Making my home a haven: Planning ahead and keeping it simple
We had a really great day today--even with me waking up late! (I've found that I'm a much more cheerful mom if I get plenty of sleep at night so it's worth it to me to get up late if I stay up late or just feel in extra need of sleep.)
After waking, I made some iced tea and spent some time reading and meditating on a few chapters from Esther, reading the Daily Light, and writing down three things I was thankful for today in my journal while nursing Kaitlynn. What a sweet time in the Word and meditating upon God's goodness I had!
Jesse watched Kaitlynn while I went out for a half-mile run. It's so hard for me to motivate myself to get out and run each morning but I'm always thankful that I've done it afterwards as I feel so refreshed and revived and have much more energy for the day!
Once Jesse left for work, I put Kaitlynn back to bed and checked my email, moderated blog comments, and wrote up a few quick posts for MoneySavingMom.com. Then it was on to begin the day!
I started some laundry, took my vitamins, took a shower, got dressed, and woke the girls up. I planned the girls' school and projects for the week. Breakfast was leftover blackberry crisp (from Kaitlynn's birthday!). While the girls ate, we read a Bible story, reviewed the ABC verses, and I introduced the "B" verse and song for the week (stay tuned for my post with details on what we're studying this week), along with the story from Teach Them To Your Children. Kathrynne also asked if I could read her a few books, so we snuck some time in to read some short story books.
Then it was time for baths, cleaning, and baking. I cleaned up the kitchen, mopped the kitchen floor, ran more laundry, picked up the house, cleaned the upstairs bathroom, and made a quick loaf of bread in the bread machine.
Kathrynne helped me for awhile and then had a tea party and watched a few episodes of Mr. Fixit. (If you are looking for some wholesome Bible DVDs, I'd highly recommend these. They are very simply done, very accurate, and include no animation. It is just an older Grandpa-like man, "Mr. Fixit", sharing Bible lessons/stories from a picture book with young children. Kathrynne loves them!).
[I had made up a hamburger mashed potato casserole on Sunday evening with some leftover mashed potatoes from our Sunday lunch so we're having that and homemade bread for dinner. Mondays are usually fairly busy so I try to stick with easy dinners--as you all well know, I'm all about keeping it simple and I try to cook ahead whenever possible to streamline things during the week.]
After the morning cleaning was finished, we sat down for lunch and school time. We're working on letter and sound recognition of A, B, and C right now using Alpha-Phonics. Today Kathrynne read the whole column of letters by herself and had a blast doing it! She kept asking if she could please do more! (Usually I have to help her and prompt her a bit so it was exciting to see her doing this all by herself.)
We did a bit more cleaning and folded some laundry after lunch and then walked to the library to check out some books on butterflies--our current science focus.
What a blessing it was that when Jesse walked in the door tonight, the house was clean, dinner was ready, and I was calm and cheerful. I've really been working on planning and thinking ahead towards his arrival home during the day so that our home is a haven for him when he walks in the door after a long day at work.
Little things like getting enough sleep, planning and preparing dinner early in the day (or the night before, when possible!), spending time in God's Word, keeping things simple and not over-booking my day... all of these things can really help to provide a more calm and welcoming atmosphere in our home and in my own heart.
After waking, I made some iced tea and spent some time reading and meditating on a few chapters from Esther, reading the Daily Light, and writing down three things I was thankful for today in my journal while nursing Kaitlynn. What a sweet time in the Word and meditating upon God's goodness I had!
Jesse watched Kaitlynn while I went out for a half-mile run. It's so hard for me to motivate myself to get out and run each morning but I'm always thankful that I've done it afterwards as I feel so refreshed and revived and have much more energy for the day!Once Jesse left for work, I put Kaitlynn back to bed and checked my email, moderated blog comments, and wrote up a few quick posts for MoneySavingMom.com. Then it was on to begin the day!
I started some laundry, took my vitamins, took a shower, got dressed, and woke the girls up. I planned the girls' school and projects for the week. Breakfast was leftover blackberry crisp (from Kaitlynn's birthday!). While the girls ate, we read a Bible story, reviewed the ABC verses, and I introduced the "B" verse and song for the week (stay tuned for my post with details on what we're studying this week), along with the story from Teach Them To Your Children. Kathrynne also asked if I could read her a few books, so we snuck some time in to read some short story books.Then it was time for baths, cleaning, and baking. I cleaned up the kitchen, mopped the kitchen floor, ran more laundry, picked up the house, cleaned the upstairs bathroom, and made a quick loaf of bread in the bread machine.
Kathrynne helped me for awhile and then had a tea party and watched a few episodes of Mr. Fixit. (If you are looking for some wholesome Bible DVDs, I'd highly recommend these. They are very simply done, very accurate, and include no animation. It is just an older Grandpa-like man, "Mr. Fixit", sharing Bible lessons/stories from a picture book with young children. Kathrynne loves them!).
[I had made up a hamburger mashed potato casserole on Sunday evening with some leftover mashed potatoes from our Sunday lunch so we're having that and homemade bread for dinner. Mondays are usually fairly busy so I try to stick with easy dinners--as you all well know, I'm all about keeping it simple and I try to cook ahead whenever possible to streamline things during the week.]
