Balanced Efficiency

I love Saturdays. I love waking early, getting dressed and attacking a day full of possibilities - mostly, in my mind, the possibility of catching up, working on big projects, getting as much done as possible. The absence of school and presence of another adult in the house opens the door to things I'm not usually able to get to during the week. In my mind, a good Saturday is one where I work ceaselessly and wind up exhausted and asleep by ten pm. I love that feeling of accomplishment.

There is one thing I struggle with on that quest for complete Saturday domination. My huge to do list requires efficiency that waits for no man and, as a result, my patience is severely tested. If made to wait for even a few minutes for something I need from someone else, I can feel it prickling. My internal time piece counting down the moments with increasing urgency because I must get to all the things. Even including little ones in my work eats at me, knowing I could move faster, better, work harder without them in my way.

Thinking that way is a bit of a problem.

This past week, a few big things touched my community. A Mama I know lost her 3 week old baby. A fellow blogger lost her battle with cancer and left behind four small children. Hard and horrible things happen every day, but something about these particular instances stopped me. These are women approximately my age, living lives not that different than my own. They could be me.

Sunday morning, getting ready for church, I thought about efficiency...and remembered (too late) that I had decided not to fuss at my family to get them out of the door on time.  Oops.

Being efficient in and of itself isn't a bad thing. It can be almost a virtue of sorts, the kind of thing one looks for when hiring a potential employee, for example. An efficient home can be  a quite peaceful place to live, one that never feels particularly rushed because everything is done how it should. The trouble begins, as with most things, when we forsake all else in pursuit of that one thing.

In family life, it's a tough balance to strike. Whether you stay at home all day or go to work, some things are going to have to be done, and done while also living in relationship with others. Keeping what matters most in the forefront of your mind can be difficult when there are meals to prepare and clean up afterward, a steady march of dirty laundry to deal with, bills to pay. It can be easy to elevate those things while pushing aside the better part - the human part.

The truth of it is - sometimes relationships require our undivided attention. Sometimes the dishes will sit in the sink because we stopped and had a heart to heart after supper instead of rushing on to the next thing. Sometimes life will look a little bit messier than we'd like, or the ultimate list of Saturday domination ends up fizzling out because something came up that needed us to slow, think, relate.

It's all a balance. One that I struggle to find each and every day. What am I called to in this moment? What is the next right thing? What is the better part for me, for them, right now?

Sometimes it's getting the chores done. The clean slate of the weekend. A family working together. And sometimes it's recognizing that today is just not that day.

It's a different sort of domination. A domination of self in pursuit of something better, knowing that none of this is a guarantee. A balanced life is one that blends work with life, and never loses sight of what matters the most.

I'm still an efficiency addict, and I doubt that will change. But I hope to also be someone who can be relied upon to be thoughtful, helpful, sensitive and self effacing. At the end of the day, that's the sort of life I want to live.

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Chaotic Christmas

Two boys are wrestling on the rug. Nearby Rosie is oblivious, playing with her play kitchen next to the side table where Fiona is playing a computer game on my lap top. Dinah is drawing over on the coffee table and I'm on the couch, feet up, knitting (always with the knitting). This room is loud. There are toys sprinkled here and there, books in haphazard stacks in any available space. The bookshelves are crammed with board games, art supplies and school books. We live in every inch of this space. In the corner, next to the TV, stands our Christmas tree. Right in the middle of our chaos.

I agonized over it, the tree this year next to the television. Silly, I know, but I kept thinking - I don't want a tv in the pictures I'll take of my kids in front of the tree! It didn't fit my vision of Christmas. Christmas as special, Christmas as set-apart. Christmas as somehow removed, glamorously different than our daily world.

In the house I grew up in, there were many spacious rooms. We always had our tree in the Living room, a room that was reserved for special events. Beyond practicing the piano, or my dad reading in there late at night, the living room was largely unused. The family room in the back was where we played and where the tv lived. The library was where we did school. The living room was special and so it made sense to me that that was our Christmas room. The place we decked out in Christmas finery each year.

It's funny, isn't it, how we hold tightly onto things in our lives, so sure of their absolute importance that it can cloud our thinking. The placement of my childhood tree made sense. We hosted a big family Christmas eve party each year and the whole house was thrown open wide for guests. But in my little house, there are no unused rooms. No special, company-only spaces. Each room used at max capacity.

