FINISHING the house. We have until April 8th to get this house project finished up. We feel like we are so close, yet so far away. Still a lot of effort needs to be put in, both from our builder and by ourselves.
Each week though, more is being checked off of the house to-do list. And we are now able to eat at our table, with the top finished. Still need to make the base for it – but that will be after the construction loan is closed out!
CELEBRATING our middle son. {I} had his golden birthday this month, and he requested to invite a few friends over to the house for some fun and pizza.
He is such a sweet boy, with a thirst for knowledge. Always coming up with a new contraption or invention. Always willing to help out with siblings or a task that needs to be done. We all love him so much!
PARTICIPATING in winter activities. Both at home, and through school, we have been very busy this month. The older two boys finished up their basketball season. Both have improved so much!
The girls were able to cheer with a group at one of the games, and had an absolute ball!
{D} had a wonderful orchestra concert at the middle school. It is so fun to see them all play as a group to make beautiful music.
At home, the kids have been having fun both indoors and out. We are really starting to love our home the more we spend time here and realize how well it works for our family.
SADDENED. An early morning fire in our historic downtown area devastated the area, causing multiple businesses to be displaced and many other buildings to suffer smoke damage. It was a huge loss for our community.
This photo provided by Douglas County (Minn.) Emergency Management in Alexandria, Minn., shows firefighters fighting a fire Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020 that destroyed several buildings in downtown Alexandria. (Julie Anderson/Douglas County Emergency Management via AP)
Thankfully there were no casualties, and all of the fire personnel were kept safe. Knowing first hand the risks that these people walk into when battling a blaze, we thankful, at least, for that happy ending.
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!
LABORING. On, you guessed it…the house! The completion of one project seems to lead into another, in a seemingly never-ending cycle.
We are narrowing down to a firm final construction date, when we need to close our loan. With that date in mind, we are realizing that staying on task is going to be very important if we are going to get everything done in time!
SHOVELING a lot of snow. It just keeps coming down, and we are running out of places to put it.
At least the temperatures haven’t been super cold. And, having an attached garage has been amazing. So we aren’t complaining too much!
ENJOYING school activities. The boys are continuing their basketball season. Their teams play well together and both boys are both improving so much!
The kids are also coming home with a bunch of really cute art projects.
CELEBRATING the Lunar New Year. We kept things really low key this year, during all the hustle and bustle. Taking the family out to eat at the local Chinese Buffet was the perfect fit.
Of course, {M} knew exactly what she wanted to dig into first. The girl loves her noodles!
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!
We are just weeks away from our mega garage sale in preparation for our move. I have been finishing up going through the last bit of items in our house, and the focus this week was on decluttering kids clothing.
You know the saying about how socks seem to be eaten by the washing machine? I feel that they magically reappear in the form of extra pants and shirts, in the drawers of children. And for someone who is attempting to become more minimal, this multiplication can be extremely upsetting.
This past winter, I took the leap to create a capsule wardrobe for myself. I ended up paring my entire collection down to fifty total items, excluding a few items such as outerwear and jewelry. I found it so freeing, in fact, that I eventually convinced my husband to declutter his clothing as well. Neither of us have missed a single item and we both find it super easy to make our outfit selections.
WHY KIDS CLOTHING ACCUMULATES
For a variety of reasons, it seems that kids clothing accumulates faster than adults. By understanding the reasons it is easier for these items to enter our houses, we can be more mindful in the future to stop it from happening.
Kids clothing is cheap
For a small amount of money, you can build your child’s wardrobe. A dress here, a pair of pants there. And don’t forget all those cute shoes! There are also plenty of garage sales that feature extremely inexpensive kids clothing. At fifty cents per piece, it isn’t easy to pass up those closet filling bargains!
They take up little space
Unlike large toys or furniture pieces that might get in our way and remind us we need to pare down, clothing is relatively small. We know that we can usually fit ‘one more’ shirt in a dresser or one more coat in a closet. It’s when all of these little pieces are added together that we really start to notice a problem at all.
