A Very Merry Christmas

As our family celebrates the 12 days of Christmas, I don't feel it is too late to wish you a very, merry Christmas!  After all, it is only the 4th day of Christmas. 

Today was Nick's first day back to work in two weeks and we sure do miss having our guy around :(  It's hard to get back to real life. 

But this is what we are doing today...just chillin'.  It is so nice to have these days of no where to be and nothing to do.  To stay in our pjs or sweats all day and have some really deep relaxation.  I am trying to soak all of this in since we start school Monday and will be on the run again before we know it!

This Christmas was so magical!  My cousin, Andy, stayed with us and it was so nice having him around and having lots of family pop over to just hang out.  That is what Christmas is made for!

This photo is from our ugly sweater party!  It was a small group this year but we had so much fun laughing, snacking, and watching our traditional movie of Christmas Vacation.  Memories!

Christmas morning I woke up before the children to make some coffee and get myself prepared for the mental anguish of the wrapping paper blizzard that would ensue. 

I know you know what I am talking about here ;)

Check out our Christmas tree!  Santa came!!!

The kids were so gracious about their gifts and it was so fun to watch them open everything they got from us and then from Santa.  They loved all of their toys and since have been having a blast playing with everything!

Here's Calvin with his lego bible.  It is so fun!

Here's Emma with her weaving loom!  She asked Santa for it and has played with it every single day!

After the kids opened their gifts I insisted we take some family photos.  This year the kids had REALLY wanted us to all have matching pjs.  Let me tell you, that is easier said than done.  Has anyone else endured this nightmare? After 3 pairs of pjs we landed on matching pjs from Burt Bee's Organic Cotton collection and we LOVE them! 

Of course we had to take some silly photos after we FINALLY got a good one!

I think this one is adequately silly, don't you? 

Nick and I got one another some pretty great gifts too!  Nick got me an Erin Condren planner (I've wanted one FOREVER!!!), he also got me some le creuset kitchen items, a ton of wool socks, and spent way, WAY too much Shearling slippers for me.  When I scolded him he said "you're always here doing so much for all of us.  You deserve warm feet."  He is just the sweetest man!

I got Nick a big tv for our bedroom...he's wanted one FOREVER and I was so excited to actually surprise him with it...I've had it hidden in my dressing room for months!  I thought for sure he had discovered it but he hadn't and I was so tickled to surprise him.  I also got him some cubs memorabilia from their big win!!!  this year.  And I got him the book The Secret Garage, about praying for your family. 

We've had the best holiday, not to mention all of the wonderful gifts our families gave us!  We received some amazing gifts...my camel for my nativity, awesome travel mugs, and more! 

We hope you and yours are having a very merry Christmas season and that your days are merry and bright! 

Merry Christmas!

Introducing: Our No-Spend Year!

The Money Saving Mom, Crystal Paine, inspired me this last year by making it her year of rest. 

I love the idea of having a theme for a year! 

So this upcoming year, 2017, our family has declared this to be a year of not spending extra!

We will buy for necessities but not for wants!

We've done this for a month in the past. It was hard.

I think a year may just kill us.

But...here's the thing: For us this is not only about money!

To give you a bit of a backstory, we recently came home from a two day whirlwind trip to The Henry Ford campus in Dearborn, Michigan.  Our kids loved, LOVED (you should go, like, for realz) touring Greenfield Village and The Henry Ford Museum.  On the way home we were talking as a family about how neat the old generations were. How it would have been so neat to have self-service gas stations and to sit around and listen to radio programs. 

The kids went on to do their own things in the backseat while Nick and I continued talking. We discussed how much we hate that our kids are growing up in this age of entitlement and technology and loss of skills that so many people had in generations before (sewing, baking, basic carpentry skills, anyone?). 

Anyway, as we drove on we kept talking and by the time we pulled into our driveway we had this plan outlined: a year of not buying anything extra. For gifts we would encourage our kids to make homemade gifts. We would entertain ourselves with things we already have (shocker!) or we would instill some good old fashioned hard work to pass the time. 

We will still buy for needs but wants have to go.  No more running out for craft supplies or more Legos or WHATEVER! 

We're hoping this creates an attitude of gratitude that we so desperately want our family to have as part pf our legacy.  We want this to help their creativity blossom.  We actually like it when our kids are bored: It's when they think their best.

The extra money? Well, we have a wee bit o' debt left that by paying that off would make us DEBT FREE!!! So we're really hoping that we can throw all of this extra money at that.  But that's not our reasoning behind this madness. :)

We're hoping that, Lord willing, when we are staring at the back end of 2017 that our kiddos will have a better appreciation for their money, and especially ours, and will think a bit differently about spending and the value attached to their things. That, when they are making out their 2017 Christmas lists, perhaps they will ask for less rather than more toys. 

All that said, I'm inviting you all to join in on our fun...be it for the entire year, a month, or even a week! 

I plan on documenting this all as the year progresses in hopes that by doing so y'all can keep me (us) accountable and on task.

Wish us luck and let me know if you'd like to join in on the fun! 

.

Secrets to Make Hosting Thanksgiving Super Easy

This Thanksgiving is my first time hosting the big "Turkey Day" for our family.  I can hardly wait!  I mean, who doesn't like Thanksgiving?  It's the best Jerry, the best.  The mashed potatoes, the turkey that I never eat any other day.  The cranberries.  Everything is wonderful.  I also love that in some ways it's a tunnel holiday.  You go through it and on the other end is Christmas after you say good-bye to Autumn...it's squashed between my two favorite things.

Hosting is a tad bittersweet however.  As excited as I am to be hosting and to see everyone, I'm also sad because it means it is no longer being hosted by my sweet grandmother.  My Grandma Jean is 90 and bless her heart, I think she's just had about her fill of Thanksgiving.  I am happy to have the tradition passed to me.

If you've followed me for any length of time then you should know that I love having parties and hosting events in our house.  It is what we feel called to do with the gift of our home and hosting is my spiritual gift.  So when I offered to host for her I had no worries about it.  After all, I have everything we need, right?  No big deal!

Fowgettabowtit...

Boy was I wrong. 

In my head I had the idea to use our china.  I LOVE our china.  It's a gorgeous vintage Noritake pattern that Nick bought for me when we were newly married.  I have an 8-piece set.  One day we hope to add on to it but for now it is great. 

