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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In our school, we use the School-Side Positive Behavior Support model.
We have a behavior matrix with all of the expectations we have for our kiddos in each setting in our building. The matrix includes positive behaviors that we expect to see. All behaviors on the matrix fall under the umbrella of our school-wide expectations: be respectful, be responsible, and be safe. Because our elementary school uses the same language from kindergarten to sixth grade when it comes to behavior, we have a head-start on coming up with classroom expectations. Beyond the SW-PBS matrix, I also use the five classroom rules found in the Whole Brain Teaching curriculum to help my classroom run smoothly.
I teach these the first day of school and we work hard to practice them several times throughout the first few weeks. I display them on the walls, we recite them out loud, and we come up with examples and non-examples of each expected behavior. It takes a lot of time in the first days of school, but it is worth it to have a classroom in which students know what is expected at certain times. My room often has "controlled chaos" going on, where kids are visiting with each other about their books or working together on a collaborative project. Because of my guidance and practice with the classroom rules at the beginning of the year, they know that "Rule Number 2" doesn't apply during a group project. It all comes back to clear explanations, practice, practice, and more practice. Whatever you do, define & model your expectations, let them practice, and follow-through with whatever needs to happen should they not follow the expectations appropriately. They will rise to what you expect. I promise. 5. Think about Parent Communication. Parent Communication is kind of intimidating for a new teacher...at least it was for me. The biggest thing that I can suggest is to OVER-communicate. The parents of your students know them better than anyone else. They are (usually) your student's biggest advocate and should be your most helpful teammate. I stress at the beginning of the year to parents that I want us to work together to give their kids the best year possible. And guess what? It works. There are sometimes hard conversations that have to take place. Going to a parent about a difficult situation is much easier when you have been keeping them up-to-date in their students' day-to-day classroom life before making that phone call. A few things that I like to do to share information with parents are:
6. Think about your Classroom Library. After all of that, I usually start putting together my classroom library. I have had it organized in so many different ways through the years. Last year, I think I figured out the way that works best for my room. I have large plastic tubs for nonfiction picture books. They are labeled by subject area or by author, depending on what types of text they are. My fiction picture books are housed on an awesome Hallmark card shelf that I bought for $30 several years ago when a store in our town went out of business (teacher score!). My chapter books are all on a spinning shelf that I bought at the same sale for $45 (again, score!), except for my series chapter books, which are in tubs labeled by series or author. I do have the reading level and/or lexile level written in the back of each book. I don't limit students to that number all the time, because I know that students can push themselves to read books higher than their expected reading level. I also know that some kids want to have a "fun read" that is way lower than their reading level. And I am GREAT with that! I want to create good readers who love to read! So for the most part, I let them choose their own books. I have leveled the books because some students need some assistance in choosing a book that is reasonable for them. These are good conversation pieces for us during reading conferences. Some students use them as a guide and some don't...I am okay with either. If a student is reading something that is far too hard for them or far too easy, I will find out during our reading conferences and I can help to get them into a book that is a better "fit". 7. Finally...think about your Classroom Layout. Last, but not least...I think about my classroom layout. Like I said at the beginning of my first post about school year prep, I used to do this first. I would get my room how I thought I wanted it and then when I started to think about curriculum, grading, data, parents, and my classroom library, I would change it all around! Now I'm trying hard to begin with the end in mind and make my classroom vision a reality by saving this step until last. There will always be changes and adjustments that take place after we meet our students...and then again after we spend a week with them, and a quarter, and I even make changes over Christmas break! But at least when I focus on these seven things, I can feel like I've got a pretty good handle on how I want my classroom to run and what I want to accomplish with my new sweet darlings. Three weeks and counting, teacher friends. Three weeks and counting. P.S. Turns out we're not closing on the farmhouse today. I know it's all in God's timing, but if you could pray with us that it happens tomorrow, that would be great. ❤️🏡❤️ Last night, we finished our fourth night of Vacation Bible School 2017. I am tired. We all are. There's no tired like "VBS week" tired. We used the Maker Fun Factory curriculum from Group Publishing. We learned a Bible point each day.
