I do not have an official bucket list. If I did, you would find some big, seemingly unattainable items on it. Such as tossing a coin in the Trevi Fountain, exploring the hillsides of  Tuscany, and getting new carpet in our rental home…you know, that type of thing. Then you would find the small things that I continue to say and rarely make an effort to do like sew a pillow case dress, make homemade jam, parasail, etc. Finally, you would find the things that have been on there for~EVAH that I am finally doing in the last year or two. Run a 5k, run a 10k, and improve my photography skills.

Feels good to cross things off. I am thinking of making an official bucket list because I am one of those weirdoes who likes to write things down for the sheer purpose of crossing them off. It is like putting the exclamation point on the end of a sentence and a cherry on top of the sundae. Something isn’t complete until that final bit of oh la la makes its appearance, ya know?

So, I have been reading and practicing, reading and practicing, going through tutorials, and having many a photography playdate with my Ashley to suck all the knowledge out of her that I can. I was over the moon when a sweet friend of mine emailed to see if I could take some pics of her beyond beautiful young ladies. These girls are as sweet as they are pretty and it was such a fun time with them.

We have GOT to do what makes us feel alive. As I was prewriting these jumbled thoughts in my head, trying to decide if they would magically turn themselves into a somewhat coherent post, I sat down and opened my computer. I instantly found that the articulate Kelle Hampton quite literally wrote a post entitled ALIVE, just today. For me, more often then not, when reading a Kelle Hampton post, I find myself trying to convince my body that it is not an appropriate time to jump up and burst into the Hallelujah chorus. Although, quite frankly, she seems like the type that probably would, even in the middle of a crowded library. That girl speaks my language. The one that lives in my soul, but struggles at times to get out. She inspires.

What makes me feel alive is to grow and stretch. To learn something new. To share important moments with people. To love on my family. To capture beauty. To find artistry. To live with uninhibited passion.

To… Do what you can

With what you have

Where you are.

 -Theodore Roosevelt

There is a magical place.

That point where living becomes more important then just existing and you’ll do anything you can to get there.

Whatever it takes.

What is it that makes you want to leap out of your chair and sing the Hallelujah chorus?

I found various versions of this project on Pinterest. There is this one and this one.

The planets all aligned because one of my besties is opening an Etsy shop, mopedINK with some of the cutest printables around. SO YEAH, she hooked me up with the labels for my project. Her shop will be open MONDAY and you will get a chance to win something for FREE! Stay tuned…

I love this project and the options out there to make it unbelievable cute are plenty. Here’s the thing, the price tag can get up there quickly. I have four children and needed a super frugal option. I went with price tag and function over cute this time.

Did I JUST type that?

When I took the basics and added these cute labels, it suddenly turned frugal into a vintage chalkboard inspired theme.

The best of both worlds.

THE SUPPLIES

The plastic tubs are AWESOME. Boring perhaps? A little. However, they are just $13 for two at Costco and they are very, very, durable. This project needs to last for like at least eighty years, so I need me some durability. You need one box per child.

The green hanging folders were just $5 for a box of 25 at Staples. You need one for each year of school per child. There is hanging file folders of every color in the rainbow and they are C U T E. However, the price tag reflects that. I went with the cheapest ones I could get my hands on.

 The tab folders are a recycled folder from Staples as well. 100 of them for just about $10. You need one for each year of school per child.

I purchased the labels for the front of the files at Staples as well, for about $10. You need one for each file folder.

I purchased the tab file folder labels on clearance at Target for $5.

The black photo corners I purchased at Target for just $3.

Overall total for this project for my four children is about $65. I bought it piece by piece over the last few months.

THE HOW TO

So, basically the goal of this project is that ALL school memorabilia gets saved in the box. ALL of it.

How do you decide what goes in the box?

1. ALL awards, certificates, and those types of things.

2. Report cards

3. A sample of work from the beginning of the year and from the end.

4. Anything that makes me smile.

Yes, that is my official process. I save up papers for the whole year. Then I sit down and look through them. If it is in category 1-3, it automatically gets saved. If it isn’t, it has to past the smile test. If it makes me smile, it gets saved. If it doesn’t, it goes.

The bottom line is this, YOU CAN’T SAVE EVERYTHING. Too much of anything is never a good thing. So, be ruthless and save the spectacular.

I have tried to do traditional scrapbooking of school projects. I had started a couple of albums for the older kids and let me tell you, it is a hot mess. It just wasn’t easy to look through. I love being able to pick up their crafts and handle them. When trying to shove them all into pocket style photo albums, it became a nightmare. Not too mention there are only so many hours in a day and I have plenty of other stuff I would rather scrapbook. So, I aborted and landed with these. They are MUCH quicker.

Amazing, right? Yay for brilliant ideas. Yay for SUPER EASY. Yay for ORGANIZED. I am dangerously close to breaking out the pom pons, so I will stop now.

