Day 4

Day 4 focused on making our homes a place that people feel comfortable and able to "put their feet up."  This is something that I definitely strive for and is an area that I think I'm definitely making improvements in.  I'm really trying to keep the main areas of my home "company ready" within 15 minutes and that has allowed me to open my doors more readily and without the stress that normally comes with short notice.  When I read the chapter the first thing that popped into my mind was the mother of one of my friends from back home.  Jan was (and is) a wonderful example of what this looks like in action.  Throughout our high school/college years she was always willing to invite us into her home without a second thought.  She became the second mother for many of us and always had the makings for cookies on hand.  The atmosphere of welcome and belonging permeates my memories and is something that I aspire to have in my own home.

Our Martha challenge was the clean the stove, oven and microwave.  I wish I'd taken before pictures, but to be honest I didn't really think it was that bad - until I cleaned it and now I can see how shiny it is!!  The biggest change was the window in the door of my oven.  Somehow it had become streaked with something and nothing I ever did would clean it off.  Today I ran the self clean option on the oven and after it was finished I took a rag and wet it down and the window wiped right off and is sparkling.  It's the little things that can make such a big difference!!

Day 3

Day 3 of our challenge gave us some concrete ideas for ways to "give life" to our homes.  I thought it interesting that one of the ways listed was to plan regular times away from home.  It seems counter-productive to be away from your home to bring life to it, but I can attest that sometimes it is necessary to step away and get some new perspective.  It's easy to get bogged down with everything we're facing when we're always "on the job."  This is something that I definitely struggle with, but really want to make a conscious effort to correct.  Whether it's simply doing something special with the boys, packing a picnic and taking a walk, going out on date night, making time for girl time, or getting away for the weekend.  These little things are vital to the health of our homes. 

The Mary challenge for today asked us to consider what makes each of our family members feel loved and begin (or continue) doing those things.  This reminded me of the book The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman.  If you've never read this book I highly recommend it.  At it's most basic level it says that there are 5 ways that people feel most loved.  It is important to recognize the primary love language of your spouse and children (and yourself) so that you can make sure that you are doing things that resonate most with them and make them feel loved.  The 5 languages are: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch.  My primary love language is Acts of Service.  Russell's is Physical Touch.  Now we're trying to figure out the primary love languages of our boys.  Josh is still young enough that a primary one hasn't emerged - we just do our best to make sure we "speak" to all of them.  Drew is just starting to reach the age where I can start to see a preference.  It's looking like he's leaning towards Quality Time.  He's always asking for someone to sit by him while he's eating, come play with him, or watch what he's doing.  Please pray that we will have wisdom and discernment as we determine the best ways to love our boys! 

The Martha challenge was to dust the top of the refrigerator (which is a task I often forget about) and clean/shine the outsides of the kitchen cabinets and drawers.  I never realized how dusty things could get until I started cleaning them down.  Now the whole kitchen (well, at least the cabinets) shines! 

How is your challenge going??? 

Day 2

Day 2 of the 31 days to clean challenge focused on giving life to our domains.  I'll admit, this wasn't something that I'd ever really thought about - at least not in the way the book encouraged us to think.  In John 10:10, Jesus says "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."  That got me thinking about the difference between just existing and going through our daily lives and actually living in the  moment and creating memories along the way.  It's not always an easy task to accomplish, but I pray that we will be more aware of the things that we can do to "give life" to our homes and our families.  Today I tried to be more intentional about stopping and looking at my boys and truly engaging in what they were doing.  We went to a new park this morning and enjoyed running around and exploring.  I smiled and called the checker at Walmart by name and asked how his day was going.  There are so many little things we can do to "give life" and hopefully we can create positive atmospheres and environments for our sphere of influence. 

The "Martha" Challenge was to clean out the refrigerator and freezer.  I had to break it up over the course of the day (and I still need to finish up the freezer), but it makes my heart smile to see it shining back at me.  Now, does anyone have any ideas for how to clean stainless steel appliances?  It seems like no matter what I do I'm left with strange water streaks and spots.  Any ideas?? 

