Kidding
If I had it all together, I’d have a really ready post for you to welcome and be ready to smash 2018 with all our goals: fitness, food, family, faith, everything all shiny and ready to be B E T T A H. But the truth is, I’m finding already these few days in, I’m still the same old me. I’m still eating ice cream while ruing my stress coping mechanism. I’m still not washing my face or shaving my legs on the regular. And the laundry pile has been added to without any sign of someone (ahem ME) folding or putting it away. Maybe I don’t believe in resolutions anymore. But I did smile more at my children the last few days. I did tell them I loved them through gritted teeth as they thrashed around, decidedly not getting into their snow gear willingly despite the fact we needed to drive to the train station. I did make buttermilk pancakes for dinner and share some with my snot nosed freshly minted toddler (she’s one and I’m in denial) instead of the spinach I had planned. And I made up an entire character fleet for Playmobile & Lego wars replete with voices and accents and staged the battle all on my own with the kids the other evening. EZRA is this reluctant one who is para military and constantly complaining about his helmet fitting and the Sand God is a surfer dude who would prefer to go back to the…
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It’s Advent and I feel like the sky has fallen because I’m not really ready for Christmas gifts. I usually get mine all set before Advent so I can focus on the season and not be scrambling for deals. But with the move and still finishing home improvement projects (aka other people improving our home while we ply them with adulation and fudge), it just hasn’t all come together. {The bookshelves are done!!! The tree is half decorated!!} SO this is as much my shopping list as a recommendation request from you guys? Mkay? L A D I E S Blessed is She store! Our prints are super popular as is our journaling Bible. Mordenmiss’ linen line. I own several of their dresses/tunics and love the way linen feels over time. This one is one my wish list. Be a Heart’s new book! Amen and it’s gorgeous. Holding one in my hot lil paws right now. G E N T S Tolkien fan? My friend Kaitlyn’s shop has everything for the Tolkien lover. I love this especially. Magnetic wrist band for the handyman? I mean, I think I’m getting this for our construction guys as a thank you. Never seen anything like this. Do I not get out much? Cordless drill for the husband whose drill grew legs and walked off? Too much on the construction stuff? Sorry. I mean, he has every religious book under the sun but if he didn’t, I get him this one. K I D…
Read More(An old pic but one I love by Emily Rumsey Photography) Oh do I dare even type that word out? I know everyone (almost everyone?) has passionate feelings about circumcision. But if you’d asked me when I was pregnant with our oldest (8 years ago) if we were going to circumcise him, I would have shrugged and said, yeah, probably, ask my husband? I mean, it sounds like it hurts but I’m sure they give the baby medicine and it’s for sanitary reasons or something? Clearly I had done a lot of research. Gulp. A few people in our lives mentioned that maybe researching it and the recommendations (AAP said not!) at the time were of value. After all, this is the same pregnant woman who thought she was going to waltz into a maternity ward PUSH PUSH PUSH and have a baby in an hour or so. I really hadn’t known anyone who was pregnant (well) and really hadn’t read much about it (at all) and spent the first many months throwing up so I had little energy to do anything other than complain to my mom. All this to say, two women I know and very much respect who are both media producers and certified nurse midwives are working on a documentary. It’s about making informed decisions on circumcision. I urge you to visit the site and watch the trailer. It’s a very medical approach, acknowledges some determining factors and debunks a lot of myths. Whether you’ve already…
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Hi hi hi hi hi hi hi. I do still run a blog, albeit a very neglected blog. I’m here! Hi! Late to link up with Kelly and the gang. 1 __ 1 Still doing projects and unpacking. Anyone who has moved with children, God bless you, because MAN I am still slowly unpacking parts of the house. The parts I knew needed attention right away, like sound machines and bed sheets, and legos, and toothpaste? Yeah, those are all set. But the den and my workspace and those empty frames I’m hoarding? Not so much. The construction is slowing down. No major projects but lots of putsy ones. Beautiful new bookshelves built-in, new light fixtures, caulking (and caulking and caulking), and painting. That kinda stuff. And a new fence. I love our contractor and his crew so we will miss their company when they actually flee away from us and our constant kid shrieks. 2 __ 2 Blessed is She What’s new with Blessed is She, Nell? Oh, you know, just a new wall calendar, 2018 planner, journaling Bible, Blessed Conversations, and our amazing Laura Kelly Fanucci’s Lent journal! I’ve hosted two sessions so far for Blessed Conversations. I love the format. I love the community that’s coming together to form a sisterhood with it. Basically, I love it. I also got to flee myself with the babe to go to a leadership retreat with Jenna, Beth, and MaryRuth. We came out of the weekend refreshed, thanks in large…
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I thought I would love this part of our three month camping at my sister’s beautiful house. I thought that packing 3/4 of our possessions in storage would give me that freedom we all long for. Forced minimalism while we are between houses! I’ll love it! The house will be clean because we have no toys! The shelves will look lovely and bare! I’ll change all my bad house keeping habits because otherwise we will have no clothing to wear as everyone only has so many outfits! And yet we take ourselves with us, don’t we?? What almost killed me about living with substantially fewer possessions these past few months? I know you’re dying to know. Hardy-har-har. It wasn’t the volume of our things that made my life chaotic. It’s the number of small children we have. I thought if I had fewer things, if I had a better system, if I were more disciplined and organized, then I, too, could achieve the minimalist dream. Guys, even her beautifully remodeled kitchen with white cabinets (my secret dream and not the color in our new house) got so dirty. I mean like what happened here? Who went digging for worms in the garden and then came and opened all the cupboards? Oh, my three year old did. And when six people, one in dipes, mind you, use one bathroom, there is a literal ring of dirt around the inside of the glorious soaking tub. It’s not me. It’s them. And that is okay. And the…
Read MoreThey say to give a busy person more to do because it will get done. Am I living walking breathing snorting proof of that right now? Maybe? We are doing some moderate home renovations on the new house. We are camping with my sister still (who is totally a saint, mind you!!!). We survived the marathon! AA was in the top 50! I’m so proud of him and all his hard work. We had a wonderful #bistreamretreat at the Lodge this past weekend and I’m still soaking up the wonderful moments I got to experience with the team I work with! And just because I like to be busy (?), I’m also offering a new linen dress line. These babies take a long time to make so at 2pm on Friday, I’m opening up 10 spots available in five colors and seven sizes. When they’re gone, they’re gone! I don’t think I’ll do another round before the holidays, but we’ll see how long these ones take. There will be one listing on my etsy shoppe page with ten quantities. Pick your color, size, and number and check out through etsy (accepts paypal and credit card). The colors are: G R A S S S K Y S U N O A T S F L O W E R Because I’m all outta wordsmithing! The sizes are 6-12, 12-18, 18-24, 2T, 3T, 4T. Watch the shop at 2pm central or see a reminder in my instagram feed! Thanks for the love…
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