Motherhood

Planner Nerd, Planner Community, Planner Goodies….

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Are you a planner Nerd?…

With life being as crazy as it is…I really don’t know how people live without a planner.  Now planners come in all shapes and sizes and those of us who would classify ourselves as part of the “planner community”, we love them all!

I started with a little pocket one that I received in the mail at age 19 and I soon refile_0009alized when I started working that this was the only thing that kept me out of trouble from double bookings.  I was working 3 jobs and of course trying to have a social life.  Now fast forward to 30+ years later and here I am still using a planner to keep my sanity….but even better… I use several.

Planners are part of my daily dress and essential to thfile_000e day and something that I would classify as an accessory.  In addition to classifying my planner as an accessory…I love bags (another sign of a planner nerd), earrings, scarves, shoes, bracelets and lipsticks (yes that was plural lipsticks).  A planner to me is my life line…not only for keeping my schedule in order, but I faithfully use an A – Z file system for basic notes I need to keep for lists, journal notes, important info you just don’t know where else to store it…. and so much more.

When I started out it was just a calendar and now as you can see I use it for so much more.  How do you use your planners?  Which kind(s) do you use? My favorite and my go to is a file_0006Purple Personal size Malden Filofax.  I must admit I am hooked on Filofax anything. I then use a faux Malibu by Franklin Covey for my house binder/planner; I have an A5 Color Crush for my blogs posts and a Travelers notebook that I tried using for my go to ….but now it stares at me for a purpose.  I also have a small pocket-size Target planner that I use for my church schedule, notes, and ministries that I am involved in.

My home office has turned into my planner office (or at least I like to think of it that way). Yes of course, the Dollar Tree and Target Dollar Spot and I have become good friends when I am looking for my planner goodies.  Speaking of planner goodies….anyone interested in a give a way?  See notes below….

I am obsessed with sticky notes, pens, and page flags….YIKES…I am a planner nerd!  I have a wonderful pen pal and we do an exchange every other month.  She lives in Europe so it is fun to exchange USA items and European items together and even though we have never met in person, I consider her a great friend.

My family and friends think I am nuts…and I probably am and that is just fine with me. Planners are fun for me and I enjoy not only using them in a practical way… but I am enjoying decorating them as most of you do too.  Washi tape is a stapfile_0005le in our home!  Stickers and any other goodies that I can use…help me be as creative as I want to be.  What goodies do you all use?  Where do you like to shop?

A few years ago, I became bored with the normal neat, schedule planner look and so the search began for me to find a new and different way to use my planner….and so it began. Once I watched You Tube…it  opened a world to me of planners, planner love and planner people which lead to Facebook groups for planners.

file_0008I began decorating and using this outlet as a quick creative way to fill my crafter need. Since my days are sooo busy these days and time is short for crafts and scrapbooking…this fills the gap.  I now enjoy scrapbooking and making junk journals which for me are much easier than the normal scrapbooking and  I love to use Travelers Notebooks for my junk journals. It keeps in small and neat and simple for me.

Well there you have it….my planner story. What is your story?  I would love to hear from you and all about your planners, goodies, where you shop, what planner you like the best and how you use them.   Leave a comment below and let me know.

Extra goodies are overflowing in my office with extra pens, sticky notes, andfile_0002 washi etc… They are piling up and in light of connecting with other planner buddies….I am going to do a give-a-way .  I am thankful for this creative outlet and I would like to bless someone with some goodies.

Here are the rules for the give-a-way:

  1. You must leave a comment below
  2. You must follow my blog
  3. You must live in the USA
  4. You must love planners

I am looking forward to seeing who wins….I will give you until December 24.  At that time I will pick a winner with the best story in the comments.

 

Lynn A. C. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

 

NO PLACE LIKE HOME…

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img_05672 Corinthians 5:8b (NLT)

…for then we will be at home with the Lord.

There is no place like home….how many times have we heard this phrase or even shared this thought with someone. As children we watched a show where it was stated over and over again …”there’s no place like home, file_000-5there’s no place like home.” The older I get the more tender those words have become for me.

It was a rainy dark, cold nightfile_000…and we needed to head out right after a long day of work… many errands were scheduled for that night. The rain and the darkness
added to the mood of the night. I leaned over to my husband and said, “Tonight is a night that I really feel like just going home.” It was one of those intense nights when you just needed to be “home.”

What is “home” to you? It is a feeling, a place or a building or maybe something that is so indescribable but so wonderful to you? Home should be what makes you feel good, safe, secure and warm…as they say a place to hang your hat. Home is what most of us long for.

