26 June, 2011

An Explanation of Grace

I recently had grace explained to me in a very beautiful way and I wanted to share.

God is perfect. God is like the highest rung of a ladder.

We spend our entire lives practicing perfection and trying to be Christ-like. We reach the first rung, the secong rung, and maybe the third rung. Sometimes we go down a rung.

Grace is the space between the rungs that God takes care of by reaching down and taking our hand. Grace is when we do our best and God makes up the difference.

10 June, 2011

Daybook June 2011

Outside My Window ...
A bit of a dreary day. Good for this mama since my kiddos are not begging to go outside I can get some more work done unpacking and nesting in our new home!

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I am listening to...
Screetches! To be more exact, little girl screetches. Clara's lunch is kicking in and she is a very happy, very loud little girl! She's actually trying to stand on an end table...

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To Live the Liturgy…
I just got a new book series from 23rd Publications about Fergie the Frog. It is a series that focuses on Fergie's experiences and the leasons he learns. At the end of each book is a little connection to faith practice. We're enjoying each new story over here especially with a 2.5 year old!

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To be Fit and Happy…
Today not so much, but the new house has given us so much more space and time to spend outdoors. I don't have to worry about the kids so they can go out on bikes in the front. It is a lot easier to walk around here too and I can't wait to get my rollerblades out and start whipping this body back into shape!

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I am thankful for ...
A general sense of calm around here. We have a beautiful new home, it's summertime, and work is in planning mode. It makes for a happy mama!

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From the kitchen ...
Real meals!!! That was the hardest part of moving. Family meals are SO important to us and during the move we ate a lot of convenience food and fast food. It is so nice to smell a roast in the crockpot and spiced chocolate pecan bars in the oven!!! This is my home!!!

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I am creating ...
I am repurposing a 50-year-old vanity that I inherited. It belonged to my great-grandmother. At one point many years ago it had a beautiful beveled mirror in it, but that has long since shattered and been replaced with a flat mirror. In the old house the mirror portion of the vanity was in storage over our wings because we didn't have the vertical space for it, but I needed the vanity portion. In my new office I still needed the vanity, but now have the vertical space for the mirror portion. Yet I found myself not wanting to gaze at myself while I worked so I am padding the back and covering it with a pretty upholstery fabric and some ribbons and buttons for a french photoboard look. I hope it will be a good place to keep notes about my various ongoing projects!Pictures when I have some...

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I am reading…
I finished A Year in the Life of Food and LOVED every moment of it! Now I am working on the book Fall On Your Knees. Although I do not find that it has a great deal of depth, the plot moves and the writing style is quite unique. I am finding that the pages go by quickly.

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Towards a real education ...
I am considering taking some steps toward my masters degree. I hestitate because my children are only young once, but a slow start might be good. I am also trying to learn a lot more about produce gardening and whole foods to better feed my family.

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Bringing beauty to my home ...
While not everything is packed up and put away yet we are going to try to get some art on the walls this weekend! We need to get rid of some of the echoes and start making it seem like OUR home again.

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I am hoping and praying…
That our contractor is going to be able to help us make some prudent choices about finishing our basement. We don't know exactly what we want to do with it and we need some guidance.

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Around the house ...
It is so much easier to keep this house clean it seems! It is easier to put things away and keep it tidy, which leaves a lot more time to sit on the porch and watch the sun set.

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One of my favorite things...
My new stovetop which can boil water SO quickly! It's not convection, but compared to our old stove (40+ years) it goes so quickly! I am also in love with my full size dishwasher, which I only have to run every 2-3 days!!!! I could wash dishes for an army!

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A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
A weekend with my family. Shopping, eating, recreating. Hopefully the weather will clean up it's act a bit so we can get outside and maybe have a picnic. I am also hoping to get the rest of my office and craft room unpacked and squared away.

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In pictures...
Two of my favorite features of our new home - our fireplace and our back deck!



06 June, 2011

I'm Back! And Still Unpacking...

I know it has been a month since my last post. As many good intentions as I had about writing and scheduling posts to appear during our moving month they went out the window as I taped the first box...more on that and SO much more later, but for now here is a link to my most recent post over at Catholic Mothers Online about being a working mama!

My Scoop on Working Mamas

Though our basement still currently looks like a pawn shop watch for some great new posts this week! I just can't keep my fingers still any longer no matter how hard my internet service provider tries to thwart my efforts!