1. God made me. I was built for a purpose. This Bible point goes hand-in-hand with the current book I'm reading, Love Does, by Bob Goff. In his book, Goff talks about the creative whimsy of Christ. He talks about how God pursues us daily through things that happen, places we go, and people we meet. God created each one of us with specific interests and unique talents to be Kingdom Workers. He puts us in certain places with our unique talents and desires for a reason. We just need to listen and act. 2. God is for me. If God is for us, who can be against us? I am an overthinker. So many times, I find myself worrying or stewing or just overthinking about certain situations. The Bible tells us that there is no reason to worry or fret. If God is for us, no enemy can come against us. If we feel insecure, or afraid, or unqualified...we only need to remember that He is for us. 3. God is always with me. We are not alone. Joshua 1:9 tells us that "God is with us wherever we go." And He is. Even in the depths of our despair and sorrow. In the midst of anxiety and insecurities. When we are feeling lost and alone. He is with us. He will carry us. He will hold us. God is always with us. 4. God made me for a reason. God has a plan for our lives. Like I mentioned earlier, God's plan for my life is very specific to me. His plan for your life is specific to you. He knows the number of hairs on my head. And the number of hairs on Mr. Farmhouse's head. And each of our three girls. He keeps the earth spinning perfectly on its axis. He controls so many things on this earth and in the galaxies beyond ours. And yet, He is able and ready to work in our lives. He is able and ready to give us opportunities to see His hands work like nothing we have ever seen. God built us for a purpose. He is for us. He is not against us. God is always with us. Sometimes, I feel like once we outgrow that childlike faith that the Bible talks about, we have a hard time remembering these simple truths. Maybe it's time we take a step back from "adulting" and get back to the basics. I once was lost, but now am found. Count your blessings. Trust and obey. God is still God. And He is ready to work. All we have to do is let him. Yesterday, Matthew and a buddy of his started to bring the "outside" belongings to the farmhouse. The outside list would include anything in the detached garage, the 30'x40' shop, the pole barn, and other various areas "around the house". They started in the detached garage and brought a load that included lots of things Matthew and I had already gone through over the last month or so. Out-of-season clothes, tools, cleaning supplies, Christmas decorations, and more. We had already emptied one side of the garage so the buyers could store a few things there and we had organized the other side in preparation to move. When they went back for the second load, they decided to go ahead and empty the attic in the garage. Of course, here in Missouri this week, it's been like 900º Fahrenheit. So they climbed into the hottest part of the property and emptied everything we have been storing up there for the last eleven years. They brought the trailer over here to the farmhouse and had me go through the pile of attic treasures.
Ten years ago, in 2007, we had a tornado go through and pick up our pole barn, tear tin off of our shop, and throw Santa across the highway. Even though we haven't plugged Santa in for the last few years, I just cannot let him go. He still sparks joy for me. He reminds me of that time when God spared our home and kept us safe during that storm. He reminds me of my dear ol' dad "rescuing Santa" from his landing spot after the tornado. That old Santa is a joy-sparker for me.
And for Mattie. So Santa stays. And the other 95% of attic "treasures" go into the trash. Moving really makes you think about what you hold on to through the years.
Since moving into the farmhouse and sharing our journey online, I've had so many people contact me wanting a fresh start.
"I am so jealous that you get to start over." "Seeing you put the new house together makes me want a fresh start for my house." "I wish I could empty out our house and start again." This opportunity to go through every single thing we own and make a decision about whether or not to keep it has been pretty amazing. Add to it the fact that I get to decide exactly where it goes in the farmhouse, and I am feeling pretty good about our "fresh start".
For now, just hold off on bringing anything new into your home.
Deal with what you have. There will be plenty of time to buy new things after you've gotten rid of everything you don't love. 2. Set an end date. This one is something that many people don't think about, but it helped me immensely last summer when I went through and did my big house purge and it's helping now as I put the house together. Find a date to work towards and mark it on the calendar. For me, this year, that date is July 25th. We are hoping to take the girls on a little lake vacation starting on the 26th and I don't want to leave one thing in the house undone. I want to leave the house all peaceful and put together so when we come home from vacation, it's still all peaceful and put together. 3. Tidy by category. This phrase is taken directly out of Marie Kondo's book called "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up". By the way, I just looked and the book is on sale on Amazon right now for $9.89!
As I came across any photography-related items in the rest of my tidying endeavors, I put them into a box labeled as such.
I did this with all of my miscellaneous categories and dealt with those boxes when I got to that category on my list. I left a few blank boxes for you to fill in your own random categories, but if you're like me, you'll need more than a few boxes! Feel free to start your own list on another piece of paper or the back! Don't overthink it! 4. Don't start organizing until you're done with several categories. The temptation is there to start putting everything away before you're done with the discarding process. From personal experience...don't do it. Purge first...then organize. Otherwise, you'll get one area completely organized and find something later that would have fit there so much better. 5. Think in "stations". I have started to think about my house in terms of where certain things happen. This has really helped me to get organized and to stay organized (for the most part).
When you begin to think like this, your house starts to organize itself.
