If any of you know me, you know that I like to think of myself as a private person so connecting on a personal level with over 340,000 followers sometimes feels a bit daunting to me. But you are my sweet friends (some of you have followed for years) and we truly love you all! So I am going to try to bring these posts back more often so you can get a glimpse into our lives.
Here is a very recent picture of us all taking a trip into the big city:
I have been adapting to a lot of changes lately. My older children are all usually gone and at work or volunteering at church and I just have the younger ones now in the latter part of the day. It is an adjustment to not have the house so full but a quieter time to relax and also focus on the individual needs of the younger ones without distractions.
This little guy (I say little but he is taller than me) has been stepping up and helping out so much and taking the place of his big brothers:
I am so grateful for Joshua! Every time we go out he wants to go with me and always offers to buy me something while we are out now that his older brothers are paying him to do odd jobs around the house for them. Even though I usually try to tell him to save his money, I think it is such a sweet gesture on his behalf and do let him do it every once in a blue moon. In the pic above he is at Steak & Shake enjoying a burger and a banana milkshake with Dad and his little sister.
And Bella has been getting so big. She has grown so much. And even though she is only 3 she wears a size 5 in clothing! We have been spending a ton of time playing with her new Calico Critters house set and taking in many tea parties which is her personal favorite!
I am so grateful to have her and feel I enjoy her so much now that I am in my mid 40's. I think that the older you are the more you appreciate childhood and the magic that it comes with.
One of the twins also went to go see the Jurassic World Exhibit recently and loved it:
He was quite relieved that he made it through alive!
And he came back with his very own Raptor Claw:
WHAT HAPPENED THIS PAST WEEK
This past week didn't turn out the way I thought it would. My husband had taken a week of vacation and we had some lofty plans to go out and have some fun and then he got sick.
Then there was a pipe main break in our neighborhood and we lost water for a few days (not fun with 11 people in one home).
Then I got sick when we were supposed to visit with some friends who were coming into town.
And we couldn't make a big birthday party we were planning to go to.
And yes...it was one of those weeks. But we survived and are better for it all. I am trying to make a habit of looking for the silver lining in the day instead of focusing on the negative. I will purposefully point out to all the kids the blessings that did happen that we might have missed or forgotten about.
WHAT I DID
We went to see The Greatest Showman recently and we really enjoyed it. Now I know that many of you don't do movies but this was one was quite entertaining and a musical at that. It is the story of P. T. Barnum and the Ringling Bros. Circus and how it came to be. There are some parts that you might not want your children to see so you might want to check movie reviews or go see it yourself first. At home, we usually try to watch movies with ClearPlay and that helps out a lot.
WHAT I MADE
It has been years since I made curry rice for my family. After I went gluten free I tried to avoid all kinds of triggers and thought the curry would bother me but it didn't and was ah-mazing!
It brought back so many wonderful memories of being at my grandmothers home in the chilly winters and her making us all a piping hot plate of love.
This is my secret weapon that never fails-- I will share the recipe here soon!
WHAT I WANT TO READ
I was perusing BAM the other day with the kiddos and I found some interesting books that I would like to read. I stumbled upon this one called A Simplified Life: Tactical Tools for Intentional Living by Emily Ley.
"In A Simplified Life, you’ll find Emily’s strategies, systems, and methods for permanently clearing the clutter, organizing your priorities, and living intentionally in 10 key areas—from your home and meal planning, to style and finances, parenting, faith life, and more. Emily will show you how to truly make the most of your days with realistic, achievable, and tactical tools.
Walk alongside Emily through each page of the book, working through her simple strategies toward your own goals as you simplify and make space for what matters most.'"
WHAT I AM TRYING OUT
I was doing a large family food shop over at Aldi (we usually take about 2 carts to check out) and I found this Ghee Clarified Butter for $6.99:
I have not used it before but have heard that it is good for you. If you use it please share what you do with it so I have more ideas! Right now I think I am going to use it for scrambling eggs!
WHAT'S NEW
There has been a change in our church situation, and there is a new beginning on the horizon--we are looking forward to what the future holds!
We have also added a ton of new members in the past few weeks to our Wise Woman Builds Titus 2 Facebook Group which you can join HERE.
I am also really liking my new Stainless Steel bottle from The Pioneer Woman that I got for Christmas. It keeps my coffee nice and hot for up to 12 hours and cold drinks cold for 24 hours. It is durable and can hold up to all the kids in our family.
I had really wanted the blue one but they were all out of them the day my husband got it for me. This is what the blue one looks like below:
If you can't find them at the link above, they might still have them at Wal-Mart!
Here is another picture of Steve and I with our daughter, Joy on Christmas Day at his sister's home:
HOME PROJECTS I AM TACKLING
I recently had to replace our vacuum, get some new dining chairs and bought some new appliances. I am making a list of what updating & deep cleaning that needs to get done and hoping to accomplish some of it little by little. One of the things on the top of my list is deep cleaning our carpets. This year I also want to get laser focused on tossing things out and decluttering. The older I get the less things I want to have. It always seems that is a constant battle you always wage with a large family!
I hope you enjoyed our pictures!
What have you been doing these days?
More posts you might like:
Feminine Favorites: Floral Dresses & More!
Planning Out the New Year with Your Husband
15 Ways to Spice Up Macaroni & Cheese
7 Benefits of Having a Prayer Journal
Wholesome Books for Young Boys
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7 comments:
What a nice update about your life. I have been following your blog for several years and enjoy it. I hadn't seen the Pioneer Women water bottles, who knew a water bottle could be so pretty!
What have I been up to? Cleaning up my office so I can start a huge scanning project. Hubby brought home tubs of albums with old family pictures. We are planning on scanning them to make digital copies for any siblings or cousins who would like them. This will be taking up most of my spare time this winter I think. Still, I am hoping to get some quilting done too.
It's a snow day here so my boys are out shoveling sidewalks for neighbors. I love them being willing to work and serve and it gets rid of some extra energy.
Happy Monday from Nebraska,
Kris
It is so good to see your update. Little Bella is growing so fast. Your family is so beautiful.
I'm working on some deep cleaning and organizing.
I love homemaking. I'm 62 and my youngest is 24.
I love your blog. Thank you for all your hard work.
Blessings to you,
Linda
Dear Kris,
I used to live in Nebraska as a child--Omaha to be exact but it was only a few years! I hope you scanning project goes well and that your quilting time is fruitful. My boys shovel in the neighborhood too--it is good for them and they love earning their own money. Thanks for following for all these years--what a blessing it is to hear from you!
Dear Linda,
Yes, little Bella is growing SUPER fast--she is full of life and fun, we love her to pieces and she brings so much joy into our home! I hope that your deep cleaning and organizing projects go well. I am so glad you enjoy the blog and hope you stop by and visit us again soon!
Ghee is wonderful and you can use it anywhere you’d use butter, even spreading it on toast. I use it for cooking eggs a lot or cooking veggies in a skillet.
I use ghee all the time:) it is butter except cooked a little more and clarified. So in the morning I spread a little on top of bread slices as let it brown on both sides on stove top. It is very nutritious especially for the little ones. I do make scrambled eggs and lentil soup. It can replace oil but use it moderately since it is butter
Diana
dianasdiaries.com
It was very nice to learn a bit about you and your family. My husband and I started eating paleo in October and I have been thinking about trying to use ghee in my cooking but I haven't bought any yet because it's rather expensive. I think you got a great deal.
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