OUR ADVENTURES Archives - Page 2 of 7

AROUND HERE: DECEMBER 2019

Around here, we have been…

WORKING on the house. Day in and day out it seems. There are times Craig no sooner gets home from working at the office than he changes his clothes and starts on his second job – finishing the house.

At this point we have finished all of the hardwood flooring on the main level. We have also finished the tile flooring in two of the bathrooms. All of the bathroom fixtures have been installed, our permanent doors are in place, and we are almost to the point that we can start the trim work.

We are looking toward the light at the end of the construction tunnel, and the day when there is less dust to clean up!

STARTING the basketball season. Both of the older boys are playing again this year, and they have been busy with practices. They have also played a couple of preseason matches.

The first official game of the season will be at the beginning of 2020, with a weekend tournament soon after.

PREPARING for the holiday season. The kids had so many fun activities at school that they were involved in.

Gingerbread house creations, cookie decorating, gift exchanges, and beautiful Christmas programs.

It is so fun to experience the season through the eyes of children.

CELEBRATING Christmas in the most simple way. We decided this year to forgo presents, and instead use the day to connect as a family. It was probably the best decision we could have made – especially at this point in time.

With us being so busy, it was great to take a day to just slow down and enjoy one another. We went outside to a white winter wonderland, and started building a small igloo.

We baked cookies and decorated them, made hot chocolate and watched a movie. It was the best day. When the kids were asked which type of Christmas celebration they prefer – the presents or the presence – they all agreed that the time we spent together was much more magical.

We are looking forward to more fun family days in the near future, just enjoying each other and our new home.

This is just a glimpse at what our family has been up to. If you’d like a closer look, be sure to check out our weekly ‘mini vlogs’ on our family YouTube channel ARROW HILL FAMILY. Be well everyone!

AROUND HERE | NOVEMBER 2019

Around here, we have been…

BUSY! If I could use one word to describe our lives at this moment in time, it would be this one. The days are speeding by so quickly it is as if they don’t even exist. With school, finishing the house, traveling for various activities and the holiday – we have been finding ourselves spinning.

To be honest, I genuinely hate being this busy. I do know that this is a season in our lives that will eventually pass. And with that knowledge, I am able to press on.

In the midst of all the craziness, our sweet {D} became a teenager! How have thirteen years passed so quickly? We are so proud of the young man he is becoming.

SEEING a lot of progress at Arrow Hill Cottage. Some of the bigger milestones that were hit this month include having our furnace hooked up to natural gas, installing the upstairs pine ceilings and the cabinets throughout the house, and getting a working bathroom!

We are doing a good chunk of the finish work ourselves, specifically all of the flooring. Craig already finished the basement vinyl plank floors and has moved onto the hardwoods. I am in charge of the tile work in two of the bathrooms. It is a bit slow going, but we are making progress and we can see a teeny tiny light at the end of this long tunnel.

MOVING our things to the new house! Though it isn’t quite ready for us to move into yet, we wanted to open up the rental farmhouse to the new renters before December first. Beating the snow and cold temps was also very important to us.

With our belongings safely in the garage, and the rental farmhouse all cleaned, we were invited to sleep during the night at Craig’s parents house. We are so fortunate to have family so near!

GIVING Thanks for all of our many blessings. We took a short trip to visit family over Thanksgiving. It was wonderful to be able to visit and just relax. Angela’s 95 year old grandma was able to join in the festivities and had so many amazing stories to share of her history.

The kids all had a great time with their cousins too, playing with play-doh and the vintage Nintendo game system.

AROUND HERE | OCTOBER 2019

Around here we have been…

MOURNING the loss of a wonderful woman. Craig’s grandma Violet passed away at the beginning of the month. The loss of a loved one is so hard. Her funny, dry sense of humor, her ability to make a feast out of a sparse cupboard, and her knack for putting together puzzles. All these things and more, we will miss about great grandma.

We are so thankful that our kids all have memories of great grandma Vi. Memories that they can take with them throughout their lives. The above photo was taken two years ago at Halloween. She always loved to see their costumes.

FINISHING football season.

Both {D} and {L} had wonderful football seasons! The league for {L} was for flag football, and he worked hard at learning the fundamentals of the game. The coaches had him playing a lot of different positions. Ultimately though, I think he preferred being quarterback. Though their team didn’t win any games, they did tie their final match.

