Enjoying My Family

Reading the Mail

2012-02-23T07:00:00.000-06:00

When my Great Uncle Phil sends us mail it usually includes several jokes, fun stories and comics. This week everyone has been reading them and enjoying them. I couldn't resist capturing Felicity reading the mail and having a snack, too. The snack was her leftover breakfast and it was getting close to lunchtime, so I guess when she saw it sitting there she thought it was time to eat.

This is really interesting!

I'm caught.

Project Party - Cleaning My Room

2012-02-22T07:00:00.000-06:00

     I've been wanting to get this corner of my room straightened up for a while. It became rather urgent last week when Clark discovered that he could nose dive out of his car seat. He's been sleeping in his car seat pretty much since he was born. We used the pack and play that is to be his bed several months ago when we were traveling and though the pack and play made it back to this corner it was never reassembled. Then a few other things got set here around Christmas time. Yes, I could use the swing where it was and have been using it when Clark needs a change of scenery.

     I decided to tackle this corner and get the pack and play set up for Clark so I didn't have to worry about him nose diving in the middle of the night and then getting stepped on by me in the dark because I wouldn't have seen him there. (Disclaimer: I have not stepped on him.)

     It took a little while to sort though the stuff, but about half of the pile belonged in various places upstairs, there were 3 mostly empty boxes that got removed to the recycling place in the garage and there wasn't much left to tackle after that. I put the Christmas quilt in the chest at the end of our bed and vacuumed the area I had just emptied. I moved the swing and set up the pack and play. I even organized my night stand cabinet and straightened the top of my nightstand. Now to get Clark to want to sleep there is another project, but he'll figure it out soon.

The Hidden Art of Homemaking - What is Hidden Art?

2012-02-21T08:00:00.000-06:00

In Chapter 2 of The Hidden Art of Homemaking talks about the "art" that you may find in your everyday life. I like the following statement "All art involves conscious discipline.". In order to get much done I have to consciously make an effort to do the things I know I need to do first. So the above statement makes complete sense to me. I have also found that when I am making time to do certain things it seems like they take not much time at all. This chapter also talks about priorities. I like that it gives permission to not feel guilty when you accomplish a needed task to the neglect of another task when you need to, with the knowledge that you will still complete the neglected task.

What can I do today to show appreciation to my Creator for creating me His image by being aware of the beauty He has created around me? I can focus on making sure my priorities are in the right order and thank him for the creativity he has given me to think and decide what should be a priority. I can ask Him for guidance that I would focus on God's will instead of my will.

What can you do today to show appreciation to God our creator?

Linked with:

Just Doing Stuff

2012-02-20T20:37:00.000-06:00

Felicity is often found roaming around the house doing her own thing, imagining her own stories and keeping herself busy in general. I caught her reading books and feeding her baby under my desk. Just before that she was pushing all her stuff around in the laundry basket. Apparently there are still a few Christmas decorations up in our house, too.

10 Things This Mommy Needs - Part Three

2012-02-20T07:00:00.000-06:00

8. Water. I DO NOT want another kidney stone, so I try to make sure I am drinking enough everyday. It is hard to remember when you are always running around doing stuff with kids, schooling, and working around the house. I have found that if I make a cup of herb tea and let it sit on the counter I will notice it later and pick it up to drink, helping me remember that I need to drink more.

9. An occasional day or several hours "off". Any regular working person has regularly scheduled days off from work. I don't get that as a stay at home mom very often. It's really hard to always have to be dealing with all the problems and struggles that occur ~~all the time~~ often. A few minutes throughout the day doesn't help with the long time problems. Not that I would know what to do if I ever actually had "time off". I have a mentor who I meet with from time to time. Sometimes it works out for me to have a few hours without kids. Clark goes with me, but the only thing he needs is to be fed and smiled at. Sometimes we meet at my house when all the kids are here, but it is nice to have someone to talk to and encourage me and challenge me. Usually any other time I have "off" is when I am grocery shopping and all the kids stay home with Jeff, which is rare, too. I have occasionally had someone watch the kids when I have an appointment, which is really nice because it can be awkward to take 5 kids into an appointment or have to leave the oldest ones in the waiting room by themselves because there isn't room for everyone where the appointments are. Jeff's going to be having an extra day off of work each week for the next several weeks so that will be a little different for me, too.

10. An automatic kitchen cleaner. One that I don't need to tell what, when or how to do what ever needs doing. I guess that's still up to me to do or delegate, but it's nice to dream.

Well since #10 wasn't really a reasonable need I'll give you another bonus need.

My bonus need is exercise. Something I really need to do, but don't see it happening. Does running up and down the stairs a few times a day count? I hope so. I also usually park at the end of the parking lot when I go to a store, then I walk as fast as I can (with or without kids) until I get to the door.

