About two months ago I had an epiphany as I was trying to tackle the clutter in our household. I have been minimal with not only the things we have in our home but also with storage. We have three floating shelves in our living room and a cabinet. That doesn’t make for lots of…
Making This Place Home
January Progress: A Clean(er) Home
When I was sick last year a friend came and helped us out for a week. On one of my few visits to the kitchen I discovered a clean microwave and felt so cared for. Emily ran upstairs at another moment and exclaimed, “Mom, you should see the floor. It is so clean! I love…
Creating More Music Autonomy with a CD Player
When we were at my family’s home in August I was surprised at how Emily and Nathan spent their time. In a big house with lots of fun toys they chose to dance to music blasting from a kids electronic keyboard. All day long. Listening to a handful of songs on the keyboard all day…
Emily’s Peg Rail Project
Sometime in June Emily ran out of her room with great energy. “Mom! Let’s make a peg rail for my room to hang my dresses on. We’ll hang it right here (running back in) by my bed!” A few times a week she’d bring up her plan. When we returned home from our summer travels…
Rearranging Bookcases
This weekend we did some rearranging of books. This is part of a larger project to rearrange bedrooms and help provide everyone in our family with what they need. First we pulled out our small bookcase into the hallway and filled it with the children’s books. Emily and Nathan immediately took to their space. The…
Project: Hand Carved Spoon and Andrew’s Towel Rack
I long for us to have our own wood shop, or at least a garage with a few tools. I was feeling particularly bummed about our situation when I realized it was completely outside of my control. So I gave it up and started looking a tiny bit into hand carving. As in I watched…
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
In November I studied gratitude using the study guide from the Small Seed. It primed my heart in unexpected ways for this Christmas season. I am deeply grateful for the Savior, my family, and our circumstances. On Monday we spent the evening setting up our Christmas tree with Celtic Women Holiday playing on Pandora. Nathan…
From Minimalism to Lifegiving and A Fall Dinner Celebration
Growing up I always had this conviction that I didn’t want a lot of stuff. We moved a lot and I viewed my things as a burden to pack and unpack, yet each item was filled with sentiment. After my freshman year in college I decided it was time to lighten my load, so I…
Coat Rack Project
Two Thursdays ago we were in the middle of a stretch of very little sleep. On Monday night Emily and Nathan both got up at least a half dozen times. By 4am we were counting down the hours for the night to end. Tuesday night both kids didn’t go to bed until around 11pm, instead…
October!
I love love love October. This month is magical with fall entering our lives in full force. I love bringing out flannel pajamas and blankets. I love spending as much time outside in the refreshingly cool air as possible and letting our house get as cold as we can stand. I love all the preparation…