There are never ending hand-me-downs
If you have multiple children, or generous friends and family, the accumulation game becomes even more dynamic. You may be suddenly faced with multiple storage totes full of prospective outfits, whether your child is ready to fit into them or not.
STORING KIDS CLOTHING
It’s easy enough to get rid of the items that have been outgrown or those that are riddled with holes and stains. But, what if the seasons are shifting and your child has a number of perfectly good clothing items that still fit? Or older brother has grown out of a favorite sweatshirt, and there is another brother just a couple years younger?
I am definitely guilty of keeping clothes around with the thought that ‘someday’ one of the other kids might need it. Though, through my nearly thirteen years of parenting, there have been only a handful of times when that has truly been the case. Styles change, body shapes are different, kid’s preferences might be particular.
Because of the sheer amount of items that can accumulate, dealing with stored clothes can be downright overwhelming.
HOW MUCH DO THEY REALLY NEED?
In the end, I am left with this very question. How much clothing do the kids really need? Probably every family’s scenario is a bit different. I can only speak for our family. And I know that our kids have way more clothing than they actually need.
I will admit that this is probably going to take me a series of edits before we get to the magic amount. And yes, it will most likely be left up to me to decide, since not one of my kids care much at all about clothing.
There are a variety of guides online that discuss how to create a capsule wardrobe for kids. They even go so far to indicate the number of each type of item (shirts, pants, etc) that it should include. This blog post, for example, gives some great tips on how to pare down.
Generally speaking, the rule of thumb has to do with how many days you want to go without needing to do laundry. Ideally, for our family, the kids clothing supply would last, at a bare minimum, a week to week and a half.
Potentially, our kids clothing capsule might look a little something like this:
BOYS
16 short sleeved shirts (shared)
18 long sleeved shirts (our youngest would need 6 of his own, and his brothers could share the remaining 12)
4 sweatshirts/hoodies (each)
5 pairs of shorts (each)
5 pairs of comfortable pants (each)
2 pairs of dress pants/jeans (each)
GIRLS
8 dresses (shared)
16 short sleeved shirts (shared)
16 long sleeved shirts (shared)
2 sweatshirts/hoodies (each)
2 pairs of shorts/capris (each)
7 pairs of pants (each)
After the move, I will plan to go through my kids closets and dressers again. At that time, I think I will attempt this capsule scenario. Perhaps keeping a few additional ‘backup’ items, in case the inventory seems too low.
The great thing about having a minimal wardrobe is that if something becomes stained or worn you can replace it with something new, guilt free. Another benefit to a smaller wardrobe is being able to customize it for each child’s comfort and style preferences, without breaking the bank.
And dealing with an item or two, here or there, would definitely be favored over the four hour decluttering session I just went through in their closets! If I look exhausted at the end of the video, it’s because I was!
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!
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!
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!
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!
GETTING USED TO SUMMER. The routine of each day has shifted. The kids are sleeping in longer and some days still in their pajamas until almost lunch time. They are enjoying the extra time they have to explore their own interests, including the building of a wooden roller coaster in our yard. We are hopeful that this obsession will end soon and that no bones will be broken in the process.
Summer camps are also in full swing. Our school offers quite a few activities, as well as a free lunch program for kids 18 and younger. We are there almost every day. The girls participated in dance camp and had a blast with their friends, and {D} attended a camp that focused on electricity.
All the kids are making new friendships at the playground as well!
SMILING at the memories of the fun Anniversary road trip we took at the beginning of the month. We celebrated our ‘Sweet 16’ Anniversary with a surprise (and kid free!) trip that Craig had planned all on his own. We drove through Iowa, a bit of Missouri, and finally ended up in Marion, KS- a super small town that now holds a piece of our heart.
