June 5, 2004. 06-05-04. 654. Many people have asked me or made guesses about where the "654" on Farmhouse654 came from. It's not our house number. It's not our street number. It's not the number of dollars we have spent on the farmhouse, so far...I wish it was only $654! It's our wedding anniversary. Mr. Farmhouse and I went on our first date in September of 2000, to the Homecoming bonfire. As a junior cheerleader, I needed a football jersey to wear and as a freshman football player, he had one. From that point on, we were pretty much inseparable.
I married my high school sweetheart two short weeks after his high school graduation. People thought we were crazy. Too young. Immature. Settling for each other before really "seeing the world". But while people thought we were crazy...we KNEW we were crazy. Crazy for each other. Committed to each other. Excited to grow up together and grow old together. We got married on June 5th, 2004. And we just celebrated our 13th anniversary. 654 is the day our married life begun. We've had ups and downs. Good days and bad days. New jobs, new homes, and three beautiful daughters added to the family. 654 was the start of everything we know and love. And that's what I think of every time I write for Farmhouse654. ❤️🏡❤️
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I know, I know.
I'm not in control. God is. I can't change things by worrying about them. God's plan is better than the one I have planned for myself. Let go and let God. I get it. I say these things to other people. I say these things to myself. I use these phrases in my daily prayer time. I know. But sometimes, when things don't go the way I planned, I forget. I forget that although things don't always work out the way I had planned, they do work out the way God has foreseen from the beginning. I forget that when I spend my time fretting on the inside, my family gets the raw end of the deal on the outside. Because I'm kind of cranky. Kind of unsettled. Kind of irritable. Deep down, that Polly-Hannah that I wrote about a few days ago is still there. Polly-Hannah knows that God's got this. She knows that He can keep the world on its axis spinning at just the right speed. She knows that He already has divine appointments lined up to make specific things work exactly how they need to work out for His glory. She knows. I know. But that doesn't mean that there aren't days that I'm frustrated with the day-to-day moments in life. When my plan doesn't work out the way I had pictured it all even though I am confident that this is the plan God has for us. You see, last Friday, we were given the impression that all was good to go with our closing date. God came through and that one piece of paper that needed to make it to the lender's office made it! But Tuesday we found out that there was another piece of paper. And that paper is still sitting on someone's desk at the USDA office, just needed to be sent over to the title company. So we didn't close yesterday. And we won't close today. Hopefully we will close tomorrow. And even if we don't, I know that we will close eventually. We will sell our old house. We will buy the farmhouse. It will all work out the way God intended it to. I know this. But for now, "I like things to work out the way I had pictured in my head-Hannah" is trying to find "Polly-Hannah". I'm trying to put on that smile and enjoy the journey. To remember that someday, I will look back at this time in life and say "that was a long eight weeks, but we grew during that time...we learned to trust God and enjoy the little things in life." For now though, I will just breathe deeply and pray that our closing date comes sooner than later. ❤️🏡❤️ Let's be honest. It's not always a big fun event to get the kids to do chores or help out around the house. However, I really feel like it's necessary. I can't always get everything done that needs to be done without help. Mr. Farmhouse is a great help-mate and helps inside and outside of the house, but sometimes (during hay season...or calving season...or bean-planting season...or...), we need to have a big marathon cleaning day and I need help from the girls. Over the years, I've realized that the more fun we can make this process, the quicker it gets done and the less likely I am to scream like a crazy person by the end of the day. A few winters ago, over Christmas break, when I was trying to get the house back in order to get ready for third quarter at school, I had a breakthrough. I started to make cleaning a game...for all of us. I started to think about ways we could make our mundane housekeeping tasks a competition, a team event, a game. Over the last few years, I've come up with several of these "cleaning games". I usually let the girls decide which one we do for the day. I thought today I would share them with you so maybe those cleaning days can be a little more enjoyable for everyone involved!
The Disappearing Post-it Notes is one that the girls really like because you can watch the amount of post-it notes dwindle down to those last few tasks and then BOOM...the fridge is empty! The rule is that the right side of notes has to be empty before they start on the left door. The left door includes what I call "finishing" tasks. They are all somehow dependent on the ones on the other door. For example, on the right door is "clean out refrigerator" and "load dirty dishes from sink". So on the left door is "run dishwasher". In other words, they need to gather up all the dirty dishes from anywhere in the house before we run the dishwasher. Other "finishing" tasks would include dusting the flat surfaces in the house, sweeping the floors, putting all the clean clothes away that they have folded on some of the other post-it notes. 2. Note Card Flip Another task-oriented game that we play sometimes is what I have called "Note Card Flip". Again, I put all of the tasks on note cards. I have a whole set of these that I created a few summers ago that include basically every task that it would take to do a quick deep-clean of the house. I add anything that needs to be done that day specifically and then I make some bonus "fun" cards.
