Our Goodwin Journey

A Beach Towel Tip

2012-06-04T10:17:00.000-04:00

You know all those beach towels you have in your closet?

(if you don't have a collection of them like we do... beach towels are pretty inexpensive at Walmart or Target)

Here is a new way to use beach towels.

A tip that will make your life with kids so much simpler.

Are you ready for it?

Well... in our house..

we use beach towels as BATH towels!

A few years ago, I realized that we had a lot of really cute beach towels just hanging out in the closet waiting for summer.

And I also realized, that at bath time, I was never really sure which towel belonged to which girl.

As much as I adore matching towels, I broke out all of our cutesy beach towels and we began using them as bath towels.

Result?

I always know which towel belongs to which girl. When I say, "Go grab your towel. It's shower time," the girls know which towel belongs to them.

Because they all. look. different.

and they are cute.

Makes bath time fun and easy for all...

So think beach during your next bath time routine!

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Stayin' Alive

2012-06-03T06:00:00.000-04:00

My dad is pretty handy at a lot of things. In fact, as my mom pointed out recently, he and MacGyver would be best buds.

While I was home, he moved a king size mattress set to my sister's house over 40 minutes away in his little truck.

See?

Impressive.

Something that both my parents are really good at is gardening.

Their flower beds are amazingly beautiful.

There secret is watering. They water these flowers every. single. day.

Every. single. plant. and flower.

The girls had so much fun watering the flowers with Grandma before bed.

Yes... impressive.

But...

the most impressive thing about the flowers is the one hidden inside, away from the flower beds.

This flower is special.

A flower my dad, Mr. Macgyver, has kept alive since Christmas.

A poinsettia. Stayin' alive in my parents' house.

Have you ever seen a poinsettia alive on Memorial Day?

Have you ever even known someone to try and keep one alive that long?

My dad said, "Most poinsettias die a long, slow death of neglect. You just have to water the thing and it will stay alive."

Yes... my dad is pretty impressive!

And, if you'd like something new to pin (other than my cute Just Add Water picture... really, how fun is that?) I used some of these flower pictures to create encouraging pins you are welcome to use.

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A New Baby

2012-06-02T09:41:00.003-04:00

The biggest reason that we went to see family for Memorial Day was that our family had a new baby to love on.

My sister gave birth to a precious little bundle named Myla Claire.

And she was precious.

My dad holding his youngest granddaughter. Of course, Abby had to sneak in on the Grandpa time.

Myla's proud daddy and her "quite unsure of the whole thing" big sister, Sloan.

Visiting with the cousins for the first time...

Annalise gets nervous around babies. She was completely happy to look at Myla from across the room. I tried to get her to take a picture with Myla but she would not cooperate.

Look at that sweet face!

Sloan hugging on sister...

It was so sweet to hold a 4 day old baby. A 10lb 3oz baby! My sister, who actually had a wonderful birth, got a spinal headache from the epidural and she was having a really hard week. (That just gave Aunt Jenilee more baby time though. *wink) She was able to get the spinal headache taken care of and she is doing much better now.

Which is a good thing because she has two little girls to keep her busy now!

I remember the days...

One little tiny package.

One big reason to visit family.

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Fragile

2012-06-01T06:00:00.000-04:00

We don't like to think of our marriage or our family as fragile.

Fragile seems to be a word of weakness.

We would much rather say that we have a strong marriage and a strong family.

Unbreakable, Unshakeable, Never-ending...

That, of course, is the goal.

Strength. Not weakness.

But, what do we do with things that are strong and durable?

We use them. We take them for granted. We test their strength. We abuse their abilities and push their limits.

These things can be thrown, washed, dropped, hit and they will make it through. They may not look as good or work as well, but they are durable enough to take everything you give it.

My girls have a Step2 slide in our backyard. That thing gets climbed on, colored on, jumped on, tipped over... you name it, they have done it. Without a thought, they beat that thing silly while they play. They can do that because they know it won't break.

Now, think about things that are fragile.

We cherish them. We hold them dear. We protect them. We realize their value and treat them accordingly.

My new DSLR or my angel friendship figurine or my diamond ring... I would never treat them like my girls treat their slide. I know they can break. I know they need my care and attention.

I understand the value and appreciate their delicateness.

I would say that I have a strong marriage. Jeremy and I have learned so much in the past 11 years. Sometimes it is easy to see our marriage as strong, durable and take for granted the relationship we have together.

Our marriage can take a lot and withstand the treatment of life.

Because life IS hard and our marriage needs to be strong.

But just because our marriage needs to be strong doesn't mean that Jeremy and I can fail to recognize that marriage is fragile.

Yes, marriage and family are fragile.

Not weak... just delicate.

Our family is fragile.

Not weak... just precious.

Our marriage and our family is valuable.

They should be treated with care, held dear and fully appreciated.

Everyday we must remember how fragile relationships can be and how desperately we need to take care of them like we would any other treasure in our lives.

Just because they are strong and durable doesn't mean we can allow life to test the limits of their strength or "beat them silly" like my girls' slide.

Purpose to handle your family relationships with care, attention and love.

*Linking up with Rachel @ Finding Joy for Friday Favorites

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Summer Fish Fry

2012-05-31T06:00:00.000-04:00

Jeremy did a lot of fishing over Memorial Day weekend. He caught a bunch of bluegill and bass. He not only caught them, but he wanted to eat them.

Bring on the summer FRESH fish fry...

When we told my mom we were going to fry some fish, she was a little hesitant because frying can make such a big mess in the kitchen. She was busy fixing other things and didn't want the extra mess.

But, as we started frying up the fish, she was very impressed with this recipe and how easy and mess-free it was!

Easy, mess-free fish frying?

Yes, and if I can do it... you can do it.

Jeremy's Summer Fish Fry Recipe

You will need:

Oil
Flour
Seasoning
Eggs
Bread Crumbs
Fish (fresh or from the store)
*make sure to rinse your fish with water

Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a frying pan.

