Sunday, January 1

2023 Goals Printable

There's something about a new year that inspires us toward a fresh start. It's such a natural time to reflect on the past and to look toward the future. It's a time for dreaming, hoping, and planning. And there's something that feels so good about getting all those thoughts down on paper! So today I have a super simple printable for anyone else who's reflecting on what this next year might hold. 

Now, this is not a resolution list. And trust me, there is a difference. While resolutions imply something you're absolutely committing to doing or changing, this goals list is more of brain dump for your hopes and dreams for the year. It's much more fun (and for me, more productive) kind of list! Anything you'd like to work towards or make progress on this year can go on the list - home projects you'd like to tackle, places you'd like to visit, habits you'd like to practice, etc. All the things you'd love to see in, you know, a perfect world. But we don't live in a perfect world, do we? And we have no idea what this next year will hold. Which is also the beautiful thing about a goal sheet like this. It's totally flexible and totally fluid. No pressure when things change or plans fail. We can go into it knowing things don't always work out, and we most likely won't cross everything off before next year. It's ok. The best plans in the world are really just guesses, aren't they? We can still fill in this goal sheet full of hope, realizing that it's all in God's hands.

I added a snippet of this verse to the bottom of the goals sheet as a reminder. And if you're goal planning with the kids, it's a great time to go over it with them, too!

So let's talk details for just a minute and then you can get on your merry list-making way! I've left this printable totally blank so you can let it fit your needs perfectly. There are seven different sections you can label for yourself to fit your own personal goals (i.e. home projects, garden projects, homeschool goals, fitness goals, etc.), and you can even print separate pages for different goals (i.e. print a sheet just for homeschool goals and work through it with your kids to brainstorm field trips, projects, or unit studies they would love to tackle this year). Make it work for your family!

That's it! Download your list here and get started!

Download the 2023 Goals Printable

Tuesday, October 18

DIY Kitchen Reno Plan

We've decided to make a big change in our old farmhouse. We're swapping the kitchen and dining room! The current dining room is much bigger than the kitchen, and with baby #6 on the way we're feeling more crowded than ever in our smaller kitchen. Will we get it done before the baby comes in December? No idea! 

Friday, January 28

DIY Camper Van Full Video Tour (Family of 7!)

Have you even wondered exactly how we fit seven people into our camper van? What our camping trips actually look like? What my voice sounds like and how fast I can talk? Well today is your lucky day!

When we went to visit Marengo Caves last summer, I put together a quick video tour of the whole set-up in action. So wonder no more. I'll show you where everyone sleeps, where we eat, our rainy-day plan, what we do with car seats, and so much more.

 

Enjoy the tour and let me know if you have any questions!

 


 Are you more impressed by how many people we fit in there or how fast I talk when I'm filming?

Camping at Magnus Park Beach
 Camping at Magnus Beach Park near Petoskey, MI

Want to turn your own van into a camper? Here are the tutorials for all everything we made:

Those posts are full of information and photos, but here are a couple angles I don't think I've ever shared before:

Magnetic screens moved to the back doors (we can also only open one door and put up a single screen like the first photo in this post).

We couldn't do it without that handy screen tent that acts as our outdoor kitchen!

Georgia for scale. Plenty of room to sit up (the ceiling is lowest right at the back door but it's several inches higher above the bed).

I peeked in the side door to see if this guy was awake yet and found him tucked up in our bed watching everyone make breakfast out the window.

Random and super zoomed-in/low quality photo my husband took of us, but we me the nicest couple by Marengo Caves who had converted this little cargo trailer into the sweetest little camper. They gave me a tour and tons of tips and I'm dying to give it a try. Is this the next step after a camper van??

Where should we camp next??

Friday, December 10

Printable Bookplate Stickers

Hey guys, I had an idea for the boys stockings that I'm super excited about and I wanted to go ahead and share it now in case you want to make a set for your kids as well! 

I was looking at the Read Aloud Revival gift guide for book-lovers and one of their ideas was bookplate stickers. I loved the idea of the boys being able to mark the books they get each year, but I did not love the ones linked in the gift guide. So, I headed to Etsy to see what else I could find. I came across some custom book stamps that looked amazing.... but $30 per stamp was over my stocking budget. I also looked at custom bookplate stickers that ran around $8-10 for a set of 12. They were cute, but it was still more than I wanted to pay, especially since the bigger boys already need more than 12 stickers. 

But then I suddenly realized... I can print my own stickers!
 

A set of 120 printable Avery labels was under $10. Now I'm looking at 30 labels per kid for under $2.50 each! Those are stocking-stuffer prices, folks. And I had a ton of fun designing a unique set for each of the boys that I think they will love. 
 
I made a PDF of each design that you can download below for free and print on your home printer (you'll just need these Avery labels). You can write in the names before you gift them, or leave that up to the kids (it would be so sweet to have their handwriting saved in their books). If you're feeling a little more tech-y, I also have a jpg version so you can upload it into a program like canva to type in the names before you print. Make sure your printer is set to print full-scale so the stickers will line up correctly. Click on the links below to download the printable sheet for each design:


Happy stuffing! (Ok, probably could have done a little better there. But it's almost Christmas, guys!)
 
What are you putting in stockings this year?
 
Subscribe