I haven't had TV for the last 20+ years. I get news and good entertainment from the internet and TH-cam. Agreed on not going into debt. I went through bankruptcy once; never again. When I was a kid we always had Christmas at home. Grandparents came over early to join in the Christmas morning excitement and joy and stayed for the day. We were very close knit.
We eat meals at the kitchen or dining room table without distractions (electronics, TV, radio, etc.) and pray before eating. Conversation is important during mealtime. We only have one TV in the house and it very rarely gets turned on. We cook from scratch and do not eat out either. Homegrown/raised food, canning, fermenting, etc. Our bodies cannot handle food that is outside our norm. We have physical symptoms if we diverge. We prefer the intentional slower, softer, simpler lifestyle. Blessings to everyone!
Jill I am so happy to see your sweet smile. I've been in a pretty sad place lately. In July I lost my Aunt to brain Cancer. On October 1st my Nana passed away. This week my sister had a Pet scan for her stage 4 breast cancer because the doctor wasn't happy with her numbers. Well, the doctor won't upload the results to the portal until she talks to my sister, so we are preparing for bad news but hopeful for something good. Seeing your smile today made me feel like I was hanging out with my friend Jill and I needed that. Thank you!!
Gosh I’m so sorry to hear all you’re going through. Sounds like this has been a tough year for you and your family. I’m sending prayers of love and comfort your way. Who knows what God is teaching and preparing us for and sometimes it’s really hard to understand when things get tough. Keep your spirits high and your head up and know God is in control
My husband and I do not make plans outside our home on Sundays. Sundays are our day of rest, reset, and connection. We also have similar dinner values as your family. While we don’t have kids yet, our dinners are a point of connection and I look forward to it everyday. Thanks for sharing! 🤍✨
What a great video! Thank you for sharing! Intentionality is going to be our family's word of the year for 2025. We do not do two vehicles. I homeschool our children and do not "need" a vehicle. This helps our family get closer to being debt free, allows me to be a stay at the homestead rather than working full time, and keeps us on a routine. Also, it forces me to think ahead. I do not have a vehicle to run out and grab materials or fast food.
Jill,I view your family values as super healthy and wholesome, i believe the world would be a better place if more families did things similarly ❤ spending time with your children is never a regret when your old. 🌎intentionality engaging with your family , 🌍and heavily reducing material waste 🙌
We are very similar in our don't do's, especially in celebrating Christmas at home. Our families ran around when we were little, and I remember it just being a rushed chaos. I don't think I really appreciated any gifts received either because we were so rushed in opening everything. We decided we didn't want that for our children, so we stay home in our pajamas all day and really take time in conversation, focusing on the reason for the season, and sharing gifts with each other. We arrange time before or after Christmas to get together with other parts of our family, but the day of is off limits.
I love the intimate family time on Christmas morning. Our time was encroached on last year, without a warning. My kids were so upset. They said they never want another Christmas with everyone while they open their gifts. It was just chaos. We do shared parenting, so getting quality time is important to us!
Great priorities! One thing we always do is a 7 day annual family vacation the week after Christmas. We go to the same area and we have a list of things we always do on each vacation. One of them is a puzzle for the family for the week.
100% agree with your outlook on television. We don’t have a TV in our home at all. We have a computer and a projector we can use for a special family movie night and we have a tablet to use for learning and the occasional show. We also don’t own credit cards or purchase anything we can pay for upfront because of a personal conviction that was impressed upon my husband when we married. We don’t do Halloween because we don’t want to open up our home to the darkness associated with it. You have inspired me so much with your family dinner no electronics rule! I am guilty of using my phone during the meal. Thank you for sharing your heart and life with us ❤
This is the reason Your family is considered a Influencer, as I think you have this parenting thing under control, and that is so refreshing to see how u teach ur children right from scratch. I share ur channel every chance I get as I even want my grandkids to watch and learn. lol big hug to the whole clan.
Thak you for this video! I love how you prioritize your family and encourage your kiddos to do other thigs that don't depend on electronics! It concerns me that my grandkids are growing up with electronics everywhere. What will they do if the power goes out?
I was pleasantly surprised to share all 10 of these with you (with the exception of the placement of our TV)!! We have four children 6 and under but have done many of these things since before having our children, love that someone else has the same priorities for their family ❤
This was a great video! Our family lives vary similarly. I think it’s great to see someone speaking positively about choosing to live this way. I think society likes to pre judge others that live this lifestyle and think that it is a negative thing
I truly love that your family prioritizes connection and intentionality and being present. I also love your viewpoints on the awareness of the value of “things” and experiences. I am inspired to strive more to implement more of these values in my own family life. ❤ Thanks for sharing Jill! God Bless y’all, so much love from Arizona 🌻🌞🌵
You describe a life that sounds so appealing to me but my family live the opposite on many points. We eat together, we do not over schedule and we try to keep Christmas slow. We only travel if we have savings for it. But the day to day life is rushed, hectic and stressful. (Partly due to neurodivergence affecting 2 out of 4 in the family.) But we also work many hours and in the evening everyone is drained of energy. This inspired me to think about why we live like this and what we could do to change. Often it comes down to working to pay the mortgage and to buy stuff. Thinking that stuff is actually not important and intentionally working to pay off our mortgage would further down the road give us freedom to change our life.