One nice little box for each of my lovelies. Even my one year old. In the blink of an eye, he will be in school and well yes, the boxes all need to match, right?

Have a happy weekend and I will see you Monday for a giveaway from mopedINK.

So proud of them both.

I love your top side. I love your bottom side.

I love your inside and outside.

I love your happy side, your sad side, your silly side, your mad side.

I love your fingers and toes, your ears and nose.

I love your hair and eyes, your giggles and cries.

I love you running and walking, silent and talking.

I love you through and through…

yesterday, today, and tomorrow, too.

I Love You Through and Through by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak

Sometimes you go all out for your party and sometimes the 13 year old boys end up toasting sparking cider in girl print sippy cups because no one gave any thought to which glasses were available to use. It was the kind of night that nobody cared.

The kind of night where the friends were so close that you didn’t need to clean the house for their arrival. No agenda. Just being together. Chillin’, snacking on Christmas abundance leftovers, watching Dick Clark Ryan Seacrest, and trying to figure out what it would take to get to Time Square one year in person.

It was indeed quite perfect. We have two sketchy phone pictures and full hearts to show for it.

We slipped into bed just before 1 am.

New Years Day 2012.

It seems like just yesterday we were preparing and anticipating Y2k.

We got up today around 9.

It’s been a LAZY day around here.

Although I am somewhat whiny about the lack of rain that we are having, you just can’t beat this weather.

We got outside this afternoon and it was almost warm.

My head and heart are on warp speed today. I love new beginnings. The possibilities leave me almost breathless.

While the to do lists are plotting a somewhat hostile takeover of my brain, today I am opting to be still.

Focusing on what is here right in front of me.

…because while the future is pretty exciting, right now is pretty great too.

And I. am. thankful.

We used to be awakened by loudness. I am not a morning person. I am a Christmas person…to the nth degree B U T…apparently this does not over shadow my lack of ability to get yanked away from dreamland as I am being jumped on and become instantly joyful. SO, this one day in the year 2006, I uttered some of the wisest words that have ever left these lips.

“When you wake up in the morning the only option for waking us up early is to come in and stand at the foot of our bed and sing Jingle Bells…in HUSHED TONES.”

Now keep in mind, I have a tree full of presents waiting to be opened and I can pretty much get my children to instantly agree to do ANYTHING I wish at this point. I am pretty sure if I said they had to scrub their toilet before opening presents, they would do so, agreeably.

However, I am not that mean and this little tradition of song, has become one of the highlights of the year. Truly. It is the simplest things in life, most of the time.

The first couple of years, my husband and I would actually be awakened by giggles and whispers as they plot their entrance and grand presentation while just steps outside of our door. We would fake sleep and listen to the pre show with smiles on our “sleeping” faces. It was priceless. Soon, they were on to us and now their goal is to truly wake us up with song. This year they definitely achieved it.

We wake up to the sweetest, softest voices. They are filled with excitement ~ and anticipation ~ and joy. Listening to children try and bottle up the joy of Christmas morning into a whispered version of Jingle Bells is amazing. It is beautiful. Each year I lay there and pretend to be asleep a little longer so that I can bask in the delight for a chorus or two.

After this we ask the kids to go sit on the stairs and wait for us for just a few minutes.

2006 (Emma was just 3 and still asleep)

They huddle and giggle and talk about what they might see. For in our house, upon reaching the bottom of the stairs and turning the corner, they will find their “big gift”. It is in plain sight with no wrapping.

2007

It is not necessarily big in size or price, but big on a child’s Christmas wish list. It usually creates screams, falling on the floor, and jumping for joy. Sometimes a delightful happy dance will spontaneously erupt. It is all so magnificent.

2008

…But those moments of waiting on the stairs, are some of my most treasured memories. The anticipation is at its absolute height of the season. All of the planning, preparing, decorating, and waiting is at the peak of its crescendo and for those few moments everyone in our house is on the same page.

2009

I love it. I LOVE IT. I L O V E I T. I dangerously push the line of inflicting childhood torture as I stall as long as humanly possible.

2010

We take our positions. My husband takes video and I take still. We wait for a moment and yell G O. A year of waiting, gives way to laughter and screams and imprinting more memories, that will hopefully last a lifetime.

2011

Hope your Christmas days are Merry and Bright.

First ~balloons. Did you know that Walmart sells polka dot balloons for just $1.50? Also, Party city sells their balloons~ by the balloon~ for just .$.19. Blow ‘em up yourself and hang upside down and there is no need for expensive helium. Plus, you can choose which ever colors you actually want instead of buying a million of one color or those bags of assorted. It’s like a balloon buffet, really.

 Pinterest led me to some free monster inspiration from this genius woman. She shared her darling monster coloring sheet. I was able to copy it onto a transparency and armed with a sharpie, an overhead projector and some white paper from Lakeshore Learning (all of which I had on hand), I was able to bust out the monster banner for free.

