Top Ten Posts of 2017, and Some Thoughts About 2018!

Is it really already the end of the year? 

Clearly, I blinked. 

Most of us are feeling under the weather here at our house. Plus it is so cold outside! (It is mid afternoon and the outdoor thermometer says 17) Most of us will be staying home, wrapped in blankets, eating healthy foods, sipping juice, and watch movies. (I have to a monthly menu, budget and shopping list to work on.) We will probably be in bed by 10 PM. 
The oldest got invited to a NYE party/sleepover at a friends house. Yes, our twelve year old has a more active social life than we do. 

  I thought it would be fun to wrap up the year with a compilation of our top ten posts of the year.
 I was on a writing hiatus for a long time on this blog. I didn't really pick it up again until the middle of the year. This coming year I have some plans for the blog, as well as the vlog. Yes, the vlog is still there. We acquire new subscribers every month. If you haven't been there yet, head on over and check it out! 

We are also on Facebook. I post on there, even more often than here.

Now that you know where else you can plug into the Tiny House Crew, Let's get this started!
(Click the title links!)

1. Hippie Preacher, Big Thanks, and Don't Eat The Soap!

 

 

2. Praises, Grilled Apple Pie and Real Life Large Family Mess!

 

 3. Our First Debt Free Christmas, Santa's Elves Argue Sometimes, and Deep Fry ALL THE MEATS!

 

 

 4. Tiny House Before and Afters, Minimalism Meltdown and A Little Math Humor!

 

 

5.  Kitchen Renovation Update 

 

 

 

6. Picking My Least Favorite Kid, Kitchen Update and How Weird It Was Having Only Two Kids!

 

 

7.  Bubble Tea, Free Chicken and My Husband's Genetic Flaws

 

8. Two Birthdays, Roasted Zombie Flesh, Old Lady Shoes and Crazy Toddlers!

9. Sausage Stuffed Peppers Recipe *Gluten Free*

 10. Tooth Fairy Fail, Shockingly Accurate Emoji's and Meet Precious

 It was fun for me to go back through and see some of our memories from this year. I actually forgot about a few of them. It makes me glad when I do go ahead and at least put something up to remember the week. Especially during the super busy or stressful times. It helps to remember it all. :) 

 

  It also serves as a reminder that the Lord has totally got this! He has the end result figured out before He even sets the trial before us.  He knows the end result, the lessons we have to learn and all the other people who will be effected by it. I have stood in awe and amazement at the things He has taught us this year. I cling to Him more everyday and am humbled at the opportunity to spend time at his feet each day. I have been doing my best to follow His leading in our lives...and in how I am supposed to share His love with the world we live in. One of the things He has revealed to me is this....

  I'm really hoping to get this blog to spread its wings and fly in 2018. That will only happen with a  bit more effort from me, blessings from the Lord and from our readers as well! Shares, prayers, comments and conversation keep a blogger platform moving. 

 Some of the plans for the year include taking a swing back in the direction of why I started this blog. There will be more posts about how and why we homeschool, budgeting, debt free living, minimalism and how we make our small spaces work with a large family. 

 I have a few other personal goals in mind that I plan to bring you along with as well. The topics include... finding more all natural products for our family, learning about essential oils and using them on a budget, fitting in more fitness that works for real Moms and much more.

Now that I have shared with you about my plans for the blog in the coming year, I have a request for you...the readers. 

 If you stop in every week to see what we are up to, or if you find yourself smiling or chuckling when you read a post, or if it speaks to you where you are, uplifts you, or makes you feel better about your own parenting flaws...then please feel free to drop me a line in the comments and hit that share button. Don't worry, I wont be offended. ;) It actually makes my day when I hear from you guys! 

As always, THANK YOU ALL for stopping by and following along with our lives. It means a lot to us! This place wouldn't be the same without you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

 

Blessings!

~Lyndsay

7 Quick Takes! A Recap of Life in the Tiny House This Week! Our First Debt Free Christmas, Santa's Elves Argue Sometimes, and Deep Fry ALL THE MEATS!

This is the last 7 quick takes of 2017! 

