* THIS POST CONTAINS BOTH AFFILIATE AND PRODUCT LINKS,
​ALONG WITH LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES MENTIONED IN THE POST.*
​

We really like to travel. Jay and Amy have been to Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Florida for student ministry conventions. As a family we have visited California, Maryland, New York, Florida, Georgia, Delaware, South Carolina, and New Jersey for vacations or to visit family or friends. And some of us have visited Virginia, Rhode Island and Kentucky for Mission Trips and summer camps. 

When we were young, Jay and Amy, visited Germany, Puerto Rico, and Amy has been to Jamaica; all to serve in short-term mission trips. It's not a lot of traveling, and most of it was connected with work or serving opportunities, but there has been a good amount of travel for vacations and family fun.

When the kids were younger, traveling was limited to vacations and work related trips. Exploring new places of interest wasn't in our budget or our timeline. But as our kids get older and move out to begin their own lives, we are discovering the opportunity to travel and explore new areas.

This past weekend, Jay, Amy and Breya, traveled to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to attend the wedding of a close friends son. We have been friends with this family since before Amy and Jay were married. And even though there are hundreds of miles between us, we have done our best to stay connected. 

The wedding was beautiful. The service, the reception, the time to visit and fellowship with friends was great. We really enjoyed our time. But we did a little more than simply attend a wedding. I mean, if you are going to go as far a Grand Rapids, Michigan, for a wedding, you better take advantage of your time in a different state to explore. And that's what we did.
​

So what did we do in Grand Rapids? Well, not much. We learned that Michigan has something like 300 miles of beaches and costal attractions. So...we decided we wanted to see the beach.

As we looked for a beach-front area to explore, some folks suggested we visit Grand Haven, Michigan. When we looked it up, we learned that Grand Haven, was about 40 minutes from where we were staying in Grand Rapids. So Grand Haven it was. And it was totally worth it!
​

Grand Haven is absolutely beautiful. From the downtown shopping district with shops and eateries, to the beach-front state park, the whole area had this costal vibe to it. And we picked the perfect weekend to visit. Not only was it Father's Day weekend, but the town was full of visitors shopping at the farmers market, the downtown shops, and various crafters and vendors. And the state park; well that was packed with campers, beach goers, boats, fishermen, and volleyball players. Yes, there was a huge volleyball tournament. It was great.
​

Our time in Grand Haven was limited, so we weren't able to explore everything, but we did our best to tour the beach and the downtown. No doubt we will attempt to visit again and spend additional time shopping and enjoying the beach and waterfront. 

We took along the camera and did our best to capture some of the fun while in Michigan. You can watch the first two vlog episodes of our trip on our YouTube channel, Life in the Higham house.

But not only did we visit Grand Haven on Saturday, but we also spent the better part of the Sunday visiting the world's largest Christmas store in the world, Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland! Bronner's is located in Frankenmuth, another incredible little town in Michigan. Bronner's boasts 7 acres of Christmas shopping on 26 acres of decorated property. We spent over 2 hours in the store, it was awesome. The vlog of our time in Frankenruth and Bronner's goes live today, so be sure to click the links below to watch.
​

All things said, we were a bit surprised by just how beautiful Grand Haven and Frankenmuth were. Not that we thought Michigan wouldn't be, we just weren't expecting it. It was a trip that has definitely sparked a deeper desire to travel and see more places. Amy and Jay are planning to do more traveling and more vlogging about where we visit and explore, so watch for more travel vlog coming later this summer. 

- the higham family

* THIS POST CONTAINS BOTH AFFILIATE AND PRODUCT LINKS,
​ALONG WITH LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES MENTIONED IN THE POST.*

As parents, our greatest hope for our kids is that they know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Not just knowing about him, but having a personal relationship with him and living their lives to honor him.

And, as young parents, we had great plans of family devotions, Sunday schools and Kid Ministries, toys, books, and movies, and special moments where we would open the scriptures and pass down spiritual wisdom and Biblical literacy. As someone who worked for a church, we were going to make sure our kids had the tools, resources, and know how, making them young Bible scholars.

​As I said, we had plans. And for years, we strived to raise our kids with that plan in mind. I remember Amy reading Bible storybooks to the kids as part of their bed time routine. We kept CDs of Adventures in Odyssey to listen to and copies of VeggieTales DVDs to watch in the minivan for long road trips. And we attended some amazing churches with wonderful Sunday school and kid ministries that helped to teach the Bible. Yes, we tried to follow the plan.

But while DVDs, CDs, books and Sunday schools are great, there was one area that we were never able to really conquer. In fact if we were honest, we would say that we were really bad at this. Family Devotions. We wrote a blog about it here, Family Devotions. We Suck At Them!

