As the holiday season comes to a close, it is often a time of evaluation. We evaluate everything in our lives from our finances, our home, our careers, our bodies (GULP!!), and without fail, we are once again faced with the fact that we’re all flawed human beings. There is always room for improvement.
For example, I love UN-decorating my house after Christmas. For me, in regards to my house, less is more. Sure, we have adequate furniture in every room, but I don’t need unnecessary baskets, vases, knick-knacks (I hate those!), and especially toys. In my house, toys belong in the toy box unless they are being played with. We don’t have a “playroom”, so when toys are not in use, they belong in their home… the toy box. When I decorate for Christmas every year, I put away much of my usual decor in order to make room for the holiday stuff. However, I often find at the end of December, when I’ve put all the decorations away, that I like some rooms better if I don’t put the old decor back where it was. I’ve had friends compliment my house for being uncluttered. That’s one of the best compliments I could receive for my home. I want my house and each room in it, to feel warm, inviting, and comfortable, without the existence of unnecessary “stuff”.
Another thing I love about the end of December is the anticipation of a brand new year. It’s a brand new semester, a new year, new calendars on the wall, new day planner in my purse. I reorganize my household notebook and take out things that I no longer need or no longer pertain to my family. It is a rejuvenating feeling. That is why I love Mondays as well. Every week we have the chance to start over, start fresh, do it better than last week. Are you starting to get me?
Starting January 1st, my best friend and I are going to keep a wellness journal everyday for the entire month. Come on, you can do anything for one month! Each week, we’re going to check in on one another and discuss the food choices we made that week, our attitudes and emotions (and how well we controlled them!), and probably even a little encouragement for our sex lives. The point is to set goals and work hard to achieve them. Don’t be unrealistic, but challenge yourself to push a little further than your usual routine. For me, getting healthier is my biggest goal. Eating better, making better choices for what I put in my mouth, drinking more water, etc.
Each week, I’ll post my progress and if you’d like to join in on the challenge, you can post comments under my weekly progress post. I look forward to hearing about your goals and your progress as we strive to better ourselves in 2009!
~audrey

It’s Friday night and I am finally winding down (now 10:45pm). My house has been quiet for almost three hours and I have enjoyed two hours of mindless TV and a little good reading as my babies are fast asleep and a nice quiet weekend awaits us with open arms.
A little while ago I put my book down and decided to do something constructive. I could feel a “second wind” coming on and I knew I should get some things accomplished around the house while I had the time and energy. One thing that needs to be done every single night is, what we affectionately call, “a whole house sweep”. That is when every room in the house is combed over for stray toys, laundry, and dirty dishes. Usually I don’t get to this task until the kids are in bed, so I have to make a little pile of toys somewhere in the living room, then I’m off to sort the dirty laundry and start the dishwasher.
Tonight, as I put a load of laundry in the dryer, cleaned up the kitchen and hand washed a few pots and pans, a sweet peace came over me. I stood at my sink with the kitchen window wide open. A cool breeze, with the light scent of clean laundry, blew through my hair as I closed my eyes and suddenly became overwhelmingly aware of how content I am with my life. I love where I am. I am enjoying my children more now than ever before. I am approaching my seventh wedding anniversary to the man of my dreams who still, after three children, five moves, and the stresses of everyday life, loves me unconditionally and treats me as his princess. I enjoy the little moments of quiet at night when I can sit on the couch with ‘My Love’ and catch up on a few loads of laundry, mop the kitchen floor, or fill three little sippie cups so they will be ready for the boys in the morning. By God’s grace, I never seem to grow weary of these little tasks that are really more a pleasure to me than work. I feel I am living the roll God created me to fill; to nurture, love, guide, and protect. To be an encouragement, help meet, and respectful admirer of my husband.
Yet in the midst of this bliss is an underlying excitement for the unknown of what lies ahead.
Just a few months from now, the dynamic in our house will completely change. We will be housing two little children who have been thrust from their own birth parents for whatever circumstances and we will choose to love and care for them until they can return to their home. I may have many sleepless nights ahead as someone else’s infant or toddler lie awake in a strange house with strange people, and only myself and my husband to comfort them. I will fight to remain balanced in the attention and love I give to my own children as we adjust to our new house guests. And I can’t help but think that we will likely have foster children in our home this time next year. Thanksgiving and Christmas will no longer be “just the family”. I can’t even imagine my children, being as young as they are, having to be away from everyone they know and love, especially at Christmas time. I am in almost constant prayer for the many children that the Lord already knows will come through our home over the next year. It is quite a task that lies ahead, but I feel it is my task for the taking. I will embrace my new roll as God continues to give me peace, wisdom, and inspiration in preparing my home and my family for what is to come.
Therefore, I will treasure these moments of quiet stillness. Change will soon be here.
~audrey