This year went fast. It has been one heck of a good year for us all here in our tiny corner of the world. 
As we round out the year I will be making a post to recap our year. 

For today, let's talk about Christmas and a few things going on around here.

 

1. Our first debt free Christmas!!

 No, that does not mean this is the first year we didn't pay for Christmas with credit cards.

It is our first Christmas being 100% debt free! Yes, the house too. 

Let me tell you, for those of you in the thick of your baby steps...keep going! It gets better!

I have had more joy and excitement this Christmas than I can remember in a decade of years past. I know it is in part because I am better, but the major factor was the debt. The Christmas ham tastes a little different on this side of the baby steps. Seriously.
2018 is about to begin. If you haven't made a budget and climbed on the Dave Ramsey wagon yet, this is the perfect time. Start your year right!



2. Santa Came! (I heard the elves arguing)



  I have been wanting to kill the Santa thing for a few years now. We have been cutting back on what Santa brings and we only currently have one 'believer', but it is so hard to do that to this kid. She is very passionate about her love of Santa. So, Santa can stay, a little longer. Especially since he seriously delivered this year. We had told the girls that there was no way we could fit a barbie doll house, in this house. Especially the last few years because, it was under construction. I didn't think it would ever fit either. However, I scoured the internet and found two that would fit! Success! 


  I had totally prepared the kids for it not to happen. Let the air out of their balloon multiple times about it. All while sitting in the hallway for ten minutes at a time measuring and remeasuring to make sure it would fit! I did some serious praying for this darn doll house. (When you live small, every item you own is a commitment!) I also had to convince the husband. I showed him pictures, discussed the dimensions and talked at length to him about it. He agreed.


  Fast forward to Christmas Eve, after he had already put the house together. We bring it into the living room and set everything up. This is when Dustin decides to start questioning the decision to have a doll house. We might have had a mini argument about the house. He swore up and down that it wasn't going to fit in the spot I had chosen. I explained to him that I had spent over an hour in the hallway making sure it would fit. He still told me there was no way. I was starting to doubt it as well at this point. 

 This all resulted in both of us crouched outside the girls room, with a tape measure, at midnight, on Christmas Eve, hissing under our breath at each other, measuring the wall...for the fifty thousandth time!

Until he finally agreed that it would 'Just barely' fit.

It definitely fit, with 1.5 inches to spare. Our tiny house has a barbie house in it! 
**Addison said Mrs Claus must have built the house, because it was so pretty!**


3. Deep fry all the meats!!

I'm pretty sure I mentioned Dustin's new hobby, his outdoor cooker. This guy takes deep frying meats very seriously. 
On Christmas Eve he deep fried a rib-eye roast. I really wasn't so sure about that, but it turned out amazing!
On Christmas he deep fried a spiral honey ham. People, this is probably heaven sent. It tasted like ham wrapped in bacon and melted into one. Perfection. 

 

 
4. Christmas randoms
 Now you get a bunch of random pics of us on Christmas. Because you know you want to see it. :)






 

Christmas with our friend MA.

5. Spend all the money! Wait, maybe not...


 A certain Grandma went BIG this year and gave each of the kids $50 cash, instead of their usual $25. The kids were blown away. So, SO excited! We went to town to blow their cash this week. Apparently some of the 'Spend, Save, Gift' that we have been pouring into them has been sticking. Each of them ended up putting some away, spending some and then they pulled together and purchased some clothes for a little girl in need.

So proud of these kiddos!

6. Ok, Christmas is over. Time to purge all the stuff!

 I am a minimalist at heart. 

 Our small house may not always look minimal. There are a lot of people in here! However, we tend to own much less than the average american family. Especially a larger than 'normal' american family. Our house is very small. Every item has to have a home, a purpose and it needs to be chosen to get to stay.

As much as I love Christmas, I am more than ready for the clutter and decorations to be gone by the eve of the 25th! I was nice and left it up until the 26th this year. Then as usual, I started my entire house clean/purge. I do it every year after the holidays. 

The major items that needed sorted this year were the book shelves. I tend to struggle with this.  I am a book lover, and a homeschool Mom. We need books to function. It is very hard for me to minimize these items. However, I was good and went through every shelf, in the house. We got rid of a lot. 5 boxes of books, two large trash bags of toys and one large bag of trash.