I always end with a "last card" that is something fun. Almost always, it involves a slush or shake Sonic. Basically for me. Because Sonic's unsweetened raspberry tea is my favorite beverage EVER. 3. 30/30 There is an iPad and iPhone app called 30/30 created by Binary Hammer. I cannot believe how much it helps our productivity level by keeping us on task and focused when we need to get some serious work done. I use it in my classroom, when I am working on photography edits, and the girls and I use it when we clean. When the five minutes is up, the app starts the timer for the next task. We take our list of things we have to get done and add them to the app. After every 30-40 minutes, we add a 10-minute break right into the app. So our whole cleaning spree is timed there. Sometimes, to keep us on task, we add our "lunch break" and anything else that we know will be taking our time that day.
4. Task Competition
The last one we use at our house is one I've never really named until just now. And "Task Competition" is probably a boring name...you can rename it at your house if you so desire! I make a list of tasks in black pen. There is always an uneven number of tasks. Beside each task, I draw a box. Each of the older girls picks her own color of marker and I say "go". They work until the list is completely done. Every task they get finished with gets the task's box colored in using their individual color. When all the boxes get colored, the girl with the most boxes colored gets some silly little prize. Maybe a popsicle, a piece of candy, or a medium drink instead of a small at Sonic (I told you...I have a problem). These are all ideas of how we try to make cleaning fun at the Newkirk house. I hope you've gotten some ideas to use in your own homes! I'd love to hear any other ideas you have for getting kids involved in the home management process! Feel free to comment below so others can learn from your knowledge! Thanks for reading, friends! Happy Friday! ❤️ Today, the front door of the farmhouse opened and two high school kids were standing there with a buffet that has been sitting in my parents' dining room for the last several years.
Earlier this morning, before the buffet was delivered, this old pie safe was dropped off at my house. This one belonged to an older man that lived out by my grandparents' farm for over fifty years. He recently passed away and his son & daughter-in-law contacted us to see if we would be interested in any furniture. I feel like this piece was just made for this wall in my gathering room.
I fell asleep around 1:00 a.m. In a cabin full of 6, 7, and 8 year old girls...after telling them numerous times that it was time to go to sleep. I woke up at 6:00 a.m. and tip-toed around getting ready for the day so as not to wake the sleeping children. This is at least my 24th year at Kamp Keirsey. I came as a camper. Then as a junior counselor. And then a counselor. Even a director for a year or two. And now, as a mom. There is something about taking a break from the reality of day-to-day business at home and spending time enjoying the great outdoors, camp food, sleeping in a cabin, and having fellowship with other believers. There's something about spending one-on-one time with one of your kids. There's something about not having to rush to anything for 48 hours...except for the dining hall when the supper whistle blows. I will admit that I have thought about the farmhouse the last few days. I have thought about what I could be getting done...what I SHOULD be getting done. I am trying to focus solely on this special time with Claire and the joy of experiencing God with her at the same church camp that I came to as a child. I am trying to hear what God has to teach me. It's not always easy for me to take a break. But on mornings like this, where I'm the only one awake on campus and I walk outside to spend some time with Jesus and see a sunrise like THIS...that makes it a little easier to turn off the thoughts of what needs to be done at the farmhouse.
It makes it easier to bask in His creation. This has been a breath of fresh air. A much-needed "pause". A "reset," if you will. I will be refreshed and excited to get home tonight and continue work at the farmhouse...to see Matthew & the other two girls. But until then, I'll enjoy this time...because it's just what I needed. We have now been on summer break for almost a month. The whole summer I've been working on the moving process. Pack a whole trailer full of items into tubs. Schedule inspections at the farmhouse. Paint the ceilings of the current house for the appraisal. Purge & organize. Measure spaces at the farmhouse. Order some furniture & order some appliances. Purge some more & organize some more. Make some decorative purchases for the farmhouse. Prepare for a SECOND appraisal on the current house (long story...). Then wait. And wait. And wait some more.
To be honest, I woke up this morning feeling differently about the whole situation.