Oh my goodness I was reliving how we raised our five children. No cable, to this day no electronics at the dinner table. When we were expecting our first child 35 years ago, we sat down with the grandparents and aunts and uncles, everyone was welcome to come to our home but we never left our home for Christmas. Our children experienced traditions and now the ones that have children, themselves spend Christmas in their own homes with their traditions. I still make a menu for the week. I now live in a very small town in North Dakota, accessibility to shopping is limited and honestly it saves money. You and Nathan are doing a wonderful job. I have so enjoyed the last vlogs about simple living. Simple living is easy if you let go of the conveniences and all the stuff. Blessings to your beautiful family
I agree with you on the Christmas thing. We used to be out all day Christmas and Thanksgiving. We would get up rush through our gifts go to my family's house, 2 separate houses at one point, then to my husband's family, which is also another 2 or 3 houses. It was so chaotic. A few years ago we decided no more. Our 2 kids were little and they were so overwhelmed. So we planned Christmas usually the week before partly because my sister would go see our dad in Ohio for Christmas (we are in Texas) so that took care of that, my family also started getting along so it condensed it down to just 1 stop. We also do Christmas eve with one part of my husband's family, his mom has come over to our house the last couple years then we spend Christmas afternoon with his dad. It is so much more enjoyable still a lot of back and forth but not all in the same day.
We have a tv but it’s upstairs and no one ever uses it.. honestly it hasn’t been turned on in over a year maybe two… there is nothing on their worth our time… we do have our phones and if we need to see news etc we can find it on there… we enjoy to just be and not have all the noise… we can sit and talk for hours and never get bored.. there is also board games and card games we can play if we choose… we don’t have cable or internet except on my and my husbands phone…
Unfortunately a lot of these things are hard and nearly impossible with both parents working outside the home, especially when you get home with an hour or less to bedtime 😞
We did this for while and then said he'll with switched jobs and though doesn't pay as much the stress of travel is way less and we have time more to let kiddo go to some things he couldn't before. It was worth it for my kiddo things have been better for him didn't realize how much stress I was putting on him at night rushing here and there rush to cook rush to hw rush to bed it not worth it
My boys are all grown now, but they didn't grow up eating fast food, we encouraged memories over things, played and explored outside together as much as possible. We didn't do big vacations either, camping, hiking and fun activities nearby were our go to adventures. We made them wait well past their peers for cell phones, video games, etc. When they were little we always ate together and sang a blessings song before eating. We always spent Christmas at home with my mom coming over early to be with us for the day. We also don't have cable and our tv is rarely turned on. We used to do Friday night family movie night. Like you we created intentional evening routines, my husband and I would take turns reading books to our boys which instilled in them a love of reading. Now as adults our intentional living while they were kids has paid off as I see how they care for themselves and what their priorities are now. I could go on and on about this. I love your approach around these things.
We have lived in this house three years and we don't have a TV in our main living room either (main floor). We have two TVs...my workout room and the family room in the basement. I honestly LOVE not having a TV on the main floor at all. My husband dislikes it during football season but he watches so much less football now days anyway it does not really matter.
#3Christmas morn was for the kids, we never left before 1 pm,. #4 little fast food #5 1 thing, no over do it #7 dinner is at the table, family time & about the day, no phones ect #8 we at all meals at the table, couch was is sick & car is no. #10 after dinner was homework, reading, games, settle down.
We moved out and I said no tv in the living room my moms house never had one there. We also won’t over schedule our child or force her to rush. I stay home and sacrifice so she can have slow mornings and calm evenings. Christmas to me is about family, so I’m fine with going to my moms on the years my brother is in town and doing the mornings together with a big breakfast it would still be chill, we’d go over in our pjs and then have a slow start there. Or she will come be apart of our mornings, it’s just the three of us and she’s really close to my daughter.
My parents weren’t huge TV watchers so therefore we didn’t watch it much at all. We would watch a movie on Friday nights sometimes. We also don’t go on vacation if we can’t pay cash for it. I’m trying to save money for a vacation in 2025 ❤ So far your family and mine are very similar. We also don’t eat out very often at all.
Something for us that is similar to your holiday is that we say no to any family gatherings where family members who don’t respect us or our boundaries will be present. It’s been a little hard but we’ve learned it’s perfectly okay to say no to a gathering where we will be uncomfortable and disrespected. Just because they are blood doesn’t mean we have to compromise!
We enjoy day trips multiple times a year. We do not see spending that money on a week long trip once a year. We again like taking day trips different times throughout the year . We are going to Harper's ferry west va this December. I can't wait
A couple things we don’t do. Is celebrate any holiday that isn’t in the Bible, Christmas being one of them. No where in the Bible does it say to celebrate him, nor does it actually says his date of birth.. Christmas is a pagan holiday that was made up my the Roman’s. We do not have cable. We try our hardest to only eat from home.
