Easter Egg Printables

Mar 30, 2012 by desiringvirtue

Last year I made some Scripture printables available to you to stuff in your Easter eggs. This year, I decided to make some rectangular cards for our eggs and of course, wanted to make them available to you as well. While I focused solely on verses that discussed the sweetness of the Lord’s Word last year, I decided this time to add more verses that focused on the joy and blessings we receive from our Heavenly Father through our Savior Jesus Christ. This is all in an effort to use the yummy candy and small trinkets hidden in each egg as a way to symbolize the incredible gifts that we receive from the Lord through salvation.

I would recommend printing these out on card stock and either folding them up for smaller eggs or stuffing them in larger ones.

Easter Egg Printables 2012

If this is your first time to visit Desiring Virtue you may want to join our growing community of passionate homemakers by "liking" DV on Facebook, following DV on Twitter, or subscribing to DV's email delivery via Feedburner.

3 Comments

Tags

Coffee Talk Cards and Marriage Challenges

Feb 2, 2012 by desiringvirtue

Since posting the Year of Romance gift idea (click here to view it), I have been asked if I would share some of the coffee talk questions I used and some of the challenges that I included in the box my husband received.

Today I am going to make some Coffee Talk printables available to you and also share some suggestions for challenges you could use for your Year of Romance.

Coffee Talk Cards

These are simple questions to ask one another that you might not otherwise ask. Some are simple and easy to answer, others require more thought and interaction. The goal is to open up conversations on a more meaningful level rather than the:

“So how was work today?”

“Good. How were things at the house today?”

“Good.”

Yeah.

These cards are formatted for business card paper so as to make things easier for you! Just print them out, slip them in a nice envelope and periodically go through a couple as you find the time. Each card has one to three questions on it. Take them to the coffee shop with you or discuss the topics alone in your room before going to bed. Enjoy getting to know one another again!

Coffee Talk Questions

Marriage Challenges

Also in the Year of Romance gift I created challenges for us to engage in as a couple. Several of you have asked for suggestions so here are a list of challenges I came up with for us. Hopefully you find them inspiring!

Commit to pray for one another every day and with each other every day this month (Continue this every month).
Every day this month, encourage one another with what the Lord is teaching you. What are you learning in the word, from the circumstances of your day, through your prayer life?
Speak positively of your spouse every day this month. Tell a coworker, share it on Facebook, tell a friend. Compliment them, praise them, and encourage them in front of others.
Focus this month on only speaking kind words to one another. Guard your lips from being rude or critical. When you sin in this area, quickly ask for forgiveness.
Handwrite a love letter to your spouse expressing your devotion and love for them. Send it through the mail to be received unexpectedly.
Surprise your spouse this month by buying them an unexpected gift. It doesn’t need to be expensive, just a little something to let them know you were thinking about them.
Create a list throughout the month of things you love about each other. At the end of the month share your list with each other.
Look for a practical way you can serve each other every day this month.
Practice giving thanks to each other and for each other this month. Watch carefully for ways that your spouse blesses you and verbally acknowledge them when they do.
Devote one night every week to focusing on each other. Cut out all media from your night.

I hope this is helpful for those of you who are trying to put together your own Year of Romance gift!

If this is your first time to visit Desiring Virtue you may want to join our growing community of passionate homemakers by "liking" DV on Facebook, following DV on Twitter, or subscribing to DV's email delivery via Feedburner.

2 Comments

Tags

Happy Birthday Banner Printable

Jan 12, 2012 by desiringvirtue

About two hours before Elliot’s Birthday party, I realized that I had forgotten to buy a “Happy Birthday” banner! “No problem,” I thought, “I will just find a printable on the internet and make my own really quick.” Well, that didn’t turn out to be as easy as I had hoped. Most of the printables available required crafting paper, or additional resources. I had paper, ink, balloons, and ribbon on hand… that was it. So of course I quickly created my own that wouldn’t need extra work to make it look cute (and I think it turned out pretty fun, if I don’t say so myself).

Today I though I would make this simple printable available, so that if others find themselves in the same situation, they too can quickly print out these fun letters and add a little “pop” to their party! Just print it out on card stock, punch holes in the designated spots, and then string up with party ribbon. Simple as that!

Happy Birthday Banner Printable

If this is your first time to visit Desiring Virtue you may want to join our growing community of passionate homemakers by "liking" DV on Facebook, following DV on Twitter, or subscribing to DV's email delivery via Feedburner.

