Water Day!

Today we had water day at the CMD House since I was keeping four extra children. It rained a little and that actually made for the perfect water day. Hot with sprinkles coming down and water to play in. They loved it and I loved watching it.

OF Course there are pictures!

Here are some close-up friends pictures:here hannah is licking snot and justus is yelling cheeeeeeeeese.
oh my - these two are a mess.

Here are some fun play pictures. Don't look too close, you might just laugh and laugh and laugh!:who would you be more afriad of getting pounced by? justus? or willa? does ellie even know what is about to happen?

Here are some semi-artsy pictures. Not everyone was standing still to get some of these!:there is something I really like about this picture of Hannah. this is her serious face. she was helping me fill up the pool with water and she took her job very seriously.

Here is a testimony to the fact that they did not hear me when I told them we were having water day and not mud day:FUN Times had by ALL for sure!

Our Sunday Pictures

Hannah was faking smiling a lot Sunday morning....

I guess that is what the Sunday pictures are all about -

it shows how we were each week. :-)

Command Center

SO, I am really trying to get into an organized and simplified mind set and I really want to use this summer to "get my house together."

I have read the blog Org Junkie before but not a lot lately. She has a Learn to Organize link on her website that I thought I would try to follow somewhat this summer and see what I could do.

The first thing on her list is Clothes Purging which I have actually done lately and so I skipped it for now. I may go back to it to be sure I have actually gotten rid of everything not needed.The next thing on her list is to Create a Command Center which I love the idea of and I need in my life! SO here are the steps I am taking to get this done.

#1
Find pictures of family command centers and see what I think would work for our family and what may not work for our family. Here are some that I have found (remember I love all of these. my comments about them are just what they could do for my family and my style. they are all great!)

Love this one. Calendar will be a must for us. I like the idea of the clock - don't know I would have thought of that one. Like the place for pens and paper. This one might be my favorite.

This one is cute. I don't think I could go with only a cork board. I need to be more specific with my space. The bags are a cute idea but I am not sure if it is the look I want.

To me, this one is pretty. I think it looks like you scrapbooked your wall. It is not my style though for organization. I am not sure I would feel neat and tidy with knowing all our busy schedules with this. I would love to do something like this as a decoration piece though.

Love that this has a place to display artwork. That is a great way to make the kids feel involved and know that this is their "command center" too. Something about chalk boards and the dust it gives off makes me now want it in my house. And I would definitely need more than clipboards for each day - I would need a way to plan more in the future. ((Look at that beautiful handwriting!)

I will definitely need baskets. I think this one is more of a craft room with the ribbon but I like the containers used.

Very good idea for when all children are doing all different things. This may be in my future in a couple of years.

I love the R in this one. I really want something in our command center to have our name - either initial or whole name ?

How cute is this one. I wish I had a spot in my house to do something like this. Love the baskets.

I need more than a bead to help me know the date and what is going on but isn't this so stinkin cute? Again - I would need somewhere to plan more in advance than one week.

This one is simple. I wish I knew what the orange background was. ?

This one the owner called a kitchen command center. I like this a lot and am thinking of using this idea for our household chores (adding Hannah and Justus' name to it a little later).

Here is a close up of the meal planning from the picture above. I really love this and may "steal" the idea. My good friend Jennifer and I have been somewhat planning a menu plan project but I may have to talk to her about this one. I may like this one better because it seems easier to add meals to the mix if you try something new and want to add it.

#2
Make a list of what Chris and I want in our command center

ACTIVE PARTS OF CC (needs)
* Calendar of Plans and Activities
* Menu Plan
* Chore List
* Coupon & CG Storage
* Mail/Bills
* Place to Hang (cork board or magnet) Invites and Reminders
* Ongoing Grocery List
* Container for Note Pad and Writing Utensil

AESTHETIC PARTS OF CC (wants)
* Clock
* Family Pictures
* Family Name or Initial
* Candy/Gum Container

#3
Look for a place in our home to put something like this. ( I think I already know where.)

#4
Look for the containers/tools I need to put this together. So far I have checked Wal-Mart, Target, and online at Ikea and The Container Store. I haven't found anything yet...

#5
Hang, Explain, and Implement.

:-)

Wish me luck. I will let you know how it goes - if it goes.

Wordless Wednesday

Wanting To Be A Big Girl!

She loves it when we can get her hair up in a towel even if it is for just a minute. :-)

The American Legion

We were at the grocery store and we saw some of our very good friends. "Papa Herb" was wearing a hat that the kids had never seen before and were very curious. He was so sweet to let Justus put it on and get a picture. Justus thought he was pretty big!

Thank you Papa Herb for making our day!
We love you!

Our Sunday Pictures

Hosea Is Hard

The book of Hosea is kinda hard for me. It is written like a poem and has meanings I don't know all about but it has helped having a group of us girls talk about it for the last couple of Fridays in a little Bible study/mom release session we do.

This scripture stuck out to me today.
I have been thinking about it.

Hosea 10:12-13
Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the LORD,
Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
You have plowed wickedness;
You have reaped iniquity,
You have eaten the fruit of lies,
Because you trusted in your own way,
In the multitude of your mighty men.