He Said, She Said { 2 }

It's a big week at our house.  Birthdays and playdates and Halloween all wrapped into a short seven days.  These are some good reads that  make nap time a bit more delightful.

How Changing Our Love Language Can Simply (And Enrich) Family Life

25 Ways to Choose Less Everyday

How Our Family Finally Embraced Minimalism

He Said, She Said

Readers are leaders.  Or at least that's what some people say.  I'm not sure about the leader part, but I do love to read.  Books, articles, blog posts, recipes, magazines.  I love them all. 

I wanted to share a few good things I have found on the web lately.  Most of them are about motherhood or minimalism.  Imagine that.  Hope you find something you like.

Motherhood is a Beautiful Work of Art

Why Families Need Minimalism

When the World Feels Awful

Hope you have a good week, friends!

Sunny Saturday

We are coming off a tough week. I received a good reminder from one of my favorite little girls: My God is so BIG, so STRONG and so MIGHTY...there's nothing my God cannot do.  That girl is a truth teller.  And then there were glimmers of hope and redemption in some lives that are so dear and close to us. I am so thankful to serve a God that is bigger than the hard and ugly things of this world and can redeem anything and anyone.  

On a lighter note, it was a beautiful sun-shiny week on the Trail.  We had five stellar days of sunshine and 70 degrees and it doesn't get much better. Today I'm sharing some things that made my week a bit sunnier and a lifted my spirits.

Reading is one of my favorite things to do when I get the time to do it.  Tsh Oxenreider released a new book At Home in the World this spring and after reading it I have been going back and reading her other books.  Organized Simplicity is a book about intentional living and I am speed reading it.  A lot of the tips I already have implemented because I read Tsh's blog as well as devour other simple living books, but it's a good read nonetheless.  I just love Tsh...check her out at http://theartofsimple.net.  On a side note, I recently started checking out books from the library and have already saved loads of money.  And, guys, I can put them on hold online and just pick them up. Genius.

Give me all the white pumpkins.  One of these years I'm going to do my wallet a favor and buy some white pumpkin seeds.  #nextyear?  I picked this guy up at Trader Joe's and he is as imperfect as they come, which is why I love him.  It sits simply on the brick by my wood burning stove.  Jude uses it help himself stand up and Luke and Lily sit on it and take turns trying to pick it up while I tell them in my nicest mom voice to 'please-put-it-back-down-noooowwww'. This scenario is on repeat all day long.

Do you have a friend who just oozes love and thoughtfulness?  I am blessed with many and one of them sent me this beautiful runner for my dining room table this week.  It was a sweet surprise and perfect for this time of year.  It came from Etsy if you want to find one similar.  Thank you dear friend.  I love you!

It is soup weather!!!  I love a good soup, especially if it's served with some fresh bread.  My gardener extraordinaire mother-in-law has a bunch of butternut squash and I have used them to make this delicious roasted squash soup twice in two weeks.  The hardest part is cutting the squash, but I have a trick passed down from Kevin's Grandma Turner.  Simply slice a few lines down the squash and microwave for 3-4 minutes and it is much, much easier to cut.  (Thanks Grandma Turner!!) You should definitely get this soup in your dinner rotation.  

We are spending the weekend with family, which is always so good.  Have a Sunny Saturday, all!

24 Hours

I had an epiphany the other day.  I was almost mad at myself for not coming to the conclusion sooner.  I was looking at my calendar as Kevin and I were discussing our upcoming week.  I looked a few weeks ahead and saw some BIG weeks.  Things to get done, places to be, celebrations to be had.  All fun things, all good things, all things I really, truly want to do.  And then I realized I might not be able to do them all.  There might not be enough time to do all the things and foster family relationships at home.  I only have 24 hours in day and it just isn't enough to do everything I want to do right now. (Anyone else??!!)

Then my epiphany came...everyone has 24 hours in a day.  I'm not the only person looking at the calendar thinking there aren't enough hours in a day. Others are doing this, too.  My neighbors, friends, parents, my barista (unless she's in college because let's be real, there is a plethora of time during those years), my in-laws, our mail man, my sweet husband.  They all have 24 hours, just like me.  We all get to choose what to do with those 24 hours we are given everyday.  

I get to choose what my 24 hours looks like each day. It's up to me.

As I looked and debated and went back and forth about what to say 'yes' to and what to let go, I decided I needed to set some boundaries.  I need to make decisions within the lens of what matters most to me during this season.  As I processed this, being present with my family came first, along with my relationship with God, and loving my extended family and my girlfriends.  I also thought about my passion for women in the trenches of motherhood.  I decided I needed to work on cutting out anything that wasn't within the scope of those things.  Use my 24 hours for the things that mean the most to me, especially in this full season with three littles at home.  

