July 2015 – Page 2
sales for Big White Farmhouse my attempt to be proud of my body instead of critical making memories with the kids a big bowl of fresh blueberries how Sophie says “Mama” before and after every sentence a good night sleep for TJ the prayer: “Lord, show me the way.” watching the joy on Sophie’s face when she goes on a date with her Daddy cuddles out of the blue from J the lines on a freshly vacuumed floor my cold morning cup turning into delicious iced coffee D’s protective care for his baby brother celebrating the first food from our garden pink and purple sunsets after heavy rain storms handpicked flowers from the yard the kids’ excitement for homeschooling another year guacamole and tortilla chips: my summer staple
As the Creative Director for Big White Farmhouse, I am constantly searching for new products. Our company is passionate about supporting the “little guys”, the ones who are working tirelessly to create a life doing what they love. I love that entrepreneurial spirit and I hope you do too! Since I can’t carry all of the cool products I find, I thought I’d pop in every so often to share some of my discoveries with you! Volume 06 is inspired by my love for the great USA. Enjoy. Red Stripe Cloth Napkins by Little Blu Nest Stained Glass Star by Kurt Knudsen USA Round Cutting Board by AHeirloom Land of Liberty Notecard by acbcDesign USA Outline Map by Life on the Homestead
1. Finalize curriculum choices for next year and make a plan for purchasing throughout the summer. Done. I still have days where I second-guess everything, but I’m going to stick with what I’ve chosen for now and see how it goes. As for purchasing all of our books, I’ve been checking ebay, waiting for sales and using Ebates when I can. 2. Get recent family photos printed. Oops, didn’t complete. I’m not sure why this is so difficult to do! 3. Paint my new office. I had great intentions for this one, but never got around to pick up supplies. Hopefully, I can make this a priority in July. I’m ready to have a semi-completed space of my own! 4. Work hard toward my fitness goals (decrease body fat, increase weight lifting PRs, reduce most sugar consumption). Done. My four week results from following LiveFit Trainer are minuscule, but they are something. I’m down a teeny bit of body fat, have increased my lifting to 15 & 20-pound weights and have eaten relatively clean. I definitely enjoyed my vacation and all the treats that came with it, but am ready to get back to work. 5. Slow down and make memories as a family. Done. Funny how this simple little goal has encouraged a big conversation about what our future holds and what we desire most in life. I hope we can continue in the months to come. And a few new goals for July: 1. Big White Farmhouse: put in the work! // I am passionate about this business and want it to grow and thrive. A marketing plan, purchasing new product and brainstorming better customer engagement are all on the to-do list. 2. Finish Sophia’s princess cross-stitch. // Bonus points if I can turn it into a pillow for her room too. 3. Write the first 9 weeks of lesson plans for the new homeschool year. // Even if we don’t follow it exactly, our schooling goes much smoother when I take the time to plan it all out. 4. Cross one thing off my Life List. // This one’s really open-ended…we’ll see what inspires me this month! 5. Look out. // Mail that letter. Send that surprise package. Tell that person what they mean to me. My life at home is full, but it shouldn’t consume all of me. Instead of always looking in, I want to look out and see all those people who love and support me too.
A collection of our ordinary days, recorded every week. At the end of the year, I’ll publish them into a keepsake to treasure.
Around here, I have been:
celebrating my brother and his girlfriend’s engagement! So happy for them and excited to add another sister to our family.
watching the baby birds hatch in our hanging basket. The kids had a very serious discussion about names, with the top contenders being Sam & Pippen or Bilbo & Frodo (can you tell what movie is big in our house right now?). We finally settled on a compromise of Sam and Frodo.
cheering for D as he lost one of his top front teeth. He is so excited to finally do the “straw trick”: keeping your mouth closed while drinking.
listening to M’s dreams for owning his own restaurant someday. When I asked him what he would serve, he said “eggs, steaks and pork”. So basically a Paleo eater’s dream.
packing for a week-long vacation the morning we left. Um, never again. That was the craziest morning with lots of “Have you seen ___?” and “Wait, don’t forget to pack ____!” Next trip, I’ll be returning to my type-A, packed three days in advance ways.
traveling 12 hours in the car. We hit more traffic than we expected, but the kids were troopers and TJ was even better than we had hoped. He was so funny every time we stopped: we’d take him out of his carseat to come sit up front with me and he would excitedly look all around him and then want to touch everything, like a puppy!
feeling all the feelings watching my children play at the farm, where I have so many memories. Watching them make memories with my extended family makes my heart want to burst too.
celebrating the new marriage of my cousin and her groom. She was beautiful and the ceremony was perfect. J and Sophie were in the wedding and passed out long-stem roses to the ladies as they walked down the aisle. I was afraid they may have some stage fright, but they did great!
laughing at Sophie’s conversation with her Poppa: “You are a peach.” “No, Poppa! I Sophia!”
eating lobster, local strawberries, Italian sandwiches and whoopie pies. I veered off my healthy diet big time, but so worth it.
driving home in the middle of the night, which is a great idea to miss traffic and have sleeping babies, but hard on us adults. We were all so sad to leave, but thankful to sleep in our own beds.
thinking about what really matters for our family. Getting away on vacation was the perfect time to look at what’s working and what is not. It feels like the theme of our marriage so far has been “more”: more money, more children, more house, more stuff, etc. All wonderful, necessary things for which we are so thankful. But as we soon embark into the next decade of our marriage, I think we’re at a great point to slow down and really enjoy all that we have. I’m craving simplicity and ready to make the changes needed to get closer to that goal. It’s one thing to say you want something and quite another to actually take the steps toward it. Hoping I can match my prayers with actions.