed my mind this year. I tend to pick up whatever catches my eye on the new arrivals shelf, or whatever someone gives me, and I don't proactively look for books that apply to a certain area of my life. So I thought her idea was a good one to keep me on track with the goals that I have set for myself this year. These are in no particular order and I'll pretty much read them as I can find them at my library, on eBay or at the COAS which is the local used book store here in our town.

1. You Can't Make Me, But I Can Be Persuaded
2. A Deeper Kind of Calm: Steadfast Faith in the Midst of Adversity
3. Rekindling the Romance: Loving the Love of Your Life
4. The 3 R's
5. Between a Rock and a Grace Place
6. One of Us Must Be Crazy...and I'm Pretty Sure It's You
7. Grace for the Good Girl
8. The Simplicity of Homeschooling: Discover the Freedom of Learning Through Living
9. Satisfy My Soul: For I Am Desperate for Your Power
10. Eats, Shoots and Leaves: A No Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
11. The Husband Project: 21 Days of Loving Your Man--on Purpose
    and with a Plan
12. The Marriage Project: 21 Days to More Love and Laughter
13. Erasing Hell: What God Said About Eternity and What We Made Up
14. Whispers of His Power
15. The Shelter of God's Promises
16. What Women Fear
17. Don't Make Me Come Up There!
18. Crazy Love
19. Jesus Freaks: Martyrs
20. Large Family Logistics
21. The Grace and Truth Paradox
22. Calm My Anxious Heart: A Woman's Guide to Finding Contentment
23. 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think
24. America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money

Phew! I can't wait to dig in to some of these. I'll be looking up my first set when I head over to the library on Thursday. I'll keep you posted on my progress and which ones are worth reading!
~K~