Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The good. The bad. The ugly. I'm here again.

The good: I was blessed with a new home with more room and a school room.

The bad: I never got back into a good cleaning routine or set a realistic schedule.

The ugly: My house is cluttered, not clean, and I'm feeling overwhelmed.

Yep, it's pretty ugly.

A year or so ago I had to tell myself that "I'm not SuperWoman" to remind myself that I really can not do it all. I had to remember that I could only do so much, with the time and resources I have been gifted, with the grace that God gives me each and every day. And I had to learn to say no to things that really don't fit in with the priorities and purposes I lived by.

But I honestly think that I am now using the "I'm Not SuperWoman" as an excuse and a cop out to not do the things I don't really want to do, and giving myself the go ahead to spend my time doing things I would rather be doing.

I'm going to be honest. I don't like house cleaning. I don't like dishes. I don't like laundry. It was fun just after we moved into our new home, as we were settling in, and setting up house. But the newness wore off and it got "old".

The daily upkeep of maintaining a home is monotonous, and I don't do well with monotonous tasks. I feel like I am trapped in a rut when I am not doing something creative and spontaneous.

But the fact is, I have been blessed with a home, I am the housewife of the family, and I do need to take care the house to the best of my ability.

The good truth is, is that God did not bless me with this house for it to become a burden and a drudgery. And He didn't give me the desire to nurture my creativity only for it to be squashed in the monotony of housework. There is a way to take care of the home within the confines of a routine and still be able to balance it with spontaneity and creativity.

In all the upheaval moving created, I have some how lost realization of this, and it's time I got it back.

It's time I put my big mamma panties back on and took care of business. I need a butt kick. My house needs an even bigger butt kick. And I'm going to bring one.


Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Catching up

It's been almost a year since I updated my blog and posted anything really of merit. But now is the time to dust off my keyboard, and get back to blogging. I have put it off for too long because A) I've been busy. and B) I really haven't felt that I have anything to say that anyone would really want to read. But I don't care if anyone reads this or not. Blogging will be my way of stretching myself.

Since my last real update alot has happened and a lot has changed in our lives. If you are one of my personal FB friends... the following will be old news. So just skip over this since you already know it all... :)

We moved twice in 3 months, first in May 2011 to a temporary country house, and then again in August to our new home. It was hard moving twice, but the end result was more than worth it. God opened the doors for us to move out of our cramped two bedroom mobile home, and opened doors again for us to purchase a beautiful 3 bedroom home.

Our new home is in the city, but right next to a park. We have a big open field right behind our home, so it does not feel like we are boxed in with neighbors. We are within walking distance from 2 grocery stores, with 2 more grocery stores only 2 miles away. The library too is within walking distance and we are only 5 miles from church. The location is perfect for us!

We now have 3 bedrooms, and an extra room that we have turned into a homeschooling/study room. I love having all this space! But I have to admit... I have not gotten into a good routine yet to keep it clean consistently.

We had a nice lull for a little while after moving in. But 3 weeks after we moved in, life got kicked into high gear again when we resumed homeschooling, joined 4H, and prepared for holidays, and dealt with life in general.

And we started to slowly turn our backyard into a small urban farm by digging garden beds and adding chickens. We currently have a small zoo of 4 hens, 1 rabbit, 1 cat, 1 dog, and incubating 35 eggs due to hatch in 2 weeks. In the back yard we have 2 large and 2 small garden beds dug. We have also started clearing out garden beds in the front yard. All outdoor projects are currently on hold until we get this drizzly weather cleared out.

I am so thankful for our "new" home. It's hard to believe we have already lived here 6 months. In some ways it still feels like we just moved in. But in some ways I have already forgotten life before this home.

I look forward to sharing my adventures and life here with you, as we continue working hard making this house even more our home.

I also look forward to connecting with you all again!