Simple & Deliberate

That's what I want our family to look like.

Kev and I have been talking a lot these past couple of weeks - assessing and reassessing our family, our priorities, our values..... our LIFE. Everyone is always busy; life is always full. But when things start to feel out of control and we lose all semblance of structure, it's not good for any of us.

Somewhere in the midst of moving home, a few things got lost in translation, and crazyness has abounded.

So, we've been making some changes around here. When the boys wake up in the morning, one of us will go into them with a little snack and they can play on Kaden's bed or in their bedroom, but they are not allowed out until we go to them. We have them in there for about an hour; and this way we are able to get our heads screwed on straight - get our showers, make the bed, have some devos, and get focused for the day.

Oh Heavens! This has made such a difference in my days. Going from being shocked awake before 6:00 by two little boys jumping on us, to having the day start peaceful and much more centered. And the boys are totally okay with this. They are excited to be together, they are rested, and they play and laugh well together during this time. The room gets slightly trashed.....so now we'll work on that too. But it is SO worth it!

I have also gone from working two afternoons a week to one condensed day. Now, instead of having two of our days disrupted, only one looks different from the rest. And Daddy & Grammy split the time spent with the boys that day. It's good. It's all good.

Just lots of processing and reprioritizing. I don't know if other families do this, but we find ourselves doing this ALL. THE. TIME. For us it's necessary - keeping the finger on the pulse of our family and noticing when things start to get out of balance.

We're also really discussing and very seriously praying about what our life is going to look like with baby #3, with potential travel opportunities for Kev or for the two of us with our new ministry, and with deciding on Christian school or homeschooling. Big decisions, but we're taking them one day at a time. All the more reason to be more simple and deliberate and intentional and purposeful in all that we're doing with our family.

This year is going to be our "trial year" in a lot of areas for us.

:: I'll be learning how to be a Mommy to 3 little boys.

:: We've decided that we are not going to put Kaden into Kindergarten until he's 6, so this year I'm going to "loosy-goosy" homeschool him and just see how it goes for our family. I've been picking the brain of my school's K teacher who I greatly respect and have gotten some really good ideas that I'm excited about.

:: And it will really be the first time for our family where Kev will be doing some traveling and leaving me home with all of them for a few days at a time. So structure is good. And during those days it will be a necessity for sanity!

.....Feeling MUCH better about life


"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him and I am helped. Therefore, my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him." ~ Psalm 29:8