That is all books to donate.

The school shelf can finally breathe, and so can I. Now I can prepare for the next half of the school year. My house has to be clean for me to think.

I went full geek this time and sorted the books by subject, and grade. Then I labeled each shelf. I am also going to be getting some color coded stickers to label all of the books to their corresponding shelf. Yes, I know how over board that sounds. I can't help it. Order makes me happy.  

 

 We also went through the Barbies, baby dolls and Anna's toys. Almost all of her toys fit in these drawers. I got rid of a few more items after taking this picture. We even got super organized and labeled the drawers.

 

7. He won't tell me what it is...

  Dustin was being all sneaky on Christmas Eve. He had his face in his phone for a little while and was very distracted. Which is weird for him. He is usually very present with us.

  A little while later he informs me that he ordered something for us. I will supposedly be super surprised and excited. It is a custom order item and is would be here by Friday(today). Well, turns out it shipped late, and won't be here until Wednesday!

He is giving me the weirdest hints and it is driving me crazy.

It does not have a screen, or need wifi. It does not have to be plugged in, but it would help. I can use it in any room but probably won't want to keep it in the kitchen. The shipping weight is exactly 10.8 lbs. It is small. He also claims it is going to make our lives easier, I'm going to love it and we both will get daily use out of it.

I'm really starting to wonder what this could possibly be.

Anyone care to take a guess? 

I'll reveal what it is next week. :)

Blessings!
~Lyndsay

7 Quick Takes! A Recap of Life in the Tiny House This Week! Sisters, Chocolate Mice, and Dr Anna!

1. Family Night Out

 We promised the kids if they cut out soda for a month we would take them to the movies. They could go wild and have soda, popcorn and candy. We don't actually drink that much of it. However, our schedules had gotten a little crazy and the soda had crept in. Life being like it is lately. We just now got around to taking them. We started the challenge for the month of October. Oops!
The challenge did the trick though. Everyone broke the frequent soda habit that had started.
 We took everyone(Minus Anna. She napped at a friends house.) to see Ferdinand.
We later picked Anna up, did a little shopping and then went out for Dustin's birthday dinner. We had Japanese Steakhouse. Dustin's birthday is Christmas Day, so we try to make it special on another day too.
I took one picture of our night out. I clicked to capture the picture right as the lights went out to start the movie. You can't see it, but this is the oldest three kids, eating popcorn, clutching their candy and sipping soda's.

2. Candy Exchange at Our Local Bank

 The ladies at our local bank are so nice. We have been with this bank for years, but switched branches when the new business location opened.
 We have all really clicked. I can go in to make a deposit and end up chatting for fifteen minutes.      Sometime in the last month or so, Addison was telling one of them about the Rolo candies that we make for the holidays. The teller proceeds to tell Addison that she also makes candy. She makes chocolate mice. Addison of course is very intrigued. She offered to make us some. So we made her some of ours too. The candy swap took place this week. I'm blown away by these little mice! This woman has to have major skill and patience. I would be chucking tiny mice across the room about half way through a tray of them.
They were almost too cute to eat! But, we did eat them. We shared them with our cousins, friends and even Dustin snatched a few.

 

3. We Caved

 We caved and let the kids open a gift one day this week. Mainly because the oldest two had went to a lot of trouble to design a present for their Dad and they were not going to be able to keep it secret until Christmas Eve.
 They all opened a gift, and I made sure it was a game or something crafty, so it would keep them busy the rest of the week!
Emma opened a string art kit, Addison opened a friendship bracelet kit, Alex opened the battleship game and Anna opened a Dr Kit set.
We are terrible at waiting for Christmas to arrive to give gifts.

4. Dr Anna! Muahaha...

 I told you about the gift opening, to lead into this. Anna loves her Dr kit! She has been treating sick people since she opened her kit. The next morning, Alex was being too lazy to get out of bed on time.
I went to Anna with a very concerned face and told her that Alex was sick and she needed to go to him and help make him better until he was able to get out of bed.
 She ran to get her kit, very seriously looked at me and said 'Baby, Doctor' and trotted off to his room singing a butchered version of the Doc Mc Stuffins song.
I went to the kitchen to drink my coffee, because that Dr kit just paid for itself.

