Content at Home

I'm trying to find my new blogging rhythm. When I was blogging years ago, most of my posts were about my children. Now that I have one in college and one nearing the end of high school, I'm sort of in a different phase of life!

Zach attends a nearby community college and has a part time job and Leah pretty much independently homeschools. She's also involved in community theatre. She will play Beth in a production of Little Women next month.

Even though they are older and have their own activities, I'm content and feel very much needed at home. It has always been important to me that my husband and children have a loving, nurturing home.

I have struggled in the past with the pull to do more outside of our home. When I would see other women involved in so many seemingly good activities, I would feel like maybe I wasn't doing enough. I've also never been one to do "girls nights" out or shopping with friends. I simply don't enjoy those things. I'm not saying that I don't have friends. We actually have some very good friends and I love it when our families can get together and fellowship at one another's homes. I enjoy spending time with friends, I just don't feel the need to "get away" from my family to do so!

Making homemade food is one of my top priorities and if I'm gone a lot, that's just not going to happen! It takes time to prepare food so I have to make time for it throughout my day. We have been gradually making the switch to healthier eating. We've cut way down on sugar and processed foods. I love to bake, so we do enjoy occasional sweet goodies but that's not an every day occurrence.

It feels good to be content and at peace with my God given roles as wife and mother. I want with all my heart to serve the Lord and make him known to others. Being obedient in this area of my life is how I can do that. When I take my eyes off Him and start comparing my service to the things I see others doing, that insecurity creeps back in. 

We try to keep our schedule easy to manage. I don't want to have somewhere I have to be every day. Of course there are busy seasons as there are things that come up that absolutely must be done, but those seasons are temporary. We are in a busy season at the moment since Leah is practicing several days a week for the play. She is working hard and she enjoys it very much, so we are all pitching in and helping get her to and from practice. She has her learner's permit so we're still having to drive her right now.

When I think about the state the world is in now, I can't help but think about how different things would be if there were more loving, nurturing mothers in the lives of children. Focusing on God, family and serving others instead of trying to keep up with the ever changing fast paced things of the world.

Being content at home is a blessing and a joy. I look forward to what each day brings and I'm so thankful for a new season in life where we are now reaping the benefits of raising and homeschooling our children according to our convictions. It isn't always easy, but I wouldn't change a thing.

Our Simple Fall Home

After a pretty long stretch of 90 degree days, we're finally experiencing some cooler temperatures.

I was motivated to do a little fall decorating.  I don't do a lot, just a few touches here and there.

 

The shelf in our dining area gets a few fall touches; I change the decorations out on this shelf for different seasons. I tried to take a picture of the room with the lights on, but the bulbs glared really badly. I make most of our home decor. Not trying to "toot my own horn" or anything, I'm just a creative person and love making special things for our home. I rarely buy things to decorate with. The sign is an old chalkboard that I painted. I made the candle sticks from wood posts and I picked up the pine cones outside. I did buy the mini pumpkins of course!

 

I've really become fond of simple framed signs lately. Just one word can make a nice statement.

I saw a sign similar to this on Pinterest that I really liked, so I decided to make one for my kitchen.

You may have noticed my kitchen looks a little different from the last pictures I posted. We put in a new countertop and backsplash a couple of weeks ago. This is something we've planned to do for years, I'll do a post on the new look of the kitchen soon. A little makeover on a small kitchen is easy on the budget!

 

 

 A little Fall message on my kitchen chalkboard; I change out the messages on this for the seasons also.

A new scented candle. I decided to buy a soy candle because we try to be careful about what kinds of fragrances or chemicals we bring into our home, but honestly I was disappointed in the strength of it. I could barely smell it when it was in the kitchen, so I gave it to Leah for her room; it smelled much stronger in the smaller space. I may have to buy a Yankee candle, you really can't beat those!

That's our fall home. We keep it simple, but we enjoy it that way.

Fall is Here

I love fresh starts and the first day of each new season. Here we are - the first day of Fall. 87 degrees here in Tennessee may not feel like Fall, but the weather will come soon enough!

Fall was not always my favorite season. I used to be a Summer girl but that gradually changed as I got a little older. For me Fall is the season that is both a time of reflection and anticipation. Much of the year is behind us, but there is still more to come. That first crisp Fall morning wakes me from my summer slump and reminds me that there's still time. There's always hope. (The fact that Fall is beautiful and we get to wear sweaters and boots is just a bonus - my love of Fall runs deep!)

The carefree days of Summer may have come to an end, but the importance of living an intentional life with less distraction and "overwhelm" can't be overstated.

Leading a simple life does not mean sticking your head in the sand and pretending life is not hard. Raising children is hard, marriage is hard, finances are hard, sickness is hard, death is hard, taking care of a house is hard, juggling activities is hard, loving people who are unlovable is hard, turning 40 and getting gray hair and crows feet is hard, keeping your mouth shut is hard, standing by your convictions is hard. I think I could go on . . .

We lead a simple life by remembering that only one thing is needed (Luke 10:42) loving the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind & loving our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-38) and keeping our mind fixed on Him so He will keep us in perfect peace. (Isaiah 26:3)
We will live in confusion if we are not is His word and in prayer daily. The world will knock us down and the deceiver will prey on our weaknesses. He does NOT have the right to do this, so don't allow it, my friends!