These are all so great and I couldn't agree more but as your children get older these practices will become more difficult. Also, when. you have drivers ect. things will change for sure.
Maybe. One of the reasons we are trying to install these traditions now while they’re young. We want them to look forward to these traditions as they get older
Advent (and a Jesse Tree as well!) is a wonderful family devotional tradition anticipating both Christ’s birth celebrated at Christmas, and His coming again, following the stories through the Old Testament that lead to His birth. One or both incorporated together! For one example of ideas on this, check out Ann Voscamp’s options of books based on the original one “The Greatest Gift” and resources for the symbolic ornaments on this, very lovely and child-oriented! There is a wonderful pop-up tree version book to hang the symbolic ornaments on! There is also a unique style (actually the original tradition) of an Advent wreath called Cradle to the Cross with daily counting with a candle, made by one son with “the Keeping Company”. These can become family heirlooms with the tradition! I grew up with the 5-candled Advent wreath at church and home, but a few years ago began to use the other, making the season throughout December very intentionally focused and reflective in this new way, really beautiful! There is also a book by Ruth Graham called “One Wintry Night” that is the story of a women telling a visiting neighbor boy snowed in (Appalachia!) about these! Some ways to share family focus on Christ!
All the things you are saying are the desires of my heart, but none of the rest of my family wants it. How do you introduce these concepts to family that are unwilling to change?
We are so aligned...one tv in the basement, only on weekends or really rainy days, no cable. No school. No overscheduling. No leaving the house on Christmas. No electronics at the dinner table. No to as much processed foods as possible. Hard no for food dyes and chemical ingredients. No to toxics in our home...soaps, smells, cleaning products, candles...etc Seems me say no to a lot...haha
We also don’t and have never aloud electronics at the table. We went out for a meal for our daughters birthday last week and I was so saddened by the number of tables where the kids where sat on tablets and even a few with headphones in and even a few tables where everyone was sat on phones. Even my little boy (only 8) commented at one particular table “Mam no one is talking to each other at that table, that’s sad”
In regards to the dinner table meals, this is from an article recently and even though 30% seems extreme, this number has definitely changed: "From 2015-2019, the results moved in a narrow range from a low of 43% who reported sitting down together every day in 2016 to a high of 48% in 2018. But in 2020 the daily response jumped to 54%. Another 18% reported gathering for meals a few times a week. Only 3% said their family never ate dinner together."
I would stop the car on the side of the road and the kids and I would literally walk through the bush, and I would teach them about the different trees, when as a single mom i wanted to stay in shape as I had three young uns, the kids and I would exercise on the back porch, lol it was cute to see them using the mini bells and how they would lift with me as I did weights. We baked bread and twisters together. All my kids could make bread from scratch at the age of four. (and also ate it as quickly) We would play football at the local highschool on the weekends just me and my kids, I tried to keep them active as I could afford such as bike riding around the track and other activities, all my kids learned to swim and were involved in cubs, girl guides, sparks and rangers. I wanted them to have a good social outlet. My kids didnt spend alot of time on the tv, they joined sports activities after school in the community of their own free will, so I was very pleased with that. We also did alot of art activities, I tried to encourage their creativity as much as I could. I have to add that we also had a movie night and popcorn, many times discussions took place around the table during suppers.
I'm 61 and haven't had a TV that had any channels since the 80s. My kids grew up without computers, cell phones, and cable. We did have a VCR, though. 😂 Family is the most precious relationship we have. Good to see people getting back to the basics and keeping it simple. ❤
I don't go spend crazy at Christmas. I like to make gifts I always have since I am a crafty person. I don't let December 25th get to me. Jesus is the reason for the season its not about spending money on lavish gifts. I'd rather spend time with my family and make some good food.
As my kids grew older, we/they often had pretty different schedules in the afternoon (work, kids' sports, etc.) and couldn't often eat dinner together--so we made breakfast our "family table" meal. We always ate a homemade, healthful but easy breakfast meal together (scrambled eggs and toast, French toast, oatmeal with lots of fruit, etc.). Plus I found this much easier to cook and clean up than it was to make a full evening meal for 5 after a hard day at work, and we still had some lovely family time together. It was a nice way to start the day. Sometimes you have to just do the best you can!
I have a question about kids toys. Do your girls have a lot of toys? I'm a homesteading mama that does all the things, milk the cows, grow/preserve the food, cook from scratch, sourdough etc. I have a 3 year old and 4 year old and one due in May. We don't have a lot of things however it seems like I'm constantly getting rid of kids toys and they're always strung out. We don't buy our kids toys, however they have grandparents that love to. So as you've been making homemaking content, wondering how you manage the things that come along with kids or what things you've implemented to help ease your load with kids things.