5. Challenge. Accepted.

 Ah, sisters. I'm not sure how this sister thing works. I only had brothers. So the first time that a full on, sister fight, broke out in their room this year, I wasn't sure what to do. I'm still not entirely sure what to do.
 I do find it interesting watching them interact though. This week while at the grocery store...I caved and let Anna sit in one of those gross, germ covered, car-carts. Addison is 7, but still quite small. She wanted in too.
Emma told her there is no way she could still fit in that thing. With just enough sister sarcasm to hit a nerve.
Addison crossed her arms, fluffed her feathers, tapped one slightly heeled boot and said 'Wanna bet?!'

Oh my.

She fit. Probably more out of sheer determination, and wiggling, than actually being the right size.

Like I said, this sister thing is very different. 



I'll let you know if I ever figure it out. For now, I will just rest in the fact that these two sisters managed to figure it out!

6. Lots of Friend and Family

 I forget how full our lives can be. We have lots of homeschool friends, but everyone's schedules are so busy during school. So we try to cram in all of our get togethers and fun while we are all on break.

 This week alone we have had lunch with our cousins, Visited with one family, had a pancake lunch and did crafts with another family. Yesterday my friend and mentor, Laura, came for lunch and to decorate cookies. We are seeing Marie Anne tonight. It is our Christmas with her.
We love getting to take a break and just enjoy all of the people we are blessed to have in our lives.



 

7.

 Merry Christmas From our Family to Yours!


 

 Thank you, for being our readers, and joining us on our journey in life. Our blog and lives wouldn't be the same without all of you!

Merry Christmas to you and yours, from our family, here at the little house in the big woods!


Blessings!

- Dustin, Lyndsay,
 Alex, Emma, Addison and Anna

7 Quick Takes! A Recap of Life in the Tiny House This Week! House-iversary, Christmas Break and The Great Countdown Debate!

Happy Friday and Merry Christmas!

Is your shopping done?
Are you ready for family and friends?
Have you decorated the tree and baked the cookies?

If those questions stress you out. That's ok. 
Let's change it to questions that really matter.

 Did you tell your loved ones how much you love them?
Ask yourself what was truly important this time of year?
Have you sat a little one on your lap and told them about baby Jesus?
Have you read your Bible or praised God today?

That's better! I've been doing my best to unplug for the worldy things this year, and plug into more Jesus and family. Quiet time reading with the littlest ones, reading our bibles, family dinners, lunches with Dad at work, discussing what really matters. 
I'm doing my best to focus less on the things that distract us from the most important things. 
That's why I have been here a little less. I would like to be here more, but this is a season of preteens, toddlers and ages in between. I should be watching them, because they are watching me!


1. Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

Christmas is quickly approaching. The excitement is mounting and the debate has begun once again. Do you count down to Christmas Eve OR Christmas Day??
I personally have always counted down to Christmas Eve, because our holiday festivities start on Christmas Eve.
We have a slightly split household on this. So the countdown calendar is a source of daily discussion.
It has now become a thing. If you say how many days it is until Christmas you have to specify if it is Eve or Day.

So, I ask the readers. What do you count down to?

Let me know in the comments!

So we can settle this debate once and for all. Or start the discussion at your house for years to come!


2. Just a little bit of coffee...

 This was our last week of school before our break. Actually if I am being 100% honest, we were supposed to work through next week. However, we were all starting to show sign of burn-out. It was time to call a break.
Want to know a couple signs of burn-out.

People eyes start to glaze over and stay that way for most of the day
People get antsy...kids and Moms
School gets "too hard" (Insert whiny voices)
My afternoon cup of coffee starts to look like this

  



And the kids start to leave my subtle hints, like this.

 









Yep, definitely time for a break. 

