September’s mission



My goal this month is to go through as much of the house as possible, get rid of things, sort them, reorganize them, and so forth.  I feel like I haven’t really done this thoroughly for too long and am anxious to buzz through every room.

I’m also working at finding my stride during the school hours.  Long as they are on paper, by the time I get some exercise, take care of the girls, clean up, do some laundry, and then feed the girls lunch, the day is almost over and I feel like I still have about 10 hours of work I need to do before the after school rush hits.  Still, I’m making progress.

So far I’ve been through the toy room, one girls room (including closets and all clothing), the living room, dining room and yesterday I did the pantry.  I wish I could say I was deep cleaning everything, but this sweep is just for organization and de-cluttering.  I’ll go back through and do windows, etc. when all the junk is taken care of.

Today I’m trying something new.


These little monkeys (probably inspired by my projects) have been unusually effective at tearing things apart while I’m working.  This morning we made a fort for them to play in, using the dining room table, chairs, and a bunch of tablecloths.


They seem happy with their hiding place and I’ll make them a picnic lunch to eat there in a few minutes.  It will be much easier cleanup than yesterday’s mess!

And so I’m off and running with my head buzzing with ideas and possible solutions.  One solution that worked well in the pantry was to take my stacks of pretty trays (many of them vintage) and put them sideways into a large basket which will slide under the shelves.


(Sorry about the pictures.  It’s so hard to get good photos in a dark room with no windows!)

I liked having the trays on the shelf, but I’ve been wanting to clear off a shelf to just keep empty in there.  When the children don’t know where exactly to put something in the pantry, they have a bad habit of putting things on the floor.  I’ll walk around the corner and have to climb over things to get what I need!  Moving these trays cleared off a six foot section on the bottom shelf for them to put things on.  I’m hoping the pantry will stay tidy this way and I’ll be able to move things from that section to where they belong without trouble.  The key word in that sentence is, of course, hoping .   We’ll see how it goes!  It did work well last night when we were unloading groceries from the car.


I found this awesome vintage step stool during the summer.  We keep it in the pantry but use it in the kitchen all the time so the little children can help prepare dinner, do the dishes or just wash their hands.  I particularly love it because it’s wide enough for my two youngest to stand on the top step together.  I also love it when we have just one stool in the kitchen and not five different kitchen chairs:  one at the counter, one by the microwave, one by the sink and one by the refrigerator, etc.  Why they don’t use the chair next to them instead of going to the table for a new one, I’ll never know!  This stool has been a great fix for that clutter.

There is something about a clean kitchen that really keeps me calm.  A clean kitchen AND an organized pantry put a smile on my face!


Back to work!  Hope your day is great!

Jennifer

Vintage Holiday Blocks 7-10

I’m rushing out the door to pick up the children from school, which means these are the final moments of the clock ticking as we await the explosion.  Whatever I get done before I pick them up is generally undone before they go to bed, so these last few minutes often have me frantic.

For some reason getting them all out the door felt harder than usual this morning, and the entire day has carried the same feeling with it.  I’ve been working on all the things I should be, only they’re not coming together quite how I pictured and, as usual, are taking more time.  Oh well, such is life.

I did squeeze in a few minutes on Labor Day to get caught up on the Vintage Holiday blocks.  (Yeah, I joined the quilt along, got caught up, and immediately fell behind.)  Thankfully this quilt is coming together so easily that I know I’ll finish without trouble.

So here they are, blocks seven and eight:


And blocks nine and ten:


I went a little heavy on the reds, I think.  I should have laid out all the blocks before I got going, but it will work out.  I’ll get more green in there on the last two, and then I’ll be piecing this together!  Hooray!

And I’m off to three schools….

Life is good!

HH

Kathy’s Birthday Party

Three years ago we started getting a special knock on our door every time someone in our family celebrated a birthday.  That special knock always comes from the same person, and she’s always holding in her hand a handwritten birthday note.  She doesn’t miss anyone; all of my children as well as my husband and I have had visits from her.   The amazing thing about this is that she does it for everyone in our ward.  A little math tells me that she’s written close to 1,000 birthday notes in the past three years!

Meet my friend Kathy:


Sunday night we held a surprise birthday party for her in my backyard, and it was everything I hoped it would be.  She wore a birthday crown, blew out a special candle on the cupcake of her choice, and a very large group of voices joined in singing “Happy Birthday” to this wonderful woman who has shown such love to all of us.  Kathy is a perfect example of someone who finds a way they can contribute, commits herself, and then sticks to it.  Each birthday note in itself may be simple, but the cumulative effect of her efforts is grand indeed.


I’m estimating we had at least 150 people come.  (I wish I’d had the presence of  mind to count, but at least I had the thought to take pictures.)  It was a success precisely because so many people came.  I cannot express how heartening it was for me to watch them smile and jump in to help and to attend.  In our busy world, and especially on that first weekend after school begins, there is SO much going on that it would have been so easy for everyone to view this idea as just one more thing and skip it.  I understand that feeling.

But they didn’t.

The response was 100% positive and my heart was filled with love not just for Kathy, but for all the people I saw there who chose to come, who were willing to complicate their day to say thank you to someone who has done the same for all of us.  I felt so happy, so grateful to live among these good people, so honored that I got to watch it all unfold.


People volunteered to bake a batch of cupcakes for the party.  The tables were covered with them.  I also asked that families or individuals write a birthday note to Kathy.  A week ago while we were at church the children 11 and under in our ward all wrote/drew a birthday card for her.  Thumbing through that stack brought tears to my eyes.  We set a basket out and I got teary again as I watched it fill, then overflow with birthday wishes for Kathy to take home and read.


I am so grateful to everyone who contributed to this effort.  I’m particularly grateful to her good friend who got her to the party for me.  What a great lady she is as well!


It was a bit windy, but it was also nice and cool.  Gratefully the rain held off and when it came it only sprinkled a bit.  People visited and mingled, children ran and played, everyone ate cupcakes and talked to Kathy.  A smashing success.  I don’t think she’ll forget this birthday EVER, and that’s exactly what I wanted.  I wanted her to know that we love her, and I think we sent the message loud and clear.


Best of all, I kept having the feeling that the Lord was pleased with all of us.  Gathering to celebrate Kathy was more than just acknowledging a birthday.  We were celebrating the worth of a soul, celebrating on the same terms that God sees us on without regard to status, wealth, fame or fashion.

In 1 Samuel chapter 16 it says, “But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature;… for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” (verse 7) I feel like I got to see a lot of hearts on Sunday night, and it was a beautiful sight.

Jennifer

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