Of Poppins and Priorities

Since the beginning of the year, Morenna’s video of choice has been Mary Poppins.  Such an honor bestowed upon a movie means that it is watched dozens hundreds of times.

It was fun at first, bringing to mind memories of my own childhood pleasures surrounding the popular songs and lighthearted magic.

But I grew bored with the fact I could recite the script by memory. I had dishes to do, a floor to clean... and no one around was going to snap their fingers to complete it for me.

Somewhere around the 27th viewing *yawn*, I woke up and began to catch on to some iconic dimensions of the movie I had missed the 26 times before.

I’m slow, I know.

I sat there, suddenly aware of how greatly I was behaving like those in the movie.

Mrs. Banks was a valiant knight in the world of women’s rights; namely, their right to vote. To have a say. Fighting to have an impact in the world around her.

Yet she overlooked the greatest impact of all: motherhood. And it was slipping away from her.

Mr. Banks was a noteworthy, important man. His job defined him; he was a great investor.

Yet he didn’t invest in the right things. His “life ambitions go, with one fowl blow” and he realizes those ambitions were build on the sands of disillusionment.

What a perfect movie for a discontented, stressed out momma to watch.

It’s not about the daily chores; it’s about the time invested in the lives of my children. Motherhood is what I prayed for during those years through high school and college. The blessing was given to me... now what am I choosing to do with it?

One of the only blogs I take time to read is (In)Courage. Earlier this month a writer posted an article entitled, “In the Season of Rain, Pray for Rain.” It touched a disillusioned part of my heart and has drastically altered how I proceed in my day.

In the words of Zechariah, “Ask for rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain, from the Lord who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain . . . .” (Zechariah 10:1)

Here’s the message, mommas. We’re the caretakers of little souls right now. It’s our season. And like all seasons, we know it only lasts for a short time before passing on. Remind yourself of this the next time a small being attaches themselves to your leg while dinner is burning, the dryer is buzzing and you can’t find a matching pair of shoes because someone smaller than you was reeking havoc in your closet this morning.

You’re in this season, so pray for this season. Pray for grace and peace and joy. And most of all, pray for wisdom to make a worthwhile, solid, investment. Won’t you join me?

And it can’t hurt to pray that someone like Mary Poppins arrives to snap her fingers and clean your house. :-)

True Intimacy

I've never been one to celebrate Valentine's Day. Perhaps this is a result of my childhood. My parents were never big on any market-driven holiday, but we ate our heart-shaped pancakes, told family members we loved them (like we did every day) and moved on.

During my college years the journey of singleness made me much more aware of Valentine's Day. Friends went out with their significant others and I sat alone in my dorm room wearing black in protest. A true model of maturity right there. ::Cough::

Although there was that one year when a friend and I graced our male counterpart's cubicle with bright red streamers and heart confetti - just cuz it bred annoyance. Who knew I was really pranking my future husband. Hehe.

But now I'm married and we still don't really celebrate the big love fest. But in light of yesterday's holiday, I found this post a true encouragement... and a great reminder. Here's an exerp:

Unaware of themselves in the garden, Adam and Eve walked with God,
and they were naked. They were completely exposed, and they were not
work-driven, and they did not have babies hanging on their legs, sitting on
their hips, poking their eyes, squeezing their noses, or drooling down their
backs.

Oh how we want the garden back sometimes after we have babies! Oh how sweet the garden seems when we're looking back from our over-worked positions - whatever they may be! Don't we crave such time and depth with Christ that we become one with Him, know His thoughts, and love how He loves? Don't we survive by keeping intimacy with Him, in prayer?

What is missing for me is the humility and discernment to say NO when needed, so I can say YES when needed, and I keep asking myself if I were to arrange my life so that intimacy with the Lover my soul were my priority, then wouldn't intimacy with my husband become a great byproduct of that - an overflow?

~ Taken from "An Intimacy Experiment" over at (In)Courage.

Just a Servantless American Mother

It’s 1am as I lay Jadyn softly into her crib. Matt is snoring lightly a few steps away from me, hunkered down under our beloved feather comforter. A quick check on Morenna shows her sprawled out in her crib, her blanket in a wad underneath her... as usual. The vaporizer in her room hums in harmony with the humidifier in ours.

