2020 Weekly Photos #34

Some weeks are pretty boring around here and some weeks are busy.  This was one of those more "busy" weeks.  It's funny, it's all relative because 6 months ago busy meant going non-stop sometimes but now "busy" means that we go get haircuts HA!

Here's our week in photos:

Saturday - The fridge arrived!!  We also enjoyed dinner at my mom's :-)  We enjoy that weekly "treat" and are glad she lives close enough that we can go there every week.

Sunday - We celebrated Darryl's dads 80th birthday party.

Monday - Haircuts and a picnic!

 We started at a park that we've always enjoyed but quickly discovered that both Josh and Nate are getting too big HA!  Josh was able to "walk" the monkey bars since his feet touched the ground!  

 So we switched to the wooden park that we love.  This park has lots of running space and the structure is better for bigger kids.  

 Josh's Connections Academy teacher called while we were at the park so he got to talk to her for the first time. 

Tuesday - Today we hung at home and I worked on doing some things around the house.

Wednesday - The boys got school photos done today.  I planned to take a photo of the photographer in action but I forgot my camara and then left my phone in the car.  Oh well, I'll leave you with these fun shots instead.

Yes, this is the cat.  Eating at the table.  No, it is not a normal occurrence.  Nate had left the table so the cat claimed his chair; Josh put some of the cat food on the table and the cat proceeded to eat it off the table because, well, that's what cat's do HA!  (Don't worry, I wiped the table down with Lysol Wipes after he was done!) 

Thursday - Today was my "running" day - First a leadership meeting followed by grocery shopping.  The bonus?  My mom had us over for dinner so I didn't have to cook!

Friday - Today I spent getting things ready.  Ready to go to a family get together on Saturday and the beginnings of "ready" for camping.  Cooking, packing, organizing - it takes a lot of lists :-) I thought it would be a boring day . . but it wasn't! 

This is the beginning of organizing for camping.  

This was excitement #1 - A large limb fell on the neighbors car port.  It was loud!  

Excitement # 2 - This little guy was in my truck - I think he tagged along on the corn stalks.  Apparently he's not a nice guy - he's one of those that will make you get a rash (at least that is what I saw when I read up on him!) 

Excitement # 3 - Ok, not really exciting BUT I'm so happy to have cornstalks to decorate with this year.  I still want to get a mum or two and, of course, pumpkins. 

Weekly Menu - the week we are actually doing stuff

This week brings a few things.  My brother and sister-in-law are home from Brazil for a few weeks so we are gathering with family.  We also made the decision to take a camping trip.  As with everything right now, all decisions take lots of thought and we decided that with so many going back to school, we could slip into the campground and enjoy some family time while staying safe.

Friday - Friday's have become our normal night out and even with some other things going on this week, I'm sure we will still do this tradition.  :-) AND if by chance I decide we should eat at home - I have spaghetti as a back up :-) 

Saturday - We will be with family today :-)

Sunday - Sloppy Joes and Fries.

Monday - Thursday - We are camping.  I'll share more of our camping menu when I share about our camping adventures but we will have our steak kabobs one night for dinner and we will also order our favorite pizza - Bernie O's - for one meal as well!

Birch Box - Something Fun to Try

If quarantine has been good for one thing it is that I've tried some new things!  I always see Facebook posts about various "boxes" you can order.  I read a post recently that compared a few of the different make-up/hair boxes and I liked what was said about Birch Box.  I had tried Ipsy quite awhile ago and didn't really like it.  Well, my first Birch Box came yesterday and it was fun!

 This is how it arrives - in this fun box.  It made me smile when I opened my mail box and saw this fun box.  

 Once the box is opened, you get this cute box too!  I'm sure super creative people would find ways to use this box but I'm not that creative. 

 Of course, these boxes are meant to make you feel good so a quote was included: 

"Dear self, Action also requires rest.  Give yourself the permission to do both"

 Here are the goodies waiting inside the box.  How fun! 

From left to right:

Mascara - I'm always up for trying a new mascara

Detangler - This is something that I will use - with curly hair I often end up using detangler to get the knots out. 

Pillow Spray - It says it will help you sleep better.  We will see!

Hand Sanitizer - For Real.  AND it smells good!  

Hand Lotion - It is really silky smooth and also smells great

And in the front - a sample of perfume. 

I love that they are all sample sizes so if you hate it, it isn't a waste BUT if you love it, you can find it on line (or in the store) and buy it.  Of course, you can also purchase it from Birch Box (That perfume is $80.00 for a bottle  . . wowzer!) 

This box only cost $10.60 because there was a credit for signing up and I also chose the "monthly" subscription so I can cancel at any time.  A normal box is $15.00.  I am going to go ahead and try it for another month and then I will see if I want to keep it going.  

My New Fridge (Finally!)

We finally got our new fridge on Saturday!  You don't realize what a blessing a fridge is until you don't have one for like 5 weeks.  Living out of coolers got old but we were very thankful that we had them to get us threw! 

 My old fridge.  We've had this fridge for over 10 years.  My dad helped us buy it so it was kind of sad to see it go.  It has served us well through the years.  I was sad to see the "Every Child is an Artist" sign go on the side of it (that Josh and Nate altered to read "Every Child Farts" HA!)

