motherhood
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october 2019.
What’s hard Exercising regularly Remembering to eat enough food Staying in our budget, after months of getting to spend money on the house Not complaining Being interested in Avengers and Pokemon Puzzles that are more than 100 pieces Finishing a knitting or embroidery project Praising more than I correct Saying I’m sorry What’s easy Going to sleep by 10:00 pm Organizing Making our house feel welcoming and cozy Baking cookies Watching Little House on the Prairie with my kids Reading fast Having deep conversations Meeting people What brings me joy Doing hard things anyway The wonderful friends all four of my kids have Seeing David happy…
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the gift of mothering.
Today is my eleventh Mother’s Day, and I’d like to give thanks for the gift of mothering. Being a mother is a daily, moment-by-moment chance to practice the command of Jesus to lay down and die to myself, to take up my cross and follow Him. Being a mother has broken me, has shown me the limits of my performance and control like few other experiences in my life. It’s revealed the depth of my sin — the capacity I have for laziness and self-pity and anger and resentment. It has pushed me to the limits of my wisdom and energy. It’s challenged my idols of people-pleasing and comfort. Being…
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road trip reflections.
Hello friends! It was fun to sit and read back through our Road Trip blog posts in preparation for writing to you today. It’s been six months since the trip, which we took in September, 2018. I gathered some of my favorite pictures from our experience, and have a few reflections as I think back. But first: if you’re new to the blog and would like to follow our actual trip, start here. To summarize: In 19 days we drove 6,000 miles total to the Grand Canyon and back (actually the farthest point west we reached was Las Vegas), through 19 states (hey, 19 states in 19 days!), three time…
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what worked and what didn’t in 2018, part 2.
Hi friends! So I know you’ve been waiting with bated breath for the things that didn’t work for me in 2018! Have no fear, I am back and ready to finish up this series. What didn’t work: Running Yes. It’s true. Running did not work for me in 2018, and I have no one to blame but myself. Here’s the secret: I just don’t like running. I’ve tried for years and years because I know it’s good for me, and because, as my husband tells me, it’s the most time-efficient form of exercise. I’ve also tried because, in all honesty, I want people to think I’m a runner.…
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what worked and what didn’t in 2018, part 1.
Hello there, my friends! I hope you’ve recovered from the holidays and are settling into 2019, ready as I am to embrace the comfort of familiar rhythms and routines. This post was a request from my husband and it gives me a chance to say: I love blog post requests! I enjoy writing and sometimes run out of ideas, or think maybe you get bored of reading about the same old/same old, so if there’s anything you want me to write about, don’t ever hesitate to ask! I like a good assignment. In lieu of making New Year’s Resolutions I typically take some time during the first couple weeks of…
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five things.
Happy weekend, dear friends! I titled this post Five things on Friday, which was much catchier, but then Friday came and went and the post sat in my drafts folder (like most of my blog posts, for awhile). This will be a word-heavy, picture-less post, I apologize in advance. I’ll do my very best to make it interesting. Here are a few things we’ve been up to! 1. Starting school We started a new homeschool year on Tuesday, and it’s been lovely. We had a wonderful summer. I felt like I truly disconnected from homeschooling and got to travel and take pictures and catch up with friends and just…
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three years ago.
This is always a meaningful time of year for me, because it marks our adoption anniversary. The actual three-year anniversary isn’t ’til Tuesday, but by this point in time our lives were already very much turned upside down, as we made the 3-hour round trip drive daily to get to know Gabe and Noah, then scrambled back to get our house ready for two toddler boys (rather than an infant), figure out health insurance, and buy a minivan. Today in celebration of that utterly crazy week, I want to show you the first photos we ever saw of our boys. By this time we’d heard their names. We’d heard their…
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judah goes to camp.
Yesterday evening we dropped Judah off for 6 nights at Bethel Christian Camp in Gaston, about 30 minutes away from Columbia. It’s a camp we’ve known and loved for a long time. We’ve met the director, and have seen lots of friends attend over the years. I can’t imagine a better first camp experience for our boy; still I can hardly believe he’s gone. He’ll turn 10 in September, which is the age I was when I started going to camp, but it still feels young somehow. I was delighted that we were allowed to settle him into his cabin and see the bunk he chose and meet his senior…
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here’s to a great summer.
Here are three ways I’m embracing our summer so far: 1. These thoughtful words have given me permission to feel peace and joy, rather than guilt for what I didn’t do last school year (this applies to you too, even if you don’t homeschool!). When the school year comes to a close it’s important to let go and move on to the business of truly enjoying summer. Don’t allow yourself to dwell on the areas where you or your children fell short, which could turn into a swarm of negative and worrisome thoughts. While honest reflection is helpful, too much in the wrong direction becomes never ending and will rob…
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a review of my first bullet journal.
Friday morning David took the kids on some errands and I spent a happy (quiet!) hour at the dining table starting my new bullet journal. I did it! I finished my first bullet journal in its entirety! I didn’t lose steam and shelve the thing halfway through the year as I’ve done with so many day-planners. I got my money’s worth! Sorry. I read somewhere that exclamation points should be used very sparingly by blog-writers, and clearly I’ve broken that rule. But I’m just really excited report that this system works for me The bullet journal I use has 249 pages, and I used it for 7 months. I know,…
