Weekly Song - Forrest Frank & Connor Price - UP! (Lyrics)

So, I asked Nate what his favorite Forrest Frank song was because that is who he saw in concert this past week and he picked this one.  Forrest Frank is a rapper (not all of his songs are rap).  So, if you don't like rap, maybe don't listen to this weeks song HA!  It is a very fun song - and just remember, when you are down, God is there to hold you UP!  This song probably appeals to Nate's crowd more than mine (I'm old LOL ) 

Our Weekly Snapshot

This past week was our official spring break.  It's nice to take a break from lessons for a week before we tackle the end of the year.  The past few years I didn't better at planning our week but this year, my guys weren't even sure if they were going to take one plus the schools in our area are taking breaks different weeks so it was hard to pick a week HA!  So even though this is the "official" week - some of our activities will hit next week.  (So more photos next week!!)  

Here's a look back at our week of break.  I didn't take tons of photos so I'll use words to explain it too! 

Saturday - Nate spent the afternoon hanging out with friends taking walks, playing soccer, and enjoying dinner.  Josh, Darryl, and I enjoyed a great dinner at my mom's followed by a rousing game of Five Crowns where Josh beat us all. 

Sunday - Church!  Then came all the excitement! Darryl and I headed to his dad's about an hour north to welcome him home from down South and help him get set up.  Meanwhile, my mom picked up Josh and Nate and took them to youth group.   Then . . .the weather went down hill.  Tornado alarms were sounding on our phones, I was trying to get in touch with my kids and my mom to make sure everyone was somewhere safe meanwhile Darryl was watching the weather because there was a possible tornado on the group just a few miles from where we were at as well.  It all ended well - our kids sheltered in place at youth group in a hallway, my mom made it home but ended up with out power and we were able to leave my father-in-laws in time, albeit later than planned, to make it to pick up our kids on time.  Granted the whole drive was extra dark due to no power for miles!  In all of that I didn't take a single photo HA! 

Monday - The official first day of spring break.  We all enjoyed a lazy morning.  I spend the afternoon working on some paper projects and planning.  I had choir practice (the first one of the season!) and Nate headed to a concert with friends.  Darryl and Josh hung out at home :-)  

Tuesday - Nate had his annual asthma appointment and breathing test.  Considering all of the issues he has had with his asthma/wheezing the past few months I was glad this appointment finally arrived! 

Wednesday - I had to take a friend to the airport so my mom picked up the boys and took them to lunch and their piano lesson.  Then they had youth group in the evening. 

Thursday - This was our "big" activity this week.  We picked up pizza and went and played games with friends. 

Friday - some teens from our homeschool co op participated in a service project at a nursing home and then we took off to see a movie . 

Weekly Menu

 After our "soup fest" last week it was time to pull out my recipes and do a little more planning for the coming week.  This past week was our spring break but our activities are spread over two weeks.  (The joys/benefits of homeschooling!).  It's just the way it worked this year with planned activities with our co-op and friends.  That's ok though!  

Here's the plan for the coming week: 

Friday - BBQ Cups and Fries

Saturday - Dinner at my mom's house!

Sunday - Pork Chops (in the crock pot) , Mac and Cheese, and Salad

Monday - Sausage and Potato Soup 

Tuesday - Sausage Gravy and Biscuits, eggs, and Mandarin oranges

Wednesday - There's no youth group this week due to spring break for the local schools.  We will probably use a gift card to Little Caesars and get pizza. 

Thursday - Pasta Carbonara and French Bread

March Goals - Update

My original goal in March was to knock a lot of things out.  March had other plans HA!  Instead of focusing on what went wrong I'll tell you the outcomes.  Ready?  Our furnace motor is now fully fixed (it only took 3 visits, one brand new motor, and then brand new parts for the new motor because some parts failed), my trailblazer is running beautifully again after some normal repairs and new tires, our piano is beautifully tuned and repaired (it plays better than it ever has), my washer is fixed and running once again, and the staph infection that invaded my face is fully cleared up. HA!  What a month! BUT, now that all of that is done and over with AND everyone seems to finally be healthy I feel like we can start marking things off the list!  Quarter one of this year is done so it is time to start quarter number 2 strong!  

Here's an update on my March goals - if there is nothing written next to it, it means I didn't do anything with that goal this month. 

 Here are my March goals:

1. Follow the declutter 365 plan for March and do every task that applies to me. I plan to review the March calendar and mark off any tasks that don't fit my home/life.  Then I will take the items from January and February that I did not accomplish and fill those in with the goal to be caught up with the Declutter 365 plan by the end of March. 
1. Make sure and go through all of my 17 areas to touch in this first 3 months 
2. Follow Flylady weekly plan for decluttering then cleaning each room - 15 minutes at a time.  My goal once again is to complete the daily tasks in each area each day.  If there is additional time I'd love to work on decluttering but I also declutter both through the 365 calendar and room cleaning. 
3. Pick a room cleaning - 15 minutes decluttering
1. My focus this month is the dining room.  I'm hoping to "empty" it as much as possible so that I can deep clean it right down to the corners.  I might even do some rearranging.  The last week of March I was finally able to start in the dining room.  I will continue working in April to finish up the deep clean and move on from there. 
2. If I finish that I plan to try and get more done in the bathroom. 
3. AND if I am EXTRA this month - I will start on the Living Room - same idea as the dining room - "empty" it so I can deep clean it.  
4. Spend 15-20 minutes a day cleaning the basement - this months goal is still the laundry room side. Again, the last week of the month I was able to finally start this with clearing out the laundry room.  
5. Finish all of the odds and end in Josh's room (hang things, paint closet) . 
6. Replace a board in Nate's bed that is broken. 
7. Replace burned out lightbulbs inside and outside 
8. Go on a date with Darryl  Done! 
9. Read!  As many books as possible but at least the 2 for my book clubs and to read 6 books total! Done! 
10. Do my daily Bible study, prayer journal and word study  
11. Scrapbook 
1. Finish 2017 and 2018 This goal is changing.  Why?  I thought I only had November-December for each year; thinking I had finished the rest and just couldn't find my finished pages.  In cleaning the dining room I found . . .not the pages!  Instead I found the photos for January-October for both years.  Oops!  Instead I am packing away the rest of the photos/finished pages and working on 2011 first since that is the oldest year unfinished.  
2. Scrapbook January 2025
3. Upload March photos and order them. Done
4. Do virtual scrapbooking weekend I missed this - I think we ended up with a busy weekend. 
12. Co-Op
1. Make Presentation Night signs Done
2. Work on my Joyful video.  Done
3. Figure out Google Docs so that I can begin uploading docs to that for anyone to see/print. 
4. Write out my "job description" as Secretary.  Really looking for a rough draft that I can add to over the next few months so that it is accurate.  
5. Take Homeschool Curriculum to our Co-Op Blessings table that we aren't using or are done with at this point. Oops!  I missed this date and forgot I was going to do this so now I'm going to try and sell some of what I have. 
13. Practice my piano song until I can play it for offertory and then pick a new one; Practice a song with the family to do as special music. I picked a song and have practiced it but still have a few weeks before I'll need to play giving me more time to practice. 
14. Update some seasonal items - Find some cute things for spring/Easter Done! 
15. Write my blogs each week  Done! 
16. In March our quarterly family activity is going to be going to see a Movie (we received gift cards for Christmas) and dinner out. We didn’t see a movie but we did go out to lunch all together and not fast food! 
17. Plan Easter (yes it is in April but I like to plan ahead) 
18. Finances - continue to work on tracking everything and limit spending
19. Computer clean -up - Go through every file on my computer and clean things out. 
20. Depending on the weather - I'd like to tackle the spring cleaning of the garage.  This includes emptying it, cleaning it, and putting things back in their rightful homes. (If we end up with a cold March this will get pushed to April!) 
21. Cut the cord on cable and figure out the least expensive way to watch what we love. 
22. Clean out my filing cabinet - it is time to organize it once again! About 1/2 way through this task
23. Clean out our firebox - it has been a long time. 
24. Buy and hang curtains in my Living Room. They are purchased! 
25. Register my teens for all of their weeks of summer camp. Done! 
26. Pick out and (hopefully) order Josh's 11th (WHAT!) grade curriculum. 
1. Not sure how to measure this but I also need to wrap my head around things like maybe doing duel enrollment (Both Josh and Nate) if that is a possibility; researching schooling options with Josh as he looks at his career ideas, as well as other post high school things.  Hard to believe we are at this point! 
27. Update my calendar with all of the dates that I currently have for the rest of the year (I feel a little behind on this as someone gave me a calendar but after using it (or not using it because I don't love it) I decided to order the one I've used the last few years that I love.) Done! 

‘Take Courage My Heart’ performed by Drew Holcomb and Ellie Holcomb from...

I came across this one while searching for another song and I liked this one better :-)  Enjoy! 

Our weekly snapshot

 Here’s a look back at our week.  Literally because my photos loaded from latest to earliest 🤣

Youth Group on Wednesday - this was the largest group ever!  

Nate got a hair cut this week 😊

We celebrated National Waffle Day. 

Josh and Nate attended a play with friends. 

Pastor used them as a sermon illustration.  

Josh and Nate attended a game night with friends at another church. 

These photos are from our Co-op presentation night a week ago.  It was a great night! 

Weekly Menu

 There really isn't a whole lot to say this week!  We had a very quiet week this past week.  Just our normal things.  This coming week has a few extra things but nothing too big.  Technically it is spring break time but, as homeschoolers we can do what we want and right now neither of my guys are interested in taking time off.  They would rather work now and end early in May.  As far as meals, I need to get back to going through my recipe file and picking out recipes each week instead of working off my memory . .. . but I'll start that next week . . . .maybe LOL 

Friday - chicken and dumplings 

Saturday - Dinner at my mom's 

Sunday - homemade chicken noodle soup and rolls

Monday - Meatball Soup and biscuits

Tuesday - Broccoli soup, ham slices, and rolls   (Apparently this is soup week 🤷‍♀️🤣)

Wednesday - Youth Group Night

Thursday - Pork Chops, Rice, and a veggie