Done and done I thought.  But when I started taking a hard look at what I would need for the table I realized that the set of china in the cabinet was just a drop in the bucket of what we would need...

Tablecloth

Fancy Shmancy Glasses

Silverware

Turkey Platter

Salt and Pepper Shakers

Bowls for sides

 My challenge for this Thanksgiving has been to get as many of these things as possible for as cheaply as possible.  After all, I just realized last week that I need these things.  Why oh why I decided to coast through this process thinking I had everything I needed I'll never know.  But that's the way the cookie crumbled my friends. 

Nick had me start at the store we go to regularly to snag deals... Christmas Tree Shop. 

Fail.  The closest thing I could find was a plastic platter for $15.00.  I didn't want plastic so the search continued.

So I knew I had to be super smart in what I bought and just make do with what I could find.  After all at this point I don't even have time to order anything online in time for it to be sent to me.  Here are the secrets I have found about making your nice, fancy -schmancy table still look nice and fancy-schmancy with what you find:

1) White serveware matches anything

Anything!  Look for super cheap serving platters anywhere.  Goodwill, Kirklands, Target, Walmart.  I have found that Bed, Bath, and Beyond has some very sturdy, nice white dishes that are even cheaper after their 20% off coupons.  Score!  The nice things about these dishes is that once you purchase them you can use them for any occasion and any holiday.  You'll find that they will go with virtually anything!

2) Cheap silverware can work in a pinch

You know that supercheap stuff that you don't really want to use for everyday because it feels cheap?  Well that for holidays will work just fine!  I have Gibson silverware that was from my uncles estate paired with our Noritake and it looks great!  We don't use it for everyday so it stays nice looking.  I have also found that you can find some pretty nice actual silver silverware on craigslist for cheap.  People just don't entertain like they used to and for a lot of people these have simply gone by the way-side.

3) Glassware matters

I was speaking to my grandmother about trying to find nice glasses to go with my dishes and she commented that no one has ever cared about glasses.  She has really nice "company" glasses lined in platinum or plutonium or something and even she said she had the same hard time finding glasses way back when.  So this is not just a generational problem, folks.  I went with these crystal glasses.   I purchased them from Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  They were $20 for 4 glasses and we were able to use 20% off coupons.  So 8 glasses for about $32 was in our price range and worth it.  I decided on these Dublin crystal beauties because there are a ton of different pieces available and it will be nice to collect them as time goes on. If you can't swing it, again, check on Craigslist or look at places like JCP.  Some of the sets of glasses have nicer looking ones that will look nice. 

4) White Tablecloth

Again, white goes with anything.  Or black to really make a statement.  We went with a white tablecloth I found.  It cost me $8 for the largest size they have. 

5) S& P- Cheap and Elegant

Simple crystal salt and pepper shakers at Bed, Bath, and Beyond are $10.  With one of their 20% off coupons they would be $8.00.  A good investment on something that will always look nice on the table and that you will have for years.

So those are some of the secrets that I have learned on this short journey to get our table ready for thanksgiving.  But here's the biggest secret I have to share with you:

6) Stop caring! 

Realize no one cares.  I was talking to my Grandma (the one with the fancy glasses) and asking her in my classic-Lindsay-panic mode if I could borrow some items if I couldn't find anything I liked and these were her words: no one cares.  It's just family.  We're all going to have a good time.  Life is too short."  That being said, every Thanksgiving her table was set with her finest china, mercury covered glasses, and gold plated flatware.  So I'm taking that advice with a grain of salt ;)

But how true is all of that?  I know it's super easy to get wrapped up in all of the details and worry about everything, but folks, that's not what Thanksgiving is about. It's about being thankful for what you are blessed with, for spending time with friends and family, for eating gargantuan amounts of food, and then for watching football.  It's parades and laughing and carb overloads and sugar comas. 

That's not to say you can't try to have a gorgeous table to gather your family around to make them feel special (I know I'm going to give it the ole' college try) but stop worrying and start counting your blessings: remembering you don't have to have the best of the best of everything to complete your table and complete your life. 

You can find a suitable addition at a practical price that works for all occasions and looks perfect to everyone you love, and loves you back. No one will know and if your Grandma's like mine she won't even care! 

Whatever your Thanksgiving looks like, I hope these secrets help you and I hope you have the best holiday ever!  You are loved, friends!

Welcome to our Cottage

I can't wait to share our cottage with you. 

Ready? 

Come on in, friends! 

In case you missed it in this post you can read all about how my amazing husband took me down and presented me with keys as a birthday gift...keys to our very own lake cottage!  It was so sweet and romantic of him to set the trip up and to give me a lake cottage for my birthday!  He's really upped the ante when it comes to birthday gifts.  Next year I'm going to have to give him a Porsha or something ;)

But anyway...

Welcome to our new home away from home. 

Literally!

We are so, so blessed by this place.   I have wanted a cottage ever since I was a girl but I had never thought of it as a real possibility.  I never really even thought of it as being possible. If it did ever happen, I figured maybe one day when the kids were grown.  Or I was almost dead. 

But a few months ago this all started coming together in one of those events that you just know God is at the head of. We had taken Cal down (Emma had ballet and then was with my sister...boo!  We always miss her) and visited with some friends of ours who have a cottage a few doors down from what is now ours (we're neighbors now!).  They were talking with us about a few cottages that were available for sale.  We looked at them longingly but figured it was just a nice dream and set out on our way. 

On the way home though we were talking about how Cal just seemed to love being down around the lake.  He rode his bike all over and had the best time.  He was so much better behaved after being down there.  Then we started talking more seriously about owning a cottage and God opened doors and paved ways we never thought would be open to us. It's been an incredible experience to be a part of. We have always known that nothing was impossible with our God but this has really proven that for us!

I do want to say that our cottage needs a lot of work.  I don't want to sugar coat it and make it look like it's perfect.  It's not. It's like us: It needs work.  But we have a clear vision together of what we want and we are so excited to work on it together.  Thankfully it is in live in condition...no mold or vermin or missing walls, whew! 

It's totally us. 

Except the furniture.  The purchase came with the furniture so that will be moved out as well.  Didn't want to confuse y'all and have you thinking we already moved furniture in. :)

If you know Nick and I you know that we are kind of weirdos.  And we LOVE old houses.  When a girl who's a history nerd marries an architect you get a really great love of OLD Architecture!  Our home is over 120 years old.  We have changed things and discovered things and polished things.  It's the work we've put into our home that makes us love it even more.  And one another.  Our home (like this one will be) truly is a labor of love.

