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Jen Merckling

life.unimaginable

Family

Kid Activities take time, energy, and money! Are the sacrifices worth it? At our house the benefits outweigh the sacrifices, but there's a fine line.

Kid Activities — Are the Sacrifices Worth It?

The last snowflakes just fell on this year’s Nutcracker ballet. It was beautiful—truly lovely. I wish I could just watch and enjoy the show—but instead I sit with shoulders tense, holding my program in a death grip and barely breathing. My eyes following my fourteen year-old daughter’s every move. Partly because I know the hours…

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Filed Under: Encouragement, Family, Homeschooling, Lifestyle Tagged With: Affiliate, elementary school, Homeschool, homeschooling, kid activities, middle school, Parenting

Preparing for twins raises a lot of questions when it comes to what you really need. I've prepared a list of 11 must have items for newborn twins to help!

Preparing for Twins — What You Really Need!

Discovering I was pregnant with twins was truly the biggest surprise of my life! After the initial shock wore off, I began working through the logistics. I had lots of questions, like… “How will this work…Where will they sleep? Can we all fit into our vehicle?” (We already had 4 kids…so we didn’t have a…

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Filed Under: Family Tagged With: Affiliate, Family, large family, Preparing for Twins, Twin Pregnancy, twins

5 Must Bring Items to Disney World – Save Time and Money in the Parks!

A trip to Disney World is so exciting—we have visited four times with our family and absolutely love it! If you’re a little overwhelmed about planning your family’s visit, I’ve got you covered! This post is all about 5 Must Bring Items to Disney World —items you definitely should bring, but you may not think of….

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Filed Under: Family, Lifestyle Tagged With: Affiliate, Disney, Disney Planning, large family, Packing for Disney, Vacation

A high risk twins pregnancy requires hospital bed rest and ultimately leads to an emergency c-section delivery of momo twins at 26 weeks.

A Momo Twins Pregnancy: Part 3 Ready Or Not, Here Come the Babies

My first week in the antepartum unit was fairly uneventful. I was actually enjoying having all my meals delivered, having daily housekeeping service, and having zero laundry–it was a real mommy vacation! I would walk the halls of the maternity floor, read my stack of books, and binge watch TV. Oh and nap…Ah–the naps! Whenever….

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Filed Under: Family Tagged With: Affiliate, Bed Rest, Emergency C-Section, high risk pregnancy, momo twins, Mono Mono Twins, Monoamniotic Twins, Pregnancy, twins

Start one simple habit to develop gratitude and thankfulness in your child! Help them focus on the positive and eliminate complaining!

Developing Gratitude in Your Child — Start One Simple Habit Tonight!

My six-year-old may be the perfect child…If only he ate something besides yogurt and graham crackers—I truly think he may be perfect (not that I’m biased or anything). The sweet baby has been JOY since the day he was born. His name, Asher, means Happy, Fortunate, and Blessed–and suits him completely. He was our SURPRISE…

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Filed Under: Encouragement, Family, Homeschooling Tagged With: Affiliate, Gratitude, Homeschool, Parenting, Simple Habits, Thankfulness

How to Plan a Disney Vacation! I'm sharing my 6 month guide for planning a trip to Disney World! Step-by-step guide & tips to planning an amazing vacation!

How to Plan a Disney Vacation

We love Disney World! I think families are either in one of two camps—the Disney LOVERS or the Not-So-Much. We are wholeheartedly part of the first camp! And I say this as someone who does not love crowds—I’m actually a crowd avoider. I don’t do local festivals and carnivals because I cannot even handle that…

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Filed Under: Family, Lifestyle Tagged With: Affiliate, Disney, Disney Vacation, Family Vacation, How to Plan a Disney Vacation

Jesse Tree Post Image

Jesse Tree Christmas Tradition

  Preparing for Christmas Today, Audrey (my 14 year old daughter—equal parts Peter Pan and 40-year-old mom), excitedly announced that in exactly one month we will be hauling up all the Christmas boxes from the basement—it will be the weekend before Thanksgiving. Umm—thanks, Child—you can stop with your countdown—I still need to buy Halloween costumes!…

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Filed Under: Family, Holidays Tagged With: Advent, Affiliate, Christmas, Christmas tradtitions, Jesse Tree

Gift guide for educational toys for preschool kids. Check out this list of gift ideas. I share why I love each toy and how they provide an educational emphasis for your child.