@@taylorblecher4160 great question. We definitely limit toys and if we do buy them we like to invest in wooden toys that can be passed down from kid to kid, but we try to buy more ‘supplies’ that sparks the kids to be creative versus plastic toys that break and will need to be thrown away. We were just pretty honest with our families in regards to buying the kids toys and ask them not to, and we don’t do gifts for birthdays either to eliminate this, so for parties we just ask the kids friends to ‘make them’ something instead of buying which is way more personal in our opinion anyways :)
@@WhisperingWillowFarm we have this same issue as person above mentioned. We asked for no toys but our wishes are not respected so then I’m the bad guy getting rid of things.
We had a hard time at first but then we started to place them in a box in front of the gift givers and told them we were going to donate to the local Salvation Army. They got the message after that 😂
So interesting! Traveling and vacations are a priority for me. My young teen daughter just said the other night, “I’m ready to go on a trip, mom,” so we planned something for Thanksgiving week. On that note, I’ve started a new tradition where I take each of my kids on a trip, just them, and my son and I are heading to Costa Rica and Panama in June and my daughter and I will go to Europe in 2026. I have kids from 25-6, so it’s been fun to see how our priorities have evolved over the years. This was a great reminder to be intentional and to stop and evaluate.
*Said with love* 💕 I’m just going to throw this out there. Take it or leave it. Could you be on the spectrum, level 1? Which would cause your desire to have a simple life? You mentioned the children did not like the Florida vacation but when you released the video, you were the one struggling with being off your normal routine. You didn’t enjoy not having your normal at home routine, coffee, plus the sand and heat bothered you. You were really struggling. When I watched it back then, I related to your video. I was curious, if you’re neurodivergent and your desire to stay regulated by staying on your schedule and away from chaos you cannot control is a result of the way God created you as you are. I’ve also been curious if Sweet Miah is also neurodivergent based off his original Facts about Miah (spelling?) video. I say this lovingly. It’s okay to be as God created you just as you are. 💞🤗🙏🏻🫶🏻 B-AZ-UR
We don't do Santa. We feel like our house needs to be a safe place, not one that creepy figurative creatures sneak into our house at night while we sleep. Our kids know the reason, but Jesus is the reason for the season.
Was in a couple places with cable tv a couple times. Cycled through the channels and turned it off again. waste of time. Don't watch movies. don't bother with fossil fuel driven fun. Don't watch youtube outside meal time and before I go to sleep at night. (I live alone). There's better things to be doing than just sitting at the computer. There's a bunch of things I don't do because I'm a person of little money, so I'll stop there.
I have not had a TV for many years and no subscriptions. I do not miss it at all. I do not celebrate christmas, easter, new years, valentines day, birthdays, mother's day, father's day, fourth of july, memorial day, labor day, or halloween. These are man's days and almost all of them have a pagan beginning, especially christmas and easter which have nothing to do with Jesus. Please do your research. I do, however, celebrate the Biblical feasts. Life is so much more meaningful.
Thanks for sharing. I’ve been diving into the holidays and seeing lots of interesting things discussing what you just mentioned. Also how there used to be 13 months and they all had 28 days. Lots of history lost because of man made systems/ holidays
I haven't had TV for the last 20+ years. I get news and good entertainment from the internet and TH-cam. Agreed on not going into debt. I went through bankruptcy once; never again. When I was a kid we always had Christmas at home. Grandparents came over early to join in the Christmas morning excitement and joy and stayed for the day. We were very close knit.
Thank you for this video, as a family we do a lot of the same things. Life is so much more peaceful.
It really is!
We eat meals at the kitchen or dining room table without distractions (electronics, TV, radio, etc.) and pray before eating. Conversation is important during mealtime. We only have one TV in the house and it very rarely gets turned on. We cook from scratch and do not eat out either. Homegrown/raised food, canning, fermenting, etc. Our bodies cannot handle food that is outside our norm. We have physical symptoms if we diverge. We prefer the intentional slower, softer, simpler lifestyle. Blessings to everyone!
Good for you and your family ❤️
You are wise beyond your years....well done, mom.
Jill I am so happy to see your sweet smile. I've been in a pretty sad place lately. In July I lost my Aunt to brain Cancer. On October 1st my Nana passed away. This week my sister had a Pet scan for her stage 4 breast cancer because the doctor wasn't happy with her numbers. Well, the doctor won't upload the results to the portal until she talks to my sister, so we are preparing for bad news but hopeful for something good. Seeing your smile today made me feel like I was hanging out with my friend Jill and I needed that. Thank you!!
Praying for you ALL!!! ❤❤🥰🤗🤗🙏🙏🙏🙏
Prayers spoken
Praying for you in this difficult season of your family’s life..
Gosh I’m so sorry to hear all you’re going through. Sounds like this has been a tough year for you and your family. I’m sending prayers of love and comfort your way. Who knows what God is teaching and preparing us for and sometimes it’s really hard to understand when things get tough. Keep your spirits high and your head up and know God is in control
My husband and I do not make plans outside our home on Sundays. Sundays are our day of rest, reset, and connection. We also have similar dinner values as your family. While we don’t have kids yet, our dinners are a point of connection and I look forward to it everyday. Thanks for sharing! 🤍✨
Love that!
