The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

{five favorites} Vol.01: Hair Clips, Hobbit Puppets and Thanking a Veteran

If you’re coming over from Jenna’s blog at Call Her Happy, welcome to the Big White Farmhouse!  I’m so happy you’re here!      

I am so excited to announce that I’ll be the new host for the Five Favorites link up!  If you are a regular reader, you’ve seen me link up frequently in the past, with everything from cool weather running must-haves to our favorite kids games to why we love Jet.com.  Every Wednesday, I’ll be sharing five of my favorite things, which could be anything from inspiring blog posts to recipes to products we use and love.  Some weeks may have a theme and some may just be a random mix of fun finds.  I hope you’ll play along and link up too!

{1}

Hair Clips from JMhandmade
I won one of these hair clips in a giveaway and it has quickly become one of Sophia’s favorites.  I chose a few more to stick in her stocking for Christmas, including this adorable little bee! 

{2}
“It’s not about technology or not. I’m not suggesting you get all old-school-pen-and-paper about it (unless that’s your thing.) It’s about connecting instead of comparing. Instead of using the computer to watch someone else’s perfectly crafted life, enter into someone’s less-than-perfect life. You can use Facebook if you want, but you might find email, Skype and phone calls work better.”

{3}

Hobbit in a Bag
from Michelle at Falafel and the Bee
We are ever so slowly working our way through the Hobbit.  I came across this idea for stick puppets and couldn’t purchase the people-shaped craft sticks fast enough!  The older boys stuck to the plan and made Hobbit characters; the littles, on the other hand, went rogue.  We now have “a pretty girl in a purple dress” and the Hulk too, hah!

{4}

To Do List: A Free Printable
from A Pair of Pears
I have a lot of moving parts going on around here with homeschooling, Big White Farmhouse, my book club, the blog and other normal household tasks and appointments.  I’ve been using this printable to sort it all out and it’s been working great!

{5}
To my Veteran…
“thank you for fighting. thank you for being strong enough to leave. to miss years of moments, of firsts. thank you for overcoming your fears and standing strong. thank you for continuing to deploy over and over and over. thank you for loving US enough to do what you do so that WE do not have to do it, so that we can be safe.”


This one is a few years old, but as the granddaughter, daughter, sister and wife of a veteran, I couldn’t agree more.  There are great links at the bottom of the post too. 

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I’d love to hear about five of your favorite things too!  Need some ideas?  Here are a few to get you started:
+ Who are five people who have a significant influence in your life and why?  
+ What are five of your favorite Fall recipes?
+ Tell us five things you do to prepare your home for colder weather.



{around here} Week 44/52: Week of 11.2.15

A collection of our ordinary days, recorded every week.  At the end of the year, I’ll publish them into a keepsake to treasure.

Around here, I have been:

feeling so.wiped.out.  We have had a killer fall, full of good things – soccer and playdates and church functions and homeschooling routines and even a crazy decision to blog for an entire month, hah!  I think I managed to make it to Halloween, turned the page to November 1st and then collapsed.  This week has been less than productive, but I think I needed the rest.


enjoying our new morning routine for school.  It eases us into the school day and just seems more gentle than rushing to start workbooks.  This week, I introduced the boys to Frog and Toad…big hit!

confused by this crazy weather.  After being in sweaters and boots for a week, we’re back to temperatures in the high 70’s!  Mark, a few of the kids and I are starting to get sore throats and stuffy noses.


reading (ever so slowly) All the Light We Cannot See.  I’m so behind on our book club schedule!  Hoping to catch up this weekend.


researching ways to make my life a bit more organized and streamlined.  I’ve entered the inspiring (and a little bit overwhelming) world of planners and wow, there is so much out there!  Special stickers, “Plan with Me” Youtube videos, a multitude of pens and washi tape…it’s crazy.  I’m working through all of the ideas and figuring out what will really work for me.  


thinking a lot about this blog and where I hope to go in the new year.  It never fails – whenever I step away from technology for a bit, inspiration strikes and I can’t wait to start again.

{house to home} 31 Days of Contentment: What I’ve Learned

Day 31.


Technically, my final count will be 29 out of 31 days…not exactly perfect, but not too shabby either.  Writing everyday, and writing things with actual substance, is hard.  My brain was pretty fried about two weeks in, but I’m glad I persevered.


On October 1, I asked the questions: What does contentment mean?  Is it something that you can really achieve?  What role does contentment play in having a thriving life?  


For the past month, I have spent a lot of time in my head.  I wrestled through eight steps to greater contentment, thinking about what I was doing well and what I could improve on.  And after 31 days of studying myself and my life under a microscope, I still don’t feel like I have an easy answer to those questions above.  


Here’s what I do know: Contentment is a choice.  Every single day, I have the choice.  


Contentment requires practice and dedication.  It requires looking beyond myself, especially above and in front of me.  It requires a heart that is quiet and a heart that is grateful, even in the hard, messy parts of life.  


I don’t think I’ve reached a content life yet, but I’d like to think I’m a few baby steps closer.

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On a light-hearted note, another takeaway from this challenge is that some people enjoy hearing from me every single day…and some people don’t!  I think I lost a few followers this month.  I’ll be taking a little bit of a breather next week (and you can take a break from me too!), but I’ll be back Friday with our weekly update.  I also have a fun announcement coming in November, so stay tuned for that too.


Thanks for hanging with me this month, listening to the ramblings of a conflicted, introverted thinker.  Thank you also for sharing your thoughts with me and making me feel less alone.

To catch up on all of my posts from the 31 Days of Contentment series, start here.




{around here} Week 43/52: Week of 10.26.15



A collection of our ordinary days, recorded every week.  At the end of the year, I’ll publish them into a keepsake to treasure.


Around here, I have been:


watching the big kids play chess all day, everyday.  They are obsessed.  


preparing for our family pictures this weekend.  My friend Lucy is taking them for us and I’ve been scrambling trying to find coordinating clothes for all of us to wear.  Can’t wait to finally have a picture of all seven of us together!


reading All the Light We Cannot See.


changing up our Halloween costume choices last minute.  We originally went the DIY ninja route, which ended up looking a little too similar to a certain terror group, so we scrapped those plans and started over.  The boys are now going as Zorro, Deathstroke, and Wolverine.  Mark surprised Sophia with a Cinderella dress (her very first!) and I wish I had taken a picture of the look on her face.  It was as if her Daddy had purchased for her the most expensive, exquisite ballgown she’d ever seen.   


“picking” (quite anticlimactically) pumpkins from a bin at Target.  Our schedule has been so crazy, we never made it to the farm and with time not on our side, we opted for convenience.  We were at Target to look for pieces for their costumes, so why not hit two birds with one stone?  The kids didn’t seem to mind a bit and I loved the price – if you wait last minute, you get a nice-sized one for three bucks!


finding a stuffed monkey all around the house.  We recently watched Night at the Museum for movie night and Dexter the monkey was a huge hit.  Now we’ve got him at home too!

loving the joy on TJ’s face when he sees his sister.  Sophia always greets him with a hug and says he is her best friend.  I can’t wait to watch their relationship grow.


homeschool notes:
+ I’m changing things up again in an attempt to make our mornings more peaceful.  We started “Morning Basket” time on Wednesday and so far, so good.
+ In history, we learned about the monks who wrote beautiful, ornate books by hand.  We watched a youtube video and then tried our hand at detailed illustrations too.

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