A kindergartener, a preschooler and a toddler ride in a car...

...for over 5 hours tomorrow because we're going to the BEACH! We planned the trip last night and we're leaving in the morning, so we're super busy. But I wanted to stop in and let you know our plans for keeping the kiddos busy during the car ride. 

New toys or activities are always key in entertaining them for the long run. If you want instant entertainment for your kids, buying something new is usually key, but it doesn't have to be expensive! I took the kids to the Dollar Tree and we picked out some super cheap toys for the ride. 

I bought 3 cookie sheets, 3 packs of stickers, 2 coloring books, a pack of construction paper, a bag of lollypops and (not pictured) 2 zipper pencil pouches. Grand total: $12. My girls are 5 and 3 and are still in a high back booster and a carseat, so there's not a lot of room or mobility available. The pencil pouch was perfect for them to keep crayons in because they can shove it down next to them in their seats without worrying about it falling onto the floor. 

I did a quick Pinterest search for car activities and the only thing I found that was super quick was to use magnets and cookie sheets! I thought it was brilliant because all 3 of the kids love magnets, so Noah could have some new entertainment as well. These cookie sheets have high sides (are they still considered cookie sheets? I have no idea) so the girls can put papers, crayons and stickers inside of them when they're not using them for magnet play. We bought this magnet set from Amazon for Annabella's birthday this year, so I pulled magnets out of the set for them to use in the car tomorrow. I put letter magnets in Noah's cookie sheet because they were bigger and safer for his curiousity.

Here is a photo of my lovely assistant. :)

I put the stickers and crayons in the pencil pouch and I cut the pieces of construction paper in half and gave them both a big stack of that with a variety of colors. Between the stickers, crayons, construction paper and new coloring book, I think they'll be absorbed in art for quite a while. I put everything in little bags that they already have (we got them for $1 at Walmart last year) and I'll also let them choose a few small toys that they'd like to bring with them. We're leaving super early in the morning, so we're hoping they'll sleep the majority of the time anyway. They already have child sized neck pillows and blankets in the van. 

This is a really simple idea. I'm trying to simplify things lately, especially with the children. There were so many complicated, expensive and time consuming ideas on Pinterest and while they were great, I just wasn't going to go to that much trouble and I didn't have enough time anyway. When we were kids, we'd sit in the backseat and play with a stuffed animal and sleep, right? They'll live. We'll talk, sing, and plan our trip while they're not distracted. Plus, we have lollypops. And lots of other snacks. :) 

Wish us luck! Pray for our safe travels. And have a fantastic weekend! Happy Independence Day!!!  

Are you going anywhere this weekend? Tell me all about how you're planning to keep your little monsters entertained in the car in the comments below! 

An Invitation from my Husband

My husband wrote this post on Facebook today. Both of us have been so bothered and so hurt from the insults, unrest, and verbal wars on social media. All that we ask is that you please choose for yourself. Make your own decision. Don't let being "cool" make your decision for you. If you don't live near us, please find a reputable church near you to visit. A reputable church will cite the Bible word for word and they will invite you at the end of service to accept Jesus into your heart and pray at the alter. Be a leader, not a follower. 

****************************************************************

I’ve been observing the social/political unrest here on social media for the past
week. I have seen a lot of hate and disdain come out and frankly I’m appalled by it. The libertarian in me wants to explode from the unconstitutional precedence set by high-jacking the 14th amendment to obliterate the 10th. Or from the gross over reach of power by our judicial system into the legislative branch (in which it had no power, until everyone let it happen without as much as an afterthought). Big government is dangerous. Denying states their explicit powers is dangerous and also unconstitutional… but I digress.

My biggest concern is the unadulterated hate that is so narrowly focused on Christians. Under the self-righteous credo, “love wins”, my Faith has been pulled through the dirt and belittled into a “2000 year old fairy tale”. But I’m not mad. I understand the societal pressures to be “hip” and “progressive”. Everyone seems to have the same 10 defenses holstered and ready draw at the next duel of “holier than thou” vs. “I don’t believe in a god that doesn’t fit my list of criteria”. I have removed myself from these conversations completely (with the exception of this post) mainly because I don’t want to fuel the fire. So many conversations, so many self-expressions, so many playful jabs have been vilified and have pushed people apart, further away from what really matters.

