It's official. We have tried every kind of school there is. Private school, public school, home school, Christian school. We should win some kind of "try every possibility" award. 

Last year, we made the decision to take Addison out of public school and homeschool her for 1st grade. It was the right decision for her for that year. And it was a joy. We loved having her home and loved teaching her. 

But as the end of the year approached, we started discussing this school year. Would we homeschool both of them? A kindergartener and a 2nd grader with a 2-year-old in tow and a foster baby and a business to run? Can we do that? Do we want to do that? Is that what's best for everyone? 

After much prayer and discussion and more prayer, we decided that homeschool wouldn't be the best option for this year. We started touring private schools late last Spring. 

We found a couple schools that we loved. We knew we wanted a Christian curriculum and a high level of parental involvement.  Of course, there are waiting lists and applications and all that goes along with private school, but we did it.

And we found a little gem....only 5 minutes from our house with Christ at the center of it all, and I'm happy. 

But even today, I cried and doubted because that's what I do as a momma. I want so badly to make the right choices for them....to do what's best for their little hearts and souls. I want them to grow and prosper and be leaders and be kind and give love to the world. I want them to love learning and love Christ. 

So here we are. At the beginning of another school year, trying something new again. Maybe we've got it right this time. I hope so. I won't pretend I have this all figured out, but I will fight for the best education for my children....that's ultimately one of my most important jobs as a parent. 

Even though the day started a little rough for Luke, as you can tell....

he came home happy and joyful and thrilled to be in kindergarten. 

And I knew this one would love school. She was practically begging for it. The classes are small so there is only 1 girl in her class {who told Addison that she had been praying for the Lord to bring a girl to her class!} and 4 boys. And she's in heaven. 

Here we go.....this year is going to be a whole new adventure. 

More Planning tools and tips

Since we've been talking planners around here lately, I thought it would be helpful to show you a few of the other tools we use to maintain our sanity around here. 

In case you missed yesterday's post, I'm giving away 2 free planners. Check it out here.

Sunday is usually the day that I figure out exactly how the coming week will function. I've found that as a wife, a mom, and a small business owner, this is absolutely vital to my ability to function from day to day. 

Here's a snapshot of my dining room table today while everyone rested. 

So a few things, you can see my Driven Dreamer weekly spread there in the bottom middle. 

At the top right and bottom right are a monthly meal planner and a grocery list from Jones Design Company. There is a great paper works section on her site that reads: 

A monthly collection of stylish designs to help keep you organized. Choose from the digital (print on your own) version or the print + digital version (a set of prints will be mailed to you). 

I'm a huge fan. Go ahead...go check it out.

In the center of the picture above are: to the right...is our jumbo monthly calendar from Erin Condren and to the left is our Weekly Schedule Pad from Erin Condren. The jumbo monthly calendar hangs on our fridge and has everything that has to do with our family schedule. The weekly pad hangs in our kitchen as well and is more detailed and includes dinner plans for the week as well. It's a quick at a glance look for everyone to see what's going on at a glance. 

 Any whoo.....I thought you like to see that there's lots of crazy planning that takes place at my house. 

What about you? Do you have any great products that I don't know about yet? What works to help you keep your family organized? 

Planners, Planners, and More Planners

If you're new to the blog, I should warn you that I'm a bit of a crazy person when it comes to planners and agendas. I don't know if we should call it a condition, but it might be something close to that.

I wanted to tell you about this awesome new planner that I found that I fell in love with called the Driven Dreamer, but she went and sold out all the planners she had printed.  But you can go ahead and go follow An Organized Girl on Facebook and check out her website......

The Driven Dreamer planner has my favorite layout right now. It features a weekly layout with to dos under everyday. But it definitely has a couple flaws. The paper is thinner than I would prefer for a planner, but it suffices, and there aren't tabs, which I understand are expensive to include.

I also had a little sweep with A Passion Planner. Also a fan, but still not my all time favorite. I do love the weekly layout though and all the extra space on and before the monthly spread.

You can check out a Passion Planner here.

I may have also just ordered a Kate Spade agenda from Amazon because it was so pretty (didn't I warn you that I have a problem). It's also a weekly layout, but it doesn't have an hourly time log which I love to keep track of appointments and even to block out a specific amount of time to do something.

And to top it all off, today, I ordered the 2015 Day Designer and Day Designer Mini from Whitney English. The Day Designer is also not my favorite because it's a daily layout. I love the space of it, I just don't like being able to see my entire week at a glance. I like to highlight things when they the get done. On a weekly layout, I don't have to re-write things every time they don't get done. If it doesn't happen on Monday, I can still see it on Tuesday when I've got a weekly layout.

But I functioned with a Day Designer for half the year. And really, it's the prettiest thing on the market when it comes to planners. How can you resist?

So there you have it. My favorites right now. I should also mention Erin Condren's Life Planner since I'm a semi-fan. It almost works for me. I just personally don't like the weekly layout without time slots, but it works so well for so many people. And it's durable and so so cute!

Since this is a planner post, you better believe I have a planner to give away....two actually! I have 2 Driven Dreamers from An Organized Girl to give away! {Please excuse the unedited, late night photo below). 

All you have to do is comment below, follow along, and I'll pick a winner using random.org next Sunday, August 24th. They're sold out and the only place you can get one is right here! Good luck!