I don't think that we are "new" home kinds of people.  We love the journey that old homes provide.  Our cottage is one of the original ones on the lake left in the original shape.  It is going to be so fun to tear away the layers and try to find what is still there...to go through the journey together and sift through the past.

So let's show you around...what we love, what we are going to change and everything in between! 

Come on in!

This is the view from the front door.  Currently there is a bedroom that you can see in the photo.  It is actually decent sized.  However we really want a big open space.  I'm envisioning kids sprawled on the floor doing a puzzle, family cookouts with people bustling in and out.  Those type of things.  And with the space so small (less than 500 sq ft!) we really want to open everything as much as possible.  We are planning on tearing down these walls! in the center of the room so it's just a big open area.  We are planning on having a bed down there (ain't no fan of a futon) but it will be in the open space.  Pa and Ma Ingalls style. 

So I can definitely see what others were trying to do in the past with our house.  I don't want to be one to say "what were they doing here?"  because everyone has their own vision for space, their own personalities, tastes, ideas, and budgets.

What we are envisioning is one large area (for now).  Down the road we envision a second floor being added on with the bedrooms moved to upstairs.  Can you picture all of it?  Can you?  Eek, I'm excited just talking about it!

For now though we will have one large room which will serve as the bedroom/entry/living room.  The children have a small room where they will sleep in bunkbeds.  It's an adorable little nook for them.  We also have a kitchen and a bathroom.  and that's it! Let me show you those...

Here is the bathroom.  It looks teeny tiny and it is!  The first time we looked at the cottage I didn't go in the bathroom and then when I went home and thought of the cottage (and dreamed about it even!) I was eeked out by the size of the bathroom.  But this time when I was in the cottage I actually WENT in the bathroom and I was surprised by the amount of space in the bathroom.  Don't get me wrong, there isn't a lot of space. But I could at least change my clothes without knocking something off of the sink.  Whew!

This is the kids nook/area/thing.  Emma keeps telling people that they have to sleep in a closet which isn't true (but it is the size of a good closet I suppose!) The people before us have been keeping this as a little storage area so after a good tidy, some new matresses, and some paint it will be as good as new.  One of the things I think the kids are having a hard time understanding is the lack of personal space.  Living in a large home we all have our own areas of the house to go to when we need to be alone but here we won't have that.  We've been trying to explain it to them but I think it will still be a big adjustment for all of us. 

From the kitchen you can see that this place has not been occupied for some time.  It's definitely going to need some love!  These two photos are me standing in one side of the kitchen and taking a photo and then swapping sides and taking a photo of the side where I had been standing.  Our big view of the lake is out of the kitchen window which placement wise makes it a bit awkward.  But we are going to make it work! 

Here's a very side view (not sure why I didn't take it from straight on) but I just love the view.  We are about 3 houses down from the beach area that has a little playground.  It will just be perfect!

Anyway, the view is one of the reasons that we want to make this as open and airy as we can...we want to see the view as much as we can! 

Well, I hope you enjoyed the tour of our little lake cottage.  We are so excited to bring it back to life and love on it.  God is so amazing friends! 

---

I will be posting soon all about the little details of the place that can be hard to see in photos.  With that maybe you can help me with some design questions we are having :).  We plan on posting all about our progress so stick around!

How My Birthday Rocked Its Socks Off!

Last week was my birthday.  I am officially in my late 30's. 

That was a whole gulp of reality right there.

It was such an amazing time! 

My very first gift was my sweet Nick taking me down and gifting me with the keys to our very own lake cottage! 

I cannot believe I am 35 and we own our first vacation property.  I say first because I 've learned over the years to never underestimate God's plans. It's amazing what He does. 

So anyway, we went down to our cottage and took some measurements, wrote a big list of what we know we are going to need, and just in general started dreaming of what we can do with the space.  We are so, so excited!

I will be writing another blog about the cottage so stay tuned!

The next day (my actual birthday!)  we went to a celebration with my fantastic in-laws.  It was a Thanksgiving/chili cook-off/birthday celebration and between the brownie bar and all of the gifts I sure felt loved.  I am so blessed to call them all family!

The morning of my birthday the kiddos gave me some wonderful gifts!  Calvin gave me a piece of pottery he made in his class and Emma gave me a cross stitch plaque that she made for me all on her own.  It was so sweet! She even took me on a special scavenger hunt around the house to find my gift.  I just love them so much!

The day after my birthday we went to my mom and dad's for one of my mom's "farmhouse dinners" that she always has for our birthdays.  She lets us pick out whatever we want for dinner and she makes it. This year I picked a haystack dinner which is like a torn apart taco with rice on the bottom of the pile of toppings.   It's just the sweetest thing and we always have so much fun! She even had a birthday cake for me and then we all enjoyed looking at pictures from when we were younger. 

I got some really amazing gifts!  My baby sister, Kelsey bought me a really fun Starbucks mug and my middle sister, Lacey bought me some Pioneer Woman jar glasses.  I've wanted some of those for a while so I was tickled.  My sister in law, Natalie bought me the cutest bags and an adorable Christmas decoration.  She knows I love Christmas and bags...perfection!

Anyway, I will be putting together a blog about our cottage so stay tuned for that! 

Thank you all for the sweet birthday wishes and messages!  It was such a great day (and Birthday week!) I really appreciate you all!

Muah! xo

An Attitude of Gratitude

This attitude of dissent has crept into our home. 

I find myself being a voice of complaint rather than being a light in this world.  And of course, what a Momma does, her kids are quick to pick up and model themselves.  So we're all going downhill with grumpiness, bad attitudes, and just general downward thinking.

But November is the time to reject all of that thinking. 

It is after all the season of gratitude! 

I have been doing the Armor of God Bible study with our church (I plan to write about that in another blog!) and this verse was brought to my attention:

You may be like me and have heard this verse a kajillion times.  It's my fall back when I am stressed and taking things back from the cross and worrying about things that I was not even designed to worry about. 

But here's the thing I've learned about this verse.  I'm sharing this with you because it's kind of life changing.  Not only are we to ask God for things, to talk to Him, to tell him what is on our mind and to make those requests known, girl, but we are to do it with Thanksgiving. 

