Healing while Letting Go

As I go through all this junk that's been suffocating me for years I find myself gasping for air and clawing these holds I've had grappling onto me like barnacles.  I have this sinking feeling in my stomach and my knees feel weak when I look at the storage boxes filled with paper, photos and half done projects.  I see a life that I longed for and a life I failed at.  I see a life I thought I wanted and a life I neglected.  It brings me to continuously pause as I contemplate my future.  What I see, what I want, what I plan to do.  
 
No more dragging ghosts of "never was" behind me, no more dead end schemes that filled my head with lies.  No more reminders of things left undone because they serve me no purpose.  Going forward my days will be light filled with meaningful treasures.  Wrapping myself with what's familiar, not with illusions.  There will be no more fakery, no more lies will leave my lips to seep into my mind and corrupt my inner-voice.  I will move softly down the path before me, only taking what I must to survive.  

Roadblocks are now platforms as I choose to thrive in my own skin.  I will cherish what I have always had, what God formed me with.  I will choose to illuminate, I will use the fire he created me with to be the force to get things done, to be content and to choose happy.

As I pack away these things to allow them to go out and breathe life for  someone else I will remember them briefly and thank them for be apart of this journey.  No regrets, no disappointments...only looking forward and beyond.  
Warm heart, thankful spirit and peaceful mind awaits, it is here, it is now in this present moment of today.

The Upside to Downsizing

One of this things I'm looking forward to while downsizing is the reduced amount of clutter and mess.  We will have 6 cups, not 57...yes that is how many plain cups we have.  Not talking about coffee mugs, tea cups, thermal cups, travel mugs, squeeze bottles and we even have a handful of sippy cups still hanging around.  We don't need all of that and it's so easy to grab another cup instead of rinsing out the one you have and reusing it.  Or at least that's how it is in our house.  I feel like I am forever washing dishes and as soon as the sink is clean I look away and the crusty mountain has returned.
What I decided to do is make a donation pile, a take with us pile and a store for later pile.  Right now in the kitchen I am getting rid of anything plastic, if it's chewed on or scratched up I will toss, if not I'm donating.  We are keeping a set of hydros, a glass and mug a piece and the same goes for plates, bowls and our set of silverware.  Everything else gets donated along with all of our tupperware. We will take a baking dish, muffin pan and small cookie sheet, the rest will be donated.  We have a pot and pan to take and the rest.... if you say donate it then you guessed right.  We will take our instant pot and that's it.  
To store until we move out of the rv into a sticks and brick home are things like cookie cutters that we have used for 20 years, canning stuff, favorite cookbooks, my huge mixer and that's about it.  There just isn't much we truly need as a family.  Over the years we accumulated stuff in the hopes we would find happiness.  The whole filling a God shaped hole with stuff scenario.  But, that's not us anymore, we are a work in progress...don't get me wrong.  When I walk into Target I sometimes breakout into a sweat when I walk past the $1 section up front.  Which is really more like the $3 and up, up, up section.  
So, that's the way the kitchen is coming along.  Next will be clothes, knick knacks, linens, toys, books, garage and then the dreaded homeschool room.  I'm most terrified of the homeschool room.  Follow along though with us, I can use all the ideas and suggestions I can get to make this a smooth process.  Take care and God Bless!!!

