organized and beautiful

i've been trying to make the areas in our home and the areas in my life that are disorganized or not much fun into organized, beautiful spaces that i enjoy. i read a blog about making closet spaces into office spaces and that gave me the momentum i needed to get a desk space going. instead of a closet, i'm using my kitchen. i'm there constantly anyway.
our kitchen has lots of counter space, but no "desk" area. so i took a corner closest to the oven, out of sight from the entry of our home, and i'm really enjoying it.
the basket above holds things like our discipleship books, gabriel's sight words flashcards for school, and his homework notebook.

i found the memo board on the wall at target for $8. it looks like just a canvas but you can write on it with dry erase markers and it has worked great! i put a pretty flowering plant and scripture verses in the space as well.

i have made this space super practical by having things right there where i need them. gabe has weekly readers he brings home, so those have a place. box tops for school go in the little pot. and my accordian file folder behind the basket keeps the things that need to be held onto for awhile. i am really enjoying my space being pretty and useful.

do you have a beautiful workspace? let me see it!

this book rocked my face off

i read a book yesterday that i believe is the best parenting book i've ever read. it actually might be the only one i've ever finished, besides family driven faith, which was also a great book. it's 100 pages of wisdom and insight. and it flies by because the writer is hilarious.

it's called "loving the little years: motherhood in the trenches" by rachel jankovic. it's amazing.
if you have kids under the age of 10, i think this book will benefit you to no end!
i read the whole thing in one evening after putting kids down to bed. and then suggested to my husband that he should read it, even though it has "motherhood" in the title. i think any parent would understand and relate to it.

you have to understand that i don't enjoy how-to books or books that have listed points. i like books that flow. and this one does.
check it out. read it. and let me know what you think.
i laughed out loud so many times i think my husband was concerned i was losing it.

get a cup of something yummy and warm, bundle up on your couch, and enjoy!

roots

this weekend we went up to oklahoma to celebrate the life of a great man. the hubs' grandfather passed away last week. he was wonderful. his name was pete...a nickname because as a flight instructor he would re-do drills so much that they began to call him "repeat" and then "peat" and then it morphed into "pete." sounds like he was pretty diligent, huh? he was a loving man who was gentle and patient. he loved working with his hands and fishing and flying. and as they began to talk about his life, i began to see all sorts of similarities between pete and my hubs.

so as we drove home, the hubs and i discussed what we hope our boys will grow up to become.
--what kind of men will they be? we want them to grow up to be godly men who love seeking the Lord's will in their lives. we want them to grow up learning about their roots. -the people in our family who love others, speak gently, speak up, encourage, show hospitality, forgive, value people, stand firm, take time, and share with generosity. and we hope they'll follow suit, becoming men of godly character, just like their daddy. and pete.

laundry

laundry is becoming more of a routine around here and less of a "dang, i need to do laundry or we won't have underwear" kind of thing. my friend gave us a book awhile back called" tap dancing on the roof" by linda sue park. it has sijo (poems) in it. one poem goes a little something like this:

laundry

i love sitting among the heaps of warm, soft, clean-smelling clothes.

my mom folds. i try to match socks, imagining them in Heaven:

cries of surprise, then celebration! joyful reunions!

helpful

today i bought 5 little laundry baskets. why you ask? because i have helpers. and when i bought them i thought to myself, "this is so exciting! the kids will help me!" and then the next thought was, "dang. this is sad."
parenthood changes a person.
i bought 5 laundry baskets: 1 for socks that have no mate (sad wee socks with no one to love them) and the last 4 for the boys. there's so much laundry being done around here that i can't fit it all in the basket and this way i can sort it all and the boys can take it upstairs and put it away. good priorities, right?!
around here, i've been asking for more help. help setting the table, help putting clothes away, help making beds, help cleaning, and help clearing the table. i figure that all of the boys are able to handle some responsibility. asher, though he's younger, follows the big boys. so he's in his room trying to make his bed just like the others guys. it's been pretty magnificent, i'm not gonna lie.
few things make me happier than seeing all my little busy men helping around the house. their wives will LOVE me!
yesterday they helped me clean out the big ol' suburban. each one had a job. and they earned 10 cents for helping.
it was actually pretty fun. and now our car is pretty clean. i love my helpers. even during those times that they're not feeling super helpful. we all have our moments, don't we?