My Happy Planner

Did y'all make grand organizational plans for 2017?

I didn't.  But I love all the calendars and markers and fancy charts and lovelies all over the store.  And the containers!!  Be still my heart.  All the storage containers to contain all the stuff?  Yes please.

A few months into the fall I started getting bored with my spiral notebook and starting looking into what all the planner hype was about.  There are so many!  And they can be pretty pricey.  So my spiral started looking a little cuter that day.

But then Meg started talking about it too and my librarian.  And OH THE PEER PRESSURE ALREADY.

So I looked again.
And found a coupon.

I must say I heart my Happy Planner.

I love the bright colors.  It pairs so nicely with all pens and markers. 

These divider pages are adorable.  So artsy. 

Here's a peek.  The monthly spread is my favorite feature (which comes with pretty much every planner in the store).  It keeps me from having to check the kitchen calendar for everything.  And it's something that my spiral doesn't have.  

The tabbed pages are nice and thick.   I used one of the older month's tabs to make a new one for charts.  Now my kids can quickly check what chores they have this week, what color they are on, and what school is next.  This is also something that works better here than in my spiral.  

I

And here's the part I wasn't sure about.  The daily pages.  I need a whole sheet for everything daily.  Not just a morning/afternoon/evening square.  So a lot of those pages are pretty much useless to me.  But I figured out a way to use some of them by penciling in a grid and using it to keep track of my kids colors (behavior system), school, and chores.



Still trying to figure it out and decide what is worth the trouble or not.  Maybe there's another way to use the daily pages that'll work better.  Or maybe I should just toss them?  In any case, they don't work well as real daily pages for me because I like the freedom of a whole page of lined nothingness for that business.

These Currently pages are so much fun! 

It's one of my favorite features and the only thing I save from month to month.  

I also love how sturdy this planner is with the heavier weight paper.  And everything in it is interchangeable.  You can buy refill pages on Amazon or in the craft stores as well as other custom kits like cleaning/menuing/school pages.  

I still use my spiral for my daily planning/menuing/sermon notes/phone numbers...anything everyday.  But my Happy Planner is just so Happy! 

One Month Of Loveliness

Happy ONE MONTH birthday to my sweetie pie!!  

I stole this from Meg's instagram and it's my very favorite picture of all time.  She is already a master of selfies! 

I love you Meg and Brycen!! 

Library Day

Today and tomorrow are our last official days of break.  It has been so nice to step out of routine for awhile.  I'm both ready and not-so-ready to jump back into it.  

We made a library run today for the first time in about 2 weeks.  I used that time to look at some books I might want to read this year.  I'm still working on my 2017 reading list.  

I've heard so many good things about this book.  Plus the librarian considers it a must read.  I need to read this one before the movie comes out.  Maybe I'll even see it in the theater as my finished-a-book prize.  

  My kids are crazy about this place.

And have no trouble making themselves right at home. 

Happy 2017!

Honey had a 4 day weekend and gave me the greatest gift ever.  A whole day off!!! As in, no mom responsibilities for the whole entire day.  I went to my Dad's (empty) house and ate my way through his refrigerator.  Actually I pretty much just lived on homemade jerky and olives.

I took my computer and my planners and all my books.  I read, and thought, and prayed, and planned.  All.  Day.  Long.

And I was so grateful y'all.
Because nothing gets me thinking quite as much as a new beginning.  A brand new start.  And I'm very much in favor of a new year of life.  Except for the birth of our precious Brycen, 2016 was not my favorite.

But that is over.  And now there is a brand new year ahead with all kinds of possibilities!

Here are 4 goals for 2017 that I want to work on....

1.  Prioritize family relationships.
I've been lazy.  And overwhelmed.  Three toddlers and three teenagers had me barely keeping my head above water.  But this year I want to be more intentional with my immediate and extended family relationships.

2.  Memorize Isaiah 43.
There is so much good here.  Over the years, I have underlined key passages throughout the chapter and I'd like to pull it all together and memorize all those good promises.

3.  Stay on track with my Monday night Bible study.
The studies are long.  And Monday is a soccer night.  It was too easy to excuse myself for not keeping up and not showing up.  But these people are important to me, sharpen me, and encourage me.  It's worth it to figure out child care and be intentional.

4.  Be emotionally independent.
I've noticed that my emotions are very controlled by how other people in my space are feeling/acting. Have we talked about toddlers and teenagers?   I want to be a thermostat instead of a thermometer.

Of course I have lots of new ideas and plans for school.  But I figure these four main personal goals will be enough to keep me busy all year!

Welcome Brycen Claire!!

The wait is finally over!
Our precious baby girl is HERE.

And we are so in love.




As I mentioned, Meg went into labor during Herb's funeral.  (He would've loved the timing.)
After a very long labor and a not-so-long delivery, Miss Brycen Claire entered the world and stole our hearts.

Laney, Laura, and I were all in the delivery room (such a gift!!) and got to be among the first to welcome her to the family.

She is absolutely perfect.
And gorgeous.
And wonderful.

We are just a little bit crazy about her!





I could stare at her all day.