Day 1

I can hardly believe that it's already May 1st!  This year is flying by and shows no signs of slowing down.  With the beginning of the new month comes the beginning of the 31 days to clean challenge.  I'm reading the e-book 31 days to clean by Sarah Mae and will be doing my best to keep up with the daily challenges.  Each day there is a "Mary" challenge that deals with a heart issue and a "Martha" challenge that deals with a house issue.  Several of my friends are joining me in this challenge and my prayer is that this month will bring us closer together as sisters and give us some tools to move forward.  I'm going to try to blog each day about the challenges (but with 2 small boys underfoot that may be a lofty goal) and hope that you will feel free to leave comments about your own challenges and the things that you are learning throughout the month.  Now, onto Day 1!

Today's focus was "Why Clean?"  It seems like an obvious answer, but when it really comes down to it what is the reason behind why we want to keep a clean house?  I came up with a list to help me narrow down my scope and really get to the meat of the issue.  I still need to think about it more, but here's some of the things I wrote.  I want my home to be: peaceful, a sanctuary, orderly, uncluttered, comfortable, inviting, warm, a blessing to my family, filled with laughter and joy, available for open hospitality, not a place of guilt, time to play and savor the moments with my boys. 

There is another blog I read called Home Sanctuary, and at the beginning of the year she asked us to write out a Homekeeping Mission Statement.  In January I wrote a simple mission statement, but I have a feeling I will be adding to it and editing it over the next month.  "My desire is for our home to be a warm and inviting place for family and friends; a clean and clutter free place for us to enjoy spending time together; and above all, a place that glorifies God."  I feel so extremely blessed to be able to stay home with my boys and there are days that I need to remind myself that this is something I have been called to do and should do to the best of my ability to the glory of God.  I heard a new song on the radio yesterday that really resonated with me.  It's by Steven Curtis Chapman and is called "Do Everything."  I've looked to try to find it, and apparently it's a single from his newest album and will be officially debuted on May 8.  (I heard it on Sirius, so hopefully it will be on regular radio next week.)  The basic premise is a reminder that whatever it is we are doing we should be doing to the glory of God, 1Corinthians 10:31.  I think I just found my new memory verse for the month.

I look forward to hearing from you as we journey along.

31 Days to Clean

I recently came across this new e-book by Sarah Mae, and was most intrigued by the subtitle: Having a Martha House the Mary Way.  I must admit that the story of Mary and Martha found in Luke 10:38-42 has always convicted me.  I am naturally bent to the "Martha" point of the story, yet I know that there is much value in the "Mary" perspective.  The problem has always been reconciling the two.  This new book seeks to bring the two perspectives together and help us find a common ground.  It is broken into 31 days and at the end of each chapter there is a Mary challenge (something that encourages/engages your heart) and a Martha challenge (a specific cleaning task).  I've only skimmed through a few of the days, but I can already see that this book will make me think and hopefully get me on the right path (mentally and physically) for maintaining a clean home that glorifies God.  Will you join me on the journey?  May has 31 days, seems like the perfect time to join in!!  Get your own copy here for only $4.99 (available as an e-book or a Kindle download) and let's get started.

Muffin Tin Monday - Alphabet

It's time once again for Muffin Tin Monday! This week's theme is ABC/Alphabet. My boys were up WAY TOO EARLY this morning, but I decided to make the best of it and put together this muffin tin breakfast. Check back at Muffin Tin Mom for more great ideas!

A is for apple; B is for banana; C is for cereal; D is for doughnut holes

stART - Warthogs Paint

I'm trying to be more intentional about the things that Drew and I do together and found this wonderful blog link up hosted by A Mommy's Adventures called stART. I'm hoping that this will not only give me some great ideas, but will give me a schedule of sorts and some accountability and motivation to post our activities!

For this week's installment we read the book Warthogs Paint by Pamela Duncan Edwards. It's the story of a family of warthogs who are stuck inside on a rainy day and decide to paint. They start with the basic primary colors and then mix them up to make the secondary colors. It hasn't been rainy around here, but it's definitely too hot to play outside for very long.

We set up the easel in the kitchen and started with only yellow, red, and blue paints. Then we mixed up the colors to make green, orange, and purple. Drew had a great time painting and created quite a masterpiece!

Mixing up the colors

Deep in concentration, an artist at work...

The finished masterpiece

For more great stART ideas check back at A Mommy's Adventures.