Clutter and Cuteness

My picture of the week is a two-parter. I'm still on the upswing of the new year's resolutions and getting things organized. (No need to remind me that we are only finishing the second week of the year.) I'm in  the process of going through "stuff"; purging, giving away and keeping only what I need or love. I have to tell you (and I don't have to if you really know me), it is hard for me to part with things. I get sentimentally attached to things. Silly things, even.

Do you know anyone else that has kept 90% of every love note plus notes from friends since elementary school??  "Do you like me? Circle yes or no. If you don't like me, do you like Kelly?" and "Can you believe she wore dress shoes with her sweat pants?" and "I can't wait until Olivia's birthday party! I love the New Kids on the Block!" They sure are fun(ny) to reread. I thought I would keep them and let my kids read them. But I don't think I want them read. They show how shallow I was. And mean. I thought I was one of the nice girls, but really I was just as cliquey as the others. And what does my husband think of my old love notes? He rolls his eyes and thinks I'm a little nutty. (I also saved his English tablet from high school. It has my name written all over it with hearts and doodles.)

I'm allowing myself to save some of the silly sentimental things (including the orgami-like folded letters that bare our boy-crazy souls). My main requirement is that everything I want to keep has to have a place and not become clutter. 

Clutter creates chaos and confusion and  right now...I'm foggy-minded enough. It also has a way of "hiding". By hiding, I mean blending in. After a while the 12 inch stack of magazines looks like it belongs next to the coffee pot. 

One of my friends and her family came over for a visit yesterday. The house was in so-so shape. I told her, "Ignore the cluttered sideboard, it's not who I am." Then I laughed and said, "who am I kidding?....it is who I am." It's just not who I want to be. 

There is a little bit of everything on my favorite piece of furniture. Mail, pictures, glue, clothes to be returned, a clock that hasn't been wound up in weeks, vitamins, mismatched socks....the list goes on. This family heirloom is WAS the catch all. It's located in the perfect spot to dump items that don't have a permanent home. No longer, I say. And we all know that kids always listen to what their moms say. 

Cleaning took a couple hours because I can never accomplish just one thing without the interruptions of dumped Legos, dirty diapers, refereeing, hungry tummies, phone calls, wiping noses, kissing boo boos, and absentmindedness. But I'm refreshed by the outcome.

Look, it has shelves. Isn't it cute? It's not my favorite color wood but I would never change it. I bought it at my great grandparent's estate auction. They bought it for fifty cents at my great-great grandparents auction. I love it. (Remember, I'm a sentimental gal.) The clock, bowl, glass and lanterns were also grandparents or great grandparents. Besides a couple of Bibles, that is as far as my antiquing goes. Too many kids live here to worry about having and keeping old stuff nice. Besides, I truly do not want material things to get in the way of what is important.

The picture of the week......this is what happens when Mommy is busy....

Seriously....the markers need to go! She is "bazest" (Corbin's way of saying possessed, which he really means obsessed) with pens and markers. Crayons don't do near enough damage for her taste. This girl will go on marker hunts. And we won't even discuss her attraction to eyeliner and mascara! 

As I sit here holding a sleeping tot, whose face no longer resembles a circus clown, I can hear the ticking of my newly revived clock. The midnight chime is advising me to call it a day. I think I'll obey. And tomorrow....who knows, maybe I'll tackle the top of the fridge!

Bring on the New Year

Today I boxed up the last evidence of Christmas. The plastic 6 1/2 ft Colorado Pine was folded up much like an umbrella and crammed back into the closet where it will live for the next 10 months. The three wise men, along with the whole nativity, are wrapped in newspaper and packed into their 30+ year old box. I wonder what memories of Christmas 2011 my children are locking away to treasure for years to come.

Christmas morning

The picture cards will grace my kitchen all winter long.

Christmas weekend Mom and Dad came up from Missouri, not a long enough visit, but I'm happy they came.

We spent Christmas Eve at my grandparents with my brothers and their families. Unfortunately, my sister and her crew weren't able to make it. We were surprised with a short but sweet visit from them a week later, though!

grandkids minus jody's 

Jody took some pictures of all the kids last summer. One was made into a canvas for Mom and Dad's Christmas gift.

This is the first time I have ever seen my dad with a beard. I even let out a gasp at first look.
He's just a fuzzier big teddy bear.

The highlight of the day was watching and listening to the carols, worship songs and country music played by the talented musicians. New tradition? I hope so!

My dad, brothers, son and nephew

Josh teaching Kodi some chords

future guitar player

Dad playing the mandolin

One of the headbands Mom crocheted for Faith

We left our Christmas tree up so when Jody came it could still feel like Christmas. It didn't work, but that's okay. It was the best ever New Year's treat!

It was so sweet to catch E and L reading the Bible before they went to sleep. 

