Making my home a haven
Although I’ve been reading about Crystal’s challenge all week, I didn’t have the time to really get going on Monday (my Nana was visiting and took me and the children out for several hours). Yesterday, I did get my morning routine written and accomplished, though. Here it is:
- Up by 6:00-6:30, shower and get ready for the day
- Spend time in the Word and prayer, and reading The Excellent Wife
- Blog (Once #1 and 2 are finished, I have until close to 8am to spend reading blogs, posting, and doing any other site work that needs to be done)
- Prepare and serve breakfast
- Clean the kitchen (includes all dishes washed, dishwasher emptied, counters/table wiped, floor swept)
So far, so good! It is 7:26, and I am on track with my computer work! I woke up at 5:30am this morning, to feed a hungry little boy, and after retreating back to my warm bed for 10 minutes, I decided to just be up for the day. Although I struggle with being tired and desiring to go back to bed, I have also always loved being up early in the morning. There is something so fresh and promising about being up in the quiet hours of the early morning, watching the sun rise, starting my day productively.
Here are the rest of my goals for the day (hopefully posting them will give me the needed accountability to complete them!):
- To choose a picture for our Christmas cards
- To choose pictures to print for the scrapbook of the children that I am making for my Mom’s Christmas present
- To order the cards and the pictures from Costco.ca
- To conquer my own Mt. Neverest, as Crystal calls her laundry pile; (I started yesterday, but still have 2 loads to fold, then 3 to put away, and 2 more that I haven’t even washed yet)
- To get out my Christmas decorations and begin to be inspired as to how I will decorate without a tree this year (we will be gone a week at Christmas so we have decided not to purchase a tree, so my challenge is to get the house festive enough that I don’t notice the tree is missing- did I mention that I love;trees?). I don’t need to finish decorating, but I want it to be well underway.
Today seems to be a day of lists, so I will share with you my last one. Crystal asked that we share 3 things we are thankful for, so here are mine:
- The season of rest that we have been in this last little while, after a very difficult last year (it’s a very long story, but the short version is that my husband had surgery to remove a lump last winter, then a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in March, then chemotherapy treatments from April to August, a baby born in late May, and then moving to a new house in September) I am so grateful to God for bringing us through it all, for my husband’s return to health, and for the relative simplicity and ease of life that we are experiencing at the moment.
- My two precious children- they are just such a joy and delight to me, I can’t believe I get to be their Mommy
- A husband who leads our family, and provides for and supports me in being a keeper at home
I love getting up early too! I have always enjoyed being able to get a lot done right away.
Just a side note, I noticed the cookbook Nourishing Traditions on your sidebar. Do you like that book? I have been eating this way for a little over a year now and was excited to see someone else possibly doing the same.
Thanks for your post,
Rebekah
I absolutely love it! We have been progressing into this style of cooking over the past year or so, and I am so convinced that there is a lot of wisdom to eating this way. We still have our downfalls, and eating socially is very difficult, but we have almost completely shifted our diet.
Have you switched over completely? Are you doing much of the lacto-fermented foods? That is my next step, and I am also just joining a cow share, to start getting raw milk (as of tomorrow!). So great to see someone else who is into this!
Stephanie
Glad to hear that your husband is recovering well. We have been going through a cancer scare with my son (just turned 6)of Non Hodgkins Lymphoma, so I can understand your pain somewhat. We do radation treatments at home for him now and travel two hours away to the dr. once a month. I am so glad I have the Lord to keep me strong, as I could never do it alone……
Oh, Stephanie, I am so sorry. It is such a difficult journey. I am almost in tears now, thinking of your son and what your family is walking through in this difficult season. I am saying a prayer for the Lord’s strength, and grace, and mercies that are new every morning. And for healing. I could never have done it on my own either. God was so good to us in the midst of it all- taking care of us through the church, refreshing us when we felt we couldn’t go on, encouraging us with His truth. Please feel free to email if you ever want someone to listen or pray.