Simple Adventures

I'm a stay at home mom, so I don't get the typical daily sense of accomplishment that comes along with working outside the home. For me it usually comes down to the small, yet measurable things that give that feeling of satisfaction. I try to do things that I enjoy that can also be viewed as useful.  I like to bake and try to make new recipes, sew (somewhat poorly), cook, and work in the yard. They all sound pretty house-wifey when you write them out... But! Anything can be turned into an adventure depending on the attitude you have going into it. In fact life is one big adventure, but that can be easy to forget when you're stuck home doing laundry all day.  When I successfully bake something delicious or sew something cute for my Davey I can't help but feel a little pride in a job well done. Of course everyday I take pride in raising such a cool little guy, but it's a constant work in progress and sometimes it's not easy to notice results of all the work put in. Therefore I find it very important to my mental health/sanity and self-esteem to congratulate myself on accomplishments, no matter how insignificant they seem.  This is a practice that I plan to pass down to my son and future children, to hopefully prepare them for a big world that can often make you feel small. In time I believe the pride achieved through accomplishing something small will transfer to a craving to accomplish something great. As great things most often start out small, I'll hope for successful futures for my kids. (And maybe myself too.) In the meantime I'll dream of my blog turning into someday writing a best seller, and keep baking pumpkin cookies and sewing cutsey bibs. 

A Little Garden, a Lot of Life

After talking about it for months, we finally decided today was the day we would put in our garden. After all, it is pumpkin planting season! There's something about gardening that reminds me so much of my childhood. Everything is fresh and the weather is amazing, but it is also really special to me because it was something our family did together outside.  We never went on walks or bike rides all together, but we could all find something to do in the backyard. It helps that we had a pretty sweet backyard; we had gardens, a basketball hoop, a deck, a patio, a swing set, and plenty of green grass to run in. As an adult, I'm looking forward to having our backyard/garden bring my family together to spend time outdoors. At this point most of our family time includes watching TV or a trip to the store, or a walk all together if I'm lucky. And it makes me nervous. I'm afraid that my terrible TV watching habits will be passed down to my kids. I don't want them to have the burden of TV addiction like I do, that feeling that I have to turn it on whether I'm watching it or not. Darn you Netflix! Now there's no limit to how many times I can watch The Office. (And trust me, that's dangerous.) Even so, I'm trying to find more things that get my family out of the house and moving, living, breathing, and experiencing life beyond the great box on the wall. We live in such a beautiful state and it seems a pity to waste our lives watching other places on TV. So I guess a garden can be a lot of work, and I know it definitely will be initially, but what's so wrong with a little work? Am I worried I'll get too much exercise?  I've found it best to stop thinking about how much work or effort something might entail and just act. If I can just find that motivation to get up and do something worth doing, I find I don't need my TV to keep me company. And who would, when I have the best company in the world: my family. 

Prepping Vs. Planning

      When I got married there were so many details to keep track of I thought my wedding would take years to plan.  Luckily, my mom is an ace party planner and quickly took control of tracking all the craziness. But even with my mom as my wedding planner I still felt the stress of making a memorable wedding day. That's where my husband came in. (Well fiance at the time.). He reminded me that the wedding is not what is important, but the marriage.  Ah what a concept! But somehow the idea of putting more work into your marriage preparation than your wedding planning is an idea that seems to be lost today, and let's face it, it sounds a lot less fun. So is this why the two priorities have gotten flip-flopped?  Weddings have become dazzling productions, instead of a true reflection of the couples love and commitment to each other before God.  I do understand anticipating the perfect day, but I also truly believe that if you want to succeed in any venture in your life, it makes good sense to prepare for it.  Having confidence in your future marriage makes the rest of the wedding details become less and less important.  In my case, the preparation we recieved from a counselor at our church left me equipped to put stress behind me every time something didn't go according to plan.  I was able to remind myself how unimportant the little things are, and thank God for giving me such a wonderful husband. A husband clever enough to use his lack of interest in wedding planning to benefit us both.

The Most Precious Weight I Lift

    As a mother of an infant I am becoming very familiar with the concept of caring beyond convenience.  I stay at home to care for my son and keep house for my family.  It's not the most glamorous job I've ever had, but it certainly is the most fulfilling.  Knowing what my son is up to and in to at all times gives me a certain peace of mind, but it's also an enormous responsibility! Every time he almost rolls off the bed or picks up something small enough to choke on, I feel the weight of the fact that his life is in my hands.  Nevertheless, it's a weight I voluntarily picked up. (Pun intended because he's huge!)  So why do i do it?  It's not just because I have a soft spot for babies(pun), it's because, as cliche as it sounds, there is no greater job in the world.  By staying home with my son I can instill in him the values and truths that the world will try to lead him away from.  I can give him the gifts of joy, love, health, and the knowledge that these all come from God.  With work and prayer, I hope to someday help him discover God's plan for his life and help him have the courage to say yes to that plan.  It the meantime I will continue to mush his bananas and change his pants, and definitely have some fun in between.

Shout out to my hubby who works hard, so I can stay at home!