I have been participating in this challenge for 10 days now, and I love it! The devotions have really "hit me where I live" and the daily Martha tasks are not as overwhelming as I feared they would be (though we have yet to get to cleaning out closets which is my big trouble area). My kitchen is looking fantastic at this point, and though my husband was very amused and condescending about using a book to help me get organized, he loves the results.
The best part about the challenge is it has made me realize the importance of what I am doing each day. I very easily fall into the trap of thinking what I do is so incredibly temporal (sometimes lasting for mere seconds, as in the case of my clean kitchen floor) and fail to see the eternal value to my efforts. It has also made me focus on what I want from my home- a place of respite, beauty, and peace. When I view it with that big picture mentality, it makes scrubbing a toilet feel a lot more worthwhile.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Long Time No Post
Here is the problem I have with a blog about my life, other than the obvious time issues: I cannot fathom what I would write about each day! There is nothing that happens in my life on a daily basis that screams "exciting", or even mumbles "mildly interesting". When Grant comes home from work he asks the inevitable question, "What did you do today?" Most of the time I reply with a vague, "Oh, you know, the usual." and try to change the subject. Honestly, I can't think of a single thing to tell him! However, I will try to actually answer this question and if it is deathly boring then I will know that I was right.
What I Did Today (Or rather, yesterday since it's only 11:00AM)
After Grant left for work I tried in vain to comfort the screams of my son, Benjamin. He is a major Daddy's boy and thinks that when Dada goes away it will be forever and we will never see him again. Or so I assume, based on his intense reaction. At this point Annalee is asleep for her morning nap, so I take Benjamin outside, which is the one surefire cure for Daddy Blues.
We play outside for about an hour, which mostly consists of Benjamin throwing his ball into the drainage ditch and then squealing with delight when I help him climb down and get it. Once we retrieve the precious ball, he throws it again. When I have had enough of this I leave the ball in the ditch for Grant to get later in the day. We then meander around the house, stopping to scoop up dirt, rocks, twigs, and whatever else suits our fancy.
We go back inside and he eats a snack while watching Baby Einstein, also known as Substitute Mommy. During this time I do the dishes, throw in a load of laundry, make the bed, and whatever else I can cram into 20 minutes. Then I get the vacuum out and clean up the snacks Benjamin has thrown all over the floor. We're not sure if he ever actually eats anything, but he is still alive so I guess he's doing alright.
It is now Benjamin's naptime, so he goes down sometimes without a fuss and sometimes in flames. Without fail Annalee wakes up the minute I think I will have some alone time, so I run as fast as possible to her room so that she won't wake her brother. Benjamin is a notoriously light sleeper, requiring all manner of white noise, fans, and other measures to ensure he naps. I feed Annalee, dress her in something cute, take about 37 pictures, then put her down for a nap. She is extremely easy to put down, and sleeps through a lot of noise (i.e. her big brother).
I typically have about 45 minutes to myself, sometimes more, oftentimes less. In this time I get dressed, eat lunch, check my Facebook, fold a load of laundry, and then try to sit and soak in the silence. This is soon broken by Benjamin, who is ready to join the land of the living.
He eats lunch (or throws food everywhere), we build mega block towers, he usually poops, we read books, and he is usually at his most adorable, so I take pictures and text cute things he does to Grant.
Annalee wakes up, and thus begins the most stressful part of my day. She eats and Ben tries in vain to get her bottle (he is allowed one when he wakes, before naps, and before bed, but if he had his way he'd carry one all day long). She poops and Ben destroys her room while I change her diaper. I rock her to sleep and Ben cries because he's bored. If we're lucky she'll lay down one last time and I can take Ben outside and let him climb up and down the stairs 100 times (with Mommy's assistance) or check the mail. However, she is not a great afternoon napper, so usually I have to hold her.
Around 4:00PM it all comes to a head. Annalee is needy. Benjamin is fussy. I am trying to stay strong and not give him a bottle. The living room is a nightmare with toys strewn everywhere. I am covered in spit up, and the once clean kitchen is a mess. I look around and think, "Why does Grant even want to come home to this?" I try to clean, fix myself up, or entertain the children, but it is no use. So, we sit and stare at the clock.
