settling in

So. We moved.

We actually did it. Two months ago our family pulled away from our beloved Ohio hills and we now call the great plains of Kansas home. It has been an adventure, for sure. This jumping and trusting that God will catch you is not for the faint of heart. Tears have been shed, loneliness endured, and a general stretching has been felt by each person in our family. The first week we were here, I would rise early each morning with a pounding heart. The darkness would surround and I would wonder what in the world we had just done. What were we thinking to leave our family, our community, our safety net behind? But deep breaths and long talks with Boss helped to ease the pain and the fear deep within. And prayer. Prayer sustained me those dark mornings and I wondered once more where people who do not know God find comfort. Because amidst all of the change, my relationship with God and my family are my forever constants.

But other things (namely ice cream, ahem) helped, too. In a place totally new I can still hang a familiar picture on a wall and feel at home. I can walk into a church building, sit on pews and sing songs and read scripture that I know, and feel at home. I can still go to Target, order a tall Chai tea with soy, and browse the isles and feel at home. Because (in our family) home is more of a feeling within. Home is traditions, and comfort foods, and discussions with those that you love, more than it will ever be a particular place. This I am learning.

So that is what these past two months have been. A slowing down, an embracing of our more quiet days, a strengthening of our dependence on God and each other. And as we are slowly beginning to leave the moving fog behind, I can honestly see that though the process has been hard, it has also been good. And I am still confident that being right here in the center of the United States, has put our family directly in the center of God's will for our lives in this particular season.

You should know that Boss is perhaps the happiest I have ever seen him. He is more energized, more full of life, and more excited about how he now spends his days than ever before. It's amazing how dreams realized can inspire a person towards greatness! Sometimes we pinch ourselves to make sure we are not still dreaming, and then we smile because we remember that this new life is our real life. And we thank God for the blessings. The children have made some new friends and are hopeful for more to come. Each new week brings more smiles and fewer tears. Every Tuesday afternoon the three big kids lace up ice skates and head to the rink for lessons. We figured a bold new move required being bold and trying our hand at a brand new skill! I am so proud of how my children, despite their sadness at saying goodbye to the old, are embracing the new and are discovering more of who God has created them to be in the process.

I count my children as one of my greatest blessings in this life and I am most thankful for the closeness and the amount of time we have spent together as of late. Our lives were good in Ohio, but they were busy. And sometimes, amidst the crazy busy of all things good, it is so easy to lose sight of what matters most. But our new, quiet days are bringing us back to the very best, and that is time spent together. I am sure as the months pass and our lives and connections here begin to expand, the busy will creep back in, but for now I am thanking God for this current quiet season we are in.

As for me? I am enjoying lazy mornings with a warm blanket curled around and a big mug of coffee in hand. Having no place to go most days has done wonders for the stress the last decade of being a grown up had brought into my life, and I am enjoying my mornings with my children like never before. I am loving taking the time to stare at my tiny baby who is growing bigger. We practice standing, and crawling, and we laugh and clap hands. Clapping is a new favorite. My little guy has finally gotten his first tooth, and I am trying to relish it all.... the daily small things that so often go unnoticed in the busyness of a full life. We still do school around the table each day, and there is more time for explaining long division and reading aloud. I must confess that I have felt burn out on the teaching front, but as of this last week, we seem to have found our groove once more.

The move has been hard, but it has also been good. A clean slate, if you will. A chance to slow down, regroup, and press on towards those things that are most important. I just wanted to let you all know that we are still here and all is well. We are settling in to this new life we are living and we thank God daily for directing our steps.

Happy at Home: In an Instant

 

It's funny how your life can change in an instant.

 

One week ago I was the proud mama of three beautiful children. And even more importantly, I was content with that number. The Z Three was beginning to roll comfortably off the tip of my tongue, without the familiar ache of wanting 'more' that had been known to follow in previous months. I was happy. I had made peace with the family that God had blessed me with.

 

One week ago I was dreaming of tiny little foster babies. We were in the process of switching foster care agencies (the transfer to be completed this very week), and I was counting down the days until we would receive 'the call'. The call that would change our lives for a few months, days, or maybe years. Or possibly even forever. And I was excited to feel called to the ministry. I felt as though God had been preparing me for that calling for years and I was ready to serve. We all were.

 

One week ago Boss and I were planning a ten year wedding anniversary cruise for next May. Sans children. We went on a cruise for our honeymoon and we thought it would make for a nice ten year tradition. We were excited to reach such a big milestone in our marriage (a whole decade!) and we somewhat felt as if we were approaching that next stage in life. The stage with more sleep and less diapers. And we were content.