1 Comment

Tags

Blank Day Planners in Purple and Green

Jan 6, 2012 by desiringvirtue

On Sunday I talked about how much I enjoyed Large Family Logistics and beginning to implement some of the “systems” into my daily routine. I made my new daily planner available for you to print out, but know that since it is so specific, many of you will not be able to use it.

However, I really liked the color scheme and lay out and wanted to make it more universal so that more of you would be able to use it. This planner also provides another option for those of you who use the Plan of Attack.

These printables follow the LFL model of focusing on one major task every day:

Monday: Laundry- try to get all of your laundry washed, folded, ironed, and put away before 4pm.

Tuesday: Kitchen- Deep clean your kitchen and do all of your food prep/freezer cooking/baking on this day.

Wednesday: Office- Do your budget, go over calendar, emails, internet research, menu plan, etc… on this day.

Thursday: Errands- Use this day to get all of your errands (including your grocery shopping) done on this day. Put your dinner in the crock pot before leaving home!

Friday: Clean- Dust, vacuum, and clean house.

Saturday: LFL recommends using Saturday for gardening, cleaning your vehicles, garage and such.

Sunday: The Lord’s Day- Let this be your day of rest and try to focus your heart on the Lord.

I hope that this printable will be helpful to you. Just scroll through the pages below and download from here!

Blank Day Planners (Purple and Green)

Make sure to check out all of Desiring Virtue’s Printables by clicking here!

If this is your first time to visit Desiring Virtue you may want to join our growing community of passionate homemakers by "liking" DV on Facebook, following DV on Twitter, or subscribing to DV's email delivery via Feedburner.

2 Comments

Tags

Preparing for the New Year and New Daily Planner Printables

Dec 30, 2011 by desiringvirtue

One of the most exciting (as well as practical) gifts I received this Christmas was Large Family Logistics: The Art and Science of Managing the Large Family. By most standards our family is still small (it is just the four of us at the moment), but this book is by no means just for the large family. In fact, I don’t think you have to have kids to be able to profit from this book and the wisdom shared within its gigantic pages (the size of this book is impressive in and of itself!). What this book offers is an insider’s look into one homemaker’s methods and systems as she goes about caring for a large family. It is a textbook of sorts on homemaking, a guide to organizing your life as a homemaker. This is something that I can benefit greatly from. Yes, as the years continue to pass I get wiser in the way I do things and I slowly begin to figure things out (things that usually amount to simple discipline on my part), but how much more helpful is it to have someone show you the ropes before you become overwhelmed? Sure, some days I feel overwhelmed already, but things are tame for the moment with only two children and neither of them homeschooling yet. More than anything I want to master some basic home management skills before my family gets any larger and and I begin homeschooling (this is when hyperventilating my enter into my daily routine). This is Kim’s purpose in writing the book. Listen to her heart:

“…I found that there are many young moms who are in the same position that I was-unprepared for keeping the home with lots of children. While women historically were equipped to be the caretakers of thriving, busy households when they reached maturity, most of today’s women are ill-equipped for such responsibility. this change has happened in the wake of feminism, which teaches young women that they can have a career and be a mom. Guidance counselors in the schools encourage those who enjoy children to be teachers or day care providers. Childbearing is an experience to have after practicing with a dog or cat for a few years. I read recently that in some circles chidden are an economic status symbol along with all the accouterments to buy for them.

When the Internet came along, I met many fellow casualties of feminism. I realized that I was not the only woman who desired to be a faithful homemaker who was crying out to God, “How do I do this?” That realization caused me to begin sharing my ideas through blog writing, articles, and, eventually, completing this book for this moms who were a step behind me in my journey of motherhood and home keeping. I am motivated to take the time to write now because the answer I often heard to my own question of “How?” was, “I don’t know, I just did it.” There’s truth in that answer-there are so many things that we need to just do-but I wanted specifics. the specifics pass into the deep recesses of our minds because often they are small tips, tricks, or ingrained hap its that require little thought. My goal is to write those things down for those who are struggling with “How?”‘

And so, I have been quickly searching through this fabulous resource for the how of actively managing my family. I say actively because it can become very easy to passively manage. You know what this is like: you begin to play more of a defensive role as the home manager, constantly making up for lost time and reacting to the day rather than planning out the day and successfully accomplishing all you set out to do.

Most of what Kim shares amounts to routine and setting a pattern of living and working within your home. She shares specific systems that she uses in order to manage her own large family and persuasive reasons for doing things in a like manner. Because of this I have decided to alter my daily routines to more closely aline with the one she prescribes in her book. She follows a similar “one focus a day” approach, but makes my previous attempts at the same system look pathetic in comparison. Her goals and expectations are much more detailed and assure that she will accomplish a finely tuned home. This is something that I long for. After spending some time in the book (preparing for a new year of homemaking) I typed up some new printables to fill my home management notebook with. They follow her system almost exactly (with a few modifications), focusing on one major household task a day.

