Rearranging Home

Our sixth month journey has now come to a finish.

Today we helped with the final packing up and there are only a handful of objects left to move to their new home; we girls have been in a flurry of cleaning and rearranging each room to compensate for the absence of the Hood's belongings (I keep looking around for things I thought we owned, then remembering that it wasn't really ours. :)

Last night I was sharing with a friend how truly bittersweet this time is for us, and it's not just because of the lack of Mr. H's big leather chair in our living room. ;)

I know what you're thinking, it went by pretty fast for me too, yet, at the same time, I feel a bit at a loss as to how to move forward. When they came both of our daily lives changed in their own ways, and at first I wasn't sure what life would look like; now I'm so accustomed to it and they're moving into their own home and again both of our lives have changed in pretty big ways, and again, I'm not quite sure what life will look like. Isn't that funny?

There are a few things that I hope don't change, at least anytime soon.

I hope that I continue managing my time better; it's so easy to let things slide when you have all day long to do them but in the past six months I haven't really had all day! Not perfectly, mind you, but I've seen a change in the way I organize, plan, and execute things.

I hope that we continue to be hard workers; like the above point, we've learned over the past six months the importance of staying on top of household duties. We don't want to live in an "untouchable" home, just a tidy one, and you can't do that when it takes you all day to clean.

I hope that we continue to keep short accounts with each other; when you have little people looking at you for examples, it pushes you to be just that, an example.

I hope that we don't stop going to bed early; it was an 8:30 lights out for the majority of the house, so it seemed kind of pointless to stay up much later than that. That made waking up at the crack of dawn so much easier!

Next week I'll be heading solo to Austin to be with Nicole before, during, and after she has her baby (Dear Houston, don't expect me back until early August); then we'll drive back together and she will stay with us two weeks (in our brand new guest room! Aka, the former Mr. and Mrs. Hood's room). As you can see, this nostalgia shan't last for very long. :)

A while ago I shared some thoughts on the first few weeks of having the Hood's living with us, then there wasn't really much of anything until now! I can assure you that it's not for lack of material, rather mentally processing all that I've learned in the past six months, praise the Lord, there was much sanctification; the majority of it were things that we as a family wouldn't have seen or know had not another pair of eyes and hears been privy to our daily lives!

I'm so grateful for the time spent with them and the blessing of seeing what the Lord has done in both of our lives. Praise His for His faithfulness.

But whatever gain I had,

I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the

surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things

and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain

Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness

of my own that comes from the law,

but that which comes through faith in Christ...

Philippians 3

{Picture Credit}

Two Thousand Ten {in pictures}

This year has been bursting with growth, blessings, trials, joys, and lots of ways to see His faithfulness and tender mercies.

Here are some glimpses into what we have been up to in the year 2010.

Enjoy :)

As you have read, we have the blessed opportunity to have the Hood family live with us.

Nate is one of the reasons we smile during the day--he's a cute, silly monkey.

Mr. and Mrs. H celebrating Mom's birthday.

Thanks to some dear friends being out of town for the holiday's, Mica was able to experiment with a dehydrator, we're still enjoying the delish coconut macaroons.

See her account for more yummy details!

You wouldn't know that we were in the Sleepy Hollow cemetery in the middle of November would you?

Times Square

This was one of my favorite parts of our visit to Virginia.

Naturally we had to take a picture with the shoe :)

This time with my sweet friend Maria is something I treasure.

We also went camping this year--with the Webbs!

Although, I'm afraid it will take some more time for Dom to get accustomed to getting dirty.

I had the wonderful opportunity to spend a few weeks with the

Apodaca's after the birth of Rebecca.

Group pictures can be a challenge but here is our best attempt!

So many faces :)

Our cousin Emily spent her Spring holiday with us and helped us model all of the cute scarves Dad got us from his trip to the UK (We were thankful that he was able to take quite a few trips that year, so many fun pictures and memories that we were vicariously able to make through him :)

Dom also got the chicken pox that year :(

But you can't really tell.

We also spent sweet time with the Neals!

Their friendship is treasured and we love when they make their annual visit from Dubai.