Ultimate Guide to Preschool Toys and Gifts

  I’ve been told we have a lot of toys… But, you have to remember—I have 6 kids! So yes, I do have a lot of toys. And some of them are pure junk and destined for the trash can. However, most are part of a collection, slowly acquired over 18 years—toys that have been…

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Filed Under: Early Learning, Family, Homeschooling Tagged With: Affiliate, Birthday Gift Ideas, Christmas Gift Ideas, Dress-up Clothes, Early Childhood Development, Educational Toys, Gift Guide, Homeschool, Preschool, Preschool Games, Toys

A Momo Twins Pregnancy: Part 2 — It Gets Real

Finding out you’re having twins is a huge shock… We don’t have twins in either of our families.  My grandmother gave birth to 10 kids—zero twins. Here’s a picture of my sweet, giant family–not a single set of twins: I always wanted twins…I would hold onto a glimmer of hope at each of my initial…

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Filed Under: Family Tagged With: Affiliate, high risk pregnancy, large family, momo twins, monoamniotic, twins, twins pregnancy

A Momo Twins Pregnancy. High risk twins pregnancy.

A Momo Twins Pregnancy: Part 1 Ignorance is Bliss

I was shocked to learn I was pregnant with twins, but the surprise didn’t end there…Our identical twin girls were monoamniotic, putting our pregnancy at very high risk. They were born at 26 weeks–both under 2 lbs. Here is the beginning of our story…

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Filed Under: Family Tagged With: Affiliate, high risk pregnancy, large family, momo twins, monoamniotic, twins pregnancy

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Hello! Welcome--I'm Jen! I've got 6 kiddos, twins, toddlers, teens--lots of laundry and always dirty dishes! I've been Jason's wife for 20 years, a mommy for 18 years, and a homeschooler for 14 years...I'd love to be friends. ♡

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Happy New Year!!🤩 Time to take down this tree Happy New Year!!🤩

Time to take down this tree & make some changes in 2021!🥳

{GIVEAWAY—Closed!! Winners have been notified —Congratulations to Sarah & Amy!}🎉❤️

But you still have time to join me for the Make Over Your Life Summit!🥰

We're covering all the things...in 8 individual tracks or grab the All-Access Pass:

❤️Marriage 
❤️Spiritual Life 
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❤️Motherhood
❤️Homeschool 
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Starts Monday--but Early Bird Registration (and best price) is NOW!
{Link in My Bio!!}
This sweet little book is meant to be read with ou This sweet little book is meant to be read with our little ones! They love joining in & “reading” the pictures! ❤️ 
It’s part of The Story of Christmas product in my shop—which also includes a game, narration, & coloring pages. 
 
Link in my bio!!❤️
All dressed up & nowhere to go!😂 #2020life All dressed up & nowhere to go!😂 #2020life
Happy Halloween from Harry, Hermione, & Professor Happy Halloween from Harry, Hermione, & Professor McGonagall!🎃🧙‍♀️
Math can be cozy too!❤️ We’re loving The G Math can be cozy too!❤️ 

We’re loving The Good and The Beautiful Math 3!❤️ 

Decided to mix it up a bit & try something different for math...Have you found any curriculum gems this year?❤️
Learning + Play = Engaged Learners The twins hel Learning + Play = Engaged Learners 

The twins helped the shapes move into their new homes! They are still playing...😉 

So excited about Ready for Math...Coming  Spring of 2021!🎉💗

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