Just a quick thought

It's only when we forget our total depravity, forget that we are born complete sinners, that we begin to believe we have free will.  We are born enslaved to sin, we aren't free in any way.  It is only through God's grace that we can ever be set free from the bondage of sin.

Family Moments

 Yesterday we purchased and installed a large section of synthetic grass in our tiny backyard.  It looks fantastic, and we got to enjoy it for a good while in the evening.  It helps with feeling like this is home, not just a place to stay until we can figure out how to move on to the next thing.

 I also found out that Andrew is a way better photographer than I (he took all these photos).  And he knows how to capture some great moments of the kids.

 Oliver never gets tired of showing us where his head, nose, eyes, mouth, ears, belly button, and heart are.  And he gets so proud of himself when he accomplishes things.

 Wynter is just gorgeous, we all adore her so much.  There is no doubt that she is loved in this family.

Today it is cloudy, cold, and rainy and so we can't go enjoy the outdoors in our back yard, but we are looking forward to a great many days of doing just that when it is warm and sunny.  (Now we need a grill...)

Finding my housekeeping groove

After Oliver was born it took me almost a whole year to finally feel like I could keep up with housework and errands without overwhelming and exhausting myself.  It's been 10 weeks since Wynter was born.  I've repeated a few of the mistakes I made before, like trying to do too much, or focusing on one area every day and neglecting everything else.  We tried some new things that didn't work, like doing the bare minimum during the week and manically running errands and cleaning house on the weekend.  After a month of feeling like we constantly had too much to do and not enough time, and never any time to truly relax and enjoy a day (or even a few hours) of rest we realized some changes still needed to be made.

One of the first things we decided was that we needed one day each weekend that was dedicated to resting, enjoying family time, taking naps if we could, maybe even staying in pajamas all day if we wanted.  We had 2 days to choose from, Saturday and Sunday, and we chose Sunday because we literally do not have anything we have to do that day.

The second thing that needed to happen was finding a way to keep up with chores throughout the week so that we weren't spending all day on the weekend cleaning the house.  I'd previously tried to stick to some sort of cleaning schedule, or to do list, but nothing was working so I wasn't sure how to make it work other than just doing my best each day to clean what was messy.  Then, I think Wednesday of last week, it came to me and I created a cleaning schedule that actually works really well!  It's generalized so that there is some flexibility, and it doesn't take a ton of time or effort, and it will keep the house somewhat clean all week although definitely not perfectly.

Every Day: Keep the kitchen, living room, and bathroom tidy (this doesn't involve really deep cleaning on the living room or bathroom, but the kitchen does need to be thoroughly cleaned every day just due to meal messes)

Monday and Thursday: Clean the bathroom (this is when the toilet, counters, sinks, mirrors and tub/shower are scrubbed down, and the floor swept)

Tuesday and Friday: Clean the bedrooms (this includes anything except for vacuuming)

Wednesday and Saturday: All the vacuuming (bedrooms, and front room and dining area)

No extra chores are scheduled for Sunday, and yet everything that needs to be done gets done throughout the week.  And each days specific chore doesn't have to be done perfectly every time.  Maybe on Monday I'll wipe down the toilet and counters and mirrors, but not get to the shower, so then Thursday I'll focus on the shower and if the mirrors don't get cleaned, or the counters are left untouched it's not a big deal because they were done earlier in the week.  Same with the vacuuming, although the living room does need to be vacuumed both days, the bedrooms really don't.

Today I got the bathroom chore done before 7:30am (we were all up by 6am), and I am cleaning up kitchen messes as I make them.  The living room will get straightened during Oliver's nap, and again before he goes to bed which is when we ask him to help us pick up his toys for the night, so with a little work, and very little of my day spent on cleaning, the housework is reasonably kept up with and the weekend isn't over run with loads of cleaning to do.

My next undertaking is figuring out a non-stressful way to do laundry during the week too, maybe just 1 load every other day, so that I'm not doing 5-7 loads over the weekend (which is actually what happens and is not an over exaggeration).

