Journals and Family Report Cards.

our family journals-- can you tell what song we were learning that night?

1.  i LOVE family journals.

as the new year started, i invested in new journals for everyone in my family.

we have a morning devotional, most mornings, and it needed some PEP!

new journals were just the thing.

(don't you love office supplies?!)

actually, i bought some new paper, sticky notes, and a bunch of fun colored gel pens.

we take turns giving a spiritual thought and we try to print out something that the kids can tape into their journals.

i LOVE that the little girls are busy coloring in their journals while the big kids are taking notes.

journals have not only added some fun to our morning devotionals, it has also helped a lot with personalizing it.

i love that the kids have a place to write down scriptures they like or quotes they want to remember.

we keep our journals in a small box near our scriptures.

i don't let them take them to their rooms or write in them whenever they want... because i know they will get lost or ruined.

{the family night before i gave the kids their new journals i said we're going to play a Memory game-- i gave half the kids a piece of paper and a pencil, and half nothing.  then i told them to remember the items i was going to say... i started listing random things apple, cat, happy, love, school, coke, etc.  i think i listed about 20 things.  then i asked who could remember what i had said.  the kids who had taken notes of my list could recall all 20 and the other kids didn't think that was fair.  i smiled and asked what they could learn from that example?  then, i asked how that game relates to writing journals.  the kids responded PERFECTLY and i didn't even need to teach them the lesson-- they taught it for me!}

2.  i LOVE family report cards.
for family night i pulled out my famous white board and i asked the kids to name some of the different areas of our life.

we came up with a list that included, scripture time, being kind, doing chores, mornings, bedtime, straightening up, doing fun things, exercise, watching screens, etc.

then i asked them how they thought we had done the past week 1-10, 1 being bad, 10 being good.
i asked the kids to look at the numbers and make some conclusions...
like "we had scripture time each day and were kind to each other.  we watched a lot of tv and didn't do very well with our chores."
we circled the areas where we were the lowest and set two family goals for the week.
i think they are do jobs happily in the morning and no screens after school but do exercise daily... or something like that.
then, i had the kids rate themselves individually 1-10.
they circled their low spots and set a couple personal goals. 

oh how i LOVED hearing them set goals for themselves instead of me encouraging them to be better.

it was SO good. 

give it a try!

6th grade boy.

i love this kid.

he's something.

a big tease, very smart, very sarcastic and logical and "right"

and... so funny.

as much as i am on his case (telling him to BE KIND!),

i hope he knows that i really, really, really think he's awesome.

although, the professor thinks he says he's awesome too much...
drew often sings a song "d-r-e-w-is- a-w-s-o-m" 
i laughed that he wasn't even spelling awesome correctly!...
now, he has to sweep the floor every time he sings his little prideful song.
(to keep him humble.)

drew is still awsom!

and, my floor is shining!

he just got a locker (they were under construction) and he wanted to decorate it.

he's ready and in the car 30 minutes before school starts because he's nervous he won't be able to open his locker on time..

drew informed me yesterday, that it was a good thing the janitor was there with the key yesterday or he would have been late and i would have owed him five bucks!
right... 

so, i picked up a couple things at the dollar store.

to surprise him.

yup.  we have a dollar store here in our town.

the most organized dollar tree you have EVER seen.

it's my new BFF.

and,
i wanted to show you drew's talk from last Sunday.

he had 3 principles.

3 scriptures.

3 applications.

he shared his testimony at the end.

two funny stories...
1.  Drew's talk was on reverence.  todd was speaking last sunday and so i was by myself with the 7 kids.  (again, somehow it's easier without my husband-- no idea why?)  anyway, drew was teasing with anna.  tickleling her or trying to take something away from her that she shouldn't have been looking at.  Then i saw him go, "Oh.  I forgot."  And he folded his arms, bowed his head and sat quietly the rest of the sacrament time.  In his talk he said, "I always try to fold my arms and bow my head and close my eyes during the sacrament to help me be reverent.   I like to bow my head so that if I forget and open my eyes, all I'm looking at is my shirt."  :)
2.  i was cranky one night when he came home from scouts.  i was trying to remind him to do his dish job and he started complaining.  mid-sentence he stopped and said, "Oh.  Um.  Never mind.  I'll do my job mom."  As he turned and headed to the kitchen I heard him say to himself, "A Scout is Cheerful."

