The Big White Farmhouse

celebrating Sophia.  How is she four already?  She started her special day with a date with her dad to get breakfast bagels and donuts (a tradition!), and opened her gifts to the oohs and ahhs of her brothers.  Her big gift was a pink scooter and she is a pro already, flying around the house!  She requested rotisserie chicken and homemade mac & cheese for dinner and a carrot cake for dessert.  She is so smart, funny, kind, beautiful and just a little bit sassy – we love her so.  


wearing long sleeves for the first time this season!  The weather has settled into the 70s and it’s awesome.  Being able to turn off the AC and feel the cool breeze through the open windows…there really isn’t anything better.  


dealing with TJ and a random case of Hand, Foot and Mouth – we can’t catch a break!  He looked horrible, but was still his happy self most of the time.  Unfortunately, he also passed it on to two of his brothers, which resulted in a couple days home from school.  Hoping October is better health-wise for these kids!


taking Tums all.the.time.  My heartburn is unreal!  What’s the old wives tale?  Heartburn means a baby with lots of hair?  At this point, I’m thinking this boy has enough for a ponytail, hah.  


reading The Gap of Time, but not sure how I feel about it.  It was another chance to read outside of my comfort zone, but way more graphic than I’m comfortable with.  I’ll be happy to finish and move on.

researching for Big White Farmhouse.  The holidays are right around the corner, so I’ve been reading everything I can to prepare.  It’s exciting and nerve-wracking, especially with having a baby in the midst of it all, but I’m ready for the challenge.  Other things to note:
+ Our big news this week: we’ve added beautiful wooden toys to the Children’s Room section!  The craftmanship is unbelievable and they are definitely a toy that could be in a family for generations.  I purchased an airplane for a Christmas present for TJ and was so impressed that I quickly ordered a bunch for the shop!  We are carrying five vehicles: an airplane, a firetruck, a police car, a blue jeep and a pink coupe.  I also love that each vehicle comes in a fun drawstring bag – so easy for gift-giving.
+ I reordered the popular Love Grows Best signs in both black and gold.  Available for presale and should be ready to ship around October 10.
+ I also added eGift Cards, which can be sent directly to the recipient via email.   


making White Chicken Chili aaaand that’s about it.  We ate a lot of random leftovers and cereal for dinner.  Not my best culinary week, but life is sometimes like that.  Better culinary endeavors next week!  


preparing for an exciting weekend: my brother’s wedding!  

celebrating our “baby” turning two!  His birthday was such a crazy day and nothing seemed to be going to plan: a stomach bug went through two of the big boys, he refused to eat his special dinner and the cupcakes were store-bought from Wegmans with the only candles left in the house (pink!).  It was a good lesson for me in what matters most.  We were all together and his siblings were so excited to give him his Batmobile.  They played with him all afternoon!  It wasn’t Pinterest worthy or exciting, but it was good.


cleaning the entire house in an attempt to rid it of all these nasty germs.  After the big boys got sick, it quickly passed to Mark, TJ and me.  And we seem to take triple the time to get better!  I’ve been washing all of our sheets and wiping down every surface.  

loving our new couch, even though it was the cause of so much indecision! What to get, where to get, fabric choice to get and on and on…  We finally decided to just expand our exisiting Ikea sofa and purchase new slipcovers.  In the end, it was way cheaper and with TJ constantly making messes (and another brother coming right behind him!), we thought it’s probably best to wait until the kids are a little older to invest in a “nice” couch.   

welcoming the third trimester and feeling like this baby is going to literally break me, hah.  It must be the fact that this is baby #6, or maybe I’m just old, but this pregnancy seems to be the hardest yet.  My pregnancy pros and cons list:
Con: painful sciatica and lower back pain, making me waddle something fierce // Pro: blood pressure back to normal!  
Con: baby is moving and pushing all over the place (also considered a pro) but the midwife at my appointment said it could be until close to 38 weeks before he engages head down “because there is just SO much room in there” (insert grimace emoji here) // Pro: I’ve only gained 15 pounds so far (way less than typical) and she also mentioned that the baby “didn’t feel very big at all”, so that’s encouraging!    
I also took my glucose test this week.  I’ve been dreading it, but on Monday morning, I felt drawn to offer my fears and anxiety for sweet baby Regina.  So far, no phone call, so hopefully no news is good news?


looking into Trim Healthy Mama.  As much as the name makes me roll my eyes, I think it’s worth exploring.  As I get older, I can feel the effects of sugar in a whole new way: I love the initial “high” but then typically feel awful after!  I know the carefree sugarholic days of my youth are gone and it’s probably time to start taking better care of myself.  THM is a little overwhelming, but I’m taking notes (I bought both the book and the cookbook) and hoping to start small before ramping it up after the baby is born.     


