Tag-Archive for » Making Home Sing meme «

Jan

Have you ever been to one of those kids’ plays or concerts where the one kid right out in front is bellowing at the top of his/her voice all the words to every song – but always off key? It makes for some good laughs, but when it happens in real life – every day as an adult – it’s pretty discouraging.

I think I’ve been singing off key lately. Some of it has been my attitude about things, but some of it has been this air in our home lately. I don’t know if it’s “cabin fever” having come through several bouts of bugs and ickies in the past couple of months, or what, I just know that we need some FRESH AIR around here.

I am going to “open some windows” around here – literally and figuratively. Only for a few minutes literally, as our high temps are only closer to the 40s – but maybe some of the staleness will clear out and help a bit. Then I’ll light some candles and put on some Praise & Worship music while I do some house cleaning – vacuuming, dusting, sweeping the stairs. That’s always a good feeling, isn’t it?

And I think I need to do some spiritual housekeeping too. I’ve had some nasty attitudes settle in and take root – and of course it ripples out to Roy and the girls and then it’s just NO GOOD for anybody. But there are some other attitudes and actions that have kinda set things off kilter a bit, and I am going ot take some time to pray over them as I clean.

Praying and cleaning go hand in hand together. For me, at least. I need to get my living room back under control, and have been maintaining the kitchen pretty well, but it’s time to stretch out and tackle another “zone” – maybe the “play” room. It’s got a lot of chaos going on – and that’s not good for any of us – and I’ll get the girls to help me get rid of and clean up the toys they have. We have yet to find “THE” system that works for their toys and books, but I’m not giving up yet…

So I hope that today the whole “off key” thing will ease off, and we’ll settle back into a good routine amidst a less chaotic house and a more contented home…

Jan

Moving Slow… But Still Moving

queenmommy

First, I’d like to welcome some new readers! I haven’t been able to get to all your comments, but I look forward to getting to know you better this year.

We’re fighting colds that seem to have settled into our eyes. Mine isn’t so bad, but Georgie, and now Curly, have yukky eyes. May see the doctor, although warm compresses and artificial tears (as a rinse) seem to be helping clear things up. Slowly.

Snowfall has essentially stopped, but our road is still packed down with snow. It piled up pretty good – we got several inches – but it’s the freezing temps that have us bundling up and drinking lots of hot tea and coffee.

I read a really lovely devotional at Proverbs 31 Devotions. If you haven’t read them before, I invite you to read A Patient Parent. I’ve actually printed several of these devotions in the past few months because they speak to me so clearly and relevantly. Good stuff. To make my home “sing” today, I’m going to practice the patient sowing in my girls that this devotional speaks of. This is the kind of practice that requires effort and consistency – lots of practice!

more…

Category: Home, Making Your Home Sing, blogging Tags: Christian Parenting, decluttering, Making Home Sing meme, Organization 2 Comments

Jan

Singing the Monday Blues…

queenmommy

Okay, I’m not really “blue” but it was a catchy title, eh?

After writing my post on Friday and sharing the incredible blessing of our new PURPLE van, I feel like I should clarify. Purple is actually NOT my favorite color. But it’s a color I can find plenty of and love to be surrounded by it.

Midnight Blue is actually my favorite color. Not Navy, not royal – MIDNIGHT. Ever since I discovered the depth and shades of color in the Midnight blue crayola crayon, I have been absolutely moved by it.

Midnight blue is the color of the deep ocean – blue, green, teal, turquoise, evergreen… It changes in response to light.

However, I AM singing a happy tune today because of the blessing of my purple van. And purple wool coat (which is needed today for the fa-reezing temperatures outside). And my purple pen collection, which makes writing even MORE enjoyable to me… I’m color-coordinated which makes me happy…

I’ve always loved that song, His Eye is on the Sparrow…

And I sing because I’m happy
I sing because I’m free.
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

In a world where happiness is really fleeting – temporary – unreliable, it’s good to know that the LORD watches over us, isn’t it? And if there’s no other reason you can find to sing today, that one fact should bring a song to your heart.

more…

Category: Home, Making Your Home Sing, blogging Tags: Making Home Sing meme 4 Comments

Dec

Singin’ At Home with Michael Buble

queenmommy

Whew – the preparation for Christmas has NOTHING on the aftermath of Christmas!