In other words we are not supposed to approach the thrown of God as sniveling, whining children, only complaining about what we don't have and what hasn't gone our way, and what we're scared of.  Don't get me wrong, God wants to hear those things from you. 

But He wants to hear thanksgiving too. 

Thanksgiving.  It's a magical word.  It is something that, when we do it, when we give Thanks, it turns our whole perspective, our whole world, our whole attitude upside down.

Because then I'm not just complaining but I'm also realizing how great I have it in the grand scheme of things. 

Because then I'm not looking so inward as to what I need and what I want but I am looking outwardly to what He has given me. 

And what happens when we come to God with Thanksgiving?

Verse 7 explains that that is when we are blessed with God's peace.  See, God's peace is given to us when we ask Jesus into our hearts.  We have it within us.  But when we're anxious and not going to God and not being thankful, we aren't going to feel that peace, to experience that peace. 

But when we start going to God with our thanksgiving, that's when he pours out His blessing of peace on our lives.  It's a peace that makes no sense to us, we can't even comprehend how we are feeling peace in the midst of chaos and terror and crazy.  But we are.  And we can.  And YOU can. 

I can tell you about this because, it is true!  I know it is true because I have God's peace.  Sure, there are times when I become too like this world and I stress, and I panic, and I freak.  But when I remember to pray and pray and pray and when I pepper those prayers with thanksgiving, that's when his peace is on me like a warm blanket. 

So I really urge you to practice thanksgiving this month. 

Everyday we can count our blessings and marvel at all that God has done for us. 

I am so very blessed.  He made me ME and He gave me this very life to live out in the best way He wants me to do that.  I am feeling very thankful for that on this first day of November. 

So day 1: I am thankful for this very life He gave me.  I don't want anyone else's.  I'm so glad I have mine!

What are YOU Thankful for today? Comment below, I'd love to hear from you!

Fall Decorating Ideas

I'm thrilled to show you some of the fall décor around our house! 

Mainly because I finally got around to doing it, ha!  Last year I kept meaning to show you my décor but we were so busy that I never got around to do it. 

This year though I am doing great with my schedule and am feeling like I am ahead on things.  When I have the time and am doing great around the house is when I have time to blog and show you the things that I am excited about.  If you check out my blog and it's all crickets then you know I must be under water here and can't come up for air let alone to blog. 

Anyway, I have a multi-faceted fall décor approach. Anyone else do this?  Labor Day I decorate with just leaves, apples, general fall stuff.  October 1st I add the Halloween décor I have.  November 1st I will swap out my Halloween stuff for my Thanksgiving stuff.  And then tada!  That's fall folks!

Here you go, let me show you around our home:

Okay, for starters this is on our coffee table in our living room. I have a hazelnut scented candle in this simple votive.  It is just a votive but it makes me smile...I have had this since we first got married.  Back when we didn't have any money this was just one of the few decorations for fall that I had.  So when I see it, reminds me of simpler times.  I still love it.

In the same room is our tv above the fireplace mantle.  I gotta tell you a secret: there are times I hate having the tv above the fireplace.  I know it's convenient but it really makes decorating a challenge sometimes. I can't say this is exactly my favorite thing in the world but I think it is nice.  I would like to have some more colors but the monochromatic is also nice. 

I know I am not the only one who has to decorate with kids in mind.  I say that because if you will see on top of the middle pumpkin there is the wii sensor. Of course.

I got the garland from QVC.  They light up and twinkle with LED lights.  It's so pretty and romantical when Nick and I are watching sports after the kids are in bed. The pumpkins are mercury glass.  I got them from the Yankee Candle Flagship store.  I believe you got one when you spent $100 or some absurd amount.  As you can see from my pumpkin amount, I have a hard time saying no to candles...they seem to leap into my cart when I am in that store.

In our living room between that and the blue room (yes that's what we call it) there is this weird window thing.  It is tall and just begs for tall décor.  It's always fun to see what I can come up with.  So I have a million artificial flowers and leaves and leaves and flowers, oh my!  My grandma decorated the altar at her church for years and she is always giving me tons and tons of arrangements.

This year I came up with this arrangement.  Nick had purchased this vase for me a while back.  The studio where Cal takes pottery classes frequently has things for sale and he purchased this for me (isn't he just the sweetest?). 

I just came up with this arrangement to be honest.  I knew I was going to need a biggish vase so I saw it and just started cramming everything in.  I love the leaves on top and how it all kind of fans out.  On the other side of the arrangement is the blue room (where the kids play and eat their lunch) so I made sure that the back of it looks nice as well. 

Next to the vase I have a simple candle votive and a statue of our family.  I love it!

In our dining room I again used when I had to make my decorations.  You should notice a theme around these parts, folks :)

This year I filled this hurricane with apples.  I had bought a kajillion pounds of organic apples at the store.  We go picking too but I couldn't beat the price for organic apples to I bought tons.  These were some of the ones that I still have and I just love the look of them. They are sitting on top of our china cabinet. 

I also have this sitting on our china cabinet as well.  I purchased this lantern years ago at a thrift shop.  I never knew what to do with it but somehow it just spoke to me.  So I have it crammed with all things fall.  I put a cute bow and some flowers on the handle to dress it up a little more.  I love it. 

Even this cute guy (a gift from my Grandma Jean!) makes an appearance in our dining room.  Our dining room is very formal but for holidays it's always nice to make things fun and celebrate.  After all, making others happy is what makes ME happy!

Moving on to our downstairs bath will give you an example of how I "sneak" fall décor into little areas of the house.  I love putting small things around.

I found this sweet sign and just had to have itHow sweet is it with the fun background pattern and the adorable burlap flower?  This is on a 9 cubbie shelving unit we have where I keep loads of cleaning supplies. 

Even on the back of the toilet I have some fun pumpkins.  Have I mentioned I love decorating??

In our solarium I must admit, I don't do much.  I have several large pieces of furniture but never know how to do anything with them.  Instead I like to put little hints of fall around.  This apple plaque and stand are from Hallmark and I paired them with this sweet apple basket candle holder I have.  How adorable is this thing?

In our foyer are these fun plates.  These suckers were super popular a few years ago. It seemed like everywhere you went there were tons of sets to choose from for tons of different holidays and occasions.  But I think they have faded in their popularity because they have been pretty difficult to come by.  But I love them anyway, and that makes me cherish the ones I do have even more!

On a side note you can see that we have a real "mission control" situation going on with the switches.  Geesh, it's a lot of them to handle!

