bits of sunshine

Things I'm doing that allow me to be a healthier Me.

1. Instead of just thinking about posts - I'm going to write them.  :) Like this one, now, in between other things, as I think of things to jot down.
2. Reading bits of my Bible throughout the day.  And mulling over what I'm reading. 
3. For every cup of coffee I drink, I try to drink a glass of cold water.
4. Leaving happy, upbeat encouraging notes for my friends on Facebook. 
5. Not writing so many To-Do lists.  Unless, like today, there are certain things I just can't forget.  And the whole list is very doable.  Otherwise, To-Do lists tend to overwhelm me.  And I'm the sort of person who feels like a failure if it was on my list and I didn't get it done.  Even if I had 20 things on my list for the day and only 3 or 4 of them were really doable, I'll feel like crap cause there are all these things on the list that aren't crossed off!  Lists are only for things that will wreck me if I forget them.  (An undone load of laundry won't wreck me!  Niether will an unswept floor!) 
6. Hanging more colorful, happy pictures on our walls.  Realizing that though in some areas less is more, in other areas, for me, more is more.  And this house is our home.  Forever.  I'm going to make it reflect us.
7. Realizing that because I work over-nights, random nights of the week, that my normal is going to be something very different from other people's normal.  And that's not only OK, but it's good.  It's what I've got.  And I'm going to make it work the best I can.
8. Never, ever throwing laundry from the dryer into a basket.  Always folding it as I take it out of the dryer.  Man, does this make things better.  My laundry area looks nicer, it's easy to take the properly folded piles to the proper rooms and put them away, the clothes and linens don't get nearly so wrinkled, and I never have piles and piles of laundry to fold.
9. Taking a deep breath and remembering that my kiddos are 6 and 7, and they are awesome.  This helps when they are bouncing off the walls with excitement and just generally being crazy.  Spring Fever?  I think so.  Yes, we still need discipline and order; but I better have self-control if I'm telling them to have it!
10. Drink a glass of milk every day.  So, as I tell Maddie, when I'm an old lady my bones won't crack to pieces.
11. Soaking up and enjoying the sunshine, every chance I get.
12. Listening to music.  Often and a wide variety.
13. Sewing.  Bits and pieces here and there.  Some little projects - like hemming a flour-sack towel that I can accomplish quickly.  And some bigger projects that I can keep working on a bit at a time until they're complete.
14. Having fun with my kiddos while they learn.  So they learn that learning is fun. 

What are some of your healthy goals and aspirations for mind, body and soul?

afternoon clouds

in the early afternoon the sun was shining warm and bright 
in the late afternoon the wind kicked up, all of a sudden 
and clouds came scudding in
went from no wind and almost 40 degrees F
to 40 mph wind and down around 0 degrees in about 2 minutes 
I didn't have a fire going because it was so warm 
when the wind kicks up like that there is no starting a fire in a cold stove

the kids were downstairs watching a movie sitting on the warm floor 
(in-floor heat down there, no chinks in logs down there)

Ben and I were sitting in the living room
wrapped in quilts
holding on to our coffee cups for dear life
wishing there was a fire in the stove
longing for spring when we can caulk all the chinks in the logs
that we didn't get to before it got too cold this fall
(next winter the wind won't blow through our house)

talking about how best to continue with a couple that we have been counseling 
we can't make them change
we can give them tools and pray for them
but ultimately they have to be the ones to pick up the tools and set to work 
oh it's hard

something about that cold, empty stove 
and how hard it is to start a fire in a cold stove
if I would have kept even a tiny bit of fire going through the warm sunny afternoon
as soon as the wind kicked up and the clouds rolled in
I could have stirred up the coals and had a rip-roarin' toasty warm fire
I think there is an analogy here?
for relationships
even when it's easy goin' sunshiney beautiful
we have to be working a bit to keep the fire going
cause we never know when the wind is going to kick up
and the temperature is going to drop around us
and then what do we do if we've let everything go cold?
we sit and shiver and curse the wind. 
if we had kept some coals burning
we'd stir up the fire and settle in all warm and cozy
and listen to the wind with an almost-gratitude
for giving us reason to hunker down and enjoy the warmth that we've worked for

and here I sit with my husband who has kept our fire going
sometimes single-handedly
for the past almost-ten years
and pray and intercede for this young couple so new to tending the fire
they'll get it yet
i have hope that they will get it yet.
and tonight we stir up our embers
and enjoy with gratitude the fire we have worked for

sunshine

Yesterday, all day, my heart was just singing "Thank you, Lord."  The sun was shining brightly (and is again today), so even though the temperatures were below zero outside, my house was just filled with sunlight. 

I have been quiet here this week as I have had many relationships and situations to ponder.  I have started and stopped many posts, wondering how much to share here, and wondering how to share what is on my heart. 
And remembering that I call my blog bits of sunshine . . . how heavy can what I post here really be?  So for today I am showing you some of what makes me so thankful, some of what makes my heart sing. 