As my head hits the pillow and a sigh escapes my lips, my thoughts run hither-skither.

My hair remained in a rather hurried ponytail throughout the day.

There are piles of laundry still lying on our bedroom floor, blocking my half-stupored middle-of-the-night trek to the bathroom. I wonder briefly if I should move them.

Below me I can hear the whir of the dishwasher. It’s been getting it's exercise lately, packed to the max with the dishes from our meals, from our snacks, and from the various excursions Morenna takes them on throughout the day. I’m too tired to wash half of them by hand.

It’s supposed to snow tomorrow. The power is likely to go out. Better change my plan of attack to accomplish all the cooking and baking before we’re left in a black and quiet state.

And the diapers. Ooo, better not forget to wash the diapers so we have a fresh stash to take us through the snowdays, too.

I spent the last few minutes of the evening addressing my to-do list. “Hello, list. You’re a rather cold bedfellow.” Instead, I busied myself with organizing my personal notebook, arranging a better meal-planning approach, and paying some bills. I wish I could find some time to blog.

We ate popcorn. Yes, Matt and I ate popcorn... at 10pm. It’s become our new ritual, our saving grace. Homemade caramel lattes and homemade popcorn. We’re suddenly kids again and we smirk each time our hands happen to touch in the bowl. We snack and quiz each other. “Passing the Bar” is our new shared game each evening. At least it is for another two weeks.

::Sigh:: Yes, it was a busy day.

Dear reader, it’s been a difficult journey for me these last two months. If you’ve wondered why posts are few and far between, why there have been no pictures - now you know.

I’ve never been one to do well with little sleep, so once we returned from our Christmas travels, I hit a wall in attempting to care for my family while maintaining 5 broken hours of rest each night. And take care of two sick children and myself. And clip coupons. And play dress-up. And take a shower.

It’s been a lesson in humility. A good lesson. A lesson the Lord has wanted to teach me for quite some time, and I’ve been too self-absorbed to learn it.

Just this: I’m not as a great as I think I am.

I’m not superwoman, despite manipulating my circumstances to make it seem like I am.

And I’m learning this the hard way; I’m being brought to the end of myself by sheer necessity and physical exhaustion. And it’s good.

So that said, there are lots of thoughts and pictures and random stuff I want to share here... but in the days ahead there may be periods of silence. Know that in the quiet moments I’m still here, I’m just preoccupied with a lesson. :-)

Sweet Refreshment and Other Stuff

Who doesn't experience burn-out? During the season of motherhood the "cliffs" of weariness and discouragement seem to ever loom in the not-too-distant future for me to plunge over. And I only have one child! (At least for the next two months!)

This past spring, Matt and I initiated a new Mom's Time-Out on Saturday mornings. What refreshment I've found during that time! He graciously takes Morenna and I escape to the local coffeeshop for a few hours of alone time, followed by any necessary errands I need to run.

Are you feeling ready for a break? Let me encourage you to see if your spouse would be willing to give you some time away.

A couple of my friends have inquired as to what I do with my morning out. Here's a basic overview, in preferential order:

- Eat a slow-paced breakfast someone else prepared;

- Study God's word and prepare my heart for any foreseen challenges in the coming week;

- Evaluate my calendar and think through the events of the coming week;

- Menu plan: I usually do one week at a time and establish my meals based on a day's events. I can always switch it up if my day changes;

- Clip and organize my coupons and shopping list for the upcoming week;

- Balance my share of our budget

- Update my blog: yes, I admit, I only blog once a week. :-) I typically set my posts to run on future dates so that the fresh content pops up all week long; and

- Browse the internet :-)

It's amazed me just how refreshed I feel after being away just for a few hours each Saturday. Mentally I'm refreshed and ready to return to serve my family and my weeks run much more smoothly since I feel on top of things. Many thanks to my hubby for his support of such an outing! :-)

Do any of you do something similar?

Bringing Nature to Suburbia

Most of you know that I grew up in the country. And loved it.

