New callings

Do you believe that your life can shift in major ways at any point in your life?

As I'm heading into my thirties, this is starting to be a concept that is fading further and further away. I am still tied to a generation (my parents) that was often educated and then worked in one job/field their whole lives. Marriage and children often came early, and then a settling into a very happy contented life that remained much the same year in and year out. My mom did go back to university in her thirties to become a teacher, but it was something that was always on her radar, a very natural step after a decade of raising her kids and volunteering in classrooms. To me as a ten-year-old girl, I still felt very little disruption in my life.

And so, now, as we find ourselves settling into a life pattern, I'm finding it more difficult to think that God could have major plans for me that don't in any way resemble what I'm doing now. Sure, there is a good chance that James grows our business, and perhaps does more writing as the business requires less of his hands on attention, but I find it hard to glance in our future and imagine something too different from what we are doing now.

And I think it could be a dangerous mind-set. Because I could be ignoring some important preparation now, or, worse, I could ignore and miss a fantastic opportunity for change and excitement in the future. Because it is possible that the road I could be led down is something that I would never fathom. Something I would never imagine myself doing. It is one thing to plan and dream your own ideas (and I sure do have many of those!) but even my own widest dreams could be minuscule compared to what God might have planned.

Maybe not. Maybe I will inspire in a quiet way from this beautiful little home and life I have right now. But I never want to miss a possibility because I'm too caught up in comfort.

If this is a girl...

Bought this too cute winter outfit while on vacation this week. (The reds actually match.) It was too adorable to pass up, even though I don't know if this little baby is a girl. If not, I will have one beautifully dressed little niece!

Simple Living

The more I ruminate on what I have read in the book Organized Simplicity over the past couple of days, the more excited I am about my purging project. I am a little bummed that I'm this excited right now, when I'm not in tip top shape healthwise, and when it's the middle of winter and the completely wrong time for a garage sale. All this comes down to the fact that I will likely have to wait until April or May to really tackle this project.

But I'm not sure I will end up waiting that long. I know how important it can be to act on desire like this, because in a couple of months who knows if I'll have the same drive. So if I can convince my wonder, amazing husband to clear me some room in the garage where I can gather yard sale items, I might get moving sooner rather than later.

The most important concept I've gathered from my reading is about purpose. I need to define (in writing, for me, since that' most effective) what vision I have for my home, and then more specifically, for each room. For example:

Main floor: an area where the kids can run around in freely and safely, a friendly atmosphere that let's guests know they can kick up their feet and relax here

Living room: a gathering place for our adult friends, a place to sit and read, our entertainment hub

Kitchen: a place to cook healthy foods from scratch as much as I can

Entryway: effective storage for daily outdoor clothing/shoes, but hidden away as much as possible

With this vision, I can now enter each room and evaluate it against these pictures. An item should be either useful or beautiful, or it doesn't need to be there. If the item is not helping to fulfill my vision of the room, get it out!

I am making a goal to track my room by room progress here on my blog, as a measure of accountability. It will likely be a drawn out process, not something I tackle in a myriad of days in a row. But hopefully, if I get my act together, I can post my ideas and photos of each room, record the items I've held onto for forever but am now tossing, and sharing the joy/agony of the process. Maybe you'll be inspired to embark on your own "organized simplicity" journey, too. If so, be sure to share!

Conversation

One of my many favourite things about my marriage is that James and I can sit and talk with each other for hours. The other night we both found ourselves in the living room around 8pm, with the kids tucked into bed and the nightly clean up finished. Usually at this point we would decide to play a game or watch a movie or work on a project together. We actually spend a lot of time together in the evenings, usually only heading out solo once or twice a week.

Anyway, there we were lounging on the couches and we got into a conversation. We explored the topic in depth, which then evolved into another and another and another, and before long it was past 11pm, which, these days, is well past time to be in bed for us.

I don't know about you, but for me, conversation gets my mind juices flowing and my energy bursting. But for James, it slowly winds him down. So at 11pm, James fell into bed and was asleep in minutes, whereas I found myself sitting in bed wide awake, knowing I had to be up in six hours and in no way about to fall asleep! This happens often for us - we get a really good debate going, parrying and lunging and hitting blows back and forth, and then James falls asleep and I'm pumped up.

But that's the way it goes. It's still one of my favourite parts of ours days.

Organized Simplicity

I've gathered a few of my favourite excerpts from the book Organized Simplicity. I'd love to share a few, and add some of my own thoughts swirling around in my head.

"You are making a choice to own and keep every item you have in your home. The important thing to ask yourself is: Is the choice to have the thing in your home worth missing the opportunity to not have it? Do you value owning the item more than you value the liquidity and open space you have without the item It you value the item more, buy it or continue to keep it in your home. If you value the money and the space more, don't buy the item, or sell it if you already own it."

"You're not a victim. You allow each item in your home to be there. Do you love it all? Do you find it useful or beautiful? The surprising effect of getting rid of the things that you don't love is that you grow deeper in love with the things you choose to keep. Your kids love every toy they own. You'd gladly wear every pair of jeans in your closet. You like all the music in your CD collection. Simplifying is not parting with love. It's gaining it."