Really, he's so funny.  I love that kid.

The other day he made a comment about me not posting enough pictures of him.

and, he's right.

enjoy!!
(this is SO drew... and SO jakob.... i'm SO glad they have each other.)

drewser makes us ALL laugh.

i love 11 year olds.
a lot.

never stop starting.

have i told you before some of my favorite parenting advice?

never stop starting.

sometimes, as i'm re planning my life i get discouraged and i think... shouldn't i have this figured out by now? 
and the truth is-- I have had it figure out.
many times.
but things change and so your routines need to be re-thunk. 
(yes, i know that is not a real word.)

i asked the professor to stay home for the morning and we had a mega-planning meeting.

he is so good for my "too many ideas i get overwhelmed" mind.
todd calms me and helps me to prioritize and be patient with my "things i wish we were doing better" list.

sometimes i feel bad for our marathon meetings.

but then i think... we are running a company here- together.

and, we need to plan.

"Fail to Prepare and Prepare to Fail."

it is SO good for us to sit down together, with an agenda and just strategize.

Want to see our agenda?

We're trying to get a one year supply of stuff that we buy-- so we ended with a list of everything that we buy (it's a first draft).

OK--  Here it is...

Want to see the new jobs we're doing after school?

OK-- Here they are...  (we rotate every week)

Want to see my effort to become more ROUTINE and DISCIPLINED in the morning, after school, and for bedtime?

OK-- Here are my new signs...

I didn't have time to make everything pretty-- just practical.

We introduced our plan of attack for Family Night... and then practiced at meal time and bedtime.

Already, i notice a BIG improvement.

(Except for one child- who has a tendency to kick against the pricks.)

My blog is not a place where I brag about my practically perfect family.

Maybe I would, if we were practically perfect.

But, I try to be real. 

To show you where we are and how we're fighting for better tomorrows.

Tomorrow, we are going to ROCK at our after school routine.

again.

just sayin'

first day.

my kids were at school all day, and i still didn't get the laundry finished.

hah!

actually, i didn't even start it until after they were in bed.

we had a good first day here.

jakob and leah start a day later than the other kids... so we'll see their first day tomorrow!

ellie- 3rd grade with Mr. Holroyd

anna, 4th grade with Mrs. Rutledge

drew, 6th grade with Mrs. Thompson- homeroom

cute kids.

sweet teachers.

yes, i even took a picture of drew's teacher.

when we pulled up to the middle school he asked, "are you going to walk me in?"

i said, "if you want me to."

he said, "sure."

he gave me directions to every class he had that day from his scrupulous study of the map.

i told him i was going to bring my camera to take a picture of him with his teacher.

he siad, "really?  i guess that's fine."
{i love that drew saved his black vans for school... they are $6 Target clearance shoes, but he would only wear them in the house so they would stay nice for school. the night before school i saw him cleaning the bottoms with a baby wipe. sweet boy.}

i could tell drew was nervous, because he was acting confidant.

i cried walking out of the building.

(i have a tendency to get teary in kindergarten and middle school...  funny huh?!)

i LOVE these kids.

a lot.

jakob and i went to breakfast with two of his friends and their mothers.
i love how he always wants to share his food with me, "you can try this mom."
and how he asks, "can i try your hash browns?"
and how he offered me some money to pay for his milkshake.
(he ordered a vanilla milkshake and pancakes.)
he's a good kid.
this year i have 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, preschool, 3 year old and active baby...
speaking of firsts... 

 check out that-- FIRST ponytail.

she's a cute little bugger.

today, life is good.

and tomorrow, i'm going to finish my laundry.

it's going to be a fun year!

searching for bobby fisher.

 my kids LOVE to play chess.

they were even in a chess club at school.

Charcoal, pawn, cat and dog-- those are their code words.

Drew says, "Ellie, charcoal?"

and they both run into the bedroom for a secret game of speed chess...

can you see the bell?

after you move, you ring the bell...

it's a bobby fisher thing.

(nice holy socks)
want to know what one of my favorite things about this summer is?
saying things like "you have got to put your book down and get your chores done."
or, "bring me your chess set, you keep distracting your sisters. 
You can play when they have finished their chores."
i LOVE grounding my kids from great things like books and chess...
i know, i'm weird.
i sure do love these guys!!
and, i REALLY love being a mom.
just sayin'.