I'm glad I'm finding my housekeeping groove so very much sooner than before.  It's nice to feel like I'm able to do what needs to be done without overworking myself or stressing out about how much there is to do.  Errands still get run on the weekend, but if we aren't also trying to clean a disastrous house then that's okay because it only takes a few hours of our weekend leaving plenty of time for other things.

Conquering the imaginary

Oliver ran into his room, playing, and ran straight into the corner of his changing table.  Of course it hurt and he started crying so I went to comfort him and right as I reached him I heard this kind of rattling sound... there's a million things it could have been but my mind went straight to "Rattle snake! Get out now!" so I grabbed Oliver and ran out of his room. 

I didn't know how I was going to check this out and make sure there wasn't one, or if there was one how do I find out and then what do I do?  So I texted Andrew, and I e-mailed him, but Oliver really wanted to play in his room so I finally came up with an idea...

How I check for rattle snakes.

Protected by snow boots (not sure how much they actually would have protected me), and armed with the broom, I went and peeked, and poked and searched, and listened until I was 100% sure that there was NOT a rattle snake in his room.  I probably looked ridiculous, but what if there had been a snake and I'd not been safe about checking or hadn't checked at all?  I'll take being ridiculous over being sorry any day.

A few more random thoughts...

It's not as hard to resist Facebook for Lent as I thought it would be.  It's almost relaxing. That said, I do miss it a little for sharing things that make me happy, or sharing light-bulb moments, or other similar things.  So, I thought I'd just get them out of my system by putting them here for now.

1. I've gotten addicted to cookies so I'm giving up sweets in all forms for the rest of Lent just to get rid of this feeling that I need them.  In the past when I've not eaten sweets for a while I find I don't really want all that sugar so I'm just going to give it up and by the end of Lent I shouldn't feel that need for sugar like I do now.  Seriously, it got bad, I'd bake a batch of cookies (about 3-4 dozen) and they'd be gone in two days with me eating most of them.  So no more sweets.  Also, the reason I chose to "do it for Lent" is because I need a goal, a challenge, otherwise I'll slip up.

2.  Being a mother of a daughter changes you so much. Children in general change you because you see all your sins in them and are so often convicted of your own sin as you watch them struggle with their sin.  However, being a mother of a daughter has changed me even more.  I started asking myself "am I the kind of woman I want my daughter to become?" and the answer was "no, not even"... it did also lead me to ask the question "am I the kind of woman I want my son to marry?" and the answer was also no, but the point is I hadn't even thought to ask those questions until I had Wynter.  I'd encourage women to ask themselves that... even before they have children, "are you the kind of woman you want your son to marry or your daughter to become?"  It's pretty life changing.  Where you once thought you were decent, and "better than some" you find you do not meet the standard you'd set for them at all.  The second thing you'll need to realize is that you cannot be that woman.  God can change you into that woman, but you can't get there on your own so don't try, you'll just be discouraged.  The first thing to do is get on your knees in prayer that God will continue to refine you, transform you, change you into a woman of God.

3.  At church we're going through a series titled Weird (because normal isn't working).  It's also making me realize how much I need God to work in me and transform me to be more like Him, and how much I want that.  I'm used to being the girl that blends in, that isn't really noticed in a crowd, that doesn't cause waves, or stand out, and I have purposefully been that girl because I want to be normal.  But normal doesn't work, normal doesn't display Christ to others, normal doesn't shout the gospel... so I'm learning to like weird, and want to be weird for Christ, weird in a good way.  I want to stand out for Christ, not to draw attention to myself but point heavenward to God.

And that's all I have time for today.  Normally I'd share this on Facebook, but not this time so maybe no one will see it until after Lent is up, but I wanted to record these thoughts somewhere for myself at least.

What's going on...?

It's been a while since my last post so let me tell you what's going on...