I'm trying to be patient, but I'm tired of waiting. I don't want the kids to remember this summer as the summer we held our breaths for two months, waiting to get settled in at the farmhouse. Last night, the girls got home from the softball game and played catch in the backyard until it got dark. Then they ran around and caught lightning bugs. It was heavenly. No worries about when the second appraisal will happen... When the closing date will happen... When we will actually move to the farmhouse... Just three little girls catching lightning in a jar while their parents and Gramps tried to coax a baby kitten out from under the feed truck (also a long story...). So I decided that today, while the kids are off at science camp, I'm going to get this house put back together and ready for an appraisal. And then, we're going to stop waiting. We're going to breathe and enjoy and stop stewing over what could be coming around the corner. We're going to catch lightning bugs and have movie nights and soak up the last few weeks in the home we've known for almost eleven years. We're going to enjoy the waiting game. Sometimes I struggle. I struggle to keep it all together. Running a household. Shaping the minds of third graders. Keeping up with a photography business. Serving at church and in the community. I forget things. I lose things. I fly off the deep end in conversation with my husband and children. There are days that I struggle. I struggle to feel like what I'm doing is good enough. I have said "yes" to so many activities and projects and clients that sometimes I haven't been able to say "yes" to my kids. I have had so many commitments in one week that sometimes I have not been able to give the 110% to each activity. I have made such a long (and often unrealistic) "to do list" for myself on a given day that sometimes I get overwhelmed and am hardly able to complete even one task on there. And then, in the midst of what feels like chaos. In the midst of just trying to get one more thing done before bed. In the midst of the daily struggle. I get a glimpse of what life could be. I find joy in the simplicity of a ride down the lane to the barn with my three girls. We stop and admire the new babies born this spring. We photograph the mamas. We admire the sunset. We play with the barn kitties. And for a few moments, I find contentment in doing nothing. I realize that my most important work is for these three little girls...for their daddy, who works so hard for us. It's time for a reset. Time to shift my priorities. It's time to realize that moments like these...they are good enough. Even if I sometimes say "I'm sorry...I'm not able to work on that today" or "You'll have to find someone else this time"...I am still good enough. This simple life is good enough. And sometimes, good enough can be wonderful. Our mini-vacation to Oklahoma was so much fun. We leisurely drove down on Thursday afternoon. We missed a turn and kept right on going to find a new route instead of turning around. When we finally made it to Bartlesville, where we were staying, we found a Japanese Steakhouse and enjoyed supper together. No rushing around. No numerous bathroom trips with various children. Just peace and quiet...and my first experience with sushi. Still not so sure about THAT. We got up Friday morning and enjoyed The Pioneer Woman Mercantile and some boutique shopping in downtown Pawhuska. I made a few purchases for the farmhouse. We laughed a lot. Enjoyed some nice food. And did some serious walking. We dropped Mom off to get some work done at the hotel and the three of us girls went to the mall. By mid-afternoon, we were ready to head back to our room.. We spent some time resting and relaxing, watching television, reading, and visiting. It was strange not having the seven grandkids running around between the two hotel rooms, visiting with Grams and playing noisily. It was so quiet. Almost TOO quiet. That evening, after a quick trip to WalMart, we came back to the hotel to sleep. "I wonder if they would let us check out a day early." Mom said. "Maybe. We can always go ask." So we did. And they did. Yesterday morning, we woke up and got around slowly. We stopped and did a little more shopping (yay, Hobby Lobby!). Besides the canvas United States map I picked up at the Mercantile, the galvanized metal distressed Farmhouse sign was definitely my other favorite purchase. You can see how wide it is right now, sitting on my piano music stand just waiting for its new home when we move into the farmhouse. It will be the perfect focal point in the new living room (I think...if that's where it ends up). I got the other three tin quotes on clearance (along with about 5 others) to round out some various gallery walls I have planned for the house. Acts 2:46 will hang in the dining room, "I choose fabulous" will (of course) be in the Claire Bear's room, and Jeremiah 1:5 will hang in the playroom to remind the girls daily that they are set apart for Kingdom work! After the "brief" Hobby Lobby stop, we loaded the van up and headed home. Mr. Farmhouse and the kids didn't know we were coming home early. The kids were out at the annual antique tractor show in our town and Matthew was putting up hay. So I leisurely unpacked and soaked up a little more of the peace and quiet before I went to pick up the girls from my in-laws. Three big hugs from three little girls. Smiles and dancing from the three-year-old. "I missed you so much," from the older two. We probably won't have a chance for another "girls' trip" like this for another year or two, but that's okay. There definitely is no place like home. A few months ago, my sister, my sister-in-law, my mom, and I planned a road trip to Pawhuska, Oklahoma to visit the Pioneer Woman Mercantile. Originally, with our closing date being June 16th, we were planning to be moved into the farmhouse and ready for a relaxing weekend girls' trip. Since life didn't quite work out like that, we'll be relaxing on the girls' trip and also planning excitedly for the moving process and decorating the farmhouse. I'm hoping to pick up some vintage goodies on the trip, like a square cast-iron baking dish, a strawberry can for above my kitchen cabinets, or some cow plates for my sweet Mattie Moo. We're leaving in a few hours to head south for the weekend.
I'll let you know what treasures we discover! Ten years old. This one has been a big one for us. It seems like just yesterday we were living in a little two-bedroom house in town and I was revealing to Matthew that we were expecting a baby. That was June of 2006. Fast-forward a few months to September. We purchased our current house and started to make it work for what was to become our family of three. And on December 30, 2006, a little girl came into our lives. Harlee Kathleen. Our oldest daughter.
This isn't what I want them to remember.
And I think that's one of the reasons that the farmhouse is so exciting to me. It's a reset. We can start over. We can be very picky about what we take into the new house. About what we choose to give our time to. Because our time raising these sweet babies is precious and limited. Less stuff, more life. |
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