While that is heating, get your bowls of ingredients ready.

Bowl #1 - Flour and seasonings. I simply shake a little greek seasoning into the flour.
Bowl #2 - 1 or 2 eggs gently whisked with a fork
Bowl #3 - Bread Crumbs

Jeremy's favorite kind to use are these Takashi Japanese style bread crumbs.

Dip your fish into the flour, coating it completely. Then, dip the floured fish into the egg being sure to coat both sides. Then, roll the fish in the bread crumbs before putting it into the frying pan.

Use a fork to turn the fish after a few minutes or when one side is golden brown.

You will have some yummy, melt-in-your-mouth summer fried fish!

Easy and mess-free recipe from my outdoorsy husband, Jeremy!

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Wednesday's Walk - The Basement

2012-05-30T06:00:00.000-04:00

This post is going to have a good old Wednesday's Walk feel to it, okay?

Just a little walk down memory lane...

There once was a time when I was in high school. My dad was finishing the basement in our new house and I was helping. It was drywall hanging time and it was my job to hold the drywall up for my dad while he nailed it in place. It was a very simple job and going very well, if I do say so myself... until the phone rang. My boyfriend was calling. And I ran from the basement to grab the phone.

Problem: I dropped the drywall. on my dad. to get the phone.

Result: Unhappy Dad and years worth of teasing from the family

Fast forward to this past weekend.

Once again, my dad was finishing a basement. This time, in my parents' condo. He spent the weekend framing the walls in so that it is ready for the plumbers and electricians to come in this week.

Occasionally, he would yell for someone to come and hold something for him.

Elayna helped a little. Jeremy and my brother-in-law spent some time down there... even Abby lent her little hands to help Grandpa with the basement.

Well, on Saturday morning, Dad yelled up the stairs, "Jeremy!"

To which I replied, "He's still sleeping... .what do you need?"

"I need someone to hold something."

"I'll come down." I said.

The drywall story had already been told a few times over the holiday weekend so I knew what everyone was thinking.

Jenilee is going down to help HOLD something?

Surely everyone knew that I've grown up. And I can certainly hold something for my dad.

Down I went with Abby and Elayna following (with the camera, of course).

My dad got me set up on a ladder.

And then he handed me this big piece of wood to hold.

Ok, I was able to hold it up there for about 2 seconds before I was yelling, "Jeremy! I need you!"

My dad was busy nailing up the other end and I could NOT drop this beam. Absolutely could not.

I even cut my hand on a splinter and did not drop the beam.

"Elayna... go get Daddy... hurry!"

By this time, my dad was back over to me and he took the weight of the beam in his own hands while he nailed it up to the ceiling.

Jeremy came down and finished helping my dad.

Seriously, look at him. One handed and no ladder.

So, I suppose that I didn't completely fail this time. Instead of running for the phone, I called in a replacement.

A nice, strong replacement.

Yes, that's the story I'll tell myself.

Later, the girls got to use permanent markers to write their names on the walls of what will be the granddaughters room in the basement.

6 Granddaughters: Elayna, Annalise, Abigail, Elizabeth, Sloan and Myla

My mom is working hard on finishing the basement so it will be ready for our next Michigan trip in August.

Thankfully, on that trip, the drywall will be hung and painted BEFORE I arrive.

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Ten Homeschool Must-Haves

2012-05-29T00:13:00.000-04:00

Today, I'm blogging about homeschool Must-Haves with my iHomeschoolNetwork friends and Angie from Many Little Blessings...

I could go into detail about how much I need my printer/scanner or my school table or my 3 whole punch or our nifty talking globe. Because, really... those are all very important to us.

Or, I could tell you about some other things that, for us fun-loving people, are must haves to our homeschool experience.

Here they are... with pictures.

1. Science fairs and History Presentations

2. Schoolwork that is portable to go anywhere

3. Trips to the Children's Museum

4. Homeschool Conventions to gather information, browse curriculum and meet friends. Here is Jenn, from Daze of Adventure, and I last year.

5. Couches. We love doing school on the couch. oh. And stuffed animals make math much more fun.

6. Cute kids. Totally necessary.

7. Nature studies

8. Pajamas. for the whole family. mommy included.

9. My dollar store teacher book that keeps me on track with what we have covered during the day. Yes, birthdays are scheduled in. and watching Liberty Kids. and anything else slightly school related.

and... last but not least...

10. Trips to the zoo

What are your homeschool must-haves?

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Ribbon Play

2012-05-25T06:00:00.000-04:00

10 cents for ribbon at a garage sale.

3 kabob skewers.

a little bit of tape.

and you have a few hours of play in the back yard.

They were putting on quite a show.

Calling out "side to side!" and "twirl!" and "ok... now... run!"

Sometimes spending 10 cents is the best thing a mommy can do.

Even if this mommy was saying "no... please... no more stuff in the house!"

This 10 cents was well spent giving these Goodwin girls a few priceless moments together.

Just like the sheet we bought last summer, this unusual toy was a huge hit.

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Summer School Fun

2012-05-24T06:00:00.000-04:00

Summer School?

What?

I know.

But... when kids are used to having things to do all day, well, they still need some things to do all day.

Even in the summer.

Nothing too difficult. Just a small checklist of school things they can do each day.

The girls don't get too worried about it because they know that we aren't even really home all that much in the summer anyway. Not home means no homeschool.

Just unschooling... shhh... don't tell them.

Even Abby has a few things to do...

I printed out a list of spelling/sight words and math tables charts for each girls' folder.

And, they will get a sticker each time they complete a task 5 times. Stickers will go towards a beloved Chuck E Cheese trip in the fall.

I reorganized our schoolroom, packing up the school year curriculum and books so the girls have space to work and craft all summer.

I even used Lazy Mom Tip #60 to clean and organized their crafts books, paper and other supplies.