This is the pile of boxes remaining from our Christmas extravaganza!

My dad always had a “system” for opening gifts on Christmas morning. After one of us kids was selected to play Santa, one gift was passed out at a time and opened individually so that everybody enjoyed each other’s Christmas gifts. As each gift was open the wrapping paper, boxes, and other packaging materials were collected IMMEDIATELY into a garbage bag, or broken down as needed. The only aftermath I ever saw was a stuffed-to-the-brim garbage bag.

We all used to laugh about it – but truthfully, he made sense! It wasn’t just because he’d been a drill instructor in the Marine Corps! It was logical and neat and there was NO PILE of boxes needing to be moved to the garage with the other trash.

So – to make my home sing – I’m going to get the remnants of our Christmas Extravaganza OUT of our house. It makes me crazy to see it sitting there – especially in my KITCHEN of all places. If I could fashion it into some sort of new countertop work space I’d do it – but it’s not feasible, so the boxes will be broken down and removed and new toys will be put into their place. Old cookies are going to be thrown out, wrapping paper will be stored for next year, and I will be able to walk from one room to another without stubbing my toe on something!

IMG_2231-1

Granted, each of us dealt with a bout of the stomach flu through the week – Roy’s and mine peaking Saturday and Sunday – so the aftermath lasted much longer than it might have otherwise. And maybe next year, we’ll implement a “system” for unwrapping gifts and taking care of the wrap & packaging as we go…

For today – it’s on to laundry and straightening and trash removal – and back to the semi-chaos that is the normal everyday life here! And while I’m at it, I’ll just sing along to Michael Bublé’s CD “Crazy Love” – which I recently won on Blogher.com!!! It’s much easier to ba-ba-ba-Broom my way through the kitchen with a smooth crooner like Bublé!

This post is linked up to:

Category: Cleaning, Holidays, Home, Life Tags: Christmas aftermath, Making Home Sing meme, Making Your Home Sing, Michael Buble 2 Comments

Dec

Singing Out Loud

queenmommy

Not surprising to some of you, I have been known to be a tad, er, “Dramatic” at times. For those of you who have known me long enough, you may remember back to my younger days when I sang in front of church and participated in church dramas – whether as part of the children’s choir or the larger Christmas programs at church.

I always loved it. I loved how telling some story could always point back to telling about the story of Jesus.

I loved the challenge of memorizing lines and learning new songs and rehearsals and hours of preparation. I did. I couldn’t wait for it all to come together. Even if I did forget my lines and made up a whole paragraph worth of words as the lead at the end of our Christmas program.

While watching Curly at her PreK program last week, I was so delighted to see her apparent affinity for drama. Okay – I already knew about the emotional drama – but to watch her just SHINE out of her little body those gifts and talents God has blessed her with – it made my heart sing for her.

Oh how I am praying for her to relish her talents and God-given abilities. Not for my sake – but for hers. For God’s.

After a rather dramatic “crash-and-burn” with algebra on Sunday, where it is apparent that for now I may not pass the class and will likely have to retake the class (hopefully at a local college/university), I emailed my professor and told her that I just felt BROKEN.

Broken.

Over math. Over not understanding. Not “getting” the square roots of 32a-cubed divided by 4ab-squared.

While I may excel at some things – and RELISH and ENJOY those things – I do not feel that way about Math. It is a challenge and it has chipped away at much of my self-confidence.

And then I saw that word “broken” in my email and God softly spoke to my heart. Immediately.

Isn’t He cool?

Immediately He reminded me its not the end of the world – despite my tears and frustration and vast efforts to understand and do well – because I have other gifts He can use in spite of my lack of Math skills. And on the bigger scale of things – of life – of eternity – this is just a grain of sand in my shoe.

A piece of grit in my shell.

And someday it will be a pearl.

So while it is excruciating and difficult now, and while I will cry and have moments of despair, I am going to stand up and sing OUT LOUD because I will keep on going and I will enjoy the moments with my family.

