Quiet in Our Own Land

“I gather you want to conquer the whole world,” replied the philosopher.  “What will you do when you have conquered all?”

“Why then,” said the king, “we will return and enjoy ourselves in quiet in our own land.”

“So may you now,” said Cineas, “without all this ado.”

So goes the story about King Pyhrrus, as told in Awake My Soul: Practical Spirituality for Busy People by Timothy Jones.  As history tells us, Pyhrrus won battles, but at a devastating price.  That's where we get the phrase "Pyhrric victory" - the struggles that end up ruining the victor.

Just something to think about as we go about our days.  Why do we do what we do?  Is it to conquer for the sake of conquest -- to get more but enjoy less?  Or is to live authentically with a love of peace and beauty? There is a time to go out and fight against injustice.  I, too, find ways to make a global and local impact, not for my own glory and gain, but for the sake of real peace and prosperity for real people.  As a writer, I live by the maxim, “The pen is mightier than the sword.” 

But then there is this family, this home, this quiet life that I treasure.  As they also say, “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.”  My kids aren’t babies anymore, but they still need me.  I still need to restore more calm and order to our chaotic little world. I still need to delight in the joys of the simple life.  I will take the quiet in my own land.

"The fruit of that 

righteousness will be peace; 

its effect will be quietness 

and confidence forever. 

My people will live in 

peaceful dwelling places, 

in secure homes, 

in undisturbed places of rest." 

Isaiah 32:17-18

You may also like:

"The Blue Bowl" and Thoughts on Making a Home

"Thy Good and Comfortable Word" by Amy Carmichael

“Thy Good and Comfortable Word”

Lover of souls, Thee have I heard,
Thee will I sing, for sing I must,

Thy good and comfortable word

Hath raised my spirit from the dust.

In dusty ways my feet had strayed,

And foolish fears laid hold on me,

Until what time I was afraid,

 I suddenly remembered Thee.

Remembering Thee, I straight forgot,

What otherwhile had troubled me;

It was as if it all were not,

I only was aware of Thee.

  

Of Thee, of Thee alone, aware,

I rested me, I held me still,

The blessed thought of Thee, most Fair,

Dispelled the brooding sense of ill.

 

And quietness about me fell,

And Thou didst speak: my spirit heard;

I worshipped and rejoiced; for well

I knew Thy comfortable word.

 

Whoso hath known that comforting,

The inward touch that maketh whole,

How can he ever choose but sing

To Thee, O Lover of his soul.

Amy Carmichael was a missionary to India in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  Her main ministry was rescuing children from immoral duties in the Hindu temples, and then raising them in the Christian faith at Dohnavur Fellowship.  The children often sang songs of praise to God throughout the day; this was a key part of their upbringing!   Amy did not have an easy life.  After a painful injury, she spent her latter decades as an invalid.  These experiences enabled her to write straight from the heart of God to comfort those who faced trials and difficulties, and to challenge them to rise up to the call of God on their lives no matter what.

I wanted to share an Amy Carmichael poem with these magnolia pictures, so I thumbed through my dog-eared copy of her book Toward Jerusalem which I've had since college.  It was hard picking.  Perhaps "Bud of Joy" would have been more fitting for the pictures, but that one didn't "speak" to me at the moment.  I also like "Wandering Thoughts" - I remember that going deep into me one hard year.  "Love Through Me" and "The Sign" and "Cape Comorin" are other old favorites which I shared at our ladies' Bible study two weeks ago, since our lesson mentioned Amy Carmichael.

