You might recall some of my plans for the year 2021 that I wrote about back in January.

I shared about using each week to set goals, breaking down our big projects into smaller, manageable chunks -- instead of setting big annual goals that often seem unattainable.

We are making good progress on several of our goals for the year, by taking an hour or two each week to work on them.  Our detached garage/canning kitchen/man cave is almost finished.  It's been a long process, but by knocking out a few tasks here and there each week, we're closing in on the finishing touches.

We've done a lot of outdoor clean-up this year, by working for one Saturday a month or so to knock out some big areas of the property.

I wrote daily through March 8th and have 22,179 words in my first draft.  My goal is to get to 60,000 words by the end of the year.  I think that's still doable.  I have six chapters finished, so far. 

3. Blog Each Week.

​Well. 

This is only my 10th blog post of the year, so as you can see -- I'm a little behind on that. 

After spring break, school became a whirlwind and I just had to put something on the back burner.  Unfortunately, it was blogging.

I've got some catching up to do!  :) 

4. Lose 15 pounds. 

Following my experience with COVID-19 in September, I realized I had developed an allergy to dairy and sensitivity to gluten.  Changing my diet to not include those things helped me to lose 15 pounds with no problem. 

I have slowly started introducing these things back into my diet and I will admit -- I don't feel as well. 

So I probably need to remove those things again.  

Whole30 coming again in August!

5. Read 40 books.

As of last week, I had finished my 21st book and am almost finished with my 22nd and 23rd.  

So I'm right on schedule for the challenge.

Happy Almost August, Friends!

Taking in the last few days of summer break here at the farmhouse,
Hannah

​♥️🏡♥️

Over the last few weeks, I've been sharing some lessons from the farmhouse.

Two weeks ago, I talked about some "home" lessons we have learned.

Then last week, I discussed lessons about marriage.

1. Be consistent.

Do what you say you are going to do.

If you offer a consequence for a certain behavior, follow through with that consequence.

And on that note, set realistic consequences from the get-go.  When you ask your child to complete a task, with some sort of consequence attached -- make it realistic.  There is nothing worse than when you are in the heat of the moment and you threaten some difficult-to-maintain consequence if a child does not comply with the expected behavior.

Example:
"If you don't turn the television off, you're going to be grounded for a month."

If the child doesn't turn the television off, the parents are left with one of two choices.

1. Follow-through with the consequence of grounding the child for a month (which, in case you were wondering, is also like grounding YOURSELF for a month.) or...
2. Lessen the consequence when the child comes back into compliance.

Sure, in the first choice, the child knows you mean business and will likely comply with your directives for a while.  However, a month of grounding is pretty substantial for not following one simple direction.

And in the second choice, your child is learning that your words don't really mean much when it comes to consequence for behavior.

In the above example, I would suggest something like "no television for three days".  This is a manageable consequence that truly fits the behavior.  After the three days is over, the child will likely understand that when you ask him or her to turn it off -- you mean business.

So -- Be consistent.  Set boundaries.  Follow through.

2. Teach responsibility.

Our girls help us to manage our home. 

Our oldest daughter is responsible for one load of laundry a day.  She washes, dries, and folds it and then delivers the clothes to the bedrooms where they belong.

Our second daughter is responsible for dishes.  She unloads the dishwasher each morning and after we fill it through the day, she washes it at night.  She hand-washes any dishes that are left after supper, also.

Our youngest daughter is responsible for gathering laundry from the hampers in the house and taking it to the laundry room each day.  She also gathers up shoes that have been left out and puts them on the mud room shelves.

They also have daily chores to help the family out on the farm -- feeding chickens, gathering eggs, taking scraps to the hogs, and whatever else needs to be done.

3. Lead by example.

This is a tough one.

You know that old saying, "Do as I say, not as I do"?

Yeah.  That doesn't work.

Your babies will pick up on your ACTIONS, not only your words.

If you want your children to have a relationship with Jesus -- model a relationship with Jesus.

If you want your children to grow up and have a healthy marriage -- model a healthy marriage.

If you want them to speak kindly to their friends -- speak kindly to them and to YOUR friends.

If you want them to be hard workers -- work hard.

If you want them to admit when they are wrong -- admit when you are wrong (this one is NOT easy!).

We could go through hundreds of examples of this.  

Lead by example.

4. Be patient & offer grace.

I will be the first to admit that we have ridiculously high standards.