That Lazy Mom is just too smart. Love her.

So, while my girls aren't traveling, swimming, swinging, climbing, playing, bike riding or hiking around fishing lakes... they will be happily (*wink) doing a little bit of summer school.

What kinds of things do you do to keep your kids busy during the summer?

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Why I'm No Photographer. Yet.

2012-05-23T09:52:00.001-04:00

Each May, our moms group from church meets at the park.

Last year, I was taking pictures with my little Canon point and shoot.

This year, I had my new T3i along to practice.

Ugh.

So hard to have to think about every. single. picture.

I am NOT complaining... but really... wow, photography is a lot of work!

And, I am no photographer yet.

Some pictures are good.

Some are just off... and I'm not sure what to do to fix it.

ISO on a sunny day is a mystery.

Not being able to see my screen clearly because of the bright sun makes it really hard to adjust settings when I'm not even sure what I'm seeing.

Editing can help.

But... I'm not quite sure what I'm doing there either.

Kids on the move while trying to adjust settings. complicated.

"Wait! Stay there... Mommy has to change one thing!" I say while I'm thinking, "Do not turn it to Auto, do not turn it to auto."

Ah... but the fun of the challenge.

To learn. To discover and figure it out.

It might take me years...

But I'll sure be capturing the moments along the way.

I'm no photographer... just a Mommy taking pictures.

But, a mommy taking pictures who wants to rise to the challenge of this crazy camera.

One picture at a time.

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Top Ten Homeschool Websites

2012-05-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

We have just finished our third year of homeschooling. Really, how is that even possible?

My girls will be going into 4th, 2nd and 1st grades next year!

When I started, I had a 1st grader and two preschoolers.

For the last three years, my oldest has been using My Father's World almost exclusively.

I love the format, the read alouds, the work pages and the family time incorporated into the daily lessons.

I have slowly, as the other girls have gotten older, integrated them into her studies so that I am teaching history, science, Bible, geography... 1 time to 3 children. Genius.

But...

I am unashamed to say that I didn't not use curriculum during my girls' preschool and kindergarten years.

I solely used FREE online printables or ideas to create my own homeschool day for them.

I still use many websites to find coloring pages or other work pages to go with whatever we are studying.

Where do I get these free things? And, where do I find help to fill in when I want to add something to our curriculum? Where can you as a parent, homeschool or not, find helpful resources to work with your children at home?

Here are some websites that I found to be very helpful to us!

1. Starfall - I will link to this site again and again... we LOVE starfall! You will find colorful and bright games, videos, printable writing sheets, books and more that will get your child reading! All three of my girls learned their letter sounds and basic reading/writing skills from this website. They do have parts of their site that you need to pay for but we worked with the free portions and did very well!

2. youtube - I can't tell you how many times I set up a playlist of learning songs for my girls! From Barney to Between the Lions to Electric Company... you can find a learning song or clip about any subject you are discovering that day!

3. pbskids - So much learning has happened on pbskids in our house. Curious George taught my girls about mixing primary colors and measuring with fractions. Sid the Science Kid, Super Why... all GREAT resources to you the parent! PBS makes learning fun for kids and my girls have benefited from what they've found and learned while playing!

4. CurrClick - This has become a favorite site for me! I love being able to type in a subject and immediately print something for my girls to use. Printables, books, music, foreign language... you will find it ALL there and easy to download. Not to mention it is all very reasonably priced.

5. The Notebooking Fairy - This is a new site for me that I plan to use a lot in our upcoming school year. I love the creative and fun printable notebook sheets that I know my girls will love!

6. The Homeschool Village - If you are in need of encouragement, ideas, special needs, lesson planning, a Bible verse, information about the many different styles of homeschooling, resources or help of any kind, this is the place! You have access to articles that will make your day and writers who are available for help or prayer!

7. Hope is in the Word - The is a blog specifically designed to help you with read-alouds. Another new blog for me, but one that I hope to utilize more in our next year of homeschooling.

8. Crayola - This website is full of online activities, free coloring pages and free writing practice pages. I used this site many times of the year, printing out coloring pages for the 50 states to go along with our American History/Geography studies!

9. pinterest - The homeschool mom's playground. Seriously. You will never fail to find exactly the activity, craft or idea that you were searching for when you look on pinterest! Network with other pinterest homeschool moms, follow homeschool or craft boards and you will be set (more than set!) with numerous activities at your fingertips!

10. DLTK Kids - Tons of free information, worksheets, printables, lapbook pages, coloring pages on everything from math to science to art to history to just for fun! I use this website as a quick go-to site for a free printable!

There are so many more... MamaJenn, Homeschool Creations, Sam's Noggin and others that will be a blessing to you no matter where you are in your homeschooling journey!

Hop around and add to your own list of favorites.

And, before you go, what is one of your favorite homeschool or school resourse websites that I didn't list today?

I'd love to find some new ones too!

*Linking up with ihomeschoolnetwork 10 in 10 and Top Ten Tuesday with Many Little Blessings!

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The Piano Recital

2012-05-20T22:51:00.000-04:00

Today was Elayna's 2nd piano recital.

We went out for lunch at an authentic Mexican restaurant after church with friends and then went to the church for her recital.

We sure do love Mexican food around here...

Elayna was very excited. She has practiced hard this year, working through obstacles and learning big lessons of perseverance.

She loves piano and did wonderful at her last recital.

But, she can be easily discouraged when tough things come her way. Elayna has a tender spirit and needs words of encouragement to keep her going. Thankfully, she also displays the strength to push through the frustration that can come when learning new skills.

As the mommy who helped her through those moments, this recital was extra sweet.

You sports, music, dance mommies out there know what I'm talking about...

I sat and listened to her play during her performance and pictured in my mind the little signs we posted by her piano... "Elayna can do all things through Christ" and "The first reaction is not quit! The first reaction is try again!"

