Teacher Nook

I thought it would be fun to show my little teacher nook in my classroom as it looks this year. 

I ordered a new coffee maker this year. This one from the Pioneer Woman was so cheerful that I knew it would bring me joy each time I see it!

I also added a new microwave earlier this year. I decided to go with this light blue retro-inspired model. It was inexpensive too!

I use a large desk calendar to help keep my lessons on track. I'm teaching 2 new subjects this fall and it helps to see it all laid out. I like colorful calendars and I use colorful pens & markers to make my notations. 

I LOVE posting pictures in my workspace. I did this at the VA as well. Having photos and drawings in my work place keeps me in a good happy place as I complete my tasks & am reminded of why I do what I do. 

My diffuser has the Capri Blue Volcano oil in it (from Amazon) and it's a refreshing neutral scent. 

All in all my workspace is cheerful & colorful. I enjoy my little teacher nook and it's fun to have joy when going to work!

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

Michael is 10!

We have double digits in the house today! 

I cannot believe Michael is already ten! 

We have big plans for fun today: church, lunch out, birthday bowling, spending some birthday money, then peanut-butter pie tonight with presents! We plan to love on our boy and ring in his birthday with as much spunk as possible!

Michael, 

You are so great! Your kindness shows through, not just to me but to so many people around you. Often, people comment on how kind you are to your sister as she becomes better acquainted with going to school. Your story of sharing half of your snack money with a kid who didn't have any was so sweet, but also not surprising. You're shaping up to be someone who chooses generosity and compassion when you didn't have to.  This is a phenomenal character trait. 

Reading is still a friend to you. Your book collection continues to grow and it's so fun to hear your commentary and laughter as you make your way through books. I enjoy listening in as Gigi reads to all three of you at bedtime. Yesterday afternoon, you & Noah joined Gigi and me as we went to an antique shop looking specifically for books and we hit the jackpot! You brought home a "new" Judy Blume book (Double Fudge) and it was a source of giggles and funny expressions during our reading time last night. 

You have a very helpful demeanor. You want to make things easier for others and your smile and hug can solve a myriad of troubles. You love going to the beach and the library. We were able to do both of those things this summer and I treasured them so! We'll make our way back to the library this fall on weekends, and I plan to squeeze a beach trip in there too someplace. 

Your foot is bigger than mine now by about 2 sizes. I have a feeling you'll pass me in height before you're eleven! You are going to be broad and tall like your dad. I can't believe this is already your last year of elementary school, but when I look at you I can see it. You're maturing into a great tween and I'm excited to see all that's ahead for you. 

I love you ever so much, Michael. You are so amazingly special. Keep pressing forward, keep looking to Jesus to guide you. He'll never steer you wrong. I am so blessed that God chose to let me be your mom. It's a treasure I don't take lightly. You are an amazing young man. 

I love you, 

Love, Mom

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

One Year

Today marks one year since Popa entered Heaven. I miss him & think of him daily. I wish I had more time with him this side of Heaven. 

I won't post all of the lyrics here but two songs that have spoken the most to me about him over the last year are Phil Wickam's "House of the Lord" and Casting Crown "Scars in Heaven."

I heard and paid attention to "Scars in Heaven" the night I drove home from the hospital last year after I had to say goodbye. The very next afternoon, after he had passed, I heard "House of the Lord" and it spoke about joy in the house of the Lord and I imagined how much joy God experienced welcoming one of His children home. 

Now everytime I hear those songs I'm transported back to that time. 

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

Unicorn Party!

We hosted a unicorn party for Avery on Saturday afternoon. It was so much fun! Avery LOVED it! 

Decorating her cake:

I ordered an awesome party pack from Amazon complete with everything I needed to host a party, including the tableware, cake decorations, invitations, favor boxes & candles!

I ordered some unicorn themed  party favors including these stamps. 

Here's a look at the party boxes & we filled them all a little bit with candy before the piñata time. 

