Balance.

Sometimes people pick a word to describe their focus for the new year.  And I think I would pick BALANCE.  I know that's kind of a lifelong quest.  As new balls continue to get added into the juggling act, we have to find new balance, a new rhythm. And sometimes you drop ALL the balls and you have to keep your smile on and pick them all up and continue.  And sometimes when it's just too much, you simply just have to go back to fewer balls, back to what you can handle.  

Part of my journey with Facebook is committing to only checking three times a day. Morning, afternoon, and evening.  When I told this to Kevin he laughed, but he's never been a Facebook user, plus he's a guy, so he doesn't understand the addiction that it can become because he doesn't crave that social aspect in his life.  A close friend of mine is also taking on this "challenge" with me, and the accountability makes all the difference. 

And this change feels good.  

It affects my whole approach to the day.

I feel ready to GO and ready to accomplish something, rather than spending half the morning lounging around and then finally getting moving, still just completing the bare minimum!

I've been working on my 2013 project list-- there's nothing like the awesome feeling of productivity! I had no idea we had so many forgotten drawers and shelves in our house filled with CRAP!  No more! Things are getting organized, tidied, CLEANED!  

But it's not alllll just about Facebook.  Part of it is (in real life) social time.  For awhile there in the Fall it seemed I had plans almost every preschool morning, and the housework was MAJORLY lacking! 

Part of it is evening activities and having too many things planned. 

But much of it is just life.  Housework, parenting and time with kids, finances, spiritual life, social time, marriage, housework, extra curriculars, serving others, health and fitness, projects, marriage, school, parenting.

It all just keeps circling round and round, and is never really "done".  

And that's where I want to find healthy balance.  I sooo want to establish a good rhythm for how to fit it all in well.  I DO think it's possible. It just requires me to use my time more wisely, to live life productively and purposefully.  No, I don't have to CONSTANTLY be multitasking-- there is a time for rest, every day not just Sundays.  There is a time to laugh and to play. There is even a time to be sad. But there's that word again, balance!

So here's to balance in 2013! Living intentionally, purposefully, and productively so I can live life to the full! 

Happy 8 years!

Today is our 8-year anniversary, and I'm so happy and so thankful. We have much to celebrate!

("Happy 8 Day" this is actually a Brian Regan reference. our favorite comedian.)

It hasn't always been easy. In fact it's often been downright hard and ugly.  And seemingly hopeless.

But we continue to choose love.

 

We continue to choose forgiveness

 

and JOY

and commitment.

Because

after all

 

isn't that what love is about??

Reset Button

Our culture has gotten far too lazy. With the world at our fingertips within our electronics, we tend to sit on our butts WAY too much while still FEELING like we are doing something!  I've shared my struggle with Facebook, and I've still been processing thoughts about it. About why it's such a struggle...

1. Motherhood.  I kind of feel like a lot of my role is to hover nearby the kids all day long. To be there and ready when a boo-boo needs kissed, fights need broken up, discipline needs to take place, feelings get hurt, little guy needs taken to the potty, or a drink needs filled.  These things don't happen quite EVERY minute of the day (although sometimes it sure feels like it!) and the in-between minutes aren't enough to get into any project too INVOLVED.  Heck, as soon as I go upstairs to fold laundry, someone is screaming downstairs.  That's just life right now.  I do chores when I can but not ALL day, so those in-between minutes while I hover nearby my kids are often spent on FB. Because it's easy, it's not involved, it's community.  Now don't get me wrong, I play WITH my kids and read WITH my kids and and do some chores WITH the kids and we do spend a lot of time OUT of the house. But when we're home and they want to spend the day playing, this is why I'm often on Facebook, why it's hard to not go there.

And now. It's become habit. It's become the norm.

For many of us.

2. And anything outside the normal is then a struggle.  So I want to reset. To establish a new norm. One that doesn't involve the constant itch to check in on my friends every single day. I have selected a small group of people I truly want to keep up with on an everyday basis, deleted almost 100 friends that were only ever an acquaintance, and left many of the friends I still want to check in on only from time to time.  Yet I still find myself going to facebook.com many many many times a day. Because I'm restless and bored.