Her wonderful teacher encouraged her each week in her love for piano.

And her family and friends were there literally cheering her on.

My momma heart was incredibly proud of the little girl who fought through daily practices. My momma heart was thankful that God helped her use the talents He has blessed her with in music.

She not only played well, she played the best I'd ever heard her little fingers play.

Her happy face just shines...

*linking this up with Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious

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A Berry Good Day

2012-05-19T11:01:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday, I got a text from Jeremy saying, "I want to go pick strawberries tomorrow. Find a place."

He and the girls have been wanting to pick strawberries for the past few years and we just haven't been able to fit it in.

In fact, the last time that we went to pick strawberries, Elayna was barely 2 years old and Annalise was a few months old. Elayna kept eating all the little green strawberries and stepping on the plants while Annalise screamed from her car seat the whole time. Young mommy memories...

But this time... I knew the girls were the perfect ages to pick strawberries and enjoy it!

We chose a local farm, the same farm that we went to for our Christmas tree last year.

We were told when we arrived that we could eat strawberries while we picked. The girls loved that news. Hey, Jeremy and I loved that news too! The strawberries were delish...

Rows and rows of sweet smelling, yummy, berry goodness...

Jeremy helped the girls know how to find berries with no brown spots or white patches or mushy places.

Abby was content to walk the rows and rows of strawberry plants.

We found some really fun shapes and sizes of berries...

And ended our day with a much more successful strawberry picking memory. No screaming baby in site. Just three happy smiling faces.

Our dessert was fresh strawberry shortcake!

Side note: I need to read up on some tutorials about shooting in manual in bright sunlight. Yikes. Settings can change with every shot! The fishing trip, the train pictures and this strawberry picking adventure made for some challenging photography. Any tips?

Have you picked strawberries yet this spring?

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Spring Joy

2012-05-18T08:27:00.000-04:00

Happy Faces

New Experiences

Gorgeous Sunshine

Outdoor Fun

Spring Joy

Hope you are having a wonderful spring!

Two posts to share... sometimes I write other places and forget to tell you here...

Growth: Can we see it?
The Real Solution

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Classic Summer Sun Tea

2012-05-17T17:00:00.000-04:00

Have you made any Sun Tea yet this year?

We did. Twice.

Yummy.

Classic Summer Sun Tea

Grab a 4-6 bags of your favorite plain tea (Don't be afraid to add in 1 bag with a flavor like mint or lemon).

Add them to a large jar full of water (I use warm water).

Set the jar in the sun for 3-5 hours.

Pour over ice and enjoy!

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Family Camping Trips

2012-05-16T14:21:00.001-04:00

Some of our best summer family memories have taken place while camping. Tent camping. Hard core, cooking over an open fire, no bathrooms in sight kind of camping.

I will tell you right up front that camping in anything other than a gorgeous, fully stocked camper with a kitchen and a shower is really hard for this momma.

The dirty, nitty-gritty of daily tent camping life is not appealing to me at all.

But, I have learned that putting those thoughts aside... grinning and bearing it... digging in and camping anyway has been extremely rewarding for our family.

In the past few years of tent camping, I've learned a lot about how to set up camp for the most family fun.

If you are planning to camp or are feeling adventurous this summer, I'm sharing with you some tips for camping success.

Preparation. I can't stress this enough. Most state park websites are wonderful and allow you to fully explore the campground online. If you are planning to camp over a holiday weekend, reserve your campsite while it is still snowing outside. If you like to camp when no one is there, plan to go when most kids are still in school or plan to camp on weekdays. Research what is available at the park: hiking trails, guided tours, petting zoos, deer feeding and so on. Study park maps. Know where the bathrooms, playgrounds, beach and camp store are located in relation to the site you chose. If you booked online, feel free to call the campground and talk to one of the staff. They will be full of extra information!

Make Lists. for Everything. When we are about to go camping, Jeremy and I plan out our meals in a word doc. For example, Monday Breakfast - pancakes and sausage, Monday lunch - sandwiches and chips, Monday dinner - Hobo pies. (When planning meals, think about which meals need a fire and which meals don't. If you are going to be at the beach all day or come in hungry from hiking, you won't want to build a fire for lunch. Something quick would work better.) Then, I figure out what food is needed to make those meals and make a list. I shop from that list. I pack from that list. For clothing, I make a list so that I remember sweatshirts, ponchos, swim cover ups... things I might otherwise forget. Think through the WHOLE day, knowing it could be hot during the day and cold at night. Your list for the campsite is very, very important. This list included things like tents, sleeping bags, tarps, flashlights, batteries, fire cooking tools, shovel, ax, clothes line, rope, broom, paper products... This is a huge list and you will need it for packing!

***Keep these lists from year to year!!! Huge help for the next time you go camping. We print a master campsite packing list to take with us. Inevitably, we forget something. When we forget something, it gets written on the packing list and then entered into the word doc when we get home so that we don't forget it again the next year!!

Plan out the campsite. This could be done on a plain sheet of printer paper. Draw out where you want your tents so you can visually see where you want things to go. After you've camped a few times, you won't need to do it at all. Sometimes, this can't be done until you've actually seen the site. If you can, take a drive by where you will camp prior to actually camping there. We bring 2 sleeping tents and 2 screen tents. We have large tarps that we lay down in between the tent entrances (as pictured above) so that we have a place for shoes and a place to sit while putting on shoes. We also try to put tarps under the tents to help with moisture. One screen tent is for playing. The girls bring games, coloring books, toys and this tent works great is the weather isn't nice or if they are tired of being "outside". You could use it for other things as well. We use the other tent for our kitchen. We put the picnic table inside and store our bins of food and coolers there.