 

One week ago I was practicing the art of learning to be happy at home. It might seem sad that one would have to practice something like that. But it's where I was. Because the truth is, even though it was exhausting me, I enjoyed all of the running around. Running around, being out in the world, it was exciting! So much more exciting than cooking, and cleaning, and laundry, and wiping little noses. So I made it a habit to keep myself busy. To keep myself distracted from the mundane. But slowly, over the past few months, God's Word had been nudging me back towards home. But one week ago I was still fighting it. So I was planning trips and prepping for foster care. I was doing all of this from home, but in my mind I was still running. I was home in body, but I was not home in spirit. My heart and wants were still elsewhere.

 

And then six days ago, my life changed in a single instant.

 

We had not been trying to conceive, so I had not been paying attention to the signs. But once the thought crossed my mind? I knew. I just knew. And when the test read positive? It was pure joy. Automatic pure joy! I remember crying and saying thank you God. Thank you God, thank you God, thank you God. And my life has not been the same since.

 

Today I am the proud mama of FOUR beautiful children. Today I am so thankful that there will be the 'more' that I didn't even realize that I still wanted. Today I am happy and at peace. Today I am so very thankful that God's ways, and God's timing, far surpass my own.

 

Today I don't know where we stand with foster care. Today I am okay with the fact that I don't know.

 

Today I am not sad that there will not be a ten year anniversary cruise in May. Because now, Lord willing, I have better plans.

 

Today, in this very moment, my heart is happy at home.  I realized tonight, as my son did 'shows' for us after dinner and I laughed so hard until I cried, that there is no where else on earth that is better suited for me. All five of us were piled on the couch snuggling, with Jack pouting about not having enough room, when Emma said, just wait until next year! Because next year our couch will be even more full. But as Boss quickly pointed out, there will ALWAYS be enough room for one more. And you know what? To me, that's exactly what home is. All of us piling inside of these walls. Sharing laughter and tears. Joys and sorrows. All of us learning, and growing, and extending grace. Knowing in our hearts that there is always room for one more. There is always enough love to go around.

 

Today my body is alive with this tiny one that is growing inside of me. My whole body feels it, a constant reminder that God is still at work. A reminder that God is always there, even in the seasons where we cannot seem to find him. He is the master weaver, weaving the intricate strands of our lives together in his own timing. And when we get a small glimpse of the work he is doing?

 

Our lives change in an instant. And we find the encouragement and hope needed to continue pressing on.

 

 

 

 

 



Happy at Home: Soup Style

 

Happy Fall! And happy Monday! I am so excited that it is that time of year again! Fall is one of my most favorite seasons. Crisp weather, orange pumpkins,  hot drinks, changing leaves, campfires, and soups. Lots of yummy soups!

 

In case you weren't aware, soups are a super yummy and simple dish for the struggling homemaker to prepare. That would be me. Ahem. (My friend once gave me a cute little bag that read I only have a kitchen, because it came with the house! Ha!) But since I have aspired to learn the art of being happy at home, and to me that means having a delicious supper on the table for my family more nights than not, soups are often a wonderfully warm way to go. Because it's now fall! And we can eat soup!

We have a couple of 'family favorites' that I would like to share with you. The recipes, that is. Not the actual soup. But if you would like to come over for a bowl of soup, that would be just super, too!

Our most favorite soup is Chicken Enchilada soup. I was given the recipe by one of my fellow foster moms. This soup only requires five ingredients (though you can add more, if you desire). My fellow foster mom friend knew of my struggles in the kitchen, and she told me that this was my recipe. Created just for me. And because you can create goodness with only five items, I think she just might be right.  So here it is:

Chicken Enchilada Soup

 

- 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

- 1 can Fiesta Nacho Cheese soup (spicy) OR 1 can Cheddar Cheese soup (mild)

- 1 can red enchilada sauce

- 2 cups of milk

- diced chicken (may be boiled, Tyson's already cooked/just need to be heated chicken pieces, or even from a can!)

 

And that's it! You can add a can of drained corn or black beans if you want to get fancy. And sometimes I add a cup of Picante Sauce. But you don't have to. It tastes smashing with the first five ingredients alone.

 

Simply combine everything into one big pot on the stove and cook it over med/high heat until it is warm and bubbly, or put it in your handy dandy crock pot and cook it only high for a few hours, or low all day long.

 

Top with crumbled tortilla chips, grated cheese, sour cream, you name it. If you like it, toss it on! And voila! You have a yummy, and more importantly simple, supper!  