And even though I don't have a picture of Ben in here, my relationship with my husband, my best friend, is one of the very biggest blessings in my life.  What God has given us in our relationship with each other is something so amazing, so peaceful and sweet, so comfortable and yet exciting.  I am so very blessed.  So very blessed.  And out of that blessing, I want to bless others.  Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.  And my heart is overflowing . . . 
I hope that your day is filled with peace and sunshine.  I love you, my friends.

the things on my mind

i am feeling so disjointed

one minute i feel so at home.  i breathe a deep sigh of relief and look around our home - our home! - and feel so at peace.

another minute i see all the things left to do to make it really settled: the school-room to set up, the curtains to be sewn, the shelves to be hung, the piles of "scrap" wood outside to be sorted and stored away, the trim around the doors to be painted, the sewing room to unpack and set up so i can sew said curtains and couch pillows and pants for my girl and . . .

i have so much to be grateful for.

so i think of the gifts and thank-yous and care packages that i want to spend time on and send off.

the friends i want to spend time with, in person or on the phone or through the mail.

the writing that i want to do.

the school-work that needs to be studied (both mine and my kiddos').

the decisions about sunday mornings that are weighing heavily on our minds right now.

wanting to be here.  present.  in this moment.

the blogs i want to read.

the blog posts i want to write.

the job application that i need to fill out.  yes.  a job application.

a home that begs to be stayed home in and enjoyed.

i know that this is all going to ease.  but in the meantime . . . well.  i'm going to keep focusing on the things that are done.  the things that are good.  the things that are lovely.  and i will pick away at the rest.  to make them done and good and lovely.  and i'll be here.  as often as i can be.  to share a little bit of sunshine with you all. 

thanks for hanging in here with me/us through all of this.  you all make it a little easier.  and i so appreciate you.  thank you.

isaac in the morning + bread in my new kitchen

isaac was taking pictures while i wrote my blog post . . . i thought you might like to see the pictures he took ::

yesterday morning i got out my things and made bread! 

did you hear my heart singing???

bread rising at 7:30 am in my new beautiful kitchen . . . yes, my heart was singing! 

a slow fall morning outside my window . . . green glass on the ledge . . . a card from a dear friend . . .

and then the sun did this for me!  are you sure you couldn't hear my heart singing?  even in the netherlands or canada or north dakota or wyoming or australia or slovakia?  or wherever you read me from?  are you sure?

because my heart was singing for joy, shouting for joy within me, and resting with gratefulness and gratitude.  the verse-a-day yesterday said "return home and tell how much God has done for you."  i'm home now.  i'll work on telling you how much God has done for me.  starting with making my heart sing while i made bread for my family. 

i hope your heart is singing today. 

in one week

last week, we were working on so many finishing-up projects

and we were still living in the camper

and drinking LOTS of coffee - which Maddie learned how to make for us. 

then, the blur that was Saturday

you can see some pictures of moving day here  {taken by Elissa; thank you, friend!}

Sunday I was just in a daze . . . I tried to gain my bearings and start unpacking . . .

Monday, I worked on unearthing the kitchen

and found what I needed to make a real, balanced, pretty home-cooked supper

as I get things a bit more organized and done, I will be giving you more peeks into the corners of our home.  home.  what a good word.  what a good place. 

have a happy day, my friends.  i'm going to.

empty and clean

every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

making a habit of keeping my moments

my kitchen counter this morning

Whatcha got goin' on there E?  you may very well ask me. 

Well, there're strawberries waiting to be turned into jam.  There's a bowl of rhubarb and sugar waiting to be turned into Cherry Rhubarb Jam.  There's Violet's Rye Bread in the mixing bowl.  There's my Gram's big stoneware bowl, waiting for rising bread.  There're violets.  And there's sunshine.

By lunch time there were three loaves of Violet's Rye Bread fresh from the oven.  Lots of flour.  Strawberry stems.  7 jars of Cherry Rhubarb Jam.  And the last of the 38 jars of Strawberry Jam that I have made in the last two days. 

My house smells of rye and molasses and rhubarb and strawberries.

And I'm trying to decide between a nap and a trip to the lake . . . I know what my kiddos would prefer . . . but I just might find a way to do both!

Today

my new spring/summer arrangement on my living room wall.  i love to look at it!

enjoy today
enjoy your family today
make a choice that you know is right today
enjoy a bit of the outdoors today
enjoy beauty (a book, a dish, a linen) inside today
live today so that at the end of it, there is at least one thing that you are very satisfied with
"do not fret about tomorrow. tomorrow has enough worries of its own."

these thoughts were inspired by this post and i don't mean these thoughts in a cliched sort of way. i really am finding them to be true and real for me.

these are a few of my favorite things

this is one wall in our school room.
i'll take you on a full tour of the room one day,
but this wall needed a post all it's own.
this collection spans over 15 years of my life!
if you click on the picture to go to flickr,
you can read a bit about each piece in the collage.
i only bought one of the pieces -
the framed picture in the lower left -
maddie and i found that one at goodwill
and decided we needed it.
oh! and the two cards with Duluth Harbor scenes -
i bought those when ben and i lived in Duluth.
all the rest have been gifts.
so this is sort of a memory wall.
each little bit reminds me of somebody special -
and my kiddos really love each colorful bit as well!