Intentionally Enjoying My Family - Birthdays

2012-02-16T07:00:00.000-06:00

We try to make everyone feel special on their birthday. This week Felicity had her second birthday. She began her day with her special place setting and milk and some dry cereal with Daddy before he had to leave for work, while I fixed a special breakfast of bread pudding (a.k.a. baked french toast). After breakfast she colored for a little while and then she took a nap. We were planning on going to the library, but she was sleeping and I didn't want to disturb her.

She woke up in time for a late lunch. We had fresh homemade rolls, lunch meat, cheese, salad and red peppers. After lunch she played contentedly roaming around the downstairs doing her own things, reading books and coloring more. I left her to continue playing by herself and sat down to play the piano. When I finished I went to see what she was up to and I found her sitting in Katy's chair at the table having a snack. She found a few things in the pantry and helped herself to some crackers. She opened the package by herself, too. I guess she got hungry.

Daddy came home a little early from work and she wanted to play play-doh. Kent, Katy, and Kaomi joined her playing play-doh while I started fixing supper. After supper we cleaned up the table and got ready to party. Grammy came over for the fun, too. We sang "Happy Birthday" and had chocolate cake and ice cream. Then she was excited to get presents from everyone.


With all her new, fun stuff.

This concludes my Intentionally Enjoying My Family Series. I also shared about Intentionally Enjoying My Family at Church, with a family zoo pass, listening, projects, movie night/game day, and catching my family members. You can read about them here.

If you've written about how you are intentionally enjoying your family I'd love to read it. Please leave a link to your post in the comments. If you have intentionally enjoyed your family recently but don't have a blog leave a comment telling us what you've enjoyed.

Linking up with:

The Hidden Art of Homemaking - The First Artist

2012-02-14T12:09:00.000-06:00

My Dad gave me the book "The Hidden Art of Homemaking" for Christmas in 2010. I have had it in my pile of books to read, so when I saw that there was going to be a book study over at My Homey Haven I decided it was time to read. I'll be sharing interesting tidbits and ideas that I come across here and plan on linking up to the host of this book study each week.

Chapter 1 - The First Artist

This chapter takes a look at God and how he has created everything with such detail and definition. He created it all perfect at the beginning of time. He also created man in his own image. That means that I have been created with the ability to be an artist like God, but because I'm not perfect due to the sin in my life my artistic abilities are not perfect. I never would have thought of myself as an artist. My artistic talent is limited, but I hadn't really ever thought that there are other creative outlets in my life that don't revolve around me painting or drawing a picture. I'm excited to be reading this book and see what I can learn about God's plan for the artistic talent in my life. I like how we can see God's creativity through his creation - plants, trees, rocks, sunsets, sunrises, the wide variety of colors. I'm looking forward to when I get to go to heaven and see what perfection God has created in its entirety.

Linking up with:

Happy Valintines Day to My Family

2012-02-14T08:35:00.000-06:00

I love you all.

Happy Birthday, Felicity! - 2012

2012-02-13T10:45:00.000-06:00

Birthday girl.

Special breakfast place setting.

Birthday Kiss.

Intentionally Enjoying My Family - Catching My Family Members

2012-02-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

Have you ever caught someone in your family doing something unexpected. I've been "catching" my family members this week, this is what they've been up to.

I caught Katy rocking Clark.

One day I walked upstairs to see how the kids' school was going. They should've been close to done and I caught Katy asking Kent the answers to her math problems. Kent was readily answering them, too. While I'm glad to know that Kent has learned his easy addition problems I want Katy to learn them too.

I caught Felicity getting the clean laundry baskets out of the laundry room. I helped her get them apart and set them up. Later when I looked over I caught her "folding" the clean laundry. She would take a piece of the laundry from the clean clothes to fold basket, shake it out and put it in a basket. She told me she was "helping laundry, get a coin". Of course I gave her a coin for helping without being asked to help.

Another day I caught Clark traveling around the living room. I looked in to see what he was doing and he had moved several feet, the next time I looked he had moved several feet more. Later that evening I caught him rolling over across the room.

One afternoon during quiet time I caught Katy and Kaomi "making valentine's", by coloring their hands with markers and making handprints on construction paper.

I caught Jeff, coming through the front door, home early from work on Friday with donuts.

I caught all the girls having a beauty parlor during Daddy's Bible Time. Katy was "braiding" Kaomi's hair and Felicity was combing Katy's hair.

I caught Felicity throwing her breakfast of Cheerios on the floor and singing the "clean up" song from Sunday School. Guess what? I got her down and told her to clean them up and put them in the trash. She did that while happily singing the "clean up" song.

I caught Kent being upset with Katy, when he was really upset with me and his math lesson.

What have you "caught" your family members doing recently?

Project Party - Paint, a Picture and a Bank

2012-02-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

I have several projects that I would like to do, so I thought I'd try making time for them and sharing my progress with you over the next several ~~weeks~~ months.

On Saturday, Kaomi, Felicity, Clark and I went to the paint store. I was able to find some paint that I want for a project. I was also able to get a sample color of the color I want in our bathroom. Jeff's not sure whether he will like the color I want, so now we can see if it will work or not. One step done. A few more to go.