Also in our foyer is this sweet shelf from Pottery Barn.  I like to put definite kid-friendly things here as this is what our kiddos friends see when they come to the door to ask if our kids can play.  Also, our kids are in the foyer lots in the autumn with their shoes and as they start to get back in the habit of wearing jackets again after the summer weather. 

For serious though, how stinkin' cute are these little guys? 

Our outdoor décor is where it's at.  Legit.  Which by the way, I had lunch with my best friend this afternoon and she reunited me with that word so you can thank her for that.  Legit.

Anyway, here's the "from far away" view of our door.  You've got 'cha garland and pumpkins, and ornamental kale, and pumpkins, and gourds, and mums.  The standards are there.  

I love our pumpkins.  Love, love, love.  Has anyone else seen a price increase in pumpkins?  Our pumpkins cost us $40 this year!  I almost fell over...like a pumpkin!

I always love a good pumpkin tower.

I love this sign on our house.  I purchased it earlier this year when we were visiting Tennessee and have been so excited to put it up! 

The last photo I have to show you is this festive wreath that my sweet grandmother made.  I love the giving spirit that my grandma has passed down.  She is always making things for people just to make them happy.  It makes me smile when I see it because it reminds me of her!

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So there's a taste of our fall décor.  I hope you enjoyed seeing what we have been up to in our house.  I love decorating and enjoying the seasons with our sweet, little family!

These kids of ours are amazing

Check out this huge pumpkin crop we've had this year.  Whew!  Picking these guys was exhausting, ha!

So I was going to write "hope you had a good weekend"  but then I realized that when I post this it will be Wednesday already and that thereby reminded me of my lameness dealing with time this week. 

I mean, how is it not still Monday? 

We had a fabulous weekend.  It was a whirlwind of activity but it was lots of fun. 

We have some promising things on the horizon and we are praying and trusting God to see those through.  I'll let you know of course as things develop. 

Let's see, what else can I record as an update?  I love to write things down on here to keep track of what the kids are doing. 

Emma is in the Nutcracker again this year.  She is in the party scene in the beginning when Clara is given the Nutcracker as a gift.  It's about a 30 minute role she has and we are thrilled for her.  This weekend she was also asked to be a Polichinelle girl (she was this part last year) and she was so tickled that they asked her.  So she will be in both acts of the ballet. 

On a side note, I have no idea how this girl does everything that she does.  She's just amazing.  This summer she developed a cold (I thought!) during her ballet summer intensive classes.  Summer intensive was ballet every day for 8 hours a day for two weeks straight.  She missed one day with her illness and then I made her go back to ballet.  Turns out the girl had pneumonia.  Pneumonia!  And she made it through.  I felt really bad when I found out how sick she was but also really proud of her that she struggled through and was successful. 

Calvin is in pottery classes at the local art museum.  He was invited to submit one of his pieces into the art museum to be on display.  I am so proud of him.  He LOVES pottery which is adorable and he is so proud of himself. 

Well I think that's it for now. 

Hope you all are doing well! 

What I'm Loving on this Monday

Hey y'all!  Hope you had a great weekend!  Ours was a weird combo of being super duper busy but still managing to get a ton done and home and starting the week feeling relaxed and refreshed.  Believe me, that miracle doesn't happen often around here!

I thought I would share with you a few things I'm digging this morning as we are getting our day off the ground....

Um, coffee!  Nick bought me some Door County coffee for me and had it sent to me while he was out of town with business last week.  So thoughtful.  Of course it is Pumpkin Spice...my fave! Also, I am doing the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan which I LOVE!  but the one thing I miss so much is Pumpkin Spice Creamer.  I use real cream and stevia in my coffee these days so the flavored coffee allows me to still have the taste.  It's the best Jerry, the best!

Adorbs outfits as Emma would call them!  This weekend I went up to the attic and got down the seasonal clothing bin (I buy so many of them I have a bin dedicated to holiday outfits. So handy and then they aren't taking up room in their closets when it's not time for them!).  I brought down all of the Halloween outfits and I was so excited to see this one because I bought it in the spring and had completely forgotten about it.  So much fun!  There's also a matching outfit for her American Girl doll.  I am having a blast dressing her like this and she is still not complaining about how I dress her (Thank you, thank you Jesus!)

Isn't she just the cutest?

This sweet boy was a champ with his spelling this morning!  This year we switched to Spelling Workout curriculum.  Cal is a level C and Emma is a level E.  Isn't that cute how that worked out?  Anyway, they both had tests this morning so he was having a quick review before we dove into it. 

It's been an amazing curriculum and they both seem to really enjoy it. Anyone else using this?

This visual timer.  Wow am I loving this thing today. 

I bought this for Cal about 3 years ago.  He hated it.  We tried it for time frames such as when he needed to get dressed but he would take the batteries out and hide them and then hide the timer and then it didn't work.  Funny how that works, right?

But this year we've been using it a lot with school.  Emma loves to use it for her work.  15 minutes of spelling?  She just sets the timer and it dings at her when her time is up. Easy-peasy.  If you have kiddos who struggle with transitioning from activity to activity or need a little help keeping track of their time, this thing is great!

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Well that's it...a quick list of things I'm loving today as we are quickly diving into the week!  Can't wait to see all that is in store for us this week.  I think it's going to be an amazing week here and I hope it is for you as well! 

Comment below with any fun plans you have :) 

A Letter To My 10-Year Old Daughter

Dear Kazoo,

I cannot believe that you are ten. 

Ten. 

Wow. 

I know that parents say that so often that to be honest, when I see it on social media, I just kind of roll my eyes and blur over it all because we all keep saying it. 

Grandma Peg told me that my time with you would be over before I know it and she sure was right.  Like sand, I feel like I am watching time slip through my fingers faster than I can do anything about it.

In only 8 years you will be leaving the nest.  For bigger and brighter things.  To live out your hopes and dreams, to spread your wings and fly. 

8 years probably seems like a lifetime to you and a microwave warm up to me.  We've got all kinds of development between then and now to go through.  Things to love and things to hate.

With that in mind I thought I would send you this letter and let you know all of the many, many things going on in my head. 