 Two of the 4 coolers.  I did look forward to getting my kitchen back - it's so much bigger without coolers sitting every where! 

 The truck!  To get the old fridge out, they had to take it apart to get it out the door . . .the new fridge is even bigger HA!  They had to disassemble it in the driveway and carry it in in pieces.  Good thing they know what they are doing! 

 My new fridge!  It's actually the same fridge as the old one, just a newer model AND I finally got the french doors I wanted!  I just love it! 

The inside is huge - just what we need with growing kids! 

I worked for hours on Saturday emptying and cleaning out coolers, stocking the fridge, cleaning up the kitchen from having extra stuff on the counters and making a run to the store to pick some groceries we needed.  It is such a blessing to be able to walk into the kitchen and open the fridge instead of dig through a cooler!!! 

(Ironically, we are going camping in a week and will live out of coolers again HA!) 

September Goals

September.  I always feel like September starts a new year.  I used to plan my "yearly" goals from September-August truth be told.  I'm sure it comes from the years of teaching where September WAS the start of a new year - a school year - but still a year.  I also feel like that September breaths new life into what I want to get done after dealing with the heat of the summer.  And yes, both July and August brought some super hot "heat wave" style days that made me remember why I used to tell Darryl that "the house will be clean in again in September" HA!  This September is different because school hasn't started yet for our "extra" friends so they are still hanging with us all day; we are missing the first official week of school to go camping, and Nate is scheduled for his tonsil surgery which will keep us laying pretty low for a few weeks.  I'm hopeful that while Nate is resting that I might actually accomplish some things but I also know that I might just be tired HA!  So, with all of that said, here's what my goals are for the month of September.

1. Scrapbooking - 1) This month I have a weekend scrapbook "retreat" planned.  It is a Creative Memories Virtual Crop and I have marked it off to participate as much as possible.  I even purchased the "secret bundle" to open "live" together online.  2) Finish my nieces graduation book - still trying to get those last letters.  3) Order all March photos for 2011, 2017, 2018, and 2020.  I'm just really working towards getting them all printed so I have them.  Still want to finish 2019 before I pick my next "year" to work on.

2. Reading - 1) Read for fun every single day.  2) Read  A Longing for Paris.  I decided to try and focus on one book this month my goal word - Peace.  And this is the book!

3) Cleaning - Besides doing my weekly home blessing hour (Flylady!) I'm focused this month on the living room.  As we pick up with school I feel like I need to focus on the room we spend the most time in and deep clean it (Also Flylady - deep cleaning!)  Who knows, I might even steam clean my carpet :-)

4)  Family - Get Josh running shoes.  Go camping.

5)  Homeschool - We are ready to go and will have our first day on Friday, September 11th right after returning from camping.  My main goal in September is to have Josh finish on schedule for September; Nate - it will depend on how many days (up to two weeks) he is down after surgery.

6) Holiday Journal - It's time to get that thing out and remind myself of everything I've forgotten about our holidays!

7) The Basement - 20 minutes a day.  That's my goal.  Going through boxes and bins and reorganizing things, cleaning things out and setting things up on the shelves so that all is organized.

8) Piano - 1) Get the piano tuned 2) Start our at home lessons once again.

9) Photography - I got my new book and my goal is to just start on page one, read it and do it.

10) Spiritual - 1) Read my daily devotional.

11) Misc Goals:  Gather cameras/video cameras and make sure they all work/are charged etc.  2) Continue work on cleaning up the yard 3) Clean the garage now that the door is fixed!!  4) Fill the holes in the yard 5) Clean out both vehicles 6) Get a new flag pole for the front of the house and keep my flags up to date 7) Decorate for fall (I usually do this right at the end of September so I'm adding it to this months goals)  8) Put up outside Halloween Decor (also right at the end of September)  

Weekly Worship - Phil Wickham ~ Song In My Soul (Lyrics) ft. Hollyn

Enjoy!  :-)

2020 Weekly Photos #33

This has been a long week.  It has been super hot and humid.  Our cranky AC unit doesn't work when it gets hot so we had to hang a blanket to keep the living room end of the house cool and that is where we hung out all. week. long.  The dining room and kitchen were HOT HOT HOT!  Uuugg.  I read, played on my ipad, and worked on the computer. 

Here's a look back at our long week:

Saturday - a total do nothing day.  We had dinner at my mom's otherwise we hung out and did nothing HA!

Sunday - After lunch Darryl and I looked at each other and said, "Lets go to the lake" so we did.  We enjoyed an amazing 3 hours at our favorite beach - the place that is truly my home - Lake Michigan in Muskegon.  We both said, "Why don't we do this more!"

Monday - This is the day that by noon I hung the blanket.  The house was almost suffocating by that point.

Tuesday - My mom came over for dinner - good thing it was a crock pot meal because I wasn't cooking!

Wednesday - At 7:15 the contractor called and said, "I"m on my way!" and by 11:00 we had a new, working garage door :-)

Thursday - On Wednesday night, a friend from the campground sent me a message and said, "Do you all want to swim at the pool on Thursday?" YES!  It was amazing!!

Friday - We were going to go to a meet and greet with our co-op group but it was pouring rain and then my fridge was supposed to get delivered but . . .it was pouring rain.  So we ended up with a day of nothing!