finding our rythm

i was given some excellent wisdom that is greatly impacting the peace in our home.  i thought i would share it with you as we are all kicking off summer which tends to look much different from the school year. 

we are establishing a rhythm in our home.  a rhythm is, by definition, a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound.  a rhythm gives more grace and flexibility than a schedule, but still helps everyone to feel secure because they know what to expect. 

our daily rhythm looks like this:
breakfast
dress/free play
school activity (keeping allie current and preparing caleb for K)
show while griffin has crib time
chores/table top time
free play
lunch
clean up & room prep
books
rest time
show with a snack
free play
computer & dinner prep stations
clean up
family time
baths
books
bed

let me explain a few things:
*the / mean that the first thing needs to be accomplished to do the second thing (incentives).  for example each person must get dressed before they can free play and chores must be done to join in on a table top activity.

*table top activities change each day... play dough, puzzles, board games, art bucket, etc.  i pick it for the morning.

*clean up is a way of giving my kids a responsibility for the entire house to be picked up. they know that this helps them be able to enjoy our space more and find their things easier... we usually do a "clean sweep" twice a day.  it never takes longer than 10 minutes and helps me keep my sanity! the second "clean sweep" takes place right after dinner and includes clearing the table, sweeping the floor, and washing the table off. don't underestimate your kids... even the young ones love helping!

*griffin is dropping his morning nap which means he starts crib time.  he goes into his crib the same time that he use to nap, but now i leave the lights on and give him toys.  he does this for about 30 min each morning while the kids watch a show.  this gives me a chance to shower or have a quiet time (which ever one didn't happen before kids got up). this is a glorious thing that i've done with EVERY sisco kid... some took longer to train, but it is WELL WORTH it and i advise it!  you are teaching your kiddo that they can entertain themselves and it helps with the separation anxiety because... alas, you do come back. :)

* room time is during griffins long afternoon nap.  every kid goes to a separate space and has time to themselves for an hour and a half.  they need it... i need it.  we all win!  sometimes they sleep, but usually they play (hopefully quietly).

*computer and dinner prep stations might be my favorite new idea.  dinner time can just get sooo crazy so fast and if i want to be a happy momma when daddy gets home then i have to have a plan.  our plan is that one kid does computer activities while the other helps me in the kitchen.  we switch after about 15 minutes.  they love doing both and they aren't fighting because they each have something to do!  my three year old is usually tired and enjoys watching the big kids play computer.  my one year old toddles around and plays with measuring cups or Tupperware during this time and is usually happy unless dinner is past six!  :)

*i have free play later in the morning because that is usually when we have play dates with other people and that fits great into our routine.

so there you have it.... rhythm... peace.... rhythm.... joy... rhythm... secure kids

i would love to hear what keeps your house at peace... 

i love to learn from other families and welcome any ideas!

the end of school....was, of course, a little unusual...

our poor, sweet girl got super sick the last week and missed three days of school.

look at this green face.  boo!

lucky for all of us, she made it to the last day of school.

we took a pic of her and her sweet (third kinder) teacher, mrs. lemmon.

the end of the year gift was a carafe with a little note that read, "thanks for pouring your heart into teaching."

then it was time to make HAPPY treats to celebrate making it through the first year of school.  i mean, seriously... three schools, three teachers, two cities... we needed to celebrate!

these cupcakes said party all over them.  if you want to know how to make them, check out THIS LINK.

and then it was time to cheer on summer!!!

we invited a few neighborhood friends for treats and a water gun battle.

it was a fantastic, sticky, wet, fun mess!

happy summer everyone!!

memorial day

sorry to rewind a bit, but things have been a little busy. 

memorial day was a fun little event in our neighborhood. 

the kids woke up to flags in every yard on our street and you would have thought the circus came to town.  they thought that was sooo fun!

 we had a block party that evening and got to meet several neighbors.  we closed off the street and the kids rode bikes and scooters until they just couldn't go anymore.

our family brought apple baked beans and enjoyed everyone else's yummy contributions.

 lance and i stayed until griffin wouldn't let us party any longer!

it was a fun way to celebrate our country and remember the soldiers that fell protecting our freedoms!

there and back again... another goodbye

 this past week i have been at pine cove leading a group of extraordinary college students through lifeguard training.  i can say that they are 100% ready to prevent injury and protect lives this summer.  here is a group pic of the faithful bunch.

going back was so fun... good to see some faces that i've been missing and watch all the eager staff arrive with so much excitement.  but, wow, did i have a mixed bag of emotions when i left.  i have had some time to unpack all my thoughts and i find myself wanting to share them.

