weigh in | april goals.

Checking in on the April goals!  

Make two presents  :::  check!

We had a shower for Jordan's cousin, Joy.  Her theme is Wizard of Oz so I made her a scarecrow burpcloth and a bib!  I also did a maternity shoot!  (Sneak peek later this week!)

Read Mittenstrings for God  :::  check!

Y'all.  This book is so good.  It honestly spoke straight to my soul.  It affirmed my decision to stay at home.  It is about slowing down.  And living life.  Like really living.  Giving up the "norms" of rushing here and there and fitting everything in.  And instead, valuing the precious gifts you've been given and really learning to appreciate the authentic joys in life.  Making your home a haven for your family and really cultivating life within those four walls.  I could have highlighted half the book.  In fact, I almost did.  You, all of you, need to read it!

Have a yard sale  :::  check!

We had our first yard sale!  And, it was a success.  I kept joking that this yard sale would probably be my first and last.  I just knew that there was a ton of work going into it and I wasn't sure we would make any money.  But, we did okay.  And we got rid of a bunch of junk!  My February book, Organized Simplicity, recommended having a yard sale so I had been gathering stuff for about a month and a half.  This is definitely the way to go!

I did learn that you don't sell a lot of clothes.  We had a ton of clothes and they did not sale very well.  I always talk about how it's too much work to send clothes to a consignment store but really, it's less work than a yard sale and you probably make more money on your clothes by doing it that way.  So...lesson learned.  But, I do feel so much better now that we don't have all that junk.

Had to document my first two purchases - by the ones having the yard sale with me!

Blog  :::  fail.

I finally picked up a little bit at the end of April.  But I am still not blogging about as many things as I'd like to!

Love People  :::  continuing this one...

I don't feel like I will ever be able to fully check this one off.  There are always more people I can love and ways that I can love better.  Our preacher talked about this a few weeks ago and the sermon really spoke to my heart.  He talked about how we are called to love people.  And love them well.  He talked about the paradox of feeling more joy in our lives when we serve others and put their happiness and joy ahead of ours.  I want so badly to make this a way of life.  To serve others and find joy in that.  For this to become the normal, not the exception.

Okay!  I'll be back tomorrow with May goals :)

thankful.

so thankful that i get to be the mom of these two sweet boys.

crews joel

tate mckennly

project 52.14

intentional.

I've realized just how precious these years are with y'all.  We have a small window of time to pour encouragement and life into your hearts and souls.  

We know we have to be intentional with you.  

From the beginning.  

Intentional about what words we use in our home. Which television shows and what music is okay to be heard inside our home.  

How we speak to each other.  How we love each other.  How we respect each other. 

Some of these decisions we are still working on but there is one that we both agreed was a non-negotiable from before you ever arrived.  Each night we read The Jesus Storybook Bible and say prayers. Our desire is for you to grow up in a home that is filled with Jesus.  I want you to know about Him and understand Him and realize just how much He loves you!

This is such a sweet time for the four of us.  I look forward to it every night.  The house is quiet, we pile into the nursery, your daddy typically rocks both of you and I read a Bible story in crazy voices.   

I grew up doing this with my family and it has always been such a special and important time.  Every night, even now as adults, we gather around and my dad reads a bible story and we each say our prayers.  Our boyfriends were required to stay if they were there when we got ready to do this.  Our friends have all been a part of it if they were spending the night.   It has always been an important time in our day.  Even though life was crazy and we were all going in different directions, we knew we would end the day together reading a bible story and praying.  And we have decided to make it an important time in our home as well.  

Our prayer is that you come to know Jesus at an early age and that you live your lives sold-out for Him.  We want our home, our routine, our lives to reflect that.  And we want to be intentional with the time we have.

sneak peek.

I took some pictures of Mallory, Jack and Piper a few weeks ago at the park.

Here's a quick sneak peek.  Your CD will be in the mail soon, Jana!

joy.

“I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. And I don’t want to get to the end, or to tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes. I want to eat cold tangerines and sing out loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down, and I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift.” ― Shauna Niequist

I saw this on Ruthie Dean's blog. 

Today is the almost Friday.  

Choose joy today.

And go read Ruthie Dean's blog.

::: april goals :::

• Make two presents ::  Excited about these :)
• Read Mitten Strings for God ::  Such an awesome book.  My mom has talked about it for years and told me that I have to read it! 
• Have a yard sale ::  This is something that I had to add to my list after reading Organized Simplicity.
• Blog ::  I want to keep this up!  But, it takes time!  I've got to get back on it.  I still want to continue my breastfeeding series, I want to record my thoughts while the boys were in the NICU and I have a few projects and random stories to tell.
• Love people :: I want to make people feel loved and important.  From the barista at Starbucks to my family.  I want loving people to fill my days.

Leave me a comment with a link if you posted your April goals!  I would love to see them!

project 52.13

magical.

The holidays have become new to me since y'all have come along.  

I have always loved holidays but now, they are magical.  

I love decorating for them.  And finding themed desserts to make.  And buying little gifts. In fact, the day y'all came home from the NICU, we loaded you up and drove to get our Christmas tree.  I absolutely 

could.

not.

wait.  

We typically take a trip to the mountains to get our Christmas tree but we were quarantined and couldn't go out in public.  So, we loaded you up and the three of us sat in the car while your daddy picked out the tree at a local stand. You had no idea what was going on...but it was so much fun to do this as a family of four.  