4:30- WE STILL HAVE AN ETERNITY LEFT!
4:45- Maybe we can make! Hold onto hope!
5:00- YAY! Grant will be home any minute! Another day successfully completed!
5:10- Hmm...if he left right at 5:00 then we have about 7 minutes left. I think I can last that long. I think I can...
5:17- WHERE IS HE?!?!
5:20- I cannot take this! What is he doing?!?! Doesn't he know we NEED him?
5:25- Seriously, he is going to GET it when he gets home.
5:30- I HEAR A CAR!!!! I SEE A CAR!!!! Much rejoicing is had by all, especially Benjamin.
5:32- Grant walks in the door and thus concludes my day alone with the children.
Pretty exciting stuff, huh?
What I Did Today (Or rather, yesterday since it's only 11:00AM)
After Grant left for work I tried in vain to comfort the screams of my son, Benjamin. He is a major Daddy's boy and thinks that when Dada goes away it will be forever and we will never see him again. Or so I assume, based on his intense reaction. At this point Annalee is asleep for her morning nap, so I take Benjamin outside, which is the one surefire cure for Daddy Blues.
We play outside for about an hour, which mostly consists of Benjamin throwing his ball into the drainage ditch and then squealing with delight when I help him climb down and get it. Once we retrieve the precious ball, he throws it again. When I have had enough of this I leave the ball in the ditch for Grant to get later in the day. We then meander around the house, stopping to scoop up dirt, rocks, twigs, and whatever else suits our fancy.
We go back inside and he eats a snack while watching Baby Einstein, also known as Substitute Mommy. During this time I do the dishes, throw in a load of laundry, make the bed, and whatever else I can cram into 20 minutes. Then I get the vacuum out and clean up the snacks Benjamin has thrown all over the floor. We're not sure if he ever actually eats anything, but he is still alive so I guess he's doing alright.
It is now Benjamin's naptime, so he goes down sometimes without a fuss and sometimes in flames. Without fail Annalee wakes up the minute I think I will have some alone time, so I run as fast as possible to her room so that she won't wake her brother. Benjamin is a notoriously light sleeper, requiring all manner of white noise, fans, and other measures to ensure he naps. I feed Annalee, dress her in something cute, take about 37 pictures, then put her down for a nap. She is extremely easy to put down, and sleeps through a lot of noise (i.e. her big brother).
I typically have about 45 minutes to myself, sometimes more, oftentimes less. In this time I get dressed, eat lunch, check my Facebook, fold a load of laundry, and then try to sit and soak in the silence. This is soon broken by Benjamin, who is ready to join the land of the living.
He eats lunch (or throws food everywhere), we build mega block towers, he usually poops, we read books, and he is usually at his most adorable, so I take pictures and text cute things he does to Grant.
Annalee wakes up, and thus begins the most stressful part of my day. She eats and Ben tries in vain to get her bottle (he is allowed one when he wakes, before naps, and before bed, but if he had his way he'd carry one all day long). She poops and Ben destroys her room while I change her diaper. I rock her to sleep and Ben cries because he's bored. If we're lucky she'll lay down one last time and I can take Ben outside and let him climb up and down the stairs 100 times (with Mommy's assistance) or check the mail. However, she is not a great afternoon napper, so usually I have to hold her.
Around 4:00PM it all comes to a head. Annalee is needy. Benjamin is fussy. I am trying to stay strong and not give him a bottle. The living room is a nightmare with toys strewn everywhere. I am covered in spit up, and the once clean kitchen is a mess. I look around and think, "Why does Grant even want to come home to this?" I try to clean, fix myself up, or entertain the children, but it is no use. So, we sit and stare at the clock.
4:30- WE STILL HAVE AN ETERNITY LEFT!
4:45- Maybe we can make! Hold onto hope!
5:00- YAY! Grant will be home any minute! Another day successfully completed!
5:10- Hmm...if he left right at 5:00 then we have about 7 minutes left. I think I can last that long. I think I can...
5:17- WHERE IS HE?!?!
5:20- I cannot take this! What is he doing?!?! Doesn't he know we NEED him?
5:25- Seriously, he is going to GET it when he gets home.