So.

I want to rediscover small pastimes that I enjoy. Like Sudoku.  I refound a Sudoku magazine I'd gotten awhile back for Eli, stuck it in the little drawer of our new coffee table and I've thoroughly been enjoying working those puzzles when I have a few minutes! It's easier to NOT do something (Facebook) when you have something else to replace the time with (activities with the kids, or little hobbies).

And for 2013 I want to work on a project list.  I have sooo many projects that could probably be done in only 1 day.  And I'd like to tackle at least one a month! To feel the satisfaction of checking something off as DONE.  To let my kids see the things I enjoy, like sewing, and to learn the basics of these skills.

So here is my list of the quick projects:

1. Finish sewing the last two panels of curtains for the office.

2. If that leftover fabric is enough, make pillow covers for the living room.

3. Finish the Quiet Time Book I'm making for the kids. 

4. Hem my bedroom curtains.
5. Make a set of cloth napkins.

6. Touch up paint in the dining room.

7. Find Eli's baby pictures so I can start his baby book.
8. Organize new recipes.  
9. Finish Eli's spelling book.
10. Finish Hannah's (soon to be Carter's) homework book. 
11. Finish Hannah's drawer project for her room.

Long-term projects:

12. Europe scrapbook

13. Annual family photo albums.
14. Finish conversation calendar.

This year simply must be different. Changes must be made or my kids will grow up doing the same thing. And I hope for more than that.

Facebook 2013

Greetings and Happy New Year!!  I haven't been on here a whole lot.  I'm kind of processing a lot of things these days, and I don't know what to say or THAT it even needs said, especially here to the public!  But this is one thing that has been heavy on my heart, and I'm still trying to figure out what to do with it.... Facebook.

The more I'm there, the more I read what people share, what people comment, the more I observe my own behaviors and feelings, it seems like such a huge trap for sin.  I can only speak for myself and my experience, and these are the ways Facebook causes me to stumble...

It causes JEALOUSY, seeing what other friends are doing.  Everything gets shared, ya know. Lunch dates, shopping trips, movies.  And sometimes, even though it doesn't seem like there's any valid reason, I just feel a twinge of jealousy.  A feeling of being left out, or coveting time out like that for myself.

One of the biggest struggles I think is PRIDE, and this is one I often see, and I'm guilty of it too.  Boasting about accomplishments, in seek of praise and comments, seeking man's approval.  When I post photos or even a status update I check back very very frequently, eager to see what comments I have.  Wow, such sin, trying to build myself up like that. Even if it's unintentional, it totally happens.

And on the flip side are PITY PARTIES, people complaining about this and that just in search of comments and others to come alongside them. Yes, it's good to be real, to show the tough times too, but what is the real motive?

Not to mention the IDLENESS and unproductivity of simply BEING online all the time.

Being a regular Facebook user quickly and easily leads to restlessness and discontentment and I lose the gift of being fully present with those I am with.  There's always a need to know the latest news, because it's constantly changing, people are always posting.

And then there's the hurt and insult caused by posts/comments, even of complete strangers.  And the firey feeling of needing to defend yourself. It's awful.

And hurt and assumptions from posts that are vague, and humans can't help but jump to their own conclusions about what it must mean.  I've probably been on both sides of that "game".

You see, it's such an ugly trap.

But at the same time it's good, and that's why this causes such turmoil within me.  

It's a place where pictures are easily and privately shared with friends and family.

You can share encouraging Bible verses, articles, music, and videos.

You can share simple things that just make you laugh.

You can share kind thoughts and messages to those you care about.

It's a source of communication and news, including urgent prayer requests.

For many others Facebook is not such a battle.  But for me it is.  So for 2013 how do I make this work?

I took my "wall" down.  In order to write to me, it has to be a private message.  This is to protect my friends and readers from any misinterpretations and to help guard my relationships as something somewhat personal.

I now require authorization before I can be "tagged" in something for all the rest of my friends to see.

I cannot remove the option of photo comments, so that just is what it is.