When I finally settled on "Thy Comfortable Word", I did a Google search on the title so I wouldn't have to type in all the stanzas.  The top entry on the list?  Mine!  Apparently, I had included it in one of my old e-magazines over eight years ago, the same issue in which I announced the birth of my youngest daughter Melody.  If I'm not mistaken, I think I remember breathing out these poems' lines during labor.   (I really did strange things like that.)  I do know, based on a note I included with it in that e-magazine, that I sent one of my older daughters to grab the book from the shelf one day when I was feeling really low.  It could have been a day when I felt like that first and last magnolia in the pictures above, with the stamens falling out of the center,  just lying there disconnected in a heap.     As I read the poem then, I  could sense the comfort of God wash over me, his inward touch that made me whole.   Read it again, and maybe it will bless you now, too.  Perhaps these links about magnolias, Amy Carmichael poems, and lessons I learned from mothering Melody will also encourage you.   Enjoy...

• Still Life Magnolias
• Little Gem's First Bloom and the Day of Small Things
• “A Parent’s Prayer” by Amy Carmichael 
• Melody, My Bud of Joy (with a poem by Amy Carmichael)
• Melody-isms
• The Password of Praise
• Mommy, Can I Help You?
• Simple Shoes 
• Melody and Bab

 Melody

P.S.  My daughter Julia is about to give birth to her first child any day now.  Say a prayer for her, will you?  Funny thing is, the midwife who is supposed to deliver baby Lucas also delivered my little Melody.  We didn't make that connection until about a month ago.  How time flies...  

I often link my posts to these blogs:

Still Saturday

The Sunday Community

  

Mom's Chauffeur and Courier Service (A Little Encouragement)

My day "off" started off not with a bang, but my teenager's gentle voice around 6:30 in the morning: "Mom, I missed the bus.  I tried to let you sleep as late as I could, but I need a ride to school."  Huh?  What?  Oh.  Up I go. Change into day clothes, keys in hand, we can do this.  Let's enjoy the beautiful sunrise and a little time spent with a very sweet son.  I'm a mom of 10 with seven still living at home, so one-on-one time is precious.

I got home in time to make sure my youngest daughter's hair was combed and that my youngest son was out of bed.  Keys in hand, off to the elementary school several blocks away.   Then home again in time to eat some breakfast and take another daughter and a neighbor to their middle school bus top several blocks away.  Done yet with driving?  I thought so...

But no.  Within minutes, I got a text from my daughter that she had left the Cheetos for a class party in the van.  Could I bring them to school for her at lunch time?  Sure, why not.  Not so far away, eh?

And then, and then, I got a call from one of my adult daughters asking for a "big favor, Mom."   Could I bring the set of her paint brushes she had left on her bed? As soon as possible, please?  I had to laugh.  Yep, got it.  I took a shower, threw some laundry in the washer, printed out my To Do list for the next few days.  Keys in hand, off to the college to bring my amazing artist her tools.  (I can't wait to go see the college's juried art show opening night next week.  She had six pieces accepted for display, out of the 60 total. Did I say she is an amazing artist?)

On the way back from from the college, I decided to take advantage of being in that end of town and stopped by an antique store I spotted.  The owner was just unlocking the door, a half hour past the regular opening time.  Chatting with her in the store, I discovered her morning had been much like mine, running around town taking care of stuff for her adult son's family since he was sick.  We both smiled and agreed: "We do for family."  Yes we do.

After sorting a huge laundry pile into baskets for the kids to fold, and then doing a little prep work for school (I teach three days a week), I crashed for a much needed nap in the afternoon.  My husband kindly offered to pick up two kids from school, and another from a bus stop.  But I still needed to take one son to work at Chick-Fil-A.  The two youngest each had a coupon for a free small pizza from Dominoes. Yes, we could stop by on the way home, couldn't we?  Sure, why not?  At least I didn't have to make dinner, right?  Except that when we got there, we found out they didn't take those "Student Reward" coupons, which were issued by a store several miles north.  Just as well, that would give me time to order ahead by phone so we wouldn't have to wait long.  Off we go again. Serendipitously, this Dominoes was right next to a used book store I had been wanting to visit since I had seen it on the way home from the college in the morning.  And even better, they take trades, and I just happened to have a bag of books in the van that I had intended to sell at a different bookstore closer to home.  I was able to find three very encouraging and timely books to apply my store credit from what they wanted from me.  Yes!  My son was also enthralled with their amazing manga collection.  And eating pizza in the van.  His very own pizza.  All for him, and all gone now!