5:30- I HEAR A CAR!!!! I SEE A CAR!!!! Much rejoicing is had by all, especially Benjamin.
5:32- Grant walks in the door and thus concludes my day alone with the children.
Pretty exciting stuff, huh?
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
It's a girl!
We are officially having a little girl! The ultrasound was fun, but I was so nervous the whole time. She looks perfectly healthy- 4 chamber heart, measurements are normal, we could see her little brain, and she weighs about 9 ounces. She was a little shy when it came to showing her anatomy, but she finally rolled over and even to my untrained eye it was clear that there was nothing between the legs but three little lines! The technician spent extra time looking, though, just in case, and didn't say anything until she had viewed her from several angles.
I started crying when she told me that it was a girl, and I was so thankful to the Lord that He cares for the desires of our hearts. Benjamin was with us at the appointment, and though he was a handful because he hadn't napped that morning, he was also adorable and his antics kept me laughing through the ultrasound (which wasn't the best thing, because then the picture would get blurry!).
The funniest thing that happened, though, was when the technician first did a Pelvic Ultrasound (you ladies know what I am talking about...) to check on my cervix. She told us this beforehand, but Grant was distracted with Benjamin at the time. So, my cervix and uterus show up on the screen and Grant says, "Look, Benjamin! There's your little brother or sister!" The tech and I started laughing and I said, "Grant! That's my cervix!!!" He replied, "Well, it all looks the same to me, anyway..."
I think I am still in a little bit of shock over the news, but even with our past experiences I have no trouble believing wholeheartedly that it is indeed a girl. I think it is a mixture of trusting a more skilled ultrasound technician on newer equipment, believing that God knows the desires of my heart and wants to fulfill them, and good old mother's intuition. Regardless, I can't wait to finally meet Annalee Elizabeth.
I am in a little bit of trouble, though, or should I say GRANT is because my sister-in-law and I went shopping at Gymboree yesterday and I could have spent hundreds on the most adorable baby girl stuff I've ever seen. And the accessories! I think I may need a part-time job just to keep up!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
New Bedroom Suit
We bought new bedroom furniture with our tax credit, and we LOVE it! The best part, hands down, is our new King size bed with a Posturepedic mattress. It has been so comfy and was well worth every penny. We also had to get new bedding, and after dealing with the 8 throw pillows and giant comforter of our previous bedding, I decided to go for something simple and easy.
Close up of the bedding:
Dresser with mirror:
TV stand!
Close up of the bedding:
Dresser with mirror:
TV stand!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Southern Living
Can you say culture shock?
Seriously, though, this has been quite an experience so far. I feel like everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, yet we've survived and know beyond a shadow of a doubt this is where God wants us. The hardest thing is definitely the isolation. I'm used to seeing my friends countless times a week for Bible studies, mall excursions, lunches, church, and other random purposes. To go from that to spending days at a time only seeing Benjamin and Grant is....well, it's different.
I don't know another SAHM (stay at home mom) in the area, so that makes building friendships difficult. I know God will provide friends, but I also know they will probably be different friendships than I am used to. What's that old hymn say? "Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey." That's my mantra!
Some strange things about the South:
-I am constantly asked if I am from "up north" since I don't have a Southern accent. I usually say, "No, I'm from Oklahoma." They say, "Yeah, I can tell." I'm not quite sure how to take this...
-When we go to Wal-Mart we have seen entire families shopping barefoot. I guess the "No Shoes, No Shirt" thing hasn't reached Alabama yet.
-You have never experienced hospitality until you've experienced SOUTHERN hospitality. This is by far the most overwhelmingly friendly place that I have ever been. Everyone is so nice and eager to help us! I think if we had wanted it we would have had the entire church over helping us paint, clean, and unpack.
-News spreads FAST in the South. I told one person at Wal-Mart (my new home away from home since it's the only place in town to go) that Benjamin was sick and by the next day the ENTIRE church knew! Seriously, I am not exaggerating. We once got a phone call that said, "Hey, we heard you were headed to town and wanted to know if you needed anything!" Apparently a church member had passed us in their car and called various other people to let them know. Can you say fishbowl? :-)
Suffice it to say, life is different but it is fun and exciting to experience it. We miss our Piedmont family greatly, but are enjoying getting to know our Hamilton one.