I hope you all have a wonderful first weekend of Fall!!

Thoughts on Fall

We have certainly been blessed with BEAUTIFUL fall weather this week. (My thoughts and prayers however, are absolutely with those who are in the path of hurricane Irma and with those who are recovering from the flooding in Houston.) The temperature got down to 48 here in the Nashville area last night and our high was 69 today.  As close to perfect as can be!

Fall is without a doubt my favorite season. I love everything about it. I so enjoy baking and making different soups in the fall. We eat what I bake in moderation and a portion of it is given to friends and neighbors. A good friend had surgery today and I plan on taking her some soup and a loaf of sourdough bread.

I enjoy practicing hospitality in the cool weather of fall. We had a nice fall party and bonfire here on our property last year and I'm hoping we will be able to do the same this year. I made chili and hot cocoa and friends brought yummy side dishes and desserts. We had games for the children and the adults were able to gather around the fire and fellowship. We used hay bales as seats and brought out warm blankets as it was a super chilly night! It was a blessing all around.

I enjoy decorating our home for fall although I do keep it simple and try to use things that I can make myself. We have a very earth toned home and the fall colors just seem to "go" with our home! I love all the unique shapes and colors of different pumpkins and gourds.

This is a simple tray I made from some scrap wood and a couple of vintage cabinet handles that I found at a thrift shop. Just added a few mini pumpkins and it looked lovely on our screened porch. This is pretty typical of my decorating style. I am rather simplistic!

Every season is a blessing and is unique in the gifts that it brings, but I'm definitely in my "element" so to speak when fall arrives! The soft flannels, cozy sweaters, warm boots, vibrant colors of the leaves, scents of apple and pumpkin everything - it's a wonderful time!

After a busy summer of gardening, mowing and home maintenance, I certainly welcome the slower pace of fall. I used to think summer was the slow paced season, but now it seems as if summer is our busiest time of year!

I hope you are able to enjoy some nice fall transitioning in your neck of the woods!

Why I Started Blogging Again

This is a picture of my children when I started blogging about nine years ago. They are now 16 and 19. Unbelievable!

I decided to start a blog as a way to share our lives with our family after we moved away from our hometown.  This was before Facebook was the norm.  I had no idea that I would meet so many kindred spirits. I was even able to meet two blog friends in person when they traveled through the Nashville area.

We had just bought our house and I enjoyed the decorating ideas I could get from blogs. I also enjoyed keeping up with fellow homeschool families and finding new recipes from time to time. It was a wonderful community!

As Zach and Leah got older, I began to feel like I was invading their space by constantly snapping pictures of them so I started posting less about them which cut out a lot of material for my blog!

As Facebook became more and more popular, I decided to give it a try (again, so I could keep in touch with family and friends) and I loved how simple it was to communicate. I really enjoyed it for a while. My blog sort of fell by the wayside as I really didn't feel like I had much to say. I made it private and still enjoy having it as a scrapbook of all those years!

Over the last year or so, I have not been enjoying Facebook. I was absolutely wasting too much time on there. I honestly didn't realize just how much time. It had just become a habit. I felt like I had too much information flooding my brain from all the posts. Do I really need to know every detail of everyone's life?? The fake news, quizzes, articles and people arguing over things was becoming too much for me. It wasn't a positive way to spend time.

I even found myself judging others due to their posts. I'm not normally a judgemental person, but when people put certain things out there, it is just too easy to make judgements. Definitely not a good  thing to open myself up to.

In August, I decided to give up Facebook for a month. I wanted to renew my mind and get rid of all the mental clutter. I wanted to be more productive and stop wasting time mindlessly scrolling.

I started reading a few of my favorite simple living and homemaking blogs instead and found it to be MUCH more pleasant. I decided to start blogging again just about my every day life and this season I'm in now that I'm in my 40's.

I'll have to do another post about my social media break and what a positive experience that was, but for now, I'm just looking forward to my simple, unhurried blogging!

Rising Early

My favorite time of day is early morning. I'm always the first one up. I NEED that quiet, alone time to prepare for my day. My morning routine is pretty much the same each day.

I open the curtains, turn on a lamp and then go to the kitchen to brew the coffee. If the morning is cool, I open my kitchen window to let in a little fresh air.  

I grab a cup of coffee and head out to the back porch with my Bible. I take my planner with me so I can make my to do list for the day. The porch is my favorite "room" in our house! We spend a lot of time out here. My kiddos do most of their school work here. 

After my Bible reading and prayer, I go to the kitchen to get Darrell's lunch packed and breakfast made. By, now the rest of family is starting to get up.

I've always been a morning person, so it isn't hard for me to get up and get started. If I slept late, I would absolutely start off on the wrong foot and miss out on what I consider to be the best time of the day.

I get to work immediately by putting a load of laundry in and then doing the biggest task on my list first. I try to order my to do list from biggest job to smallest job since I have the most energy in the morning hours. I start to lose a little steam in the afternoon!

I know some folks are not "morning people" naturally, but I think it's an important discipline to work on. Mornings in scripture are always viewed in a positive light. I'm thankful each morning for God's new mercies and I try to make the most of the time I have to prepare and get things done!