I will use more caution in what I post by following these rules I'd found on Pinterest regarding children but it fully applies to Facebook:

And while I can't control what OTHERS say, I can better control what I SEE.  So I'm working through my friends list.  But that kinda takes forever, so I majorly cut down my list of "close friends" and can view the feeds of that instead of the feeds of EVERYONE!  Simply cutting down will also cut down my online time altogether.

"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

So here, my friends, is to a new year!!

How we do Christmas

I LOVE the Christmas season!  I think it gets more and more meaningful and fun as the kids get older!  

Here is what we are doing this year...

We kicked off the season in November by participating in Operation Christmas Child.  The older two each packed a shoebox for another child their same ages. This year I remembered to print tags online so we can track what country our boxes are delivered to! It will be exciting when we get that email! Next year Carter will be old enough to understand more of what's going on and help pack a shoebox as well.

As you probably already know, each night/afternoon this year we've been doing an advent activity from our calendar, and we are LOVING this tradition.  I like that I can secretly switch the cards around sometimes if I'm feeling too lazy for what was originally assigned.  These have been a fun way to keep the meaning of Christmas simple and true.

I also wrapped all our Christmas books that we hadn't seen since last year and  each night we open and read a new book.  Some of them are even library books and those are numbered for a specific date so they can be opened and returned.  And a couple of them are actually nativity puzzles, just for a fun surprise, cuz we love doing puzzles!  

After we open the Christmas book, we also read a few stories from the Jesus Storybook Bible, starting all the way at the beginning. Every story connects to Jesus and is perfect to read again this time of year, reminding us why we NEED a savior, why we are so thrilled that Jesus has come!  The kids LOVE these stories and beg me to keep reading, saying with great excitement how they "love the Bible!!"  

As for actual Christmas and presents, we don't do Santa so we actually haven't even been talking about presents AT ALL.  But this year for the first time I am doing "something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read" for each of the kids.  So I FEEL like I'm really only getting the kids one main present and even that one isn't extravagant.  We fill stockings with little things and on Christmas Eve they'll each get a new pair of slipper jammies. We rarely buy actual jammies for jammies, we do a lot of tshirts and sweats, so new jammies is special.  

And that's it!  But so wonderful!! 

Don't save it all for Christmas

These lyrics say sooo much of what's on my heart at the holidays...  Don't let it stop just cuz Christmas is over. "Find a way To give a little love everyday Don't save it all for Christmas Day"  So as we head into the season, don't go stressing, trying to shove everything into these few short weeks. Celebrate Jesus, enjoy the truths of what this season is about. And remember, you've got EVERY day to share love and to share Jesus and to share the hope that is in your heart.

Dont' Save It All for Christmas Day

Don't get so busy that you miss
Giving just a little kiss
To the ones you love
And don't even wait a little while
To give them a little smile
A little is enough

How many people are crying
Some people are dying...
How many people are askin’ for love

Don't save it all for Christmas Day
Find a way
To give a little love everyday

Don't save it all for Christmas Day
Find a way
Cause holidays have come and gone
But love lives on
If you give on
Love...

How could you wait another minute
A hug is warmer when you're in it
Oh Baby that's a fact
And saying "I love you's" always better
Seasons, reasons, they don't matter
So don't hold back
How many people in this world
So needful in this world
How many people are praying for love

Don't save it all for Christmas Day
Find a way
To give a little love everyday
Don't save it all for Christmas Day
Find a way
Cause holidays have come and gone
But love lives on
If you give on
Give love…..

Let all the children know
Everywhere that they go
Their whole life long
Let them know love

Yeah, and give a little love everyday

Don't save it all for Christmas Day
Find a way
Cause holidays have come and gone

Don't save it all for Christmas Day
Find a way
To give a little love everyday

Don't save it all for Christmas Day
Find a way
Cause holidays have come and gone 

Christmas Calendar

The idea started brewing last year but at the time I just couldn't find what I was looking for, and I ran out of time to get it together before Christmas season began. So here I was again heading into this year and collecting some new ideas of what I wanted to make.

A Christmas calendar. 

With pockets that include a daily family Christmas activity. 