We could never really nail down family devotions. Special seasons in the church calendar, yes. Holidays, yes. But nothing like a daily or weekly time with our kids. And, that's always bothered us. We knew other families who were having regular family devotions. We were hearing through various Christian family ministry leaders the importance of family devotions. We just weren't very good at making them happen for our family.
​

The book focuses attention on three primary ideas; Time, Moments, and Milestones. These three ideas shape the formation of Family Discipleship. But what I love about this book is how both Matt and Adam, remind parents that while it is our responsibility to teach our kids about God, it is not our job to save them. 

Let me say that a little more clearly. As parents, it is our God-given job to tell our kids about God; to introduce them to Jesus Christ through the gospel. Moses gives us that command in Deuteronomy 6:4-8. Parents, we are the ones who have been tasked with the responsibility of teaching our kids about God. But the saving, well, that's God.
​

Early on we are reminded that salvation comes from and through God. Yes, we are to do the work of leading, teaching, modeling; but it's God who ignites the spark of faith. That faith grows as the Holy Spirit works to take what is being taught and modeled, and uses it to move the young heart towards maturity. I don't know about you, but is a huge relief!

​So what is Family Discipleship? Matt and Adam, give a great definition for family discipleship.

Here's what I love about this definition; whatever, whenever. Yep! Whatever! Whenever!

I love it because it's not about a nightly routine at the dinner table where you open the Bible, read scripture, and engage in a 30 minute discussion over what the verses are saying, teaching, or commanding. We tried that. We weren't very good at it. But as young parents, that's what we were hearing. And every time we met another family who bragged about their amazing nightly devotions, we felt like failures.

However, Matt and Adam, level the playing field and make family discipleship something that's actually possible. Time. Moments. Milestones. These make up the framework for family discipleship.  But it all begins with how we as parents model our own faith in front of our kids.

What is modeling? Matt and Adam say it this way, "[Modeling is] serving as a godly example for your family, living out your genuine walk with God, and demonstrating true repentance where and when you fall short." (Family Discipleship, page 43. Emphasis mine.)

Again, I love this explanation. Notice what it doesn't say. It doesn't say that we need to be experts in theology and scripture. We don't have to have a degree or fancy, abbreviated letters following our name. We don't have to have all the answers. We don't have to have it all figured out. We don't have to be perfect. That's good!

Now look at what it does say. We are to serve. We are to set a godly example. We are to live what we say we believe. And when we mess up, cause we're going to mess up, we show what it looks like to confess and ask for forgiveness. In other words, we model what it looks like to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, as we love those around us.
​

But most of all, I want to encourage you, parent to parent, to consider joining with me on this journey. And, together, we'll explore and learn what it looks like to lead our homes by doing whatever you can whenever you can to your family become friends and followers of Jesus Christ.

- jay & amy
​

* THIS POST CONTAINS BOTH AFFILIATE AND PRODUCT LINKS,
​ALONG WITH LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES MENTIONED IN THE POST.*
​

We love our house, we really do. But it's a little out dated, so we've been working to bring things into the 21st century.

We moved into our home in October, 2019. It took us about five months of house searching before we finally had a bid that a seller accepted. (But that's a whole different story.) Our house is a ranch style, single floor home, build by the original owner in the 70s. We have three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a living room, kitchen/dinning room, pantry, and full basement. The house sits on half an acre in a rural area of West Virginia.

There were a number of things about the house that we loved, but one of the biggest things we loved was that the house was in great shape. The original owners not only built the house (and when I say built the house, I mean they did the majority of the work in building the house theirselves) they took incredible care of their home. We moved in and didn't really have to do anything.

Sure the house was a little dated. The colors, appliances, fixtures, and bathrooms were straight out of the 70s and early 80s. Every things worked, it was just getting old. We thought, we could move in and slowly work to update the home as we are able. And that's what we've been doing.

​Just recently, Amy set her sights on our main bathroom. We're not ready to replace or fully remodel the room, but we are ready to freshen it up with some paint and updated features. The room screams 70s. The shower walls were a prefab'd, splattered style, tiled insert. The tub and soap dish were a mustard yellow. Not a bright yellow, but a muted, dull, mustard yellow. The vanity was a particle board box with a wood veneer. The counter, a standard commercial formica top with a goal and glitter sink.

We've already painted the walls and the vanity. That alone has made an improvement to the space. But the shower was definitely needing some TLC. We're not really ready to remodel the entire bathroom, but we wanted to do something to freshen up the space. So Amy found a paint kit that was made to cover over existing tub and shower fixtures.