Seriously, though, this has been quite an experience so far. I feel like everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, yet we've survived and know beyond a shadow of a doubt this is where God wants us. The hardest thing is definitely the isolation. I'm used to seeing my friends countless times a week for Bible studies, mall excursions, lunches, church, and other random purposes. To go from that to spending days at a time only seeing Benjamin and Grant is....well, it's different.
I don't know another SAHM (stay at home mom) in the area, so that makes building friendships difficult. I know God will provide friends, but I also know they will probably be different friendships than I am used to. What's that old hymn say? "Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey." That's my mantra!
Some strange things about the South:
-I am constantly asked if I am from "up north" since I don't have a Southern accent. I usually say, "No, I'm from Oklahoma." They say, "Yeah, I can tell." I'm not quite sure how to take this...
-When we go to Wal-Mart we have seen entire families shopping barefoot. I guess the "No Shoes, No Shirt" thing hasn't reached Alabama yet.
-You have never experienced hospitality until you've experienced SOUTHERN hospitality. This is by far the most overwhelmingly friendly place that I have ever been. Everyone is so nice and eager to help us! I think if we had wanted it we would have had the entire church over helping us paint, clean, and unpack.
-News spreads FAST in the South. I told one person at Wal-Mart (my new home away from home since it's the only place in town to go) that Benjamin was sick and by the next day the ENTIRE church knew! Seriously, I am not exaggerating. We once got a phone call that said, "Hey, we heard you were headed to town and wanted to know if you needed anything!" Apparently a church member had passed us in their car and called various other people to let them know. Can you say fishbowl? :-)
Suffice it to say, life is different but it is fun and exciting to experience it. We miss our Piedmont family greatly, but are enjoying getting to know our Hamilton one.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Bunco!
I am determined to make the most of these last two weeks in Oklahoma, and last night was no exception. I went to Bunco at Summer Cope's house and had a blast! I didn't win anything, of course, but we had great food and great fun. Below are some pictures from the night:
Not sure what Leigha's doing....
I'm all about doing a "silly" photo, and this one was tons of fun to create.
Notice the careful editing :-)
More to come from my last weeks in the Sooner state.
Not sure what Leigha's doing....
I'm all about doing a "silly" photo, and this one was tons of fun to create.
Notice the careful editing :-)
More to come from my last weeks in the Sooner state.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Change is in the air...
Well, we are officially moving to Alabama! I can honestly say I never would have thought those words would escape my lips (or my fingers...), but here we are and I am really excited about it. We told our church family in Piedmont yesterday morning and there were a lot of tears shed. While this was heart-breaking, it was also a good thing because it means we have developed strong relationships, and that is always a wonderful experience.
Grant's last day will be April 25th, and we hope to move the following week. Our house in Alabama is beautiful! It is 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and sits on four of God's most beautiful acres. Buying the house was quite an experience since I had to go house hunting on my own. It wasn't realistic for Grant to take even more time off, which left me with the monumental task of finding and buying our first home!
I looked at 10-12 different houses in my three day trip, but it was fairly obvious which house was best suited to Grant and I. The house we chose is out in the country. You cannot see another house from any point on our property. We have a huge yard and then there are woods behind the house and across the road. I can just imagine Benjamin running and playing in the grass, through the trees. It seems like an idyllic place to raise our children (yes, CHILDREN! I want at least one more :-).
Our new house:
View from the road
Part of our Yard
Grant's last day will be April 25th, and we hope to move the following week. Our house in Alabama is beautiful! It is 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and sits on four of God's most beautiful acres. Buying the house was quite an experience since I had to go house hunting on my own. It wasn't realistic for Grant to take even more time off, which left me with the monumental task of finding and buying our first home!
I looked at 10-12 different houses in my three day trip, but it was fairly obvious which house was best suited to Grant and I. The house we chose is out in the country. You cannot see another house from any point on our property. We have a huge yard and then there are woods behind the house and across the road. I can just imagine Benjamin running and playing in the grass, through the trees. It seems like an idyllic place to raise our children (yes, CHILDREN! I want at least one more :-).
Our new house:
View from the road
Front Porch
Part of our Yard
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