The unicorn banner came in the party pack. I bought the "pin the horn on the unicorn" from Target. It came with a felt eye mask & sticker horns. 

The cake topper was part of the party pack. 

Avery had an identical set of hanging decorations for past birthdays but they didn't last much longer than 2 birthdays. So I ordered a new set but didn't want to hang them from the ceiling at church, so I taped them on butcher paper and hung it up over a children's church poster. 

In the empty spaces I filled in pieces of a quick impromptu birthday interview which I'll post below. 

After "pin the horn on the unicorn".... this was a blast! Every kid played (young & old!) And even one of my friends!

We also bought a piñata at Target and filled it with assorted chocolate & candies. The younger kids got to hit the piñata three times per turn and the older kids got to hit once per turn. Everyone loved this!

Three kiddos were super sweaty & pumped after the party! 

Avery's birthday interview:

***

Avery is 5 years old!

What makes you laugh: Popping a balloon.

If you had one wish, what would it be? To see a real unicorn. 

What's the best time of day? Wednesday. 

What do you like to learn about? Math. 

Favorite food: Applesauce & broccoli. 

Where do you like to go? McDonald's (I was thinking more like "the beach" but to each their own, I guess. P.S. I can count on one hand the number of times we have been to McDonald's in the last 2 years. )

Favorite thing to do: Have a birthday!

What's your favorite book? My Little Pony

What do you do really well? Play with horses. 

What do you want to be when you grow up? A ballerina.

 

***

I hope you enjoyed this little peek at her special day!

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

Avery is 5!

Today our sweet Avery girl turns 5! These five years totally flew by! Having my youngest kiddo be five sounds so old! She's excited to be a "whole hand"!

Today we're throwing a unicorn themed birthday in her honor and I'll post a recap of it afterwards. She helped decorate her cake last night, and yes, I let her use the whole container of sprinkles. I figured she might not want a unicorn party next year so we might as well use all the unicorn sprinkles for this cake. She loved doing this! 

Avery,

You are spunky and sweet! You LOVE to dance-- whether that be on your own around the house & my classroom or if it means at the dance studio during dance class. A couple weeks ago, you began kindergarten and you are loving it! You've adapted so well to school and you're excited to go everyday. You can write your name now and I know you will be reading before we know it! 

Your favorite colors are pink & purple. You love unicorns and mermaids. You are SO loving to dogs. You love looking at books & singing along with songs. You like funny movies with your brothers but will watch Barbie in a heartbeat if you're on your own. 

You love playing with dolls (baby dolls, Barbies, figurines). You love makeup and hairstyling and all the girly things. Plastic gems make you very happy! You're in two dance classes & it's our first time being on a competition team. I'm sure we'll learn lots! 

You are an awesome encourager & I hope this trait continues throughout your life. The world needs who you are. 

I'm so beyond grateful that God blessed us with you! We needed a little girl in our life!

We love you! Love, Mom & Dad

*party recap to follow!

Nighttime Beauty Routine

I'm not even going to pretend that this is a long-standing routine. About a week ago, I started seeing these video clips of celebrity nighttime beauty routines pop up on my computer at the top of articles. I only watched one of them all the way through, and although I have none of the supplies they use, I thought it was a smart idea to have an actual routine that signified "going to bed" and that I should take better care of my skin. 

So without further amblings, here's my routine. 

-brush teeth 

-floss 

-wash off my makeup with a Makeup Eraser.  I was buying lots of lots of make-up removing wipes and would struggle to fully remove my make-up with a washcloth if I ran out of wipes, so I'm very happy with this make-up remover since it only uses water to get off all make-up! Every few days I'll put it in a lingerie bag and throw it in the washing machine with a regular load of clothes.  It launders really well. One side is to remove make-up and one side is to exfoliate.  To be honest, I'm pretty sure I used it incorrectly for the first three months, and I had to look up which side is supposed to do what.  Even today, though, I really can't tell much of a difference between sides. But regardless of that, I use hot water to get the eraser cloth wet, then I use one side to fully remove my make up, rinse the eraser, then use the other side and wipe it all over my face for whatever exfoliating benefit it's supposed to provide. I found mine at a local boutique (it's the mini version), but here's a similar one. 

