Life as Mrs. Emerson

  Here is a picture of Sarah Beth wearing her helmet on a recent vacation in Florida this month.   She had to wear it 23 hours a day and it was tough! Last Week's Goals & Recap Marriage, Mothering, and Family: 1) Continued faithfulness with Sarah's physical therapy and helmet.  (She has torticollis and plagiocephaly.). We are overjoyed that Sarah learned to crawl in the last month but she still needs to work on strengthening her neck muscles.  One of my least favorite exercises is tilting her to the side and holding her in that position.  She also hates it but it is really important.   OUR GIRL GOT HER HELMET OFF!!!!!  We are over the moon thrilled.  She still has torticollis and we will need to continue therapy for the time being.   2) Begin a new read-aloud with Eli & Eva.  I would love to read a sweet Christmas book together this year.  Anyone have a suggestion for me?    We read 1/2 of The Family Unde...

One of my monthly fun goals this month is to visit 10 parks or playgrounds with my kids. With the Christmas season quickly approaching I decided it was high time to jump back into blogging.  Despite not blogging for most of the past year, I have continued to set monthly and weekly goals.  I find such encouragement in reading other people's goals that I have decided to begin sharing my goals again.   Marriage, Mothering, and Family: 1) Continued faithfulness with Sarah's physical therapy and helmet.  (She has torticollis and plagiocephaly.). We are overjoyed that Sarah learned to crawl in the last month but she still needs to work on strengthening her neck muscles.  One of my least favorite exercises is tilting her to the side and holding her in that position.  She also hates it but it is really important.   2) Begin a new read-aloud with Eli & Eva.  I would love to read a sweet Christmas book together this year.  Anyone have a s...

Happy Monday friends!  I hope you all had such a fantastic week last week.  I made it safely home with both kids from our road trip to Arkansas!  Hooray.  I'll have lots more to share about it later in the week.  It was such a good trip.  Don't you just love that sweet photo above that I snapped the minute we returned home?   When I first sat down last night to think about my goals I had all sorts of lofty ambitions.  Then the Holy Spirit worked on my heart.  This isn't the week to deep clean my basement.  Of all the weeks of the year this is the week to celebrate and remember.  Christ has Risen from the grave!  This week I hope to take extra time to walk slowly through the days leading up to the Crucifixion and Resurrection both with my children and on my own.  I hope you take some time out to do the same.   Goals from Two Weeks Ago: Marriage, Mothering, & Family: 1.  Go on a real (out of the house...

I was pleasantly surprised last week when Evangeline decided to be my building helper.  We had such a great time building this raised bed.  She handed me screws and even helped me hold the boards.  I can't wait to harvest some fresh veggies! Happy Tuesday friends!  Here's hoping your week is off to a fantastic start.  This is an exciting week at our home because we are prepping for a road trip to Arkansas!  Woohoo!  Spring break is in the air!  I can't believe we haven't actually been to Arkansas since last July.  Our fall was packed with our Disney trip and then we ended up moving after Thanksgiving.  Thankfully we have seen a handful of our Arkansas family on numerous occasions but I haven't seen my three nieces in forever!  I can't wait to see Eli and Eva's face when they see their cousins again!  I'm sure that will be worth the 9 hour drive!  In the mean time here's what goals I will be focusing on this week! ...

I just finished up my current Bible Study on the book of 2 Timothy this afternoon and man am I fired up!  I just keep thinking: set some goals, get your work done, enjoy your family, and work hard to further the Gospel this week! Here's what I'm focusing on this week: Marriage, Mothering, & Family: 1.  Eli starts soccer practice this week!  This is his first time playing and I'm so excited for him.  I also need to take him to the store to buy some related sports equipment before practice.  Eli and Eva are also continuing with gymnastics and start a new session this week.  2. Read three chapters of God's Promises by Sally Michael aloud to the children this week.  This book is fantastic and I"m hoping we can finish by the end of the month so I can let my sister-in-law borrow it when I see her.  We have also read the first book in this series entitled God's Names.   3.  Enjoy an at-home date night and spend some time intention...

I had a great time spending two days attending the VBS Preview conference in Nashville with this goofy guy last week!  It's always such a treat to accompany him to a conference.  Happy Monday friends!  I hope your Monday is going well.  We had a dusting of snow this morning so it's been a fun day.  There really wasn't enough snow to go play in but we enjoyed a nice, quiet day that we spent completely at home.  I'm convinced one of the secrets to getting more done is simply staying at home and not leaving my house.  After a busy week last week I knew that the kiddos and I all needed a stay-at-home day.  We'll be taking it easy this evening with some homemade Chicken Noodle Soup for dinner and some family time.   I'm pretty sure Eli has plans of us all playing games all evening!  I ended up not sharing my goals last week since I was headed to TN for two days to attend a VBS Preview conference.  It was super fun!   Here's a lo...