I have had to find a balance between having high expectations and offering grace to our girls. 

We all mess up.  We all fall short.  NONE of us are perfect.

Our kids are learning and exploring and testing boundaries.  Their brains are not fully-developed yet and they will make poor decisions sometimes.  

We must learn to guide them through these decisions, with grace & mercy.

We must be patient with them as they learn to navigate this life.

5. Be present.

Put the phone away.

Sit down together at the dinner table.

Play in the snow.

Pray together.

​Work on household projects together.

Do craft activities.

Do a Bible study together.

Watch movies.

Enjoy the time you have with them because it goes so very quickly.

Be present.

I hope these tips are helpful for you.  What would you add?

Enjoying a day with our girls here at the farmhouse,
Hannah

​❤️🏡❤️

So we did.

Now -- I can't complain.  

My brother and then his wife contracted the virus.  While they did feel kind of crummy for a few days, they experienced mostly mild symptoms as they stayed at home.  However, because of the dates of exposure and symptoms and all the rules & recommendations from the CDC, my niece and nephew have to quarantine until August 15th.  So -- please be in prayer for them!

Full disclosure here -- as a school administrator, the last six months have been a blur. 

I have said several times that I feel like we are living in a movie.  This doesn't seem like real life, as we make decisions about how to deliver instruction to children in the safest way over the next school year.  

While my 10 1/2 month school-year contract officially ends on June 15th and begins again on August 1st each year, this summer there have been too many decisions to make to really take much of a break.  

And then...quarantine happened.

Sure, I continued to work on giving input for school reopening plans and I did continue focusing on some of my school duties over the last few weeks.

But I also spent many hours every single day over the last two weeks working alongside Mr. Farmhouse and the girls to complete projects that we have been planning to get to "someday".  

• I finally built that barnwood hanger for my race medals.
• We finished the Rustic Rooster.
• I power-washed the deck (a new coat of stain coming soon!).
• Using materials we already had at home, Mr. Farmhouse made my barnwood laundry shelf vision come to life.
• We transplanted flowers and moved the carport to make way for the building process to start on our garage/man cave.
• Mr. Farmhouse hung the sheetrock for Claire Bear's bedroom walls and started wiring the electric needed to hang her ceiling fan.
• We put together the porch swing we have had in a box for the last THREE YEARS.
• We finally had that kindergarten graduation party for our Mattie-Moo that we had been putting off.
• We even put up our fall decorations a few months early (no shame here!).

Not being able to leave the house for two weeks isn't ideal.

If we weren't in quarantine, I wouldn't have had to cancel our annual well-child checkups for the girls, piano lessons, & tutoring.

Mr. Farmhouse could have been working and I wouldn't have had to miss a few in-person meetings at school.

We could have allowed being stuck at home for two weeks with no symptoms to be irritating and a reason to complain.

However, last night, as Mr. Farmhouse and I rode the Ranger through the field moving hot-wire for the cows, I looked around and smiled.

Thank you, Lord, for this time we have had together.  Thanks for slowing us down and giving us the opportunity to connect deeply before we all head off into the unknown of this school year.  Thank you that my brother's family has had mild symptoms and that they have the opportunity to work from home.  Just thank you, Lord.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  Amen

Back to the real world today, friends.

Sending gratitude to God from the farmhouse,
Hannah

​♥️🏡♥️

There is a metal ornament representing each year of our marriage...starting with a wedding picture from 2004 and going through some of our major life events.  

The birth of each of the girls is represented with hospital pictures and 2016 when we took our trip to Florida includes a beach picture.  

I love being able to look at the pictures on these ornaments and be taken back immediately to the moment they were photographed. 

Some of these photos are professional (thank you, JcPenney, Amy Kostuke Photography, & Spread Your Wings Photography) while others are just snapshots.

It's amazing for me to think that almost fifteen years of marriage can be summed up in these ornaments.  What a blessing they are to me.

Reminiscing here at the farmhouse this morning,
Hannah

​❤️🏡❤️

PS -- I get my ornaments at Mpix, in case you missed that link above.  You can purchase your own right HERE.  

Yesterday, my Harlee-girl and I spent the day together.

She slept in while I got my morning routine finished, then I woke her up to head to the school.

I had a few things I needed to get organized before staff and students came back today.

After a few hours in my office, we grabbed some lunch and went to get pedicures...the last little treat for her 12th birthday.

She decided on a manicure and I got my toes done.