For a while, it bothered me. Once the tree would go up, I'd try extra hard to keep our living room spotless, lecturing kids on picking up their toys and keeping things nice for Christmas. I've softened on that. Sure, I'll pick up on Christmas eve, maybe even run the vacuum before setting gifts under the tree so that Christmas morning dawns fresh and clean. But, really? We live here. This is our play room, our reading room, our wrestling room. It's the place where my kids lose puzzle pieces under the couch and Rosie sets play food on every surface. It's the space where they play video games and where I leave disorganized heaps of knitting here and there. It's our life. And right smack in the middle of life might just be exactly where Christmas is meant to come.

A glamorous, special, no-holds-barred Christmas is not wrong. But neither is Christmas right smack in the middle of every day life. For a King who came on an ordinary night to ordinary people in their ordinary lives, it kind of feels right. I'm reminded every night those kids head to bed and the lights on our tree shine out in the midst of evidence of another chaotic, regular day - that His light is constant in the chaos of life. A miracle shining brightly in the middle of the ordinary.

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Preparing To Rest

{Hi Everyone! Still soaking up some much needed time off, and reminding myself of just this, an archived post on rest. We all need it. Enjoy and see you Monday!}

It's Saturday night, and I'm wiping counter tops in the soft glow of the kitchen.  Upstairs, the kids are busy pulling on pajamas and setting out church clothes in preparation for the morning.  I move from kitchen to downstairs bathroom, straightening and wiping down, and all the while keeping up a silent meditation.  Gratitude for another week past, intentions for the one just beginning.

One of my goals this year was to work on our family day of rest.  By being intentional in preparing for it, hoping to make it more of a weekly reality.  As the Mama of this family, taking a day "off" to rest can seem an almost laughable prospect.

The truth is, we need rest.  All of us.  Rest is neglected to the detriment of all, but culturally we seem to have let it slip away.  The crush of so many busy days deceive us into thinking that if we took a day off, we'd never catch up.  The catch-22 is that, without it, we surely never will.  A generation of people running on empty have proven this - we need rest.  Creating a family tradition of taking a day to pause, regroup and embrace rest benefits all, from overwhelmed parents right down through the little ones.

Sometimes I wonder that we get so used to seeing the Ten Commandments of a list of "Thou shalt not's" that we forget that when we let go of our vice grip on our lives, God takes that space to bless us.  Not only that, but this principle of a day of rest was important enough to Him to include it on His list of Commandments to us.  A Sabbath is a blessing, straight from Heaven to us.  It hangs there like a gift, just asking to be opened and accepted.  Still, we convince ourselves that our lives are simply too big, too full, perhaps even too important, to take time to slow down and regroup.  But if we are honest with ourselves, the world won't stop turning if we step out for one day each week.   

With little ones to care for and responsibilities every day of the week, yes, even on a day of rest, I have realized that I need to prioritize Sabbath preparation.  If I neglect this discipline, the very chaos of getting a family ready for church and the stress of figuring out what to serve for dinner can steal the peace I am seeking.  The key to a peaceful Sunday for a Mama comes right down to preparation.

Each family will prepare differently, based on their season in life.  Here are 4 ways we are preparing to rest.

Prepare Your Heart:  I work this in by listing my thanks for the week past and my hopes and prayers for the week to come.  Touching on the moments that made up my week illustrates God's blessings in my life and centers me in preparation for Sunday morning.

Prepare Your Mind: In order to keep stress at bay during my day "off," I jot down a list of all of the things I need to pick up again on Monday - the reminders, the lists, the plans.  This clears the clutter out of my mind and gives me permission to relax.

Prepare Your Home:  On Saturday evening, I make extra sure to have the house picked up before bed, the kitchen wiped down and ready for the next day.  This is not a time to get stressed out by aiming for a perfectly clean house, but rather just straightening up for a clean slate in the morning.

Prepare Your Meals:  Simple food is our staple on Sundays.  Soups and breads can be prepared in advance (I love my crockpot for this), cuts of meat can marinate over night.  I set out bowls and cereal for the morning so it is ready on hand when the kids come down.  Even if I do end up needing to do some cooking on Sunday, doing some of the prep work on Saturday evening really helps to keep the stress of getting meals on the table to a minimum.