Rubbermaid Bins. Pack everything you can, even clothes, in bins. Things tend to just get wet while camping and bins work much better than suitcases! Not to mention that racoons, skunks, squirrels and whatever other tiny creature finds your campsite will have a little more of a challenge eating your food if it is in a bin. Be extremely cautious of food left laying out. They will get it. Promise. Throw trash away or put it in a vehicle every time you leave the campsite. And while we are talking about Rubbermaid, get yourself a 10 gallon water jug. Fill it up so you have plenty of water for cooking, cleaning and washing right at your site.

Plan for the dark. It is going to get dark and your family is not going to be tired. The kids seem to find things to do if the sun is out but you don't want them wandering too far from the tents if it is dark. Skunks come visiting at that time. I know from experience. A few things you can do... bring a some shepherd's poles and Coleman lanterns. They will really help light up your campsite. You can also hang Christmas lights around the tents and trees. Bugs will get bad so stay by the fire or burn citronella candles. Bring sparklers and flashlights with plenty of batteries.

Don't worry about packing wood. Most parks won't let you bring it in. You can use charcoal or find what is available from the wooded areas of the park. We have even found great piles of wood left at unused campsites because we often camp when the park is nearly empty.

Let the kids be dirty. Stressing about clean clothes and clean hands and faces while camping will only drive you nuts. Let them be dirty. Pack clothes that can be dirty. Pack toys that can be dirty. Bring some wipes but otherwise just let them have some fun in the dirt.

Invest in some cots. Anything left on the tent floor is likely to get wet during the night. If you don't want wet sleeping bags or wet jammies, cots work well to keep you dry all night long.

Bring those electronics. I know, I know... camping is supposed to get you away from all of that. And, it does. But, having a portable DVD player or DS or phone on hand can be a life saver in a storm or during set up and take down of the camp site.

Here are some of our family adventures...

2009, 2010, 2008, 2010 #2, 2011, 2010 #3,

I'm sure you'll pick up on some other things I've learned in those posts.

Happy Camping! Make sure you come back to tell me if you went camping or let me know if your family has been tent camping!

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The Follow Up Duck Dynasty Post

2012-05-15T00:10:00.000-04:00

On Sunday night, when Jase Robertson responded to this tweet, I about fell off my chair with excitement. I read it to Jeremy and then realized that he not only responded but he also retweeted our post.

More people retweeted, responded and wanted to know about my bearded outdoorsman.

Then, A&E joined in the fun and shared my post on both their facebook page and the Duck Dynasty facebook page.

Never has our little family blog had so much excitement in one day.

Never, ever. And how much fun it was!

This post about Duck Dynasty (did you see it? if not, hop over and take a look) and the similarities between the Robertson family and Jeremy quickly became my most viewed post.

The comments here, on twitter and on facebook were amazing.

Especially this great comment:

"Cindy Wright -  The
 guys should drop everything and go kidnap Jeremy for the day, 
aaaahhhhhh!  THAT would be a great show...start with them receiving a 
copy  of that blog and getting that brilliant instant idea for any 
excuse to go out, do something wild, and have a great time doing it!   
Come on guys, do it, it would be so crazy~ Please?!"

Can I just tell you, Cindy, that I agree?!!

Seriously, can you imagine Jeremy getting to meet this family? I am laughing just thinking about it.

He would hunt, blow things up, fish, eat crawdads, make duck calls... you name it... he'd love it, be good at it and have a blast!

Oh, yes, let's do it, ok?

He does have a birthday coming up.

Now, we just need the Robertsons and A&E to ok the idea...

We'll all get right on that, alright?

It has been a blast to share with new faces how amazingly crazy and adventurous and sometimes just plan hilarious Jeremy can be.

So in honor of the fun we've been having, I thought I'd share my favorite ten posts about Jeremy.

1. The Goodwin Fishing Trip

2. A Goodwin April Fools Day

3. Frogs, Mud and Funny Moments

4. When a Goodwin goes to the Doctor

5. The Amish Beard

6. My Nature Boy at Camp

7. The Christmas Tree

8. Jeremy's Camping Fun

9. Hot Pepper Contest

10. Earth Day

Honorable Mentions:

How long have we been married? and Kinda Creepy. Not to mention the Skunk Scare!

Now you have some fun reading for your day!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by our blog... it was a whole lot of fun that made us happy, happy, happy!

*linking up with Many Little Blessings

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The Goodwin Fishing Trip

2012-05-13T19:03:00.000-04:00

I woke up Thursday knowing that Jeremy wanted to go fishing at one of our local metroparks.

I knew he had a specific place in mind. He wanted to fish by a beaver dam that he had seen while volunteering there a few weeks ago. He was sure it would be the perfect spot for our family to spend an afternoon. I'm sure he had it all pictured out in his head.

Well...

What he failed to tell me was that this beaver dam was over a mile away from the truck. Not only was it over a mile of walking, it was trekking through tall grass, brush, weeds and more.

We parked, got out and made the girls use the newly dropped off port-o-potty. He passed out something for each of us to carry and we set out.

It wasn't much after I snapped this first picture that I said, "Uhm... hon? Do you ever feel overly ambitious?"

He flashed that big Goodwin smile back at me and said, "Yeah... maybe."

Had this been earlier in our marriage I might have gotten, well... slightly miffed by the idea of carrying all of this stuff, hiking our way over a mile to a beaver dam to fish.

But, I've learned patience. trust. and maybe a little sense of adventure.

But, I still had no idea what we were walking into. In fact, poor Jeremy didn't either since he'd only been over to the beaver dam by boat and not on foot.

About 3/4ths of the way there, we realized that we were surrounded by thigh-high stinging nettle, poison ivy and thorny weeds. There was nothing to do but forge ahead praying for some grass to sit on by where we would fish.

Nope.

Jeremy's dream fishing spot was a stinging nettle heaven. The bee-sting like leafy plant was everywhere.

I could tell Jeremy was feeling bad about the stinging nettle and the girls were complaining a little of stinging on their legs but I was surprised at how well they all were doing.

Jeremy pushed down some of the high plants, set down our stuff and started setting up the fishing poles.