Instead of a countdown I decided to make it forward like a calendar. Countdowns are tricky to keep track of what day you're on, and this will make it easy to continue if/when we miss days.  I don't want to put the pressure on to do something EVERY SINGLE DAY, because with that adds stress and guilt and that ruins the season faster than anything. But it's there for us to TRY to do every day.  To make fun family memories.

Besides mini photo books, I'm also in love with sewing felt.  It's so quick and easy--you don't have to worry about edges and hems. It's like paper crafts but instead of gluing you use the sewing machine. These were inspiration, but too much work in my opinion.  Too much detail for my skill level.

this was last year's idea

And here is what I created.  Though I still need to add the word Christmas at the top area somehow. Not sure what I want to do with that. But at least it's ready for use.

I put this completely together in part of an afternoon. Super easy and quick. It's just simple and functional but that's my style.  The scrap I cut off of each row so it fit the black piece was just the size I needed for the hanging tabs at the top.  Here's a peek at what some of the cards are in each pocket. There are tons of ideas for these on Pinterest. But this is what I thought was a good mix of serving others, learning the true meaning of Christmas, and simple holiday fun.

Download PDF HERE.

I got out my pocket calendar so I could see what we have going on each day and placed the cards in pockets accordingly.  Can't wait for December to arrive!

P.S. The Christmas Board Game is THIS.

And the Christmas dice game is something like this:

Update: And here is the finished product!! Hooray!  I'm already getting a few new activity ideas for next year... like doing Advent candle lighting and reading on each of the Sundays, or picking a common carol and studying the lyrics or doing copywork with them, or decorating the tree in portions, starting with lights and gradually adding and learning about some of the symbols we put on etc.

Fall ABC Book

I've been doing some mild crafting lately and one thing I'm beginning to love more and more are small photo books.  Something new I want to try doing with the kids each season is to make a photo ABC book, and together if possible on our photo walks.  We have our list in hand that we write up in advance, and it's like a scavenger hunt as we look for each item.  Here is our first book.  Not all the letters are complete but I left open spots so we could come back to them later.  Here are some seasonal alphabet books to help give you ideas of what to include for each letter.

MOST of the pictures I took myself but there were a few I just found via Google because they were not things available at the time (ie cider donuts, frost, Thanksgiving)

These are some of our pictures, but I strongly encourage you to make this an adventure to do WITH your kids. They especially love the pictures with THEM in it!  =)

 You can download the book cover here.  Just cut out and glue onto construction paper.

Holiday kindness

Thanksgiving and Christmas. The two times of the year to be thankful and generous.  Or so it seems. I don't want to spend this season being bitter, but it really REALLY irks me that it's the only time of year we are intentional about gratitude, and being thoughtful and giving to others.  I LOVE seeing friends' thankful posts each day on Facebook, but can it PLEASE continue throughout the year? I LOVE that at Christmas people share cookies and give little gifts to neighbors and teachers and pastors and everyoneandtheirdog, but can it PLEASE continue throughout the year?  I love that people clean out and are generous with their time and money and quick to volunteer but can it PLEASE continue throughout the year?  Otherwise it all seems utterly meaningless.  What can we do to challenge ourselves to give thanks and think of others year-round?  Be intentional, make time, make it a REAL part of your life, not just a season.

First world problems.

Pinterest. It's so great right?  We want our homes looking great and organized but lately I've been wondering where it stops???

Revamping closet doors because they're boring or "ugly" looking. 

Covering thermostats with fancy decor.

Jazzing up air vents.

 

Hidden storage so we can have even more STUFF hidden in every nook and cranny!

 Hiding washer and dryer so we don't even have to LOOK at them!

Pinterest is GREAT for learning how to save money, be resourceful, stretching our creativity, be healthy, and provide tools for training and teaching purposes.

BUT man oh man, many other things are such first-world problems!  How many people could we reach and help if we instead used some of those same effort and resources toward those who are struggling to even live??

What are we doing getting lost in details that seriously don't even matter?  Organization is good, healthy and natural is good, saving money is good, but fancy is just not necessary. 

Thoughts???