I also made copies of the original sheet and included a couple of crayons with it in the goodie bag. Monster flyers and sparkly bouncy balls were purchased at the Michaels 70% off toy sale and joined them in a clear cellophane bag, which was given to all the munchkins who helped us celebrate.

Back to the dessert table…I made Greyson his very own monster cake to smoosh and eat. First attempt at cake pops. Those little suckers are not as easy to make as they seem.

I served monster marshmallows ~made with marshmallows, coconut and Wilton chocolate.

There were Monster cupcakes for the guests and

A jar of lollipops that I collected from Staples…completely free!

($3.00 off any purchase coupon and the lollipops were .50 each)

The birthday cake dip from Pinterest quickly upstaged the entire table. It has three ingredients. THREE. It took approximately 46 seconds to make.

Try it. Don’t delay.

* Tip~ always make a DOUBLE BATCH!

Some chocolate covered pretzels, caramel corn mix and pixie sticks were all purchased from Target at the 90% off of Halloween sale.

The 50 napkins,  50 plates, and tablecloth were all purchased from Walmart for just $9. Amazing price difference from the pricey party stores.

I purchased the case of short water bottles for just a few dollars at Costco and wrapped them in aqua duct tape.

Then I purchased a couple of  packs of googley eyes from the Dollar Tree to put on the oranges and the water bottles.

My girls and I created a monster banner from construction paper that I had on hand. Again FREE and they loved helping.

We played Pin the Eyeball on the monster. It was made with left over white paper, scrapbook paper, and duct tape from the water bottles.

The highlight of the party was watching a one year old who was given an entire cake to destroy  eat, at will.

My little guy was quite polite and didn’t get too messy.

This little guy was showered with gifts.

I can not believe a whole year has passed since I met him. It hardly seems possible.

Sometimes words just are not enough. They do not do justice in this case. Not. what. so. ever.

Your family loves you Greyson Michael, SO MUCH.

Happy First Birthday ~my sweet sweet little Boy.

Two years ago, I started homeschooling. Kicking and screaming. It was not MY plan. My education plan was Christian school…the end. I didn’t really look at any other options.

LIFE took a VERY different turn. God showed up and gave me something better, as HE always does.

Homeschool.

It’s harder.

It’s rewarding.

It’s messy.

We are still learning.

It’s what HE’s called us to.

It’s not for everyone.

It is for us.

It’s not superior. It’s just different.

I used to be embarrassed of it ~The heads slightly angled to the side. The questions. The comments. DRAINING.

Now I feel like I have a wonderful secret. I’m following where God wants me to be and there is no shame in that.

I get asked all the time, “How long will you continue?” I don’t know. I am already three years behind what I said I would do. I’m learning to shut my mouth to His plans. It’s better that way.

I feel like I am ALWAYS reading people who write these beautiful thoughts of WHY THEY HOMESCHOOL…

I found out last Tuesday, that mine were already written.

“…Because homeschooling is this magnificent crucible, to reveal impurities and sinfulness and brokenness. It keeps us on our knees. Homeschooling often hurts and disappoints. You cry and wonder if you are insane to try to educate these children, to disciple these little hearts, while laundering, cooking, cleaning, managing a household, and still being a wife, a sister, a daughter, a missionary in your community, a servant to Christ and in your faith community. And He smiles and say that He walks with you, has grand and glorious purposes, and He understands radical and crazy!

Homeschooling is about going higher up and deeper in, for you learn to sacrificially love in ways you have never loved before. You come to know your own heart in ways you never imagined, the souls of your children in intimate, very real ways.

For you will be together, making memories together, laughing together, crying together, praying together, and asking forgiveness together. Throughout your day, you worship God, together. And you learn to die-to-self together. It’s about doing hard things… together. And there will be nofragmented scraps of learning, home-life, friends, work, God.

We keep homeschooling to weave a one-piece life – hallowed threads of parenting, love, pain, education, growing, stumbling, creativity, forgiveness, wonder, sacrifice, and God all woven together.

We wear it, and it fits –”

~Ann Voskamp    www.aholyexperience.com   

….and so we continue…..until HE says otherwise. May I never forget to ask.

In the first four weeks, we have a review of phonics and then the spelling lists begin. I’ve been waiting to see how she will do. She has spelled three letter words out in various ways with magnets and things, but SPELLING just seems so grown up.

In the pursuit of practice~ I pulled out some letter flashcards. I made four piles. First was 5 letters like C, B, M, F, S. The second pile only had A. The third pile had T, S, N, D, and I threw in a V just to keep her on her toes. The instructions were to pull a letter from each of the three piles and make a word. The fourth pile was all the extra letters and it was set off to the side.

I stepped out of the room to switch a load of laundry and when I came back in, I was expecting to find  C A T ,                    M A T…you know those types of things.

I N S T E A D, this was the result…

True Story.

I love this girl.

Carefree.

Hesitant.

Innocent.

I am blessed beyond measure.

pictures by Ryan Black.