The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

{recording life} Project Life: Week Thirteen

The Mom Creative

Last week’s Project Life was a lot of fun to put together.  I finally bit the bullet and purchased the Variety Pack of new pages from Becky Higgins.  LOVE all of the different options!

Week 12 was the first week I used Design F, so I knew going into Week 13 that I wanted to include a lot of little pieces of life to fit all of the pockets.  Always a good idea to plan ahead of time, so I’m not scrambling for stuff at the end of the week!
A look at the whole week:

Left side.  I love how this design allows me to include so many little stories.  This week, I have a couple of M’s drawings, a grocery list, my latest pregnancy craving, and a few pictures trimmed to 3×4″. 

I also love to include little notes to my boys, so I have one to M explaining the back story of his drawing and a secret one for Baby #4.  I always loved those secret flap books growing up, so I imagine it will be fun when my kids are older to discover all of the secret letters I include in the Project Life books.

Right side.  A postcard sent to us from Disney, a little love note to D, and the rest of the page is all about M’s first soccer game.  Have I mentioned I’m a brand new soccer mom?

Insert for the week.  I used Design D and just cut off the two vertical 4×6’s at the end.  I wanted to include some of the fun projects we did for school (finally back to a little more structure!) and the back is full of sidewalk chalk pictures.  I’m loving printing the horizontal 3×4″ size!

Be sure to check out all of the other Project Life inspiration at the Mom Creative!
{More of my Project Life pages here}

{recording life} Project Life: Week Eight

I had so much fun sharing my Project Life album a couple of weeks ago that I thought I would do it again!  I can’t promise this will be a weekly feature, but I hope it can serve as inspiration for an easy way to record all of those family memories.  So without further ado, week eight: 

This week was mostly about our snow days.  I took a LOT of pictures! 

Close up of the left side.  I devoted the whole page to Sunday’s snowstorm and all the fun the boys had outside. 

Right side.  These were just a few random shots taken the rest of the week.  I made little love notes for each boy from the 3×4″ journaling cards with something sweet they said that week.  I really like how they turned out and I think I’ll be writing more sentimental notes to them soon. 

These are the inserts from the week.  I took a We R Memory Keepers page protector that had 6 horizontal 4×6″ spots and cut off the bottom row.  That left 8 spaces for more snow pictures!  Behind that is a picture M created and then dictated the story to me.

One last story from the week was one that I’ll probably share on the blog soon.  I used a 12×12″ page protector to keep a special piece of artwork made by the boys and glued the pictures right on top. 

I love that Project Life can be anything you want it to be.  Lots of pictures, lots of artwork, lots of journaling and memories…it’s all up to you!  Be sure to check out The Mom Creative for lots of PL inspiration!

{recording life} Currently…

time : 10:45 AM

place : living room couch
drinking : a big glass of ice water
watching : sweet J sound asleep on the couch next to me.  He had a rough night last night (hello molars!) so naptime came quickly this morning. 
reading : Rescue by Anita Shreve and A Place at the Table by Chris Seay, my new book for Lent this year.
feeling : under the weather…yuck
thinking : about all of the projects I want to accomplish this spring.  My list is a mile long…we’ll see if I can check them all off!
creating : little love notes to add to my Project Life album this week.  The boys have been saying some hilarious stuff and I don’t want to forget. 
hoping : for a powerful Lent in our home this year.  We are ready to fully embrace this season in preparation for Easter!
needing : a nap would be nice!
wondering : what I should blog about. I’ve hit a bit of writer’s block.  I’d love to know why you visit me, what keeps you coming back, what you’d like me to write about. What can I add to my list of ideas?

{recording life} My Take on Project Life

If you’ve read my blog from the beginning, you know that I am a big fan of Project Life.  2012 marks my third year using this “scrapbook system” and like anything, it has changed and molded to fit our life.  Want a peek?

When I first started PL in 2010, I did a 365/Picture a Day approach.  In 2011, I found that that method didn’t work for us anymore.  Some days I took tons of photos, some days the camera stayed on the counter.  So I moved to a weekly approach and so far, it’s working wonderfully!  

I’m sure you’re confused, so here’s an example: 

These two page protectors represent one week in our lives (last week).  In theory, you can consider each 4×6 opening one day (Sun-Mon) and the smaller pockets places for journaling.  For my weekly approach, I simply see them as a place to put pictures and pieces of our life for this week. 

Here is a close up of the left side.  I took lots of pictures this week, so I cut a few down to fit the smaller pockets.  I also included the wrapper from these cool flavoring straws that my aunt sent the boys.  They were a BIG hit, so I wanted to add it in. 

