I found my heart in homemaking
I used to be ashamed or slightly embarrassed to tell others that I was a homemaker. I felt that it made me less of a person because I wasn't waking up to leave to a full time job in the morning.
Then one day I stopped caring what others thought and started caring more about what God thought.
If there is one thing I wish people would stop saying to homemakers is "so do you plan on going back to work?" as if being a stay at home mother isn't "work".
It's work. It's endless. It's exhausting. It's an unpaid job.
Then one day I stopped caring what others thought and started caring more about what God thought.
If there is one thing I wish people would stop saying to homemakers is "so do you plan on going back to work?" as if being a stay at home mother isn't "work".
It's work. It's endless. It's exhausting. It's an unpaid job.
for probably annoyingly over sharing the love, joy, and obsession
I have for Reece,Charlotte and Reagan.
For some vintage find I scored at the antique store.
for the newest decor project I've finished.
for my newest bouquet of cheap Walmart flowers.
for that pie I made.
for that vinyl I played.
for the cards I'd hand written.
for the sweet treats I made for the neighbors.
for the sweet treats I made for the neighbors.
and for the most part. That is my everyday.
Sure, I leave out the tantrums, the exhaustion, the mundane activities of the day to day
I feel from time to time.
I feel from time to time.
the loneliness I feel at times that comes with being home 24/7.
the absolute dire yearning to be able to be around adults and have an adult conversation.
but see, I also found my heart in homemaking
truly found my heart. a heart. a love that is so incredibly real
I couldn't possibly explain it well enough to another soul.
a love for others.
a love for myself.
I couldn't possibly explain it well enough to another soul.
a love for others.
a love for myself.
I found a patience that I never truly never had
I found a humility in serving others and putting others first
that I never used to have.
that I never used to have.
Rise and Shine:
okay y'all, I wake up early. I mean early. I'm a morning bird through and through. So waking before the sun is something I can do naturally. It's also the only way/time I am able to have "alone" time. This is also the time frame I choose to go to the gym. It works for me because it not only gets the day going but the rest of my family is still asleep. So on days of the week that I go to the gym I wake up at 4:00 a.m. throw my gym clothes on and head out the door! Then when i return I start a pot of coffee and dig into my bible and daily devotional readings. After that I either begin a blog post or spend time talking with Reece because he's up and downstairs ready for work. On days I don't attend the gym, I wake up at 5:15, throw on my big pink robe and start the coffee pot followed with my devotionals and scripture. {i thrive on consistency}
cinderelly, cinderelly: After Reece leaves for work, I head upstairs,make the bed, and get dressed. Followed with throwing in a load of laundry and preparing breakfast for the girls.
The remainder of the day is divided between normal household chores and watching over the girls. every mother tends to her home differently.
I'm a very traditional person and my views and what's important to me correlate that. For example, I see home-making as humongous work and I treat it just like that..WORK. My husband likes to refer to himself as my employer haha! {insert eye roll} I believe that if my husband is working a hard 8 hour shift that my responsibility at home is to do the same except it doesn't end at 3:30p.m. it lasts a whopping 24 hours a day 7 days a week.I love my children more than anything in the world. Their presence makes me smile, they bring me laughter, and I hold it in such high esteem that I have the privilege of being able to be home and not only to raise them but
watch them grow.
With that being said, I am not a helicopter parent. It's not in my blood. I don't believe it is my job to entertain my children 24/7 being a stay at home parent. I don't believe that the rest of the responsibility that comes with managing a home should be put to the way side so I can spend all day watching my children hit every tiny milestone and play with their toys.
I was on the phone one day when Charlotte was incessantly tugging on me wanting my attention. {is that not so normal for toddlers to do that every time you're on the phone? haha!} well she wouldn't give in and I was losing my temper by the second because the phone call was important. My grandmother turns around and says sternly, " Charlotte, she is your mother not your playmate, go play". At first I was taken back partially because it sounded harsh and partially because I had never thought of it in that perspective before but the more those words sat with me the more I saw an incredible value in those words. A reminder. A truth. My job as a homemaker is to parent. parent well. to take care of the mundane tasks of house and home. tasks that truly feel mundane some days but are fulfilling, to LOVE MY CHILDREN SO WELL, but to not forget that within that love comes parenting not simple friendship. it's a fine line and it's something that I'm learning every day.
I will embrace their season, their age, their time of youth. I will cherish as many of the seconds I can because I know they're only little once.
Afternoon Coffee Break: when the girls go down for an afternoon nap I pour myself another cup of joe and make the next 30 minutes to an hour all about me. I browse shoes online (a weakness) or read a book or fit in a 15 minute snooze.
Daddy's home!
When my favorite person on the planet comes home it's all about family time. The house has been cleaned, I've figured out dinner, so it's a whole lot of loving on each other, playing outdoors or running evening errands.
{Question: How do you get your two year old to realize that babe and daddy are two different names to two different people. Instead of calling him daddy when he comes through the door she yells " hey babe!!" because that's what I call him. hahaha! I can't even with her.}
After Dinner Down time: after supper is cleaning up toys and bathing the girls. I have a strict bedtime policy. It's 7:30. no if's and's or butt's about it. I do it for the sake of my marriage. I need (we) need alone time. Not alone time as were climbing into bed and cutting out the lights, but alone time that gives me 2 hours to spend time with my man. To talk to him, to cuddle with him. To watch a show with him. When time is not made for my husband our marriage doesn't feel aligned or centered and this mama can't have that.
i am living my dream.
i am loving and undeniably, graciously, humbly living my dream.
even when it's messy, even when it's hard.where does mama time fit in?:
if my spiritual, mental and physical health is not balanced, i'm not balanced. I'm not able to perform my job well. as a parent, as a wife, or as a simple human being. I am always trying to make sure that I'm giving to all aspects of my health each and everyday.
If i'm well, i'm able love well. and that is the greatest purpose of them all.
if your a duck i'm a duck
{WHICH BY THE WAY WAS TOTALLY RIGGED. I got so many right answers but on paper they were "wrong". When I confronted Reece about the answers to these questions, he said he made up answers to keep it interesting haha, whatever!}
when life hands you a deployment make goals happen
Whew. This deployment has come and gone.
Praising Jesus for providing me the courage and strength to embrace the season of separation and to find opportunities to grow as a wife, mother, and woman.
I made goals. I stayed busy. I was successful. I also failed. I had little sleep. I got sick.I cried A LOT. I fought and overcame depression. I pushed through constant fear and worry.
It wasn't easy. Not even a for a second. but I knew that if I wasn't proactive and productive about handling this deployment it was going to be a very hard and very stressful few months.
I changed my mindset the day I dropped Reece off at the airport.