Now being a forced resident of suburbia, I find I'm lonesome for the freedom that owning land can bring. Since our backyard is fenced in, I'm all primed to attempt planting a garden in our rock-infested yard next year. But what to do in the meantime?

Enter brilliance. Not my own, unfortunately, but I shamelessly stole the idea. No rocks. No weeds. Just good nutritious soil and yummy greens in... my gutter garden.

It took only one evening for Matt and I to purchase our vinyl gutters and other materials. Easy-peasey. I back-ordered the seeds and in late July I put in a crop of baby spinach, gourmet greens and Simpson lettuce. Both have done really well and we had some of the lettuce in salads a night ago. Yum, yum! (Sorry the picture is blurry.)

I know you're probably as taken back about the brilliance in suburbia gutter gardening as I am. You're thinking: Man, this gal's got it going on. Or maybe not. Perhaps you think I'm crazy, and you might be right...

Last week our little family (read: me) decided gardening didn't quite fix our back-to-nature cravings so we pulled out all the stops and... joined a raw milk club. :Gasp: Now you really do think I'm crazy, don't you?

Best. Decision. Ever. Despite the multiple health benefits I was a little apprehensive about the switch, but I'm so happy we did it. And let me tell you, once you join the little raw milk community you find your fellow raw-milk-drinking-friends start popping out of the woodwork. Who knew?!

So anyway, we've been purchasing (yes, purchasing... even though it's against the law. As if it's the government's place to regulate what I drink... it's just MILK people, come on!) about a gallon and a half a week. From that amount I'm able to skim off quite a bit of cream and make my own butter (all-in-all about 3/4 cup) using my kitchen aid mixer. Simple and tasty.

Wow. So there's the good, bad and ugly regarding my back-to-nature cravings. Well, not totally. Would you believe in the same time period I also made the decision to switch Morenna over to cloth diapers?! I blame my pregnancy hormones. More on that later. The diapers, I mean, not the hormones. :-)

Who Can Find a Woman of Strength - Part Two

This week I was able to move on to verses 13 and 14 of Proverbs 31. As you may recall, I felt the need to stay awhile in verses 10-12... and I'm glad I did. This past week I had the opportunity to put my meditations into practice regarding vs. 12.

I'm sure most of you can relate to a stressful morning when your spouse is all but preoccupied with issues of the day and his treatment of his wife and/or offspring leaves a lot to be desired. That was our Wednesday morning. And, like normal, I began to react with a cold, harsh, punitive attitude.

Immediately the Lord tugged at my heart and verse 12 ran through my head. With substantial effort, I attempted to switch gears: Warmth instead of cold; gentleness instead of harshness; grace, kindness and helpfulness in place of my punitive, judgmental attitude.

And what do you know? It blessed my husband! What victory! Less than 30 minutes later he returned to me with a soft, repentant heart. Though my purpose in blessing him was not to receive a grand apology, my blessing him ended up blessing me in the process. How kind of God!

My new study:

Proverbs 31: 13-14
She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.

Here we shift to this woman's more practical nature. At first glace, I didn't really feel like there was a lot here. It seemed a bit culturally out-of-date... but like all of the Bible, there was something to learn.

Verse 13

Perhaps I don't feel the Lord leading me to shear my sheep, (if I owned any) spin my wool, and shed some creative juices on my dust-laden sewing machine. (Yes, I have one. Does the simple possession factor count?). But at the very least, I am called to clothe my family.

Reluctantly, I think I could stand some growth in this area. My family is hardly running around naked, but my husband certainly doesn't look his best when he leaves for work in the morning. Why? Well, mostly for my self-created aversion to ironing. I own one. I try not to use it. End of story. Maybe I could actually turn it on sometime...

And once my husband's pants are ironed, what about hemming some of them? He's not the tallest tree in the forest and I'm stumped (no pun intended :-))to think of a pair of dress pants he owns that actually aren't baggy. It doesn't take a sewing expert to hem some pants... just a sewing machine and an iron. Ahem.

Verse 13b

I'm sure the Lord calls each of us to certain areas of growth concerning the above, but something that is relevant for all of us is the adverb: "eager". This Hebrew word actually insinuates doing a task with delight and pleasure. I hardly think I have to elaborate on this one. Yet beware: it holds the greatest punch of all.