Stuff, stuff, stuff. This is a HUGE obstacle to being able to organize my home. I'm not a hoarder per se, but I do hold onto things that quite possibly have a future use. I hold onto things related to sentimental memories (different than something that actually has a sentimental memory in itself.) I hold onto items that are worth a lot, even if I don't use them much.

No more. "I am not a victim." I love that phrase in the book. If I don't like the clutter around the house, then I can get rid of it. Nothing is saying I have to hold onto it all. As I was reading the book, things kept flashing into my mind, things that I never would have previously gotten rid of, but suddenly seemed superfluous and annoyingly in the way.

I have a nice set of dishes we got for our wedding (not super expensive) but they can't go in the dishwasher so I never use them. These are not practical and so they will go.

I have a lovely decorative shelf with glass shelves, but it's hidden in our basement because it is impractical to have around with little boys and a house full of people. While I love the shelf and it's very beautiful, my priority in the house is to have a home where the boys can play freely and safely and this piece just doesn't fit. It must go.

CDs and DVDs. Too many we never listen to or watch. I will be much more ruthless in cutting down our collection.

Knick knacks. I've never been a big knick knack person, but they have started to pile up over the years. When I read about the difference between an item that reminds you of a great memory (like a souvenir of a trip) and an item that is a memory (like a childhood teddy bear) I was suddenly able to look around the house and tick off a bunch of things sitting on shelves and mantles that just don't need to take up the space anymore.

Toys. Toys, toys, toys. The bane of my existence. We have too many. We have too many the boys have never played with. Toys are hard, because 90% of them were gifts, and I feel really bad about selling/donating gifts. But we're bursting. What I want out of the toy room is a place to be creative, make music, do puzzles, and play together. Right now it's just a place to gather the toys, with no room to actually play in (which means the toys migrate around the rest of the main floor, which I can't stand!) At least half of the toys need to go.

Clothes. I'm pretty good with keeping the clothes under control. One bin per size. One extra bin per adult for the off-season. One bin of extra shoes. But I know there are several pieces of clothing I could still cull from our closet.

And so I will finally bend to the boys' pleas and have a yard sale in the Spring. There are still many things we have to hold onto until our expected baby grows a little older, but that's just time and season. I want more organized simplicity in my home and this spring I'm finally going to get it!

Tidbits on me

It's naptime, but I'm on the couch, so I likely won't nap. Which means I'm just sitting here, basking in the silence. It's really nice. I can't decide which is a better way to spend my lovely 2 hours of naptime - sleeping or being alone. It's a toss-up. I gave the bed to my wonderful amazing husband (home for the day due to Caleb's sleep dentistry appointment) who really could use the extra 2 hours of sleep. Plus the phone guy is coming sometime this afternoon, so I offered to stay up in case he comes during the precious hours that are naptime.

Anyway, I'm enjoying the quiet.

I made dinner last night, first time in a really long time. It was an easy casserole, chicken, mixed veggies, can of soup and topped with stuffing. It was yummy, but Benjamin didn't like it at all. We rarely eat salt on anything, and those canned soups taste really salty when you're not used to it.

I'm now administering my own IV meds from home. Someone at some head office decided that I was capable enough to do my own, and didn't need to be taking up the hospital clinic time every day. Turns out it's perfect timing, because I was wondering how it would work having to take Benjamin with me every day. So I have a little hospital corner set up in my living room with the machine and supplies. Honestly, after watching the nurses do it for three months, I can pretty much do it in my sleep.

I'm reading a book called "Organized Simplicity" and I'm loving the ideas in it. (Thanks to Jen who let me know when Amazon was offering it for free!) I'll post some excerpts in the next couple of days. But the main idea I'm coming to understand is that everyone is allotted 24 hours in a day. People who seem to accomplish more, people who say they are too busy, people who balance well - we all have the same "time" opportunity. It's all about the choices we make on how to use the time.

In reading this book, I've also realized that I actually am doing really well in managing my time in a way that lines up with my idea of how I want life to feel. I like a 50/50 balance between scheduled activities and lazy days or last-minute plans. While I want to simplify in my house a little more, my schedule is actually doing pretty good.

I've been feeling the baby move for the past week and a half. I first felt in on Sunday, January 22 (18 weeks along). I think that's the earliest I've ever pinpointed my baby moving. Lots of twirls and rolls inside.

A great reminder in today's women's bible study that we can expect joy in our lives from God. And even if the actual circumstances of our life are not joyous (like feeling sick and in pain 24/7 for 9 months), we can still feel joy. I've got to let that settle in me a little more.

Groundhog predicted an early spring. Well, winter never really came. Unfortunately, groundhogs are only right about 37% of the time. Even if winter comes, there won't be much more than two months of it, which I think I can handle.

Benjaminugget

You know how "they" say that babies love skin-to-skin contact? I remember those first few weeks when you cuddle up to a swaddled newborn and let their warm skin melt right into your chest. It never lasted much past those early weeks, though.

Until now. Benjamin has suddenly rediscovered a love of skin-to-skin time. Out of nowhere, when he is really tired, or being rocked before bedtime/naptime, or when he just wakes up, he will squirm down in my arms, pull down the neck of my shirt and cuddle his face into my chest. Even if my shirt is not so pull-down friendly, he'll work really hard and squishing it down so he can find a warm spot of skin to lie against. So sweet.