What a great video! Thank you for sharing! Intentionality is going to be our family's word of the year for 2025.
We do not do two vehicles. I homeschool our children and do not "need" a vehicle. This helps our family get closer to being debt free, allows me to be a stay at the homestead rather than working full time, and keeps us on a routine. Also, it forces me to think ahead. I do not have a vehicle to run out and grab materials or fast food.
Love this! Thanks for sharing ❤️
Jill,I view your family values as super healthy and wholesome, i believe the world would be a better place if more families did things similarly ❤ spending time with your children is never a regret when your old.
🌎intentionality engaging with your family ,
🌍and heavily reducing material waste 🙌
All wonderful values that more families need to adopt💖
We are very similar in our don't do's, especially in celebrating Christmas at home. Our families ran around when we were little, and I remember it just being a rushed chaos. I don't think I really appreciated any gifts received either because we were so rushed in opening everything. We decided we didn't want that for our children, so we stay home in our pajamas all day and really take time in conversation, focusing on the reason for the season, and sharing gifts with each other. We arrange time before or after Christmas to get together with other parts of our family, but the day of is off limits.
I love the intimate family time on Christmas morning. Our time was encroached on last year, without a warning. My kids were so upset. They said they never want another Christmas with everyone while they open their gifts. It was just chaos. We do shared parenting, so getting quality time is important to us!
Great priorities! One thing we always do is a 7 day annual family vacation the week after Christmas. We go to the same area and we have a list of things we always do on each vacation. One of them is a puzzle for the family for the week.
Love that tradition! Thanks for sharing
100% agree with your outlook on television. We don’t have a TV in our home at all. We have a computer and a projector we can use for a special family movie night and we have a tablet to use for learning and the occasional show.
We also don’t own credit cards or purchase anything we can pay for upfront because of a personal conviction that was impressed upon my husband when we married.
We don’t do Halloween because we don’t want to open up our home to the darkness associated with it.
You have inspired me so much with your family dinner no electronics rule! I am guilty of using my phone during the meal. Thank you for sharing your heart and life with us ❤
Our family prioritizes Sunday for worship and family. Nothing gets put ahead of Sunday am and pm worship services.
This is the reason Your family is considered a Influencer, as I think you have this parenting thing under control, and that is so refreshing to see how u teach ur children right from scratch. I share ur channel every chance I get as I even want my grandkids to watch and learn. lol big hug to the whole clan.
I appreciate your kind words
Thak you for this video! I love how you prioritize your family and encourage your kiddos to do other thigs that don't depend on electronics! It concerns me that my grandkids are growing up with electronics everywhere. What will they do if the power goes out?
Thank you for this.
My pleasure!
I was pleasantly surprised to share all 10 of these with you (with the exception of the placement of our TV)!! We have four children 6 and under but have done many of these things since before having our children, love that someone else has the same priorities for their family ❤
That is awesome!
This was a great video! Our family lives vary similarly. I think it’s great to see someone speaking positively about choosing to live this way. I think society likes to pre judge others that live this lifestyle and think that it is a negative thing
I agree
I love and agree with everything you are talking about here. My family does some of them
I truly love that your family prioritizes connection and intentionality and being present. I also love your viewpoints on the awareness of the value of “things” and experiences.
I am inspired to strive more to implement more of these values in my own family life. ❤
Thanks for sharing Jill!
God Bless y’all, so much love from Arizona 🌻🌞🌵
Thank you for your kind words ❤️ I hope you implement the things that are important to you and your family be blessed by them
Could you do a video on the food you make in busy seasons or recipes for quick, healthy meals? ☺️
We are currently working on a series of
You describe a life that sounds so appealing to me but my family live the opposite on many points. We eat together, we do not over schedule and we try to keep Christmas slow. We only travel if we have savings for it. But the day to day life is rushed, hectic and stressful. (Partly due to neurodivergence affecting 2 out of 4 in the family.) But we also work many hours and in the evening everyone is drained of energy. This inspired me to think about why we live like this and what we could do to change. Often it comes down to working to pay the mortgage and to buy stuff. Thinking that stuff is actually not important and intentionally working to pay off our mortgage would further down the road give us freedom to change our life.
Awesome! You are doing great for your family.
Thank you so much!
Oh my goodness I was reliving how we raised our five children. No cable, to this day no electronics at the dinner table. When we were expecting our first child 35 years ago, we sat down with the grandparents and aunts and uncles, everyone was welcome to come to our home but we never left our home for Christmas. Our children experienced traditions and now the ones that have children, themselves spend Christmas in their own homes with their traditions. I still make a menu for the week. I now live in a very small town in North Dakota, accessibility to shopping is limited and honestly it saves money. You and Nathan are doing a wonderful job. I have so enjoyed the last vlogs about simple living. Simple living is easy if you let go of the conveniences and all the stuff. Blessings to your beautiful family
Thank you for sharing ❤️
Totally agree!