Fun memories were made with the other side of the family too.  We were blessed to finish out the year and bring in the new year with loved ones. I'm optimistically excited to see what 2012 holds in store.

I have (loosely) made resolutions. I do every year. We won't talk about how they are usually the same ones as the year before....be more organized, exercise, eat healthier, blah blah blah. This year I'm also resoluting (yeah, it's a word.) to stick with the resolutions. :-) But instead of resolutions I'm going to call them goals.
Goal number 1. Make life simpler. (Be more organized)
                     2.Increase my energy. (Exercise)
                     3. Meal plan. (Eat healthier)
:-)I think those are things I will always be working at and I'm okay with doing great sometimes and not so good at other times. Having goals is important but it is also freeing for me to take a break from the rigidness of a schedule.

There are some things this year that I really want to improve on, mostly on what God is calling me to do and who He wants me to be. I want to be a better wife and mother, more patient and aware of what my husband and children need. I want to be an encourager. Above all, I want to be in His will at all times.

Lord, here I am, your servant, your hands and your feet. Use me as you must. Open my eyes to what You see.  Give me the courage to do your work. I am yours.

Another thing I want to try accomplish this year is to share a photo of the week. I thought about doing one picture a day but I can't add one more thing to my daily tasks. And I don't want it to be a task. So, one a week it will be.

Week ONE:

My littlest is a "doffee" thief. Don't leave your cup of joe (or hot chocolate) unattended or little hands, that may have tiny polished nails, will steal your brew and leave you with an empty mug and, most likely, a spill.

OR maybe this pic:

Theses two peas in a pod were born thousands of miles apart and live hundreds of miles from each other. Their love as friends keeps them close and their bond as family means forever. I loved seeing them read scripture together, especially without any prompting.

As you can see, there are no rules to my weekly picture(s).

Welcome 2012!

Getting Ready for the Miracle

Several years ago I had the privilege of co-directing a church musical called Getting Ready for the Miracle. It is about a girl named Mary who was born on Christmas Day. She doesn't appreciate Christmas shadowing her birthday resulting in a lack of presents. In the end Mary realizes the true meaning of Christmas is not about getting lots of gifts, but about receiving Jesus, God's gift to us.

Is it really so simple? Could we actually put aside the commercialized view of the holiday and just celebrate Jesus? And what does celebrating Jesus look like?

Is it getting together with family and friends, laughing, feasting, and making memories? What about caroling, gift exchanges and traditions passed down from the generations? Those are wonderful things (traditions make my heart sing) but I'm feeling more and more like we are missing the point.

When I hear how many millions of dollars are spent at departments stores each Christmas while there are children starving and dying from preventable diseases and so many others in need, I am grieved. How must Jesus feel?  We are honoring HIS birthday. Shouldn't we spend our time and money on things He desires?

How am I spending my time getting ready for the miracle of Christmas? Am I spending my days lost in the hustle and bustle of shopping and preparing for my parties? Shouldn't I spend more time preparing my heart for Him?

As I rocked my littlest to sleep today, I got emotional (my new middle name) thinking about how Mary must have felt that very first Christmas Day holding her precious Babe. What did she do to prepare for His coming? How did she feel giving birth in a lowly stable? Did she realize the beloved Baby she was holding would be a sacrifice for all people...including her?

As you go about this magical season anticipating the excitement of Christmas morn, be sure to remember the reason we celebrate. Rejoice in knowing that God gave us His only Son, born as a baby, so that we may have eternal life! Never has there been such a gift of love so amazing!

Merry Christmas, my friends! May God bless you with love, fill your hearts with joy and give you true peace!

November in a Nutshell

November came in like a lamb and went out like a lion, a big, growly lion. We were spoiled with temps warmer than I ever remember for this time of year. I'm not sure where the month went. One day it is 11-11-11 (I love days that have quirky numbers!) and the next day it's December. The month snuck (sneaked??  Is it sneaked or snuck?!) by without regard for my desire to leisurely enjoy the holiday season. I'm digging my heels in and holding tight onto the tail of December to try to slow it down a bit.

 I love the look of snow! It tells of cleanness and purity. It hides the depressing dead of late autumn.

However,  I'm not a fan of snow covered ice. We had our first ice/snow storm of the year. We were fortunate to keep our electricity. Some of our neighbors weren't as lucky and were without for 36+ hours. This day also happened to be a memorable one for my sixteen year old.

He scored the coveted ticket of freedom. Well, semi-freedom. He took his driving test while the ice started to fall from the sky. What a brave instructor. I think I would have been cancelling if I were her.  This is what our road looked like when we got home.

Not ideal for a newly licensed driver. Or a seasoned driver.

Faith loves to climb on furniture and see what's going on out the window. She was in awe of the snow.

Baby girl likes to do her own hair too. I appreciate the headbands more than her brother's underwear for hair accessories. She'll dig through clothes baskets to find underwear to put on her head. Should I be concerned?

