We’re still alive and well. David has been working a new job. Ella has been reading her favorite books again. Aurora has been playing in the sprinklers. Lightning has been enjoying cub scouts and day camp. Wendy has been running around in skirts–daily. Peter has been getting into the sunscreen. And I, well, I’ve been doing the every day things as well as going to girls camp, planning out Liberty Girls, planning for my art class for a Transition to Scholar group for Ella, figuring out Knights of Freedom Summit Family Activities, and enjoying the summer thunderstorms…the result is always worth it!

We had a lovely Independence Day, though it started off slow for me. I didn’t sleep well, so everything seemed “late.” Then I chose to just move forward, and I was able to keep going the rest of the day.

We went to our local Independence Day parade and had a nice spot near the beginning of the parade. The benefits: get a good seat, get to leave before the made rush, kids don’t have to wait another 10 minutes to see the beginning. The downside: lots of candy for the kids. This particular parade doesn’t usually have a lot of floats, and the kids don’t seem to mind. We managed to find the same area we had last year, and it was just perfect. Some friends joined us, and fun was had by all.

Ella and I

Peter playing “freeze ray” – he likes to freeze in a funny position, even if he wasn’t in it before someone said “freeze!”

Peter and David

Aurora

Lightning

Ella

Peter

Wendy

The ponies were one of the kids’ favorite entries.



I love that you can see our reflection in the Copper Car. Click on the picture to see a larger size. Then if you click on the larger image it should zoom in more.

Wendy “fanning” her friend.

The tractors were also a kids’ favorite.




Fireworks sure are hard to photograph!

We had a nice barbecue with David’s family, and then we headed home for some neighborhood fireworks and socializing. Our next door neighbors are moving in a few weeks, and we wanted to spend another holiday with them. They have generously hosted our Independence Day gathering for the last few years, and we’re really going to miss them.

I’m grateful for God’s tender mercies and answered prayers. I had a prayer in my heart for the safety of my children and loved ones. I also asked to see God’s hand in my life that day, and He provided! I’ll share a couple of them:

I forgot the squirt bottle for keeping us cool at the parade, and it didn’t matter because Heavenly Father provided the cloud cover, a light breeze, and sprinkles of rain throughout the parade. What a blessing!

Then at the neighborhood gathering, we had an incident with a firework. Out of the two aerial fireworks in the whole display, one tipped over and shot two rounds at our crowd. I can see God’s hand in keeping everyone safe. They shot near two adults who would know what to do. In one case, an adult ended up getting hit with it and he flipped over before it popped and injured him. If he hadn’t been there, the child behind him on a chair could have been hurt. We’ll either not use them again or secure them better next time. I used to get really freaked out by things like that, but I was amazingly calm and so grateful.

Isn’t it wonderful to have a loving Heavenly Father who answers prayers and shows His hand in our lives if we just seek it!?!

How was your weekend? Did you see God’s hand in your life?

Comments welcome!

I made this yummy cake last night for our Neighborhood Independence Day celebration. I loved the change in flavor that the almond extract added. I had several compliments on the cake. It sure makes a girl’s heart feel good! I must do it again!

• 2 1/2 c. sifted Whole Wheat Flour
• 3 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1 tsp. Sea Salt
• 1 1/4 c. Honey
• 1/2 c. Oil
• 1 tsp. pure Almond Extract
• 3 large Eggs
• 1 c. Water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil and flour cake pan(s).

Mix above ingredients on medium until incorporated. Mix on high for 2-3 minutes. Pour into prepared pan(s). Bake at 350 degrees F for:
6″ rounds – 30-35 minutes
8″ rounds – 30-35 minutes
9″ rounds – 25-30 minutes
13″ x 9″ x 2″ – 35-40 minutes
or until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Frost when completely cool. If you are doing a layered cake, freeze the layers first for easier handling before frosting with this Sucanat Butter Cream Frosting.

I doubled the frosting recipe and changed the vanilla extract to almond extract for the above pictured layer cake. I also chilled the frosting before using it because my butter was a little too soft. I then left it out to soften up a little bit before using it on the cake. Not bad for a 5 minute frost job!

If you’d like to learn more about frosting a cake, there are many videos out there. I liked this one because it gave a lot of basic information in one video (though the “secret syrup” is not necessary).

Comments welcome!

My family has all enjoyed this room again since I cleared and cleaned it out.  We actually use it more and enjoy things like family reading time together in this room again.  I believe it has a lot to do with my deciding I like the room again too.  Instead of hiding out in my room to relax or read, I come into this space and just enjoy it!

