Life as Mrs. Emerson

Setting goals helps me determine the direction of my week.     Last Week's Goals: Attend two therapy appointments and a GI Dr. Appt with Eva this week.   This was one of my biggest priorities for last week and I am so thankful that I was able to attend all three appointments.  Eva has gained an entire pound in the last few months.  What a big praise!   Eva & Eli start Co-Op this week!    I need to finish my  Before Five in A Row  syllabus and develop a plan for Co-Op days.    We have Co-op days on Wednesdays which is already our busiest day of the week since we attend church in the evenings and help coordinate the dinner.    I’m hoping to develop a smooth plan for Co-Op days this week.  I also need to change our weekly schedule to allow more days spent completely at home.   We not only survived our first day of Co-Op but we also had a great time.  Aside from getting lost on the way to Co-Op our morning went well.  I will be tweaking my plan this week for Wednesdays

Eli & Eva at the birthplace of President Woodrow Wilson.  If you follow me on instagram you might have noticed that we were blessed to take a trip to Washington D.C. last week.  After a lot of debate we opted to drive so that we could stop and visit Thomas Jefferson's Monticello along the way.  Here are a few of the frugal things we did last week!   While I firmly believe that vacation is a marvelous time to splurge there were a few things that we did to save money last week. While on vacation we tried to choose wisely which items to splurge on and which to pass on.  We chose to splurge on tickets to see Monticello even though we could only stay a few hours.  (It was well worth it.)  On the way home we stopped by the birthplace of President Woodrow Wilson and were unimpressed by the appearance of the museum so we opted not to spend the $50 it would have cost to actually go inside.  We strolled the grounds, admired the old automobile, and snapped a few pictures. We use

Eva is in love with her new cousin Paisley!   Happy Monday friends!  It's time to set some realistic goals for the week.  Sharing my goals gives me such incredible accountability that I always accomplish more in my week.  We just returned home Friday morning after spending three wonderful nights in Washington D.C.  Many of my goals this week will involve getting our home back in order and attending a variety of appointments for Evangeline.   This Week's Goals: Attend two therapy appointments and a GI Dr. Appt with Eva this week.   Eva & Eli start Co-Op this week!    I need to finish my  Before Five in A Row  syllabus and develop a plan for Co-Op days.    We have Co-op days on Wednesdays which is already our busiest day of the week since we attend church in the evenings and help coordinate the dinner.    I’m hoping to develop a smooth plan for Co-Op days this week.  I also need to change our weekly schedule to allow more days spent completely at home.      Atte

Are you looking for a fun, simple weekend activity to do with your children?  Try this simple minion finger puppet activity.  This idea was not my own (hooray pinterest) but I did want to share it with you all since we had such a fun time making the puppets together.  We actually made these puppets as a special Mommy, Daddy, Eli activity while Eva was taking her nap one day. Supplies Needed: Yellow Kitchen Gloves (I purchased mine at the Dollar Tree for $1) Black Sharpie Marker Black Electric Tape (also purchased at the Dollar Tree) Google Eyes and Adhesive to attach the eyes.  I used Craft Glue Simply cut off each of the fingers and the thumbs from the gloves.  Even the happy hubby got in on the fun! Attach electric tape around each finger puppet.  I cut each piece of electric tape in half in order to make the tape thinner but you don't really have to do that. Minions in Progress Attach googly eyes to the puppet and add a face.   The minions that

The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands by Lysa Terkeurst: I really enjoyed reading this book especially during the last month as I have tried to balance my daughter's recent diagnosis of having a brain malformation with the never ending demands of being a wife and mother.  The sheer amount of appointments that I have attended while meeting with different physicians and therapists has made me constantly re-evaluate my priorities.  I have had to say no to a lot of great things this summer in order to prioritize Eva's current health needs.  (I do think that I would benefit from reading this book during any season of my life.)  I gleaned a lot from this book but I believe it is really lacking in encouraging women to serve in their local churches.  The author encourages women to choose their best yes in their lives but it really felt as though she was freeing women from many of their responsibilities in life.  I could easily see a woman reading this