This year, the USA is celebrating its 250th birthday.
Why do we care?
We care about the USA’s 250th birthday, because we believe that the United States of America was founded on Christian principles, standing as a light for freedom and hope around the world. It is an imperfect, but radiant nation; a testament to the blessing of God on a flawed but faith-filled people. It’s a joy to celebrate the birthday of a good land!
We care about the USA’s 250th birthday, because we believe that we honor our Creator by remembering His hand in our history, so that we can set our hope in Him for the future.
“We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done… so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.” (Psalm 78:4,7)
This is adapted from our Old Fashioned Yeast Rolls, and they are used for special occasions. You can add pretty much any kind of dried or candied fruit to the recipe, and you can add flavorings to the icing, if you like.
This is not my picture, but I will update it when I make them the next time!
If you haven’t followed us on YouTube, then you are missing out on what we’ve accomplished in our garden over the past month. We have been busy little bees getting ready for our new garden season. The cold had killed a lot of our plants, so we took advantage of that and replaced most of our beds with some new metal beds. You can find links for those HERE:
We don’t have our tractor anymore, so that meant we had a lot of digging to do, and boy am I glad that part is over! There was a lot of hard work and a lot of sore muscles! We just did a little each day, and we are finally finished. I’ve started planting out a few things, but I am waiting until mid-March to get the more sensitive plants out.
Here’s a video to show you some of what we’ve been up to:
I’ve been meaning to do this post for a while, but like always, LIFE keeps happening, and things I want to do get put on the back burner. I’ve been setting small goals as I’ve talked about in previous posts, and working on things a little at a time until they are finished.
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
-Genesis 2:15 KJV
There isn’t one perfect way to start a garden, but I do have a few tips to help you get started. That’s the most important part… just get started! Remember, you aren’t stuck unless you STOP! People have been gardening since the beginning of time… it really doesn’t need to be super complicated, unless you make it that way.
I do plan to make a more detailed guide that includes permaculture principles, but this is a super beginner friendly guide to get you started.
I will say that last month went pretty well, and our home does feel a bit fuller of LOVE. This month, our theme will be JOY. We will be looking at ways that we can be more intentional in showing JOY in all that we do.
I’m going to take a quick look at what we have planned for the month so you can get a little idea about how all of our systems work with each other.
Calendar
My morning routine means that I check our calendar every morning, and here is what I am looking at:
There are few appointments that are noted, and I have reminders set in my Cozi app. We have several appointments this week, so I remind my husband about them to make sure he remembers.
There are a couple of birthdays, and I am noting the special meals in my planner.
cleaning the tops of cabinets and washing knick-knacks
deep clean the microwave and the area around it
wipe down walls and light switches
clean and declutter upper and lower kitchen cabinets
wipe all cabinet doors
deep clean the coffee maker and the area around it, restock, order supplies
declutter food storage containers
deep clean, declutter, and organize pantry
deep clean the stove top and range hood
scrub down high chairs and car seats
deep clean, declutter, and organize the island and stools
deep clean refrigerators
deep clean the floors and baseboards
declutter craft areas
change out seasonal decor and clean/declutter porches
refill bird feeders
deep water all indoor plants in the shower
scrub table and chairs
detail vacuum and shampoo the carpets
detail dust all electronics, declutter video games
deep clean/declutter toy shelves
flip mattresses, clean under beds
deep clean/declutter closets
deep clean/declutter office area
refill/restock printer and homeschool supplies
deep clean bathroom cabinets and trash cans
deep clean toilets, plunger holder, and toilet bruch holder
restock first aid kit and other bathroom supplies
deep clean laundry room, vacuum out lint filter, restock supplies
We usually tackle one or two these every day or every other day to get them knocked out.
Some of the yearly chores for this month are:
pressure wash house
wash outside windows
buy new water filters for our Berkey system
Sometimes the kiddos are tempted to skip over chores, but it catches up to them later on when things break down or run out. We are trying to teach them important skills that they will need later on in life, skills that will hopefully make them successful in all that they do.
Homeschool
Today, I check my Homeschool Manager app for anything that I might not have added to the main calendar. I normally look over the next week’s schedule on Thursdays, after we finish our school work.
I note when we plan to start back.
I add the appointments to the monthly lesson plan calendar as well, so I can plan accordingly. I realize that I may need to alter our start date and just use that as a Home Blessing day to get the house back in order, so I just swap a few things around really quick.
I also go ahead and update the sites for our lessons so everything is set to go for Monday!
These quick changes will keep us from having a very frustrating week back to school… at least I pray it will.
This month, I will be focusing on adding Health and PE tasks to our homeschool routine, so I will look over those tasks to see what I can work in with our lessons.