when lance and i first left tyler, i cried.  i was grieving the loss of a home, friends, church, and familiarity that i had known for six years.  at the time, it was pine cove's retreat season which looks MUCH different than summer time.  when i left this week, i cried.  i am now grieving the loss of a ministry.  does that seem strange?  strange or not... it's true.  for the past six summers i have been pouring into college girls.  i have had the privilege of praying with them, loving them, laughing with them, crying with them, challenging them, and even traveling with them! :) that ministry continues, of course, but i do not get to be a part of it.  what a blessing to have discipleship opportunity dropped at your doorstep every summer.  i could not have asked for something better and my heart hurts to miss out on that.  

however,

(don't you love that word... jesus is the reason for the howevers in my life)

i am firmly planted in the center of christ's will for my life.  i have no doubt that my family is walking in the direction the Lord has called us in.  and because of that, i am doing three things during this time:

1.  being humbled that the LORD will NOT ALWAYS choose to use me... and that is ok.

2. anxiously waiting to see what ministry looks like HERE for me/us/my family.

3. praying for those at PC that continue to pour their lives into campers and staff everyday!

to my pc friends... 

"I thank my God every time I remember you!  In all my prayers for all of you, i always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.... God can testify how i long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ- to the glory and praise of God!" - phil 1:3-11

quick wedding weekend

this past weekend our family had the privilege of joining another staffer on her wedding day.  Maddie Bolin (now Maddie Quick) worked for lance for four summers and has been our adopted forge student this past year.  we had the opportunity to do premarital counseling with her and her hubby, Stephen.  lance officiated the wedding and all three of the big kids were in the wedding as well!

here is a run down of our wild weekend.

the wedding was in Salado so, of course, we stopped at common grounds in Waco for a fun drink.  this one is my absolute FAV!  coconut, lime, and Italian soda - soooo good!

i have no rehearsal pics because riley was a little bit of a handful.  let's just say that he threw down what he was suppose to carry down the aisle and refused to do A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G he was asked.  sigh.

however the next day we hit the pool while daddy prepared for the ceremony

ummm... they were freezing! but kept assuring me that it wasn't cold.

but i used it as a great opportunity for snuggles

and lots of pictures!  L O V E this precious face!

when the kids finally agreed that it was indeed cold... they resorted to searching for bottle caps in the flowerbeds... the boys collect them and now have plenty of "BLs" to add to their stockpile.

we really had a great time and i enjoyed just laughing with my kids (it's been too long)!

caught caleb laughing at riley... they kept saying he was "too much!" and they were right!!  he is so silly!

after a quick nap to ensure good moods, it was off to the wedding!

here are my big boys getting ready for their walk. the bride got them those lunch boxes and filled them with toys and snacks to keep them entertained during the ceremony.  allie got that cute build-a-bear bride.

i snapped a quick pic of the wedding party praying just before the ceremony.

this was maddie dancing while the girls chanting maddie bolin over and over again... last time, ya know?

allie and the other flower girl, reece.  they became best friends instantly!

ok... seriously beautiful women!!!  L O V E these ranch girls!

the boys playing with their new toys after the ceremony while pictures were happening.

after the ceremony the wedding party rode on a trailer to the reception.  the kids got to go too and had so much fun!  sweet jon was positioned to catch riley if he fell.  thanks jon!

too much fun!

we got a really great pic of all the ranch staff at the wedding just after the happy couple left.  i'll try to post it later when it starts getting around on facebook!

mothers

our moms have such a great impact on every aspect of our lives. lance and i have both been greatly affected, loved, challenged, and encouraged by our moms throughout our lives. they are both hardworking women who have given up alot to put their kiddos needs before their own. and, of course, you never realize that until you have kids of your own. although my kids didn't see sunday as any different from any other day, they did make me laugh. i couldn't leave these pics out...

we went to noodle wave for lunch and had some chopstick fun while also treating mommy to some of her favorite kind of food!

we mailed our mimi and grammie the grand kids hand prints.  the goal was to get them on thin canvas, but both craft supply stores were out...  we'll get them mounted up right in the near future!

kitchen reveal

here are some before pics of our easter egg kitchen. i wouldn't say that this kitchen was horrible, but the paint color that they chose with the yellow tile did not do this space any justice.

down the road we would like to get new cabinets and counter tops, but until then we decided to embrace the tile color rather than fight it.

we went with a color called warm earth and got a new light fixture.

and the table has a story too.  i had the find of the year at the cccsale this year.  i snagged this solid wood table and chairs!

  woohoo! we gave it some table leg love and my uber-talented husband added bench seating.  and, yes, for an added bonus it has storage underneath.  the third chair has griffin's seat and the forth chair is our computer chair.

we also replaced our nonworking gas powered oven with a new double convection oven... but that also meant lance had to rebuild the pantry and surrounding cabinets.  so out with the old...

and in with the new design...

and taDa!  sheer perfection!  so proud of my guy!  the basket on the bottom holds all our non refrigerated produce!

so that's it.  nothing fancy, but WAY better than the start!