Musings on Life and Beauty Archives - Page 86 of 146

Stuck.

November 16, 2010 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty

I want to live purposefully. Simply. Reverently. Thoughtfully. Happily. Quietly. Beautifully.

I need to do laundry. Clean the kitchen. Clean toilets. Change another diaper. Pick up 1,000 things off the floor. Plan dinner. Plan everything. Get it all done, and do it again. (And again, and again, and again….)

At this moment, the two worlds seem awfully far apart and impossible to reconcile. I feel stuck.

Are the desires of my heart and the needs of my family mutually exclusive? Please understand, being a wife and mother is the fulfillment of my life’s dream. But there is this part of me that craves more ; correction: less. My heart whispers that it must be possible, but my days testify that I am nowhere near the merging of the two.

I’m sure the answers are close by if I can peel back enough layers of stuff, commitments, wants and waste. That process takes time. Usually I feel up for the battle, but tonight I feel like I can’t see enough progress to stay motivated.

The answer? Keep going. Try to open my heart. Look at the sky and not at the mud. It’s no fun feeling stuck.

What do you do when you’re stuck?

Hopeful Homemaker

Can Someone Please Tell Me…

November 15, 2010 jennifer Entertaining, Musings on Life and Beauty

how I get myself into things like this?

HH

3 comments party ideas

Baptism Day

November 12, 2010 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty

Saturday was a wonderful day for our little 8 year old daughter. She had thought the whole thing through in advance, right down to the request for french braids in her hair. What a cutie.

The weather cooperated and we had a perfect November day. Our group was smaller than we’ve had in the past and at first I felt a bit worried about it, but a beautiful spirit prevailed and we all enjoyed the relative calm.

A couple of her Uncles were able to come (only one of them pictured here) which meant a lot to her.

Because she was the only child in our ward turning eight last month, the entire service was for her alone. This meant that we were able to invite people to give talks and prayers. Her grandparents gave beautiful talks, an Aunt and Uncle offered the prayers, and her oldest brother (our 13 year old son) was the pianist. He worked hard to learn a new song for this event and did a great job. I was immensely proud of him and grateful for his efforts and courage.

We were also blessed to have my sister and her husband with us, and my cousin came with his little girl. Our daughters have become good friends at school. It touched my heart to watch so many family members rearrange their weekend in order to support her.

My husband’s brother and his family joined us as well. They are a great family. We loved having cousins join us for lunch and play.

Because most of our group scattered quickly after the baptismal service we were able to enjoy a lot of down time with my parents. We appreciate their love and support, and their sacrifice to support our daughter. The girls did a little shopping in the afternoon and we had a family movie night. We were able to spend time just sitting, talking with the little ones and laughing at their antics. It was a precious gift of time.

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for making the trip, and to all of you who joined us for the day!

And thanks to my sweet daughter, who has been a delight since the day she was born. Our family is better because she’s with us. We’re so proud of her decision to take this important step in her life.

Jennifer