I thought I would post a couple things that have been on my mind lately, things that have helped me get that all important right perspective as I fumble (flit? stagger? dream-walk?) through days with a house full of small kids. I know I am not the only one here who is in that situation, so maybe what has been helping me would be of some use to you too.
The first thing, that really is a comfort is this: the only thing that absolutely MUST be organized in our home is my attitude. If that gets a little cluttered, or retains sticky rings from juice with a little dusting from the bottom of the toaster, then all the dry erase boards and fridge cleaning schedules in the world will not make this house fun to be in. On the other hand, if I can keep my attitude stacked in Rubbermaid bins, neatly lableled in the closet, then no matter what is going on in the house, we are doing fine. The kids may be falling apart and needing me all at once, but the only thing separating a clumsy moment Continue reading ‘Enough to Go Around’
After four years in business, we have decided to close our downtown shop La Bella Vita. When we first opened, I was seven months pregnant with Lina, and we were well aware that having a business that was dependent on me (it is not my husband who loves to work with flowers after all) could get complicated.
We made a few resolutions at the beginning to guide our decision making. The main thing was that we wanted our shop to overflow from our home, and not take away from it. We wanted to make sure that I was not down arranging beautiful housewares while our own home or children were neglected.
Well, the good news is, that hasn’t happened! On the other hand (as our kind, cheerful, and downright heroic employees could attest), we are no longer able to keep juggling our very joyful responsibilities. In God’s good humor, he sent twins to our family this November. While we are seriously enjoying our newly doubled brood, we simply are not able to keep up with everything else we had going.
To break it down for you, we may have to bring in outside help to get my teeth brushed every day! The shop presents itself quite clearly as the place to pare down, and pare down we are going to do! Continue reading ‘A not too little Announcement’
When my husband and I first got married, we created and instituted our own little set of rules for communication. These were like training wheels for us, and we were pretty faithful at observing them. I am convinced that God used our little “rules” to keep us on track those first few years of marriage. We became so used to these that it soon became second nature.
First, we agreed on two banned words during any kind of communication in conflict: never and always. Why? Well, consider the rhetorical effect: “You never remember my birthday. You always forget.” This is a universal and sweeping statement. Not even once did you remember? This kind of language cuts no slack and guarantees a defensive response.
We agreed that all past offenses were off limits. If they were forgiven, they were indeed forgotten. If it was dealt with, it could not be brought up again.
We kept an eleven o’clock rule, which probably got moved up to ten thirty. After that hour we agreed to sleep on it and finish the discussion in the morning. Everything looks better in the light of day! And the longer you work on a problem late at night, the worse it gets. Continue reading ‘Stay in Fellowship’
Over the years I’ve seen lots of different programs for reading your Bible, and they are all good. Some are charts with a little square for each chapter to check off, some have a required number of chapters a day, and others have you skipping around all over the place. Whatever gets God’s people reading the Word is great by me. I’ve tried a few different systems over the years, but here is the one I have settled on. I must have learned it from my husband or his father before him or both.
Get yourself two bookmarks. Start reading the Old Testament and mark your place. Start reading the New Testament and mark your place. Keep reading. When you finish, start over and do it again.
I like reading in Psalms or Proverbs as well, so I need an extra bookmark for my system. And I freely confess that I don’t get it all read every day. But when I do read, I do it like this: I read a bit in the O.T. and mark my place, read a bit in the N.T. and mark my place, and read a psalm or some proverbs and mark my place. Pretty straight forward system. Continue reading ‘Bible Reading’
Winter is wearing on. Christmas is over, but it’s still cold outside. The closets are overflowing with things for the discard pile. The pantry has sticky honey circles on the second shelf up. The kids are fussing at each other. It’s too cold to play outside. Or, if the kids are grown and married, they’ve all gone back to their respective homes with their respective spouses and children. The house seems empty because it is empty. The great resolution to lose a few pounds has given way to a weary feeling of “who cares anyway?”
Oh dear. Look out. It’s the January Blahs, and you may feel like just going back to bed and coming out sometime in April or May when the daffodils are up. What’s with this?
First off, let’s all realize that the January Blahs are very predictable. You are not the only one who feels a little disoriented by a new year. Part of it is coming down from a solid month (or more) of Christmas motivation. There was so much to do, to plan for, to Continue reading ‘January Blahs’
Thanks to all the scads of you who entered! Just for the fun of the thing we got a charming porter at Christ Church to officiate for us on the drawing. And hooray for Tonya!
Recent Comments