What's that chirping sound???
You know...
chirp
chirp
OH, it's the crickets...It's been so quiet here on my blog, you can hear the crickets chirping. (Ok, it would be MUCH funnier if my pastor could do it for you in real life. He's a walking beat box/sound effect machine, and he does a mean cricket.)
SO, why so quiet?
Well, it's actually for a good reason. Three weeks ago I started whipping my house back into some semblance of order (doing math with my eldest for 6 hours a day took it's toll on the house BIG time). I finally bit the bullet and made chore charts for each room. There are "daily chores" (as in you do these everyday) and once a week chores (each of which is assigned to a separate day). My friend Jennie has been doing this for YEARS, and I have always "meant to" do it, but could never wrap my head around actually figuring out what needs to be done in each room. But the reality is 4 kids and a husband out-mess me 25:1 (it's exponential). And I was making myself insane trying to do it all and failing at doing any of it. So I finally got to a breaking point and make our charts. But first, it took almost a week to get the kids' rooms clean enough to even begin a daily routine. And then each room of the house had to get thoroughly cleaned (with the kids help) with step by step instruction on HOW to clean it correctly. And let me tell you, those were some dawn to dusk and then some days...And since it's not what you EXpect, but what you INspect, I have had to be diligent about checking their work every day in every room. Then this week we added SCHOOL on top of that. I feel like my head is going to POP OFF. We literally begin our day at 7 and aren't finished schooling even at 5...but I KNOW it will all pay off (and move quicker) in the weeks and months ahead.
And I currently can have someone drop by the house and not be mortified at the condition it's in. Kiwi came during the big clean-up, but before the bathroom was done (and I had let it go intentionally so it would be good and dirty for our cleaning instruction). I was literally mortified to see after she left that there was black mold growing in the sink drain...and she had gone it there to wash her hands. YUCK!!!
So step by step, inch by inch, hour by grueling hour, we have been keeping the house clean...but that, school, and the resuming of all the activities that take place during the school year (AWANA, sports, sailing, United in Praise) have meant little time left for my blog no matter how great my intentions have been. But this too shall pass, and at least for once I am sacrificing my social agenda for my house instead of the other way around ;-).
God, thank you SO much for the messes we have...it also means and reminds us that you have provided for us in abundance beyond our needs. And thank you for not giving up on me, and for continually calling me to a quieter, more settled, more contented life. Help me to stick with it, not in my own strength, because then I will surely fail, but in YOUR strength in accordance with Your will.
Amen
chirp
chirp
OH, it's the crickets...It's been so quiet here on my blog, you can hear the crickets chirping. (Ok, it would be MUCH funnier if my pastor could do it for you in real life. He's a walking beat box/sound effect machine, and he does a mean cricket.)
SO, why so quiet?
Well, it's actually for a good reason. Three weeks ago I started whipping my house back into some semblance of order (doing math with my eldest for 6 hours a day took it's toll on the house BIG time). I finally bit the bullet and made chore charts for each room. There are "daily chores" (as in you do these everyday) and once a week chores (each of which is assigned to a separate day). My friend Jennie has been doing this for YEARS, and I have always "meant to" do it, but could never wrap my head around actually figuring out what needs to be done in each room. But the reality is 4 kids and a husband out-mess me 25:1 (it's exponential). And I was making myself insane trying to do it all and failing at doing any of it. So I finally got to a breaking point and make our charts. But first, it took almost a week to get the kids' rooms clean enough to even begin a daily routine. And then each room of the house had to get thoroughly cleaned (with the kids help) with step by step instruction on HOW to clean it correctly. And let me tell you, those were some dawn to dusk and then some days...And since it's not what you EXpect, but what you INspect, I have had to be diligent about checking their work every day in every room. Then this week we added SCHOOL on top of that. I feel like my head is going to POP OFF. We literally begin our day at 7 and aren't finished schooling even at 5...but I KNOW it will all pay off (and move quicker) in the weeks and months ahead.
And I currently can have someone drop by the house and not be mortified at the condition it's in. Kiwi came during the big clean-up, but before the bathroom was done (and I had let it go intentionally so it would be good and dirty for our cleaning instruction). I was literally mortified to see after she left that there was black mold growing in the sink drain...and she had gone it there to wash her hands. YUCK!!!
So step by step, inch by inch, hour by grueling hour, we have been keeping the house clean...but that, school, and the resuming of all the activities that take place during the school year (AWANA, sports, sailing, United in Praise) have meant little time left for my blog no matter how great my intentions have been. But this too shall pass, and at least for once I am sacrificing my social agenda for my house instead of the other way around ;-).
God, thank you SO much for the messes we have...it also means and reminds us that you have provided for us in abundance beyond our needs. And thank you for not giving up on me, and for continually calling me to a quieter, more settled, more contented life. Help me to stick with it, not in my own strength, because then I will surely fail, but in YOUR strength in accordance with Your will.
Amen
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I'm turning your prayer into my prayer too...