After a few times of the lines getting caught in branches or grass...

Abby caught the first (and only) fish of the day. A nice, big, pregnant catfish.

But, we tired quickly of that spot because it was hard to get the poles maneuvered around the trees.

We picked up our stuff and headed over a little bit towards the other part of the lake. By now, our legs were fully stung by the stinging nettle and I was ready to park ourselves on the neat sheet. I gave the girls wipes to wipe their legs off, which actually helped, and then we colored, had snacks and read one of our read-alouds that I'd brought with us. Caddie Woodlawn was the perfect distraction for my slightly distressed little family.

Nothing like being surrounded by stinging nettle to keep the girls from leaving the blanket for an hour and a half while Daddy fished!

I decided I'd better start the long trek back to the truck before I started hearing little voices who needed a bathroom. I started packing and deciding which girl was going to carry what for the mile+ walk.

Then I heard, "Mommy! Look what I thought of!"

These extra smart Goodwin girls had thought to put their sweaters on like pants to protect their legs on the way back!

So, off we went helping each other and slowly making our way through the tall brush. At one point in our walk back, since we didn't have Daddy leading us, we walked right into a really low spot of land where the grass was literally up to my waist. Annalise fell in it and I couldn't even see her! I did not stop to take any pictures at that point because, uhm... I was thinking of all the snakes in the tall grass with us!

We made it over to the other side of the lake by the parking lot and saw Jeremy making his way back too.

I know Jeremy was proud of all his Goodwin girls that day. We made our way through all kinds of obstacles, walking almost 3 miles just so he could fish.

By the grins on all our faces, I knew it had been a great day.

I remember thinking during our fishing trip that, "This feels more like a Father's Day outing than a Mother's Day outing."

But now that I look back, I am thankful for the family time that reminded me how much I love the man I married, how proud I am of my girls and how much fun we are going to have every single day of our lives on one big adventure after another.

That is a Happy Mother's Day to me.

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A Mother's Day Interview

2012-05-12T16:57:00.000-04:00

In honor of Mother's Day, I did a short interview with Annalise and Abby.

They both just make me smile.

I have a fun post coming up either tomorrow or Monday about our last fishing trip.

Another adventure with the man I married... and some cute pictures of my girls.

Have a wonderful Mother's Day, my blogging friends!

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Who's Hands?

2012-05-11T10:35:00.000-04:00

In our world, there are so many things that try to define us as women and especially as moms.

So many books, blogs, shows, tweets and people trying to make us into their definition of motherhood.

Good moms have their kids in every sport.

Good moms homeschool.

Good moms let their kids go to public school.

Good moms don't let their kids watch TV.

Good moms feed their kids organic food.

Good moms...

Our identity can easily be defined by a million different things.

Our hands can feel like they are being directed by the push of what "good" moms should do.

The reality is that our identity is defined by God and that, as His called and dearly loved child, He will equip you to be the woman that He has created you to be.

He will direct your hands to be the mom, the wife, the friend and the person that you should be.

He defines what kind of mom you need to be for the children that He asked you to raise.

If we allow our identity to be determined by any other source, we will only feel failure, discouragement and struggle.

I'm challenged daily to let my identity as a woman be defined by my Creator and allow His hands to guide my way.

My prayer is that when other people look at me, they won't see me trying to create an identity of my own, but that they will see Him through me.

*linking in with The Gypsy Mama for 5 Minute Friday - Today's word is Identity

Duck Dynasty and My Husband

2012-05-08T10:08:00.001-04:00

Have you seen this show yet?

Oh. Dear. Betsy.

This show is hilarious. It is clean, good, family fun. And, it makes us laugh.

It REALLY makes Jeremy laugh.

In fact, I don't watch TV at all and Jeremy knows that. But one night, he came to bed really late still laughing at a show he'd just watched online.

Duck Dynasty.

"Jen, you have got to watch this show with me..." and he starts laughing all over again. He loved it.

We started watching it together each week and now we can't wait for the next episode.

Gutting a duck in the kids' school, catching frogs on a golf course, turning the loading dock into a duck pond, blowing up duck blinds and beaver dams... there are moments Jeremy is laughing so hard and I know he is wishing he was standing right there with them.

I'm sure, if you've been reading our blog long enough or if you know the Goodwin family or if you have been around Jeremy for any length of time, you will know why this show is such a hit for him.

Duck Dynasty is about a family business made up of rednecks who would rather be hunting than working. The men have big, crazy beards and they love to run wild on their land. They eat squirrel, crawdads, frogs and other fun, outdoorsy things.

They live Jeremy's dream life.

The beard...

The camo...

The guns...

Wearing waders around the neighborhood...

Teaching the kids how to love the outdoors. They are learning the fine art of catching grass hoppers in the picture below.

Catching crawdads... he catches them, cooks them, eats them... loves it!

Frog catching... now he was using traps in this picture because he was volunteering for our local metroparks. But, in a dream world, Jeremy would be catching them with his hands and eating them. daily.

Any excuse to get outside and play...

Looking at squirrel things with his dad... notice his dad's beard too? Jeremy loves to hunt squirrel, eat squirrel and even took Elayna squirrel hunting last fall. I also heard that he warned his secretary that he was making squirrel brain chili for the church hayride this year. Really.

Fishing...

A deep appreciation for all things manly and outdoors.

That is my husband.

Jeremy comes from a family business and he just loves the family dynamics on Duck Dynasty because it reminds him of being home in Iowa working with his brother, his brother-in-law, his dad and the other guys.

All fun aside, there is another special connection to the show. Jeremy's brother's name is Jason. Jason passed away in 2008 in a car accident. In the show, Willie's brother's name is Jase. Willie is so much like Jeremy and Jase is just like Jason. We watch the show and laugh at how much Jase reminds us of what Jason was like all the time. The funny sense of humor, the passion for hunting over working, the crazy ideas and his love for family. For us, the show is bittersweet because I know Jeremy is thinking of his brother and how much he is missed.