The seventh grade team that {D} played on was extremely well rounded. They had a great season and were undefeated until the very last game, which they lost by one touchdown.

{D} was able to kick at any games that were played on a field with goal posts. He loved the opportunity, and of the thirteen extra points he attempted, he only missed the very first one! His team-mates were very encouraging as he honed his skills. He even splurged on a new pair of kicking cleats near the end of the season.

ADDING the finishing touches to our new house. We are now at the portion of our house build where we are putting in some ‘sweat equity’. Our main jobs include installing the pine boards on the vaulted upstairs ceiling, laying the flooring, and painting the walls.

There still seems to be a lot that needs to be done before we can actually move in, yet items are being completed each and every week. So, we know that we are getting closer.

LIVING in chaos. We were really hopeful that we would be moved into our new house by now. Since we aren’t, we are finding ourselves driving miles and miles every day back and forth between working on the new house and sleeping at our current rental house. We have things packed up in boxes and some of us are sleeping on mattresses on the floor.

I very much dislike feeling so scattered, but I do know that it is only temporary.

To add to the chaos, we decided to trade in both of our older vans. One was replaced with a car that Craig inherited from his grandma, and the other was replaced with a newer (2010) van. It was a little sad trading in the vans, especially Old Blue, who had been a part of our lives for over thirteen years. The new van is really nice though!

AROUND HERE | MAY 2019

Around here we have been…

EXCITED to see some progress on our house building! The appraisal came back better than we expected, and we closed on our construction loan at the beginning of the month.

Since then, we have taken down quite a few more trees, experienced some sewer drama, and watched the crew begin site prep. Watch the linked videos for more info on all of that!

Still so far to go, but we are anxious to finally be seeing some movement!

PREPARING for some projects of our own.

While the crew takes care of the house building, we will be finishing up some of the projects that are small enough for us to tackle. We still have projects from last year’s summer bucket list to finish. Eight of the dining room chairs still need to be painted black, the girl’s bed frames need to be sanded and repainted, and these lovely cast iron sinks could use a good scrubbing and some TLC.

FINISHING up the school year. This has been the craziest month to date in terms of activities. Track meets, field trips, and concerts. Even preschool graduation!

We have had a wonderful school year, but are very much looking forward to summer and all the fun that’s in store!

STEPPING into summer with grateful hearts. Every year on Mother’s Day I ask for just one special gift. Family photos and a picture of myself with all of our babies.

So blessed to call this family mine. And looking forward to spending more time together in the coming months!

AROUND HERE | APRIL 2019

Around here we have been…

SUPPORTING our small Christian school by helping to create some fun projects for the Gala live auction. The Wood burned ‘signs of the cross’ mirror was created by the 7th and 8th grade students. Even though they were nervous to work with the wood burning tool at first, they were able to finish a beautiful work of art!

This adorable ‘God’s work of art’ chair was something all 100+ students from grades K-8 had a part in. Each was given a small teardrop shape to decorate any way they wanted. It turned out amazing!

RUNNING on a daily basis. The weather has finally been cooperative enough for the adults to run outside two to three days per week. School track practice has also begun.

{D} is running for his first year with the middle school, and is really being pushed hard. He is in the middle distance group, which means he focuses on the 400m and 800m races. High jump is also something he is learning. At his first track meet of the season, {D} was able to race to a 2nd place finish in the 400, and a 6th place finish in the 800.

We are proud of his commitment to the sport, even though he claims to not like running very much.

Angela is also once again helping to coach track at our school. It is a much smaller program that focuses on the younger grades, teaching them the basics of proper running and jumping form, and learning how to encourage one another. There are about twelve participants, including {I}.

PREPARING the land to build. We had a bit of a shock at the beginning of April, when our house building estimates came back much higher than we anticipated. After talking with our contractor, material supplier, and the bank, we were able to get the overall numbers down to a reasonable level.

There is still one more major hurdle to cross before we can break ground though. The appraisal will need to meet a certain dollar value for this project to make sense. And, although we need to wait another week for the results of the report, we are moving forward with the hope that we will be able to break ground mid May, as scheduled. In the meantime, we have been out to the site and have begun clearing trees.

We do have a peace about the entire situation, and if the numbers don’t come back as we hope, we will be going back to the drawing board to work it all out. We are committed to building something on this site of ours!

CELEBRATING Easter! Our family had such a blessed Easter together. In the week leading up to Easter, we were able to view our church’s Passion Drama and really take in the true meaning of this all important holiday.

