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The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

January 10, 2020

No.333: 2020 Gratitude // 02


This is a new series for 2020 and I hope I can keep it up!  If I record 20 things every week, I’ll have over 1,000 items by December 31.  That’s a lot to be grateful for.


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kitchen dance parties by candlelight with the three little ones


our new pastor who was officially installed last Sunday


a bad day, which makes me appreciate the good ones


bright lime green moss found in a sea of brown leaves and grass



seeing life through S’s eyes in her Instax photos



the hawk that has taken a liking to our backyard and just sits on our playset, letting us observe him


six kids’ faces plastered to the window


how J picked a necklace for me from the prize box at CCD



getting my dental cleaning over with (and officially deciding to find a new dentist)



the smell of snow in the air


the perfect snowball consistency



a middle-of-the-week snow day (we got 4-5″)

four big kids who volunteer to shovel the driveway



five out of six kids who can dress themselves in snow gear


watching Lucy’s first experience with snow (she looooved it)


a book that will stay with me for a long time


my husband


a big sale on Poshmark


maple and brown sugar oatmeal sprinkled with frozen Maine blueberries on top


a successful first week back to school










January 8, 2020

No.332: The Wednesday Five #04

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Happy Wednesday!  Another week of five prompts with a whole bunch of bullet points:

A QUOTE

The next time you see the trunk of a clean-cut felled tree, have a look at the tree’s cross section and the complete ring of bark that has been revealed by the saw and you may well notice it is marginally thicker on the north side.  On the same tree have a look at the tree rings and the heart of the tree.  Most people assume the heart of a tree will always be in the center, but it rarely is.  The heart of a tree is rarely in the center because it’s affected by the asymmetric strains of the wind, which will draw the heart toward whichever side the prevailing wind blows from, and the growth shaped by the sun, which will draw the heart southward.
– from The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs, page 61

A BOOK 

I’m more than halfway through 102 Minutes: The Unforgettable Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers and it is so eerie and haunting.  Still such an important story to tell.

THREE THINGS I’M ASKING AND RESEARCHING

  • Can I recycle used batteries and if so, where can I drop them off?
  • What can I make to use up two cans of artichoke hearts in the pantry?
  • Do I have a book that can fit into January’s prompt for Chantel’s Read Your Bookshelf Challenge?

FOUR THINGS I LOVE

  • Love Woolies make handmade mittens from re-purposed wool sweaters!  Sophie and I both have a pair and they are so warm.  
  • Rachel at the Sweet and Simple Home (a Youtube channel) has the most calming voice.
  • Santa brought the kids reading pillows (medium size for the four bigger kids and “petite” for the two littles) for Christmas this year and while I worried that they were a little too practical, the kids loved them and have used them everyday since!  Perfect for reading and hanging out in bed and they’ve dragged them to the living room for movie nights too.
  • The short film, The Veil Removed, gave me goosebumps.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT & A QUESTION

I couldn’t agree more!  This year, I’d like to blog, read, and practice my photography – just because they’re fun.  What hobbies do you want to rediscover this year?

January 7, 2020

No.331: Books & Family Goals for Epiphany 2020

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Our fourth annual Epiphany dinner!  This year was a bit of a train wreck: I had children who declared they didn’t really like chili and refused to eat, there were some tears and whining and just general bad moods.  But I persevered!  We managed to still chat about our family goals for the new year and the kids came up with these three all on their own:

  • Go to daily mass once a week.
  • Work on our patience and kind words. 
  • Spend even more time outside.

After a whopper of a dinner, everyone ripped open their gifts wrapped in gold paper and…went their separate ways.  Hah!  No reading together by the fire this year.  Maybe next time.
Our Epiphany books for 2020:

MARK – Strangers in a Strange Land: Living the Catholic Faith in a Post-Christian World by Charles J. Chaput

ASHLEY – 
There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather: A Scandinavian Mom’s Secrets for Raising Healthy, Resilient, and Confident Kids by Linda Åkeson McGurk


M (age 13) – The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Most Daring Sea Rescue by Michael J. Tougias and Casey Sherman

D (age 11) – 
The Falcon’s Feather (Explorer Academy, Bk. 2) by Trudi Trueit

J (age 9) – 
Addison Cooke and the Tomb of the Khan (Addison Cooke, Bk. 2) by Jonathan W. Stokes

S (age 7) – 
Amelia Bedelia Means Business by Herman Parish and Lynne Avril

TJ (age 5) – 
Stop! Bot! by James Yang

P (age 3) – 
Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night? by by Brianna Caplan Sayres

P.S. I bought everyone’s books on Book Outlet during their Black Friday sale!  I think the most expensive book was $5 – such a steal!

January 6, 2020

No.330: Intentions for the Beginning of January

Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.
– St. Thomas Aquinas

INTENTIONS FOR THE BEGINNING OF JANUARY

  • get a solid start on No Spend January (I need a break from the spending madness!)
  • try out The Confident Mom’s free Household Planner 
  • slowly get back into the 1,000 Item Declutter Challenge
  • write thank you notes
  • finish up my 2019 December Daily album
  • list 5 new items on Poshmark/ebay
  • cross-post 5 items
  • try to get a photo of the six kids all together
  • keep track of all grocery spending
  • have a “Top Chef Night” to use up some of the random items in our pantry and fridge
  • start demo-ing Sophie’s bathroom
  • finally set up the telescope
  • watch and practice one video from my new self-defense course
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The 10 Year Reading Plan for the Great Books of the Western World

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