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The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

March 14, 2016

{currently} 20 Things I Love: A Gratitude Journal vol.7

the way the sun shines through the windows in the morning
turning the heat off and not needing the air conditioning
TJ’s curls
watching the boys run and play at the park
praying the St. Joseph novena for all of the fathers in my life
putting all of the winter coats away
freshly sharpened pencils
a book I can’t put down
waking up headache-free after a hard few days
checking long-awaited projects off the to-do list
waking up to the smell of coffee
lemon and lavender in the diffuser
seeing itty-bitty progress in my workouts
when M cooks breakfast for all of his siblings
Sophia’s compliments on any food I make: “Oh mama, it’s delightful!”
packaging orders 
the sweet (and sometimes sour) relationship growing between D and J
planning a training schedule for another half marathon
learning something new
this quote I stumbled upon on Pinterest from Ruth Bell Graham: “As a mother, my job is to take care of the possible and trust God with the impossible.”

March 11, 2016

{around here} Week 10/52: Week of 3.7.16

A collection of our ordinary days, recorded every week.


Around here, I have been:



loving this warm weather!  We’ve had unseasonably warm days this week, with a few days even into the 80’s.  We’ve been playing at the park with friends, eating outside and just enjoying the sunshine.  Makes me so excited for spring!


watching new birds check out our hanging basket.  Last year’s fern is long dead, but I haven’t had the heart to remove the nest inside.  And now it looks like there will be new residents!  I’ll have to do a little trim of the worst pieces when the birds are away.


working out, but it was a struggle.  I just wasn’t feeling it this week!  I’ve been having dull headaches off and on and I’m pretty sure it’s because I’m not drinking enough water.  Definitely need to work on that next week.

m: T25 Speed 2.0
t: Dollar Workout Club – Chest & Back
w: Cardio Kickboxing
th: T25 Dynamic Core
f: off



switching winter clothes out for spring ones.  The kids love this activity, but I tend to dread it.  So many clothes in so many sizes…I get so overwhelmed and I just want to donate it all!  So glad to have that project done.  


reading Bakhita: From Slave to Saint, The Mapmaker’s Children and Better than Before for book club.


getting a lot of work in for Big White Farmhouse.  Ordering new products (so fun and nerve-wracking!), packaging orders, and tweaking a new social media strategy.  We also were offered a HUGE opportunity (more on that soon) and I am so excited to share BWF with a new audience.  



homeschool notes:
+ M is learning about the African savanna in his science co-op class and his teacher recommended this webcam.  It is awesome!  We were able to see an elephant and what we think are wild boar, which was so exciting.  It’s been fun to check in at different times of the day to see who’s near the watering hole.
+ For that same co-op class, M is doing his very first presentation.  This week he worked on his visual aid and he’ll start his talking points on notecards next.

March 9, 2016

{five favorites} Vol.16: Five Easter Basket Ideas for Kids


Welcome to the Five Favorites linkup!
A reminder about a new twist I’m adding to the linkup this year: At the end of each month, I’ll be giving away a prize pack to one #5Faves participant!  Here’s how it works: every time you link up a blog post, it counts as one entry.  So if you link up a post every week, you’d get four entries.  I’ll keep track throughout the month and then randomly pick a winner on April 1.


Easter is just around the corner, so I’ve started thinking about what to put in those five little baskets.  (Side note: I bought these baskets from World Market last year and they are so great!  Only $10 and if you use ebates, you even get 4% back.)  My motto with most gift giving is no junk.  I like to mix fun things that can be enjoyed for awhile with a few practical things they’ll need for spring.  And of course a bit of chocolate too!  Today I’m sharing five of my favorite ideas for Easter 2016:

Animal Doodles // We love Usborne, don’t you?  We have a similar set of these dry-erase cards (ours is monster-themed, which looks to be retired) and they are awesome!  The perfect activity to throw in your bag for waiting rooms, the carpool line or restaurants.    

Avian Friends Puzzle // Puzzles are always a big hit around here.  Lately, we’ve been buying more difficult ones that they whole family can work on.  (And if you have little ones who could quickly destroy all of your hard work, I highly recommend something like this.  Lifesaver at our house!)

Lucy Owl Plush Doll // I am such a sucker for a well-made plush!  We sell Lucy Owl at Big White Farmhouse (shameless plug!) and she is so, so sweet.

Petal Print Bunny Tee // One of the more practical items going into their baskets this year is a new shirt for spring.  I tend to buy most of their clothing through ebay, ThredUp or Kidizen, so it’s a big treat to get something new with tags, hah!  

Wizard of Oz Board Book // This is going into TJ’s basket.  We already own a bunch of the BabyLit collection and each one is so cute.  I may love them more than the kids!

**some links may be affiliate – thanks for supporting the BWF!**
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I’d love to hear above five of your favorite things too!  

An InLinkz Link-up


March 8, 2016

{book club} The Inspired Reader’s Book Club: Book Seven

Want a fun way to read a variety of interesting books in 2016?  You should join us in The Inspired Readers Book Club!  Tabitha, Shelly and I started last June and it’s been a great way to add some adult conversation to my weeks.  We’ve read a range of genres, which has helped me try books I’d never think to pull off the shelf.  I also appreciate the accountability aspect of the book club; less mindless TV and more reading!

Shelly is leading this time and she chose Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin.  Even though I read this one last fall, I am so excited to revisit it again.  I’m also excited to hear how our different book club members are wired (so fascinating to me!) and what factors motivate them best.  

Our reading schedule will be as follows:
Week 1 (March 14): SELF-KNOWLEDGE
Week 2 (March 21): PILLARS OF HABIT
Week 3 (April 4): DESIRE, EASE AND EXCUSES
Week 4 (April 11): UNIQUE JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE

As always, we’ll have discussion questions posted on Monday, so feel free to jump into the conversation whenever you have time.  We’d love to see you in the Facebook group!


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The 10 Year Reading Plan for the Great Books of the Western World

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