Easter morning we woke early for the sunrise church service. It is always such a beautiful service. The church is filled with white lilies and the brass quartet plays all of the amazing victorious hymns.

After the service we attended a brunch of egg bake and fruit, served by the youth. Once home, we had a small egg hunt for the kids. They all seemed to really enjoy working together to gather them all! In the evening we visited grandpa and grandma Jackson at their house for a delicious ham dinner.

It was such a special day!

AROUND HERE | MARCH 2019

Around here we have been…

USING our creativity to keep ourselves busy. The beginning of the month saw quite a lot of snow and yucky weather, which meant more time indoors.

The kids did a great job of entertaining themselves with various activities such as dress up, and creating art. They also had a couple of school programs that put a smile on our faces.

ANXIOUS to begin building. The piles of snow are now melting and we are seeing bare ground finally after a very long winter! This is making us more excited than ever to start the building of Arrow Hill Cottage! We have been in almost daily communication with our contractor, the bank, and the city offices – to get all the proper documentation in place for potentially an early May start!

This has been a dream such a long time in the making, that it almost doesn’t seem real – even now. We have plans to document the building process with a once per week video update on our YouTube channel, so be sure to subscribe there if you want to follow along!

CELEBRATING our baby boy. {L} is now eight years old! That fact is really hard to believe! It literally seems like just yesterday we were leaving the hospital with our cute little blue bundle.

{L} has a smile that can light up a room, even with all the tooth gaps as of late. He is athletic and energetic, and quite the jokester. We love him so much and hope that his eighth year is wonderful!

SHARING our gifts with others at the school talent show. This is such a fun tradition at our school. We are always entertained by the different acts that take the stage. Most of our kids are still too shy to perform in front of a crowd, but {D} was able to participate in a few different acts: An instrumental guitar solo, a vocal/piano + guitar duet, and a violin trio.

We are blessed by his talents and are proud of him for sharing his gifts with others through his performances.

AROUND HERE: FEBRUARY 2019

Around here we have been…

SPENDING a lot of time indoors. The weather this month was not favorable at all. If it wasn’t snowing, the temps were well below zero. There were quite a few school days that were either late or cancelled completely.

We found things to do inside – playing with kinetic sand, reading, watching movies and making homemade pizzas. It has been fun, but I’ll admit that we are more than ready for Spring to make it’s appearance!

CELEBRATING Valentine’s Day. We had a good time making up little Valentine’s boxes for the kid’s class parties. At home, we relaxed as a family, reading books and eating heart shaped food. It was a simple and intentional Valentine’s Day, that was really very refreshing.

We also celebrated {I}’s tenth birthday at home. It is hard to believe that he is already in double digits! This boy is one of the sweetest, kindest and well mannered kids you will ever meet. We love him so much!

FINISHING up basketball season. The last games are just a few days away. Both boys have been able to grow their skills quite a bit this year, and are grateful for their teammates and coach for a wonderful season.

When the weather did cooperate for a few days this month, the boys took their practice outdoors with Craig.

WELCOMING the year of the pig! Happy Chinese New Year from our two Asian sweeties! We went to their favorite Chinese restaurant in celebration, and of course they wanted to dress up in their ‘silks’. We are blessed by them, and are happy that we get to share in their cultural holidays!

This is just a glimpse at what our family has been up to. If you’d like a closer look, be sure to check out our weekly ‘mini vlogs’ on our YouTube channel ARROW HILL FAMILY. Be well everyone!

AROUND HERE: JANUARY 2019

Around here we have been…

PLAYING basketball. The older two boys have been enjoying basketball season at their school. It is {I’s} first year to play, and {D}’s second.

They think it is fun being on a team together! We are really impressed with how much both of them have improved, and are proud of the hustle and good sportsmanship they show out on the court.

CONTINUING to tidy. One of Angela’s New Year’s Resolutions is to declutter the entire rental house before we break ground on Arrow Hill Cottage in the Spring. It is a hefty challenge, but we have already made great progress.

In January, she was able to get her magazine collection in order and simplify the linen closet.

Craig even got in on the action, and decluttered his clothing.

KEEPING warm. The temperatures over the last couple of weeks have been absolutely insane. In fact, school was even cancelled for a couple of days because of the dangerously cold temps and strong winds.

We were thankful to be able to cozy up inside our house, staying out of the elements. And we look forward to next winter when we will be enjoying Arrow Hill Cottage – and especially the Rec Room on these cold winter days!