After the morning cleaning was finished, we sat down for lunch and school time. We're working on letter and sound recognition of A, B, and C right now using Alpha-Phonics. Today Kathrynne read the whole column of letters by herself and had a blast doing it! She kept asking if she could please do more! (Usually I have to help her and prompt her a bit so it was exciting to see her doing this all by herself.)
We did a bit more cleaning and folded some laundry after lunch and then walked to the library to check out some books on butterflies--our current science focus.What a blessing it was that when Jesse walked in the door tonight, the house was clean, dinner was ready, and I was calm and cheerful. I've really been working on planning and thinking ahead towards his arrival home during the day so that our home is a haven for him when he walks in the door after a long day at work.
Little things like getting enough sleep, planning and preparing dinner early in the day (or the night before, when possible!), spending time in God's Word, keeping things simple and not over-booking my day... all of these things can really help to provide a more calm and welcoming atmosphere in our home and in my own heart.
Labels: Making Your Home a Haven
posted by Crystal Paine at 8:00 PM
16 Comments:
Good job!
Sounds like a lovely day.
Just getting the dinner prepared early makes such a difference.
Horray! Someone else who knows who "Mr. Fixit" is! I grew up watching those. Aren't they a refreshing in their simplicity? ...Though I have to admit, sometimes my motives for watching them were a little less than spiritual; I liked seeing the 1950's clothing the children wore! :) The Bible stories and pictures were good too.
Highly recommended!
Sounds like a wonderful and productive day!
I am so glad I am not the only one who sleeps in every now and then! Where can one find "Mr. Fixit" I have never heard of them! Have a nice day ladies. Off to make my home extra special for daddy today. It's his birthday!!
That sounds like a perfect day - I love it when I have those!
You know, this is an area in my life where I struggle. I really want to be more cheerful when my husband gets home. He works so hard each day and deserves that. I am a very unorganized person. What I need to do is repent of my slackness and step up to the plate and do a better job. I know God is more than able to help me do this.
Thanks for the post. I really needed it.
Yeah, I've found that keeping it simple, planning ahead, being willing to let go of plans when things come up and having what's to eat already prepared or ready to prepare is a huge help in keeping things "haven-like" in this house. And yesterday, as I was hanging laundry on the clothes line so many people were on my heart and I began praying for them and I thought, "I need to be walking around praying like this all day." So often I find that there's anxiety built up in me by the end of the day when my husband gets home because I haven't been praying.
Thanks for the recommendations for the Mr. Fixit videos, and thanks for just being out here as a great inspiration and reminder of our ministry to the Lord as homemakers!
Blessings
Sheila
I'm really enjoying your blog. It's helping me to see the blessings in our daily tasks and the right attitude about chores! I'm very encouraged! Thanks for your humility in sharing details about simple planning; especially the dinner part - that was helpful to a newlywed. :)
In Christ,
Chrystal
Hi! I had my day all scheduled out with my list and all. I had actually been able to cross of a few things and was looking forward to getting more done. Then my husband asked me to take the car to have the oil changed and the tires rotated!! This is one of my least favorite things to do! But I packed a small tote bag with my control journal, a bottle of water, and off I went dreading the time! Well, guess what? I just happened to be there when any lady who wanted got a FREE professional manicure and FREE cappicino to drink! I guess when your priorities are right (helping your husband) you will get rewarded, not always as immediately as I did, but it taught me a valuable lesson. It's okay to be flexible! Our family must come before our lists!
Carla
Carla
Crystal!
You are wonderful! I mean, this post is wonderful and I love it! So helpful and SOOO applicable to me in my time of life. I can so relate. Thank you for helping me so much--you don't even realize how much.
I am intrigued by the mention of your hamburger casserole you mentioned. Could you tell us how to make it? It sounds so easy but filling.
These are hands down, my favorite types of posts Crystal! Thank you for sharing all of your activities, photos and thoughts!
Many Blessings,
M.
I just stumbled upon your blog and website and am enjoying it quite a bit. Where did you get your Tea notepad that you put your To Do items on? Tea is one of my favorite things, however, up here in the north.. most of the time it is hot tea :)
Hi Crystal,
I teach 2nd grade, and had such a fun time teaching my kids about life cycles this year; butterflies being one of the main life cycles we learned about. I ordered live caterpillars from www.insectlore.com, and my kids got to watch them transform into butterflies. We had such a great time, I thought you might be interested in doing this for your girls. :)
Erin
Wonderful! Home is not just a haven for my husband, but for myself as well. With children now getting older - 12 and 16 - I want it to be a haven for them as they are starting to stretch their wings. More often than not, we have anywhere from 2-6 extra kids at our house every weekend because their friends are always wanting to stay with us. I have found that it is worth the extra noise to me to know that my children are under my roof making memories - and that their friends are experiencing life "our style" as opposed to other ways they might be used to. Amazingly, many of their friends have now chosen to visit our church and several have come back - by their own choice. Not all the time, but you never know what seeds are being planted! Home as a haven for the couple is crucial, but the haven it creates by default for all those that come into contact with it could be considered to be a side benefit!
Blessings
Rebecca
fourmyers.blogspot.com
I too have been working on the same thing, making home nice when my husband walks in the house at night. I try to make sure things are tidy, dinner is ready or nearly ready and that there is some peace and quiet for his arrival.
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