I wrote an entire post about our experience, which you can read HERE. The grand surprise was an outdoor concert featuring the amazing Christian band, Unspoken. Craig even arranged for the two of us to meet the group! This is definitely a trip that we will cherish!
GIVING Craig the credit he deserves for being an amazing daddy! Father’s day was celebrated at our home, and just as we do every year for Mother’s Day – we made sure to line everyone up and take a few photos. We love looking back on these memories and seeing how much the kids have grown. It won’t be long before Craig will no longer be able to manage this particular pose:
This year, we invited Craig’s parents over for a Father’s Day brunch after church, which meant that he was also included in the photo blitz. As we get older, it is easy to forget to take pictures of the grandparents with their adult children. That makes the times we do remember to do so even more special.
We hope we are raising our boys to be great fathers too.
PARTICIPATING in a fun football camp. The Minnesota Vikings, our favorite NFL team, collaborated with Hyundai to offer a youth football camp at their brand new practice facility in the Twin Cities. As soon as the registration became available, Angela jumped on the computer and signed all three boys up! There is a limit of 300 participants, and the spots filled up fast!
Craig and the boys spent the weekend at the house of one of Craig’s best friends from college. His family lives close to the practice facility, which was really nice. Their two boys were also able to participate in the camp. All of the kids were able to have their picture taken with Kyle Rudolf, and practiced drills led by some of the best coaching staff from the area. We are thrilled that they were given this FREE opportunity. They haven’t stopped talking about it!
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!
FINISHING SCHOOL. It is hard to believe that the end of the school year has already arrived! All five kids have worked very hard in their studies and are ready to move onto the next grade level. The end of school year activities – school softball games, class field trips, and programs have been keeping us very busy.
RUNNING AND JUMPING at track meets. May also kept the kids in good shape. There was a 5th grade District meet, in which {D} participated. All of the kids, besides {M} were also able to take part in a track and field day for Lutheran Schools in Perham. Angela helped with the school track club and was able to assist in the track meet that Zion school put on for 5th – 8th grade Christian schools in our area.
As parents we are very happy with how hard our kids tried at their events – and even that they were able to come in in first place in some of them; But more importantly, we are proud of the sportsmanship that they displayed with their teammates and other athletes.
CELEBRATING Mother’s Day. Each year, Angela requests only one thing – pictures with her clan. This year the weather was absolutely gorgeous, and so we set the timer on the camera and lined up. The pictures turned out better than we ever imagined – in fact, we love them so much that we are considering having them printed to hang on our gallery wall!
GETTING the yard summer ready. After a long winter of shoveling snow and avoiding ice patches in the yard, we were excited to get the lawn mowers out, trim the bushes, and to plant a few flowers. Angela is happy that have the landscaping project from last summer behind her. It feels great to be able to enjoy the outdoors without being all bundled up! Soon there will be beach trips and water balloon fights!
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!
REMINISCING on an entire year with {K}. We met in China in April 2017, and spent two weeks in country before returning home. It is really hard to believe that we have had a full year of adventures with this sweet girl already!
{K} home one full year!
Days after meeting {K} in China – April 2017
Throughout the year, Angela has interviewed {K} – asking her about her favorite things. It is amazing to look back on these videos and realize how much easier it is for her to communicate with us now. Her looks have changed quite a bit also! If you are interested in the videos you can see them here: 4 months home, 9 months home, and 1 year home.
Easter, April 1st, was the very last holiday that we had yet to spend as a complete family of 7. We had a wonderful celebration.
WATCHING the snow melt. Spring weather has finally reached the Midwest! Though the last snowstorm created a muddy mess of things, we couldn’t be more excited to be outside after such a long, cold winter.
RELAXING on our days off. With the warmer weather of Spring, the after school activities and sport camps are beginning to fill the calendar. The days we have to just snuggle up at home are precious. The kids always seem to find new and fun ideas to explore.