When we were finished, there was time for her to spend a gift card that she got for Christmas and to pick up my WalMart grocery order, before heading to get our eyebrows waxed and my hair cut.

Here’s a little before & after of the eyebrows...her first experience having them waxed!

It's been just over a month since I blogged on the last day of school.

I had big summer plans for the blog.

I would share the continuation of our decluttering journey.

I would post about our garden.

I would showcase our farmhouse projects with everyone, as we finally marked some of the items off the list that we've been putting off all school year.

I would finally get those items finished that we had been procrastinating on.

​And I will say...we have made progress.

I am so excited and looking forward to my new position for the 2018-2019 school year.

I have thoughts and dreams and a vision for what the Special Education department will look like in the future.

However, there are still some responsibilities lingering from last school year and I would like to take care of these things before going back to school in August.

This is a time of transition and I need to be proactive in my planning and preparing. 

I need to be intentional in my learning and my personal summer professional development.

I need to be "vision-minded" as I close out last school year and look forward to next year.

I want to be able to start fresh in August and to offer a fresh start for my staff members and students.

And to do that...the groundwork must be laid now.  This summer.

This last Friday was my predecessor's final day. 

He's now retired and already enjoying life in Galveston, Texas.  (Congratulations, Fred!)

We took him out to eat on Friday and then I went back to school and starting moving my personal belongings down to my new office.

When I walked out of the building that day, I vowed to not come back until July 9th...taking this week to relax and enjoy my family.

Taking this week to watch our town's annual 4th of July parade, to shoot off fireworks, to get some projects completed around the house, to go to the lake, and to just spend time with Mr. Farmhouse and the girls.

There is still much to be done...on the farmhouse and in my new office, but those things can wait.

Happy "Stop Week" from the Farmhouse, friends.

❤️🏡❤️

I can be going through life just fine and in one quick moment, the memories flood my mind.

​It can be a pile of muskmelon or cantaloupe.

Having to pull over on the highway to let a John Deere tractor through.

Or seeing an old man in Key overalls.

Today would have been my Grandpa's 90th birthday.

We lost him in March of 2010.

In some ways, it seems like forever ago.

​And in some ways, it seems like yesterday.

When Gerold came along, we played many-a-tennis-ball-baseball game in the back yard.

We took tractor rides during planting and combine rides during harvest.

We went upstairs to get board games out of the small corner storage room and spent many evenings watching MASH from cots on the living room when we spent the night.

We fished with Grandpa and my cousin Brad and when the cousins came from Tennessee, we had picnics in the back of Grandpa's S-10 out in the driveway.

I can still feel his tshirts that I used as a nightgown when I stayed the night.

I'm struggling.  Oh, I'm so sorry...I'll be praying for you.
​
​I'm guilty of using these phrases.

​Sometimes to avoid a long, drawn-out conversation, we answer a question with a word or two...a word or two that are sometimes far from the truth.

Most of the time, I really am fine.  Times that I really am great.

But there are days.  There are weeks.

There are moments in life where I am NOT fine. 

I am not great.

And yet, to avoid real connection, I just go through life pretending like it's all okay.

I'm afraid this happens more than we would like to admit.

We tell people to "take care" as we leave a conversation and then we walk away and don't even "take care" of ourselves.

People give us a glimpse into their difficult life situations and we promise our prayers and then we walk away with a quick prayer thrown up and don't ever think about it again.

I'm afraid that we are becoming a society who hides behind our smiles and our one word answers to real life questions.

A society who hides behind our computer and cell phones.

A society who would rather pretend it's all going great than connect with someone face-to-face.

I think these social platforms that were created to keep us more connected with one another have caused more division than the creators had ever anticipated.

So let's get real.

This year has been difficult for me.  

Trying to transition from a job I absolutely love and adore to another job that I know I will love and adore...eventually.

Navigating the new waters of having a preteen in the house...and a threenager.

Having both of the older girls in the same school as each other...but a different school than me.

Selling a house.  Buying a house. Losing weight.  Remodeling a house.  Farming.  Gaining weight.  Taking pictures.  Teaching.  Losing weight (again).  Wife-ing.  Mom-ing.  Gaining weight (again).  Blogging.  Churching. 

Loving. 
Failing. 
Succeeding. 
Laughing. 
Crying.

And guess what?

It hasn't always been wonderful.
It hasn't even always been good.

It has been hard and complicated and emotional.
It has been beautiful and challenging and full of growth.