Health & Physical Education (March)
Things start to warm up in March, and we can really get active around the house and yard. This is the perfect time for some Spring Cleaning, so we can discuss the health benefits of maintaining a clean home as well as the importance of staying active.
Lent also starts in February of this year (2026) so this would be a good time to learn about that, if you desire.
Some ways we are doing this are:
Stewardship of our bodies:
research what it means to care for our bodies as ‘Temples of the Holy Spirit’
discuss how we can honor GOD through movement, moderation, and exercise
Sportmanship and Teamwork:
promote good sportmanship
discuss the value of teamwork
emphasize virtues like kindness and respect
Research Bible verses on cleanliness and staying active:
Check accounts to see what payments have cleared, and highlight them on the worksheet
Note any bills still left to pay
I usually do this first, so I know what I have left to spend. My bill pay worksheet makes things much simpler as I can see what I have paid, and what needs to be paid.
I write in the birthdays and special holidays for the month, and then add those ingredients to the grocery list. Clicking on the link will give you a ready-made list of holidays for the month and links to recipes and menu ideas to make them special.
I look over the planned meals and pencil them in.
I note the days when we have appointments and swap those meals for easier meals, if needed.
I check the grocery list that the kids have been filling out on the fridge, and add items to the main list.
I also check my pantry restock list to see what I need to add to the list, if money allows.
I make sure I have the ingredients to preserve the produce that I plan to pick up this month as well. I will add supplies to the grocery list, if needed. Some of these posts have not been published yet, but you should be able to find the printables in the library.
I will either schedule a time to go shopping or place an order for groceries and set a delivery or pickup time that works for us. When I go to town, I usually plan to take care of several errands at once.
At the beginning of the month, I will also place a Sam’s Club order for bulk supplies to be shipped, as well as any supplies we need from Amazon.
Some of the produce I’d like to buy for preserving:
Strawberries
Blueberries
Dried beans for canning
If money is short, we can skip the restock and the preserving items until next month. I don’t like to skip things too often, but we do have our pantry pretty well stocked, and as long as we replace what we use, we should be fine.
Garden & Animals
I usually try to get feed and garden supplies once a month to cut down on the number of trips I make to town. The feed store is in the opposite direction of our normal grocery store, and I need all the space in the back of the van for feed, so I can’t really combine these tasks, or I would.
I go out to the greenhouse and garden just about every day, so I keep a running list of things that I need. I will also check my monthly list of tasks that need to be done. I went over my lists this weekend, and I have:
placed online orders for seeds and plants
I need to:
get some more seeds started for the Spring
finish getting the wood chips put down in the garden
transplant some of the cool-weather crops out to the garden beds
set up bird feeders
deep clean the coops/pens
We finally finished putting the garden back together!
Some of the tasks are also listed with my yearly tasks to make sure that I don’t forget them 🙂
I also check with the kids to see what animal feed we have, check that against my master inventory list, note down what we need in my phone, and then I will make time to go get the feed. I try to combine a few tasks during the same trip.
When I go to get the feed I will:
get feed and animal supplies
pick up seeds or plants at the Farm Center
check with the nursery to see what they might have available
stop at the grocery store, if there is anything we need before the next grocery order
fill up with gas on the way home
When I get home, I always have the kids unload the feed right away, mix anything that needs to be mixed, and put the surplus in the old freezer that we use for storage. Once the feed is taken care of, they will clean out the back of the van 🙂
I try to make sure to do this mid-week, as Fridays & Saturdays are a bit crowded at the Feed Store. It’s always a bit stressful when we get too low on feed as well, so by making sure we have a regular schedule, we can alleviate some of the stress and replace it with PEACE, as we know we have what we need. We can also use these tasks as ways to show LOVE to one another.
To-Do List
I also like to start a To-Do List because things always pop up that I can’t fix right away. I also find things when I am out in the garden that need to be taken care of, I will usually snap a photo and then add it to the list if it can’t be taken care of right away.
This is our list so far:
Master Bathroom
Fix Master Bedroom Floor
build new garden beds – we finished the first ones, but then bought more
add solar lights to chicken coops
finish chicken tractor
hang cameras
put the StarLink on a pole
add trellises to garden beds
create a sensory garden and/or integrate sensory-themed activities into our existing garden – we do have a special surprise coming for this area!
Finish our new poultry area
Build a new area for our bunny
It isn’t too long yet, but it will grow longer the further we get into the year… hopefully, we can stay on top of it.
This is just a quick look at my weekly plans… I have all month long to work on some of them, and I will try to knock out as many as I can. I know that by handling the smaller things now, it will free up time I might need in the future for BIGGER and BETTER things. A little maintenance helps to keep things running nice and smooth… it also helps us to appreciate all that we have been BLESSED with.
I pray that you will find something useful in these links.
Pollywog's Place Blog 