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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When Nancy wrote the original organization series back in 2014 that inspired this one, her Spiritual Life post was what sealed the deal for me. As a lifelong Christian who still feels like a beginner in so many ways, it was SO HELPFUL to read very specific details about what her faith life looked like on a day-to-day basis. Beginner though I may still be, I hope that today’s post can help pay the gift Nancy gave me forward, four years down the line!

To catch up any new folks: Nancy Ray and I are writing an eight-part series every Tuesday in January and February covering “how we do it” in eight different areas: the rhythms, habits, and routines that help us get things done and make the space and time for what matters most. You can read more of the backstory here.

As a Christian, organization in my spiritual life is by far the most important area we’ve touched on in this series. My natural inclination is to choose the path of least resistance, to opt for the lazy version, and to prioritize the wrong things. The easier I can make it for myself to choose the right things — to choose Jesus — on a daily basis, the better. Today I’m humbly submitting a few things that have worked for me:

1. Evening quiet time. My best time with the Lord and in the Word comes before going to sleep, curled up in bed. I usually begin by praying as I do some gentle stretches on top of the covers (helps me keep my mind focused!), then move into one of a few practices. I love using my Write the Word journal because it encourages me to roam around the Bible and not get stuck in one section. I use the “on my heart section” to reflect on a way I saw God moving that day. If I’m working through a particular book or section, I’ll use my prayer journal (just a blank notebook) to write out a favorite verse from what I read, then write out a short prayer. Then, I’ll spend another few minutes praying before cracking open whatever book I’m reading. Which brings me to…

2. Reading great books. There are some incredible teachers out there, and I have learned things from them that might never have become clear to me in any other way! First and foremost, C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity was faith-changing for me — so much so that I try to re-read it every year to soak in more of his wisdom. If you’ve never read it, please, please do, whether or not you’d consider yourself a Christian! Other favorites: The Meaning of Marriage, The Lifegiving Home, Too Busy Not to Pray, You and Me Forever, For the Love, 7, Love Does, and Crazy Love. I usually read a faith-based book at least every other month.

3. Attending church. The weekly rhythm of worshipping with other believers is so important for me personally. Not only is it an act of submitting my time to God (even and especially when I think I have a better way to spend it), but it’s a set aside time to listen for Him, to take communion, to encourage others in their faith walks, and to sing out some praise!

We also make a point to go to church when we’re traveling whenever possible, including this pretty one below! In addition to maintaining a weekly rhythm, it can be so energizing to see how another body does things, and also to take ideas back to your home church. There are a few messages we heard on the road years ago that John and I still talk about!

4. Listening to great sermons. In addition to our own church, John and I listen to sermons from a handful of incredible pastors around the country (and even across the pond). We listen to Adam Hamilton’s sermon almost every week (usually streaming live as we’re eating lunch on Sunday), and even after literally nine years of listening to him I still feel like I learn something every time and leave challenged to change something in my life. Highly, highly recommended, especially if you are newer to faith or curious. We also really like Darren Whitehead from Church of the City in Nashville.

5. Spending time with other believers. I’ve written about this a bit before, but moving to the South was life-changing for us in many ways, not the least of which being the way it changed our relationship with our faith. For really the first time, we were regularly and intimately doing life with people that were way farther ahead in their faith than us, and who lived it out as a crucial and foundational part of their daily life. I cannot understate how much I have learned and grown from these people, whether by listening to them pray, talking through scripture with them, or watching as they wrestle with a circumstance in their life.

I still so clearly remember the first time Nancy told me she would pray for something for me, and then she proceeded to list out the very specific ways she was going to do so (i.e. I’ll pray for skill for your doctor, wisdom and clarity as you make decisions, and peace for your heart). My mind was blown! I’m sure this seems so basic to some, but it was revolutionary to me, as I had never heard someone talk about prayer in that way before. I am always learning from those around me.

6. Filling my mind with scripture. In addition to reading the Bible, we keep verses and good words close at hand and around our house, weaving them visually into the fabric of our family. When I’m faced with a challenge or question (or a joy!), I want a scriptural message to spring first to my mind, and that means becoming deeply familiar with the word. We have verses pinned to our fridge, framed on shelves, hung on our walls, and rotated out on our letterboard, to name a few. We also wear them, thanks to Walk in Love! My favorite piece of art is the Lindsay Letters fruit of the spirit canvas we just hung in our master bath – I love that it is one of the first things I see every morning!

7. Tithing. As people who are passionate about personal finance and filled with big dreams for our future, it would be so easy to go off the rails in this area. Tithing is one way we keep the first things first, reminding ourselves that everything that we have has been entrusted to us, and that we are simply the caretakers, tasked with doing the most good with what we have been given. Though I know the money we bring goes out into the world and does a lot of good, I honestly feel that the act of tithing is so important that I’d need to do it even if I just dumped the money into a hole every week. But I’m glad we don’t :)

8. Praying as a family. One of the best things that came out of my “year of prayer” last year was taking turns offering an extemporaneous blessing over dinner. As someone who grew up in a household reciting a standard blessing each night, this was a big step outside my comfort zone, but it opened the door to so much more, including blessings before each meal (except when we forget, which definitely legitimately still happens!), praying with June before bed, and praying together through our most extreme circumstances, both good and bad.

I’ll end by saying that of all the topics in this series, I most hope that if I were to rewrite this post in a year or five years or ten years, it would look totally different. I still have SO much to learn and so much discipline to cultivate, and for me, there’s no more important area of personal growth. If every year I can look back and say I trusted more, loved more, listened more, read more, prayed more, and acted more than the year before, I’ll be satisfied.

So friends, help a girl out: What’s one thing that’s bringing you closer to God these days? I would love to hear!

P.S. Don’t miss Nancy’s post today! I can’t wait to read her freshened-up perspective :)

The rest of the 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: Em’s post and Nancy’s post