Verse 14

1 Timothy 6:8 seems to reflect that food and clothing are the two most important things and it's not surprising that they are lumped together.

The ships in reference were likely the ships of Tarshish (Ez 27:25 and Is 2:16 and 1 Kg 10:12), which were known for their elaborate goods. The literal translation of the verse is that she is like these ships.

To try to reach some sort of clarification, I attempted to employ my college latin to translate the Vulgate passage. After shedding some blood, sweat, and translation toil... it didn't help. :-) Rats.

I think I'll spend some more time thinking through this verse this week. In the meantime, what basic facts I've been able to draw from the verse is this: she provides good things (and a good variety) for her family to eat. What do you think?

With that... I'm off to menu plan and visit the grocery. :-)

Who Can Find a Woman of Strength?

One of my closest friends is getting married. Wedding preparations are in full swing and recently I had the joy of joining with several other friends in throwing the bride a Proverbs 31 shower. A heavy theme? Yes. But oh, so, valuable.

One of the wiser women in our group provided an excellent and encouraging devotion on this passage, and I came away encouraged to dig further still. Though the chapter can be overwhelming, what part of our walk/growth in the Lord isn't, apart from His grace?

For the past two weeks I've been unable to move past verses 10-12. There is so much within them, that I'm sure I could focus on them for months and still find the Lord revealing areas of improvement for me to better align myself with the godly character reflected! At any rate, I thought I'd share:

Proverbs 31: 10-12
A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her and
lacks nothing of value.
She brings him good, not harm
all the days of her life.

Here are a few thoughts I've been mulling around about this woman:

Vs 10: She is rare. In my past study of this verse I've always focused on the fact that this woman is valuable. But I've realized that it's more than that: she is rare. The law of supply and demand rings true: scarcity drives up value.

• Do I know many others like me? Even among Christian circles, am I different? How so? How not?

Vs 11: She is trustworthy, industrious and profitable. This verse packs a lot of challenge for me; most specifically the latter section. According to the commentary here (a great resource BTW), the basic translation reads: "so that he [her husband] shall have no need of spoil [goods gained from war]."

• In what ways am I profitable to my family? Is my husband "richer" because of me? What ways can I improve in spending my time wisely?
  

Vs 12: She rewards her husband with good. I love the basic translation "deals bountifully" here. No matter what her husband's actions, she continuously heaps good upon him. And they are blessed. I really can stand improvement here. My attitude tends to often be a tit-for-tat one. When it's convenient I'm kind. When I'm trying to make a point, I'm not. Yet the old addage "kindness makes a man attractive" is equally, even moreso, valuable for wives. It not only blesses her husband, but touches her whole family. And she is blessed.

• How can I actively reward my husband each day? Basics? Abstracts? Can I prevent any harm from befalling him? Do I value him above myself?

As you can see, I have lots of thoughts! Thanks for joining me as I'm thinking through the wisdom in these verses... and should you have any thoughts to add, I'd love to hear them. Much wisdom is gained from much council... and I have much to gain.

Who's Minding the... House?

It has been and continues to be a humbling experience to possess all the joys (who am I fooling?) of pregnancy while chasing down a toddler. My family and my home have all suffered. But it's also been a time of blessing to watch those around me chip in to help, especially my husband. I owe the current state of our home (yes, it's fairly clean!) to him... and also the current state of my emotional life (that's in good shape, too).

Now that I'm slowly regaining my pre-morning sickness ground, I've had to start doing things a wee bit different than normal. Here's how I'm minding my house at the moment:

-- My previous cleaning schedule has been shelved in lieu of an end-of-the-day tidying. There is dust in my house. Lots of it... but I'm only able to tackle a room when my energy meter decides to climb.

Did I ever mention that we purchased a Roomba?! I had hoped to write a full review of the newest member of our house -- affectionately termed Mosie (a combination of the Jetsen's Rosie and Wall-e's Mo) -- but something got in the way, I guess. So here's my review: Buy one. Now.

