16 hours ago
I was looking forward to reading Rest Assured by Vicki Courtney because I know that being too busy is a big problem in our culture, and for me personally. I did a Bible study with my church last summer about rest and really felt convicted that I needed to cut back and make more time to truly serve my family well and have more time to give to the Lord!
I was hopeful that this book would be useful as I continue in this journey of finding a good balance. In many ways this book was encouraging and helpful, but there were also several things that bothered me. I'm just going to get the negatives out of the way first.
Writing this post strangely feels like writing a confession, but here it goes - I watch the Bachelor.
I was really late to the Bachelor train, since I only started watching with Sean's season. Derek was traveling at that time, and every Monday night I would snuggle on the couch with a newborn Gwen and tune in. I did the same in 2014 when I was pregnant with Clyde, and again in 2015 when I was pregnant with Clarice. And now I nurse Clarice every Monday night while watching Ben make his picks (I'm not holding my breath on him finding a wife, but you never know). I even rope Derek into watching with me, and my sister and I talk on the phone to discuss the Bachelor happenings.
You also know that I love a good suspense/mystery, so combine that with a figure-skating main character, and we have a winner! Thin Ice by Irene Hannon opens with Christy Reed finding out that her sister, who was thought to have died in a fire, may not be dead after all. When she gets a note from a kidnapper, she contacts the FBI and meets Lance McGregor. As the notes keep coming, Christy and Lance try to figure out who might be playing this cruel game.
Did you know that people actually throw “I Hate Valentine’s Day” parties?
I have seen the idea portrayed in movies before, but I didn’t realize it was an actual thing. I can understand how some people might dislike the holiday. Some might think it is just another marketing opportunity for candy, card, and gift companies, and some people are opposed because all the focus on romantic love highlight’s singleness in a painful way.
Sitting in a closet in my house is a plastic tub. It doesn't look like much, but it's one of those things that always goes on the list of things I would take if we were evacuated for a natural disaster. Because inside, carefully preserved by my mom, are keepsakes from my childhood. It's my baby box.
It resides in my closet, but my baby box has been a part of my life for a while. Growing up I remember how fun it was to open up our baby boxes every now and then and have my mom show us all the things she had saved from our baby days. There were stories and memories to go with each item, and hearing the stories from my mom's perspective made me feel special. Every time we opened it I looked forward to starting baby boxes for my kids one day, and maybe giving them a few of the things from mine.
Now I have four children, and I have little baby boxes started for each of them. What do you put in a baby box? I'm glad you asked. These are a few basics that I have included in my kids' boxes.
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Photos.
We take so many pictures of our kids these days, but so few get printed up. I recommend taking a picture of your darling with each of the following items and including the photos in your box! It's so interesting to look at some of the things in my own baby box, and then see pictures of myself as a baby with those same items. So print up a few of those pictures, and tuck them in your child's box.
Coming home outfit.
We have two boys and two girls, and even though we are utilizing the hand-me downs, one thing I do not re-use is my kids' going-home outfits. For each of the kids I bought a special outfit after finding out the gender specifically for them to wear home from the hospital, and when they outgrew it, it went into the box.
Baby book.
Do I forget to fill things out some of the blanks in baby books? Yes. But I do try to write down as many milestones and memories as I can. I don't think it matters if every blank space is filled - they kids will love to read about themselves as babies someday. Hint: baby books don't have to be fancy or perfect - a notebook with a few memories is just as special!
Magazine or newspaper from birthdate.
It's just fun to see what the world was like when you were born! Include some publication from the year your kids were born that they can flip through (and maybe laugh at) someday.
Something from the nursery.
This could be a special blanket that you made or bought, personalized artwork, a monogrammed item - anything that holds significance for you. Bonus point if it's something your child can use for their own kids one day!
Favorite baby toys.
Anything that your child particularly enjoyed at one time and that you would like to keep can go in the box. Don't go crazy - you can't keep everything! But it's nice to include a few of their treasured toys. In Clyde's box we have a wubbanub that he was particularly attached to when he was a newborn - it was a short-lived phase, but I had to keep it!
Baby shoes.
There is something incredibly precious about baby feet. Baby shoes are the perfect thing to include because it is a symbol of just how tiny they were at one time, and how much they have grown!
If you are looking for the perfect baby shoes for your little darling, I have a great shop for you! We just received these adorable shoes for Clarice, and I am just in love with them!
These little shoes are called Moccasinis, hand-crafted baby moccasins from this new Etsy shop. These are soft, flexible baby shoes, so they are comfortable and gentle enough for even brand-new babies to wear. They come in tiny sizes (like these that fit Clarice's three-month feet), up to toddler sizes! Jessica, the owner of Moccasins and my friend, was even able to make these so they fit Clarice's itty bitty feet exactly. You can check out the Moccasini shop here to see all the styles, or follow on Facebook to keep updated on new inventory!