 Right side.  All of the photos on this page were taken the same day.  Also included is a cute drawing made by D and Garfield taken from a coloring page M did this week.  Lots of journaling about our week too.

The reason I love this type of “scrapbooking” is because I am quite sentimental about paper things.  I keep letters, birthday cards, and don’t get me started on the kids’ artwork!  With Project Life, I can keep the most important items and have peace about throwing the rest away.  Here’s an example: 

This week, M sketched out a figure on construction paper and wanted to know how to spell ninja.  I loved his little handwriting so into the PL binder it went.  I keep a bunch of 8×11″ page protectors (the kind you can get at the office supply store or the paper aisle at Target) onhand for this. 

Another fun idea is one that I learned from Jenny (the same Jenny from the Life List series!).  She writes weekly notes to her kids and includes them in her album.  I don’t do this every week, but I am always grateful when I do.  I just punched holes right into the card.  (I got the coffee card in Target’s Dollar section!)

So that’s my intro to Project Life, the Big White Farmhouse way.  A fun and easy way to hold your pictures and your family’s memories.  The great thing about PL is that it can be anything you want it to be.  Don’t have enough “stuff” for a week?  Do a monthly approach!  It’s totally up to you. 

Here are a few links to get you started if you’re interested:

If you have any questions, please ask in the comments!  I’d love to try to help! 

{recording life} Making a Life List: Part III

Source: weheartit.com via Maddy on Pinterest

I’m a little late, but here is Part III of Jenny’s Life List series.  This week, she gave 10 writing prompts and challenged her readers to come up with one item (at least!) for each.  Below are a few of my answers:

Writing Prompt: List 10 things you would do if given a second chance.
Life List item: Assist or help coach a middle school softball team.
Why this item?  I played softball for six years and stopped right before I went to high school.  Looking back, I realized how much of my self-esteem came from playing sports in middle school.  I’d love to coach someday to help girls feel that way too.

Writing Prompt: List your favorite things to do on the weekends or your day off.
Life List item: Play a pick-up flag football game with my entire family (parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc)
Why this item? I come from a competitive and athletic family.  They are so inspiring to me.  And we love football.  I think it would be so fun to play a game together…I’m picturing Thanksgiving! 

Writing Prompt: List 10 new professions you would like to try. (money/talent not important)
Life List item: Take cooking classes with my husband.
Why this item? My husband and I both really love to be in the kitchen.  He loves to experiment with flavors and spices…quite the opposite of my exact measurement baking!  Cooking classes would be a fun date for us, while at the same time expanding our culinary skills! Win win!

These are just a few of the prompts Jenny put on her blog.  I’m excited to work through the rest this weekend.  You can check out all of the prompts here.

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Today is the last day to sign up for the Mamma Support Swap!  Sign-ups will be open until tonight and then I hope to e-mail you all with your partners this weekend!  So excited about the positive response! 

{recording life} Making a Life List: Goods and Greats

I’m back with my Part II of Jenny’s Life List series.  (You can find my post on Part I here.)  This week, the task is brainstorming a few things into two categories: goods and greats.   

Here’s what Jenny says about “goods”: “Simply put, they are my goals. They still hold tremendous worth. They still require me to work hard to achieve them, but no one ever questions me or my ability to succeed. My goals still require planning and execution, and other resources such as money and/or childcare.  But goals are completely attainable and often 100% up to you to achieve.”

I have a lot of things that could easily fall into the “good” category.  Here are a few I came up with:

  • Go horseback riding
  • Run a race with my dad
  • Ride the Amtrak
  • Make homemade ice cream
  • Make every recipe from a single cookbook (a la Julie & Julia)
  • Organize a getaway trip with my cousins
  • Have our family pictures taken by a professional photographer
  • Learn how to make candles
  • Take a photography course

And then there are the “greats”…goals that are a whole different level.  This is Jenny’s take:

“Essentially my greats…are my dreams. Dreams are sort of scary. My dreams can leave me energized and breathless in one moment and then quickly make me feel naked and vulnerable in the same minute.  The scary things about dreams is that they aren’t always planned out and the details aren’t always available. That is hard for a planner and for a type A person such as myself. Why? Because dreams require something other than just your hard work.  Dreams require elbow grease plus a bit of magic.  Dreams still require intention plus God smiling upon you.  Dreams also bring out the skeptics and/or the “realists”. These dreams bring on the statements: “Jenny, that’s ridiculous. That’s impossible. You are setting yourself up for disappointment.” Now that voice can come from others or from within yourself. This is where you have to ask yourself if you and your dreams are worth the fight. Are we deserving of great things? Simply put, YES!”