The moments that WILL last forever in our memories – of family time together, singing Christmas songs, preparing to remember Jesus at Christmas.

The tree is going up – and I’m digging out my Nativity set for the girls to see. And Math will happen when it happens.

In the mean time, I’m making my Home Sing!!! We’re gonna bake cookies and finish decoration and sing Christmas songs together.

In a rather dramatic fashion, of course.

Category: Faith, Family, Holidays, Home, Life Tags: Christmas, Life, Making Home Sing meme, making memories, Making Your Home Sing 6 Comments

Nov

Singing about Winter!

queenmommy

I’ll admit it. I LOVE SNOW. I don’t like the bitter cold. But I love snow in winter.

I was spoiled, you see, because I lived in Alaska as a child. Alaska was full of mystery and adventure for me. I had the opportunity to attend a public school on the base my dad was stationed for my 1st Grade year.

It was WONDERFUL!

I learned so much about the native Eskimo and indigenous Indian people and culture in that one year. It absolutely fired all of my Imagination neuro-circuitry and fed my love for mythology of all types.

I developed a HUGE fondness for snow.

HUGE.

We built snow forts and had snowball fights and went sledding & tubing until we couldn’t feel our faces anymore. We ate snow ice cream and ice skated – although I never really mastered skating – and the snow always looked like glitter in the moonlight.

We were excited to visit the exhibits and watch the games of the Fur Rendezvous – an annual festival that celebrates the beginning of the end of winter! Snow sculptures – even a snow castle that had 2 real, usable childrens slides made out of snow – local artist exhibits, Eskimo and Native American games and culture exhibitions – it was amazing!

One of the BEST parts of winter and snow – were the Northern Lights, or the Aurora Borealis. Imagine a dark night full of stars, and all of a sudden, there is the invisible hand of God painting neon colors in bright, broad strokes across the sky – and you’re watching it as it happens!

Breathtaking.

Imagine the BEST Christmas light display you’ve ever seen in your life – and magnify it 100x. That’s how awesome the Northern Lights are.

As winter settles in – and we have our first dusting of snow – I get the itch to start making all of my favorite hot drink mixes and cuddle up my girls before we bundle up to go make snow angels.

Maybe I’m not singing INSIDE my house today, but my heart is full of the wondrous majesty of God’s creation – and I hope to bring that to my home & family as we enjoy the coming wintry season…

I will be writing more posts about Alaska in December – so stay tuned!!!

P.S. – if you have some shopping to do or love to decorate for Christmas – DaySpring has some lovely options you might want to consider. Click my affiliate link below for more details!

Category: Family, Favorites, Home, blogging Tags: Making Home Sing meme, making memories, Making Your Home Sing 3 Comments

Nov

Making My Home Sing Monday

queenmommy

I’ve done just enough this weekend to get a few things caught up – dishes and laundry. The two never-ending household chores that can’t be left to chance…

But it felt good. Its nice to have cleaned off counters and full dressers. Other chores will get taken care of this week as my energy comes back – and I’m really trying to “take it easy” the way that I should.

Honestly, there have been really sweet moments with my family this weekend – and really sorrowful moments, too. I’m one to want to “mark” milestones in my life, so my husband and I are talking about ways to have a simple memorial service of sorts to commemorate the loss of our baby. Maybe we’re going to plant something to keep – we haven’t talked it all out yet – but I need something.

I had a memorial service as part of my recovery from my abortion and have a small child’s New Testament with my baby’s name inscribed on it. I don’t want to do the same thing here, but I want it to be something memorable and sweet. I know it won’t always hurt so bad – so I want something tangible like that. If any of you have any suggestions – we are definitely open to them.

If you have experienced or know someone who has experienced miscarriage or pregnancy loss and memorialized it in some sweet way, please feel free to share it.

In the meantime, I am making my home sing today by playing the Twila Paris CDs I copied to my iTunes on my computer. I can turn it on and it plays in the background while we do what needs done. Click the link below to hear the song that really speaks to me right now.

Do I Trust You Lord

Maybe it will speak to you, too.