The Hidden Art of Homemaking - What is Hidden Art?

In Chapter 2 of The Hidden Art of Homemaking talks about the "art" that you may find in your everyday life.  I like the following statement "All art involves conscious discipline.".  In order to get much done I have to consciously make an effort to do the things I know I need to do first.  So the above statement makes complete sense to me.  I have also found that when I am making time to do certain things it seems like they take not much time at all.  This chapter also talks about priorities.  I like that it gives permission to not feel guilty when you accomplish a needed task to the neglect of another task when you need to, with the knowledge that you will still complete the neglected task.

What can I do today to show appreciation to my Creator for creating me His image by being aware of the beauty He has created around me?   I can focus on making sure my priorities are in the right order and thank him for the creativity he has given me to think and decide what should be a priority.  I can ask Him for guidance that I would focus on God's will instead of my will.

What can you do today to show appreciation to God our creator?

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Just Doing Stuff

Felicity is often found roaming around the house doing her own thing, imagining her own stories and keeping herself busy in general.  I caught her reading books and feeding her baby under my desk.  Just before that she was pushing all her stuff around in the laundry basket.  Apparently there are still a few Christmas decorations up in our house, too.

10 Things This Mommy Needs - Part Three

8.  Water.  I DO NOT want another kidney stone, so I try to make sure I am drinking enough everyday.  It is hard to remember when you are always running around doing stuff with kids, schooling, and working around the house.  I have found that if I make a cup of herb tea and let it sit on the counter I will notice it later and pick it up to drink, helping me remember that I need to drink more.

9.  An occasional day or several hours "off".  Any regular working person has regularly scheduled days off from work.  I don't get that as a stay at home mom very often.  It's really hard to always have to be dealing with all the problems and struggles that occur all the time often.  A few minutes throughout the day doesn't help with the long time problems.  Not that I would know what to do if I ever actually had "time off".  I have a mentor who I meet with from time to time.  Sometimes it works out for me to have a few hours without kids.  Clark goes with me, but the only thing he needs is to be fed and smiled at.  Sometimes we meet at my house when all the kids are here, but it is nice to have someone to talk to and encourage me and challenge me.  Usually any other time I have "off" is when I am grocery shopping and all the kids stay home with Jeff, which is rare, too.  I have occasionally had someone watch the kids when I have an appointment, which is really nice because it can be awkward to take 5 kids into an appointment or have to leave the oldest ones in the waiting room by themselves because there isn't room for everyone where the appointments are.  Jeff's going to be having an extra day off of work each week for the next several weeks so that will be a little different for me, too.

10.  An automatic kitchen cleaner.  One that I don't need to tell what, when or how to do what ever needs doing.  I guess that's still up to me to do or delegate, but it's nice to dream.

Well since #10 wasn't really a reasonable need I'll give you another bonus need.

My bonus need is exercise.  Something I really need to do, but don't see it happening.  Does running up and down the stairs a few times a day count?  I hope so.  I also usually park at the end of the parking lot when I go to a store, then I walk as fast as I can (with or without kids) until I get to the door.

Intentionally Enjoying My Family - Birthdays

We try to make everyone feel special on their birthday.  This week Felicity had her second birthday.  She began her day with her special place setting and milk and some dry cereal with Daddy before he had to leave for work, while I fixed a special breakfast of bread pudding (a.k.a. baked french toast).  After breakfast she colored for a little while and then she took a nap.  We were planning on going to the library, but she was sleeping and I didn't want to disturb her.

She woke up in time for a late lunch.  We had fresh homemade rolls, lunch meat, cheese, salad and red peppers.  After lunch she played contentedly roaming around the downstairs doing her own things, reading books and coloring more.  I left her to continue playing by herself and sat down to play the piano.  When I finished I went to see what she was up to and I found her sitting in Katy's chair at the table having a snack.  She found a few things in the pantry and helped herself to some crackers.  She opened the package by herself, too.  I guess she got hungry.

Daddy came home a little early from work and she wanted to play play-doh.  Kent, Katy, and Kaomi joined her playing play-doh while I started fixing supper.  After supper we cleaned up the table and got ready to party.  Grammy came over for the fun, too.  We sang "Happy Birthday" and had chocolate cake and ice cream.  Then she was excited to get presents from everyone.

With all her new, fun stuff.

This concludes my Intentionally Enjoying My Family Series.  I also shared about Intentionally Enjoying My Family at Church, with a family zoo pass, listening, projects, movie night/game day, and catching my family members.  You can read about them here.

If you've written about how you are intentionally enjoying your family I'd love to read it.  Please leave a link to your post in the comments.  If you have intentionally enjoyed your family recently but don't have a blog leave a comment telling us what you've enjoyed.

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