Why I haven't been blogging:

Firstly I started a few different posts but as I got deeper into them I would find that I wasn't sure my theology backing what I was saying was 100% correct so those posts are saved for future renovation, continued thought, and publishing soon.  Since it takes me a while to construct a post, writing these drafts have each taken the segment of time I'd set aside for blogging.  This means that each time I got a bit of time I'd start writing a post, get stuck, set it aside and realize I didn't have time to write anything else that I could post right away.

Secondly, my laptop broke which made it harder to find time to write since I now have to sit at the desktop to write anything.  I am getting a new one courtesy of Best Buy and the wonderful guarantee we paid for, but the one we are getting costs a little more than the last one so we're saving up the rest before purchasing it.  This means it may be a while more before I can finish a draft, or write a new blog post that has more depth to it than just "here's what is going on in my life".

Something new:

(One other reason I haven't had time is currently seeking to be fed so I'll have to make this part super duper quick.)

1.  Lent- I'm going to be participating in Lent this year, giving up Facebook for 40 days starting Wednesday in order to dedicate that time to God.

2.  Wynter and I finally got breastfeeding figured out!

3.  Submitted taxes today so we will be buying a new car soon!

And now Wynter really wants to be fed so it's time for me to go...

Woah!

There is a ton of new ideas, revelations, and information zooming around in my head right now.  It's been like a day and a half of having my eyes opened wide, my heart opened too, and sooooo much to think about and/or change, pray about... so much.  My thoughts are very jumbled right now so I'm just going to give some bullet points and a few links and over the next few weeks I'm going to try and do some more in depth posts on everything I learned yesterday and today.

• Marriage is a partnership.  You are not enemies working against each other, but friends working to help and serve each other.  Yeah, that seems pretty simple... I've read that and heard that idea several times over the past few weeks but until you really examine the nitty-grittiness of your life and how you interact and communicate in your worst states you can't really say for sure whether you really believe that statement.  The best way to tell is this way: when you disagree on something you feel is important, do you seek ammo to shoot at him with the purpose of winning the argument?  Do you appeal to your friends for support (giving them your un-biased point of view) and then use them as an army to fight for your side?  In that moment, or that area of life you are seeing him as your enemy.  Instead, when you see him as your friend, you'll ask him to come along side you to resolve the issue.  You'll work together to find a solution.
• Housework is never going to be 100% finished and it isn't supposed to be.  Do you feel that weight lifting off your shoulders?  Yeah, it feels good.  Of course this doesn't mean that we neglect the housework, but we shouldn't feel discouraged or frustrated that we don't ever have everything done all at the same time, all the time.  We are never supposed to be done with housework.  I learned this from Rachel Jankovic.
• When we have nothing left, even our reservoir is empty, God will give us what we need.  He's proven that time and time in scripture.  Go here to find out more (same video linked under Rachel's name above).
• Disciplining a child does not necessarily mean you need to be stern with a frown and furrowed brow showing your displeasure.  Discipline should always demonstrate love, not anger, frustration, disappointment... it should model how God disciplines us, his children.  This is huge for me because I was under the impression that if my children were being disciplined they also needed to know that I'm unhappy with them.  You don't want to let them walk all over you, consistency is still key, but discipline isn't about instilling fear of man it's about showing that you love them enough to guide them to God.  Discipline should always point them to God as a loving Father.
• Discipline does not always equal punishment.  Often it simply equals correction. 
• Andrew most always means exactly what he says.  "Can you work on the kitchen?" doesn't mean "You are failing at your job." or "I want this kitchen spotless when I get home." or "I am sick and tired of this mess." it actually just means "can you work on the kitchen?"  When I read into what he says I'm often feeding myself the lie that Andrew is dissatisfied with me or some other lie and I make him my enemy instead of seeing him as a friend who has graciously not complained about the dishes overflowing the sink and counters.

There's more, but that's a good list for now!  I have so much to say about each of those topics, but it'll have to wait for a time when my thoughts are better organized and my eyelids aren't randomly closing.