Out in the mud room, our beach towels are now housed with the sunscreen & goggles...far away from the bath towels that they used to be stored with in the old house. It just made sense to have them there, instead of taking up valuable room in the bathroom. When you've done enough categories that you feel like it's time to start some organizing, make sure to keep this "station" mindset. 6. Go quickly! Don't think too much! When you pick up an item, ask yourself, "Does this spark joy?" If it does, keep it! No questions asked! If it doesn't spark joy, but it's something you need...keep those things too. Toothpaste doesn't really spark joy for me, but I would sure like my family to continue brushing their teeth! Go with your gut instinct about things. Try not to think in terms of what you "might need someday". If it's something you could borrow or replace pretty inexpensively if you ever "need" it again...throw it out! Donate it, trash it, or give it away to a friend. Get it out of your house, as soon as possible! 7. Decorate intentionally. Put your belongings into categories and go through each category, ruthlessly purging items that you don't love or need. Organize the leftover items into functional stations throughout the house. Then...decorate! Keep the decorations you love and start to think about what other items you might add to your decor collection. This isn't something you have to do immediately. I prefer to check Hobby Lobby every month or so and scour their clearance aisle for things that spark joy for me. I hardly ever spend over $5 on any sort of decoration for my home. And when I do, it must be a joy-sparking item that I know will fit perfectly into my home!
These two items were joy-sparkers the moment I laid eyes on them!
The United States map that now hangs in the playroom cost me $39.99 on our mini-vacation to Pawhuska, Oklahoma and it was so worth that price! Every time I look at it, my heart leaps for joy! In fact, yesterday when I hung it in it's home up in the girls' playroom, I couldn't stop smiling! I feel the same way about my Farmhouse sign from Hobby Lobby. It's $22.50 now on Hobby Lobby's website! I spent $27.00 on it because it was originally $45.00 and I had a 40% off coupon. Again...so worth the price!
One of my favorite things to think about when I'm starting to decorate a room is what details I can add to really make the room "mine". Today, I worked on the office nook. I would say this room is considered "finished", except for whatever I might find in tubs over the next few days. Hopefully I've got it organized enough now that I should be able to categorize any extra items and put them right away. Some of the details that I really adore about the new farmhouse office nook include the herringbone plank clothespin board, the Rise & Shine sign, and of course, the typewriter Scentsy warmer. I love the Farmhouse caddy sitting by my camera and the wire basket from Dollar General holding all of my Bible study items. My childrens' picture on the "love" picture frame along with the funky desk lamp are both details that I enjoy. Through the whole process of moving and planning and decorating, I'm trying to remember to take time for the details.
I wanted my office nook to be someplace that I can come each morning to spend time with Jesus. To be able to load and edit photographs for my clients in a peaceful environment. To be inspired in my workspace. To pay attention to the details as I mold the space to fit exactly what I am visualizing in my mind. I wanted to have a refreshing place to create. And I think this farmhouse office nook will be just that place.
After the 30 days of elimination, you begin to introduce foods back into your diet and see how they affect your body. You take notes and make observations to see how you felt physically and mentally when you added back in a specific food group.
My first few rounds were amazing. Thirty days of hardcore focus and great results. I had never felt better. I lost weight, felt less bloated, and had a clear mind. However, after that reintroduction phase, I would slowly go back to eating how I was before. I was met with fatigue, digestive issues, and just a "blah" feeling. When I got to feeling bad enough, I would do another Whole30 and reset again. Enter Food Freedom Forever. In her newest book, Melissa Hartwig talks to her readers about how to have that feeling of being able to be successful at maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It all boils down to being intentional about our food choices. Keep that Whole30 "reset lifestyle" going for the majority of the time, unless you come to a food choice that you deem "worth it" for going off of the plan. Make it a special occasion. Think long and hard about your feelings in that moment. And jump confidently into your decision...free of guilt or questioning. Enjoy food! French Toast Croissants & United States Maps
Marie Kondo inspired me to simplify our possessions.
To be intentional in the items that we allow to take residence in our home. To ask ourselves if the belongings we own currently and any we purchase in the future really "spark joy" for us. Dallas & Melissa Hartwig inspired me to be intentional in my food choices. To think long and hard about whether the food items that we are putting into our bodies are really worth breaking our reset. This morning, at the Pioneer Woman Mercantile at 7:15 a.m., we broke our Whole30 reset on day 24. And it was so worth it.
So I got the Croissant French Toast and Ashley got Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes.
We were extremely happy with our breakfast decision. No hard feelings. No guilt. No feeling like we had "ruined our diet" with a "cheat" or a "slip up". Nothing. Pure joy that we have the freedom to make a food decision responsibly every once in awhile. ANYway, enough about our amazing breakfast choices.
Oh yeah...I bought myself four wonderful shirts on clearance today. I love them all...joy-sparkers all around! The one on the left has CAMERAS on it! Yes! Cameras!
And I also picked up a Benjamin Franklin finger puppet at the Mercantile for my third grade classroom. Who doesn't need a Ben Franklin finger puppet?
It was a great day.
It's late and I'm tired, but it was all worth it. So worth it. |
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