Sick Kids Blues

  It is definitely one of "those" days.  One of the days where you have to clean at top speed to keep from going crazy because you have been stuck inside with sick (and crabby) children for DAYS.  While my older two children feel horrible and aren't up to doing much, my one year old feels awesome and is terrorizing his siblings.  He is so cute running around and tackling them, a huge, slobbery (can you say teething?) grin on his face.  Fortunately he loves helping me clean.  He and I have tackled the front closet, organized the movies and cleaned the front entryway.  Of course a few of the movies vanished but over all we made a pretty good team.  I am sure that the movies will show up in some fascinating location.  I did manage to make a stack of things to give away.  I even hid it before my cleaning partner found it and scattered it all about!  While it may be a stuck in doors, I want out sort of day, at least I am a tiny bit closer to the simply, organized life style that I so desperately crave.

Sticking to It

  After my last post I sat down and did some serious thinking about my goals and my life in general.  I came to the conclusion that I dream much more then I actually do anything about it, which I already knew but seldom admit to myself.  I am very good at coming up with lists of how to accomplish what I want to do but I am not so good at getting it done.  The past week or so I have been taking steps to make sure that I am working towards what matters to me the most and focusing on using my time wisely. I realized that God, family, writing, and friends were at the top of my list of priorities.   Here are some of the things that I have done to be active, not passive, in my own life.

I have spent more time playing with play dough, coloring and doing projects with my children.  I normally try to run around and do things while they play. While I still do that to some extent I have had so much fun just slowing down and enjoying interacting with my little ones.

I invited a friend and her children over and decided it was going to happen even if I couldn't get my house perfect in time. We had a great time!


I have been taking time to thank God for the good things in my life.  I am amazed at how many blessings I miss when I am to busy stressing about things.

I am writing more, much more.  I am working on a short story for a contest as well as what will hopefully be a young adult novel.  I started with a tiny goal of 250 words a day to get into the habit of consistency.  I think it is working!  Now when I sit down to write the words come out much more freely and I find myself looking forward to sitting down with my net book and seeing what happens. I usually end up with much more than 250 words.  It is so much better then the inconsistent way I was going about things before.
 
It feels amazing to see a list of "dones" instead of "to do's" !

Rambling Thoughts

  Time seems to pass so quickly.  Sometimes I can't help but wonder what, if anything that I do will pass the test of time.  Will it matter days, years from now?  I suppose to put my mind at ease I should resolve to ask my self that before I start a task, before I turn on the tv or settle down with angry birds.  Time is precious.  I want to exert wisdom in how I utilize it both for my sake and as an example to my children.  If I know that I have put forth my best effort maybe the time I do spend in relaxation will be more refreshing and less riddled with guilt and rambling thoughts of how I should be doing more with the time I have been given.

Back on Track

  Somehow I let my blog get off course.  I haven't been blogging very often. Hopefully now that we are more settled in our new home I can get back at it!  I am still actively cleaning out any and all excess that I discover.  I love how our new home is starting to take shape! Now to get to work so I will have something worth blogging about!

Book Review - "Finding Our Way Home" by Charlene Ann Baumbich

"Once she'd served herself, Evelyn sat down, bowed her head, put the palms of her hands together , and said her usual premeal prayer, a prayer that covered many things during the day too. "Grace, Amen"

Finding Our Way Home by Charlene Ann Baumbich (Chapter 1 Excerpt)     " Finding our way home" by Charlene Ann Baumbich is a cozy afternoon type of book about the power of grace and how it worked in the lives of two very different women.  Big boned and perpetually sunny Evelyn has just graduated high school and much to her parents dismay has chosen to put off collage to work and to eventually marry her fiancee.  She ends up working for Sasha, a former ballerina whose career met a tragic end.  Bitter Sasha can't help but warm up to Evelyn's cheery disposition.  Together the unlikely pair help each other through physical and relational trials all while learning about grace,both God's grace and the grace that friends and family extend.
     This is the sort of book that you want to curl up in a comfy chair with a cup of tea and a splash of sunshine.  I loved Evelyn's go get em, glass half full attitude.  It was very refreshing.  I was, however, a bit perplexed by two things.  The first being that it had more comments on sexual intimacy then I was expecting in a Christian novel.  They were tasteful and moral but I was surprised none the less.  The other thing was that a talisman played a significant role in the story.  Again, I was surprised to find this in a Christian novel.  It seemed odd to me to have God's grace and a talisman play large rolls in the same story.  Other then that, I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

I received a free copy of this book for review from WaterBrook Press.

Book Review - "Submerged" by Dani Pettrey

   Baily is a girl with a past. She has since come to know Christ as her saviour but things she has done long ago continue to haunt her. The death of her beloved aunt cause her to leave the new life she has made for herself and head back to the one place that she never wishes to see again. It is the small town of  Yancey, Alaska, a place where everyone knows the girl that she used to be. She plans to go to the funeral, wrap up her aunts affairs and go home.  That is, until clues surface.  Clues that lead her to believe that her aunts death was not the accident that every one believed it to be.
   "Submerged" by Dani Pettrey is a fast paced story with interesting characters, intriguing scenery and a deep message about letting go of the past and accepting the future Christ has in store for us.  I thought the mystery was a bit predictable but the characters were so full of personality that they filled in any gaps. The way the author wove in romance and a bit of Russian history into the story helped it to grab and hold my interest. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading other stories by the author.

I recieved a free copy of this book to review from Bethany House publishing.

Adjusting

     Just a few short weeks ago I lived in the north west part of the United States. It was snowing the day I left. Now I find myself with the gulf of Mexico practically in my back yard. I've traded endless wheat fields and snow capped mountains for emerald waters and sparkling white sand. The change is quite drastic. I'm sure I will miss where I came from but I am quickly falling in love with it here. It is so green! Somethings will take a bit of getting used to however. I am not used to very much traffic. One could drive for miles and never see a car back home. Here people seem to be everywhere and most of them are in a hurry for some reason or another. I am also not use to all of the bugs and lizards that are scurrying about everywhere. Overall the pros seem to out way the cons. The colors, scents and the lure of the unknown are definitely feeding my imagination. I wonder if anything will become of it.