Hearts for Home

Today I am joining in with Gae from Cherised Hearts at Home . She has a weekly post called Hearts for Home which is open for others to link up with and share some thoughts on home-centred ways. She encourages us to think of 4-6 things to commit to each week to make homelife special and to bless us as keepers at home.

This week I commit to:-

1. Making a big breakfast for hubby as he comes home each morning after a night shift.

2. Start working on the basement room.

3. Help my daughter review for her Social exam.

4. Catching up on phone calls.

5. Start planning our next semester.


~He is the happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home. (John Wolfgang von Goethe)~

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For today... Monday, September 20, 2010


Outside my window... the sky is gray, again, and it is lightly raining.


I am thinking... of what I need to do today and the change in our routine as dear hubby starts night shifts.


I am thankful for... a warm home on a cool day.


From the learning rooms... studying for a social study exam.


From the kitchen...tonight will be leftover meatballs with rice and some leftover broccoli and carrots from yesterday.  My son is going to a young adult BBQ so he won't be having supper at home and I have to head out the door for a meeting so it will be a quick meal for us.


I am wearing...jeans & a long-sleeved shirt with a vest.


I am creating...a candle centerpiece for fall.


I am going...to clean up the house after the weekend. 


I am reading... Messy Christianity by Michael Yaconelli. 

I am praying for... a friend of my daughter.  She is saved, her family is not and the relationship is not good right now.


Pondering these words..."What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" Mark 8:36

I am STILL hoping... to get the basement family room finished before  Christmas.


I am hearing... the computers running, the dog coming up the stairs and my daughter typing on her computer.


Around the house... cleaning the kitchen, laundry, cleaning the floors.


One of my favorite things...baking on a rainy day.


A few plans for the rest of the week...  start working on cleaning out a room in the basement so hubby will have a place he can transition from day to night shift without having to worry about disturbing the rest of the family.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

From my garden to brighten a gray day.

Thank you Peggy for the The Simple Woman's Daybook {follow links to read more}.

Show and Tell Friday

I saw this idea in a catalogue but didn't want to pay the price they were asking for the supplies so I went to the Dollar Store and bought the pots and everything else I already had on hand.

This was the most challenging part, gluing the arms onto the top part.  I made sure it set for 24 hours before tackling the second side. 

Once the arms and legs were on and set the hard part was done.

I glued some moss around the arms and legs and put some inside as well.

Then it was time to add the face.

And finally put it together.  The top is glued to the base and a bow was added around the neck. Then it was off to the garden to find some flowers to put into it. 

And then, to find the perfect spot to display it.  It is in our back porch area to greet everyone who comes in.

The original cost in the catalogue was over $20 plus shipping and handling for just the supplies, I would have still had to put it together.  My cost, under $5.00.

I hope you enjoyed my fall project.  I am joining in with Cindy at My Romatic Home for Show and Tell Friday.

Scheduling

Scheduling.  I love to schedule.  Give me a cup of tea, a pen and an empty planner and I am in a state of pure delight.  For me, planning and scheduling is total relaxation.   However, life doesn't always cooperate with my detailed scheduling and once my schedule gets derailed then, most times, so do I.

"Plan the work and work the plan."

I am not sure who said that but I am great with the first, not so great with the second. 

It is time once again to redo my master schedule as dear hubby will be starting shifts next week.  With his rotating shifts each week is always different.  The past few weeks I have been using a format that is less detailed and it has been working for me but with the upcoming changes I think I will benefit from the more structured approach for the next little while.

So, this is roughly what my schedule will look like for the week.

7:00 am  AM Routine (laundry, make coffee, dressed, devotions, etc)

8:00 am  Make breakfast

8:30 am  Breakfast

9:00 am  Walk dog

10:00 am  Clean kitchen / Make soup or bread as needed

10:30 am  Shower

11:00 am  School time

12:00 pm  Lunch

1:30 pm  School time

2:30 pm  Clean bathroom, Empty garbages, General clean-up around house

3:00 pm  School time (if needed) / Break

4:00 pm  Floors

4:30 pm  Supper prep / Bake

5:00 pm  Fold and put away laundry  

5:30 pm  Finish supper prep

6:00 pm  Supper / Clean up

7:00 pm  Extra household cleaning

9:30 pm  Tea Time

10:00 pm  PM Routine

10:30 pm  Lights out

Like, I mentioned, this is a general outline but it should give me a good framework to plan each day around.