    

So yeah, today I've been "Mom's Chauffeur and Courier Service."  Lest you think my kids are taking advantage of me, it's rare that one of them needs to be bailed out, and truth be told, they bail me out just as often by driving a sibling to work, picking up something at the store, making dinner when I'm rushed, baby sitting, helping the younger ones with homework...  It's all good.

It's been a day.  A good day. A Mom day.  But now, my keys are in my purse!

Oh yes, those books!  Here is such a relevant snippet from one of them, starting on the very first page.

"And it's not uncommon to find ourselves wondering, How does this whole crazy puzzle fit together?  Anne Morrow Lindbergh observed somewhere in her timeless little book, Gift from the Sea, that most of us don't really mind pouring our lives out for a reason.  What we do resent is the feeling that it is being dribbled away in small, meaningless drips for no good reason."  For me, one of the greatest frustrations of walking through the "dailiness" of my life is that I don't always get to see how the bits and pieces of who I am fit into the big picture of God's plan.  It's tempting to see my life as a meal here, a meeting there, a carpool, a phone call, a sack of groceries -- all disjointed fragments of nothing in particular.  Yet I know I am called, as God's child, to believe that they do add up.  That in some way every scrap of my life, every step and every struggle, is in the process of being fitted together into God's huge and perfect pattern for good (Romans 8:28).  As difficult as that is to "live into" daily, it had become for me a transforming truth, adding meaning to the mundane and purpose to the plodding."  (Kaleidscope: God's Pattern in the Bits & Pieces of a Woman's Life by Claire Cloninger)

(I picked up the book because the concept of the kaleidoscope is one I've been pondering lately.  You can see more here: Kaleidoscope.)

Grace and peace,

Virginia Knowles
www.ComeWearyMoms.blogspot.com

Refresh Retreat

Dear friends,

Nearly two weeks ago, I had the immense privilege of attending a Refresh Retreat hosted by my friend Sandy Traugott.  I'd like to share it with you through pictures and captions.  It's funny that "Refresh" was my "one word" for 2013, and I still need it now more than ever.

Sandy is a veteran home school mom
whose children are all grown.
She is a seasoned saint,
well-acquainted with the trials of life,
but filled with a flourishing love of Jesus.
She inspires me.

Drop your cell phones here!
This is a day to get away 
without distraction.
(But it's there if you need it.)

A time to breathe and stretch,
in a posture of devotion and worship.
It's called DoxaSoma, an integration
of Christian prayer and movement.
Pray and praise with body and soul.
I loved it.  Sandy brought the mats.

After a time of listening 
to worship music,
we each sat with our own 
Bibles and journals,
turned to Colossians,
and asked God to speak 
into our hearts
as we reflected on his Word.
This was not a lecture and workshop retreat.
It was mainly a silent retreat.

Communion was available
to take in solitude as we wished.

Plenty of healthy snacks - strawberries,
hummus and gluten-free crackers,
lemon water, a variety of teas...
We also brought our own lunches.

Only six ladies come to each retreat.
One of my fellow participants
is my son-in-law's sweet grandmother.
Chatting on the porch with her,
I find that she hosted dozens of ladies' retreats
at her mountain cabin in North Carolina.
Between that and visiting missionaries,
2,000 people from 20 nations 
stayed overnight at Higher Ground
which is now available for week-long rentals.
She is also active in homeless ministry,
as are most of the others who came that day.
Shirley's hospitality and grace astound me.
I am so grateful for the 
family legacy she lives
for my soon-to-be born grandson Lucas.

Art time with lots of supplies -
a way to creatively express 
who we are in Christ,
and who we want to become in him.

Everyone else made 
collages from magazines.