-I first and foremost want to say thank you.  On behalf of your autistic brother and your Daddy and I, we thank you for being the kind of sibling and daughter that anyone would be proud to have.  You take on the role of sibling to a special-needs child with such grace and dignity.  I have no idea how we would have gotten through everything without you.  You always seem to know when to cut your brother some slack and when he needs to be reeled back in.  You always tolerate, always teach, always protect, and always, always love in ways that blow us away.  We know it stinks sometimes when your things get broken, your feelings get hurt, your turn isn't realized.  We want you to know that we are trying to be fair.  In reality, it isn't always going to be. But we love you even more for understanding that and being okay with it.  That's where we need God's grace and you get that too. 

-In the coming years we are going to have to expose you to some hard topics. You think weed means a dandelion. You have no idea what sex is.  You think "butt" is a cuss word. You think the signs "don't drink and drive" mean not to drink Pepsi while driving home from Taco Bell.  Your naivety is what we have craved for you to have in this world.  But Daddy and I figure it's probably best to expose you to these things eventually rather that drop you off at the doorstep of William and Mary to just let you figure it all out. So we're going to have to have some worldly talks.  Some exposure.  It makes me want to throw up thinking of explaining sex, drugs, and rock and roll to you, but we will. Because we love you and we want what's best for you.

-We want you to know that to the ends of the earth we will love you.  No matter what weird experimentation you go through.  No matter who you find out you are.  We will love you to the ends of the earth and back.  You will always be our favorite and our best.

-We know you want to be a vet but here's the thing.  Nothing in this world comes easily.  Nothing.  Please be prepared to work your tail off for what you want.  Don't let anyone get in your way or try to discourage you.  You will fall.  You will fail.  You will want to quit.  Don't.  Don't ever quit.  Pull that competitiveness out of you and use it to get what you want.  We promise it will all be worth it.

-Please don't try to grow up to quickly.  Stop it.  Knock it off.  It's all a lie.  All of it.  We know you want your own cell phone and you think it's cool to have an ipad and headphones and dance around.  But please don't put the American Girls away just yet. Don't forget how fun it is to spin in a pretty dress.  Don't let the world make you someone you aren't.  Remember, you can be as young as you feel, not as old as you are real.

-Above all please remember to just follow God's will.  Like I've always told you, my life is so much better than I ever could have imagined it to be.  All because I did what God wanted me to do.  I followed Him.  I promise, do what He wants;  Seek him.  Be in love with Him.  And life will beat your best dreams on a good night.  Cross my heart, kiss my elbow.

-Remember how you love our home?  How you call it a peaceful mansion?  How you say it's your favorite place in the world?  Well, it's not going anywhere.  It will always be here with open arms.  So you can drag your drunk, goth-clad self home from college if you need and we'll be here with a strong cup of coffee and open arms.  Because we are family.  And family sticks together.

I hope you have the best tenth birthday ever. I hope you dance and twirl and giggle and whirl.  We're going to party, as you always misquote and say, like it's 1799.  Sure, we'll get our petticoats swinging around.

We love you Kazoo!  Happy Birthday to you!

Tiny Prints: Presidents Day Sale!

This blog post may contain affiliate links that help offset the cost of running this blog.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

I love Tiny Prints!  We got our Christmas cards from there and recently got tons of labels from there. 

All of their designs are so fun and creative, you can't go wrong with anything from them.  Promise!

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that today is the last day to take advantage of their President's Day Sale.  Everything is 30% off!  How awesome is that? 

To take advantage of this deal simply use the promo code: PRESDAY30 at Tiny Prints

Super easy!

We are planning Emma's Birthday party and I thought these invitations were just adorable! She wants to have an overnighter and we are tossing the idea of around of making it dessert themed.  Aren't these just precious?

Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know of this amazing deal so you can snag some deals too.  Easter invites, cards, address labels, so many ideas of what you could save on! 

This blog post may contain affiliate links that help offset the cost of running this blog.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

Save Money by Making a Children's Clothing Inventory

If you read my previous post about girl's fashions you probably gathered that I am bit obsessed with children's fashions.  I love dressing our kiddos, especially Emma, but it is super fun to dress our handsome little man too. 

As much as I love dressing them and finding cute clothes the thing that makes me way giddy is finding deals on clothes for them!  That is why I love shopping at resale events! Have you ever been to these?  They are amazing and they are popping up all over the country. If you are interested in finding one there is an amazing website called Consignment Mommies that has a directory of resales around the country. 

The resale that is near and dear to my heart is getting ready to launch March 12! 

At our sale I am selling items this year and I will also be shopping. The sale is a Spring and Summer sale only so I am only shopping and selling things for those two seasons.

Since our sale is coming up I am currently getting items ready to tag to sell.  I realize that everyone does this differently but I thought I would share with you what I do to get our items ready to sell and to prepare myself for some serious shopping!

A couple of months before the sale I make a list of every type of clothing and shoes the kids have. As you can see I am clearly an old-school, write it down kind of girl.  You could always type it out and print it or just keep it on your tablet or phone.  But then you don't get to write with a purple pen so seriously, where's the fun in that?  :)

This serves as my master list for two different purposes.

The first way I use it is that we go through it and try on clothing by category.  Emma is old enough that she knows the way the list works, will look at it and decide what category to try on.  If she's feeling it we'll try on a two or three categories just to get through it. 

So here's what we do: We're at the stage of the game right now that they try on at least one category every day, we put everything that doesn't fit in a bag, and those things go into our guest room which is where I stage everything that needs to be tagged to sell. Some items get donated or I separate for family members but regardless, the too smalls go to the guest room to clear space. 

The things that do still fit get written down on the list so I know what clothes we have for the upcoming spring and summer. 

I then cling to this list like Rose to shipwreck. I mean, this sucker goes with me everywhere.  So when I am at the resale and I am looking at shoes I can pull out my list and see if Calvin already has a pair of leather flip flops or if he outgrew his.  Or with sweats.  Or bathing suits.  Or whatever. 

And I don't take the list with me just for the resale but also to Target or Gymboree or when I am looking on Zulily, or wherever.  I can pull it out and see what we need and what we don't.  I circle categories I really need and that reminds me to focus my attention on looking for items in those categories. 