So, if you haven't seen Duck Dynasty yet, well... get on netflix or hulu or A&E and watch a few shows.

You will understand my life a whole lot better after watching!

Super Moon or Super Mom?

2012-05-07T09:52:00.000-04:00

Saturday night was the Super Moon.

Supposedly, it was going to be at its best in our area around 11:30pm.

So, Jeremy and I headed outside to see it.

"You should wake the girls up."

Jeremy always says this. Meteor shower, planet sighting... whenever these exciting space-type things are going to happen, he wants to wake up the girls.

As the Mommy in the house... homeschooling or no... waking up the girls in the middle of the night is not something that I've ever willingly done.

We stood outside looking at the moon and I was thinking about getting Elayna up. She would love this. She always gets upset if she knows she missed something fun because she was sleeping.

I made the big decision to go get her up to show her the supermoon.

"Hey, Elayna... Mommy wants to show you something."

I was feeling like super mom for waking her up and doing something so exciting for her.

"The moon is extra big tonight. It is called the Super Moon!"

I helped her slip on her flip flops, knowing she was still half-asleep.

We walked outside and she looked at the moon.

She looked back at me with a face that said, "Really?"

Jeremy saw her expression and said, "It looks like a full moon doesn't it? Was that worth getting woke up for?"

Oh, he did not just say that!

I guess, Super Mom or not, Elayna got to see the Super moon.

Even if it did look just like a regular full moon!

*linking up with Krystyn for Mommy and Me Monday

Friendship

2012-05-05T19:55:00.000-04:00

"Honey, just be you. Be the kind of friend that you would want to have."

Lately, Elayna and I have been having a lot of conversations about friendship. She is getting to the age where friendship is changing from "let's play Barbies" to more conversational moments while coloring or drawing or crafting.

God has placed some wonderful girls in her life as friends and I'm very grateful.

But even in the best of friendships, young girls must learn how to be a friend to others and how to respond when a friend acts in a way that you don't appreciate.

In this stage of life, Elayna is learning what things she likes to do, what topics interest her and what kinds of activities are fun for her. She is developing conversation skills, discovering her self-confidence, and acquiring relationship boundaries. In these early years of growing friendships, she must learn to navigate conflict, misunderstandings, changing interests and friendship etiquette.

Elayna is realizing that friendship can be hard, challenging and sometimes even hurtful.

The ways large groups of little girls played together in their younger years becomes more difficult as girls grow older and start to realize that some friends are different from others, some friends might have good friends other than you and all friends have faults.

Some friends can hurt you unintentionally and sometimes you can hurt them unintentionally.

She is also learning that friendship is valuable, it is worth putting in effort and it often takes time to build.

As moms, it is our job to help our girls learn good relationship skills and give them the correct, godly tools to be good friends and have good friends.

We want to see our girls thrive in their peer groups and enjoy having many different friends. No mom wants to see her daughter struggle through insecurity, low self-esteem or feelings of not being good enough because of not knowing how to handle healthy relationships in their lives.

But, the challenge in teaching these skills comes in the fact that sometimes, as grown women, we don't always know how to walk through friendships in real, healthy and benefiting ways.

Even as adult women, our friendships can sometimes feel hurtful, disappointing, frustrating or hard to understand. We can leave an event or gathering of friends feeling like we were misunderstood or alone. We can be easily offended, feeling judged. Or, we can easily offend not realizing how our words effect those around us.

We can fail to value the gift we can be to others and cherish the gift they can be to us. We must choose to work on our friendships in ways that God would want us to.

Why is it important that we have healthy, godly friendships?

We need to remember that we are modeling friendship for our girls! We are setting the tone for how they feel about the friends in their lives. We are responsible for teaching them the life skills they need to have friendships as God intended.

If we don't know how to have healthy friendships, how can we teach that to our daughters?

If you are like me, then you think you know how to have healthy friendships. But, when I sat down to read Lisa Whelchel's book "Friendship for Grown Ups" a few years ago, I realized that sometimes I carried unhealthy habits that negatively effected my friendships.

Unknowingly, I had fostered self-dependence and insecurity that kept me from trusting women, building deeper friendships and being willing to work for valuable relationships. In some ways, I'm sure being a pastor's kid and being a pastor's wife has added to many of these attributes, but whatever the reason, I realized that I needed some God moments to help me rediscover how to have healthy friendships.

In the past week, I have talked to three different women in completely different situations about the idea of grown up friendships.

I had three very good conversations about building healthy friendship, establishing boundaries, learning to handle conflict in a godly way and discovering ways to dismantle gossip and slander from being a part of friendships.

Reaching back into the study I did using Lisa's book a few years ago, I was able to share how God has helped me to learn (and still learn) how to have, cultivate and navigate healthy friendships.

1. Evaluate - Evaluate your circle of friends. What kinds of relationships do you have? Who is the friend who always needs you for something? Who is the friend you go to when you need something? Who gives you information about family and friends? Who can you trust? Who is a friend that sharpens you spiritually? Who challenges you? Who brings you down? Who can you count on to have something bad to say? Who always has a cheerful word?

2. Expect - Expect more from yourself than from others. Be the kind of friend that you would want to have. Don't expect more from your friends than they can give you. Know your friends strengths and weaknesses and allow your friendship to grow there. If you know they can't keep a secret, don't tell them a secret. If they never call you and you always make the plans, don't expect them to call or be disappointed every time they don't call.

3. Examine - Examine yourself. Are you a good friend to others? Do you tend to challenge others or bring them down? Do you talk bad about people? Are you someone they can trust? Does insecurity drive you to act in a certain way or pull back from some friends? Do you have to talk about yourself? Do you like to hide in the corner of a group? What walls have you built in protection that have hindered you from having real friendship?