We decided to refinish the tub and shower instead of replacing it, at least for now.
​

The process required two coats. It also needed a couple of hours to set after the finishing work was completed. So Amy planned to paint the shower a few days before our Memorial Day road trip as this would allow for the coving to dry and cure without us needing to use the shower for a couple of days.

To be honest, we were a little skeptical. Sometimes refinishing kits promise a lot in the way of change, but if you don't follow the instructions perfectly, the results might not be what you hoped for. But $50 to temporarily update the shower seemed worth the risk, and Amy got to work.
​

Caution, this stuff smells awful! It's recommended that you wear a respirator mask and keep the area well ventilated, which we did. The vapors and smell are strong. We were glad we were hitting the road after applying the covering.

Both the paint seemed to go on easily. We did, however, need to pick up a second can of paint to finish the shower. That aside, the process was fairly easy. We do recommend you read the directions completely before you begin. That was super helpful.

The project took 2 days to complete; a day to paint and dry and second day to apply the finishing coat. Amy finished the project, cleaned up and we were ready to go away for the weekend. 
​

When we got home from our trip, the shower was ready. Dried and cured, it was good for use. And what an improvement! We went with a white finish. It doesn't even look like it was paint. There is a glossy shine that makes the tiled wall look more like a ceramic tile.
​

Amy was able to paint right over the existing soap dish and washcloth mounts. It makes everything look fresh and new. And the smell. Gone. We set up a fan to help move the vapors and odor out of room. There was a slight odor when we first came home, but it's completely gone.
​

Next on our list was to replace the shower curtain. For that we picked up a curved shower rod from Amazon. We chose the PrettyHome Adjustable Curved Shower Curtain Rod in black. It was super easy to install. I measured and drilled for anchor holes, inserted the included anchors, and screwed the wall mounts to the shower inlay. The adjustable rod holders were then screwed to the wall mounts. I then installed the rod and tighten everything up. Easy-peezy.
​

We also decided to replace the shower rings. We went with the recommended rings in black. The Goowin Shower Curtain Hooks come as a 12 piece pack,  with a cool double hook design for balance. And with roller balls, the hooks slide smoothly on the rod for easy use of the curtain. We order the black hooks to match the rod. Both look great and will probably set the new color tone when we go to replace the faucets and knobs on the sink and in the shower.
​

[ affiliate links ]

And there you have it, shower makeover for under $150!

• Rust-Oleum's Tub & Tile Refinishing Kit: $42.98 x2
• PrettyHome Adjustable Shower Curtain Rod: $38.69
• Goowin Shower Curtain Hooks: $6.97
• Total: $143.62

We're super happy with the results. It was an easy and affordable update to the bathroom. We were able to replace the 70's tub and shower with a clean, modern look that will give us some time before we remodel the entire room in a couple of years. (If we get that far...)

​- the higham family

* THIS POST CONTAINS BOTH AFFILIATE AND PRODUCT LINKS,
​ALONG WITH LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES MENTIONED IN THE POST.*
​

We asked for your help, and you came through! Thank you!

In our weekend vlog post (Tragedy Hits the Duck Hut) we asked you to help reach 400 subscribers. We have been slowly growing our YouTube channel, Life in the Higham House, for quite awhile. But over the last couple of months we have welcome new subscribers, bringing us so close to 400 subscribers. I mean, so close. So we asked you to subscribe.

And you did! This weekend we hit 402 subscribers!! Thank you so much! But now we're looking to grow again!

500 subscribers!! 

Can you now help us reach our next milestone for our YouTube channel. We're looking to welcome  another 100 subscribers to the family!  We have been talking a lot about the changes coming to our channel. With our kids almost all grown up, our channel is growing up too. Yes, we will still share the family moments you enjoy participating in with us; birthdays, vacations, road trips, adventures, and the holidays, especially our annual Christmas Eve and Christmas Day vlog. But we are also creating content that we hope you will like.

• DIY projects around the house and yard.
• Recipes and cooking demos from our kitchen.
• Videos of our backyard garden, chickens, and ducklings, and
• Inspirational thoughts and encouragement. 

These and more ideas will all be coming to the channel this year! 

But back to Our Drive To Five Give-A-Way. With your help, we are looking to reach 500 subscribers by Monday, July 31, 2023. To help us with our challenge, we want to give-a-way a Life in the Higham House Thank You Box!

Once we hit 500 subscribers, we will enter all 500 into a randomizer that will pull out one winning subscriber. This one winner, will then receive a Life in the Higham House Thank You Box. What will be in this Thank You Box? ​

• A free Life in the Higham House T-Shirt (You Pick the size and the color.)
• Life in the Higham House and Just Ducky Tees stickers.
• A free Life in the Higham House Camping Mug, and
• A Coupon for 10% a t-shirt from JustDuckyTees.com!

- the higham family