Modernfarmhousefamily

Dear Griffy, Happy 3rd birthday 🎉! Swipe to see how his sweet cheeks have stayed so squishy since birth! Griffy we mean it when we say that you are a delight. Our little “dollop” with full cheeks, double dimples and the best hugs and kisses. Your giggle is our favorite! It’s no secret that you have had your fair share of tough moments and struggles these past couple years. But you’ve come so far and dad and I love that your spirit is strong and resilient. Just in the past few months your development has exploded. You are talking a ton, understanding even more and this past month you practically potty trained yourself! You are sweet and quiet as you play. You love being around everyone but play often by yourself quietly with trains, cars or animals. You love to read books and sing songs. You especially love dancing! Everytime you hear worship music you lift your hands automatically! Your spirit just knows God’s love so richly. You love swimming and this year you wakesurfed with mama and loved it. You LOVE to bake with mommy and crack the eggs. You’re my official taste tester! Snack time is your favorite too. In fact- it’s hard to keep you out of the snacks 😂. You continue to shock us with your bravery and what you are willing to try. At the same time, there is no one that loves a snuggle more than you. I treasure our after nap snuggles and that every morning when Lucy wakes up you come in with me because you two are best buds and you want to love on her too. You are so sweet and gentle with her and you always have been. Griffy- daddy and I see such a sweet gift of worship and praise in your life. You are an overcomer and God is going to use your testimony to reach others for him. Your sweetness draws people in and we pray you always know who loves you most. The Lord and all of us- especially daddy and mommy! We love you sweet boy! Love, Daddy and Mommy

Dear Jude, Happy 12th birthday 🎉! Swipe for his birthday pics over the years. Since the moment you made us parents, we couldn’t be more proud. Who you are is so obviously loving, caring, compassionate and just. You are trustworthy and full of integrity (just like your daddy) and have a strong sense of right and wrong. You care tenderly for your siblings and have their backs in everything. You ask so many questions and I love it because you love to learn. In school, you have been easy/a joy to teach and the same goes for everything in life. You learn with joy and humility and your heart is 100% pure. We love watching you deep dive into fun hobbies like 3d printing and survival bushcraft. You spend your days reading (you devour books), playing outside and teaching yourself survival skills like building shelters, all alongside your brothers. You love every sport you try and would do them all if you could. But if you had to pick favorites they would probably be baseball/basketball and wakesurfing! And best of all, in all you do, you love the Lord and shine so brightly for him! This year we’ve seen such a growth of the Holy Spirit inside of you. You are hearing His voice and writing what you hear into beautiful worship music. It’s so incredible watching you grow in the Lord. Jude, we can’t get enough of you! You bring so much LIFE into our home and lives. Grateful for how hospitable you are and how you value others. It’s fun to watch you be generous and give in many areas of your talents and love. With each year you grow- daddy and I believe life and the Lord are going to continue exploding within you in the best way. We see such a gifting of morality and purity in you. We encourage you to keep keeping Jesus first and watch what He does in your life! We are excited to have a front row seat to His unique calling for you! And don’t forget to keep snuggling your mama and dad along the way! Don’t grow up too fast on us Jude. It’s a joy to know and love you deeply. Love, Dad and Mama

This past weekend, Tim took the older boys on their annual cousin camp out and backpacking ! It was Crew’s first year joining in and he was so excited. Swipe to pic 3 for the prettiest view. They hike in a couple miles and camp as basic as it gets! Around 8 dads and 20ish kids and the dads plan it all (my favorite part)! I know how special and important these times are. Times where they enjoy the outside with no distractions, carve things out of wood, find ways to forge the lake with the logs around them, fish and eat what they catch and hangout with family! I know they will treasure these memories as they grow- and they already do! Thanks Tim for being an incredible dad that gives our kids all sorts of fun experiences. You are amazing!! Ps. If you followed my stories- the freeze dried fettuccini Alfredo worked! Tim said it was awesome and so light to pack in! Good to know for the future. Raise your hand if you grew up ⛺️ camping!

Saturday night sunsets and snaps! Don’t you love our mismatch outfits (and jammies and swimsuits 🤣)? It’s a little bit of everything around here. Papa and Nana left this week after almost a month stay with us. I treasure this time with them every summer. When they are here, you guys often message telling me how much you love seeing them, hearing their wisdom and watching as they create memories. So many of you also tell me how even though you don’t have that in your life, you love getting to see how they create legacy and tradition and that you want to do the same! And I can tell you they’ve never done it out of obligation, but rather obedience to follow the call God placed in their lives to create a legacy that is wonderful and fun and full of the Lord, and even beyond earth, one that reaches to heaven. I could tell you stories from my family and Tim’s family where sacrifices have happened, choices to live differently have been made and lives have been more fulfilled because of it. Tim and mine included. I’m so thankful for the foundations that were laid by both our parents and grandparents for us and that I can continue to choose certain things to carry in my family and also add in the unique giftings God has given Tim and I for our own family. The cool thing about legacy is that it’s a choice. Someone before you made a choice for better or for worse and that began a ripple effect to you. *If for the better, then you can choose to continue that for you and those after you, making adjustment along the way and listening for what the Lord would have you do in your own family and life. *If for worse, then you can choose to discontinue what was started and start fresh for you and those after you, for the better. The important thing about legacy is we have to think beyond ourselves! The cool thing about legacy is we all get to choose. And that should be an encouragement to us all!! My parents have this old sign that’s been hanging in their house since before I was born. I think they got it as a wedding gift. And it says one of my favorite verses in creating legacy: Joshua 24:15b “…But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” AMEN!