Checked off my list:

Living Room

• Go through all of my bookshelves and organize them into categories
• Decide which toys to keep and which ones to give/throw away
• Move furniture around for more ease and access
• Organize the coat closet

From this…

To this!

What have you done this week to make your living space better? Please share! Anything is a step closer to what you want, and I want to celebrate it with you!

This is WAY out of my comfort zone and something I NEVER do. I freely admit that I tend to want to be seen as perfect.

These pictures only re-sized and watermarked and taken after a long day of kids playing, some gardening, husband fixing the washing machine, packing husband and son up for a camp out, and a girls night with my girls and my 3yo son.  This is what my home looks like right now at 11:00pm.  Gratefully my home doesn’t always look like this. :)  {Keep in mind that I really don’t do interior decorating. My living room is the most “decorated” room. I would love to change that, and for now I’m making do with what I have.}

This leads up to why I’m really posting these pictures…

Have you ever felt the need to get something done that would transform your home and relationships because that thing would free up time to be more present with your loved ones? I do, a lot! Yet I often feel overwhelmed by the task.

Right now, my task is to get my home organized again. I need to do another purge (like the six month purge as this TJEd book recommends). I have too much stuff, and my home systems aren’t as efficient as they have been or can be. The “stuff” has just been overwhelming again, and I need to simplify my home. I’ve learned that I just need to take it a day at a time, while still having a plan in mind.

So here is what I’m planning for the next month or so while still taking care of my husband, five children, home, garden, callings, etc…  It can be done!

Spaces / Rooms
Living Room

• Go through all of my bookshelves and organize them into categories
• Decide which toys to keep and which ones to give/throw away
• Move furniture around for more ease and access
• Organize the coat closet

Master Bedroom

• Clear out my bedroom of unused items and reorganize my bookshelf
• Straighten up the computer desk and file papers
• Shred unwanted documents
• Update my vision board
• Reorganize our office supply cabinet
• Categorize files in small filing cabinet and refile everything
• Reorganize the CD’s on rack
• Move YW stuff to YW closet at church
• Reorganize binders for: Liberty Girls, Transition to Scholar Group, Personal Progress…
• Clean off dresser

School Room

• Revamp job charts
• Go through all bookshelves and organize books into categories
• Do something with the VHS movies (yes we still have some!)–get rid of them?!?
• Clean out and update our homeschool “closet” in our school room
• Clean out homeschool binders and get ready for a new year

Kitchen

• Purge the unused cookbooks I have/will never use
• Reorganize kitchen cabinets
• Update Recipe binder and add category tabs
• Print out recipes from blog to put in recipe binder

Laundry Room

• Reorganize and get rid of excess things that have not been used
• Clean off appliances and laundry soap shelf
• Move file box materials to filing cabinet under the stairs
• Find space for sleeping bags
• Get rid of boxes that are no longer used/needed

Children’s Bedrooms

• Go through clothing for correct sizes, repairs needed, and season appropriateness
• Help children purge unused/unneeded toys, papers, crafts, etc…
• Reorganize closets and shelves

Bathrooms/Hallways

• Reorganize closet in upstairs bathroom
• Go through medicine box and get rid of expired/no longer useful medicines
• Get rid of small postal boxes from hallway closet
• Go through cleaning supplies and store extra in food storage room

Food Storage Room

• Organize shelves
• Rotate food

Under Stairs

• Find ways to utilize wheat storage as furniture or accessories (I can’t seem to make this not sound funny, but I know what it means. lol)
• Create reading nook
• Find light(s) that work under stairs
• Move Filing Cabinet to under the stairs and put materials from Laundry room file boxes into it

Projects

Sewing and Projects

• Sew ribbons on old towels for hanging in downstairs bathroom (almost done, just need all the towels washed)
• Purge unneeded fabric
• Organize fabric to keep
• Make cover for love sac
• Create Plaque/Visual for our Family Mission Statement I’m working on for the School Room and Living Room
• Repair Lightning’s dresser

Calendar/Schedule

• Schedule times to make our family’s two week supply of bread (consistency is needed)
• Merge my online calendar with my physical family calendar
• Schedule time for teaching my daughter more cooking skills
• Create babysitting information class for my girls (and friends?)
• Set aside daily personal study time for myself

What are you working on (big or small) to organize your home or make your systems work better?

Thank you for visiting!  Comments are always welcome.