Jenny’s words are powerful and inspiring. Those dreams deep in my heart…those are the ones to put on this list. I’m going to throw a couple of mine out there – maybe they will inspire you to dream big too!

  • See a game at every NFL stadium with my husband

  • Give in 100 different ways (at least!) 
  • Purchase an old home and completely renovate it

  • Run a successful home decor business

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What are your goods and greats? I’d love to hear an item or two on your life list. Oh and check out Jenny’s blog to see her biggest dream. She’s so cool.

{recording life} Making a Life List

Do you read Learn with Jenny?  She is an amazing woman with a powerful story…you must check her out!  I love her zest for life and her quest for intentional living.  She is starting a new series on her blog about creating a life list and that is right up my alley! (You know how much I love lists!) 

Part One is actually the preparation before you create your list.  She asks three questions: What do you value?  What excites you?  What are your inspirations?  Good things to think about, right?  Below are my answers.  I’d love to hear some of yours!

Values List
Jenny says: “These are the things that really matter to you. Simply, these are your beliefs and ideals that you hold as special.”

  • Family
  • Creating a welcoming and loving home atmosphere
  • Charitable giving/service and modeling that for my children
  • My Catholic faith and continually growing in faith
  • Recording my family’s stories for future generations
  • Creativity
  • Living intentionally

Excitables
According to Jenny, “These are the things that make you feel centered, grounded, yet alive. These are the simple acts that often bring out the best in yourself, serve to spark an active imagination, or put yourself in a healthy, energetic mindset to dream big.”

  • Laughter
  • Giving gifts
  • Being in the kitchen
  • Heart-to-heart conversations with family
  • Taking photographs
  • Working on my Project Life album
  • Reading
  • Sewing of any sort with my hands, not so much with a machine
  • Getting out of our everyday routine, even if it’s a day trip or small excursion

Inspiration
Jenny says: “What serves to inspire you? There are things all around you that help to influence you or inspire you everyday. These include people, events, blogs, magazines, music, concerts, life experiences, photography, etc.”

If you’re interested, Jenny has a free printable worksheet you can use.  I found that this was a really enlightening exercise and I am excited to work on my own life list in the coming weeks. 

{recording life} My Word for 2012: Dream

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Do you choose a word to guide your year?  After some prayer and a lot of thought, I’ve decided on DREAM.  For awhile, I have been “in the trenches” so to speak when it comes to motherhood.  With multiple little ones seeking my attention for feeding, playing, diaper changes, baths, you name it…well, I really didn’t have the time to think of anything else. 

The past six months or so have been different. I feel like I’ve hit my stride when it comes to balancing motherhood and my home. Sure, some days are more difficult than others, but for the first time in a long time, I feel like I can glance out to the future…and dream.


I have dreams for making a difference in this big world. I have dreams for my little family. I have dreams of moving to a new town into a home that will be ours forever. This year, I want to dream big dreams…allow myself to put it all out there and see what God has in store for me. I’m excited to see where He leads.


What is your word for 2012?

{recording life} Goals for 2012

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Happy New Year!  How did you ring in 2012?  Our New Year’s was really low-key.  The three littles had bedtime as usual (they’d never make it to midnight anyway and I am not about to have three grouchy boys in the morning!  Know what I mean, mammas?)  Mark and I watched a movie and were sound asleep by 11pm.  Such is life!
I love January and the feeling of starting anew.  I’m also a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions.  They keep me grounded and intentional, even if I don’t accomplish them all.  This year, I separated my goals into three sections: To Read, To Bake, and To Accomplish.  Here are a few of my goals for 2012 (along with some links!). I’d love to hear some of yours as well!
To Read

To Bake



To Accomplish
  • Wean myself off of soda
  • Have all of the boys’ baby books up to date
  • Finish my mom’s family scrapbook project
  • Install hardwood floors
  • Attack our student loan debt and pay off the car
  • Eat out less and cook healthy, homemade food more!
  • Make low-cost, at-home date nights a priority
  • Simplify and organize some of the “hot spots” in our home (closets, boys toys, etc)
  • Find more easy ways to serve others as a family
  • Make fun memories!

{recording life} Embrace the Camera

Through the wonder of the Internet, I found this great blog, The Anderson Crew.  She does a weekly link-up called Embrace the Camera, where she challenges Mammas to actually get in some pictures instead of just taking them.  I am totally guilty of this: in our Project Life book, I am probably in about six pictures. Yikes.  