I recently bought this face wash bar for Michael, but decided I'd try it out from time to time as well.  I don't use it every night, but I might choose to incorporate it more as I decide whether I like how it works.  So far, it's gentle and has a nice light scent.  When I wash my face with this, I use cold water. 

Traditionally, I do not do a good job of moisturizing, so I decided I really wanted to do better about that. To really lock in moisture after washing my face, I'll apply a little bit of this tarte Drink of H2O.  I love that it's a gel-like consistency and it absorbs really well. 

I use just a small amount for my whole face & neck. 

Today, I felt like I needed a little spot treatment assistance, so I pulled out my Mario Badescu drying lotion and applied where I needed. 

Several months ago, I saw a blogger use the Colleen Rothschild cleansing balm on her heels overnight. I tried it out and was impressed with how soft my feet were, but I didn't do it again. I decided to start doing this as part of the nighttime routine to help soften my heels with more consistency. After I rub this on both heels, I put on a pair of socks to hold in the moisture for a few hours or all the way overnight. 

I love to use this lotion on my legs after shaving, and sometimes I'll put some on just because it smells great and really moisturizes well. 

After all of that, I'm ready to relax!

One final step is to put on some lip gloss before bed.  I like this kind because it's not sticky at all. Apparently, it's Berry flavored, but I don't think it smells nor tastes like anything. After it's finished, I'll probably just put a good quality tube of lip gloss or chapstick-esque product by my bed. Although I love that this one is not sticky, I'm not sure it's worth the price tag. 

Going through these steps has helped me wind down in the evenings and feel better about how I'm treating my skin. 

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba

Garden Growth

In late Spring & early Summer, we began a garden! Without any running water on the property, we relied solely on God's provision of rain & the springs running underground on the land. Our little patch started out small but has produced a few ears of corn, a couple zucchini, a yellow squash, several watermelon and we anticipate lots of pumpkins based on how they're overtaking the whole patch! We expect even greater things next year when we have running water & hoses to help out!

Here's an update through pictures. 

The space over to the right was deemed the perfect garden spot for this first year. 

A few weeks later, we went back to review the progress of the driveway.  We are standing on the driveway in between the house site and where the garden will be.  The road that the driveway leads to is straight ahead of us past those trees way up ahead (our driveway is about 1/5 of a mile long). The garden area is over to the right. 

Another week or two, we returned to see the progress Aaron made with the mower. This was Noah and Avery running laps around where the garden would be planted. 

The following weekend, Aaron tilled up a patch of dirt.  The house site is just beyond those crepe myrtles.  

Each kid got to pick a couple of seed packets to plant. Michael is planting zucchini in the photo above. He also chose Silver Queen corn.  Noah picked yellow squash and pumpkins.  Avery picked watermelon and another type of corn.  We also planted radishes, but the watermelon kind of overtook their spot. 

 

About two weeks later, this was the progress!

A couple weeks after that, we started spotting real growth!

Our first little silky corn!

And yet another couple of weeks and more corn followed suit!

We spied a watermelon!

This past week, more watermelon were showing up.  My foot shows the size reference. 

We also picked the one yellow squash that was present.  There was also one good sized zucchini that we picked. 

I spotted this zucchini, so we gave it two more days to grow and we returned last night to pick it. 

The corn is still a little skinny to pick, but we'll have about 6 to 10 ears of corn when they're ready. 

The pumpkins have totally overtaken much of the garden, and they don't care a thing about the fence that Aaron put up.  They're just growing wherever they want to!  These pumpkin leaves below are outside of the garden fence, they're about the size of my torso, and they're as high up as my knees! We're expecting lots of great things from the 10+ pumpkin blossoms. 

That's it for now!  It's certainly fun to see real growth!  Especially knowing that God had His hand in this the whole time and that we had to fully rely on Him.  

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba