Even God-sized Dreams can change

Moving to a wide-open space to call home been one of those one-day dreams for when circumstances seemed right, the land was located in the right place, and the house suited our needs and wants.

Well, one day happened.

In June, we moved 8.3 miles away onto 33 acres. Around here, we call that moving to the country. Now I run errands in town.

Our house is all on one level, which I love. The kitchen is many times bigger and brighter and the open layout of the living, dining room fits our lifestyle, and the laundry room is bigger but still close to the kitchen. There are windows with views, wide open spaces to roam, and woods and creeks to explore.

Months before we moved in, I stood on the front porch looking out to where my boy could run free, where my husband could let his dreams take root, and where we could all five adventure together, I knew the dream had changed.

Dreams can change, you know. {Tweet that.}

I say that because I’ve been hesitant to believe that.

Join me at the God-sized Dreams website, where I'm sharing more about what moving taught me about dreaming.
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Lessons Among Boxes {aka 7 Things I Learned from Moving}

Well, we’re in our new house. I love so many things about it and I’m excited to truly settle in and make it our home. Greg and I moved some boxes in the days leading up to our big move – when friends showed up and loaded the big truck and some smaller trucks and a trailer in record time – and then I filled my mini van with more boxes and randomness in the days following.

Of course, during the packing and hauling and unpacking, I learned some things.

1. Verizon will pay off AT&T phones/contracts for new customers and wifi assisted calling is amazing for both phone calls and texts, even when there’s no service inside.

2. Greg resigned from the Murray City Council earlier this month because we are moving to the county. 

I know he’s my husband, but I’m proud the way he has served our neighbors and our community with conviction and integrity these past 5 1/2 years. Now, bring on the new adventures.

3. Packing up an entire house is emotional even when I’m excited to move to the new one.

This house was our home for half our marriage. We brought two kids home here. We have celebrated and grieved here. So many kids have been here to play. Honestly, collectively, these were the best years of my life.

I know we will make many new memories and always have these memories, but, goodness, I wasn’t prepared for these emotions.

4. The pool and fiction books are good escapes when I’m overwhelmed.

Okay, so I didn’t just learn this, but I certainly was reminded of it! Lately I’ve read four Kristin Hannah books – “Firefly Lane” and “Magic Hour” were my favorites – and “The Good Girl” by Mary Kubiac.

5. Tetris helped prepare me for packing boxes into the back of my mini van. And, let’s be honest, playing Tetris is more fun than moving. (Our friends must have played Tetris too.)

6. ClosetMaid shelving makes closets so much more practical.

7. “Let me know what I can do to help” is a good sentiment, but showing up after the actual move with willingness to work or plates of food and offering specific ways to help are the best.

My best friend Jaclyn came two days in a row just to help me. We replaced cabinet knobs and put away things. Her middle girl helped Cate paint a dresser. She brought food. Courtney brought dinner one night – and her family hung out among the boxes to eat with us. And she brought a second meal for another day. My mother-in-law responded to my “Oh, I’m overwhelmed …” text with coming out to help, bringing lunch, and running some errands.

Have you learned any lessons from moving? What did your June teach you? 
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An InLinkz Link-up

This is a different take on my monthly posts that document what I learned. Read previous installments here. Subscribe to get new posts and/or a monthly newsletter with content not available on the blog in your inbox. When you subscribe, I'll send you a FREE #choosingJOY printable.

8 Things I Learned in May

May is my favorite. Honestly, even for as much as I love summer, I’m a little sad my favorite month has gone by so quickly. There were birthday parties and soccer games and days at the lake. The temperatures changed from cool to humid. And hooray for my big kids finishing up kindergarten and third grade!

Here comes days at the pool – when we aren’t packing up our belongings! But, first, I’m going to share 8 Things I Learned in May ...

1. Bacon tastes really good when it’s cooked on the griddle.

We got a big griddle to cook pancakes for Cate’s Pancakes & Pippi Party. After making four batches of pancakes, Greg threw bacon on the griddle. And it was delicious.

Admittedly, clean up isn’t as easy as baking the bacon on a foil-lined cookie sheet.

2. I may have been looking forward to Summer Break as much as the kids.

Summer is still busy but in a different way. There’s lake house management. And we are still trying to sell our house. Plus I’ve been purging and packing and organizing.

Admittedly, I tried to stay on top of things as much as possible the first week we were out of school because the pool wasn’t open yet.

And, yes, “we” are out of school. It’s a family affair!

3. Trying to sell a house is no joke.

We posted some pictures and info on Facebook at the beginning of April. Then a few days later we put a sign in our yard. We showed it many times and got several phone calls about it.

And then we didn’t for a week or two so we ran an ad in the local newspaper. We got a few more calls and showed it some more.

I will say this: My kids are champs at getting their rooms cleaned and beds made in preparation for a showing.

We listed it with a realtor last week. And the house was shown some more. Hopefully we will get an offer and the perfect buyer soon.

4. I love the color of my new kitchen. It’s called refresh.

Refresh may be the theme of our new house, actually. Pictures coming soon-ish.

5. Mango salsa is back at Qdoba for the summer. Y’all. It’s the best.

(I love it so much I wrote a post about it a couple years ago!)

6. Netflix and I are email friends. 

Just the other day I got an email to inform me the second season of “Bloodlines” is now on Netflix. I also recently got one that say the third season of “Graceland” was on Netflix. Sorry, but I already watched it on Amazon Prime. I couldn’t wait.

Speaking of TV, we are finishing season 10 (!) of “Bones” on Netflix and catching up with “The Blacklist” on our DVD. We recently also caught up on “Madam Secretary” and “Blue Bloods.”

(And, speaking of email friends, I like email friends. Want to be mine?)

7. People like the freedom to say no. I’ve had such good response to The Summer Not-To-Do List printable. Hope you enjoy it!

(Download it here, if you haven’t already!)

8. In the summer, I’m better at letting go – especially of what time dinner should be on the table, bedtimes, and the frequency of my kids’ showers. My most recent Mom Confessions {The Memorial Day Weekend Edition} reminded me of that.

How’s your May been?
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I'm linking up with Emily Freeman like I do at the end of each month. 

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Cleaning My House {and my soul}

Monday morning – the Monday morning after ONE WHOLE WEEK off school! – both my kids came to the laundry room looking for articles of clothing to wear that day. Y’all, that’s how behind on laundry I’ve been. I could tell you all the excuses: Trying to keep my house clean to sell. Not doing all my normal chores when the kids were home for Spring Break. Staying at the lake the previous weekend.

Whatever.

I just wasn’t doing laundry.

The kids found what they needed – in the single basket of clean clothes, which, really, is a miracle because I typically do loads by person, so normally their stuff wouldn’t be in the same load. That was just a happy accident, friends.

So, anyway, I did many loads of laundry on Monday. I even folded some. And then I did more on Tuesday. And, well, there’s always laundry to do.

Plus, even the laundry needs to be in neat piles – in the hampers for dirty clothes in laundry room, in the basket beneath the laundry shoot from Cate’s room, in baskets of clean clothes waiting to be folded, and in baskets folded waiting to be put away – because we’re trying to sell our house.

I posted our house online during Spring Break. Maybe I should have waited a week. But I was eager. And, hey, it was mostly clean. But we showed it twice last week and already twice this week. And we have another showing scheduled tomorrow. Oh, and we’ve heard from three realtors who would like to list our house.

(Cue my ignorance: I had no idea when we listed our house for sale by owner that realtors would want to list it. Apparently that’s a thing.)

And speaking of listing it, I took pictures one room at a time as I got them cleaned. Meanwhile, there would be random things moved from room to room so they wouldn’t show up in any pictures.

That whole process got me thinking about how we try to clean up ourselves so people only see the sparkling finish. Meanwhile, we have burdens and issues stuck in the corners of our hearts.

But, really, like selling a house, there are times to be quick to point out the strengths. My house built in 1964 has lots of closets and built-in shelves in several rooms. There’s good lighting. And the location is superb.

I’m good at organizing information, closets, and parties. I do what I say I’m going to do as promptly as possible. I’m loyal.

Of course, there are other times that being real is the answer. 

My house isn’t always this clean. Maybe the people looking at our house won’t see where I need to figure out how to get the pen and pencil drawings off my son’s light blue walls. Maybe the imperfections in the floors and walls won’t be noticeable.

Sometimes I yell too much or make snap judgments. I’m quick to think I’m right. And I can lose sight of people when I get sucked into projects.

But my house is lived in. We do life here – the good days with laughter, the bad days with too much yelling, and the hard days with too many quick decisions. We drop crumbs and chase dreams here. {Tweet that.}

And I do the same thing in my heart. My house and I, we’re works in progress. The important thing is that I’m becoming more open to growth and change.

So on Monday, that first day back to routine after a fun, filled Spring Break, I didn’t leave my house. My baby girl took two longer-than-usual naps. I did those loads of laundry and cleaned up my house – and my soul. We embraced the quiet while the big kids were settling back into school and my husband was busy working.

And then we all gathered around the table to eat the Taco John’s my husband picked up on his way home from work because I was going to make spaghetti only to realize at 5 p.m. that I didn’t actually have any spaghetti sauce – from a jar, because that’s how we roll around here. One kid pouted, another was starving after the plate was cleared. I was holding onto some bitterness I let go at 2 o’clock Tuesday morning when Rachel decided she needed to eat. Whatever, growth spurt.

Oh, and, I really wanted to dessert after dinner last night, so I made some fudge while the rest of my family ate ice cream. Honestly, tasting fudge in the springtime was such a sweet treat. I associate it with Christmas, but I was happy to have it in April.

This is real life. This is where we live. And, really, I mostly wouldn’t change a thing – especially if fudge is an option.
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Eight Things I Learned in March

Oh, March, where did you go? You went by so fast. Before you’re completely gone, I do want to document what you taught me.

1. “The West Wing” characters have Twitter accounts. And they’re funny and relevant.

I happened upon President Bartlet’s Twitter account when someone else I follow retweeted one of this tweets about March Madness. When I clicked on it, I discovered Josh Lyman, Sam Seaborn, and Donna Moss. And I’m really glad about that for several reasons – most importantly because I already miss them even though Greg and I just finished binge watching the show earlier this week.

You’re welcome.

2. Picking out paint colors makes me indecisive, and I’m usually decisive. 

But I managed to pick out colors for the kitchen, living spaces and hallways, and three bedrooms in the house we bought last week. We aren’t moving right away because we are doing some cosmetic improvements and having a fourth bedroom added on.

(Also, could Joanna Gaines please come to Kentucky? Speaking of her, my daughter and I are in love with “Fixer Upper.” Yes, I’m a little late to the bandwagon, I know.)

3. We’re moving to the country. Well, you know, 10 minutes from town, where we live now.

So we bought a new house that sits on 33 acres. Living on some land has been a long-time dream for Greg and I’ve slowly gotten on board. This house and land fit us and we’re excited for our next adventure there.

(Read more about that – and how I learned dreams can change.)

4. When changes are on the horizon, I hesitate and then embrace change in multiple areas of my life at once.

Moving is the change theme right now. In addition to moving our family to a different house, I’m also working with a professional to move my blog to WordPress and redesign my online space too. Plus I got a haircut this month.

5. I can cheer for Austin Peay State University.

The background on this one is we’re hardcore Murray State fans and APSU is our rival. It’s also the school where my sister went on a soccer scholarship and ended up meeting her husband, who played basketball there. We always rooted for them, and it’s easier to do in soccer than basketball. But we still always preferred Murray State to do better.

Well, Murray State had a rough year, at least by its usual standards, and was eliminated earlier than we liked in the conference tournament. Meanwhile, Austin Peay barely made the tournament and then ended up winning four games in four days to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Yes, we cheered for the Governors. (They ended up losing to overall No. 1 Kansas.)

6. Murray State’s two previous coaches made it to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen – and that’s why I love March Madness.

If you’re a college basketball fan, you probably saw Steve Prohm dance – literally – after his Iowa State team advanced and then heard about Billy Kennedy’s Aggies erase a double-digit lead in less than a minute. With Murray State and Kentucky out, these have been my teams.

These two coaches are perfect examples of why I love sports. They’re the good guys. Kennedy gave the glory to God after Texas A&M stunned Northern Iowa. He’s living with Parkinson’s disease, but believes in building a team and leading men.

(And here’s another article about Coach Billy Kennedy from a local writer.)

And, yes, I wish these two teams were still playing because I feel like I don’t have any rooting interest.

7. Sometimes the kids who have been arguing just need to put on their bathing suits and do a science experiment in the bathtub. 

A friend let us borrow “Bathtub Science” and I earned some cool points by letting them put on their bathing suits and make colors with food coloring and water in the bathtub. And all the mamas said, “Whatever works!”

8. I was excited to caucus at the beginning of the month and now get stressed out thinking about the presidential election.  

Kentucky Republicans had a caucus (Thanks, Rand Paul!) for the first time ever. I went in with high hopes for Marco Rubio, but that all quickly went down hill. Now I’m keeping up with the presidential primaries from a distance and hoping what seems to be happening isn’t actually happening.

How was your March?
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I'm linking up with Emily Freeman, like I do at the end of every month. 

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9 Things I Learned in May

May is my favorite month. And not just because it's my birthday. Although, I have told some people about how I was excited to turn 36 because it's my favorite number {nerd alert, I know!}. And, y'all, by the first week of my favorite month, I knew not much was going to top all the goodness.

But let's back up a little. Here's a list of what's happened in our life since April 22:

Greg opened an office in Hazel. We sold our lake house. We celebrated three birthdays with two parties and then Mother's Day. Ben has his tonsils and adenoids removed. We have another lake house under contract. We met a birth mom and began the adoption process, including the home study documentation. We've had fundraisers for our Guatemala mission trip. Cate had strep throat. Greg moved his main office in Murray.

That doesn't even include normal school stuff, soccer practices and games, church commitments, and hanging out with friends.

So, here I go, talking about adoption, school, TV, celebrations, household chores, and my new favorite drink before May totally escapes me.

Obviously, these things come to you in no particular order ...

1. "One Tree Hill' is a good show. I needed a new show to watch as I fold laundry and walk on the treadmill. This one is working for me. {Here's looking at you, fans of "Gilmore Girls," "Hart of Dixie," "Dawson's Creek," "Felicity" ... if you're behind the times like me! But it doesn't top the crew from Capside or Stars Hollow.}

And, hello, I love the theme song! I'm at the beginning of season three right now, and there's been a lot of good music. Oh, and Greg watches it with me now too.

But, seriously, these kids and their problems aren't in high school. No way.

3. Having an online book club where we discussed a chapter a week forced me to slow down and really soak in the message. And "You're Loved No Matter What: Freeing Your Heart from the Need to Be Perfect" by Holley Gerth was one my soul needed.

3. People really do celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Four friends and I went I celebrate my birthday a couple days late at a local Mexican restaurant we all love. We couldn't figure out why it was crowded on a Tuesday night. And then we realized we'd missed the memo on the holiday. We're cool like that.

4. People like free. In four days at the beginning of May, I offered my ebook for free. I'm so grateful for the hundreds (!!!) of people who downloaded it. {Hey, if you were one of the 1,682 people (!!!) who downloaded "Peace in the Process," I'd really love for you to leave a review once you've finished reading.}

5. We're buying a lake house. We'd been looking since before we closed in April on the sale of our other one that we really didn't even want to sell but needed to because of circumstances beyond our control. But we found another one that we may end up loving more. The property is amazing. And we have plans to make the house even better.

6. I have a third-grader and kindergartner. Okay, well, I didn't just learn this. But this just happened. I mean, it will happen in August. Which counts as now. BECAUSE SCHOOL'S OUT ... FOR THE ... SUMMER! In fact, I wrote about my Summer Not-To-Do List at Circles of Faith this week.

7. We're adopting a baby due in September! Yeah, I know, I just said I was sending my youngest to kindergarten. God's timing is funny ... and perfect. {And I've already written a whole post about this, in case you missed it.}

And, just for fun, you should know I initially connected with the birth mom and learned the lake house owner accepted our offer on the same day, which happened to be Cinco de Mayo. No wonder people celebrate it ...

8. Crystal Light makes a grape-flavored drink that reminds me of grape Kool-Aid. I lived off grape Kool-Aid when I was a kid. I was so excited when my friend Julie offered me this as a drink of choice at her house. She gave me a packet to take home and the item was immediately added to my grocery list.

9. Sorting dirty clothes by people before washing them is more effective than sorting them by color. I realize some of you just cringed. But, seriously, this is making my life easier. Each person has a bin in the laundry room, and then when it's full, I wash that person's clothes. It cuts out the sorting as I'm folding them and the rooting through baskets looking for something.

So, how was your May?
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I'm linking up with Emily Freeman's Facebook page and the Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood Gathering.

Here are previous Things I Learned posts :: {From 2013} June. July. August. September. October. November. {From 2014} January. February. March. April. May. June. July. August. September. October. November. December. {From 2015} January. February. March. April.

Want more insights? "Peace in the Process: How Adoption Built My Faith & My Family" is available on Amazon. Like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, peek into my life on Instagram, follow 152 Insights at Bloglovin', or subscribe to receive "Insights in Your Inbox."

{Three Word Wednesday} Among Messy Projects

A couple weeks ago, my friend Nathan shared a C.S. Lewis quote in his sermon. I’ve heard so many things since then – whines, complaints, praises, prayers, songs, stories, commercials, and silence.

But I keep thinking about this quote:

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

{C.S. Lewis} 

When we had some guys renovating the kitchen at our old house, we were on vacation. (That's a glimpse of our old house with its renovated kitchen above.) When the guys from Lowe’s install central heating and air along with new windows in that same old house, we were at work. We left town the weekend our bedroom in that old house was being dry-walled. We had walls painted and new flooring installed in the new-to-us house in which we currently live before we moved in.

I don’t like living among messy projects.

But, really, I do every day.

Nothing in my physical house is being renovated or restored or painted or perfected, but the essence of life is we are on a journey of growing and learning and teaching and serving.

We aren’t perfected yet. God isn’t done completing the work he’s begun (Philippians 1:6).

I can be in the midst of parenting, and God is teaching me about patience and grace. Cleaning my house is a reminder to serve others. Being with friends gives opportunities to speak truth and serve one another. Marriage is a sermon straight from the Maker on humility, grace, and unity.

And sometimes these lessons are messy.

God doesn’t require we clean up the dry wall dust or vacuum the crumbs. Formal attire certainly isn’t required. He’s coming into the middle of what we’re doing. He’s making us new moment by moment. He’s renovating our souls for his glory.

And, unlike my tendencies with big house projects, God wants us present as he’s working so we don’t miss the creation – which is bound to look nothing like we expect. 
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An InLinkz Link-up

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Joy comes as Family Game Nights

Gathering around a table has long symbolized community for me. Yes, there are holiday traditions among various combinations of family and friends. But there are far more everyday moments. As a family of four, we eat dinner together with few exceptions. We often share meals with friends. And we like to play games.

This is where I find joy.

We got a new table recently. I'd been dreaming of this for the space we have. It's a counter-height square table that seats eight. I'm still hoping to find a rug to bring in some color and break up all the wood, but I feel at home around this table.

And we've been breaking it in with some competitive matches of Bananagrams and Skip-Bo. Games go through phases around here, especially as the kids grow into games they can play. {Unless, of course, you're talking about Settlers of Catan, which has remained a fixture among our best adult friends since February 2007 when our obsession began.}

Come take a seat around our table ...

If you're sitting around my table, you'll eat food that is easy to make. I like to cook dinner but I cook simply. I don't like recipes that have tons of steps or millions of ingredients. I really like eMeals and recipes I've learned and tweaked to our preferences along the way. I don't bake much, but that doesn't mean we don't like sweets.

And for entertainment purposes, I wanted to share some about the games we're into right now. The first list is about games Cate, my first-grader, likes to play.

• Bananagrams :: Cate is still learning about the speed element of this game, but she likes finding words to use. Right now we play this together. It's a boys versus girls thing around here. Of course, that means Greg is just making sure Ben doesn't swipe any of his letter tiles in the quick pace of making words in crossword fashion.
• Skip-Bo :: A card game that says it's for ages 7 and up. It's about ordering cards while trying to get rid of all your own stockpile. 
• Catan Junior :: I already told you about the adult addiction to this game. Good thing there is a kid version too. Like the original, it's about expansion and strategy. 
• Blokus :: The board reminds me of Tetris, but here your own pieces can only touch corners. Plus there is a competitive element of blocking your opponents. Sometimes when the kids are sleeping Greg and I like to break out this one. Shhh. 
• Sorry! :: This one always produces the insincere "SORRY!" but it's a good lesson for kids to learn to be good sports when games don't go their way. Ben is close to being able to play this one. 

And for the younger kids, like my 4-year-old Ben ...

• Uno :: Ben just recently learned this one. It's good for numbers, colors and matching. Thanks to Diego and Dora, they both have long had the "Uno!" part down. 
• Sequence for Kids :: This is my favorite preschool game. It's easy enough they get it, but it also involves some strategy. {No offense Candy Land and Chutes & Ladders!} The goal is to get four of your own markers in a vertical, horizontal or diagonal row as your draw cards that match animals pictures on the board.
• The Best of Charades for Kids :: I'm not a fan of charades generally, but I like that my preschooler who doesn't know how to read can still act out words based on the pictures on the cards. Each card has one picture and two words that can each be performed. Ben is especially good at animals and sports. 
• Hedbanz :: Once I can get beyond the intentional misspelling, this is a good game. It's like 20 Questions for trying to guess what picture is on your head. 

When I think about what brings me joy, I can list various people and places and moments. But so many of them come back to being gathered around a table, sharing a meal, playing a game, laughing and talking through real life, and making memories. For the first time, I'm in a season of motherhood I'd consider freezing time, you know, if that were possible. I'm a big fan of age 6. Playing games is certainly a part of that.

What brings you joys? Any board games by chance?
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I'm joining Holley Gerth for this week's Coffee for Your Heart. I don't drink coffee, but challenge me in Words with Friends any day. {I'm KHT on there, if you're wondering!}

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Diving into real life

I have all these blog post ideas in my head. Some are even drafted on my phone. {Hello productivity while driving to and from Texas!} I want to tell you about Christmas and our trip to meet my new nephew in Texas. We have new favorite music around here I want to share with you.

But we dived right back into life right after the holidays.

Some of us more literally than others. Along with another almost-relative, my kids and husband went swimming on New Year's Day. Really. It was 45 degrees outside. The pool was heated to 84 degrees.

Admittedly, I still thought it would last 5 minutes. Surprisingly, they swam for about eight times longer than that. And now they can say they did.

{Splash.}

Since then, which, yes, I know, was only a few days, life has happened. Not in a bad way, just like it does sometimes.

Ben has been having recurring ear infections, bloody noses, and much congestion for the past several months and, really, his whole little life. Our pediatrician and I decided to have him allergy tested. That happened Thursday, the same day Cate went back to school.

Turns out he's allergic to trees, weeds, grass, and dust mites.

Yeah, really. 

I can't really keep him away from most of these things. Have you met my boy who loves to play outside? Yeah, well, then you get it. So he's going to start allergy shots in a few weeks. Honestly, I'm glad to have an answer and hopefully some coming relief for him.

Speaking of relief, I'm not sure when I'll ever finish my laundry. I folded four loads last night when Greg and I started watching Dexter again. {Thanks, Netflix, for having it. We've got two seasons to go!} And those four loads weren't the end.

Oh and there is the matter of the suitcase that has been laying open on our floor since we came home from Texas on Tuesday night. Yes, it's Saturday. I'm determined to get it picked up today before our company comes over. No, not out of wanting my house to be perfect. I just wouldn't want my friends to trip over the pink suitcase and our clean underwear.

I say determined, but clearly I've been more determined to do other things because it is still sitting there.

Want to see?

That photo collage is from last night. It was all absolutely true. The Facebook/Twitter/Instagram caption went like this: Real life. The Christmas tree is still up. Clean laundry is piled in the kitchen. And the suitcase has been laying open on the floor since we got back in town Tuesday night. But, hey, we have groceries now.

As of this morning, I'm happy to report our Christmas tree is down. And, more just keepin' it real, the tree came down in pieces. Because that seemed easiest. {Our tree was crazy, wild, in case you missed it ...} Plus disassembling it allowed Greg to use an outside tool in our living room. It was like Clark Griswald met Willie Robertson.

And I'm not a failure of a mom now that the tree my son is apparently allergic to is out of the house. Whew.

Now I'm going to pick up that suitcase ...
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Tour of the Christmas Mantel

I'm not much of a change-the-decorations-for-the-season person. I do have a couple Rubbermade containers of Christmas things. Even so, this year I put out less. I'm not sure why, except that I'm trying to embrace the realness that comes when I don't worry with perfection. So I put out some favorite things and let my wild Christmas tree take up half my living room.

It's just right for us right now. 

Come see a few of my favorites ...

I love stockings. And I love these stockings. I found them online somewhere before Ben was born and then found them again to order a fourth when Ben came about a month before Christmas 2009. And, yes, I love that we have a mantel for stockings display.

Speaking of Christmas 2009, this is one of the earliest pictures of us as a family of four. We'd just gotten back from the local Christmas parade, and I had my friend snap the moment. Ben was just 12 days old. It's become a favorite of mine that stays in that holiday frame and comes out each year.

We have two nativity sets. Both are kid friendly. This Melissa & Doug one is on our mantel, but it's still be moved around plenty of times by the little hands here.

Our tree is crazy. And I love that about it. I also love all the room underneath the branches. We've done Christmas with one side of family, so the gifts for the other side of the family and some friends are waiting. That's the kids' Geo Trax Christmas train and Little People nativity in the background. I like that they get to play with it so close to the crazy tree.

What's your favorite Christmas decoration? Do you put out the same things every year in the same places or mix it up?
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Joining The Nester and others from all over the Internet who are giving tours of their homes at Christmas and reminding each other it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful. And linking up with Crystal Stine's Behind the Scenes.

Take a peek at other previous Christmas posts. The Jesus Birthday Party. Easiest Ornament Craft Ever. Crafting Christmas Coasters. Memories Hang Here.

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{Three Word Wednesday} At Least Today

I've been thinking about what I wanted to blog about today throughout the day. Not constantly, people. I have other things to do. 

Like volunteer at my kids' school. And eat lunch with a friend and her newly adopted baby. And email people related to my lake house management on-the-side job. And order my sister flowers because SHE HAD A BABY yesterday! And have dinner with our favorite college student we haven't seen enough of this semester. And have a dance party with my kids while listening to a new-to-me Train song while we wait for Greg to come out of the store.

This is my life. At least today.

I have some more meaningful thoughts brewing in my head. About dreams. And faith. And grace. But they're a little jumbled right now.

But for now I'm glad to be sitting on the couch while we watch another episode of "Bones." Thanks, Netflix. 

This is my mind. At least today.

I look around my living room. There are crumbs on the rug here in front of the couch. There is a wild Christmas tree just to my right. To my left are boxes of waffle blocks that haven't found a more permanent home since Ben's birthday party. There is a large plastic container with minimal Christmas wrapping supplies because most of the gifts are wrapped and tied and bagged under the tree.

I tell my husband often this couch isn't the most comfortable one in our house. It is the first piece of real, grown-up, not-hand-me-down furniture we bought. The one in the basement is far more comfortable. But I get sucked in down there and my brain goes to complete mush. Plus it's colder down there.

This is our living room. Some elements for today, others more permanent.

Three different walls in this living room have photo collages. One is 5-x-7 and 8-x10 pictures framed and clustered together. Another is much bigger pictures framing places we've been - Chicago, Mexico, Seattle, Greece. The third is a large picture frame with black-and-white photos mostly of the four of us but also with a couple of my kids with my late father-in-law who didn't get enough time with the grandkids he adored.

These are my memories. From other todays.

This room is far from perfect. But it's comfortable. And warm, especially when I use the blanket my friend made me.

While we were in Branson for Thanksgiving, we let a couple we know from college stay here. They left us a nice note that mention how our home is comfortable and speaks "family" to those here. Even with the crumbs on the rug and the semi-comfortable couch.

This is our home. Many days before. Today. And many days to come.

Today has bits of yesterday, hope of tomorrow and many moments that are worth trying to remember. Like so many others, this day went a bit too fast.
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I'm linking up with Beth's Three Word Wednesday because I've missed joining that crew. 

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Quiet

I needed today.

I spent the morning at my house alone while both my kids were at school. I spent the morning in sweatpants that made me feel like I was waiting for a flood but they were comfortable anyway. I spent the morning reading and cleaning and responding to emails and rearranging furniture. Laundry was going. Chicken was cooking in the Crock Pot.

My house, my thoughts, my words, my calendar, and my to-do list were quiet. And that's exactly what I needed.

Speaking of quiet, finding a home for this table is what led to the furniture rearranging. What's that have to do with quiet? Well, it had been sitting in the upstairs hallway for almost a week. Now it has a home. {Clean and organized help quiet my life.} And I have a new place to do morning reading and writing. {Quiet place for my HelloMornings.}

Please notice the quilt. Holly made it for me and calls it The Everything Quilt because it's from scraps she had leftover from other more-themed quilts. That's kind of like our friendship, which is a whole bunch of everything to me.

So, back to my day. My sister-in-law brought Ben home and I popped a frozen pizza in the oven. We had lunch. He watched some Disney Junior and then took a nap. I did more of what I had done in the morning and then watched an episode of "Grey's Anatomy" while I folded a couple loads of towels.

Y'all. I was done with "Grey's Anatomy." It was once a favorite of mine. So well written. Such strong, likable characters. But the plot got lazy. Everybody had slept with everybody. So I quit the show. And, really, I hadn't looked back.

And then I watched the premiere of season eight. Now I'm nine episodes in and I'm sucked back in. {Seriously, this ninth episode was oh-so good.} The plot is strong again and even includes an adoption story line. The characters aren't getting on my nerves like they were. It's like I want to fold laundry, you know, so I can sit down and watch.

Really, I don't need another show to watch right now. The DVR is set up to record "Scandal," "Parenthood" and "The Good Wife" this season.

So, anyway, I only had time for one episode this afternoon before I had to leave the house for the first time today to pick up Cate. Yes, rearranging furniture and watching TV trumped showering. Yes, that means I went to pick her up in my waiting-for-a-flood sweat pants and the shirt I wore yesterday and slept in.

OK, I know. That's quite a confession. I'm just keepin' it real, though. So much so I called my dear friend Katie and left a 2 minute 42 second message about my day. Clearly, I haven't socialized much.

Now it's time to prepare the poppyseed chicken casserole I'm making for Jaclyn and her family who are coming over for dinner and Settlers of Catan. I think I'll shower too ... or at least change my clothes. And maybe I'll hang back up the framed pictures I started moving around on my walls.

I'm an extrovert with introvert tendencies. And I needed today just as it's been.

So, how's your day been? What shows are you watching these days?
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Real life messes

My house was a mess. And I took pictures. 

The dishes on the right are clean, awaiting their return to their homes. The ones in the sink are obviously dirty. The dishwasher needed unloading and reloaded. Yes, that's grass growing toward the back. People, chill. It's a preschool project that's doing well.

Piles filled the counters and even some spots of the floor. School supplies and backpack contents spilled near the shoes gathered by the door. Please notice to the right the crushed Spiderman Cheez-It crackers. Those crumbs were there at least two days.

Let's take a closer look at those shoes by the door. Six pairs belong to my 6-year-old girl, who obviously likes sparkles; two belong to my 3-year-old boy who has a momma who clearly prefers shoes that don't tie; and one pair belongs to my husband, who would never walk out in the garage barefoot like I would. And, yes, that's some snack trash from my girl's backpack mixed in.

Six loads of laundry waiting to be folded. Another load in the washer waiting to be move to the dryer, which was finishing up its load. I told my girl on Saturday that her new chore is matching socks. She panicked a little. "Do I have to do it every day?"

No, dear. Clearly I don't deal with laundry every day. 

Saturday was a good just-the-four-of-us day. We're all social extroverts, so there is much inviting friends over for dinner {which, actually, I did for Saturday, but the other family couldn't come} and meeting friends at the park and playing games with friends and making an assortment of other plans with friends. But Saturday it was just us. And it was good.

We spent a couple hours going to yard sales, where we scored my boy a bike; drove some things out to our lake house; had lunch at Penn Station; worked outside; watched "Scandal" while Ben napped and Cate played in her room; played outside; cleaned some; ate pizza on the front porch; got the kids to bed early and us adults watched the rest of "Scandal."

Yes, the rest. Like we've watched all 29 existing episodes {seven in season one on Netflix and 22 in season two on Amazon/Hulu} in a couple weeks.

And, yes, notice the lack of cleaning listed in my inventory of our day. A little. Before I tackled the house, I cleaned out the van instead. Priorities, people. I bagged trash, vacuumed crumbs and wipes smudges while my husband used a machete to whack some weeds down near our fence. It's when we came in from doing those chores that we sat on the couch under the ceiling fan and watched "Scandal" for the first of what would be two times that day. We are were addicted and had to know what happened next with Olivia Pope, Fitz Grant and their friends, er, enemies.

The house got clean over the course of Saturday and some of Sunday. Of course, a boy who spilled his milk and got into his sister's nail polish, a girl who chose yet another pair of shoes, and a husband who reminded me Sunday was supposed to be a day of rest were involved. Only a little grumpiness from me was involved. The rest of the time, I enjoyed my family this weekend in and around this sometimes-messy house.
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What's on your ...

This post is inspired by one Ali Edwards wrote last week. I tweaked my list a little, but it's a fun way to document the right now in my life. 

Perennial to-do list :: Scrapbook. Organize pictures that I've printed. Put together a hanging display for postcards. Mop and clean the toilets and showers also hang over my head.

Refrigerator shelves :: Left over deviled eggs. Milk that I bought on the way to school this morning and then proceeded to pour some into my preschooler's cup. Coke Zero. Lettuce. Beef thawing for dinner tonight.

Front porch :: A bird made a nest. Less pollen because the lawn care guy blew off the porch.

Nightstand :: Kindle. "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young.

Calendar :: Carpool this afternoon. Greg turns 35 today. Cate and I also have birthdays within the next two weeks. Four more weeks of school for Cate. Three more school days for Ben.

Dream itinerary :: Pretty much anywhere, especially places that are warm.

Playlist :: "Promise of Summer" by Jackopiece.

iPhone :: Map My Run. Instagram. Words with Friends. Facebook. Twitter. Texting. ShopShop.

Workout plan :: Run a few times a week in preparation for a 5K on May 25. I ran 2.09 miles this morning.

Bucket list :: Load up my family in an RV and travel to all the MLB stadiums during baseball season. Write a book.

Mind :: Dear friend Sarah and sister-in-law Angela are expecting babies soon, like this week. People I want to make plans with. A neighborhood party. Updating our adoption home study, again.

DVR :: "The Good Wife" is all we really record these days, but we're caught up. I don't really expect to watch the "Mob Doctor" episodes, but we haven't deleted them yet.

Blogroll :: Jennifer Dukes Lee. Chasing Blue Skies. Big Mama. Jen Hatmaker. {Just to name a few ...}

To-read list :: "Desperate: Hope for a Weary Mom" by Sarah Mae & Sally Clarkson {And the Kindle version is just $3.99 today!}. "Interrupted" by Jen Hatmaker. "You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One)" by Jeff Goins.

Tell me about your right now.
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Ben's big boy bedroom

Taaa-daaa! This is Ben introducing you to his new room. He's been sleeping up there a couple weeks now, but momma was behind on taking pictures. Pardon whatever is going on with his sorts. That what my 3-year-old boy looks like after dressing himself. Hey, he did it himself. 

So, anyway, mostly I was just ready to move him. He was outgrowing his nursery room, which is the smallest bedroom in our house. Plus, that room was right next to the main bathroom, so some mornings he woke up earlier than he would have if he hadn't heard Daddy getting ready for work.

On the mend

This is what happens when momma is sick.

I have good news: My head really may not explode.

I wasn't so sure yesterday afternoon. From Sunday afternoon until last night, I didn't do much other than lay on the couch. Rather, couches. Depending who was home and what they were doing, I moved from the basement {where our most comfortable couch is} to the upstairs living room {where Diego and one of the countless "Land Before Time" sequels entertained my kids} to the kitchen {yes, we have a couch in the kitchen ...}. I read a little and watched the pilot episode of "Felicity," thank to Netflix.

My husband pitched in and drove carpool yesterday morning so I only had to take Ben to preschool rather than picking up two other kids and taking them and Cate to their school farther away. Yay, husband! So I had three hours to myself on the comfortable couch in the dark, cold basement yesterday morning.

Then I went to see my new doctor, who is in same practice as my current doctor who is moving away soon. I liked her from the initial meeting, but I almost seriously hugged her when she said she was prescribing me a z-pack antibiotic for my red throat and fluid-filled ears. I sensed relief coming, although, admittedly, I had doubts yesterday evening.

Greg came through again when he brought dinner home. I was feeling particularly rough by late afternoon. I even texted my friend who is a nurse about how I didn't remember feeling so bad before. And then later I asked her if I could take anything else on top of the antibiotic and Zyrtec. She informed me taking Sudafed may help my head feel less full.

Thanks to some medicine and a decent night's sleep, I woke up this morning feeling better. Not great, but certainly better. I had enough energy to make it to the grocery to restock our bare kitchen cabinets, although I did have to open a box of Kleenex I hadn't purchased yet and dip into my cough drop supply throughout the aisles. Speaking of cough drops, Greg swears by Luden's Wild Cherry drops {and brought some home for me yesterday!}, although I'm not sure they have the medicinal value of Hall's cough drops, which taste like ... well ... medicine. They taste just like candy, but they helped my dry, itchy throat enough to end the coughing fit I was having in the meat department.

And you'll be glad to know my sink no long looks like the picture above. The dishwasher has been unloaded and re-loaded with all those dirty dishes. I'm typically a load-as-we-go girl, so you know I've been resting when my sink is overflowing. Of course, after tending to the sink, I had to sit for a few minutes. Good thing there is a couch in my kitchen.
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Date night on the sofa

I like to date my husband. We recently went to the movie theater to watch Super 8, a movie that had been on my must-see list since I learned that Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams were making a movie together. Having Coach Taylor from Friday Night Lights was just an added bonus.

But sometimes I like less theatrical dates. The ones on the sofa after the kids are in bed are a relaxing ending to a day filled with questions and stories from my 4-year-old daughter, babbled requests from my 18-month-old and all the other fun responsibilities that go with parenting and managing a household.

{Continue reading over at CSN Store's blog ...}

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chasing the deer

The deer is no longer in our yard, thanks to the Fish & Wildlife officer who joined the crew, which is partially pictured above. At various times yesterday evening, a few city policeman, a couple teen-age boys, a neighbor and a Humane Society representative with a video camera chased the deer through our yard and our neighbor's yard. It was the fastest I'd seen the deer move; I'm guessing she didn't like the idea of the rope one of the guys was carrying.

Turns out, the deer was probably somebody's illegal pet because it wasn't native to or even known to be in our area. The deer's hop was what gave her away to the Fish & Wildlife officer as being a fallow deer. I don't know much about deer, but this one didn't seem to run like ones I've seen darting across the country roads around here.

the deer still here

The deer is still here. And nearer than she was before.
She's become brave, venturing from the drainage ditch and culvert to our few flowered bushes lining our front porch. She walked to the backyard and nibbled on some grass there before returning to our front yard. Yes, we spent some time watching [and Ben waving] to her through our window. She seemed uninterested. And just kept meandering around the yard, in the rain.

I don't see her now, so I suppose she's taking cover somewhere I can't see. Unless the animal control officer heard the message I left for him this morning and came by.
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UPDATE @ 2:52 p.m.: The deer has not floated away in the rain or been rescued by the animal control officer. She is sitting like she doesn't have a care in the word in our backyard near the corner of the fence.

oh, deer ...

I saw a deer today. In my front yard.

I live in a city. It may not be a big city, but deer don't usually wander down the street. Or through my front yard.

Apparently our yard is attractive to animals. We saw a raccoon in a carport. And then again in the same creek in our front yard that the deer visited. And then he was trapped, after an opossum first fell victim to the enticing food in the cage.

He walked through the culvert and decided to snack on some grass on the other side. And, last I looked, he was still hanging out below Sharpe Street.