Prepare Your Family: I have my kids set out church clothes the night before right down to shoes to minimize last minute dashing around (my 5 year old suffers from chronic shoe loss).  I double check their choices when I come up later on, just to make sure everyone is all set.  I also remind the kids about expected behavior at church and that we don't play video games on Sundays.

In a world of rush and schedules and madness, the Sabbath is still a gift, waiting just there for us to embrace. Through intentional preparation, even the busiest of Mamas can find a bit of peace in this, His gift of rest.

How do you prepare for your day of rest?

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Large Family Minimialism {4 Tips For Getting Started)

1200 Square Feet. 6 children, ranging from (nearly) 11 down to 1. 2 adults, one Michigan basement that cannot be relied upon not to ruin things (ask me how I know) and a dearth of usable closet space. That's what life looks like over here.

I grew up in a home with 6 siblings myself, but it was nearly three times the size of our little mouse house here. My Mom did a good job with keeping little but something about a large house makes it much easier to hold onto things. Sometimes stuff isn't clutter, but things that can hide in plain sight. Things you don't need, don't use, don't really want but just have. Things that will take time to go through and figure out so you never really do. Stuff.

Like it or not, taking care of stuff consumes a lot of our time. Shuffling it here or there, storing it, cleaning it, caring for it, thinking about it. Not only is that something I don't have space in my home for, but I don't have space in my life for. I have 6 children which means I have 6 reasons for spending less time on stuff and more time on people.

I don't really want to own stuff. I want to have the tools I need to live a good life, the things my children need to play and learn. But extra stuff? It does nothing for me. If anything, it detracts and distracts from the life I want. Stuff is never just stuff. It's a job, it's a "someday I'll get to that," it's a cloud hanging over life. At the end of the day, I want to spend more time on the porch watching my kids play and less time cleaning up. Less stuff means less time dealing with it. More time for the life you want, spent the way you want it. I could always use more time for the things I love. Finding minimalism is like finding a treasure trove of time. And who doesn't need more of that?

Now, I feel the need to say if you come over, you'll think "This is what she calls minimalist? There are puzzle pieces mixed with cheerios and broken crayons punctuated with the odd matchbox car....everywhere!" Well, ahem, yes. There are. Minimalism is a process and something that is ongoing. It's not something you wake up to one day and go from there. Minimalism is more of a journey. The needs of our family have changed a lot over time and I can imagine will only continue to change. No matter how minimal you are, if you have 6 small kids in a smallish home, things will be a bit of a mess. I want to be clutter-free, not joy-free. So there are water color paintings stuck to my fridge with A-B-C letter magnets. A lot of games and puzzles on the shelves. And of course knitting, and yarn, copious amounts of both because clutter is clutter but yarn is yarn.

Here are 4 things I changed when I started pursuing minimalism. I'm still working on it, I'm not "there" yet by any stretch, but I'm enjoying the process.

I Said Goodbye To The Clothing Bins.
You know those bins full of clothes, labeled "Boy, 2T" and other similar such stuff? I don't do that anymore. I don't keep clothes that no one in my home fits. I know that the idea to keeping it all is that you'll spend less in the long run, but I found out early on that the clothes I saved were never guarenteed to fit the next child during the proper season, and even if they did - several years in storage weren't always kind to the clothes themselves. Elastic quit on a whim and everything looked a bit more tired when I pulled it out. So we pass clothes on to friends or donations. I save some things that can be handed directly to the next child straightaway, but everything else is passed along.

I Got Rid Of Redundant Kitchen Appliances.
You know what someone with a lot of people to feed and barely any cupboard space needs? An ice cream maker and a bread maker and (insert incredibly specific use appliances here)...There's no space for them and I didn't use them with enough regularity to warrant the real estate they were taking up in my life. Also, how many can openers does a girl need? Spatulas? Pots? I took a long hard look at what I really needed and really used and got rid of the rest.

I Got Honest With Why I Keep Things.
Things I don't use or really want, but was holding onto for some emotional reason or other. A dress hanging in my closet because I bought it on my trip to Europe when I was 15? Was incredibly hard to let go. But I haven't worn it in a decade and I have a picture of me in it, at 15, in Europe with my sister. I didn't need to own the dress to own the memory. It's gone now and you know? I don't miss it.

I Embraced The Library. 
You know what I don't need to own? Books. I used to think I did. That every book that sounded good or helpful or interesting was something that I wanted to sit on my shelf. But I read books once. Maybe twice. I also live a block and a half from a library where I can borrow all the books I want for practically free (my husband is likely laughing at this statement and I'll be getting a text shortly about my excessive late fees. Ahem.). As a homeschool Mama, there are some books that I want to own. Literature that I want all of my children to read, for example. Treasure Island and Peter Pan and Aesops Fables - those things can stay, because I've got 6 people who need to read them. But some parenting book that I read two chapters of 5 years ago?  Doesn't need to be collecting dust in my life.

I Got Friendly With Craig's List. 
I realized quickly that I had no space to store baby gear that no one was using. A baby uses a bouncer for maybe 3 months, tops. An exersaucer, potentially less time than that. 3 months of use for 2 years of storage seemed a bit backwards. I sold my baby gear on craigs list in between babies and set aside the money to buy it back when I needed it.

These were just the jumping off point, the places that seemed to attract the most clutter in my life. Just tackling these areas has made a huge difference. In working on it a little bit each day, I'm getting closer and closer to the intentional life I've always wanted.

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Kitchen Contentment

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” 
― William Morris

I've been meaning to do something about that kitchen for a while.  Yesterday I got to work.  I wondered if an island was the answer - but my oddly shaped kitchen just couldn't squeeze one in.  I really don't like having a lot of things out on the counter top, but the things I really use needed to be on hand - quick and easy to access.  Feeding 8 people a day out of a little kitchen with no storage to speak of can be discouraging.  I always feel a mess - disorganized because I truly do not have a place for everything.

Yesterday I moved the coat hooks from the wall next to the door to the wall perpendicular to that.  We had a wooden rack there with some collectible odds and ends, but honestly all it really collected was dust and I'm just not in a place in my life where I need to display random items.  The secret to keeping a small house feel clean and uncluttered is that less is really more.  Stuff on every surface makes the entire place feel claustrophobic and I can't hardly breathe when I look around.

 So I took that wood rack and hung it above the oven and moved the vast majority of my pantry to the rack.  Sure, it is stuff out in the open, but I don't know - I think it looks organized and it is certainly practical.  This freed up space in my one cupboard for that new set of mixing bowls my cousin gave me (that I love!) as well as my crock pot.  I was storing it in the basement, but the up and down was a nuisance.  Keeping it on the counter top wasn't ideal, either - I need all the space I can get!  It now fits under the cupboard with the bowls, pots and pans and the large storage containers for whole wheat and white flours that don't fit on the rack.  Already things feel so much neater - and my counter stays clear and ready for work.

My next plan is to tackle our produce situation.  These photos are taken midweek in our produce consumption, and we have another peck of apples in the refrigerator.  I want to find some bushel baskets, still trying to find the best price.  If anyone local knows where to find them so I can save on shipping, that would be great!  The plan is 3 bushel baskets under the side table to house the fruits and vegetables that stay out of the fridge.  Again, out in the open but organized and not unattractive.  

The last part of my kitchen organization will be a proper shoe rack.  We have a shoe mat under the hooks, but there really isn't space for 2 pair of adult shoes and 6 pair for children. I need to find one that stacks up a little bit, so I'll be looking for that this week.  Someday I would love to have a mudroom, but in this house I have a small corner in the kitchen to keep those things organized.

Looking forward to Thanksgiving and the cooking I'll be doing, I can breathe a bit easier in an organized kitchen - and be grateful that I really do have just what I need.  A kitchen to feed my family out of, and the ability to make it work.

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Of Boundaries and Slowing {Mindful Mothering Mondays}

{Off enjoying my family and this last (last!) day of summer.  Posting an archived post today.  Have a lovely Labor Day!}

Sweet, sunny October morning.  I ponder tasks to be done over a steaming mug of coffee before pausing, reframing, giving over the day to the One who made it.  I end quiet time with a prayer to be the Gospel to the people I see today - loving, kind, patient, merciful.  I realize the only way to make the most out of this day is to set some boundaries - and set my eyes on this main goal.

If all I do today is love, pure and simple, that is enough.  If I  take time to pause and listen to these little voices, consider each word said and speak with wisdom and grace, that is enough.

Still, there are chores to be done.  Kitchens do not clean themselves, clothes either.  The girls will bring in the wash, but I need to hang it first.  Then lunch to be made, floors to sweep.  Throughout it all, striving to keep perspective.