My Instagram doesn't always show those difficult days.
My Facebook doesn't always show those difficult days.
This blog doesn't always show those difficult days.

​Heck...my own face doesn't always show those difficult days.

So for today, just know...

I'm not always fine.
And that's okay.
You don't have to always be fine either.

Let's be real, friends.

Love & hugs from the Farmhouse.

​❤️🏡❤️

"Truth."
"Preach."
"Yes. This."
"Same."

I hear myself say these simple phrases over and over in a day...even if only inside my head.

"Monday mornings are hard sometimes." 
"Truth."

"Too bad a Starbucks caramel macchiato isn't good for you."
"Preach."

"Our best requires rest."
"Yes. This."

"I break into songs at random times throughout the day."
"Same."

The joy I find in knowing that someone else relates to me on various topics is inspiring.

Just a few simple words of affirmation can speak love and encouragement into my life.

I do think it's wonderful that we have freedom to form our own opinions and share those opinions with others...to be able to disagree with our friends and still BE friends.

I think it's great to have our own thoughts and ideas and judgments.

In fact, I know for certain that I do not agree with every single thing that even my oldest and dearest "best friend forever" thinks and believes.

But sometimes, when we agree on the little things, there's a feeling of support that can carry you through.

And that's the #truth.

Happy New Week from the Farmhouse, friends.

This week, let's focus on finding those things we DO agree on and spread the love.

❤️🏡❤️

Ah, parenting.

Isn't it grand?

You wait nine months for this little bundle of joy to be put into your arms and then you question every single decision you make for the next 18 years.

There are so many joy-filled moments that come along with raising kids.

And let's be real...some moments that are, eh...not so wonderful.

Diaper blowouts.

Toddler fit-throwing in public.

Eye-rolls from the pre-teen.

Sibling arguments one minute and them teaming up against you in the next.

And perhaps the most difficult of parenting challenges...struggles with friends.

I was a young girl once.

I knew that our girls' friendships wouldn't always be beautiful and wonderful and easy. 

After all, we are all human.

However, I have been struggling with something that I believe most parents struggle with...

The tendency to make an excuse.

A few years ago, one of our daughters was having a hard time with a girl who she considered to be a good friend.

This classmate had kind of distanced herself from our daughter and hasn't been the kindest at times.

When I mentioned their friendship, I could tell that there was some tension there...a bit of a strained relationship.

I heard of things the friend had said,
faces she had made,
and other behaviors that would be frustrating for a friend.

However, when I would ask our daughter about her own contribution to the situation,
she admitted that she sometimes snapped back at the friend,
avoided her at times,
and probably was not acting in the way that I would expect her to act...
regardless of how she has been treated.

And my tendency, as a human and as a mother, is to make an excuse for her actions.

But it's not okay.

It's not okay for a child to treat her friend unkindly.

It's not okay for a student to talk back to a teacher.

It's not okay for a player to roll her eyes at the referee...no matter how ridiculous she thinks the call was.

When we, as parents, make excuses for our children's poor behavior, we are reinforcing the choices they are making.

We are justifying the disrespect, the lack of kindness, and the inappropriate behaviors.

I fear that we are raising a generation of entitled youth who don't even understand the concept of respect.

Whether it's respecting their elders,
respecting authority,
respecting their peers,
or respecting property.

I'm afraid the concept of respect (even when it's undeserved) has gone out the window some days.

And I'm afraid that every time I make an excuse for my child's lack of respect or justify her actions, I'm contributing to the problem.

Friends, we have to stop the cycle.

I'm not talking about respecting adults who are abusive or pretending like there's no issue with peers who are exhibiting bullying behaviors.

But in the majority of our day-to-day interactions with other human beings, we should be showing kindness...
showing mercy...
​showing humility.

And we should be teaching our children this attitude, as well.

This week, let's really help our kiddos be accountable for their behavior.

Let's try to not make an excuse when they don't make the right choice.

Let's support that teacher...that coach...that referee.

It's up to us. The parents.

It's not up to the iPad.

Not up to the TV.

Not up to their older siblings.

Not up to their teachers (although we teachers try to set the same expectations in our classrooms).

Let's set an expectation for how they treat people.

Let's work hard to raise a generation that we are proud of.

It's up to us...and it's a challenging and rewarding responsibility.

Happy Tuesday from the Farmhouse, friends.

May the force be with you.

❤️🏡❤️