The Bright Eyed Brunette

  This blog has become very important to me over the years.  I have been able to use this not only as a creative outlet, but I have also been able to do some research, learn a new hobby, and even interact and meet a few new friends.  Social media can be such a great tool!   I try to be honest and open and share what I can on here, not just happy, or inspirational stuff, but our hardships and struggles as well.  I never want to depict our family as the "perfect little family" on social media.  For that reason, I try not to over share.  Over the past few months, I have struggled to find a good balance here.  I'm struggling with things in my personal life that I'm not able to share on here.  I have chosen to continue to share the things that are getting me through it.  Family time, my animals, planning in my planners, and homeschool.  I feel like a bit of a fraud though in sharing positive things right now when I feel so broken....

 I haven't been posting on Wednesdays so far this year because I have either been sick, or there just wasn't anything exciting going on here on the homestead.  I mean, you can only post so many pictures of animals (although maybe I could use that as an excuse to get more animals👀).  Remember that awesome exciting news I have just been dying to share?! Well here it is: I'm going to be a grandma!! I have known for about 2 or 3 weeks now and it has been so hard to keep a secret.  I have told a few people (with Carlie's permission of course), but they announced it tonight. And I was not prepared for the tears that came when she sent me a video of the heartbeat😢.  Now I just have to pick out a grandma name! Macy thinks she is happy to be a big sister! More good news from the homestead- Ouachita finally released their official Dean's List for Fall 2021 and looky who is on it: I'm so proud of my baby girl. So you may ask what T has been up to.  Well, he has been...

Good Monday morning!  Hope you all had a fabulous weekend.  We had a great one here on the homestead.  Since it was Makena's last weekend home for a couple of weeks, we decided to have a little celebration.  Carl was off on Friday and smoked some BBQ.  We invited Carlie and Caleb over and my dad also came (my mom was in Little Rock with my sister), and we fixed my grandparents some plates to go (they don't get out very much, especially in the cold). The food was great (well, I am still unable to taste much, but everyone said it was good).   Trey started his youth bowling league back on Saturday morning and I didn't even take one picture! That is a mom fail for sure!! He bowled fair, but he hasn't bowled since the last session ended.  He will be bowling in the state tournament again this spring.  That is always one of my favorite times.  Makena and Carlie went to get their nails done with my mom, sister and niece while we were with T....

 Woo Hoo, it's Friday!  I am so happy that the weekend is here.  Today I am linking up with Andrea at  Momfessionals  for another Friday Favorites. Photoshoots with my college girls are always on my favorites list! I was gifted a new Pioneer Woman "Easy" cookbook for Christmas from my mom.  I guess when she saw easy, she immediately thought of me!  I am doing a thing this month, where I try one new recipe every week.  Last weekend when I finally started to feel better, I decided to try her taco soup.  I haven't ever made any kind of taco soup.  This was so easy that even I was able to master it, and everyone said it was delicious!  I {still} cannot taste and can barely smell.  Spending time with all of my animals is for sure a favorite thing to do! This is Dee Dee. She is not super smart but is absolutely the sweetest. B-Dawg likes to go for walks in the back pasture with me. He will be one year old on Valentine's Day! Such a b...

 Happy Monday friends! Hope you all had a blessed weekend.  We managed to push through.  Here are a few things that we've been up to: This wasn't over the weekend, but since I never got around to posting it last week I thought I would share.  The boys really had a good time pheasant hunting. They know they get bonus points when they send me pics And even when they send me stupid pics, I will more than likely post them. Also was not from this weekend. Makena went with my parents to Old Washington in Southwest Arkansas. This girl was in hog heaven. The magnolia tree here is super old. My sister and I had a picture made together on this same tree over 30 years ago when we lived in Hope. Makena by an old building...her favorite thing! A true historian. There is so much that was supposed to happen this week/weekend that just didn't due to an un-named virus. There is still some super exciting news that I can't share yet, and let me tell you, IT IS SO GOOD and life-changing...

 I know I have posted about my planners off and on plenty of times.  I am a complete planner nerd.  Over the past year I feel like I have finally created and perfected a planning system. There are four planners here.   I know, four seems a little excessive but they all have a purpose. I got a new camera for Christmas and I love it! To begin we will start with my main planner.  This one is kind of a "brain dump" planner, if you will.  I keep track of everything going on in our lives along with a few memory making aspects. I sit down on Sunday evening (most of the time) and plan out my next week. So most of the time I will try and find all of my stickers (so my theme for the week) before I start the actual planning process.  I try to find stickers with the same color schemes. This is the Classic Happy Planner in a vertical layout. Then I get my phone out and look at the weekly weather outlook.  I have weather stickers in several of sticker pack...

Well friends, it looks like we made it to 2022!  Just saying that makes me feel kind of aged.  We had a very low-key evening.  Here are a few pictures from our night. Carl and Caleb fixing the seafood Lordy, these three😁 Pop was showing Trey some tips on frying fish. So dang good Papa has seen 93 New Year's Eves! Carlie and Caleb Makena Faith and Grammy Papa, Toby, and Grammy Jamie and Tim Yes, Merry Grinchmas was still up. See, even baby Grinch is celebrating! Me and Carl with my grandparents My kiddos Me and Mr. Grumpy pants! He was leaning in for kiss😆 After leaving my parent's garage, we came home and played Monopoly, then threw some darts, then came in.  It wasn't raining and we could have had a bonfire, but I have had this awful pain in my neck and it was getting almost unbearable, so we came in and showered and then we went to bed.  Trey had some friends come over but they left at 12.  Like I said, it was pretty low-key. I'm hoping that this year k...