-- I'm managing my time using my personalized daily docket (at right). "MIT" stands for "most important things". Many thanks to SimpleMom for the inspiration.

-- And as you can see, I'm now menu planning. I've never been big into menu planning. Besides the pre-thought hassle (in my previously uninformed opinion), my tastes always changed from day to day, so I wouldn't follow it anyway. But now that food and I are not the best of friends, I've found a weekly planning session to be a winner of an idea. I only have to really think about food once a week, and my family has a rounded meal each evening. They are happy. Very happy.

Even better, I've started having Matt grill out a larger than normal amount of meat on Sundays, so then I can use it in quick dishes during the week. Doubling dinner portions also leaves us handy options for lunches.

Last week's menu:

Sunday - Matt grilled chicken; leftover green bean casserole
Monday - Blackbean vegetable soup; cornbread; peach crisp
Tuesday - Parmesan Tilapia; green beans; cantelope
Wednesday - Chicken tacos; corn-on-the-cob
Thursday - Dinner out
Friday - Beef stir-fry w/ carrots & zucchini

And that's the latest on who's minding our house... if you wanted to know. :-)

Shakin' and Bakin'

In preparation for Morenna's 1st birthday party, the visitation of some dear friends and family, and life's general business, I decided to have another baking day a couple weeks ago (and I'm just now posting!). I'm finding these happen about every three weeks or so... and I'm loving the times in between with all the freshly baked and stored food. Matt definitely enjoys having easy breakfasts available, too. Here's a peek at what the fruits of my labor were this time around:


*2 dozen breakfast hot pockets (we adore these!)
*2 dozen whole-wheat waffles (I think I may be searching for a new healthy recipe soon... any suggestions?)
*2 dozen apricot muffins and a small loaf of apricot bread (LOVE this new recipe! Note: the recipe calls for 4 t. of baking powder - Totally a misprint! I used about 1 t. and it was fine.)
*And a 10x17 healthy carrot cake (no, I'm not vegan)

Yum, yum!

...Because the Days are Evil

"Look carefully then how you walk,

not as unwise but as wise,
making the best use of the time,
because the days are evil."
~Eph. 5:15-16

"Your tea is getting cold," my husband said to me one night. "Aren't you coming to bed yet? I'd like to spend some time with you." Anxiously I made a few quick clicks with my mouse. "Not quite yet, just a few more things to do." My eyes were glued to my computer as I immersed myself in a friend's posting on facebook. Definitely need to write her a quick encouraging note. And did I remember to scan the latest deals and print those Huggies coupons? I can't go to the grocery without them! Oh look, an email from so-and-so!

An hour later I sank into bed. There were so many other blogs I wanted to read and sites I wanted to visit, but I was feeling guilty. I snuggled up to my husband and started to browse through my parenting magazine. My tea was cold.

"Hooked Online." The words on the page jumped out at me. "Three reasons moms are addicted to the internet." Addiction. Addiction. I stole a shy glance at Matt. He hadn't took notice of the headline. Cautiously I continued reading; I had that feeling that this article was meant for me. Sure enough, the author's word struck a chord... and it wasn't good. Perhaps the most identifying passage was this one:

"I started following coupon sites and became so engrossed in finding deals that I neglected the important things, like time with my son, for a while."

I've done this!!! While the article seemed to focus more on a mother's need for social stimulation (no comment) what I gleened was more a recognition of time-consuming bad habits. The mother mentioned above pursued something good, but at the cost of what was best. How often am I unintentionally doing that?

~

These past few weeks I've been contemplating time. Certainly as a new mom I've started seeing time as my enemy. There's never enough of it to accomplish my tasks. At the recommendation of a friend, I began reading Shopping for Time, a marvelous book written by a woman I couldn't esteem more highly. Her advice comes right from scripture: look carefully; live purposefully.

Look carefully... make the best use... days are evil. So, I looked. There it was: my computer. It's on from morning 'til night. I'm on it for work. I'm on it for play. I have to have it to score the best deals. And where would I find half my recipes without it? It's all good. But it's not the best. It's become my distraction. My bad habit keeping me from wholely pursuing my duties. What's yours?