I had already decided,
after pondering on Colossians,
to sketch my version 
of a kaleidoscope image,
inscribing Scripture words 
of grace and truth
onto the broken pieces my life, 
reflecting radiant beauty in the 
light of God's glory.
You can see and read about 
my finished piece here:

Kaleidoscope (Big Words)

We ended our day with a brief time 

of sharing what we had learned,

encouraging and praying for one another.

Our view out the window
of the condo clubhouse...
I went outside later
to take pictures by the lake.
You can see them here
in this related hymn post:
What a Friend We Have in Jesus.

What a refreshing day! 

If you live in the Orlando area, and would like to attend one of Sandy's free day long (9 AM - 4 PM) retreats, please visit her web site here:  Refresh Retreat.

Note on February 10: I finally finished journaling through Colossians 4.  Here are my Good Words!

Grace and peace,
Virginia Knowles
www.ComeWearyMoms.blogspot.com

P.S. Please enjoy one of the songs of worship from the retreat... "I Need You Now" by Matt Redman.  I downloaded it for my iPod, of course.

The Proper Pressure

My friend Patty called yesterday.  "Do you want some bagels and flat bread?  I just got a whole bunch on clearance at the bakery outlet!"  Ever thoughtful, this old friend of mine!  She's been on Cru ministry staff, along with her husband, for most of her adult life. I've known her for nearly 20 years, and she's always been so full of grace and generosity.  I hadn't seen her in a while, but we keep in touch by e-mail and Facebook.

So Patty stopped by, and knowing she didn't come just to drop off some bread, I suggested we take a long stroll around my neighborhood and catch up in person.  Unfortunately, while we were gone, her tire went flat in my driveway. Completely unruffled, she opened her trunk, pulled out her little electric air pump, and plugged it into the car's lighter.  PSSSSH!   Little by little the tire regained its roundness.  Slow going, but "Slow and steady wins the race!" as the tortoise well knew. I thought that pump was really nifty and told her I'd have to get one since they're only about $25.  

As we continued to talk, Patty hit the off button and pulled out the pump nozzle.  But the tire was still pretty flat! She smiled.  She'd had a bright idea that I didn't know about.  Yep, that's right.  She wanted me to learn how to pump up a tire from start to finish. Not just watch her, but DO it myself!  So I did.  Check the PSI number on the tire to find the proper air pressure so I wouldn't over-inflate it.  Put the nozzle on the tire and flip the clamp lever.  Plug it in to the car.  Flip the on switch. Watch the dial until it reaches the PSI.  Turn it off and take the nozzle off the tire.  The whole works.  I am now an empowered woman.  

Patty explained to me that since her husband is very often out of the country on mission trips, she's had to learn to do a lot of things for herself.  It keeps her from getting too frazzled.  Because we're both philosophical chicks, we started musing about the metaphor of the tire pump and the PSI number.  How do we find the proper pressure in our lives?  Without air in our tires, we can't roll, but when does the pressure get too much and threaten a blow out?  When are we taking on more than we can handle?  When do we need to learn to back off and let it go?  Or conversely, when do we need more air, more pressure?  When do we need to step it up and take charge and make it happen?  Good questions!  

For Patty, this means there are certain ministry settings where she does not thrive.  She knows what she can do and what she can't.  It means finding emotional support from others when things get a bit much.  It means accepting herself for who she is, rather than comparing to others who seem to have it all together. It means being resourceful, and finding ways to do practical things by herself and for herself. 

In my own life, I find myself stressing about things I can't control while overlooking other problems that I should at least try to solve.  I have to know when to walk by and when to dig in.  I have to set boundaries and form reasonable expectations for myself and others. And I've had to learn to do a lot of things for myself rather than expecting others to do them for me.  I visit a Christian counselor.  I have a wonderful, supportive church and friends and family who check in on me and pray for me.  I read a variety of blogs that help me both think and do things that will improve life at home and at work.  I write in my journal or call a friend.  I tackle a mess or close a door.  I set goals and make a To Do list to motivate myself to action.  At age 50, I don't have all the pep I did when I first met Patty, but slow and steady wins the race, right?