I agree with you on the Christmas thing. We used to be out all day Christmas and Thanksgiving. We would get up rush through our gifts go to my family's house, 2 separate houses at one point, then to my husband's family, which is also another 2 or 3 houses. It was so chaotic. A few years ago we decided no more. Our 2 kids were little and they were so overwhelmed. So we planned Christmas usually the week before partly because my sister would go see our dad in Ohio for Christmas (we are in Texas) so that took care of that, my family also started getting along so it condensed it down to just 1 stop. We also do Christmas eve with one part of my husband's family, his mom has come over to our house the last couple years then we spend Christmas afternoon with his dad. It is so much more enjoyable still a lot of back and forth but not all in the same day.
We have a tv but it’s upstairs and no one ever uses it.. honestly it hasn’t been turned on in over a year maybe two… there is nothing on their worth our time… we do have our phones and if we need to see news etc we can find it on there… we enjoy to just be and not have all the noise… we can sit and talk for hours and never get bored.. there is also board games and card games we can play if we choose… we don’t have cable or internet except on my and my husbands phone…
Love that
Unfortunately a lot of these things are hard and nearly impossible with both parents working outside the home, especially when you get home with an hour or less to bedtime 😞
We did this for while and then said he'll with switched jobs and though doesn't pay as much the stress of travel is way less and we have time more to let kiddo go to some things he couldn't before. It was worth it for my kiddo things have been better for him didn't realize how much stress I was putting on him at night rushing here and there rush to cook rush to hw rush to bed it not worth it
Great advice. If something is important enough, you’ll find a way to figure it out
I never turn on our TV but my family...different story. I'd throw it out the window if it was up to me. I'm also a youtuber that consumes youtube. 😅
Same about the TV could care less. The hubs and mother in law different story
Hey friend! You now have a new subscriber.
@WhisperingWillowFarm aw thank you! that's so sweet of you two! You just put me at 2.1k 🙌
My boys are all grown now, but they didn't grow up eating fast food, we encouraged memories over things, played and explored outside together as much as possible. We didn't do big vacations either, camping, hiking and fun activities nearby were our go to adventures. We made them wait well past their peers for cell phones, video games, etc. When they were little we always ate together and sang a blessings song before eating. We always spent Christmas at home with my mom coming over early to be with us for the day. We also don't have cable and our tv is rarely turned on. We used to do Friday night family movie night. Like you we created intentional evening routines, my husband and I would take turns reading books to our boys which instilled in them a love of reading. Now as adults our intentional living while they were kids has paid off as I see how they care for themselves and what their priorities are now. I could go on and on about this. I love your approach around these things.
Thank you for sharing
I agreed eating at the table at dinner time we always done for 30 years of our marriage!Same as holidays in our home
I love these! Well done Jill and Nathan. Also a TH-camr that consumes TH-cam.
What a wonderful video, Jill. This grandma’s hat is off to you and Nathan.🥰
Thank you so much!
❤️ your doing an amazing job❤️
Stay strong
We have lived in this house three years and we don't have a TV in our main living room either (main floor). We have two TVs...my workout room and the family room in the basement. I honestly LOVE not having a TV on the main floor at all. My husband dislikes it during football season but he watches so much less football now days anyway it does not really matter.
Loving all of the content you have been putting out lately!!
Thank you friend
I don’t cook on thanksgiving day or Christmas Day. I cook from scratch all year. My husband said it’s my day off 😂.
Love that!
We do the same things, we also say no to sleepovers.
#3Christmas morn was for the kids, we never left before 1 pm,.
#4 little fast food
#5 1 thing, no over do it
#7 dinner is at the table, family time & about the day, no phones ect
#8 we at all meals at the table, couch was is sick & car is no.
#10 after dinner was homework, reading, games, settle down.
We moved out and I said no tv in the living room my moms house never had one there.
We also won’t over schedule our child or force her to rush. I stay home and sacrifice so she can have slow mornings and calm evenings.
Christmas to me is about family, so I’m fine with going to my moms on the years my brother is in town and doing the mornings together with a big breakfast it would still be chill, we’d go over in our pjs and then have a slow start there. Or she will come be apart of our mornings, it’s just the three of us and she’s really close to my daughter.
Thank you for being crazy like me!
😂 we could be friends
If ever in South Bend, IN go to: the Prized Pig, SB Public House, and on Saturdays, Tues., and Thursdays the Farmers Market Restaurant / Cafe
Christmas Eve tradition: drive thru town and look at Christmas lights, come home to find Christmas pajamas on the bed.
Conscious & intentional living……✨🫶🏻
We don't do cable either. Cut the cord in 2010 and have never looked back. I love thrifting and repurposing.
My parents weren’t huge TV watchers so therefore we didn’t watch it much at all. We would watch a movie on Friday nights sometimes. We also don’t go on vacation if we can’t pay cash for it. I’m trying to save money for a vacation in 2025 ❤ So far your family and mine are very similar. We also don’t eat out very often at all.