As I journey to this goal of only doing things that are of high priority to me, some things will fall to the wayside.  I don't need to be spending time on social media as much, I need to be spending time writing about my passions more.  I don't need to be spending time worrying about what Suzie thinks of me because I said 'no' to a request (a request that was good and needed, by the way), I need to be investing in my family more.  I don't need to be filling our calendar to the brim, but instead leave some margin to breathe.

  

My patient husband would say I have a long ways to go on this, but I want to take steps in the right direction.  I want to be in charge of the 24 hours I am gifted each day and use it for the purpose God has called me to.  I want to live in the everyday, in the simple moments, the meaningful minutes and hours that make up my time at home with my children and my husband.  I want to choose how my 24 hours look and not let it get decided by others. I want to make my 24 hours count.

Sunny Saturday

What a week.  We actually had to crank on the heat in the middle of the week, because it got chilly...around 40 degrees.  And then today I am sitting outside typing away in the sunshine.  Oh the diversity of fall!  This week was a MOPS week, so I was able to be with my mom friends and, as always, it filled my cup.

Today I'm sharing some things that made my week a bit sunnier.

First up, I am on a bread making kick lately.  My Cooking Club girls have tasted my failed, unleavened bread, but I think I might have turned a corner. #fingerscrossed  This week I whipped up a loaf that looked and smelled and tasted heavenly.  One of my goals in life right now is to be a woman who bakes bread.  You could call it one of my values (ha).  Practice makes perfect and my carb-loving children don't mind the job of taste testing one bit.

Being flexible.  My personality wants to know what is going on a week from now...yesterday.  Unfortunately for my brain, the world doesn't quite work that way.  Instead, I am left being pulled in a different direction at 1:00 in the afternoon than was on my schedule at 6:00 in the morning.  On Tuesday of this last week as we headed home from the city, we watched combines, grain carts, grain trucks, and tractors busily working on our fields across from our home. I was planning on completing some school activities, but instead, spent the next hour and a half either riding in a combine or watching one.  Don't get me wrong, it was an absolute joy for me to watch my babes get giddy with excitement over the big green machines.  The discomfort I felt with the change in schedule was not fun, but so worth it after I watched my children's wide eyes and thought about it later that afternoon.  They learned so much more watching and riding in those combines than I could have taught them in an hour at the kitchen counter.  Flexibility is a skill I am attempting to obtain through practice and experience.  I have a feeling it will be a life long journey...

Pumpkins.  You probably have one on your porch right now.  We have little ones scattered throughout the house and I picked up a bunch of small ones at a farm stand down the road.  Luke and Lily painted a few this week and it kept them busy for a good thirty minutes.  One can never have too many pumpkins.  Yes?

Beyond Belief is a campaign our church is currently engaged in to surrender more of ourselves to God and grow in generosity.  I love how our church community intentionally thinks about the future and dreams of more people hearing about Jesus.  I'm all in and am personally praying to hear from God to see how He would use me during this endeavor.

Today we are watching football (obviously) and prepping for our Journey Group bonfire tomorrow afternoon.  Fall really is one of my favorite times of year! Have a Sunny Saturday, all!

8 months of Jude

This past weekend my father-in-law was talking about how Jude will be 8 months this week.  I corrected him in my head because Jude wasn't going to be 8 months, but 7 months old.  Then, I did the math and I caught myself.  My father-in-law was right.  My third baby is turning 8 months old...today.  Bless his heart, he is the most easy going, rough and tough baby I know.  His older siblings have pretty much determined he must have this personality.  

Our sweet Jude is stealing more and more of our hearts day by day.  Here is what he has been up to this past month:

• Jude is standing, crawling, and carefully walking around things while he holds on.  He is a bruiser and got his most recent bruise to the head this week when he crawled into the corner of a wall.
• Sleep has gotten so much better for Jude.  He is taking two naps a day with his longer one being in the afternoon with his siblings.  He sleeps a solid 11-12 hours at night.  
• Jude's chunky thighs speak to his love for food.  He nurses three times a day and takes three bottles.  He is now chowing down on real food and eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner with us.  He is partial to pears, peaches, and broccoli.
• There isn't much that can beat Jude's giggle.  It is the back of the throat kind and it makes me smile every. single. time.  
• Jude loves to spend time outside, especially in the swing.  He is just like his brother and sister.
• Two pearly whites now stick out from Jude's bottom gums.  They weren't too traumatic for him, so let's hope the rest come in the same way.
• Exploring is at the front of Jude's mind all the time and, unfortunately for Luke and Lily, he has started to love to crawl to their rooms and get into their toys.
• Giggles fill the bathroom when Jude takes a bath.  It's still one of his favorite times of day with Daddy.

Our little man is so easy to love and smother with hugs and kisses and snuggles.  We simply adore him.