Update: a winner (Cassi!) has been chosen and emailed! Thank you all again for participating!

This is the first Tuesday in two months without a How We Do It series installment! (Sniff, sniff!)

How We Do It covered such a wide range of topics — some of the most dear to my heart. The posts served as an overview of sorts to Em for Marvelous, and so with that lead-in, today seems like the perfect opportunity to give you the chance to respond!

I ask your opinion because to be honest, I feel so incredibly lucky to have you all as readers. Like, what the heck?! You guys chime in all the time in the age of crickets in the comment section, ha! I’m not sure what I did to deserve that, but I sincerely treasure each one of you who stops by, reads, and joins the conversation. I would write even if no one was listening, but you ladies make it wayyyyy more fun :)

So if you have a moment, please consider taking the short survey below… I’m so curious, and would love to hear from you!! Then, leave a comment below to be entered to win a $50 Airbnb gift card OR a $50 Amazon gift card – your choice. I’ll draw and email a winner next Tuesday, March 20!

Update! Cassi W. is our lovely winner and has been emailed! Thank you all SO much for sharing feedback with me!

Create your own user feedback survey

Finally, to make the commenting more interesting (and so I can get to know YOU a little better!), here are four questions I’d love for you to answer after you’ve taken the survey, if you’re so inclined:

The best book you’ve read recently:
What you’re eating for breakfast these days:
The next place you’d love to travel in the United States:
What you are most looking forward to about spring:

I will answer in the comments, too. Thank you in advance, friends! xo!

The title of this post is slightly misleading, because we’ve pretty much decided Easter baskets are a “do” this year in our house. But as with so many things, we studiously overanalyzed the decision (kind of our signature move, ha). I’m curious to hear – to my Christian readers, do you give your kiddos Easter baskets?

As a bit of backstory, I didn’t grow up getting one, and my sisters and I thought that was totally unfair :) I think my parents were hoping to emphasize the religious aspect of the holiday instead of the more commercialized side, which I now completely respect. (We did, however, go to egg hunts and do a jelly bean hunt in our living room on Easter morning, so there was SOME extracurricular fun involved.)

Letting the true meaning of the holiday shine would, of course, be my main reason for not doing a basket for June. But, just like we bake a cake and sing happy birthday to Jesus on Christmas Eve, I think it’s important to have excitement, anticipation, traditions, and magic around religious holidays just as much (if not more so) than around secular ones. And for little kids, simple surprise gifts can fit the bill.

So, we’re doing a basket! This one, purchased yesterday for 20% off (still a splurge, but I love the simple scalloped liner). And now, what to put in it… I’m not a huge fan of junk that will be tossed aside in two seconds, so I’m aiming for the sweet spot of fun and functional, with at least a few things that point to Jesus’s resurrection. I’d rather spend a little more on something I know we’ll all enjoy for awhile! Here are a few of my ideas, in case you’re looking for your own:

A set of spring pajamas. So happy I got these lemon jams for 40% off over the weekend because they are pricy!!

A classic spring book or set. We don’t have Winnie the Pooh OR Peter Rabbit, so that’s where I’d start.

A fresh spring look, like these floral shorts or this citrus dress.

A quality toy to add to your collection, like Magna-tiles or Tegu blocks (love that they’re in pretty pastels!).

The Jesus Storybook Bible, because every home should have one!

A practical extra, like water bottle name bands.

A fun puzzle (June LOVED doing this one at her cousin’s house last weekend).

Summer sandals or an adorable swim suit, because you’re going to get them anyway.

A tee that lets you talk about Jesus.

Outdoor toys, like a mini gardening set, bubbles, or a kite.

And of course, smaller treats like hair bows, Water Wow, stuffed animals, a race car, eggs, or candy.

Clearly we are not doing all of these things – probably just the lemon jams, swim suit, sandals, a book, and a block set or puzzle. I am also shamelessly planning to put some of June’s existing stuffed bunnies in her basket, because she is VERY into stuffed animals right now and I think she’d get a kick out of it!

Do y’all do Easter baskets? What do you put in them?