Something for us that is similar to your holiday is that we say no to any family gatherings where family members who don’t respect us or our boundaries will be present. It’s been a little hard but we’ve learned it’s perfectly okay to say no to a gathering where we will be uncomfortable and disrespected. Just because they are blood doesn’t mean we have to compromise!
😂 we totally get that
Our kids don’t have iPads at home! I don’t regret it at all. Plus we just canceled Netflix and Disney a couple weeks ago.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
We enjoy day trips multiple times a year. We do not see spending that money on a week long trip once a year. We again like taking day trips different times throughout the year . We are going to Harper's ferry west va this December. I can't wait
Great idea, thanks for sharing
A couple things we don’t do. Is celebrate any holiday that isn’t in the Bible, Christmas being one of them. No where in the Bible does it say to celebrate him, nor does it actually says his date of birth.. Christmas is a pagan holiday that was made up my the Roman’s.
We do not have cable.
We try our hardest to only eat from home.
Same!
That’s very interesting and I applaud you for it. Thank you for sharing
These are all so great and I couldn't agree more but as your children get older these practices will become more difficult. Also, when. you have drivers ect. things will change for sure.
Maybe. One of the reasons we are trying to install these traditions now while they’re young. We want them to look forward to these traditions as they get older
Advent (and a Jesse Tree as well!) is a wonderful family devotional tradition anticipating both Christ’s birth celebrated at Christmas, and His coming again, following the stories through the Old Testament that lead to His birth. One or both incorporated together! For one example of ideas on this, check out Ann Voscamp’s options of books based on the original one “The Greatest Gift” and resources for the symbolic ornaments on this, very lovely and child-oriented! There is a wonderful pop-up tree version book to hang the symbolic ornaments on! There is also a unique style (actually the original tradition) of an Advent wreath called Cradle to the Cross with daily counting with a candle, made by one son with “the Keeping Company”. These can become family heirlooms with the tradition! I grew up with the 5-candled Advent wreath at church and home, but a few years ago began to use the other, making the season throughout December very intentionally focused and reflective in this new way, really beautiful!
There is also a book by Ruth Graham called “One Wintry Night” that is the story of a women telling a visiting neighbor boy snowed in (Appalachia!) about these!
Some ways to share family focus on Christ!
Love this! Thank you for sharing
We have NEVER traveled or left the house on Christmas Day.
All the things you are saying are the desires of my heart, but none of the rest of my family wants it. How do you introduce these concepts to family that are unwilling to change?
Great question. Maybe introduce one thing at a time or ask if you can implement something new
@@WhisperingWillowFarm Thank you Jill! I love this channel so much. So good to see a smiling face when i come here.
Thank you for your kind words ❤️
We are so aligned...one tv in the basement, only on weekends or really rainy days, no cable.
No school.
No overscheduling.
No leaving the house on Christmas.
No electronics at the dinner table.
No to as much processed foods as possible.
Hard no for food dyes and chemical ingredients.
No to toxics in our home...soaps, smells, cleaning products, candles...etc
Seems me say no to a lot...haha
We also don’t and have never aloud electronics at the table. We went out for a meal for our daughters birthday last week and I was so saddened by the number of tables where the kids where sat on tablets and even a few with headphones in and even a few tables where everyone was sat on phones. Even my little boy (only 8) commented at one particular table “Mam no one is talking to each other at that table, that’s sad”
That is so sad 😞
In regards to the dinner table meals, this is from an article recently and even though 30% seems extreme, this number has definitely changed: "From 2015-2019, the results moved in a narrow range from a low of 43% who reported sitting down together every day in 2016 to a high of 48% in 2018. But in 2020 the daily response jumped to 54%. Another 18% reported gathering for meals a few times a week. Only 3% said their family never ate dinner together."
Wow!! Thanks for sharing
I would stop the car on the side of the road and the kids and I would literally walk through the bush, and I would teach them about the different trees, when as a single mom i wanted to stay in shape as I had three young uns, the kids and I would exercise on the back porch, lol it was cute to see them using the mini bells and how they would lift with me as I did weights. We baked bread and twisters together. All my kids could make bread from scratch at the age of four. (and also ate it as quickly) We would play football at the local highschool on the weekends just me and my kids, I tried to keep them active as I could afford such as bike riding around the track and other activities, all my kids learned to swim and were involved in cubs, girl guides, sparks and rangers. I wanted them to have a good social outlet. My kids didnt spend alot of time on the tv, they joined sports activities after school in the community of their own free will, so I was very pleased with that. We also did alot of art activities, I tried to encourage their creativity as much as I could. I have to add that we also had a movie night and popcorn, many times discussions took place around the table during suppers.