This was a cup above all other games 🤣🥤 (see what I did there?). Play this next time you’re with a group of people! Thanks @agirlandagluegun for the inspo! Our family had a blast!

Summer family STAYcation 2024!! We ended the best few days together with our annual crab feed including 25lbs of crab!! Griffy with his bib in pic 2 might be my fave☺️. Would you join us for the crab feed or is that not your thing? Lots of sun and heat ☀️, lots of pool time 🏊 , lots of lake time 💦 , lots of good food plate 🍽️ , lots of naps 😴, lots of games 🥇, lots of shave ice 🍧(of course) and just totally relaxing! So thankful for family traditions but it’s the family that makes them special! After dinner we played a bunch of new games that I’m hoping to put in a reel as well! I’d love to hear your favorite family tradition in the comments ⬇️

Today was an extra special day!!! Hudson chose to be baptized and we are so overjoyed at his deep love for The Lord and the unique adventurous/brave spirit God has put inside of him! Hudson, we pray this would be a marked point in your life that you would always remember! We are so proud of you! Shared his baptism video in stories with permission from Hudson 💙 This is a decision we leave up to our kids and Hudson has been asking for almost a year. Today was amazing timing since we had family from both sides who could be here. So thankful for such a rich godly heritage on both sides of our family!! This week was extra special as Hudson and I sat together each day to talk and learn about what baptism meant and what he was choosing, as well as to pray together. That was special time for the two of us. Thank you also for your kindness and support in this community no matter what you believe 💙.

We want to bless TEN of you 🥳! To add some fun to Amazon Prime Day and lots of great deals (don’t miss our stories), throughout today we are sending TEN of you a $50 Amazon gift card to shop with! All you have to do is like this post and comment PRIME below and we will send you a link to our storefront with our favorite deals. Then shop through one of our links (even if you don’t buy what we posted) and that’s it. Keep an eye on our stories to see if you win!! Quite possibly the easiest giveaway don’t ya think? I’ll be tagging winners in stories throughout the day. Thanks for being friends and a part of our community here! **This isn’t sponsored by Instagram or Amazon. Just a gift from Tim and I because we are grateful for you all!

I think Jude had the coolest segment here 🤣. If there is one thing l’ve learned from homeschooling, it’s that I have a lot of things to learn ☺️. But each year I feel like I’m able to see areas where we can improve. But if someone would’ve given me these tips early on, I know they would’ve encouraged and helped me. So I’m sharing with you!! 4 things to know before you homeschool: 1: Be flexible, change can be GOOD! Don’t be afraid to switch things up. Whether that’s schedules, ways of learning, etc. find what works best for each child and your family! 2: Aim for a start and finish time! This helps it not be drawn out through a whole day (which I used to do). That just made our days feel never-ending. A start and finish time keeps everyone on course (with flexibility built in that). 3: Enjoy the processes of learning! I mean it!! It’s so easy to get frustrated. But there is so much joy in getting a front-row seat to your child’s learning. It’s the coolest thing ever to watch that light bulb moment when they understand what you’re teaching. 4: Great curriculum can make all the difference! And a good attitude does too! Do your research on curriculum and be confident in how you teach. You’ll find your style and even switch it up a few times. Buy a curriculum with a solid foundation that equips you for teaching. It makes a huge difference in your days and confidence. We love ours from @abekahomeschool and have used it for 6 years! If you are new to homeschooling, Abeka is now offering $100 off full-year, full-grade Abeka Academy (accredited option), $50 off “Abeka Your Way” full-year, full-grade video lessons, and 10% off “Abeka Your Way* kit purchases. Full-year, full-grade purchases only. If you have any questions about the different options or what to buy, feel free to ask me and I’ll help as much as I can! Details: Must purchase by September 23, 2024 and use code NEW24 to receive offer. #sponsored #abeka #abekahomeschool

When your family vacation picture happens to be in front of the outhouses 🤣 I take what I can get these days! Swipe to see more cute faces (hard to choose my faves) and make sure to see the BEST picture of Papa and Nana at the end. I just happened to quickly snap it and it’s seriously a framer. They are the best and we actually have a fun gifting coming up with Nana this month before they leave 😉. We had the best time at Silverwood today! A fun summer tradition for our family. Anyone else visit here? What’s the nearest theme park to you?