How about you?  How do you find the proper pressure in your life?  What is your part to play, and what is not?

You might also like to read these related posts: 

• Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
• Beating the Holiday Blues and Stress

Grace and peace,
Virginia Knowles
www.ComeWearyMoms.blogspot.com


This post may be linked at these blogs:

Still Saturday

The Sunday Community

Raising Homemakers on Wednesday

Whole-Hearted Home on Wednesday

Wise Woman Link Up on Wednesday

Walking Redeemed on Wednesday

  

Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh - Selected Quotes

Dear friends,

It's the day after Thanksgiving, and maybe, like me, you're feeling tired and scattered and a wee bit overwhelmed.  Or maybe not.

It's been that year of loss and transition for me and sometimes that all scrunches up in one spot.  I've been trying to clean house, get out my warmer clothes, run my errands (yes, a teeny bit of Black Friday shopping at the craft store with my younger kids), do paperwork, take a long nap, ride my hormone swings, and still process my emotions about a bazillion different things while surrounded by the daily chaos of lots of kids who do not value solitude as much as I do.  So honestly, I am no where near being "in the holiday spirit" at the moment. I was thinking today that I needed to sit quietly and ponder about what I want out of life for myself and my family, especially in this next month of what could become Christmas Craziness.  When I pulled in to the driveway after a last minute trip to the post office, I decided to sit for a few moments in the solitude of my van.  I found one of my journals wedged down between the seat and my supply box.  It's usually one I use just for sermon notes, but at a doctor's appointment last year I jotted down some quotes from a classic book.  It's a bit of a scrawl, but I'm amazed I was able to write as legibly as I did, because I had a broken hand at the time.

The book is Gift from the Sea, written in 1955 by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The gifted author of over 10 books, she had gone through so much transition and loss herself.  She was the wife of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh, and the mother of five who had suffered the tragic kidnapping and death of her toddler son.  In this book, probably her most well-known, she draws lessons from different kinds of sea shells she finds on the beach.

From her chapter on the channeled whelk, she writes of living "in grace" with an inner harmony... "For to be a woman is to have interests and duties, raying out in all directions from the central mother-core, like spokes from the hub of a wheel.  The pattern of our lives is essentially circular.  We must be open to all points of the compass; husband, children, friends, home, community; stretched out, exposed, sensitive like a spider's web to each breeze that blows, to each call that comes.  How difficult for us, then, to achieve a balance in the midst of these contradictory tensions, and yet how necessary for the proper functioning of our lives.  How much we need, and how arduous of attainment is that steadiness preached in all rules for holy living.  How desirable and how distant is the ideal of the contemplative, artist, or saint - the inner inviolable core, the single eye."

In her chapter on the moon shell, she writes of the need for regular solitude: "The artist knows he must be alone to create; the writer to work out his thoughts; the musician, to compose; the saint, to pray.  But women need solitude in order to find again the true essence of themselves: that firm strand which will be the indispensable center of the whole web of human relationships... And woman today is still searching. We are aware of our hunger and needs, but still ignorant of what will satisfy them.  With our garnered free time, we  are more apt to drain our creative springs than to refill them.  With our pitchers, we attempt sometimes to water a field, not a garden.  We throw ourselves indiscriminately into committees and causes.  Not knowing how to feed the spirit, we try to muffle its demands in distractions... Arranging a bowl of flowers in the morning can give a sense of quiet in a crowded day -like writing a poem, or saying a prayer.  What matters is that one be for a time inwardly attentive."

And so I am in my bedroom, behind a locked and re-locked door, trying to find a small wedge of solitude and refill my soul with peace and inspired creative focus. Before I emerge again, I'm going to sit in my soft chair, eat a protein bar, read a chapter of A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Meant to Live by Emily Freeman (which I saw mentioned on so many blogs that I like that I finally drove to the nearest bookstore to get my hands on my own copy), and putter around artfully arranging something or other in a continuation of what I shared last week in One Day: A Little Beauty and Order in My Home.  I am feeling a little better now, but I think I'll go to bed early tonight.

