Joy in the Ordinary

Look around, really look around and you will find joy... joy in the everyday... joy in the ordinary things.

Enjoying the sun "dancing" on the floor during my quiet time.

Thankful that I was able to stock my pantry and freezer.

Trying to sort, organize and purge the filing cabinet.

I never tire of this scene.

Thankful for afternoons of quiet, non bickering play.

We enjoyed a warm spell.  It was almost 60* this day and even had a thunderstorm!

Which resulted in a huge snowmelt and sunshine the next day.

The warmth and sun turned my thoughts to this. 

Another snowstorm is moving in this weekend so I will have to put gardening thoughts aside and find joy in winter. 

Find happiness in the ordinary; it makes for a pleasant life and a serene heart. ~ Granny Willodene

 

May your day be filled with joy and contentment!

Promise of Spring

After a night of rain and thunderstorms we woke up to melted snow, sunshine and spring like temperatures. Although I know that we have plenty of winter left it did give me hope for spring.
 

 

On our way home from church we stopped by the hardware store for a light bulb and Megan and I browsed the seed display.  We ended up leaving with some tomato seeds. 

 

 

Megan couldn't wait to get them planted!

 

Although I am ready to go out and play in the dirt I am trying to be content with winter.

  If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. ~Anne Bradstreet

May your day be filled with joy and contentment!

Joy in the Ordinary

Look around, really look around and you will find joy... joy in the everyday... joy in the ordinary things.

Although winter is still making its presence known I am thankful for the sunshine.  Something about the sunshine that lifts my spirits.

Activities to keep little boys busy is a must.

The kitchen is always a busy place.

We have been enjoying the Olympics.

They have inspired a little learning.

Megan still desires to help in the kitchen.  She watched me mix meatballs and then rolled them for me.

I am trying to find joy in the beauty of the falling snow.  That keeps falling and falling and you get the picture. :)

Let's just say that I am ready to find the joy in the ordinary days of spring!

Find happiness in the ordinary; it makes for a pleasant life and a serene heart. ~ Granny Willodene

May your day be filled with joy and contentment!

A Little Love

I added just enough decor for Valentine's Day to give my home a little color on the gray days on winter.

Thursday afternoon I made some treats for lunch boxes.  I told Chuck it must be true love since I don't care for making these.  Something about mixing that sticky mess that I don't enjoy.

While brushing her teeth Megan left some love notes for us.  Sweet! :)

It started snowing about lunch time on Valentine's Day.  It was so beautiful.

Spending a fortune on dinner, jewelry and such just isn't us.  I spent the afternoon in the kitchen.

Cookies for the neighbor lady, my parents, to send home with the boys I watch and then some for my family.   I also made the table festive for a dinner of salad, lasagna and bread.  

Chuck and I exchanged cards and then we gave Megan a small gift.  A small container of candy, a stuffed animal and then a homemade coupon book.

Filled with five things that make her smile.

Although I try to show my family how much I love them everyday it was fun to go the extra mile to shower them with love!

May your day be filled with joy and contentment!

Fifteen Minutes

Many times I have tried to follow Flyday.  She has some great ideas but I found that the daily e-mail and such just added to my stress and feeling of being overwhelmed.  As the first of the year rolled around I had been compiling a list of goals.  Many of those goals were to do with a home that is more organized and better managed.  I decided to look at  flylady decluttering in 15 minutes.   I have not only been using it to help to declutter but also with my general housekeeping. 

Each morning I will set the timer for 15 minutes for different task.  One of those task is what I call "behind the gate."   There is a gate leading down the hall to keep the boys out of that area.  So I will go behind the gate for 15 minutes and the boys and I will make beds, make sure things are tidy and do a quick wipe down in the bathroom. 

On my way back to begin I grab a laundry basket and anything that doesn't belong in a room is put into the basket. 

 

When time is up I will quickly empty the basket and put the items where they belong. I then go and read or play with the boys before I set the timer and do a decluttering task.  At the moment I am working in the office on my craft area.  It is hard to share this picture!

 

 

Is it just me or do you also seem to make a bigger mess as you sort and straighten things out?!  At the end of 15 minutes is hard for me to walk away from a mess like this,  I do.  The knowledge that if I keep at this 15 minutes here and there I will have a tidy, clutter free work space soon.

 

All of this is becoming a habit.  I put 15 minutes on my list to declutter and to do "behind the gate." I am already seeing an improvement not only in how tidy my home is but also in my time management.  I find that I have time to get my homekeeping done and still have time for fun things. 

 

May your day be filled with joy and contentment!