P.S. No Easter bunny here – June will know this is a gift from us. I just think the Easter bunny is strange :)

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Welcome back, friends! This is the final post in an eight-part series by Nancy Ray and I covering “how we do it” in different areas: the rhythms, habits, and routines that help us get things done and make the space and time for what matters most. If you’re just joining us, you can read more of the backstory here and catch links to all of the posts at the bottom of this one!

This final post is all about ways we organize life with kiddos — currently, an almost three-year-old and a six-month-old for Nancy, and a two-year-old and one on the way for me. As I was typing in our heart for this series (above), I realized it’s nowhere more important than for this final post. Every effort John and I take to simplify things – really in any area of our life, but especially areas having to do with kids – is to make time for what matters most.

For us, what matters most is helping our kids grow into kind, capable, well-adjusted people who love God and love people. We have our own theories about the best ways to accomplish that, and at this age and for our purposes today, they boil down to lots of unstructured time with mom and dad for love and learning on the fly. As I wrote last year, “we are just together.”

My personal mantra in this arena is, “If I’m too busy to go at June’s pace, I’m too busy.”

(To be sure, there are times when I just need her to get in her car seat already – but even those I try to keep to a minimum. Do we really need to leave the Target parking lot right this instant?)

To be able to live like this, we’ve had to make clear choices about how we spend our own time (for example, I currently have very few commitments outside the home), how we spend June’s time (she has no extracurricular activities besides preschool), and how we do things in our home (no elaborate systems that require a lot of upkeep). That last part is where this post comes in! Here are a few ways we stay organized — simply.

A reminder: everything in this post is what has worked for our family in the past or is working for our family now. It doesn’t mean it’s a one-size-fits-all solution, the best solution for anyone else, or that it’s the system that will work best for our family in the future. If I describe something that would never work for you, doesn’t fit with the way you’re raising your own kids, or that you don’t think will work once we have more than one child, no worries! As Amy Poehler says, “good for her, not for me” :)

1. We keep meals simple. June eats the same thing for breakfast and lunch pretty much every day (with variations on the same elements, like fruits and veggies). We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel at every meal. This makes shopping and preparing easier. She also eats the same food for dinner as we do – we’ve just never offered her an alternative.

2. We chose a simple option for childcare. Many readers have asked why we chose daycare/preschool over a nanny for June’s care. There are several reasons for this, but one is that we wanted a simplified system. I didn’t want to be searching for a new nanny every few months or every year, and I didn’t want to be responsible for managing another relationship, negotiating pay, or covering for our one caretaker’s sickness or vacations, especially since we don’t have family locally who can fill in.

3. We keep screens simple. I am not interested in power struggles over screens. June does not have a tablet and we have no plans to get her one in the future. (I know I am in the minority, here – Baby Center says half of kids get their own by age 5.) If it’s not in our house, it’s not something we have to enforce rules about. I am pretty militant about not using my phone in front of her, so that’s not something she asks for, either. One area where I consider myself more lax? Watching the actual TV in our house. If I’m cooking dinner or otherwise occupied, I have little problem with her watching a show. Negotiating with her siblings over which show to watch will be a good learning opportunity in the future, too :)

4. We keep gifts simple. I update an Amazon wish list (you can add items from anywhere!) with June’s current wishes. If there’s a toy or piece of clothing I’m considering buying, I’ll add it there so I don’t forget about it. It’s also, of course, great for sending to family members around holidays or her birthday!

5. We keep our organization systems simple. And they’re not always (or even usually) pretty. Of course, as we refine our systems and open up room in the budget, we do aim for solutions that bend toward both the beautiful and the functional – but that’s not our highest priority. For example, since she came home from the hospital, June’s clothing has been stored in (neat!) stacks in the corner of our room. With the way our morning and evening routines flow, it doesn’t make sense to store them in her upstairs bedroom. With a little extra room in the budget this year, we are searching for a pair of small dressers to replace our current bedside tables – we think they’ll be the perfect solution for our current needs! But again, the need and the function came first, and the aesthetics come when they can.

Finally, the easiest way to keep things simple is to do what works for you. I don’t have to explain or justify my choices to anyone, however unconventional they might be, and neither do you! For example, June eats breakfast every weekday morning in her high chair in the bedroom/bath while John and I get ready for work. (See our last June in June video for proof!) Some people might find this bizarre – I call it family fun and togetherness :) As long as it’s safe and loving, you do you, friend!