Its in slowing down that this is made possible.  Refusing to rush through the day, refusing to make life an emergency.  Interruptions make up the life of a mother and I am remiss if I brush them aside and fail to see what they truly are: opportunities to stop and remember that this, this is what it is all about.  This is why I am here.  Not to unload the dishwasher at lightning speed, but to bend low to hear a secret, to kiss away tears, to model how He loves, to show them how.  Never too busy for people.  People before things, before tasks, before To-Do lists.  People before me.

All this can't happen without a few well placed boundaries, mostly those on outside responsibilities.  A friend's email signature reminds me of this: "I only check my email on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays."  A boundary placed on response time, so she can keep focusing on the first calling of her life.  A lesson to be learned that life is no race, even when it seems like it is.  Emails can wait, but children are growing and changing now.  The only emergency is to seize this moment with them and to make it count.

{It's Mindful Mothering Mondays, a day to take a deep breath and write out your mothering journey, whatever form it takes. A day to link up for encouragement from others who are in this same phase of life. A day of writing out the trials and triumphs and what you're learning right where you are, right now. You might post recent struggles or thoughts. Maybe just a picture or a quote. Or maybe you'll just come here and read the links that others post. Whatever form your participation takes, this is a day for you. We are all in this, together. Together, we can encourage and build one another up, be honest with our shortcomings and strengthened by community to keep fighting the good fight.
I chose Mondays because what Mama doesn't need a little encouragement on a Monday? As such, I'll have the link up ready to go on Sunday night for you to begin submitting your links.

I hope you'll meet with me each Monday! Here's what to do ~

Link up your post below. Remember to put the link to the exact post you want to link, and not just your blog url. Include in your post a link back here so others who want to join in can find us! And visit some other Mamas who have linked up.

Post the community graphic within your post, so people who are reading your Mindful Mothering post can come back here and find the rest of us!

Invite the writers of your favorite blogs to join in!

Share this meme with others on facebook and twitter. This community is for all moms, and the more that participate, the more we will be able to enjoy!!}

Grab the graphic here:

<center> <a href=”http://smalltownsimplicity.blogspot.com/“><img border=”0″ src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33nGWFb2YqBvZ2ZS-TaTwYSjYhNzQ5TsyXZbHO49CfTNnySLTZOjvSMRm6W3UVvixj_M5Aw9t17wSLFFAts22_rNk_9q4xVEQQ2GUcjevwiaR2i0wM5QN4BbX-4mcMEgI7jlHcruJtv3E/s1600/MMgraphic.png"/></a></center>

How To Make a Home

We woke to rain this morning.  Enormous drops of water spattering the world outside.  I started the coffee and cheese omelets for the kids before making J's lunch.  One by one, bleary eyed children made their way downstairs, into the kitchen to accept a steaming plate of eggs.  Nothing special, just a normal rainy Tuesday.

I've read a lot about homemaking over the years.  Buried myself in cleaning schedules and House Beautiful magazines.  I'd get organized for a bit, usually burning myself out after a few days of manic cleaning - and then go right back to my normal way.  Shelves that never stay dusted for long.  Stacks of books on every surface.  A train track snaking it's way around the living room and back.

All of it kind of fell flat for me because even at it's cleanest, my house isn't any more a home than when I've let it all get a little (or a lot) behind.  You can buff the floors to a brilliant shine and never make a home. Even offices have housekeepers, but they aren't homes.  It's all fine to have a clean space, chores for the little ones, to take pride in your surroundings.  But when flower arrangements and candles and  take the place of grace and a peaceful spirit, a house can feel just as empty and cold as if no one lived there at all.  Homemaking is more than that.

The people are the heart of the home, the lifeblood coursing away.  The temperature inside can drop several degrees based on the attitude within.  When I'm spending all day scrubbing and shrieking each time someone touches something - I may be cleaning.  I may be making the house "nice."  But I'm not making it any more of a home than when I was sitting cross legged on the floor of my daughters' room, back against their bunk bed, reading Charlotte's web to an audience of little faces and stuffed animals.  Yelling at my kids to get those dirty feet off my spotless floors isn't building a home.

You make a home by putting people first.  You make a home by trading stress and worry for peace and rest.
An operating room is as sterile as possible, but no one could call it homey.  The staged photographs of homes on the pages of a glossy magazine never had a child's bare feet pad through them, never saw a pillow fight or a fort made right there on the living room floor.