Monday: Laundry Day

Tuesday: Kitchen Day

Wednesday: Office Day

Thursday: Town Day

Friday: Cleaning Day

Saturday: Outside Day (She refers to this day as Garden Day, but I have no garden… so yeah)

Sunday: The Lord’s Day

The biggest difference in this system to what I was doing the past is that most cleaning is reserved to one day of the week. There are daily cleaning tasks to be done, but Friday is reserved for getting down and dirty.

Also, she recommends focusing on one area of your home every week for doing Deep Cleaning (you know, the stuff you never ever do until it gets just terrible). In her family they do one thing in that area every day, but you could also do it all on cleaning day. I have decided to do it every day like she has and then catch up on Friday if needed. Examples of Focus Areas are bathrooms, living room and family room, bedrooms, etc… and examples of deep cleaning to do in those areas are things like declutter the area, catch cobwebs, dust ceiling fans, clean light switches, etc…

I also love the idea of having a day completely focused on paperwork, computer work, budgeting, menu planning and the like. This is what she refers to as Office Day and would really benefit my home management by encouraging me to be intentional and disciplined in these areas.

As the new year begins so does my prayer that the Lord would continue to empower me to serve my family well through the ministry of homemaking. I am thankful for the tips I am learning in this book and look forward to implementing more of them in the future.

If you follow Kim’s plan, or are looking forward to reading the book in the future, you can download and print my printables below for your own use. I am sure that I will be modifying them in the future as I try out this method and tweak it to better serve our family, but this is a good starting point. Please let me know if you find any typos or have any suggestions!

Day Planners

I can’t recommend Large Family Logistics enough. If you are looking for some inspiration and motivation for your homemaking, I would encourage you to check it out!

Also, if you are looking for some less specific printables to organize yourself with this new year, check out these Daily Plan of Attack printables.

Other printables you may be interested in:

Weekly Menu Plan,

Running To-Do List,

Websites and Passwords

If this is your first time to visit Desiring Virtue you may want to join our growing community of passionate homemakers by "liking" DV on Facebook, following DV on Twitter, or subscribing to DV's email delivery via Feedburner.

23 Comments

Tags

Christmas Printables are Here!

Oct 7, 2011 by desiringvirtue

*Note: If you are reading this post on your phone, the printables will not appear correctly. Make sure to stop on by on your computer to see them with the correct formatting.

I am so excited to share some new printables with you today. I realize that it is only just October, but you can never start planning early enough-especially if you want to keep your Christmas season stress free! My mother-in-law has 17 people in our immediate family to buy for so she has already started her Christmas shopping! I hope these Christmas Organization Printables will be a blessing to you as you prepare for that wonderful time of the year when we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior! Each printable has a color and black and white version.

Stay tuned… there may be more to come!

Feel free to download as many printables as you find helpful. And… if you feel so inclined, you can leave a small donation (99 cents?) by simply clicking on this Paypal button:

Christmas Gift Planner Breakdown Printable
Christmas Baking PlannerChristmas Budget

Christmas Check List

Merry Christmas Planning!

If this is your first time to visit Desiring Virtue you may want to join our growing community of passionate homemakers by "liking" DV on Facebook, following DV on Twitter, or subscribing to DV's email delivery via Feedburner.

3 Comments

Tags

Websites and Passwords Printable

Jul 28, 2011 by desiringvirtue

With all of the online bills, accounts, and social media websites we use on a regular basis it is helpful to have all of your usernames and passwords in one place. Sure, you may not need to jot down your Facebook info (chances are you already know that), but you may need to jot down your cable company’s website info in order to keep in handy for the once a month bill that you need to pay online. This can also be a handy place for your husband or kids to look for account information in the event you are not available. Keep this cute printable in your home management binder along with all your other Desiring Virtue Printables!

kkk

What printables would help you build your home management binder? If you don’t see it here, let me know I will concider adding it to the collection!

If this is your first time to visit Desiring Virtue you may want to join our growing community of passionate homemakers by "liking" DV on Facebook, following DV on Twitter, or subscribing to DV's email delivery via Feedburner.

3 Comments

Tags

DV’s Home Management Printables

Jul 20, 2011 by desiringvirtue

Today I am going to give you a quick break down of all Desiring Virtue’s Home Management Printables. I began creating these when I simply couldn’t find any planners/organizers/printables that were right for me. I needed something simple and inspirational to get me going and accomplish all those everyday tasks that need to get done. I also wanted to be able to include spiritual goals in my daily planning.

