Just Do The Next Thing

This mom was feeling a little overwhelmed by life this afternoon. The house is bursting with dust bunnies and clean clothes and dirty clothes and little boys' toys and dirty dishes and small appliances needing wiped off and put away.

I found myself repeating in my mind "Just take care of each little space. Don't think about the other things to do until that little space is done." My sweet friend Brenda passed on this little nugget of wisdom which she learned from her grandma. It has saved me from myself many times. Rather than feeling paralyzed by the monster in front of me, I am choosing to take care of one little space. The good news is that those little spaces add up. The mudroom looks great now, and the kitchen isn't too far behind.

P.S. Do you like my new highlights?? A 1st grader told me this morning that I looked like I transformed into beautiful!! hahaha! Don't you just love those little boogers??

Boys Will Be Boys

The Wood boys (the three oldest...that would be Tim, Isaac, and Ezra) thought a snow fort was in order after the latest snow. Ezra and Tim spent several hours outside the first day, designing and creating the fort. When Isaac got home from a day of helping Bubba (family friend for anyone wondering, aka "Jonathan") do some construction work (yay, Bubba, thanks for helping us build men outta these boys!!), he was so excited to see all of the work done on the fort.

The next day, Isaac and Ezra went to work, constructing rooms and doors. Ezra wanted to sleep in the fort, and I think Tim still has plans for a chimney and a fire. I'm feeling thankful for fun boys, for a super fun Daddy, and for my cozy couch which kept me company while I read my book during all of these shenanigans!!

Through Ezra's Eyes

Ezra got Grammie's old camera when she got a new camera for Christmas. After we got him all set up, he said, "What should I take pictures of, Mama?". I said, "Just take pictures of things you love". When I connected the camera and these were the first three pictures to pop up, my heart skipped a beat. These are the things he loves.

What an honor to be entrusted with these three. May I be found worthy.

One Thousand Gifts

I am reading, well actually devouring, the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I'm considering making it required reading for everyone I love. Typically I'm more of a fiction girl. I'm not sure what happened, but I wonder if I overdosed on non-fiction in college and grad school. It's like the sight of it is alluring to me and I think I'm gonna like it, but when I start reading, I break out into hives. I don't like this about myself, and it's something I'm constantly working on. That is why reading this book is so exciting to me. It's non-fiction, and, not only is my body free of hives, but I am LOVING it, ingesting it, underlining it, turning down its corners, making REAL changes in my life because of it.

One of those changes is a journal of gifts in my life, things I'm thankful for. I started it yesterday, and one page is already full of gifts...

...fresh grace each day

...flannel sheets on a cold night

...Simon's smile in the morning

...homemade bread

...Isaac reading Harry Potter

...the moment my lover gets home

...Ezra's little thumbs playing games on Isaac's ipod

...teenage babysitters

...coffee first thing in the morning

...Tim in a suit and tie

...comments on facebook

...Simon playing Little People

...Little House on the Prairie

...dinner out

...the boys at Grammie's for the afternoon

...a dear old friend chatting on facebook

I can't wait to fill my little black journal with gifts, not just so I'm a good girl who is giving thanks, but so that the hole in my soul will truly be filled, so that I will receive the GIFT of God fully.

"...I'm struck, a comet blazing across the empty dark of my life. All those years thinking I was saved and had said my yes to God, but was really living the no. Was it because I had never fully experienced the whole of my salvation? Had never lived out the fullest expression of my salvation in Christ? Because I wasn't taking everything in my life and returning to Jesus, falling at His feet and thanking Him. I sit still, blinded. This is why I sat all those years in church but my soul holes had never fully healed. Eucharisteo, the Greek word with the hard meaning and the harder meaning to live--this is the only way from empty to full." from One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

Can.Not.Stop.Listening.To.This.Song

This songs makes me want to be more like Jesus. Go to itunes and buy it. You know you want to.

I've been looking for a reason… I've been longing for a purpose…

I'm losing all my meaning…I've run out of excuses.

Lord, it's hard to know You. ..I don't always see your plan ...

But holiness is calling me so take me as I am.

Chorus:

You are my everything, you are the song I sing; I'll do anything for you

Teach me how to pray, to live a life of grace; I'll go anywhere with you

Jesus, be my everything.

Lord, I get so tired of the struggle within...

I settle in complacency and I'm weighed down in my sin...

So lead me past emotion, 'cause they change with the wind...

I want to be a true disciple to daily choose Your hand.

Jesus My Everything by Matt Maher

I love it when...

...Tim wakes me early in the morning, before the sun is up, to kiss me and say goodbye, and I know that I can go back to sleep for an hour or two. Mmmm...mmmm..mmmm....

Happy Birthday, sweet 10 year old

Can it be true? Do we really have a child in the double digits? Wow. I can't think of anyone I'd rather have as the big brother of our house. He is strong and sweet all mixed together.

Auntie and Uncle Dave and the cousins came to help celebrate. We had a blast!