So to avoid all of this, and because I am not the most eloquent conversationalist, I won’t divulge into theology or which side deserves to be the loudest. I just simply want to say that I love you. I am genuinely concerned for you as a person, as an individual, as someone that has impacted my life. And because of that I want you to come sit with me one Sunday morning. (Sorry, not this Sunday. I’ll be at Jekyll Island riding sea turtles). But all the Sundays after that, I want you there. Not because one side is right and the other wrong; just simply because I love you.

10:45 am
Woodlake Baptist Church
3940 GA-138
Covington, GA 30014 (Basically Walnut Grove)

DIY Milk Bottle Decor

With the explosion of farmhouse style (thank you Joanna Gaines!) people have been using a lot of vintage items for decor. I jumped right on the band wagon when we decided to redo our kitchen and aim for a farmhouse feel. The style is so traditional and I really feel like it's going to be around for a while, so we felt comfortable going with the current trend. Plus, I LOVE my farmhouse sink, so I don't care if it's out of style next week, I will forever love it. FOREVER. 

Moving on...

I haven't revealed our kitchen makeover just yet, but I will be in the very near future. For now, please settle for a quick DIY milk bottle project. You can buy milk bottles for anywhere from $5-$20+. It's not that we can't afford a $5 milk bottle, but we already had so many frappuccino bottles on hand and they look just like milk bottles!

This is so simple that it's barely a DIY post. It's more of a "Hey, have you realized this yet?" post. The possibilities with dressing these up are endless. You could paint, distress, use chalkboard labels, fabric, etc. After peeling off the label, I chose to tie lace tulle to the middle of the bottle and wrap jute around the neck. I really think I may paint and distress some soon for another part of the kitchen. I put them on a tray we bought from Ikea and put a dried hydrangea in one of them and BOOM, it's immediate farmhouse decor for FREE. 

Thanks for reading! Now go get that coffee you so desperately need and add a little farmhouse charm to your home! (To see all of the details on the buffet, check out this post!

**UPDATE: Click here to see our Farmhouse Inspired Kitchen reveal**

Our DIY Farmhouse Styled Buffet

I haven't revealed our farmhouse inspired kitchen, but it's coming very soon! Right now, I'd like to show you how I styled the buffet in our eat in kitchen. The kitchen is very large, divided by an island in the middle. In a bay window we have our dining set from our old dining room and the buffet. The wall behind the buffet is HUGE, so it was really difficult to style. I wanted the room to feel cohesive AND like it was two separate spaces. It was a challenge. I kept the farmhouse style with the items on the buffet, wall decor and the furniture we already had was very farmhouse-y. 

Here is how I styled our buffet for a cohesive farmhouse feel with items we had from around the house. 

I am the queen of DIY. I will scrounge up items from around my house and make decor way before I'll go buy something new. I painted both of the thrifted frames that are in the back. The on the left is framed scrapbook paper and the one on the right is a botanical print from a book that I bought super cheap from Amazon. (There will be details about that in the kitchen reveal) The milk bottles that you see are DIY projects as well. You can see what I made them from here. The Ikea tray that they're sitting on is the only new item on this buffet. But it's so pretty and it resembles eyelet lace, so I couldn't resist buying it.

The plates hanging on the wall were thrifted. They were $0.25 each. The one in the middle is extra special because that is a plate from the same exact dish set that my great grandmother used to own! It's not her actual plate, but it's identical. And it makes me feel so warm and happy when I see it. I can remember her serving delicious meals on those plates and how much fun it was to handwash them while I got to stand on the stool at her house. I can't believe I just happened to come across one at the thrift store. 

The tea pot, sugar bowl and Japanese statue are from my dad's mom. She passed away and I inherited a lot of treasures from her.  The books that the tea pot is sitting on are mechanic books from my husband's grandfather. They're very old and very beautiful. It's very important to me to decorate with meaningful items. Seeing a plate like my great-grandmother's, dishes from my grandmother and books from Jonathan's grandfather are daily reminders of those that we love and miss so deeply.

You can see the full buffet here, which surprisingly we bought from Ikea. It's discontinued now. You can tell how long the wall is that spans through the eat in portion all the way to the rest of the kitchen. And beside the buffet is a chair that used to sit beside my grandmother's bed. I recovered the cushion with some extra fabric I had lying around and I left all of the marks on the chair because wood needs marks-it needs scratches, bumps and creases for character.

Thank you so much for reading! For more posts, please subscribe to emails from Our Journey in Love! Comment below with any questions and let me know if you've fallen on the farmhouse bandwagon!!