As my faithful readers know, I always look forward to Mondays. In fact, I love Mondays. Most of my Mondays are great, but today is definitely going in the record book as the best Monday I’ve had in a very long time.
Let me start by explaining that I did not have a stellar weekend. My hubby was sick, the boys were in grandparent detox from spending the night on Friday (moms, you know exactly what I mean), my Saturday was long (and not in a good way), and I was just really looking forward to Monday getting here.
The boys and I have taken a break from homeschooling for the last month because we have a friend who will join us in the homeschooling adventure in January and we were already into second semester material. For the sake of not getting too far ahead and leaving our friend behind, we’ve taken a break. Well, as a result, we’ve gotten rather bored and completely abandoned our successful schedule. SO, I decided it was back to the books. There are a few subjects we can proceed with without leaving our newbies in the dust. For example, I started teaching Jesse to read today! He did incredibly! We breezed through his first four lessons in less than 15 minutes and he’s looking forward to tomorrow. Joshua worked on his reading lessons and handwriting. All the while, Owen was in his highchair with a fist full of crayons and a Dora coloring book (complete bliss for that child!). After school time, the boys played outside while I got dressed and cleaned up the kitchen. Off to piano at 10:30 and we stopped by the barber on our way home. This was our first “Barber Shop” experience. It was a good experience for the boys, but I must say, he didn’t do a great job on their hair, and I will probably resume cutting it myself. When we got home, it was about noon.
I’ve been trying hard to “play” with the boys more during the day. I have a hard time abandoning my household duties to lay on the floor and play “Trouble” or “SORRY” for an hour and a half, but that is what the boys will remember when they’re grown and gone, and I’m trying to a better mom in that area. As a result, I pretended to be their gas station attendant for an hour in the front yard as they got their “tires rotated, oil changed, and tank filled” over and over and over and over and over and over…you get the picture! When that got old (FINALLY!), they moved to the backyard to play soccer with Owen while I went in to make lunch. After lunch, I promised the boys I would put Owen down for his nap and then play a few board games with the “big boys”. As promised, thats exactly what we did. The boys even let me change the sheets on two beds while they set up game number two. They decided that they wanted to watch some cartoons (first time the TV has been on ALL day!) after the games were over, so now it is mommy’s turn to do some house work and have some computer time…here I am! Even with all the time I spent with the boys this morning; GOOD QUALITY TIME, I still managed to get 99% of the things done around the house that I had planned. And just to add icing on the cake, I went to the mailbox to find my NEW BEST FRIEND!!! Being the organizing junkie that I am, I look forward, every year, to November and December, when I can go out and hunt down my new planner for next year. Well this year was different. I had already hand selected my new planner and I was anxiously awaiting the release of their 2009 designs so I could pick and click (I ordered it online Drum roll please!!!!! WWW.WEEKDATE.COM Check it out. It will change your monthly, weekly, and daily planning forever! They are slightly expensive at $34.95, but they are worth every penny and guaranteed (by me, hahaha) to make your life easier. Local friends, I’d be more than happy to give you a “show and tell” on this glorious product that will forever be in my purse, by my side.

I hope your Monday is going half as good as mine, because that would still be a really great Monday! To top it all off, we’re going to Mimi’s house this afternoon to roast hotdogs and marshmallows and then I’ll be heading back out for some girlfriend therapy. See why I love Mondays?
~audrey