 

(serves my family of five easily, with soup to spare)

My second go to soup is Taco Soup. I am not sure where I found this recipe, but there are a variety of versions of it all over the Internet. I used to make this soup for the teenage girls that we fostered. They loved it, and it was good for serving a crowd. Which we always had. Every single night. And it's true that I kind of miss those days. Full tables are the best. My friend Heather used to say that eating at our table felt like Thanksgiving! And for my struggling homemakers soul, I took that as a compliment!

Taco Soup

 

- 1 lb. ground beef or turkey, browned

- 1 pkg. taco seasoning

- 1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

- 2 cups water

- 1 can corn

- 1 can stewed tomatoes

- 1 can ranch style beans

- 1 small can green chile's

- 1 chopped onion (optional)

 

Can be cooked stove top or in your crock pot! Top with all of your favorite taco toppings. Enjoy!

 



So there you have it. My super, secret soup recipes. Except they aren't secret, because I just shared them with you. And they aren't even mine, since I stole them from friends. Whatever. I will simply say you're welcome, and leave it at that! Here's to another week of learning to be Happy at Home!

Happy at Home: Family Closet Style

(Hey there, friends! It's Monday, which means it is time for my next installment of Happy at Home. A few weeks ago, I decided that I had had enough of the go, go, go. I mean, I loved the go, go, go, but it was running me ragged. My home was becoming neglected, the meals I served to my family were a wee bit on the sad side, and my children were beginning to think it torture if I dared to suggest a stay at home day. So here we were, paying the mortgage (month after blasted month) for our charming little cottage, and no one (except for Boss) was wanting to spend any time here! So I decided that it was time for a change. I decided that I was going to learn the art of being happy at home. And my hope was that my children would also learn to be happy at home, through watching their mama (that's me) take more pride in caring for their home and in preparing their meals. I desperately wanted to start viewing our home as the blessing that it is, instead of seeing it only as another chore. And then I decided to share my happy at home journey with all of you here. My hope is that if you are also struggling with being a homemaker, like me, that my journey of striving to find happiness at home will inspire you to do the same. So get comfy, friends. This is a long one.)

 

Image Found Here

 

Laundry has always been the bane of my existence. Always. Growing up, my superbly awesome at homemaking mother did my laundry for me. For eighteen years she lovingly washed and dried all of my clothes, and the most I was responsible for was putting them away in my room. And that is where my laundry problem began. I seemed to be incapable of moving clothes from basket to drawer or hanger was lazy. So I simply decided that a 'fresh out of the basket' look would be the style that I would rock. And since I still had friends, and even dated a little, I suppose it is safe to say that I rocked that rumpled look, indeed. I couldn't walk through my room without stepping on clothes, and after a few years my parents forgot what color of carpet existed under all of that name brand clutter (they actually gave in to name brands! Can you believe it? The only name brand my children know starts with Gran and ends with imals.), but for the most part they left me alone about the mess.

 

When I headed off to college, things didn't change much in my laundry world. I was now responsible for all of my washing and drying, but my lack of 'putting things away' routine stayed just about the same. What can I say? Why mess with tradition? It wasn't until I got engaged that my slothful ways started making me a bit nervous. Soon I was going to be a wife! And wives were supposed to do wifely things like wash and put away the laundry! Just the thought of it made me sweat. But one day, after a pre-marital counseling session where we discussed how we would divide household duties, Boss shared with me that he would really rather prefer to do his own laundry, and if I didn't care, he would just do mine, too. And then a hallelujah chorus sang, and I knew that God really did answer prayers! So once again, even in my married life, the washing and drying of clothes was removed from my list of responsibilities. And I had never found Boss sexier.

 

Fast forward nine years and three children later. Boss still does his own laundry, and for the most part he is still washing and drying the rest of ours. But it was no longer sitting well with me. I felt guilty. I hated that Boss had to go to work, and then come home to work some more. So before we moved to our most recent home, I vowed to take control of our laundry life. And trust me, sometimes it really does feel as though the laundry takes on a life of its own!

 

I first heard of the family closet concept from reading The Duggars: 20 and Counting (you know I love their family. Don't hate.) And even though I only had three children, compared to their nineteen, I fell in love with the idea immediately! The thought of having only one place to put all of the family clothes, the thought that my children's rooms/closets would now be clothing free (my daughter's inherited my slothful clothing genes), all made my heart go pitter patter. And I knew that I must have a family closet. Pronto.