There is much more in the book, but that is enough for now.  You will find another quote from Gift from the Sea here: On Clouds, Hands, Oysters and Messy Humanity.

If the idea of solitude and quietness and focus intrigues you, you may also like these posts:

• Sanctuary (Big Words)
• Invitation to Stillness
• Busy, Dizzy and In a Tizzy: Christian Contemplation for Moms and Other Frazzled Folks 
• Wisdom from Letters of Direction by Abbé de Tourville
• A Woman of Beauty
• Beating the Holiday Blues and Stress
• "Sonnet, Trinity 18" by Madeleine L'Engle, in Honor of My Sister Barb
• Truth and Grace in the Stories of Our Lives
• Read, Reflect & Respond (The Real 3R's of Literature!)
• Gems from the Past for Parents

Grace and peace,
Virginia Knowles
www.ComeWearyMoms.blogspot.com


This post may be linked at these blogs:

Still Saturday

The Sunday Community

Raising Homemakers on Wednesday

Whole-Hearted Home on Wednesday

Wise Woman Link Up on Wednesday

Walking Redeemed on Wednesday

  

One Day: A Little Beauty and Order in My Home

Dear friends,

It's been over a month since I posted on either this Come, Weary Moms blog or Virginia's Life, Such As It Is.  The only blog I've kept up with at all is Watch the Shepherd because of my weekly hymn series and an unexpected post on troubling issues in the home schooling movement, which has had nearly 3,800 pages visits in the last 16 days. Yikes!

Frankly, I'm sometimes a very Weary Mom and there's not as much time to write. It's a busy life raising several kids, homemaking, and teaching three days a week in a private Christian school...  Well, enough said there.  All in all, I think I'm doing pretty well. For the most part, I love what I do, and I do what I love.  So it's a good kind of tired.

Monday is my "breathing easier day" since my grading and lesson planning are done over the weekend, and I'm off school for the day.  Not that I'm sitting around twiddling my thumbs!  Usually, Monday is a mix of housework, errands, appointments, and a bit of writing if I'm lucky.  This particular Monday was one for pursuing "a little beauty and order."  I'm trying to make my home a haven and keep it that way.  I do a little here and a lot there, and sometimes a major breakthrough push, but never quite catch up. Yes, my kids do help out with the housework, but does it really have to be this difficult to enforce little things like not eating in the living room or computer room?  And will I ever get the laundry and paperwork and books completely under control?  Yeah, I've been purging, purging, purging the clutter.  I took out a huge pile of books yesterday to donate to the library book store.   However, even with all of the puttering around, I think I've decided that with six of my kids still living here, I'll just have to hold my breath and wait a decade until they're all grown and gone before I can keep my house consistently clean. :-)  

Anyway, Monday....

After I drove my youngest two to school, I transplanted about two dozen golden poppy seedlings into a patch next to our front walkway.  (This is Florida, folks!)  When I was a little girl in northern California, I grew poppies and pansies and all manner of other floral lovelies with my sweet mother.  One of my ways of honoring and remembering her is gardening.  I hope they thrive and that the kids don't step on them.  They're so small, they are hard to see! I'll be writing a post on gardening soon, too.

This past weekend, I found two very attractive books on homemaking in the discount bin at the grocery store.  I know I could probably have found the same information on-line, and I actually do most of my reading on the web, but sometimes it's nice to have a real book in my hands, all there in one spot.  Can I get an amen?  I am also inspired by visiting my daughter's apartment and seeing how simple and attractive she's keeping it.  (It helps that she just moved in and doesn't have much stuff yet, but she's been shopping IKEA and it all looks lovely so far!  She said it seems like she's buying kitchen stuff as if she had 10 kids.)

