Thursday - Cleaning Day

God has blessed us with an amazing small group. We have seven couples who meet every week at our home, and we pray together, study the Bible, and hang out into the wee hours of the morning. The close friendships we are forming remind me of my college days, where your friends become your family.

Anyway - small group night has turned Thursdays into cleaning day! At first it was overwhelming and stressful for me to have the house company ready each week, but I can't believe how much easier it has gotten with practice. Here I am, with an hour before everyone arrives, and homemade dinner has been served (along with some yummy no-knead bread!), the house is clean, the kids had tons of outdoor water play and a bath, I'm showered, and I'm sitting here blogging. Oh - and ALL the laundry is done, a miracle in its own right!

It feels good to be getting better at my job here in the home. I'm enjoying it more and more, and finding great joy in it. I am someone who struggles when I feel like I'm not really good at what I'm doing. I've learned to let that go and embrace the unpredictability children bring, but still - its nice to feel like I'm not drowning in it all.

I will say that both new recipes tried out today were less than delectable, but were both edible...lol. Needless to say, they won't be making the meal plan again!

Building Fortunes

One rainy day not too long ago, I tried to get the kids interested in building a fort. They really didn't get into it, and little R kept throwing herself on top and crushing J and I below. The activity certainly didn't inspire the hours of independent play I had envisioned.

Fast forward to the other day - J tells me he's "building fortunes." I had no idea what he could be talking about, so I investigated. He was doing his very best to build his very own fort. I couldn't help but laugh over the funny misspeak on his part, as it seemed so appropriate.

Building Fortunes. That's what I'm doing too. Building fortunes of memories, love, and life lessons for my family.
Raising children and homemaking have at times left me wondering what I'm really accomplishing. I'm busy all day long, but there's not always tangible evidence of that. The food I cooked has been eaten, the cleaning I've done has been messed up, and the faces I've wiped are dirty again. I can only hope that through all that, I've made a small deposit into my family's growing fortune.