You make a home by allowing life to happen there - in all of it's imperfect glory.

You make a home by extending grace to people of all ages.  You make a home by enjoying all stages of life and development, calling it good, calling it family.  You make a house a home by letting yourself relax and enjoy people just as they are.

You make a house a home by allowing family to make it their own space.  By decorating your fridge with your kids' creations, and letting your son tack that poster up in his room.  You make a house a home by understanding that everyone has their own ideas of what home should feel like - and giving space to each family member to find that place for themselves.

You make a home by letting the walls speak the testimony of your lives, even if that testimony causes you a bit of chagrin.  My house looks like 6 happy, wholehearted, often dirty little kids live here.  Guess what! They do!

You make a home by inviting God into your space.  By being grateful for His provision.  By being contented with what you have.  You make a home by letting the light in your heart shine and touch all who enter, wrapping them up in love.

Jonah comes into the kitchen with a yawn and a stretch. "Whatcha making, Mom?"  He crosses the room and wraps his arms around my waist.  "Eggs.  Want some?"  Rain drums down, and we're both bathed in the golden glow of home.


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The Battle For Contentment (And Why It Matters More Than You Think)

A few months back, I walked along the side of the house with my oldest son.  He was getting ready to mow, picking up trash and sticks that had accumulated since he last pushed that red mower in crisp, straight rows. As usual, I was looking about with a bit of chagrin.  The paint is bubbling up.  We should have scraped and painted it this year, but with the new baby and this chock-full life...well, it hasn't happened.  There are weeds flourishing in my flower beds, in the cracks on the front walk.  Sometimes, all I can see are things I want changed.  Its then that the slow creep of discontentment starts climbing up the back of my throat, and I had just opened my mouth to let out a few complaints when -

"I just love living here.  I love our home."

Um, what?  I looked at my son who was standing, hands on hips, surveying our house. Our little, 100 year old, 1200 square foot rental house, where he squishes into a small bedroom with 2 much younger brothers.  Where we can't often have friends over to play because the toddler naps in the afternoon in his room.  Where I've got a laundry list of things I'd change, if I could.

I look from him to the house, trying to see what he sees.  To my amazement, I start to see it, too.  The cozy little house that is likely the first place he can remember as being home.  The place where we really began taking shape as a family.  The driveway where he learned to ride a bike, the kitchen windows that glow on dark, wintry nights when he is walking home, pink cheeked from the snow mound.  The dining room where we gather around meals three times a day.  Where he learns, where I fold warm laundry and he asks me questions while I stack 8 piles for the 8 people he loves most in the world.

He gets it.  Where your treasure is, there your heart will be, also.  His treasure is here, imperfections and all.

I swallow down my complaints.  My vanity, my pride, my envy.  Try to find something else, instead.  I clear my throat.

"You really love it here?"  He nods.  "Me too.  I love it because this is where the people I love most are."

Oh, those kids.  Forcing me to be a far better person than I'd ever be on my own.

It's true though, yes?  We may think that contentment doesn't matter much, that no one will notice if we grouch about this or that or flip through House Beautiful, feeling worse and worse about our surroundings.  We think it doesn't affect others, but it does.

These children of mine, this is their home.  This is their lives.

Their childhood isn't someday.  It's today.  Right now.  Marching on, fast fleeting, and all that.  These days are their memories, their moments.  The things they will look back on as adults.  The place they come from.  This is their story.  We simply cannot afford to waste any time pining away for what we don't have, putting off joy until "someday" in the future.

When I gripe and grouse and lose the upper hand in my battle against discontentment, it speaks to them.  Tells them that what they have - this life they love - is not good enough.  It teaches them materialism, greed, envy and pride.  And while we all like to laugh off our "first world problems," here I am, teaching my kids that those things matter.  And they don't.

Not only that, but my attitude speaks to the world around me.  It shows my values and it shows how I feel about God's provision, gifts and blessings.

I can battle discontentment.  It takes effort, but I'm raising souls here -people that I want to be able to see the value in a not-perfect but blessed life.  Effort and time and a bit of self discipline, but all well worth it.  And, like with so many things I find these days, I can come out a better person, too.