Eli had a great time at Art Club this week and I had a great time hanging out just the two of us! Happy Monday!  I have my usual, quirky assortment of goals for the week.  I think I have finally adjusted to the fact that it is no longer Christmas break.  It's time to get back to work.   Last Week's Goals Marriage, Mothering, & Family: 1)  The children and I are headed out of town on Saturday for an out of town birthday party!  It's an indoor pool party and the kids are just beside themselves with excitement.   It was awesome.  The birthday party was an indoor pool party complete with a massive water slide!  Totally worth the hour drive in the rain.   2)  I'm planning on spending some time alone with Eli this week and plan to take him to "Art Club" at the library.   Part of my yearly goal to "settle" into our new community is to take part in local activities.  So far the library has some of the best!  I ha...

Hello friends!  I hope that your week is going well.  We enjoyed such a fun time last week with all of the snow that I couldn't help but share a fun photo with you.  Sledding ended up being a bit of a disappointment but we had a great time exploring our backyard in the snow!  Can you tell Eli loves throwing snowballs?  We recently moved "to town" but we have the neatest backyard.  Most of our backyard is actually woods so we have our own mini forest and even a creek.  What a blessing!   This is our second week back from Christmas break and I'm ready to ease my way back into some serious goals.  Here's what my week looks like: Marriage, Mothering, & Family: 1)  The children and I are headed out of town on Saturday for an out of town birthday party!  It's an indoor pool party and the kids are just beside themselves with excitement. 2)  I'm planning on spending some time alone with Eli this week and plan to take him t...

My bunch playing around at the St. Louis zoo a few weeks ago.   Marriage, Mothering, & Family 1.  Set aside most "projects" this week to focus on celebrating Christmas with my family.  I'm still not unpacked but I'm going to try to put most of that on hold this week.  (This is actually a hard goal for me as I can't wait to finish unpacking!)  I'm looking forward to reading lots of books, playing games, and watching Christmas movies! 2.  Enjoy an at home date night with the happy husband. 3.  Brandon & I are planning on taking our kiddos on some fun outing. Homemaking 4.  Make cookies with the children.  Evangeline received a sweet pretend mixer and she has been so anxious to bake with me! 5.  Sew two final Christmas presents. Personal 6.  Write at least five thank you notes this week. 7.  Finish reading The Christ of Christmas by James Montgomery Boice. 8.  Spend time reflecting on 2016 and praying...

I just wanted to wish each and everyone of you a very Merry Christmas!  We just moved (as in we moved less than a month ago) so we are sticking close to home this Christmas.  I'm looking forward to sharing more frugal ideas, organization hints, and tips for intentional living in the following weeks.  For now I'm making memories and savoring the moments.  I hope you are as well.  Merry Christmas!

   Happy Monday!  I hope your Monday is off to a great start.  I woke up to one of my kids with a fever and not feeling well.  That's just a good excuse to curl up and devour a large number of read aloud books this week!  I read half of an Imagination Station book just this morning.  Some of my goals will be adjusted depending on how long they are not feeling well.   Last Week's Goals Last week was such a fun filled week!  I ended up crossing off a fair amount of goals and we even made a trip to Louisville for the KY State Fair.  The state fair is one of my favorite things every summer!   Marriage, Mothering, & Family 1.  Eli is playing flag football this fall!  I'm excited to attend his game on Saturday.   It was so fun to watch Eli in action on Saturday!  I teach piano lessons during Eli's practice times so this was my first time to see him play.   2.  Eva has a therapy appointment th...

We have been so blessed to fill our August with such fun family memories. In the picture above we enjoyed a day trip to the Columbus Zoo where we got to get up close with some kangaroos!   August has been so busy for our family that I've neglected to share my goals the past few weeks.  We've been squeezing in lots of summer fun as we transition back to school days.  I also began teaching fall piano lessons.  Here are a few of my goals for this upcoming week.      This Week's Goals Marriage, Mothering, & Family 1.  Eli is playing flag football this fall!  I'm excited to attend his game on Saturday. 2.  Eva has a therapy appointment this week.  I am so thankful for all of the incredible progress that she has made over the past year.   3.  Take both children to the park to play this week.   Homemaking 4.  Work on plans for Disney.  I need to work on our packing list and make some reserva...

Happy Tuesday!  Whenever I am late to share my list of goals for the week it either means I have been traveling or my week is not going according to plan.  Unfortunately it is the latter.  I'm suffering from some serious back pain which started at church on Sunday morning.  I've been to the doctor and the majority of my week will be spent walking and taking it easy.  No gardening and no deep de-cluttering like I had originally hoped.  I'm hoping to spend time sufficiently resting this week and catching up on some computer work.   Last Week's Goals Marriage, Mothering, & Family 1.  Enjoy taking the children to the bike rodeo in town.  I'm still not entirely sure what we have signed up for but I am sure it will be fun.  I had never even heard of a "bike rodeo" before I saw the flyer!   It was pretty fun and both of the children had a blast!  They learned about bike safety and rode their bicycles through a number o...