I've witnessed so many other friends battling with this type of behavior. Ladies, we need to be proactive about sitting down and recognizing our priorities. The days are evil, now let's wisely take them on. For me, that meant sitting down and listing my priorities, and deciding where the internet fit (or didn't fit!) with them.

1. First and foremost, I am a child of God. He is my first priority and my time sitting at the foot of the cross, studying His word and bathing my day in prayer is SO important. Nothing must distract me from that time. (No internet here.)

2. My household comes next, and with it several smaller categories. I can't help but recall the Proverbs 31 woman (Lord, help us all! :-)): She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. (Prov. 31:27)

a) My husband. He is my primary focus. As his wife I am first and foremost his help-mate. Now, I should start acting like it. :-) That means children, church... everything else must come after. (Internet only if I need to use it to serve him in some way.)

b) My children. Training them in godliness and teaching them is next on my list. (No internet here.)

c) My home. This includes cleanliness, meals - whatever it takes to keep my home in working, efficient order. This also includes keeping house the way that would best please my husband and serve my children. It also includes being a good steward of what resources we have. Here is where couponing, bargain shopping, etc comes in for me. Even here, though, some prioritization is needed. Cleanliness comes before couponing, etc. (Internet: limited.)

3. Work. This is a given for internet, but I must remember that it comes after everything else. For me, household things typically get done in the morning, then work follows after my devotions during Morenna's morning nap. (Yay for naps!) (Internet: yes, but for one primary purpose.)

4. Social Service. Hurray! Play time! Last but not least is my time for social interaction... playgroups, phone calls, facebook, email, blogging, you name it! And by the grace of God, here it is... right where it belongs. (If you're wondering about this post, yes, my chores are done for today, Morenna is napping, my husband is studying... FREEDOM! ) Whoops... now I have to go get lunch. :-)

There is such joy in looking carefully and evaluating your time. At the end of a weary day, you can look back and smile, knowing that what needed to get done, did get done. And like the Proverbs 31 woman, we can now laugh at the days to come.

Won't you join me in making the best use of our time?

Baking Day

Yesterday was baking day in our house. A new phenomena, but definitely a keeper. Why not dirty up measuring cups, spoons and bowls all at the same time?! It's great!

So want to know what we made? Whole wheat waffles*, banana crumb muffins, oat bran muffins*, and breakfast hot pockets. (*Recipe below.)

It was great fun and now my freezer is filled with yummy, healthy, items M can grab and take for breakfast on workdays.

Best of all, Morenna was well-behaved and emptied and examined all the items in her play cupboard while I cooked. It's so nice to freely move around the kitchen without a little one tugging on your pant leg.

Whole Wheat Waffles 1 3/4 cup wheat flour 1 3/4 cup buttermilk Combine and let soak overnight. Then mix in: 1 t. baking powder 1/2 t. salt 2 eggs 1/4 cup coconut oil (or I use 1/2 cup of applesauce) Pour batter onto greased waffle iron. Best if served with fruit syrup.

Oat Bran Muffins 2 cups oat bran 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 2 t. baking powder 1/2 t. salt 1 cup milk 2 T. oil (or 1/4 applesauce) 1/4 cup molasses 1 egg Mix all ingredients together and spoon into a greased or lined muffin pan. Bake at 425F for 15-17 minutes.

Home as a Haven

I was encouraged and motivated by two ladies who decided to challenge themselves in making their home a haven (see here and here) for their family. I know I could always stand improvement and godly counsel in that area. So following their lead, I thought I'd post about how I'm trying to make my home a haven, specifically in keeping it tidy.

I'm in no way OCD about keeping my house clean... but as I mentioned before, I can't stand major messes and crumbs on the floor. Keeping a three story townhouse clean has been a challenge, though. Not to mention I have a hard time devoting a whole day (or week!) to cleaning. So I created a six-week plan that helps me keep the whole house clean, and the other odd household jobs in order. It's worked great for me so far, but better yet, my husband loves coming home to a tidy house (most days :-) ). It's far from fool proof, and there are some days I just don't get things done (as visitors to my house can definitely witness), but it's been very helpful to keep me on track.