These are the categories I use for a girls wardrobe (I'm assuming you can't read my chicken scratch in the picture there):

• sandals
• flip-flops
• flats
• Athletic shoes
• Slippers
• skirts
• Jeans
• Athletic pants (think track pants)
• Leggings
• Shorts
• Capris
• Tank Tops
• Short Sleeve
• Light Long sleeve
• Cadigans
• Sweatshirts
• 3/4 sleeve shirts
• Jackets
• Outfits
• Dresses
• Ballet Tights
• Ballet Leos
• Swimsuits
• Swim cover-ups
• Tights
• Camisoles
• Underpants

Of course you can alter this any way you see fit.  As I'm writing this I'm remembering that she will be in tennis this year and softball so I will need to add categories for tennis skirts, cleats, etc. As you can see on my picture above, I leave spaces based on what we have more of.  She has a ton of outfits, that's the way I prefer to dress her, so I left more room to list those.  You can tweak it however you want. 

For a boy's wardrobe these are the categories I use:

• Sandals
• Flip-flops
• Slip Ons
• Church Shoes
• Jeans
• Athletic Pants
• Pants
• Shorts
• Tanks
• Short Sleeved Shirts
• Polos
• Oxfords
• Long Sleeved Shirts
• Cardigans
• Jackets
• Sweatshirts
• Outfits
• Ties
• Swimsuits
• Swim Shirts
• Underpants
• Under shirts

So if you are planning on shopping at our resale or any resale, or anywhere for clothing for the upcoming seasons, you should make a list and write down the inventory you already have!  It helps you see what you already have, what you need, and how blessed you are by what you have!  It also helps you to not overspend because you won't be overbuying in areas where you already have enough. 

As an example yesterday I visited a Once Upon a Child and with the list I knew that Emma needed a new pair of sandals so I was able to snag some super cute ones for a song. 

Also as you can see I have these written right now on a pretty beat up old notebook which is perfectly fine.

I had this genius idea though!  I've been carrying a new journal around since September and I LOVE it!  I write everything in it...meeting notes, lists, business goals, etc.  So I will be transferring the lists over to the journal since I carry it with me anyway.  You can get your own here.  I LOVE Molly & Rex products, their illustrations are so sweet.  In my journal the pages are all decorated and so inspiring.  Love, love, love it. 

Happy Inventory Taking!

Calvin and Hobbes Birthday Party

Well this was it.  We had our last big hurrah as far as Birthday Parties with family go. 

Eight is your cut off here in our household.

For Birthdays from here on out the kids can choose to have a party with their friends or to go on a small weekend trip. 

So for Calvin's last big party he wanted to have a Calvin and Hobbes party. 

How stinkin' adorable is that? 

I was super excited until I found out that there isn't much in the way of traditional "Calvin and Hobbes" Birthday decorations. I love getting kits from Etsy to support local moms and to have unique and fun decorations I can personalize and print off as needed.

But there were none of those kits either.

So we got a little creative.

And by the way I was able to spend next to nothing when it came to this party.  I didn't set out for it to be that way but it's amazing when you look back and think "thank you Lord for putting this idea in my brain that didn't cost one red cent."  Can't wait to share with you!

So first of all, I found a long sleeved striped shirt from Gymboree  back in Autumn and it was completely a Calvin and Hobbes shirt.  Not to mention it was on sale for only $8.99 and then I had an additional 20% off coupon.  Who doesn't love Gymboree? 

After that I had invitations made at Shutterfly.  With a January Birthday, invitations had to go out the week before Christmas.  In November I was emailed a Birthday gift (my Birthday's in November, yo!) for $20.00 off anything and free shipping.  So I ordered Birthday cards. I think the total for 25 cards was about $10 with tax.  Woohoo!  I love saving money, ladies! So my advice is if you get a coupon code or a freebie from somewhere, think of upcoming events you could use it for. 

Then in December Tiny Prints sent me an offer of 5 sets of address labels for free!  If you are not members at these places you really need to create an account.  They send you some of the most amazing deals!  So I was able to make adorable Calvin and Hobbes address labels for the envelopes. I used one of their address label templates where you can put a picture in and then downloaded a picture of Calvin and Hobbes together to put on there.  And as luck would have it Tiny Prints had the Calvin and Hobbes type font so it looked perfect!  Plus I got Valentine's address labels and two sets of regular address labels.  But let me tell you about my awesome out of the box idea:  I was racking my brain while looking at these address labels trying to figure out what other cool things you could do with them at the party.  Think about it: stickers for water bottles, on napkin bundles: the options are endless!  But then I found their wrap around labels to put around the corner of an envelope and I thought those would be perfect to put on the goodie bags for guests! Voila! Again I chose a label template with a photo option and imported a calvin and hobbes photo. 

In the books Calvin liked to make sandwiches to run away from home so I thought simple paper bags worked for the goodie bags.  Those were super easy as I have a million of those already.  I love using things around the house that makes things way easy for me.  Plus it was Calvin approved.  Our Calvin.  He spent weeks researching everything for how the party should be by looking through the books and books of Calvin and Hobbes comics that he has. 

I have to tell ya, I think I stink at the role of party mom.  Cute craft kits or something remarkable you are guaranteed not to find in our goodie bags.  Nope, throw some food, candy, and a toy or two in a bag and there ya go.  I know, I know, I'm lame but I figure I could be worse, right?   I put fun dip in there (because who doesn't love fun dip?) Cheetos as tiger tails, Birthday Cake M&M's and some googly eyes to play with.  Done and done.

Once goodie bags were in the bag (ha!) we started with some decorating.  Guests first saw the Duplicator box and the Time Machine box on the porch.  Are you kind of getting that these decorations are cheap?  Um, cardboxes leftover from Christmas were free, 'yo.  I am a frugalista after all here. And seriously if you were short on cash this would be a perfect party theme to go with!

Emma made snowmen that we put in the foyer for people to enjoy.  Many of them are trying to slaughter each other.  She got the idea to recreate the snowmen made in the comics so I gave her a slab of clay and let her go to town.  She's cute like that :)

Nick free handed some of the snowmen with signs and we put them in the windows of our foyer and solarium so people could see them as they walk up to our home.  There were three of them.  They were so funny.  I would have loved to of made some of the actual snowmen but alas, we were short on snow that weekend.  Boo.

I decorated Calvin too! Isn't he adorable?  I think I just showed you this picture but I cut his darn feet off so I wanted to show you the whole ensemble.  He had black chucks on, a Calvin and Hobbes shirt, and jeans.  We spiked his hair and he had his Hobbes with him.  I love this sweet boy so much!