As you do these things, ask God to open your eyes to your own heart.

Some common things He may show you:

1. Gossip - This is huge for women. Learn what you can say and what you can't. Learn what friends you tend to "spill your guts" or "say it like it is" with and determine to change the tone of those conversations. I am sure we have all left a conversation feeling yucky because we may have said something we shouldn't have said. I begged God to help me remember that feeling so that I would hold my tongue the next time. God hates slander yet we sometimes get caught up in it in the name of friendship. Two skills I now use to keep me from getting in conversations that could be gossip or hurtful to others: 1. Matthew 18 - simply ask the question "Have you talked to that person yet?" If they haven't, you have no business getting involved. 2. Say, "You know what, I don't need to know any more details about this... let's take it to God. Let me pray with you." Taking either of those approaches is how we can use God's Word to protect ourselves from saying or hearing harmful things!

2. Walls - Self-built walls keep you from deep, lasting friendships. Taking the walls down can be painful and getting hurt in friendship can be painful. But, we will never be able to impact our friends or have the kind of friendships God intended if we live behind walls. Putting up walls tells God that He can no longer use you in the lives of people around you.

3. Trust - Be someone your friends can trust.

4. Fear - Afraid to be known or take the time to get involved in another person's life

Those are just a few examples.

Having healthy friendships is a skill that we need to learn, cultivate and grow in our lives.

Our handling of this topic is vital to our girls being able to experience friendships in a healthy way.

So, as I'm teaching Elayna, I'm checking up on myself, asking God what else He can show me about friendship.

I know this was a long post, but this is a conversation I've been having quite often lately... I'd love to keep the conversation going here or on our facebook page.

How do you handle teaching your girls about friendship?

How do you grow healthy friendships in your own life?

Things Mommy says...

2012-05-03T17:50:00.000-04:00

Over the past few years, I've shared "Things Mommy Says" posts. From the first one to the sick kid version to the beach version, I've realized that as moms we tend to say the funniest things.

It isn't uncommon to yell things like "Honey, don't squish any more ants!" or say "I know Daddy burps like that but we don't need to do that in the grocery store."

Now that my girls are getting older, not only do I say funny things sometimes, but my girls often have funny responses which creates some funny conversations.

Mommy: Honey, you clipped your toenails yesterday...

Annalise: I know. These ones are growing really fast!

Mommy: Give me your flip flop so I can fix it.

Annalise: Well, don't use duct tape. It doesn't work.

Mommy: Well, do you like the pizza goldfish?

Elayna: Yeah... did you see that they are named "Pizza Explosion"? Well, they taste like a pizza exploded.

Mommy: Hurry, pick them up off the ground before they get wet!

Abby: We need to hurry so the ants don't get my goldfish!

Mommy: Why are you jumping up and down like that?

Abby: Well, I'm really dry so I'm wet!

Mommy: Sweetheart, you aren't supposed to put your Popsicle juice in your water bottle. The water bottle is for water.

Annalise: I know. There is water in my juice.

Mommy: Hey, Abby. Jump up and get Daddy a fork.

Abby: But my legs are tired!

My girls never fail to make me laugh.

What funny responses have your kids given you lately?

Your Story

2012-05-02T21:53:00.000-04:00

Do you ever feel like anything that ever could happen or any topic that could be written about has already been blogged?

Do you ever wonder what you could ever come up with that might be different from what is already out there?

I sometimes browse through my reader and think, "I've thought that before" or "I've done that before" or "I've said that before." Or, even, "I never would have even thought to blog that!"

Sometimes, I read through my reader or browse links on twitter and find 4 or 5 posts that are all about basically the same thing. Oh, one might be worded differently but they are all making the same point or teaching the same lesson.

Even if they are not blogging the same things at the same time, there are so many craft blogs and so many parenting blogs and so many homeschool blogs and so many... you name it, it is out there. so many blogs targeting the same audience, blogging the same niche.

This conference, that conference. This topic, that topic. This way to do something, that way to do something.

It is human nature to want to be like someone else and follow the trendy patterns of the day. So, it makes sense that blogs would tend to have the same feel and content.

But, I don't want to write the same things or post about something just because that is the "bloggy world" thing to do.

What can I share that is different from anyone else?

What can I blog that hasn't already been written?

Now, let me just say that none of those things are a bad thing. I think that blogging and social media play a detailed and very important role in the lives of families today.

We live in a digital environment that gives everyone and anyone a voice.

We live in a world that offers a platform to anybody who wants one.

We live in a time when sharing what you know and what you've been through and what you do is easier than ever before.

We don't stand and chat over the neighbor's fence... we blog it and tweet it to hundreds.

Our posts hop from twitter to facebook to a reader and back again! From our state to our country to the world!

So, what can I share that 10 other blogs aren't sharing right now?

Me. My story. My life. My growth. My heart.

Just me and the unique story of my life.

I can share what God has done for me, in me and through me.

I can let God use my life to touch others for Him.

I don't have to say it like someone else or blog it like someone else. It doesn't have to be in the most popular format or written around the most glorious pictures muted or brightened just so...

I can share my life and know that God is going to direct the exact person who needs that post in that moment to my blog.

2 comments or 200, 5 followers or 500, low stats or high stats... did the one person who God intended to be touched by my writing get the message that day?

Did my writing reach the heart of just one person?

Is God pleased with my blog and the way I'm sharing His story in my life?

Am I allowing Him the freedom to write each post for me?

I write this post to encourage me... to encourage you.

Share your story. Blog your life. Let God use the real parts of who you are to touch someone's life today.

You don't have to stick in a niche or blog what is trendy or post what will bring in numbers.

You can blog about you, your relationship with God, your family, your ups and downs, your day-to-day events.

Why?

Because that is the story God is writing for you! He knew before you were born the events of your days and the details of your hours. That is the story He planned just for you from the beginning of time.

That is the story that only you can tell, only you can share, only you can blog.