Home for me is my safe haven, a warm cozy place, a place where I feel like I belong, and a place like no other. It is a place where I can feel welcomed every time I walk in the front door. I can be greeted by a family who loves and accepts me for who I am. It is a place that feels familiar, and the sights, sounds and even smells are something that I enjoy and long to be around.

How many times have we been at the bedside of a sick friend or relative or at their funeral and heard it said that they are in a better place….that they are “home”file_000-2 now. Or even a person who is not well has referred to the fact that they just want to go “home”. Where is this “home” that they are referring to? That feeling or longing to go home to a safe, secure place, a place with a sense of freedom, a place so indescribable, but you know that you want to be there.

Take a minute and imagine with me a new home…will you be there with me? I am in the process of having a mansion built for me. I know it will be just the right size, shape and color. The builder knows my every need and He will have prepared a place for me that is so perfect that I could not want anything else. The minute I walk through the gate I will know that I am “Home”. I will be surrounded by my brothers and sisters. I will love the sights, sounds and smells to the point that I will want to stay there for eternity. Someday I will walk streets made of gold and cheavenly_sky_by_d168all it my home. Are you ready to go to this home if the Lord were to call you? Have you done your housework so to speak? Have you made things right with Him so that when it is time to go “Home”, you will be ready? As the verse above states…….for then we will be at home with the Lord.

Lynn A. C. Wilson – Resume of a Mother & Fresh Brewed Devo’s Series

 

 

Sky Zone, Homeschool, Gym Time & Socialization….

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It is aimg_7508lways great to have a family day out and it is even better when you can share it with friends!  We attend a homeschooled day out every other week at our semi-local Sky Zone.  If you have never heard of this it is a very large trampoline fun place as you can see in the pics.  Sky Zone does a great job of accommodating all ages and skill level and they keep the kids moving to each event they offer.

We meet up with some of our regular homeschooled friends we have made and also try to meet some new families each time we attend.  It is great to meet up with other homeschoolers from all different backgrounds, religions, and areas of NJ.  As much as we have our own faith and teach our children along that line….we also like them to know what others believe and even though we might not agree we can learn to be respectful of them as a person and a family.

How do you spend your gym days for Homeschooling?  Send a note below in the comments and tell us what you all do to have fun and still get some exercise in.

Lynn A.C. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

It feels like Autism is contagious in our family…..

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Autism is part of img_7357our daily life…..and we are still learning every day what this means to be a family of special needs!  We adopted our youngest son 13 years ago and we had no idea the ride we were in for!

Gavin has Autism along with other disabilities which can make it hard to know which issue he is having and which disability it belongs to.  They are can actually run together to make for a fun day at times.  It would also take us on many adventures and journeys that as a family we never knew we would go on.

In the  beginning he had “quirks” as img_8847we would say since we didn’t know that they were linked to being Autistic.  Things like loud noise, certain movements, lining things up, repeated show watching, talking to trees in back yard, repeating lines from shows he has watched consistently, eating certain foods and putting them on his plate in a certain order…. and many more things. I am sure if you have someone in your life who is Autistic you can relate to the above and probably add so much more to this.

A funny thing happened along the way…we have found that we too can no longer handle a certain noise level, crowds make us uncomfortable, we use the large handicap bathrooms instead of the regular stalls for more space to move around in, I find I myself lining things up on my desk and doing little crazy things like lining up my pen cap to the writing on a pen and other unusual things. YIKES….he rubbed off on us, and we love it!!!img_0315

At first we didn’t even realize what we were doing and how we were changing….but then after looking back we can see it more and more how we have changed.  You know what the best part about this is for us….is that we can relate to our son.  Even through others see these things as usual, we find them to be a gift and a blessing to better understand him.

Our son lives in a world that he cannot always relate to…he lives in a world that is backwards img_0324and inside out for him.  I heard the other day on a TV Christmas program…that if you don’t fit into the box….then get another box! Yes, yes, yes……that is just what we all needed to hear.  Gavin’s box or life is his own special package and that is how he was created to be.  Could the Lord have stopped him from being this way, absolutely….but he chose Gavin to have this gift of Autism and we feel that he is rubbing off on us so that we can relate  & understand him better and others with disabilities. To be able to share some of his struggles and in turn try to can help him learn to adapt to this world we live in, by finding the right size box for him!

Do you have a loved one that has Autism or someone who does not fit in a box?  Share you story with all of us in the comments below….I would love to hear from you!!

Lynn A.C. Wilson – Resume of a Mother