CELEBRATING Craig as he retires from the Fire Department. He has been a volunteer fire fighter for eleven years. We are so proud of him for the selfless sacrifice that he has made through those years. He finished off his duties by coordinating a beautiful memorial service for the firefighters who passed away this past year in the state of Minnesota. It was an incredibly touching program that included a vocal solo from {D}. We found it symbolic that {D} was just a newborn when Craig got accepted into the department and that he was able to help his dad to end his service.
We are absolutely overjoyed that we will be able to spend more time with this incredible man. Wonderful memories are yet to be made!
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!
WISHING Spring weather would arrive! We have had small warm ups; but after each warm up came a large temp drop or inches of snow a few days later. There are rumors going around that another storm is on it’s way, and that the first half of April is expected to be colder than average. It is frustrating, but we know that warmer days are on their way.
In the meantime, the kids have been making the best of things – creating snowmen and ice skating on puddles that had melted – and frozen again.
the kids with ‘Jeff’ the snowman
ice skating on a frozen puddle
GOOFING AROUND. This long, drawn out time indoors has given us a touch of cabin fever – and we aren’t afraid to let our true crazy shine!
Yes, we are weird sometimes… and we like it like that!
EXCITED about {L} turning seven years old! He is our little athlete – one who is constantly on the go. {L} is always ready for an adventure, and can add humor to just about any situation. He loves hamburgers, super heroes, and Imaginext toys.
some of his birthday gifts
With his big smile, and handsome brown eyes – we know he will turn heads some day; But for now, he has his mommy’s heart – and is quick to proclaim that he is the ‘baby boy’ of the family. For always.
such a handsome 7 year old!
CREATING all sorts of projects at school. The kids seem to be coming home with a new project every other day. In an effort to keep the clutter down, I have been documenting these projects by taking photos of each child holding their work. At some point, I want to get all the pictures arranged in photo books – one for each kid.
It has been fun watching them pose with their creations. They are so proud!
PREPARING for Easter. As Christians, this is the most important holiday we celebrate each year. Without Jesus dying for our sins, and raising from the dead three days later – we would be lost and condemned. We are so thankful for the grace of our Lord and Savior.
the kids on Palm Sunday
Each year our church acts out a Passion Drama – with scenes including the crucifixion. It is sobering to experience, and difficult to watch at times; But we attend as a family, as we feel it is important for even our young children to understand the true meaning of Easter.
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!
CELEBRATING {I} and his 9th birthday! It seems like just yesterday this little man entered our lives. He is a kind, gentle and committed friend, a brother who is always willing to lend a helping hand. He is our little inventor and has a very mechanical mind – spending large amounts of time taking things apart and putting them back together.
We love watching the story that God is writing in his life!
ENJOYING what will hopefully be the last portion of winter. We finally got a big snowfall at the end of the month. Those 11 or so inches gave us more accumulation than we have seen all winter long! The kids are now able to do a bit of sledding and snow fort building, and they are thrilled.
WORKING hard at school. In February, the kids celebrated their 100th day with some fun activities. They continue to bring home colorful art projects, and good grades. We have parent / teacher conferences soon and are excited to hear how they each have grown academically over the school year. It’s hard to believe that there are only about 12 weeks left until summer vacation!
FINISHING up the basketball season. It has been a lot of fun to watch {D} progress through the games. He has gone from looking confused on the court, to taking initiative and making plays. He really shines on defense and is able to out-hustle his opponents regularly. When the weather warms up this spring and summer, I am sure we will see him and his brothers honing their skills with the garage basketball hoop.
DESIGNING Arrow Hill Cottage, our future house. We made a big jump this month and began talking to a banker about loan options and visiting with a contractor about pricing. We are getting the house design buttoned up so that we can get some accurate cost estimates and see if it is at all possible to break ground this spring! We have been thinking all along that we would build the spring of 2019, so this would get us into our new house a year earlier than planned if it all works out. We are excited about that prospect, but are also willing to be patient another year if the timing (and pricing) isn’t right. You can follow along with our home design here.
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!
