10/06/2015

Out of Chaos....A Necessity

Order





I used to think that these kinds of schedules were awesome...for someone else.

I have tried numerous "schedules" and "routines" over the years, but nothing clicked.

Until...
 
This Baby.


My, oh my, is he a cutie!

And, it was because of him (and his five siblings) that I felt the need to be a tad bit more organized.

Enter...

This guy.


My, oh my, is he a babe!

He's really good with schedules and organization too.

He called to check in on how things were going the first day of our homeschool.
 
Chaotic.  
 
That about summed it up.
 
 He told me to stop schooling for the day and wait until he got home that night to come up with a plan.

Gladly.

That evening we made up the "Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday Schedule."  (He had already helped me come up with the cleaning/chore schedules previously.)
 
I can't say that I was super excited about the color coordinated schedule while we were making it up.  In fact, I had a headache, I was grumpy, and I just wanted to get in bed.  I may have even told him how it probably wouldn't work because...it just wouldn't.  So there.
 
BUT 

The next morning I woke up with my alarm and got the day started...and we've been on schedule (mostly) ever since.  It's been a month and the kids and I are liking this schedule.  
 
Everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing, and we all know that school will be done around the same time each day.  Woo Hoo!
 
I'm not completely fanatical about the schedule.  It doesn't rule me.  For example, this morning, I woke up with (another) raging headache (typical for me while nursing) with ringing ears and dizziness, so I took a nap while our oldest babysat the little ones and the boys watched shows.  Some days you have to do what you have to do to survive.  :)

Anyway, 

That's what we've been up to.

That, and...

This.
 
Go get 'em #35!



 
Nice tackle, Jonny!
 
Enjoying Fall,









9/15/2015

First Day of School Pictures - 2015





Baby Gerrit


These are my students.  

They look like trouble this year.  ;)

 
 

9/03/2015

End of Summer Picture Post

Summer 2015 is winding down.

Jonny is trying out football this year.  He's enjoying it!

Brothers!

Lost another tooth.  He's so adorable without any front teeth.  I think, when I look back at him as a child, I'll remember him like this.  Freckly and toothless with a huge grin.  :)

Diaper rash cream should never have been invented.  But since it was invented, I'm glad that Dawn Dish soap has also been invented to assist mothers of 2 year olds.

Lydia fell asleep on Daddy while on a pontoon we rented while camping.

The girls

Snuggles while camping

This little pirate girl...she's a hoot!

And our oldest.  6th grade this year!  She's growing up fast!

We are enjoying the last days of Summer, but also looking forward to starting up another homeschool year.  We will start our lessons at home on Tuesday, and Classical Conversations starts on Thursday! 

Bring it on!

8/26/2015

Camping With An Awesome Nursing Cover - Discount Offered!

Recently we went camping for 8 days.  
That's the longest camping trip our family has ever taken.  We all survived - and even thrived!

We had a fun time with just the 8 of us for the first couple of days and then with a great group of friends for the rest of the trip. 



In the second picture you'll see that I have a black and white striped thing on my head.  That "thing" was a life saver for this trip.

Have you ever heard of Covered Goods Nursing Covers?

Best nursing cover ever!

Seriously.

I have tried numerous covers over the past 11 years, and this cover is BY FAR my absolute favorite.

It is lightweight for hot summer days and super soft for delicate baby skin.  
It FULLY covers you - front and back - and the baby so there are no embarrassing/revealing moments when you are nursing in public.

It also makes it super easy to walk around while nursing.

Touring Maple Moon Sugary in Petoskey, MI

While we were on vacation, we went on three different tours.  I was comfortably able to participate in each one because of this nursing cover.

Touring Kilwins in Petoskey, MI

Some of my friends kept teasing me that they wouldn't know who I was unless I had that "striped thing" on.  :)

Cute hats, hey?!  ;)

I contacted Covered Goods to see if I could get some sort of offer for my blog-reading friends so they could buy one of these awesome covers for themselves or as a gift at a discounted price, and they said yes!
Watching the dads and kids play in the annual camping soccer game

You can get 15% off if you buy a cover (or a few!) today, August 26, through Saturday, August 29.

Just put in the code dearlylovedmist15 at checkout.
I've already bought two covers (at full price - one for myself and one for a gift) and I intent to buy more - that's how great these covers are!

Head on over to Covered Goods to see the cute patterns.
Don't forget to purchase by the 29th or the offer won't be valid anymore.

Enjoy!

p.s.  If you want to pay with Paypal, go to "checkout" instead of clicking right on the paypal link and it will take you through some steps where you can enter the code to receive your discount on the Covered Goods website before you go to Paypal. 

7/29/2015

Our 6 Kids

This picture just makes me laugh!


Some of us are adjusting to life with this new little one better than others.  ;)

She ADORES her new little brother, but she also knows that things are different and has been reacting with a stronger will lately.

Knowing that life will take on a "new normal" in a number of weeks (or months) and feeling grateful for all that the Lord has given us,




7/26/2015

Finally, He Is Here!

Gerrit Olaf
 
(Named after Nate's great grandpa and part of my maiden name, not after the Frozen snowman, although Gerrit does like warm hugs ;) )
 
Born on July 23, 2015
9lbs 7oz
21 1/4 inches


Adored (and smothered) by all.

We love our "little" guy!!!


7/21/2015

No Green Thumb Here

In June, Nate and I got away for a night to celebrate 13 years of marriage.

We stopped at one of our favorite little towns, Pentwater, and did some shopping.

I bought the cutest lavender plant at a boutique.  Wish I had a picture to show you what it looked like when I bought it.

After less than a month, it looked like this.


So, I got online to see how to care for my pretty little plant that was clearly dying.

And now it looks like this.


I do not have a green thumb.

My daughter teases me about this fairly often.

We were at a friends' house enjoying their pool the other day, and I started watering their flowers.

Emilia said, "Mom!  What are you doing?  You're going to kill their flowers!"
 
No confidence.
 
But she's right!  I either water a plant too much or too little.  I either give a plant too much sun or too little.
 
I marvel at others who can actually keep plants alive.
 
Maybe someday, when the kids are a bit older, I can put more time into figuring out how to keep green things...green.
 
Until then, I'll just limit the amount of plants I buy knowing that my thumb is not, and never has been, green.
 
 
 


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