Thursday, April 19, 2012

More wisdom from a Dove:)

I've really been working hard to do just this lately, so I had to smile when I read this little silver wrapper...


It's not always easy to accomplish this in our humble home of seven, especially when there is so much to keep tidy and organized.  The project I've been working hard to tackle the past few weeks is the dreaded playroom.  I've asked the children for months (I'm totally not joking--months) to help me get the room in order because you couldn't even walk in the place.  But I realized that I can't expect my kiddos to be up to the challenge when I, myself, hyperventilated every time I looked into the room.  Well, I finally mustered up the motivation to divide and conquer.

Now you see it...
Now you don't...
What's crazy is that the first photo was actually after I had already done some work cleaning and sorting in there!!! Unbelievable, yes, but it was worse than that when I started:(

How did we do it?  Well, with the help of my very generous children, we gave a lot of it away.  Stuff they weren't using anymore, stuff they weren't taking proper care of because it wasn't something that they cared much about, and lots of broken or junky odds and ends (i.e. McDonalds toys) made their way into the trash.

That my friends is our latest story of creating a happy place...but don't worry, I'm sure it won't stay this neat for long:)  I have five kids, remember?

Monday, April 16, 2012

Wisdom from a Dove

Some of you who may have been reading along for awhile may remember a little post I did about a special duck and might be starting to think I have a strange bird thing going on here...

But when I say Dove, I mean a little bit of chocolate:)

If these words of wisdom aren't a reason to treat myself to a little piece of chocolate every now and then, I don't know what is:)

When things in life get hard today, think of this little silver wrapper and stop to enjoy the small things in life.  Take it from me...it can make all the difference between just "making it through the day" and loving the life that your living.

Enjoying the small things in life by counting one blessing at a time to 1000 and beyond...

201.  A love of singing

202.  The laughter of siblings

203.  Funny faces

204.  Freshly popped popcorn

205.  A silly toddler dance

206.  Cuddles on the couch

207.  Nighttime talks with my husband

208.  The dance of lightning across a black night sky

209.  My nightly ritual of picking various items up off the floor (in every room:)

210.  The hum of the window air conditioner

Monday, April 9, 2012

God Bless Our Mess

Something I never thought I would say...


"Why is there bologna in the frisbee?"


May God bless us in our mess today and may we open our eyes to the gifts that surround us, no matter what we find in our frisbees--
or our laundry hampers (see below:)  I love God's sense of humor!


My 1000 Gifts list continues...


186.  Buying veggie plants at our favorite greenhouse


187.  My husband getting the garden planted before more rain


188.  Planting sunflower seeds with my girls--that never actually grew:(


189.  The technology that allows us to share special photos with family and friends


190.  Having breakfast ready before I even go to bed:)


191.  Petals of irises blowing in a light breeze


192.  A sweet message from my husband


193.  Surprise crayon creations


194.  Tornado warnings


195.  Morning glory sprouts growing from seeds near our mailbox


196.  A little boy's calm, peaceful birthday party


197.  New shirts that were much needed


198.  Ceiling fans moving inside air on a hot day


199.  Dahlia blooms on the verge of opening any day


200.  An example of patience



Saturday, April 7, 2012

Happy Easter!!!


2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Another favorite YouTube video:)

I've been wanting to share this for a long time because I just think it is SO cool!  Watch this video and be amazed:)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jeLl-mNAxY&feature=related


What a wonderful reminder that things are not always what they seem...God has a plan for each of us.  And we don't always see things the way he does.  So many times in my life, looking backwards, I can see so clearly the path that God had set for me.  I realize that even when my world is upside down, God has a way of turning it around and showing me something amazing.  


Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)

 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.


Romans 8:28 (NIV)

  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Monday, April 2, 2012

My love/hate relationship...

I mentioned before that I had to give myself a little "time-out" on the computer.  Why, you ask?  Well, it has a little something to do with my newest love/hate relationship.

Let me start out by saying that I LOVE the sharing of ideas.  I LOVE (an attempt) to organize.  I love technology that is useful and functional.  I love fun stuff!

What I hate is becoming obsessed with something that contributes to thoughts that "steal my joy".  I hate realizing that I'm purposefully engaging in an activity that encourages me to be discontent with my beautiful life.

My newest love/hate relationship is with Pinterest.  If you've never heard of Pinterest, the site is described as a computerized cork board where you can "pin" your favorite ideas or concepts that you've found, so you will be able organize them and to return to/access their direct websites more easily.   The way that I often explain it to people is that it's like a virtual 3 ring binder with an unlimited number of dividers (because I used to tear pictures or articles out of magazines and then stick them in a binder, so I could go back to the ideas again later).  My "pin boards" (or categories, if you will) range from
Home and Garden to For the Fab Five to Free Printables, etc.

It's actually a very helpful tool to reduce paper clutter in my life and to make it easier to revisit ideas about, well, just about anything.
The thing is...you can also follow other people's pin boards and see all the things that they pin.  Which leads me to my problem...

I found myself becoming a tiny bit obsessed with Pinterest and what other people were pinning.

When I would look at other people's pins about activities for children, I found myself thinking, "Why don't I do all these cool things with MY kids.  I need to be a better mom."

When I would look at pins about home decorating or home improvement, I found myself thinking, "I wish our house had that." or "Our _________  room would be so much better if we could do THAT."

When I looked at pins that included fashionable clothing or fancy hairstyles, I would find myself thinking, "I'm SO frumpy.  If only I could look more put-together." or "The body that carried 5 children would NOT be able to make that cute outfit work."  Aghhhhhhhh!  Get the picture?

And once I realized what I was doing, it led me to think about other issues I was having with computer usage, like checking my email every 5 minutes or wishing I could just spend the afternoon blogging.  I was getting so distracted and it was really affecting my homemaking and overall attitude.  So, I had to go  "cold turkey".   I chose to extremely limit my time on the computer and gradually, I have allowed myself  to return to Pinterest.


So that was a very long explanation of why I "disappeared" from the blog world for awhile...


Now, hear me when I say, I am NOT anti-Pinterest.  I think the concept is fabulous and I will continue to use it BUT, and this is a big but, I am determined to be more purposeful when I do.  My "fast" helped me refocus on simply using MY "boards" and not looking so much at what others "pin".  And when I do choose to look at other people's pins, I'm making sure to fight any discontent that may creep in with reminders of God's truth.  I love my beautiful life and what I've been blessed with is more than enough!!!

Praise God, my cup runneth over--with or without Pinterest:)