It's so fun to be a mom during holidays.  It feels like I have the ability to make it something big.  And, oh we're going to go big.  To allow the suspense to build in the weeks to come and  decorate the mess out of the house and do every Easter dessert pinned on my "Easter" board and just celebrate life to the fullest with y'all. 

I can't wait to make the holidays magical for you. We're gonna do it up right.

weigh in | march goals.

It's only mid-April and I'm posting my March weigh in.  Guhh.

I am still loving having monthly goals.  It is so helpful to at least have a plan for the month.  I feel like I accomplish a lot more with a plan :)  I'm so Type A.  Sheesh.

Make two presents ::: check!

Thank you, Pinterest!  I found two things to make for one of my best friends, Mollie.  It was her birthday so I made her this headband.  

No, we aren't twins :)  I had to make sure to get a picture of it for the blog.  And I took this just in case I forgot to take a picture of her wearing it...which, I did.  

It looked way cuter on her.  Believe me.

And her hair looked great.  

Sorry, you ended up with pictures of my ridiculous roots.

I also made her this bracelet from Pinterest:

Read The Hunger Games :::  check!

Oh.My.Word.  Not only did I read The Hunger Games but I also read the second and third book.  Catching Fire and Mockingjay.  They were so good.  When I read the back of the book initially, I didn't think I was going to enjoy it.  But, I was sucked in pretty quickly and was completely worthless while I read these books.  When I start a good book I can't do anything but read.  So there were a few days that I pretended that the laundry wasn't overflowing and that the 10 day organizing plan didn't exist and instead I just read.  Any chance I got.  I can't wait to go see the movie!

Complete the 10 Day plan from Organized Simplicity :::  :(

Haha.  I can't completely check this off the list.  I started really strong.  I followed the instructions for the living room perfectly.  But, with each room that I completed, I got a little more slack.  It would have been best for me to complete the plan as I read the book.  If I had read the living room chapter then did the living room and then read the kitchen chapter and cleaned/organized the kitchen, and so on... I think I would have been more successful.  It is fabulous in theory.  And I love the my kitchen and living room are definitely clean and organized.  I also think that the bathrooms and our bedroom and the nursery are pretty close to being done. I still have the guest bedroom and the office/play/craft room.  

Make a photo book of the NICU stay ::: check!

My friend, Meg, told me about an idea she had seen on Pinterest.  To order a Shutterfly book with only pictures and then write in it.  So your own handwriting is in the book.  So, this is what I did.  I've gotten the book.  Now I've just got to write in it :)

Pursue Jordan :::  check!

I want to work so hard to make our marriage the number one priority.  With not just one, but two babies, it can be kind of difficult.  By the time Jordan gets home some days, I'm in need of help.  So he takes one or both boys while I get supper ready or get laundry thrown over or whatever.  And then it's bath time and time to get ready for bed and time to straighten up all the baby gear that has slowly crept from the basket it was in to all over the house.  So, by the time all of that is done, we're exhausted.  And often want to just chill out.  So, we have been learning to work to make time to talk.  And enjoy one another's company.  Thankfully, as the boys have started sleeping more, we have been able to have some time at night after they get in bed.  We can play cards or eat dessert or just sit and talk.  I've learned that the time after the boys are in bed is a sweet time for us - it can be just us.  Kinda like a little date every night.  As long as I can stay awake :)

Make a menu and stick to it :::  check!

So, I came up with an idea that works for me!  

I printed a March calendar and filled in items we could eat every night of the week.  I repeated some of our favorites throughout the month.  Then, I made my grocery list based off the menu.  We didn't stick strictly to eating what I had put on the calendar for that day.  Instead, we chose whatever meal looked best to us that day and then I checked that one off the calendar.  It worked great!

Blog :::  hmm....

So, I've realized, I have so many things I want to do with my time.  And honestly, "me time" is a little far and few between these days.  So it makes it a very precious time.  That I have to be very intentional with.  Some days I fail at this.  And instead of using my twenty minutes or hour (if I'm lucky) of "me time" wisely, I sit in front of the tv and waste this time.  But I guess sometimes, this is not such a waste.  I need a moment to not have to do anything - not even check off an item on my creative to-do list.  But, most of the time I try to squeeze in something fun or intentional.  And to be quite honest, often blogging is on the list but it's just near the bottom and I don't get to it.  I am trying to keep up with my Project 52 and I have really been trying to keep up with my goals posts (fail.).  But, the rest, I'm just having to squeeze in when I can.  My "to blog" list keeps growing and growing...

Extra Credit - Paint Buffet Table :::  fail.

I didn't get to this since I didn't complete my 10 Day Plan.  But, that's okay.  It'll happen sometime.  

Okay, I'll be back with my April goals soon!

project 52.12

hopeful.

I am hopeful that you will travel.

You went to the beach for the first time.

I was so excited.  And you were both amazed.  

You would just stare at the ocean.  

I hope that this will be the first of many trips to the beach. 

But, I also hope that you will have the opportunity to travel.  Some of my most treasured memories are in airplanes and airports, in foreign countries, seeing other cultures, taking in the world - one trip at a time. 

I hope you will have the itch to travel. That you will want to see the rest of the world. 

What it has to offer.

What you have to offer it.

It will change your life.

I am hopeful for opportunity.

[sneak peek].

I took some pictures of our nephew, Bennett, a few weekends ago.  

Here are a few that I fell in love with:

Easter Sunday.

sunday.