To Yearn for Routine

Every year about this time, I get anxious and ready for the school-year-routine while at the same time wishing summer would last forever.

It's a restless tension that settles deep in my soul. Both sides battling to win it all......never ending carefree summer days vs. the security and routine of the school year.

Our summer consisted of many a late summer night spent chasing fireflies where our neatly mowed grass meets the tree line and the fireflies are easiest to catch simply because there are so many of them.

But summer is hard sometimes. When you work from home, part of you wants to not work all summer long and spend every day at the pool  or on lunch play-dates at chick-fil-a. Both are perfect summer pastimes if you ask me.

But our summer also involves a team that we love dearly that we need to set goals with and encourage and support. There are trips to be had and conversions to attend. And all those things are simply glorious.

In the same breath that I call summer glorious, my mind races to jeans and crisp Fall mornings, visits to the pumpkin patch, and pumpkin spice lattes.....pots of chili simmering all day and fires in the fireplace.

I hate to wish away a season, but I'm ready to say that I'm nearly ready for those cool mornings and the need to wear boots most days of the week.

Schools coming y'all. And so is Fall. Are you ready?

Jewelry for Hope

I have the coolest friends. One of my sweet friends who sells Stella and Dot was introduced to our Hope Link families at our Christmas in July fundraiser. She fell in love and wanted to do something to help, so she offered to donate her personal commission from a trunk show to Hope Link OKC. 

So last night, we had a great time trying on jewelry and eating Velata chocolate (of course!) We even broke out our Christmas lists and started checking off boxes. So today, I'm doing something I very rarely do, I'm encouraging you to go shop for something I don't sell. But it's for a wonderful cause! 

If you want to shop for a cause, or if you just need a good excuse to buy a couple beautiful things, head on over to Sara's online shop and shop away.

Here are a few of my favorite pieces. 

Nancy Studs-Peach

Renegade Cluster Bracelet 

Interlock Cross Necklace

Trinity Pendant Gold

On the Mark Necklace

New Engravable Necklaces

Happy shopping! 

 Mission Statement

Connecting mothers who have children with rare or undiagnosed disorders while providing encouragement, hope, and support through fellowship and prayer.

Purpose

• Provide an opportunity for moms with similar circumstances to network

• Give moms the opportunity to share their stories with an audience who can appreciate and identify with the challenges they face.

• Provide a positive environment where moms can receive encouragement and fellowship.

• Share information, resources, and experience that may be beneficial to others.

• Provide prayer support for one another as we navigate the unique obstacles that come with the unknown and uncertainty of rare and undiagnosed conditions.

Last Chance....First Glance

To say I'm excited about our new Scentsy and Velata catalogs is the understatement of the year. I'm like a kid waiting for Christmas morning, except it won't be Christmas morning, it'll be September 1st. It's basically the same thing. 

I'm crazy over our September warmer of the month. It's nostalgically perfect. 

I'm also the most excited I have ever been about Velata and our upcoming catalog. As I type this, my mind is reeling with ideas to implement to help get families around the table this Fall. 

My mind is running a hundred miles a minute. The ideas and the things I want to do are begging to be put on paper. (I'm also thinking about how my friend called me out for a Velata ice bucket challenge which means I have to pour a bucket of ice over myself tomorrow and donate $10 to our local food bank). That'll be fun. 

But, back to the new catalogs. I'm thrilled and excited and can't wait for our new catalogs to launch, so I'm hosting a Last Chance, First Glance party. Stop by, Book your Fall Party, Shop at 10% off, and sample all our new Fall scents and products. (oh and don't forget about all our specials!) It's the best of both worlds...Spring and Fall all rolled into one night. Laid back and fun. 

It's going to be one great party. Hopefully you'll join us, or host your own! The most important thing is that you keep it simple and focus on connecting with your customers, friends, and family. 

Trying to Thrive

I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to truly thrive. I'm reading an incredible book by Arianna Huffington called Thrive. 

It's challenging me in the best kind of way. Being in direct sales, and being a team leader in direct sales means that I'm very rarely off when it comes to "work." That translates into I'm never really off when it comes to work. When you're passionate about what you do, it becomes part of your life. It's not a bad thing at all. It's an incredibly beautiful thing to have what you do collide with who you are. 

It just means I have to be incredibly mindful of turning my business and leadership and Scentsy brain off sometimes, and that can be challenging.

This book has reminded me that "the better people are at taking care of themselves, the more effective they'll be in taking care of others, including their families, their coworkers, their communities, and their fellow citizens." But it feels so selfish doesn't it? To put yourself 1st. To give into the things you know you need but often don't make time for?

I started a list....of all the things that re-fuel me, and inspire me, and just make me plain happy. Things like working out, writing, reading, cooking, studying God's word.  Those things ground me. They make me better at being me. They make me a better mom, a better wife, a better Christ follower, a better leader, and a better person all together. I have to remember that doing those things isn't selfish. It's fuel. 

I don't want to merely survive. I want to thrive. And as we face the next month with lots and lots of changes happening in our family (baby brother-in-law moved in today, school starts next week, traveling a lot in September, and then opening our home to foster babies again) I need to make sure that I'm spending time doing things that re-charge me. It's vital really. 

What about you? Are you good at putting yourself 1st? Are you good at indulging in and focusing on the things that make you better in all areas of your life? I'd love to hear what re-charges you.