 

Our new house just happened to have a little room that connects to both the laundry room and our master bathroom (perfection), and I knew right away that it would be our family closet. I don't care that we are wasting sleeping/playing space. If we ever have more children, we will buy bunk beds. This family closet is here to stay. Boss and I looked on Pinterest, googled family closets (lots of blogger's have posted on theirs!), and listed on paper what we wanted our family closet to look like before we began. We eventually decided on the Laundry Basket Dressers pictured below (building plans found on http://www.ana-white.com).





Boss followed Ana's instructions and built these puppies with his bare hands. It was quite manly, and I am in LOVE (with a capital L) with them! Boss still keeps his clothing in our bedroom, so he built four dressers, one for me and each of the children. Pajama's, socks, and underwear go in the top basket, play shirts in the middle basket, shorts/jeans in the bottom basket. Easy peasy to keep everything organized!

In the plastic drawers I keep swimming wear in the top drawer, hats and scarves in the middle drawer, and belts in the bottom drawer. A little way of keeping track of all of those 'extra/worn only sometimes' items. The plastic drawers are sitting on top on an old dresser we already owned, which now houses off season clothes. Cool weather is quickly approaching our area, and soon I will switch shorts and summer shirts into this storage dresser, and the pants and long sleeve shirts will make their way to the laundry basket dressers.

Everything that is not play clothes or pajamas, I hang (dresses, skirts, nice tops). We bought one rolling rack for the girls (pictured above), and one rolling rack for me (pictured below). The only thing that I hang of Jack's are his dress shirts, and those go on the end of the girl's rack.

All of the tubs (below) are stacked neatly in the corner next to our shoe organizer (which I forgot to photograph). Four of the tubs hold baby/toddler clothes for sweet little foster babies, and the other four tubs hold off sizes that the kids are waiting to grow in to. They are tacky to have out, I know, but I honestly don't care. Organization is beauty, I have always said. Okay, I haven't always said that, but I have been trying that philosophy out for the past few months and it's growing on me!

 

We have two dirty clothes hampers. That's it. (Although, Boss does have his own elsewhere.) When they get full, I wash the clothes, dry them, and then I put everything away, and give myself a nice little pat on the back for a job well done. I don't have a particular laundry day. I am afraid that would send my OCD self spiraling out of control. So for now we are just going with what works. When the hamper is full, throw the clothes in the wash.

And just because I know that you care, this is our last little dresser sitting empty, just waiting for little foster baby to arrive, so that we can fill it up with his/her clothes! Can't wait for the day when I can show you that it is FULL!

 

So there you have it. The laundry system that has saved both my sanity and my life. I still don't love to do the laundry. We will never be best friends. But I no longer dread it. I just get 'er done, and move on with my week. And Boss still helps out, in case you were wondering, because he is great like that. And for another perk, my children's rooms stay much neater! All they have in their rooms are beds and toys, and the toys can now go neatly in the closet, since the closet is not being used for clothes. Genius, I tell you! It really has been one of the best homemaking choices I have ever made, and it truly has brought more order and happiness to our home. So, if you have ever thought of turning part of your home into a family closet, go for it! You don't have to have a particular room. Some people, if their laundry rooms are big enough, just use that space. Others section off a corner of their basement. Some just use the larger master closet. It doesn't matter where you choose to store your families clothes, so get creative! Instead of feeling like you just need a new space, get creative with the space that you already have! Trust me, no matter how many children you have, family closets are the way to go. Try it out. You will be so very glad that you did! And your family closet just might help you to feel a tiny bit more Happy at Home.



Happy at Home (Monday)

Image found Here

This picture was written for me. Completely and totally for me. Because here we are, another Monday under our belts, and I am somewhere in the overwhelmed category. Last week was one of those weeks. Nothing catastrophic happened, just another week that was stuffed to the gills with 'to do's'. To be completely fair, most of my to do's were scheduled well before I decided to learn the art of being happy at home, and some of them were simply necessary, but all of them added up have left me feeling a little on the crazy side. These last seven days were spent getting all of our homeschool items organized and our letter of intent into the state, playing phone tag with a new foster care agency and filling out necessary paper work (more on this soon), having a weekend sleepover with some sweet girls while their brother was in the hospital, second shooting at a wedding for my awesomely awesome photographer friend (I felt like a little girl playing dress up in her mama's heels....so out of my league!..... but so fun, too!), and having the dreaded money talk with Boss. And now my brain is tired and my bed is calling my name. I had planned on sharing with you our new family closet system (it rocks and has totally saved my homemaking life), but it looks like that will have to wait until next week. I know you will be waiting on pins and needles. The one thing that I will share though, is that tonight, I truly am happy to be at home! And perhaps tomorrow we can find our way back to a routine. Happy Monday, friends.