As a result, Desiring Virtue’s Home Management Printables were born. Since publishing them on Scribd many other women have downloaded them and used them in their own home management binders (notice that they are each offset to allow for binder rings) and I pray that they will be a blessing to you as well.

So without further ado, here are the brief summaries of each printable:

The Original Plan of Attack:

Features:

~ Cute Design to get you excited about planning out your week/day

~ Expanded Sunday planner for weekly goal setting and reflection

~ Two days per page to save on ink and paper

~ Four different options so that you can find one that suits you!

Versions:

1. Desiring Virtue’s Plan of Attack- This is my personal plan of attack and has my goals for the day listed so that I need not fill them in every day. Each day there is a different “big goal” (i.e. clean the bathroom, dust, etc…) and my laundry days alternate. This plan also features some devotional goals such as quiet times, family worship, and scripture memory.

2. Customizable Plan of Attack- This version leaves a little more room for your daily to-dos yet keeps the bare bones of things that must get done every day so that things like dishes don’t have to be written over and over again. It does not include any devotional goals so as to allow for your own.

3. Customizable Plan of Attack Including Devotional Goals- This version is the same as version number two, but keeps the devotional goals of version number one.

4. Blank Plan of Attack- A completely blank version with optimal customizability.

You can browse through these versions here:

~~

How You Get It:

DV Printables are absolutely free. Simply click on the “download” link to download these high quality printables to your own computer and print out at your leisure. This link will take you to Scribd. where you will need to create a free account or connect with your Facebook account to gain access to my printables. You can also print directly from this site by clicking the “Print” and then “Print Standard Quality” link (however these printouts won’t be the highest quality). In either case make sure to select which pages you want to print (which version) before printing or you will print all four versions!

Just Today’s Plan of Attack:

Features:

~ One day at a time view

~ More space for long to-do lists

Running To Do List Printable

May 25, 2011 by desiringvirtue

I use this printable to keep track of all the crazy stuff going around in my head. This handy to do list hangs out at the front of my home management binder so that I can refer to it while planning out my day or upcoming week. It is simple, but cute and matches all of Desiring Virtue’s other home management printables! Happy planning!

Running To Do List

Click here to view the rest of Desiring Virtue’s Free Printables!

If this is your first time to visit Desiring Virtue you may want to join our growing community of passionate homemakers by "liking" DV on Facebook, following DV on Twitter, or subscribing to DV's email delivery via Feedburner.

3 Comments

Tags

This Week’s Menu Plan Printable

May 11, 2011 by desiringvirtue

Apr 6, 2011 by desiringvirtue

I’m trying to be more proactive this year with our Easter celebration. It seems like between Christmas and Easter, Easter usually gets the least amount of preparation from me. I love to read soul stirring books or sermons that lead me to the cross during this special time, but in the way of physical preparation for my family, I am a bit lame. It always seems to just sneak up on me and I am left wishing I had done more to celebrate Christ’s victory over the grave. So, in the spirit of trying to be more on top of things… I thought I would share a couple of the things I am cooking up.

New Clothes Tags

In yesterday’s Easter Traditions post, I briefly mentioned that new clothes can be a symbol of the new life that we receive in Christ. Just as we “put on” the new self every day of our Christian lives, we will be putting on fresh, clean, new garments on Easter morning. In order to make this a tangible illustration, I made these Clothes Tags to hang over our new clothes’ hangers. As our children grow I hope that it will be a simple, yet constant reminder of the righteousness that covers us through our Savior.

Our Sweet God Egg Fillers

I also created some “Egg Filler” verses that refer to God’s goodness. Often the Bible speaks of God’s goodness in tangible ways that we can easily understand such as comparing Him to the taste of honey or a sweet scent. I’m not going to waste the opportunity that candy filled eggs present to the spiritual formation of my little guys. Instead I am going to use that sweet, delicious candy as an object lesson about the God who is infinitely satisfying. I am planning on filling most of the eggs with little trinkets and coins, but then have some that have CANDY in them (my kids don’t get a lot of candy on a regular basis… ok, Hudson doesn’t get any, so this is a real treat!). The eggs with candy will also contain these verses that compare God to sweet things. This will be a wonderful reminder that as wonderful as candy is, God himself is what satisfies our hungry souls.

I know that these ideas might be concidered pointless or silly, but my desire is for our Easter to be filled with as many reminders of Christ’s magnificent work on the cross as possible. These are a couple of simple and fun ways I can help to focus our minds on our Lord. Plus they are really cute!