 3. Green Tree Restaurant

Dustin and I went on a date over the weekend. We visited a local place we had been talking about for a while. We have been living in our town for about 3 years now, and we have started to explore the little parts of town that not everyone knows about.(We also like to support local businesses like our own. :) ) The little restaurants and small town shops. This town is filled with so much history, and they have gone to great lengths to maintain the structures, feel and the stories.
We finally visited the Green Tree Restaurant, mainly because I friend of ours shared an article about them sourcing locally grown grass-fed beef. We had been having a steak craving, and figured it was a good place to fix it.

The food was good! We got the last two NY strip steaks of the night. The service was friendly and competent. Plus the restaurant was very clean. The best part, was the history! You can read about it here. The short story is that the restaurant was opened in that exact same building as the Green Tree Tavern is the year 1800, three years before our state was actually a state! They reopened it in 2015 as the Green Tree Restaurant.
I love history and I'm a sucker for a story like that. Pretty sure it is one of my top three favorite old places to eat in our new town. One of the other ones is The Madison, it is housed in the original Post Office building!
If you live local, or ever happen to find yourself traveling through our little piece of the world, you should make sure you try these places!

4. Holiday Bloopers

We finally took real family pictures..with coordinating clothes and both parents(Not each of us taking turns and photo shopping it in later)...for the first time since we had 2 kids!
We had already scheduled the day and then it snowed and was 20 some degrees. We were not to be deterred. At least I wasn't going to be. We planned for this, showered and everyone had recent hair cuts. THIS WAS HAPPENING!
Thankfully we have an amazing and caring neighbor and I have a kind and loving husband who tends to go along with my crazy whims.
We managed to get some good shots, but most of them are on lock down until after Christmas. Grandparent presents and what not. ;)
I am willing to share a picture with you that has made me smile and giggle every time I look at it. It is our family in a true moment of life. I'm pretty sure the blooper pics are the best.

 
 
5. Christmas Program!

Our homeschool co-op put together an absolutely wonderful Christmas Program. There was an expressive signing performance, bell choir and the older kids have put together a show choir. Have I mentioned how amazing the women at co-op are? I'm forever amazed at the talents and organized skills that come together. You put these women in a room together and things get done. I'm pretty sure they could solve world hunger and create world peace, if our Moms meeting lasted longer than half an hour each week!
My MIL even pulled me aside and asked if this was all 'just' homeschool families and 'Wow, they get a lot done!" Yep, they sure do. They take their job as education facilitators very seriously.
The program was amazing and entertaining and Anna only screamed, cried and threw herself in the floor four times. Two year olds are such a fun filled crowd. I'm calling it a win!

 


6. Addison

Someone had a birthday at the beginning of the month. Can't believe she is 7.  She picked a gold and hot pink themed cake and decorated it herself. (With a little help from Emma and myself.)

She received this shirt for her birthday. It pretty much sums up our Addison. She whirls, twirls and always glitters. She is such a blessing to our lives and our world wouldn't be the same without her in it. She told me she wants to be an "Animal Dr at the zoo" when she grows up, but also...a mom and to adopt.
Sounds like a good plan to me!

7. 4 Years!

We purchased our 'tiny' cottage in the woods on December 10th 2013. It was one of our first big huge steps toward the debt free life we live now. It was scary and I'm pretty sure we were not entirely prepared for all the level of repairs that the house would require. I knew Dustin could totally handle anything this house threw at us, but I am definitely positive that we didn't see some of it coming. 

You can read more about how we found this house here.

This house has changed a lot over the last four years. We have changed as well. The kids are growing, our lives and views on things have changed so much. I struggle to even remember where we came from or even who we were before starting this journey. The old life seems so foreign to us now. We try to sit and recall a time when credit was a part of our lives, before the tiny house project, before we learned to downsize and live small, before we really truly asked God what he wanted for our lives. 

We can't do it. 

Will we always call this house our home? I'm not sure. Forever and always are very solid and sustaining words. We are here because God placed us here. No one can say He won't move us again. 

It is funny how life can seem so mess, scary and disorganized when you are in the thick of it, but when you come out the other side of situations...you see how His divining grace was leading you through it the whole time. We were the ones not fully trusting in His will and grace. 

2013

2016 after porch completion

Blessings!
~Lyndsay