watching Madam Secretary.


reflecting on a passage from my devotional: “Beg God to grant you true love of others and you will be rewarded with more than you know how to desire.”

watching the boys thrive at school.  The transition has been so natural and I know God’s hand is definitely on every piece.  There really is no “perfect” schooling option, but for right now, this is working and I’m so thankful.  
+ J is having an ABC Bootcamp in Kindergarten and every child was assigned a day and letter.  He lucked out with the letter “J” and brought in a Jack-o-Lantern, jam and a jump rope. 
+ D is doing wonderfully and his teacher says that he is right on target with the rest of the class.  (No extra help needed for dyslexia/dysgraphia!)  It’s been so nice to watch him want to read books, something I’d have to force on him when he was at home.  He is also suddenly very interested in writing and illustrating his own stories – so exciting!     
+ M’s first big school project was to create a salt dough version of the state of Virginia, along with major rivers and landmarks.  I’m thankful that he is being able to expand his knowledge in that way – he’s such a creative learner.    

(not) working on Big White Farmhouse much.  The yuck spreading through our house took most of my attention.  Just a couple notes for this week:
+ I’m watching the ebb and flow of business and trying not to freak out during the slower moments.  It’s so hard to be in the valley and not panic, wondering why the heck I’m doing this in the first place.  But then there’s a wonderfully strong week and I remember again why I love this job. Small business is not for the weak!
+ We’re celebrating the offical start of fall with a Free Ship Weekend!  Coupon code is FALLFREESHIP and good until Sunday night.

having a hard time coming up with ideas to write in this space.  I’ve been blogging for over five years now, so the idea of “ending” sounds so final, but maybe?  Struggling to find my voice here.

dealing with the first colds of the school year.  It’s not enough to keep them home from school, but definitely a sign that we need to beef up our immune systems!  I dug through Kelly‘s archives to find her post about keeping her girls healthy during winter and quickly bought the elderberry gummies and Immune C.  Hoping to stay on the offensive before cold weather and new baby comes!


feeling a little like the book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.  TJ broke our television over the weekend and that simple (unfortunate!) action caused a whole upheaval of my house!  We decided to mount a new TV above our fireplace, which led us to rearrange the living room furniture.  Rearranging the furniture sealed the deal that we should probably order that bigger sectional we’ve been saving for…but we’d have to move out the existing cabinets…which led us to totally redo the sitting room and turn it into a family library/homework area!  Ahh!  After living here for four years now, it’s fun to switch things around, but my brain is working overtime with all of these newly half-finished rooms.

starting a new devotional, Let Nothing Disturb You: 30 Days with St. Teresa of Avila.  The little blurb on the back, essentially a list of everything I’d like to work on, is what sold me: “Let nothing disturb you.  Let nothing make you afraid.  All things are passing.  God alone never changes.  Patience gains all things.  If you have God you will want for nothing.  God alone suffices.”  Praying for a fruitful 30 days.  I’ve also been slowly making my way through the latest Soul Gardening Journal.


searching for an appropriate top to wear to my brother’s rehearsal dinner in a few weeks.  I also need to start looking for cooler weather clothing as my current wardrobe is seriously lacking.  With 12 weeks still to go, I’m already feeling pretty whale-like and clothes are a bit depressing.  All for a good cause…

starting to feel “normal” with the kids in school, if that makes any sense.  The after-school crankiness has mostly died off and friendships are starting to form.  They all really like their teachers and we have been pleased with the communication we’ve had with them.  So far, so good.  The big two also started CCD this week.  This is a big year for D, his First Communion year!  They both have have nice teachers and even know a couple kids in their classes (and even some from school, what a blessing!).  I’ve had so much anxiety about everything changing this year, but really feel so much peace.  God is faithful. 

working a bit on Big White Farmhouse:
– I’m having so much fun creating content for the blog each week.  For this week’s Monday Morning Coffee Chat, we looked at incorporating copper pieces into farmhouse decor.
– Our latest order arrived!  We got these amazing cursive canvas banners (would be such a statement piece for a homeschool room!) and a meal planner/recipe notebook duo that I’m seriously considering snatching for myself!
– I also reordered more soaps.  Chai Spice, Fir Needle & Orange and Rosemary Mint are back in stock, along with three brand new scents.


dying over the three littles in their matching skeleton pajamas!  I originally got a pair for J during a big Carter’s sale and then lucked out finding Sophie (in purple!) and TJ’s on Kidizen.  


baking Apple Pie Bread and more blueberry muffins.

wrapping presents for TJ’s second birthday!  I can hardly believe it – we are so lucky to have this cuddly, smiley, fearless little boy in our family.  He sure keeps us on our toes!