So after watching from the sidelines for a few weeks, I set the self-timer and decided to take the plunge. 

You can check out the other Mammas here.

{recording life} Checkin’ (Off) My List

I think it’s pretty clear by now that I like to make lists.  And as much as I love to make them, I LOVE to cross them off.  So today’s post is a celebratory story about accomplished goals. 

Goal #1 from our 2011 Fall Adventure List:
“Leave a love note for my husband just because”
Goal #2 from my 27 Goals for my 27th Year List: “Win a giveaway”
I had been trying to think of a nice, inexpensive way to surprise my husband.  A little note and gift “just because”.  He is such a hard working and wonderful provider for our family.  I know I too often take him for granted.  So the wheels were turning when I entered Camille‘s giveaway celebrating her 50 followers.  And….. I WON!  I WON!  Now I never win anything, so I was beyond ecstatic.  And to top it off, it was the perfect little gift to accompany my card.  The Mr. is a Starbucks addict with a long commute.  I couldn’t have planned it better myself!
Thank you Camille for helping me make my husband’s day!  🙂  You can check out her blog here – she is definitely inspiring me to get out of these yoga pants (that aren’t seeing any yoga) and get dressed!
And boom, two things checked off my lists!  Done and done.
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The card is from here. 

{recording life} 27 Goals for my 27th Year

Today marks the beginning of my 27th year!  26 was a great year for me and I really feel like I hit my stride as far as a mother and wife.  I’m looking forward to seeing what 27 has to offer too.  To help me be more intentional with my year, I made a list of 27 Goals for my 27th Year.  (If you know anything about me, you know that there aren’t many things I love more than lists and goals…and the satisfaction of crossing them off too, of course!)

So without further ado, here’s my list for my next year of life:

1. Get in shape. I’m stopping the excuses and getting off my ‘duff.  Healthy is my goal.  I used to be an athlete and I want to get back there again. 
2. Read 15 books.  
3. Travel to two places I’ve never been before.  We have one place in mind for next spring, but the second is yet to be determined.  Fun, family-friendly destination ideas on the East coast are welcome!
4. Make bread from scratch. I’ve gotten half credit for making it with the bread machine, but I still want to learn to do it 100% myself.
5. Write down all of the boys’ birth stories.  I need to do this sooner than later…my mind is going to forget all of those important details!
6. Send 5 “just because” gifts to family and friends.  I may or may not be the most exited about this one. 
7. Re-decorate my bedroom.  Our bedroom has become kids toy central (I still don’t understand how they get in there!) and somewhat of a storage area (Christmas, birthdays, etc etc).  I am ready to make a plan and create the “calm oasis” that everybody says a master bedroom should be!
8. Write more about my feelings about motherhood.
9. Find a way to earn a little extra without compromising my time with my family.
10. Donate my hair to Locks of Love.  I haven’t had really long hair since the 4th grade, so this should be a fun experience and end with a great cause.
11. Read two books from my Classics List.
12. Make pasta from scratch.
13. Have silhouettes made of each of my boys.
14. Win a contest of giveaway.  Blogs always have giveaways and I have yet to win one!  15. Run a race with my Dad.  This is my year, Dad.  It may be a 5K, but we’re running something! 
16. Surprise my husband with an awesome 30th birthday.
17. Plan monthly at-home date nights.
18. Eat only local foods for a month.  Challenge: do not step inside the mega grocery store.  Only eat from local farmers and businesses.  We totally could do this!
19. Start a gratitude journal.
20. See a movie in theaters.  It’s only been oh…5 years since I’ve seen my last movie in theaters!  I think I may finagle a way to surprise my husband with this…he’d be ecstatic!
21. Finally visit of the local “sights” around our hometown.  We have so many interesting sights around us and haven’t explored anything!  Time for a little staycation adventure this summer.
22. Attend a homeschooling conference.
23. Catch up on my previous scrapbooks.
24. Make cake pops.  I’m so behind on this trend, but it is definitely something I would love to learn to do.
25. Pull off special birthday parties for both of my parents.  They both have big birthdays coming up next year and I’ve got some great plans. 
26. Install hardwood floors.  I desperately want to get rid of our old carpet and put in new hardwood floors.  The question is: put it in ourselves or pay the pros?
27. Tell the ones I care about how much I love and appreciate them.  No brainer, but I need the reminder to this more often.

Now the question remains…what do I do first?  🙂

Less Materialism, More Intentional Living

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