Love this! Thanks for sharing
I'm 61 and haven't had a TV that had any channels since the 80s. My kids grew up without computers, cell phones, and cable. We did have a VCR, though. 😂 Family is the most precious relationship we have. Good to see people getting back to the basics and keeping it simple. ❤
Love that, thanks for sharing
I don't go spend crazy at Christmas. I like to make gifts I always have since I am a crafty person. I don't let December 25th get to me. Jesus is the reason for the season its not about spending money on lavish gifts. I'd rather spend time with my family and make some good food.
Amen to that 🙏
As my kids grew older, we/they often had pretty different schedules in the afternoon (work, kids' sports, etc.) and couldn't often eat dinner together--so we made breakfast our "family table" meal. We always ate a homemade, healthful but easy breakfast meal together (scrambled eggs and toast, French toast, oatmeal with lots of fruit, etc.). Plus I found this much easier to cook and clean up than it was to make a full evening meal for 5 after a hard day at work, and we still had some lovely family time together. It was a nice way to start the day. Sometimes you have to just do the best you can!
Absolutely! Thanks for sharing
I have a question about kids toys. Do your girls have a lot of toys? I'm a homesteading mama that does all the things, milk the cows, grow/preserve the food, cook from scratch, sourdough etc. I have a 3 year old and 4 year old and one due in May. We don't have a lot of things however it seems like I'm constantly getting rid of kids toys and they're always strung out. We don't buy our kids toys, however they have grandparents that love to. So as you've been making homemaking content, wondering how you manage the things that come along with kids or what things you've implemented to help ease your load with kids things.
@@taylorblecher4160 great question. We definitely limit toys and if we do buy them we like to invest in wooden toys that can be passed down from kid to kid, but we try to buy more ‘supplies’ that sparks the kids to be creative versus plastic toys that break and will need to be thrown away. We were just pretty honest with our families in regards to buying the kids toys and ask them not to, and we don’t do gifts for birthdays either to eliminate this, so for parties we just ask the kids friends to ‘make them’ something instead of buying which is way more personal in our opinion anyways :)
@WhisperingWillowFarm thank you for this I've been thinking about saying no more random toys and that definitely reassures me that it's time!
@@WhisperingWillowFarm we have this same issue as person above mentioned. We asked for no toys but our wishes are not respected so then I’m the bad guy getting rid of things.
We had a hard time at first but then we started to place them in a box in front of the gift givers and told them we were going to donate to the local Salvation Army. They got the message after that 😂
So interesting! Traveling and vacations are a priority for me. My young teen daughter just said the other night, “I’m ready to go on a trip, mom,” so we planned something for Thanksgiving week.
On that note, I’ve started a new tradition where I take each of my kids on a trip, just them, and my son and I are heading to Costa Rica and Panama in June and my daughter and I will go to Europe in 2026.
I have kids from 25-6, so it’s been fun to see how our priorities have evolved over the years. This was a great reminder to be intentional and to stop and evaluate.
Holy cow Jill. Over
Scheduled kids. Travel ball. It’s ridiculous and I have a problem with that. I’m the grandmother!
*Said with love* 💕 I’m just going to throw this out there. Take it or leave it. Could you be on the spectrum, level 1? Which would cause your desire to have a simple life? You mentioned the children did not like the Florida vacation but when you released the video, you were the one struggling with being off your normal routine. You didn’t enjoy not having your normal at home routine, coffee, plus the sand and heat bothered you. You were really struggling. When I watched it back then, I related to your video. I was curious, if you’re neurodivergent and your desire to stay regulated by staying on your schedule and away from chaos you cannot control is a result of the way God created you as you are. I’ve also been curious if Sweet Miah is also neurodivergent based off his original Facts about Miah (spelling?) video. I say this lovingly. It’s okay to be as God created you just as you are. 💞🤗🙏🏻🫶🏻 B-AZ-UR
I’ve never thought about it. Thank you for sharing as now I’m curious
We don't do Santa. We feel like our house needs to be a safe place, not one that creepy figurative creatures sneak into our house at night while we sleep. Our kids know the reason, but Jesus is the reason for the season.
Next vlogs with baby again please, thanks
Was in a couple places with cable tv a couple times. Cycled through the channels and turned it off again. waste of time.
Don't watch movies.
don't bother with fossil fuel driven fun.
Don't watch youtube outside meal time and before I go to sleep at night. (I live alone). There's better things to be doing than just sitting at the computer.
There's a bunch of things I don't do because I'm a person of little money, so I'll stop there.
I have not had a TV for many years and no subscriptions. I do not miss it at all.
I do not celebrate christmas, easter, new years, valentines day, birthdays, mother's day, father's day, fourth of july, memorial day, labor day, or halloween.
These are man's days and almost all of them have a pagan beginning, especially christmas and easter which have nothing to do with Jesus.
Please do your research.
I do, however, celebrate the Biblical feasts. Life is so much more meaningful.
Thanks for sharing. I’ve been diving into the holidays and seeing lots of interesting things discussing what you just mentioned. Also how there used to be 13 months and they all had 28 days. Lots of history lost because of man made systems/ holidays
❤❤❤❤❤❤