Just one more note on why I keep things simple. I keep as many things as I can as simple as possible so that I can face the innate complexity of living with a two-year-old with calm and joy — because kids are at root messy and complex. (Lovable and wonderful, but also messy and complex.)

June helping me make dinner?
More complex than me doing it myself.

June wanting to put her own socks on in the morning?
More complex than me doing it myself.

June wanting to touch all the buttons in the checkout line?
Helping her press the one she CAN touch is more complex than doing it myself.

But that’s complexity that helps her learn, teaches her social skills, builds her vocabulary, improves her motor skills, and increases her patience. It’s complexity that tells her she’s valued, she’s capable, and that I love her more than anything… and THAT is the kind of complexity I want to invite into my life.

Friends, I hope you’ve loved this series! Whether you’ve taken away a practical idea or just liked hearing more about the minute details of someone else’s life (hand raised!), it’s been a joy to write and a joy to hear from so many of you in the comments section. Thank you for being wonderful, as always! More good stuff to come :)

P.S. Don’t forget to read Nancy’s post! Can’t wait to see what she has to say on this topic!

The whole series:
Time: Em’s post and Nancy’s post
Finances: Em’s post and Nancy’s post
Home: Em’s post and Nancy’s post
Personal Lives: Em’s post and Nancy’s post
Work: Em’s post and Nancy’s post
Relationships: Em’s post and Nancy’s post
Kids: Nancy’s post

Friends, I am restless for spring. I’m not sure why, exactly, but I am craving a new season with a much stronger hunger than usual. There’s been some out-of-the-ordinary unknowns in my life lately, and as you know, I prefer the knowns. I’m ready to turn the page into green grass, more sunlight, tangible accomplishment, and earlier bedtimes (the Olympics really messed with my sleep schedule!).

Given that, I’m not sure how wise it is to have such a long list of projects this month, but they all center around things I’m passionate about cultivating: simplifying our home, building our legacy (can you tell I’m working through Nancy’s photo organization e-book?), being outside, and having adventures with people we love. Perhaps those four themes will be my new goals for the year – we shall see :)

Breaking ground in style for our church’s new building!

What I read in February:
— Station Eleven (This came highly recommended by you all on Instagram! I wasn’t sure if the author would be able to wrap it up to my satisfaction, but in the end, she did!)
— The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry (A fun novel for vacation!)

Revisiting my goals for February:
Set a date for our spring camping trip (Done! So excited!)
Make our “areas to be purged” list (Not yet. This is so simple and I’m irked I didn’t make time for it!)
A neighborhood walk. Every day. (Not every day, but much improvement here!)
Decorate our house and kitchen table for Valentine’s Day!
Ruthlessly edit the loft ruthlessly (Nooooo.)
Make a list of monthly dates for the year (Nooooo.)
Find a new toy storage solution for our family room (Thought about it but tabled at the moment and focusing on a different area!)
Choose and commit to a photo back-up service (Yes! I chose Amazon Prime Photos plus a new hard drive.)
Enjoy our trip to Florida! (Done!)

March goals:
— Make our “areas to be purged” list
— Ruthlessly edit the loft ruthlessly
— Fill out the two-year-old section of June’s baby book
— Repair the raised bed in our backyard
— Plant out the little lawn strips beside the road in front of our house
— Inquire with four designers/services about e-design
— Sort and better organize baby clothes
— Book Asheville accommodations for our fall trip
— Gather and cull all loose printed photos and sort them into new storage boxes
— Organize and cull existing photo albums
— Host a fun and low-stress birthday dinner and game night for friends
— Post a second annual survey on EFM!

I am currently debating menu options for our dinner and would love to hear what y’all like to make for friends! We’ll have eight adults, which is kind of a big group, and I want something delicious and simple, with little last-minute prep. The weather is the trickiest factor for me: in mid-March, it could be 75 degrees and find us eating outside, or it could be 50 and blustery! It might have to be a bit of a game time decision based on the forecast from my in-house weatherman :)

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