TRYING new hairstyles. January seems to be the time of year our family members like to experiment with their hair. The boys all got fresh cuts and {M} tried some curls.

And…Craig shaved his beard off! We all couldn’t believe how different he looked right away! I bet with the cold that is here, he maybe wishes he had kept the beard a while longer!

This is just a glimpse at what our family has been up to. If you’d like a closer look, be sure to check out our weekly ‘mini vlogs’ on our YouTube channel ARROW HILL FAMILY. Be well everyone!

AROUND HERE: DECEMBER 2018

Around here we have been…

DECLUTTERING our rental house. In preparation for our BIG MOVE into Arrow Hill Cottage in 2019, our family is working on minimizing our belongings. Because… well, nobody wants to haul a bunch of things they won’t use to a new house.

Angela went through a series of 4 decluttering challenges. She minimized the Christmas decor, found 60 items for the donation bin in just one hour, deep cleaned our laundry room and created her first capsule wardrobe. It was a busy month, but the jump start this gave us is keeping us motivated going into the new year.

We see our move as a clean slate of sorts, and it is our desire to live more simply and intentionally. If you are wanting the same for your family, consider subscribing to the Arrow Hill Cottage YouTube channel – where she is documenting our process. Perhaps you will be inspired.

SINGING our hearts out. The kids had so many programs in the month of December. We started right after Thanksgiving by singing at the fort with their school. They caroled around the community, and both {D} and {I} performed for the Jingle Bells Telethon.

Of course, there were plenty of school and Sunday School performances in the mix as well. Whew! It’s such a blessing to see them sharing their gifts with others.

CELEBRATING Christmas with extended family. Our group decided this year to go with a ‘no gifts’ event, and instead rent a house together – where we could hang out and play games, etc. This was absolutely the best decision ever. We all were so much more relaxed and enjoyed our time together immensely.

The weather was warm enough that we were able to spend time out on the frozen lake. Sled pulling, snow angel making, and attempted ice skating.

A very interesting thing happened. Not one of the 10 kids even ASKED about presents. We were all too busy having fun enjoying each other’s company. I’m loving this new tradition!

SHOVELING! A huge winter storm went through our area right after Christmas. It dumped over a foot of snow in our town, causing quite a mess! Poor Craig spent hours snowblowing the driveway, only to have it drift in by the morning.

The good news is that he was able to direct the snow toward the play fort, and the kids are creating their own sledding hill. If the weather ever warms up, they will use it.

The white snow sure does look beautiful though. Maybe a great reminder going into the New Year. Clean slates. New beginnings. We are so excited for 2019!

This is just a glimpse at what our family has been up to. If you’d like a closer look, be sure to check out our weekly ‘mini vlogs’ on our YouTube channel ARROW HILL FAMILY. Be well everyone!

AROUND HERE: NOVEMBER 2018

Around here, we have been…

ANTICIPATING the start of a very long winter. The fall has been unseasonably cold already, and we are bracing ourselves. Technically, winter hasn’t even begun! We have seen a little bit of snow, though not too much accumulation.

The kids have taken what little snow that has stuck and begun their winter project. They want to build a luge, to use as a sledding hill. I suppose that is one way to keep busy! We’ll see if they will follow through or not.

CELEBRATING Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for this year! Grandpa and Grandma Jackson invited us over for a delicious meal and great conversation. It’s always wonderful to just take some time to relax and think about all of your blessings.

ENJOYING planning our forever house. The more that we work on the design, the more we realize that we are really looking forward to a smaller and more simple home. And, along with it, we are also anticipating a simplified lifestyle.

I suppose we are somewhat on a journey toward minimalism. And there are five minimalism techniques that we are incorporating to our new home design.

DECORATING for the Christmas season. As part of our decluttering, we went through all our Christmas decoration bins. It was great to look at each item one by one and decide which items really bring us joy. The other items were boxed up and brought to a thrift store, with the hope that somebody else will be able to pick them up and use them this year.

I love the simplicity of our tree this year, with it’s white lights and crocheted snowflake ornaments. This Christmas will be special in that it is the last year we will spend at the farmhouse. Many memories have been made within these walls.

This is just a glimpse at what our family has been up to. If you’d like a closer look, be sure to check out our weekly ‘mini vlogs’ on our YouTube channel ARROW HILL FAMILY. Be well everyone!