We decorated a little bit around the house.  I love the Christmas Tree Shop and got all of our decorations from there.  If you have one around you I am sure you love it as much as I do.  Things are do cheap there!  Decorations?  $2 a pack.  Plates? $1 a pack.  Calvin was insisting on everything being red and black so that's what I bought. Red straws, red and black balloons, red and black. If you don't have a good party supply store near you I have linked everything to Amazon so you can find everything I've used. 

We put the pom poms and the spiral doo-hickeys all around the house.  I also bought crepe paper.  I am totally old school and believe crepe paper to be a party must.  In the 80's I remember every party having crepe paper.  I'm here to bring it back folks :) I bought LED lights for the fire place from the dollar section at Target.  They say "Happy BDay!" and are so cute!

For food we had lots of snacky food and then we ordered Jimmy Johns sandwiches.  I think we ordered 45 sandwiches.  Calvin as I said researched for the party and found that Calvin seemed to always be eating a sandwich.  Plus Jimmy John's is our Calvin's favorite so it was a perfect fit. This picture was before the sandwiches were delivered but you can get the gist of it.  I used newspaper as the table runner on the buffet since Calvin and Hobbes was in the newspaper!  We had "tiger tails" and "chocolate frosted sugar bombs" from the comic.  We also had chips, rice krispy treats, and then pasta salad and cannoli bites that my amazing Mother-in-Law made.  Oh, and the fave, my sweet sister-in-law brought white chocolate mix, or white trash or whatever you call it.  Yum! 

For cake I really had this doozy of a story.  So our neighbors decorate cakes and we've always gotten our cake from them.  Then I realized (duh) that we have been trying to keep Cal off gluten so I was going to make my own cake for him so I was able to order just a fondant topper.  Then after much debate we decided to let Calvin have what he calls a "gluten day" so he could eat regular cake and the bread from Jimmy John's.  But by then it was too late to order a cake. 

So we got a cake from Costco and I did the handwriting on it and we put the fondant topper on it. I put the message on it Calvin asked for.  If you have a kid with Autism you know that sometimes they like to have things exact.  I do have to put in there that this was some janky looking cake from Costco.  See that wave of frosting on the bottom edge of the cake.  I mean, what the what?  And the frosting was riddled with cake crumbs.  Weird people just weird.  It was yummy though!

I also made gluten free cupcakes.  I found this ladies sweet website and decided to try frosting these.  Mine don't look nearly as amazing as hers but Calvin thought they were neat and that's all that matters.

We all had such a great time at the party!  We had one very happy boy after he opened all of his gifts.  We are so truly blessed by all of our friends and family members.

So I hope this helps you with planning your own party.  I know there were about three parties I oogled over on Pinterest with a Calvin and Hobbes theme.  Feel free to use any of my ideas!

Happy Planning!

Field Trip Ideas for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Coming up on the 18th is MLK Jr. Day. In our family it tends to be field trip day.   The past few years we've been trying to go and experience different things on this day.  One we are all going stir crazy because it is the dead of winter and two, there are so many venues that have free admission so it is amazing to be able to go to these places where each of them would cost us upwards of $100 and we can go for free or simply with the cost of donations.  Amazing!

Not gonna lie, homeschooling gets expensive!  So with these places we feel so blessed to be able to go!  Last year we went to Indianapolis, Indiana and did a whole boom, boom, boom, event of seeing lots of different places.  First we started out at the Children's Museum, followed by lunch at The Tamale Place because it's our favorite place ever.  Ever!  It was featured on the Food Network and is simply amazing, fresh food.  

After a huge lunch we headed downtown to the Eiteljorg and the Indiana State Museum.  We then went to Conner Prairie before we decided to call it a day and head home. 

This year we may go about the same route but I have found that the zoo is free so somehow we will have to work that in!  There are so many amazing places.  Here's some info that I found abnout the places in the Indianapolis area.  If you are in the Midwest these may be worth the trip for you as well:

Eiteljorg

The Eiteljorg Museum is free with the donation of a canned food item for Gleaners Food Bank.  The museum is open 10am-5pm. They have a lot of neat kid areas in the lower level of the museum and they have a huge Totem pole that the kids loved examining and trying to figure out what the animals were. They also have a cool winter wonderland diorama type display with model trains called Jingle Rails set up and MLK Jr. is the last day to see if to for the year!  It is so fun to explore and meander through. 

Indianapolis Zoo

is free with a canned good donation from 9 a.m. -4 p.m. weather permitting. The hardier animals will be out and the indoor exhibits are open as well. 

Indiana State Museum

Indiana State Museum is free with a non perishable food item and is open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. They have a huge S.T.E.M. learning center that is so much fun and they offer crafts related to the Civil Rights Movement.  They also have Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a dream" speech playing continuously in their theater.  Last year when we visited we were able to see the Emancipation Proclamation that President Lincoln signed.  We talked with the kids about what an important signature on that piece of paper was and what it meant in the time of Martin Luther King Jr. We discussed what was better and what still needed improvement then as well as today.  Check their website because other historic sites they manage around the state are also free so even if you aren't in Indianapolis you may find one that is closer to you.

Last year the kids (especially Emma) were obsessed with their Foucalt Pendulum clock.  It is so much fun to watch and wait for. Make sure you watch it when you are there!

Children's Museum

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis  is the best in the nation and it is HUGE!  If you haven't been there you can easily spend the entire day there.  Serious. Open 10-5 there is so much for kids to do I am sure you all will love it!

Conner Prairie

Conner Prairie in Fishers, IN is free on MLK Jr. Day.  Please note that this is just the inside exhibits...it would be freezing for all of the walking outside!  Still there was a ton for the kids to do last year and they got to experience all kinds of experiments with electricity, inertia, and other concepts.  It was so much fun!

Others

Some other free events include the IMAX Theater, the Indiana Historical Society, and the Rhythm Discovery Center

I am sure there lots in your area as well.  I googled "free Martin Luther King Jr 2016 Indianapolis" to get all of the ones above. 

Anyway, we usually study about Martin Luther King Jr. the Friday before the actual day.  I think it is a super important day.  We always watch the "I have a dream" speech video, discuss it and then do a craft,  One year we made wreaths of all hands made with all different colored construction paper.  Anything can be done to bring home the message of unity.  We then usually get books from the library about Martin Luther King Jr. and study his life.  Anyway, it helps to study these things before we go on Field Trip day so that when we see exhibits for the day the kids know what they are fore. 

If you find any other amazing places with free admission be sure to let us all know in the comments section below. 

Happy Field Trip Planning!