3 Ways To Battle Discontentment

1) First things first. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God."  Putting your spiritual life first puts everything else in proper perspective.

2) Write a gratitude list.  Joy battles discontentment, and a gratitude sprouts joy.

3) Bloom where you are planted.  Make the most of what you have, where you are.  Find and draw out the unique and special qualities of your situation.  Make your house home.


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Jam and Tomatoes

With blueberry picking behind us, I put up some jam on Monday.  12 jars, not really enough for us but better than nothing.  We had blueberry pancakes on Saturday morning, and I've a few cups left to freeze, but really, after giving my sister some for her helpfulness, there really weren't that many left.  12 jars would be a good start, were it not for my habit of dropping off jars of jam to anyone I chance to think would like some, and also my kids' affinity for the stuff.  Oh well.  Maybe next week, when the bigs are out of town, we'll go picking again.  But then again - picking, without my big kids?  I'm not sure we'd get much.

The tomatoes are ripening now, and we're getting a slow trickle of them.  This year, I didn't plant much, after last year's garden being destroyed by critters.  Now, of course, I'm kicking myself - I haven't seen a groundhog since May, and everything I did bother to plant seems to be doing remarkably well.  It might be our best garden year so far, and I only bothered to plant 3 boxes.  We have a garden box full of potatoes and sweet potatoes that will be fun to dig up in the fall, and the peppers seem to be doing really well - we should be getting loads shortly.  A friend gave me a yellow pear tomato plant that is terrifying in size and scope - each time I go out there, it seems to have grown by leaps and bounds.  Still, our back yard is a shady place at best - and we'll never get as much as others are able to.

These colder temperatures have been nice.  While the kids bemoan the lack of proper pool days, I am loving the break from heat and humidity.  I've been feeling much more myself, centered in my place in our home - usually the kitchen, fixing things for my family.  Although there are certainly times that I get bored of the whole "what's for dinner?" question, I really consider it to be an honor to spend time thinking (and cooking) up food for my family to grow up on.  I think it goes back to my childhood, and the security of seeing my own Mom, every night at around 5 pm, in her normal place in the warm kitchen.  A daily sight that gave me so much comfort as I grew up - Mom, getting dinner on.  Now, being that person for my family - it means so much to me.  In this small life of ours, there will be many things my kids go without, but the security of a person who loves them, seeing to the meeting of their most basic needs, will not be one of them.  Food is more than physical nourishment.  Here, our meals are the centerpiece to our lives as a family, our shared faith and a medium through which to express love.  And it is just so, so very lovely to be right at the center of it.

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Frosty Goodness Smoothie Pop Recipe

So it's summer - real, hot, humid, sweaty summer.  Out in the garden, those tomato plants are waist high.  Kids are growing, too, though just a bit more slowly.  And, as happens every year, I'm getting downright disenchanted with most meal options.  In the heat of the summer, it's not just cooking that sounds about as appealing as diving into a volcano, but eating, too, seems to be on the proverbial back burner.  My kids are less and less interested in big meals and more inclined to snack dinners, lighter fare, less filling but more frequent.  So while it is great to substitute wraps and salads for dinners, coming up with several smaller meals during the day keeps me returning to the kitchen more and more frequently.

My husband bought the Nutri-Bullet back in May as a birthday present to himself, although I think I've gotten much more use out of it.  As skeptical as I was when he brought it home, I very quickly became accustomed to replacing a meal with a smoothie, or making smoothies for the kids' for breakfast.  Quick, easy and nutritionally sound, smoothies became our new go-to...that is, until we spied this 6 pop popsicle mould at IKEA the other night.  And now...smoothie pops!  Below is my basic recipe, easily customizable to whatever fruit you have on hand.  Of course you can make popsicle with just fruit juice, or fruit juice and blended fruit, but I like sneaking a bit of protein into this snack, using creamy delicious greek yogurt.

Basic Smoothie Pops:

• 1/2 C yogurt (we prefer unsweetened organic greek)
• 
  
• 1/2 C berries 
• 
  
• 1 whole banana
• 
  
• Honey to taste (we like the raw stuff - so delicious!)
• 
  
• Blend it up, pour it in the moulds, add sticks and freeze for at least 5 hours.  Makes 6 pops.

Now why on earth did I only buy 1 set of moulds?  Live and learn.

(For a tropical twist, try substituting berries for pineapple and adding some coconut!)



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