I also found another favorite volume, Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion, that I bought at my fav used bookstore a while back.  I didn't get too far into any of them before I had to get up and try out few of the ideas.  You know, put it into practice!

I read about foyers.  Fascinating, right?  Two of the books had wonderful pictures of entry ways, and some featured wooden benches.  I've been wanting to switch things up in my front hallway lately, and I happened to have a beautiful bench buried in the storage room under laundry baskets.  Here we go!  Socks and shoes underneath, and backpacks off to the side.  Sure, I wish I could convince my kids to take them all the way to their bedrooms, but hey, I'm willing to compromise a little if the backpacks actually make it into their designated corner by the door.

In order to put the bench there, I had to move a tall narrow table from that spot.  I knew what I'd do with it, though.  I'm always running out of flat space when I'm writing lesson plans and doing my grading.  I like to lay out my books and papers, and not perch them on my lap or squeeze them onto my desk with my computer.  So, as you can see in the photo below, I placed it perpendicular to my desk as an extra wing. (It's a bit longer than what shows in the photo.)  I like!  While I was at it, I took the time to reorganize my desk, get rid of a lot of extraneous papers, put my medicines back in the cabinet, and pin up a few new fancies on my bulletin board.

I also took the time to read through a basket of sympathy and birthday cards that thoughtful family and friends sent in the past few months.  So sweet!  I came across a few that my mother had sent to me before she passed away.  Sigh.  I'll treasure them all.  I mounted two of the Mary Engelbreit cards on the front of my supply cabinet.

This is the little raised shelf area in the right hand corner of my desk, with containers for hair brushes, pens, pencils and scissors.  The little butterfly dish holds sugar-free hard candies.  The doily hangs down and camouflages all of the electrical cords (for charging my computer, iPod, and phone) tucked under the shelf.

I left the house after lunch to go visit my counselor, who is helping me sort through my life, including strategizing how to more effectively thrive in my duties in and out of the home. (For the record, she says, "Don't ever stop writing!  Make time for it!")  On the way home, before I picked up kids from school, I stopped into an interior design store, Kim Coe Designs.  I didn't buy anything, just enjoyed the beauty as an inspiration to my homemaking efforts.  They're all decked out for Christmas, of course!  These light-up snowmen in a basket were tempting, but I'll just wait until I get all of my holiday decorations out in two weeks to see what I already have.  I do like a little something new each year, but it's not like I need anything right now.  Anyway, I'm trying to simplify! (I did buy a pair of Christmas salt and pepper shakers on clearance at Walgreens later!)

For dinner, I had a big package of boneless skinless chicken breasts in the fridge.  I cut them into smaller pieces, and baked half of them with barbecue sauce and the other half with rotisserie seasoning and red potatoes, adding some crunchy onion topping near the end.  Yummy scrumptious!  My family appreciates the two flavor options.  

The rest of the evening?  Shopping, putting away laundry, cleaning up some more, and chatting with my very lively and affectionate kids.  

I didn't get everything on my list done yesterday, but as I often say, "Well enough!" Today's another day!  (And it was!  Today I did a lot of paperwork after I got up, then drove kids to school / bus stop, made lunches for one son and me, taught three classes at school, took two kids to appointments and then went to the science night at their school.  The three of us ate fast food (gasp!) and the rest had leftover chicken for dinner.  Now I have some grading to do for tomorrow.  Another full day, different than yesterday, but just as good!)

Other related organizing and decorating posts you might enjoy...

• "The Blue Bowl" and Thoughts on Making a Home
• Refresh and Renew: Quilt and Pansies
• Busy & Creative at Home (with links to organization blogs)
• The Impulsive Decorator's Room Redo #1: The Front Hallway
• A Desk for Mom (Featuring Habitat for Humanity)
• A Space of My Own (My Desk Again)
• Easy Christmas Decorating on a Dime

What does your daily or weekly life rhythm look like?  Leave a comment for me!

Virginia Knowles
www.ComeWearyMoms.blogspot.com