Meanwhile, back at the ranch....

I've been bad. I know. I'm sorry if you've been checking. :(

So, here's what we've been up to lately:

We are back to normal after the holidays which means work, de-cluttering the house, training an almost 18 mo old, hanging out with people in our care group, walking at the mall with my friend Kristen and her daughter Lily, getting the house ready to sell (finally!), catching up on reading, establishing better routines, concentrating more efforts into our date nights, and trying to plan a much needed getaway...just the two of us (we haven't done that yet as parents).

This time of year always brings a fresh resolve to be more organized and clean...among other things. So, I've gone back to my Keep-It-Clean plan from Real Simple which has served me well in the past (ok, today was the first day back on it but my bathrooms are sparkly!)

I've also been cleaning out closets so that prospective buyers can actually see that they have custom shelving. 2 down, 3 more to go. I absolutely could not believe what all we put in one little boy's closet!

And with all good domestication efforts, there should be efficient meal planning...gosh, I even sound more domestic, don't I? Well, I'm bad at this. So bad, dinner deciding time is the most stressful part of my day. This time starts the second Josh walks in the door and I say, "What do you want for supper?" and he says, "I don't know, babe. Whatever's easiest. I just don't want it to be stressful for you." So bad that when I asked him recently, at the prompting of a great discussion with other ladies, how I could grow in one area of helping him at home, he requested that I simply plan out our meals so I won't get stressed.


***Update: Apon reading what I was typing, I realized that raw chicken was waiting in the kitchen, as was my slightly famished husband. I won't tell you what time it was. We had a good chuckle.


Anyway, I've been planning meals and trying new recipes...mainly soup...from the Better Homes and Gardens website. A few we didn't like so if you have any good ones, send 'em my way!


I finally finished a book (!!!) that I've been reading for awhile. It was "Don't Make Me Count to Three" by Ginger Plowman. Excellent! I see my future self needed to reread it often. I'm also finishing up "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper. This book has gone to my soul in a striking, passionate, painful, joyful way. I simply could not suggest a man-written book more worth your time (in my opinion).

I'm also trying (often unsuccessfully) to greet the day before Isaiah, leaving myself enough time to get ready for the day, fix a cup of coffee and spent tine with the Lord before I go get him out of his bed at 8:00am. I'm still going through the Psalms and that has been really good.

So there you have it. I plan to do better on my posting now that the daunting task of catching up is over....I suppose that 's a little dramatic. I will leave you with pictures of Isaiah, who's hair looks like this now at any given moment. He's a wild man!