I was also able to get a picture into a frame and ready to hang on our dining room wall. It is a puzzle that our whole family worked to put together. The frame I bought on sale at Michael's a couple weeks ago. Jeff hung the picture up on Sunday afternoon.

Kent also finished the bank he was making for Felicity for her birthday.

10 Things This Mommy Needs - Part Two

2012-02-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

Last week I shared the first three things on my list.

This week I'd like to share 4 more things that I "need". Now I realize these aren't actually true needs, but they help in my day to day goings on.

4. Lots of snuggles and hugs. I love it when one or more of my children snuggle up to me, especially when we are reading. Katy gives the best impromptu hugs. The other kids have the best hugs, too, but they almost never give impromptu ones. Kaomi is a great snuggler, she stays still long enough that she just seems to melt against me. I love it when Felicity wants to snuggle and rock, she's growing up and the times are fewer and shorter than they used to be. Even though Kent is a constant wiggle worm, if I can get him to sit next to me and he decides to snuggle up against me he will actually be pretty still if I am reading something that interests him. Clark is great for snuggling, especially when he falls asleep in my arms, sometimes I just don't want to put him down. Jeff gives great, full hugs that encompass me and make me feel loved.

5. Chocolate. Yes, I like chocolate. Dark chocolate is my favorite. I also like peanut butter cups, mounds bars, hot chocolate and chocolate ice cream (not all together). Maybe I eat too much of it, then other days I don't have any at all so it evens out, right?

6. Making specific time to work on a project if I have something I want to do. This is key to getting pretty much anything accomplished. If I don't make time for it, it won't happen. When I need or want to do something I write it on the white board in my kitchen. Then I try to make it happen. If it is important enough it happens sooner, rather than later. If it's not very important it may take a while to complete or may get erased, to be added again at another point when I think it might be able to get accomplished.

7. A hair cut. Nothing fancy, just a couple inches. It's been a really long time since it's been trimmed. I think its been more like a year and three quarters or so. Jeff trims it for me, but we both have to remember at the same time and have it be good for it to actually happen.

Join me next Wednesday for the last 3 things this mommy needs.

What kind of needs do you have as a mom or dad?

January 2012 - Top Referring Sites

2012-02-03T07:00:00.000-06:00

I'd like to say a big thank you to 5 of my highest referring sites.

Visit them to help say thanks from me.

Raising Arrows

The Srader Family

Intentionally Enjoying My Family - Movie Night/Game Day

2012-02-02T07:00:00.000-06:00

This past weekend when Jeff was at his Christian Service Brigade Dad's Retreat Kaomi helped plan a movie night for Friday night and I played some games with the kids on Saturday.

One of the things that Kaomi bought from Mommy's Store recently was a Plan a Movie Night coupon. She decided to redeem it this past Friday night. She decided that we would watch the movie "Molly on the Homefront". Part of the coupon deal was that she also got to pick a snack. She decided that she wanted us to have cookies for snack. Since we were going to be watching this movie at dinner time she also got to help pick out dinner. We settled on pizza and carrot sticks. On Friday after lunch Kaomi helped make cookies for us to have for dessert. She really likes to help in the kitchen and we had fun, and the cookies looked a little strange since she put them on the tray mostly by herself, but nobody seemed to mind. After our movie everyone got ready for bed and we even had time for a few rounds of dominoes.

On Saturday we decided to finish getting the house straightened up for Sunday mixed up with various games throughout the day. We started off with a game of Zingo, then I put Felicity down for her nap and assigned each of the kids a chore. Kaomi was to get the dirty hand-towels from the kids bathroom and make her bed, Katy was to clean the counter and the scrub the toilet in the kids room and Kent was to vacuum the dining room. I picked up a few things and stripped the sheets off my bed and put the blanket in the washing machine. When everyone was done Kent picked out cards to play war. After a few rounds of war I sent Kent to clean the kids bathroom floor, Katy was to vacuum the living room and Kaomi was to clean-up her pre-school box contents which were strewn across the school room floor. When we were done with those things we did a few exercises then marched around the house while I sent kids to quickly put misplaced items away and return to me to march and get sent to do something again. That was a good workout; we should do it more often. Then the kids played upstairs while I fixed lunch. Felicity woke up late, so the kids played quietly while she was still sleeping and I did a few other chores. After lunch we did our next set of chores and played "Don't Break the Ice". After that Felicity had quiet time, Kent took his bath, and the girls sewed for a little while. When Kent was done with his bath I let him play x-box and Katy took her bath while Kaomi had book time. We went to Chick-Fil-A for supper and I let the kids play on the playground for quite a while. They had a lot of fun. When we came home everyone got ready for bed and Kaomi and Felicity took their baths. Then everyone went to bed. We all had fun!

How do you have a movie night or game day at your house?

Read about other ways I've been Intentionally Enjoying My Family here.