We celebrated Court's birthday mid-month. Okay, we didn't really celebrate, but we did sing to him (I think) and he got cake.

He's loved. Speaking of love, we also celebrated our 17th anniversary in November. Seventeen years?? I don't know how that is possible when it was just last year that I was 17. Wasn't it?

picture taken by Apryl Deeter

Another highlight of the month was getting to go out with my long time (as in since 4th grade) best friend Sheila. Since she lives in Colorado, we only get to see each other once a year when she comes "home" for a visit. I'm so happy that her husband landed an awesome job 2 hours away and they are moving next summer! How appropriate that our date was going to see a musical!

I had such a good time. And I am all the more wiser now since she taught me how an expert orders at a coffee shop!

For one reason or another it has taken over a week to finish this silly little post, from internet problems to busyness to forgetfulness.

So long, noviembre! (Isn't it bizarre that months aren't capitalized in Spanish??) Your holiday is one of my very favorites. Although this year it seemed to come and go without big fanfare, my heart is overflowing with thankfulness. 

I'm looking forward to all December has to offer. And of course celebrating the true meaning of the season. 

It's easier to spread Christmas cheer when you are dressed the part. 

Bring on the jingle bells!

Saturday's Magic

One of the most difficult things about being a mom to six kids is dividing my time between them. I'm constantly being pulled in all different age directions, from supervising driving skills to teaching how to make bunny ears with shoelaces to keeping toddler destruction under control (impossible with my active girl!). Sometimes a couple of little ones get lost in the shuffle of busyness.

I love doing fun things as a family.....with ALL the kids, but it is getting harder with the age division of interests. Do we play Euchre or Uno? It's like when a big kid is shouting "Hey, watch me, Mom!" on the high dive and I'm stuck in the kiddie pool. (true story) Sometimes my kids do all agree on something fun together, like The Farming Game.

Funny how Faith just sits there like she is part of the game

I hate dislike that game. Who wants to play a game where you owe the bank tens of thousands and are always in debt? Sounds like real life to me. My kids know that as nice as I am :-) I will never play that game with them.

And sometimes I catch my big ones joining in on a make believe adventure with the little ones.

It makes my heart smile.

I'm letting go of the concept that all of my kids need to be present in order for us to enjoy family time. My preference is that we all play together but I'm coming to realize that it is okay if a big kid or two wants to stay home instead of going to the park with the little ones or whatever else we choose to do.

Today I invited all kids to go to town for some entertaining family time. Only two were excited about going. (Mostly because I had no details. For some reason big kids like specifics.)

So, I took my only two brown-eyed babies and headed out. Side note: The awesome thing about having kids with a wide age range is the babysitting. We don't (or try not to) take advantage of them. Really they love to babysit and ask to. Seems weird, huh? Don't let their innocent, teenage looks fool you. Free television and snack privileges come with babysitting in this house. Oh, and no other chores for the day. Good incentives. I hope they will always treasure the special bond they share.

Our charming town was celebrating the beginning of the holiday season. There were all kinds of fun activities. And did I mention....everything was free? One thing we were for sure doing was going to the movie theatre to catch a show.

It was a bonus that I had been wanting to see this movie. I was disappointed to learn that I wasn't missing much. (Sorry to all of you who love this Christmas classic.) Maybe had I not watched the movie through Corbin's eyes I would have felt differently? My 5 year old doesn't need the example of bad-mannered kids. (I'm sounding all prudish, aren't I? If you would meet my spicy little guy you would see that he shouldn't have that encouragement.)

After the movie we went on a game hunt. We walked from store to store to play carnival-like games and fill our lists with stickers.

There was to be a drawing later in the evening. Four kids would win $25 to spend at any merchant in town. Emmaly was one of the winners! I was overjoyed that my big-hearted girl won money for herself. Whenever she sees a bucket or coin jar for charity she gives all or most of the money in her purse. She doesn't usually have more than a dollar or so but she is very generous with what she has.

Guess how she is spending her newly won money? Christmas presents for her brothers and sisters. I love this girl.

The day was beautiful. The quaint town was decked out in her Christmas finest.

I had the most delightful company.

I'm not quite ready to celebrate the Christmas season since Thanksgiving is over a week away. And I [heart] Thanksgiving! It's a time to reflect on all our blessings and offer thanks to the One who makes all things possible. It's a time to get together with family without materialistic expectations. And the food..... I'm sure I don't have to tell you about the feasting! But right after Thanksgiving Day it is exciting to anticipate the coming weeks.

 After our trip to town we came home and continued our play day.

After the sun had said farewell we headed back to town to watch the nighttime parade and attend the Miracles at Main & Market Streets. We ate homemade (from the Amish community!) cookies, drank hot chocolate, huddled around cozy barreled fires, lit candles and sang songs. What amazing people fill our neighborhood. It was a magical day.