I uploaded these printables to Scribd, in case you felt so inclined as to use them in your own family. Make sure to share your fun ideas for celebrating the resurrection of our King!

Your Printables:

If this is your first time to visit Desiring Virtue you may want to join our growing community of passionate homemakers by "liking" DV on Facebook, following DV on Twitter, or subscribing to DV's email delivery via Feedburner.

3 Comments

Tags

1 John Memory Verse Cards

Apr 1, 2011 by desiringvirtue

As many of you know I am in the process of memorizing 1 John. I made my memory verse cards available to you when I began this journey, but now I am uploading the cards with blank dates. So, if you want to memorize 1 John now, or sometime in the future, you can customize your cards for your specific time line. Happy Memorizing!

If this is your first time to visit Desiring Virtue you may want to join our growing community of passionate homemakers by "liking" DV on Facebook, following DV on Twitter, or subscribing to DV's email delivery via Feedburner.

1 Comment

Tags

Desiring Virtue’s Daily Plan of Attack

Mar 29, 2011 by desiringvirtue

Lists really keep me on my toes, without them I tend to muddle through the day getting some things accomplished (the things I like to do) and not other things (those things I really detest doing… ehem… dishes). But it can be annoying to write out a list of the same things every day (which is a lot of what happens when you are a stay at home mom).

Things that must get done every day: Quiet Time, Make bed, Get dressed (Yes, this needs to be something I check off), Get children dressed (ditto), Dishes, Laundry, Pick up

You get the picture. They are simple things that we all do and should be all be able to do without a list… but not me. I need a binder of lists, from my Daily Plan of Attack, to my Blog Ideas, to Menu Planning.

I tend to be picky when it comes to my Home Management Binder. I want it to include the thing I need, and to look pretty at the same time (I mean it needs to motivate me, right?). Well, as you can imagine, it is hard to find everything you want when your list is pretty specific. The answer… create my own of course!

So without further ado I would like to introduce you to Desiring Virtue’s first ever Home Management Printable:

The Daily Plan of Attack

This printable contains four different version, each including 4 pages. The first version is my own personal version. It has all the MUST BE DONE items that we all must do plus my own personal preferences like alternating laundry days, one big daily task (floors, bathroom, baking, etc…). You may find that this version works for you as well! Great! If not there is version number two.

Version number two offers a lot more customization. It still includes the daily chores that we all do, but then gives you lots of blank spots to add your own items. But, maybe you want lots of blank spaces, but still want the quiet times, family worship, and church items that I have in my personal plan of attack…

Then version number three is for you. It is kind of the hybrid between the first two versions.

All three feature Sunday as the beginning of the week and keep the to-dos to a minimum on the day when many of us enjoy meditating on the Lord and spending time with family. Sunday’s Plan of attack also gives you opportunity to plan for the upcoming week and set goals.

The final version is completely blank so that you can customize your Plan of Attack completely.

How do I get it?

Simply download your Plan of Attack (It’s free!) and then print* out the pages that will benefit you the most.

*Make sure that you choose which pages you want to print or you will print all four version at once… maybe a little overkill.

So, there you have it, Desiring Virtue’s Daily Plan of Attack. The first of who knows how many to come. Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions for future printables.

If you are reading this on an iPhone or iPad you will not be able to see the printables in this post (man Apple and your non-flash love). No worries, just click this link and it will take you to the Scribd website that is hosting them!

Scroll through the preview below to see all versions of the Plan of Attack!
Plan of Attack (4 Versions)

For More Desiring Virtue Printables (For Menu Planning,Check Lists, and More!), Click Here!

If this is your first time to visit Desiring Virtue you may want to join our growing community of passionate homemakers by "liking" DV on Facebook, following DV on Twitter, or subscribing to DV's email delivery via Feedburner.

3 Comments

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

3 Comments

Coffee Talk Cards

Marriage Challenges

2 Comments

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

2 Comments

1 Comment

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

1 Comment

2 Comments

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

2 Comments

23 Comments

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

23 Comments

3 Comments

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

3 Comments

3 Comments

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

3 Comments

The Original Plan of Attack:

Features:

Versions:

~~

How You Get It:

Just Today’s Plan of Attack:

Features:

~~

How You Get It:

Running To-do List:

~~

How You Get It:

This Week’s Menu Plan:

~~

How You Get It:

Weekly Reflections:

~~

How You Get It:

14 Comments

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

14 Comments

3 Comments

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

3 Comments

2 Comments

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

2 Comments

0 Comments

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

0 Comments

1 Comment

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

1 Comment