(Note: We received this pair of shoes for free in exchange for a review. This is my honest opinion.)
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Even though my heart breaks a little each time I put something inside it, I am looking forward to sharing these baby boxes with my kids someday. I treasure each of these little days with my babies, and I hope someday they can look through their boxes and know how much I love them and treasure every minute I have with them.
Are you creating any sort of keepsake box for your kids?
What do you put in your kids' boxes?
Do any of you use a filter for your goals?
In recent years, I have become a bit too ambitious with my goals. I have all these big plans and before you know it I have set so many goals that I barely have time to breathe, I get overwhelmed, and I end up becoming stress-paralyzed (it really is a thing)!
For me, I have found that it is better to focus on one or two goals at a time, instead of creating a big list of goals that will paralyze me into not even accomplishing the easy things. Because when I get stress-paralyzed, my default is plopping on the couch with whipped-creamed coffee and Netflix and binge-watch the afternoon away while that kids nap and/or play (surely I can’t be the only one?).
If I were to create an expansive list of goals with four young kids at home I would be setting myself up for failure! At this life stage there are a few questions I need to ask before setting goals, to filter out the ones that are stress-paralyzers.
Is this going to add too much pressure to my life?
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Some pressure can be good, but I tend to put too much pressure on myself to meet expectations (real or imagined) of other people, and adding my own expectations to the list doesn’t help matters. If a goal is too big, or if it’s going to add too much stress, I need to at the very least cut it down into manageable chunks.
Is this goal going to take away time from my family?
I am smack-dab in the middle of the formative years with my kids, and I have to fight the urge to make myself too busy. If a project or goal is going to take time away from my kids, I need to carefully consider it before committing. I want to protect that extra time to read a book to my kids or take a spontaneous trip to the park without being stressed out about my to-do list.
Is this goal complicating or simplifying?
My word for 2015 was “simplify”, and this is something that I want to continue to work on in 2016. In this season of my life I am realizing that margin is really important. I want to have that space to not only be there for my family, but just to rest. When I don’t have rest, it is not good for my mental state, and it also damages my relationship with the Lord because my quiet time is typically the first thing I drop (sad, but true). That is not okay, so protecting and working toward that margin is important in my goals.
Because I am trying to be really careful and intentional with my goals this year, I was excited about the opportunity to co-host a goals linkup with some of my blog friends! How does this linkup fit in with the filtering questions I listed above? I think spending a little time reflecting at the start of each month will naturally help me be more careful with my goals, evaluate the pressures from myself and others, and figure out what things need to improve and what things need to take a backseat so that I can leave room for that margin.
So what is my one and only goal for February?
I want to develop an intentional daily routine.
I’m not going to lie, some days it’s all I can do around here to keep this house from descending into utter chaos! Part of that is just life with four kids under five years old (only for another week - my baby is about to turn five!). But part of the chaos is due to the fact that every day looks entirely different. Some days we sleep in, and some days I’m up at 5:00 AM. Some days the kids get a nap, and some days they don’t. Some times we manage a craft project, and some days we watch TV all day (I’m being brutally honest now).
I think our lives will be a lot more orderly and productive if I can develop a routine. Notice I did not say a schedule. If I try to keep a strict schedule, not only will I fail, but I will totally stress myself out (a violation of the first goal filter listed above). By "routine", I mean that I want to have an order of things we will do each day, and stick to it. as much as possible The times may be different, and we may have to rearrange a few things sometimes, but a little structure would be good for all of us. This is what I am thinking our routine will include:
-Getting up to do my devotions before the kids come looking for me in the morning. (If I don’t do devotions in the morning, I’ve found it doesn’t get done - and time with the Lord is too important to be as sporadic as I have let it become.)
-School work and/or craft each day before lunch. (This will be good practice for consistency since Wyatt will start kindergarten at home next fall.)
-Nap/quiet time for the kids in afternoon, during which I will take time to write at least twice a week. (I need to force myself to get a little writing time in so I don’t stress and squeeze out my margin when I have a deadline looming!)
-Start dinner as soon as the kids get up from their naps. (As opposed to five minutes before or after Derek walks through the door.)
I am hoping by the time we do another With Grit and Grace linkup, I will be able to report a typical “day in the life” to you, because there will actually be a typical day!
What kind of “filter questions” do you use for your goals? Do you have a consistent daily routine?
And finally, whip up your own February goal(s) in the next week or two and link them up below, Friends! I’d love to read about what you want to work on!
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Welcome to With Grit & Grace – a monthly goal link-up focused on supporting each other as we work towards our goals! Please join us on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:00 a.m. EST to share your goals and progress for the week, month, or year. We are all about building a positive community; please remember to read, comment, and share the posts of others – and let them know you found them at With Grit & Grace!
Just a reminder…
- All forms of goal posts are welcome. They can be for a specific area in your life, or your general goals for the day, week, month, or year. We love to hear updates on your progress, too.
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