While the sun was shining yesterday I went out and took a few fall pictures around the yard as we have rain in the forescast for the next 4-5 days.

I am thrilled this year with the vine as normally it gets eaten up by the aphids.  It is so beautiful in the fall.

Today was errand day but yesterday, as part of trying to make my evenings more productive, I baked a cake.  I let it cool overnight and iced it this morning.  Supper went in the crockpot and the breadmaker was set.  It was so wonderful to come home after a long, cool, wet day of errands and shopping to a hot, home-cooked meal, fresh bread and of course, delicious cake for dessert.

 

Well, it is time to start winding the day down.  I will light some candles, make some hot chocolate for the family and sit down for some quiet time with my x-stitch, or maybe my planner.

A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time.
(Annie Dillard)

Learning to Trust

As my children got older I thought parenting would get easier but I am finding it harder.  My son will be turning 19 in a few weeks and my daughter is 17.  I love watching them grow and become more independant but it is also hard.  I guess it is like a mother bird watching her chicks fly for the first time - knowing they're going to soar but probably holding her breath at the same time.  My children are at the age where they make some very big choices that can have a life time effect.  Yes, I am there to guide them but the choice is ultimately theirs.  I find I am sent to my knees for my children more now than ever before and while on my knees I am learning that I need to trust.  Trust that God has His hand on my children's lives.  Trust that my children will make the right choices.  Trust that I was and am faithful in my teaching and example.

When we were at the pool last week I was playing the "dummie" as my daughter practiced her rescue roll-overs.  I really don't like having my face in the water and I guess I wasn't quite relaxed enough to be a good "dummie".  My daughter kept saying, "Relax.  Trust me. I'm not going to let you drown."  How true those words are.  I need to relax, trust in God, he is faithful.  So the lesson I am learning right now?  Trust.  Trust God.  Trust God in all things.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

(Proverbs 3:5-6)

Fun Fall Project

"We read in the psalms that 'the heavens declare the glory of God,

and the firmament shows His handiwork.' (Psalm 19:1)

On a smaller scale, your handiwork can also bring glory to God

 and show forth something of His beauty. 

So set your heart in motion, your mind to spinning, and your fingers to work

 and see what handiwork you can generate to glorify your wonderful God!" 

(Beautiful in God's Eyes by Elizabeth George)

Finally, a day where I was able to stay home all day.  This morning I puttered around and got things put back where they belong.  It seems things end up in the strangest spots over the weekend.  This afternoon I spent some time helping my daughter review for her math exam and then we went through her closet, put away some of her summer clothes and organized her fall/winter clothes.  I was hoping for a few more really nice warm days but am not sure if that is going to happen.  By the weekend we are supposed to have rain/snow flurries.  I am not looking forward to that at all.  I got all my daily household chores done as well as gathered enough stuff together to make 2 1/2 bags to take to charity.  And with all that done I had time to finally finish up my fall project that I have been working on.  I am so pleased with how it turned out.  I saw one in a catalogue and thought I could make it for a lot cheaper, and I did, and it was fun to do.

 

 

 

 

 

I picked the sunflowers from our garden and dear hubby suggested I sit it on the bench in the back porch, which I thought was an excellent idea.

When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses. 

(Joyce Brothers)

 

Hearts for Home

Today I am joining in with Gae from Cherised Hearts at Home . She has a weekly post called Hearts for Home which is open for others to link up with and share some thoughts on home-centred ways. She encourages us to think of 4-6 things to commit to each week to make homelife special and to bless us as keepers at home.



This week I commit to:-

1. Making a schedule for the week.

2. Keeping to that schedule as closely as possible.

3. Make sure my daughter adequately prepares and then writes her math exam.

4. Finish my fall craft project.

5. Spending extra time in prayer for my family.

~Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible -- the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family. (Virginia Satir)~