May this be a year of favor, of blessing, of wisdom, and of joy for you and yours!
And may God grant you the realization of His dreams for you in a huge way!!!!
Showing posts with label New Year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Year. Show all posts
Friday, December 31, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Ease On Down, Ease On Down The Road!
We've just had one of the busiest holiday seasons that I can ever recall. Between lingering and re-emerging coughs and colds, traveling to be with both sides of our family, and all the hustle required to make the celebrations festive and memorable, I am quite content to be returning to our daily routine. We came home from our final family visit on Saturday evening, expressly for the purpose of being able to ease back into "real life," and I'm so glad we did. It's certainly not original here in the blogosphere to say this, especially this week, but I love our "normal" and am grateful that The Boss and I are united on the way we manage our family pace. Even as an extrovert who thrives on Lots! and Lots! of social interactions, I could not keep that pace up forever!
The Boss took the tree down on Sunday while he stayed home with stuffy, runny Li'l Empress. It's the driest tree we've ever had and my little ones were all tired of blue spruce needles poking their piggies. We've never "de-decorated" our home so early before, but it had to be done. I REVELED in spending Sunday afternoon re-decorating, moving some things around, and sprucing up the main living space. The fun that I had doing that certainly helped lessen the pain of the Eagles big loss to Dallas later that night. Man, that was excruciating. It's a good thing we have another shot at them this coming weekend . . .
This week, I'm focusing my energies on de-cluttering and re-organizing a couple small spaces in our home that have been driving me nuts for several months now. Our former home-school cabinet is being streamlined for household management stuff: bill-paying materials, stationery, desk supplies, etc. My bookshelves FULL of cookbooks and binders crammed with recipes are being purged - most of the recipes I love the most and use frequently are accessible elsewhere. I'm hoping to sort that down enough to stash them in the aforementioned cabinet, which is closer to the kitchen and less accessible to little hands. My two little junk drawers are FINALLY getting the hard-core purge and sort. I have no idea what I'll find when I open them, but I'm gonna be ruthless. I'm also tackling a freezer inventory and menu plan, to get us back on a healthy budget and healthier bent toward eating right. I've got more planned for the physical projects of this new year, but I am enjoying easing into them with some small stuff first.
I'm still brewing over the words from my Dad's sermon two weeks ago, seeking the Lord for a few key areas which He desires for me to surrender. Our church is embarking on a 21-day period of fasting and prayer. They are calling it Breakthrough 2010 and I am anxious to experience some breakthroughs of my own in this season. I love this time of year; seeking a new vision or clarification or expansion of an on-going vision is always so exciting to me. Just as I love the streamlining and re-organizing that I get to dig into every January, I also love that right now the whole Church seems to focus its energies on seeking the Lord and committing the new year to His plans and purposes. More than anything, I want to hear His voice for changes that I can commit to making that will have eternal impact. I'm sensing a couple "no-brainers" right off the bat, but I am also sensing that He has some big things for The Gang in 2010 and want to point my heart in His direction for our family.
What about you? What New Year projects are you tackling this year? What is going on in your house that the Lord desires to hold in His hands? How are you starting off 2010?
The Boss took the tree down on Sunday while he stayed home with stuffy, runny Li'l Empress. It's the driest tree we've ever had and my little ones were all tired of blue spruce needles poking their piggies. We've never "de-decorated" our home so early before, but it had to be done. I REVELED in spending Sunday afternoon re-decorating, moving some things around, and sprucing up the main living space. The fun that I had doing that certainly helped lessen the pain of the Eagles big loss to Dallas later that night. Man, that was excruciating. It's a good thing we have another shot at them this coming weekend . . .
This week, I'm focusing my energies on de-cluttering and re-organizing a couple small spaces in our home that have been driving me nuts for several months now. Our former home-school cabinet is being streamlined for household management stuff: bill-paying materials, stationery, desk supplies, etc. My bookshelves FULL of cookbooks and binders crammed with recipes are being purged - most of the recipes I love the most and use frequently are accessible elsewhere. I'm hoping to sort that down enough to stash them in the aforementioned cabinet, which is closer to the kitchen and less accessible to little hands. My two little junk drawers are FINALLY getting the hard-core purge and sort. I have no idea what I'll find when I open them, but I'm gonna be ruthless. I'm also tackling a freezer inventory and menu plan, to get us back on a healthy budget and healthier bent toward eating right. I've got more planned for the physical projects of this new year, but I am enjoying easing into them with some small stuff first.