Happy at Home (Monday)

This is where Life on Fieldcrest Lane happens. Home sweet home.

I have never been a homebody. I think I love people and planet Earth far too much to stay cooped up inside for any length of time. It started when I was young. I had a happy, carefree childhood, but my family hit a rough patch around junior high. My brother, my only sibling, left home and then it was just me, mom, and dad. My parents were great, still are, but I was lonely. So I escaped. To the mall, to a friends house, to any and every activity that I could find to involve myself in. Because when I was busy, I didn't have time to think about the hard stuff, the sad stuff of life. So busy seemed better. Busy was more fun. And it was the same for me in college. (I'm not sure why my parents ever agreed to pay for me to rent a place. I was never there for more than the eight hours of required sleep each night!) And my 'busy is better' attitude carried right on over in to my adult life. In the beginning, it didn't seem to matter. When we were first married, Boss was the manager of a Champs Sports store in the mall (and worked insane hours), so when I wasn't in classes, I was there. With him. It was the only way that we got to see each other. I would walk around, people watch, read a book in the food court, drink vanilla Cokes from the Cookie Place as if my very life depended on it. Anything to pass the time. But then, I became a mama.

I had assumed that once I became a mama, that my life would change. That I  would automatically slow down. I pictured myself organized, having grocery days, laundry days, scheduled rest and play times for my children, hot meals on the table each evening. I assumed that because I had always longed to be a wife and mother, my only dream ever being to have a family, that the title of 'homemaker' would just come naturally. Without effort. But it didn't. Because I had never learned how. My mom had offered to teach me a few things in high school, but I always turned her down, too busy being busy. So now as a brand new mama, I found the task of keeping a home overwhelming. So I didn't. I simply did the bare minimum. Boss would wash the laundry and fold it, and then it would sit there in baskets until worn again. I learned to cook a weeks worth of basic meals, but nothing more. And when Boss was at work, the children and I would leave. We would head to the library, the park, the mall play place, a friends house.  It didn't really matter where we went, just so long as we went. Being busy made the days seem to pass more quickly, the tasks of being a wife and a mother less overwhelming. And don't get me wrong! The children and I had fun! Adventures we would call them. It was exciting to see where our days would take us. And that was our life. And it still was up until a few months ago when God began to convict me.

'Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. ⁴ Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. '
(Titus 2:3-5)

I stumbled upon this verse in one of my readings, and the words busy at home jumped out at me right away. Like a dagger to the heart. Yikes! I was a busy person, all right, but I was not busy at home. At first, I didn't like the way the words felt on my lips, so I ignored them. I moved on in my reading, tried to put the words out of my mind, but they kept creeping back in. For weeks, every time I would ignore the dishes and load the kids up in the car to head out for the day, I would feel a huge sense of guilt. Every time I would spend HOURS chatting at a friends house while the children played in another room, where I used to feel fulfillment, I now felt stomach pains and weariness. Now, every time we would be out all day and then hurry home to throw something last minute on the table (or pick up take out), I knew I wasn't honoring God with my time. And what was even worse, I had begun to see that I was passing my 'busy is better' attitude on to my children. If we weren't in motion, my children weren't happy! And if I dared suggest we stay home for a day, you would have thought I was suggesting torture. And my mama heart began to break, for disobeying God, and for not showing my children what it means to be obedient to God's Word. Something needed to change. I needed to change. And I thought our move, into our brand new (to us) home, would be a good time to start. And while I can say that I have made progress this summer, I am still not where I would like to be.

I want our home to be a sanctuary, our family haven from the world. I want Boss to look forward to returning here in the evenings, after a hard day at work. I want our home to be clean and organized so that we can use it to bless and serve others. I want my children to feel ties to our family home, something I never felt to mine. Most importantly, I want to be the wife and mother that God would have me to be. I want to learn the art of being happy at home. It's one of my dreams that I have decided to turn into a plan.

So here's my plan. Every Monday, at the start of a brand new week of  homemaking, I will post here on what I am doing to continue to cultivate the art of learning to be happy at home. Maybe I will post new recipe's I have tried, or organizational tips I have found to be helpful. Perhaps decorating ideas that inspire me, or family things going on inside of our home. To hold me accountable. To remind me of God's desire for my role as a wife and mama living for him. I have no doubt that the children and I will still go on adventures. It's in our blood. And adventures are just plain fun! But my new desire is to make this new adventure inside of our home, just as exciting, just as wonderful, as the adventures we are used to taking outside of our home. And perhaps a new sort of happiness awaits us. But this time we won't be too busy to see it!