As I am thinking about this past year, Isaiah 58 is a strong representation of the hopes I have for the coming year. Naturally it's difficult to sum up all of the little things that God has shown you over the year but that passage is a good representation of what I've learned and what I strive for this year. Isaiah 58 has been both encouraging and convicting for me, I'm sure there will be future posts about it but in any case I hope that you will read it and that the Lord would use it to humble you and show you His great mercy.

May He bless you this coming year.

New Additions

I want to be a Mother
Though children are considered
To be a burden-some a tire,
God has placed within my heart
A feminine desire.
~
I want to be a mother,
Children hanging 'round my skirt,
With lots of clothes and runny nose,
Small faces lined with dirt.
~
Lots of laundry to be washed
And dishes not a few;
Do you think that I'm insane
Or that this could be true?
~
Small bodies to be washed
Tiny children to be dressing.
I think that children ought

To be thought again a blessing.

Well, yesterday Nicole called us after her doctor's appointment and to make a long story short, she is scheduled to be induced tomorrow morning.

We are very excited to be going early to spend precious time with the Webbs before we meet this new Nameless Webb!

So, we are off to Austin this afternoon for a week and a half. Dad will be able to spend the weekend with us and then will go back to Houston.

Needless to say we are breathing prayers for the Webb's as we pack and organize the house.

Mom, Caro, and I will be able to stay until the first of June, then Mica will be left on her own to keep the home fires burning.

This will be the first time for her to run a house on her own and she hopes to try and chronicle her experiences each day.

Much like I did when I watched the Apodaca family after Joshua was born.

Sophia and Mia can be quite entertaining so I hope you will check back periodically for some wonderful laughs and thoughts.

An Encouraging Read

I am a creative type of person. I am always interested in learning new uses for old things and different ways to decorate anything.
God made me to see a rusty can as a flower vase and an old crochet tablecloth as a curtain.
Sometimes it can look a bit odd, but effort does count for something, right?

Before reading The Hidden Art of Homemaking. by Edith Schaeffer, I greatly doubted the real importance of my artistic side.
Some people just can't see the beauty in pressed rose petals glued with pressed Queen Anne's Lace, I can't imagine why. You see, most of the time fresh flowers and wrapping paper are not viewed to be very significant. I could go on with other examples but I think you understand the general idea.

Last year my Mom purchased this book for our library and I loved reading it.
Mrs. Schaeffer has a very unique writing style; each chapter has something encouraging to say to the reader. Music, drama, gardening, books, and flower arranging are a few of the areas to which she dedicates chapters. They are written to the people gifted in the specific area, and she gives very insightful and inspiring words to each one.

Because these seemingly frivolous things really are important in creating a peaceful and homey atmosphere. And although I don't think one should spend exuberant amounts of time on it, I do think that one should make an effort in picking a posy for the dinner table or lighting a candle in the guestroom.

Please don't think that simply because you are not inclined to this sort of thing that this does not apply to you. Here is a quote from Mrs. Schaeffer's book:

“I would define ‘hidden art’ as the art found in the ordinary areas of everyday life.

Each person has, I believe, some talent which is unfulfilled in some area of hidden area of his being –

a talent which could be expressed and developed.”

So you see, you don't have to be an expert to do well in this.

Home Again

Mica and I are home again from being with the Loyd family this past week.
It was a wonderful experience and we were happy to be there, and while I went through the day I thought about what to write. There were so many little things that I learned being with their family.

One of the prominent things that I noticed during the week was the refreshing peacefulness that was in their home.
It is not something one might expect from a home with four small children and a newborn, and in my experience it is not something easily attained.
Now please don't misunderstand me, when I say "peacefulness" I don't mean the hushed silence from a library or the strained absence of sound from a high end department store.
This was a serene, peaceful atmosphere that carried throughout the week; even when one of the children had to be disciplined, supper was late, or for some reason two of the children could not seem to agree on whose toys belonged to whom.
Mr. and Mrs. Loyd have their priorities in order; they know that keeping the frames dusted is not as important as training their children. They know that impressing the fear of the Lord in their childrens hearts has much more of a purpose than a tidy schoolroom.
They realize that have five precious souls to answer for before God; that it is no small thing to do what they are doing.
They are dependent upon God and look to the Bible for their direction and strength.
These are the reasons for their cheerful and joy filled home and I pray that I can have the same sort of home one day :)