Happy Monday!  I'm starting to feel the end of summer time crunch.  Has it hit you yet?  Where we live school starts in just a few short weeks!  We have enjoyed a fantastic summer so far but I will still be a wee bit sad to watch it end.  Now I am coming face to face with my lovely summer to do list.  (It's always overly ambitious.)  There are still quite a few cleaning items on that summer list that I really do need to finish in the next three weeks.  Last week was a full week of re-adjusting to home life after our week away but I'm happy with how my goals turned out.  Here's a few of the things I hope to accomplish this week while we squeeze as much fun out of summer as we possibly can.   Last Week's Goals Marriage, Mothering, & Family   1.  Eva has a therapy appointment and a GI appt this week. 2.  Enjoy an at home date with the happy hubby.   We had a great time watching "The Finest Hours" together aft...

Happy Monday!  I hope that your week is off to an excellent start.  We actually spent the majority of last week visiting family in Arkansas.  It was so fun spending time with cousins and Brandon's side of the family.  The picture above includes my children, three of my nieces who live in Arkansas, and their great grandmother Meme.  Not only does Meme have 13 grandchildren but she also has 17 great-grandchildren so far with one more on the way!  She is one of my favorite people and I am so blessed we were also able to spend the weekend with her.  This week I will be primarily focusing on recovering from our trip.  :)  Here is how my goals from my last week turned out and what I am working on this week.   Last Week's Goals Marriage, Mothering, & Family 1.  Enjoy a date with the happy hubby.   We went out to one of our favorite restaurants in Arkansas and then went shoe shopping. It was so much fun!  I actually...

Happy 4th of July!  I hope your day was filled with family, fun, and celebration.  Here's a recap of last week and the ten goals I have planned for this week.   Last Week's Goals Marriage, Mothering, & Family 1.  Take my children to Vacation Bible School at our church every evening.   It was pure awesomeness.   2.  Finish rowing "Madeline" and begin our next book.   We had a blast rowing Madeline and I am SO excited about doing Five in a Row for the next few months.  We just started The Rag Coat.   3.  Evangeline has two therapy appointments this week.   Check. We actually had a really difficult therapy session on Thursday and Friday.  I am thankful for the encouragement of Eva's therapists and try to remind myself of the incredible progress she has made in the past 11 months.   Homemaking 4.  Sew a skirt for Evangeline.  (The skirt is cut out and sitting on top of my sewing machine.  I ...

Happy Wednesday!  I hope you are squeezing lots of life out of this week.  We have been having such a fun, full week.  Here's what we have planned for this week and a recap.   Last Week's Goals Marriage, Mothering, & Family 1.  Enjoy a great time camping with my family this week.   We had a fantastic time camping at Alpine Hideaway Campground in Pigeon Forge, TN.  The weather was lovely and we were also able to meet up with some dear friends.   2.  Begin  Five in a Row Volume 1.   We are rowing  Madeline  this week and having the best time!  Last year we worked through the entire  Before Five in a Row  and it was so delightful.  (Let me know if you would be interested in more details.)   I've always been a fan of the book Madeline and it was such fun to share with both of my children last week.  I'm hoping to share more about our Five in a Row adventures next week.   3. ...

Well the week is half spent and I've neglected to share my goals for the week.  That's because we went camping.  Tent camping that is!  I did work on my goals on Sunday just like every week so I thought I would still share.  Happy Thursday!   Last Week's Goals: Marriage, Mothering, & Family 1.  Work on plans for Father's Day.   We treated the happy hubby to a trip to TN for Father's Day.  It was just wonderful.   2.  Eva has two therapy appointments this week.   Check.  3.  Enjoy a playdate at the zoo with friends.   It was fantastic despite the crowds!   4.  Spend a day at home catching up with my children.  (I actually went out of town overnight to surprise a friend at her 30th birthday party on Saturday.  While I had a great time I really missed my sweet kids.)  I'm planning on spending lots of time outside playing and then enjoying some extended reading time in the afternoon....

Happy Monday!  I hope your week is off to a great start.  Last week was an absolute blast filled with two out of town trips (camping and a trip to see friends) so this week I'm focusing on things at home.  I don't know about you but I have so many projects around the home that I save for the summer months when I have just a little bit more time.  Hopefully I can begin working on a few of those projects while squeezing in as much fun as possible.   I'm also planning a day that we just spend playing outside and diving into a ridiculously large stack of library books.   Marriage, Mothering, & Family 1.  Work on plans for Father's Day. 2.  Eva has two therapy appointments this week. 3.  Enjoy a playdate at the zoo with friends. 4.  Spend a day at home catching up with my children.  (I actually went out of town overnight to surprise a friend at her 30th birthday party on Saturday.  While I had a great time I really miss...

Happy Tuesday!  I'm back from an absolutely fantastic week at the beach last week!  What an incredible blessing to be able to join my family on vacation.  I'm just sad the happy hubby had to work.  This week is sure to be one of my busiest for weeks to come!  Anyone else feel like the month of May is busier than the month of December?  Here's what my upcoming week looks like!   Marriage, Mothering, & Family 1.)  Read at least five chapters of 10 Boys Who Made History or Attack At the Arena.   I did read aloud to the children while we were on vacation but I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of some serious read-aloud time. 2.)  Enjoy an at-home date with the happy hubby where we plan for an upcoming overnight get away!  Eek I just can't wait! 3)  Work on decorations for my brother's upcoming graduation party.  I'm working on a display board of pictures among other things.  I think it's t...