Simplify the Spaces You Live In

It's funny how while scrolling through social media you see all these perfect pictures of children laughing in nature.  White walls and soft grays, textured fabrics and must have vintage signs that say bakery, farmhouse or have familiar scripture scrolled across them.  I don't know about you but everything about that is pleasing to my eyes, but also screams you need to get shopping.  And where there is shopping there is money spent, new stuff comes in so old stuff needs to find new homes and then there is the design aspect.  Everything must be placed just so to elude simple living and a peacful atmosphere. 
I don't know about you, but all of that does not seem simple and peaceful to me.  I suggest unless you are already remodeling or moving into a new place to take a different approach.  Without looking online write down what simple living means to you.  And list out each room in your house, then pick 3-5 things that you could do to simplify your life in this space.
Example, in my bathroom I decided to put towels in a basket beside my shower so I wouldn't have to scream for someone to grab me one from the hall closet the next time I forgot to grab one.  I also put all my daily beauty products in a tray on my counter and the less used products away in a drawer.  Now I don't have to sift through 5 shades of lipgloss to find my everyday blush pink one.  I also made a few little changes to tackle cord clutter and downsized some of my bottles in the shower.  Honestly I wish I had a before and after of this space.  It was like night and day.  And I didn't need to run out and by paint or matching baskets to achieve a more peacful and simple space.
I'm not knocking the whole white walls and farmhouse decor....I personally love it.  But, I do believe we can't all redo every room in our house to look instworthy.  And we can achieve a more relaxing vibe to our space with just a few changes.  And as funds and time permit you can add your favorite farm sign to the mix, add some shiplap, fuzzy blankets and a new coat of white paint.  Just stay true to your style and what matters most to you.  That way your space represents you and your family.    Find ways to rearrange what you already have.  Let go of things you don't find necessary to have anymore. 
Most importantly relax and have fun!!!

Goodbye Mr. Monday.....

I decided while on our RV trip that when I got back home I wouldn't be doing anymore Mondays.  I mean honestly who Likes Mondays?  So, I have decided that Mondays are going to be kind of like "warm up" days.  So, that I can gear up for the other 4 days and following weekend.  

My weekends look like this:  big family breakfasts, movie marathons, game fests and a mad dash around the house picking up messes.  So, on Mondays I used to drag around and beat myself up for not being productive enough.  Not, anymore!  I make sure that the important things are accomplished like feeding my Family and my Soul.  Then I make sure the kids Read, complete some sort of project or chore like Mahala just finished cleaning her bathroom from top to bottom.  And I make sure I'm organized and ready to go for the next 4 days of school and complete any phone calls, emails or assignments I'm working on.  

 

This change has given our Home a more relaxed atmosphere and I have found that we are so productive the rest of the week.  I enjoy lighting candles, listening to music and slowly move into full force by Tuesday.  Tomorrow I plan to prep my Nature Journal for September, make some phone calls, work on a review that includes Pirates and Grammar, double check my school supplies needed for Mahala this coming week and read books with Kaden along with his sensory time.   Anything else that happens is just gravy....mmmmm gravy, speaking of that I have my recipe for my country sausage gravy coming up in a few days. :) 

The cool thing is, that other things do happen, they happen naturally.  And I love that, so by taking the pressure off of our Mondays we tend to accomplish a whole lot and still feel less stress and more satisfied at the end of the day.  How do you handle Monday Mornings???

Gearing Up For Christmas

Here is a few pages I've got started for Christmas.  We always make a ton of treats for Friends, Family and our Neighbors.  So, I have a several sweet treats that make their appearance every single year.  But, we also like to introduce some new treasures each year too.  This year I'm going to do some bread making, both sweet and savory varieties.
The little house over on the right is just my way of being able to have a visual of what will be on our Christmas Chain.  We link together little slips of paper with activities to do as a Family.  Each morning one of the kids tear one off and we find time during the day to do whatever was written on the link.  This tradition has been going on since my oldest was tiny....along with the 12 days of Christmas.  
 
The last 12 days till Christmas each of the Kiddos get to open up a gift.  The gifts range from underwear/socks and handmade certificates to art supplies and small travel size products.  Each year they get an ornament, a book and a set of new PJs for sure.  All the other gifts are random.   I started this honestly when my oldest was tiny and I was a single Mom, 20 years old with very little money.  I loved finding inexpensive items or necessities like socks that I could wrap up pretty and see my little guy's face light up.  As they have gotten older I have assigned them a siblings number to make a gift for them with their own hands.  I think their favorites are the ornaments, Pjs and handmade certificates.  I usually put in a day out one on one with Parents or You pick dinner....the possibilities are endless!!!

What are some of your Favorite traditions to do with your Family during Christmas?  I'm getting together supplies now for Cinnamon Ornaments and Salt Dough Ornaments...we do these right after Thanksgiving.  And that will be here before you know it.....where does the time go??????