I'm still brewing over the words from my Dad's sermon two weeks ago, seeking the Lord for a few key areas which He desires for me to surrender. Our church is embarking on a 21-day period of fasting and prayer. They are calling it Breakthrough 2010 and I am anxious to experience some breakthroughs of my own in this season. I love this time of year; seeking a new vision or clarification or expansion of an on-going vision is always so exciting to me. Just as I love the streamlining and re-organizing that I get to dig into every January, I also love that right now the whole Church seems to focus its energies on seeking the Lord and committing the new year to His plans and purposes. More than anything, I want to hear His voice for changes that I can commit to making that will have eternal impact. I'm sensing a couple "no-brainers" right off the bat, but I am also sensing that He has some big things for The Gang in 2010 and want to point my heart in His direction for our family.
What about you? What New Year projects are you tackling this year? What is going on in your house that the Lord desires to hold in His hands? How are you starting off 2010?
Friday, January 4, 2008
Favorites Friday
Happy New Year, All! I've been enjoying my little blogging hiatus - using the time to read, hang out with the kids and host my sister-in-law & family after the Christmas visit to my folks' home. We had a wonderful holiday, beginning to end and I'm sad to see it end. I'm quite surprised by the number of people around me who have been chomping at the bit to "return to normal" and put an end to the Christmas festivities. One neighbor on my folks' street had their tree out at the curb by the 27th!
We almost never take the tree down or "de-decorate" the house until the first weekend after New Year's - we like to draw out the season as long as we can. But when I allow myself to return to our regularly scheduled programming, I mean, life :), I dive into a variety of projects and re-organization of my home. Not one corner is safe. My kids quiver in fear of what they will find upon returning home from school. The Boss gives me strict warnings of the zones I am not allowed to tamper with. I try to listen. Really I do. So, today's list is comprised of the first things I love to do to begin the New Year on the right foot.
Favorite Ways I Start to Re-Organize My Home!
We almost never take the tree down or "de-decorate" the house until the first weekend after New Year's - we like to draw out the season as long as we can. But when I allow myself to return to our regularly scheduled programming, I mean, life :), I dive into a variety of projects and re-organization of my home. Not one corner is safe. My kids quiver in fear of what they will find upon returning home from school. The Boss gives me strict warnings of the zones I am not allowed to tamper with. I try to listen. Really I do. So, today's list is comprised of the first things I love to do to begin the New Year on the right foot.
Favorite Ways I Start to Re-Organize My Home!
- Tackle one kid's closet at a time - I look for outgrown clothes, broken toys, games with missing parts, duplicates of toys and clothes, and so on. When I can fill one 13-gallon garbage bag a day with either donations or trash, I am a content woman!
- Take inventory of my pantries and cupboards - I use this to refresh my memory about what I have and what I need. This has been especially important and helpful since Shaggy and Dr. Doolittle started growing like the proverbial weeds. Man, those boys can eat!
- Take inventory of my freezer - Planning to feed my gang and having reserve for surprises or company or friends who need a helping hand takes thought. Doing a regular inventory has been helpful, but I often lose track of what's "in stock" over the busy weeks from Thanksgiving till New Year's.
- Give the kids a break - In preparation for the big "de-Christmas-ing" of the house on the weekend, I try to cut the kids some slack with their regular jobs during the New Year's holiday. Especially if we are home with no company. As long as the bathroom is clean, I've found it helpful to give all of us a break from "regular jobs."
- Get all returns and exchanges done - I really push on this one, making sure that if the kids need something done, I do it before they return to school. It can make for a long day, if I have to bring all four. But this year, my neighbor invited the two little ones for a play date, so I threw in lunch and got to spend the entire afternoon with my two oldest. Two tasks got accomplished: a date with my boys, and all our returns and gift card spending done at once!