first half of summer.

It appears as though I am taking the summer off from blogging! Oh, not so! I just have been preoccupied. I spent about 3 weeks in horrible pain due to a tooth that desperately needed a root canal. Feels SO much better now! Then Miles got the flu. And I got the flu…then Greta, and finally Joe.

So, forgive me- here are a few snapshots of our summer so far.

Recital Day.

Ice cream after the recital.

Joe and his Dad (Dennis) rockin’ out on stage.

Greta’s new obsession with wearing Miles’ pajamas

Playin’ with sticks.

Greta attacking me with a water balloon.

Working in the garden.

Splashing with Nana!

Growing up.

sunny.

 

This.

is.

summer.

Have I mentioned lately how adorable my niece, Tegan is??

purge it!

We are Americans. We all have too much stuff.

About a year ago, I started purging our things whenever I would deep clean. The result is that each month I typically donate about 2 large garbage bags full of toys, clothes and STUFF.  It is beyond me how we could possibly have such a steady stream of STUFF coming into our home. Where does it even come from?? You would think that we would have nothing left after getting rid of so much each month; sadly, not so.

Here are some of my purging tips:

*Do one room at a time.

*Ask, when is the last time I used/wore this?

*Ask how many of these do I have and how many do I need?

*Get rid of any broken, worn out items.

Could some one else get more use out of this? (For instance, if you are keeping a baby swing for your daughter to use with her dolls, a real baby somewhere would be able to enjoy it much more!)

*Does this item make my life easier or harder?

*Just like they do on TV, create a trash bag and a donate bag.

*Keep up with it. Purge at least every couple months. You will be surprised at how much you are able to get rid of each time.

Wishing you a less cluttered home and mind!

gratitude.

One of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done is to start a gratitude journal. I got the idea from the fabulous book, One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp. I keep the journal and a pen in my purse at all times, so whenever I think of something I can jot it down.  This little exercise has really allowed me to see the beauty in every day life. Sometimes I write something extremely profound and other times it is just something simply that brightened my day, like the beautiful swirls in the swordfish at the butcher’s counter. Give this a try and I’m sure you will see that it adds a whole new dimension to your day!

sleeping woes.

Miles has pretty much always been a good sleeper. While he doesn’t require as much sleep as even his big sister, he does a great job sleeping through the night (unless we are staying away from home, of course).

Lately, Mr. Miles has decided that 5:00 a.m. is the perfect time to rise.

Nope.

Not good.

I must admit, it is incredibly sweet to be awakened by a soft voice saying, “Good morning, Mama!” or his soft little fingers touching my face.  But, this Mama is used to waking up around 7:30 a.m..  I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, but there is a HUGE difference between 5:00 and 7:30!!!

I’m pretty sure he is just exerting the new-found freedoms of sleeping in a big boy bed, but sheesh!

Really, really hoping this is just a phase!!

much too much.

I am currently reading an awesome book called, The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule. This book is so much fun! It is full of fabulous ideas for crafts and fun things to do with the kids. One thing I found particularly interesting was that she shares my opinion on children’s toys! I’m pretty sure that our families already know how we feel about this, but I thought I’d share this. I remember our first Christmas with Greta, we came home with an entire van filled with toys…literally.  I felt so guilty.  I never want the “stuff” to take away from celebrations like Easter, Birthdays and Christmas.  Joe and I have  decided that for Birthdays and Easter, we will give our children each one gift. For Christmas, we will do 3 to symbolize the 3 gifts from the 3 wise men.

Well, I could go on and on, but she explains it much better-

“When it comes to playthings for our children, I can’t emphasize enough that for creative play, less really is more in regard to toys.  Between generous gifts from family members, hand-me-downs, and accessible inexpensive toys, it is quite likely that our homes are cluttered and full of playthings. A sad product of our modern world is that our children are taught early on to over consume and to want more, more, and more. Chances are that they do not need more toys, but fewer. When there are too many things around, there’s little room for imaginiation.  Clean out some of the toys you have now that are not used often, and think more critically about the ones you let into your home. Tell family members your philosophy and ask them to share it when they make purchases for your children. Rotating toys in and out of the play space can also be a helpful way to use fewer at a time, and it can provide a “new” way of looking at an old toy.”

G.K. Chesterton.

I’m not sure exactly how old I was, but I would guess sometime in my early highschool years I had an obsession with looking up and memorizing quotations.  I would go to the library, find the very thick books on quotations, look up any particular saying that I found relevant to my teenage life and commit it to memory.  Sometimes I would write out a quotation on paper, make it all pretty and hang it on the wall.  Looking back, I can see that it was the beginning of my thirst for the word of God. I was looking for wisdom, answers from those who knew much more than I.  Now that I am older, I get any wisdom I need from the Bible.  I actually do not read much else.  Memorizing scripture has been an invaluable asset to my life as a Christ follower.  As a throwback to my highschool days, I’ve decided to share some of my favorite quotes as of late. They are all quotes of G.K. Chesteron…

“The main point of Christianity was this: that Nature is not our mother: Nature is our sister.”

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.”

And my favorite-It’s long, but worth it!

“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”

princess gigi.

Greta insists on being called either “Gigi” or “Princess Gigi”.  She got a few Gigi- God’s little Princess Books for Christmas and has become a quick fan!  In fact, when I was moping around the house last week sick- she told me, “It’s OK, Mommy, you just need to be God’s little princess!” If that doesn’t cheer you up, I don’t know what will

lil’ trouble maker.

Surely not Miles??? Yes, I am in fact talking about sweet little Miles.  This week, he has learned how to- unplug things from the wall, shut himself in his bedroom, dump out his toy box and open the bottom drawer of his dresser! He might not be walking or even officially crawling yet, but he is getting into everything! We are just loving our little guy’s new passion to explore.

****UPDATE**** Add to the list- escaping from his exersaucer (about gave me a heart attack) and opening his closet door and hiding inside!

Resolution.

Ok. It’s official. I’ve made a resolution for 2009.

*****To be less self centered******

Sure, we are all a little self centered. It is our nature.  I was at the grocery store tonight and let the person behind me in line go in front of me (he only had 2 items). This is something I used to do all the time, and it dawned on me that I don’t think I’ve done that once in the last year!  I’m not perfect. I’ve never been perfect, but I’m pretty sure I used to be  a lot less self centered. I used to be the kind of person who would never forget to send a thank you card. The kind of person who would just send a note in the mail letting someone know I’ve been praying for them, or that I’m thankful for them. Something has happened.

I can pinpoint it to the exact date- September 13, 2007. This of course, was the day we found out that something would be “wrong” with our baby. When you get news like that, the only way to survive is to go into protection mode.  I  spent so much time praying, worrying, thinking, researching about this disease.  Then when Miles was born, I spent all of my time caring for him, setting up Dr.’s appointments, therapy appointments and again thinking, praying, worrying  if he’d meet a milestone or if something else would go wrong. I would be a horrible mother if I didn’t do those things. But…enough is enough! No matter how bad things are, there is always someone worse off.

I think it’s time to pop the bubble I’ve been living in. I resolve to notice, help, appreciate those around me. Because, I haven’t been doing my job!