Come in girls! I am so glad that you’re here! There’s a basket of blueberry muffins and apple turnovers by the coffee. I also picked up Carmel creme creamer since one of my friends had recommended it. Try them all today, I made two pots of coffee in case we needed to pour some out over flavorings!

This week was unusual in that the children were in Arkansas with their other parents for Fall break. I had great intentions of a heavy clean while they were gone, but it seemed life kept getting in the way. The eye doctor said that there are beginning signs that the corneas are healing now and we all breathed a sigh of relief!!! I am still not comfortable getting out, but I did twice this week to go to Brentwood to work with our group at HGDiTV. I do like the drive from Decatur to Brentwood, its 90 miles or so, but its driving up the hills of Tennessee and so beautiful this time of year. The days were dark and rainy so it wasn’t too hard to do visually….but oh how I was aware that I did too much in one day that day!

Eight weeks of eye problems has truly made me more aware of how and why it is so important to reach out to those around us who are hurting….either emotionally or physically. Satan simply plays with our minds when we are alone….and when illness confines someone from church, from fellowship, it is easy to be mislead into thinking no one cares if the phone is not ringing, mail is not forthcoming, or anyone comes….of course, that is not the truth for any of us….but we are all so busy we assume someone else is doing something…..or we might be a bother…and the truth is, that’s not a good enough reason!

The holiday season is coming up, I am aware that this year more than ever we need to build our family celebrations around good food, activities, and togetherness, and not “things”. Our family has always done a homemade Christmas, where each child makes for the other then maybe 2 item are purchased for them each, and those items are not “large money” items. This year it will be especially important to do so…..The experience is what we remember, so working on calm, prepared, and “being there” in the moment is my goal…….I am such a procrastinator sometimes family plans get harried.

What is up in your world? I can’t wait to hear! This week I think I can turn off speak and say and actually READ your blogs!

God is good!

Sweetie

Happy Friday Company Girls!

This week has been a better one! Come in, I have coffee and a little lemon bread for us today!
The good news is that I am seeing better! For several hours a day now I have pretty clear vision in one eye, and slowly but surely my left eye is beginning to focus again for short periods as well. We’re still on the hour by hour medication mode for moisture and steroids, but it seems to be working. I ventured out twice this week, lights and airflows still bother me, but it was good to go out!
The children are going to Arkansas this weekend, Dh is driving with me to Memphis tonight to drop them off and return Sunday afternoon. I do not look forward to the car ride…but its important they see their other parents too.
Madison won 3rd place in the Grand Champion Small Dog Class at the Celebration Arena Dog Show. It was a fun show and she was thrilled! She won 2nd plac ein the trick class.

We’ve been trying to figure out the boundaries of what I can and can’t do and using the time that I can’t focus for positive things…like listening to Madison read her school work, or folding/sorting clothes…it just seems so many things in my life are complicated right now and I am needing to simplify as much as possible!
Hope you are all having a wonderful week!
hugs

Good Morning!
I am so glad to be home in Alabama today so I can hostess you!!! The joy of being back home again after several weeks of hotels, on the road, and working while the children were gone is immeasurable!
Yesterday schools started for our junior in high school. He has chosen to go to a Christian school this year again after two years in the public high school of our town. I am surprised and delighted with this request (if not devestated at the tuition costs!) but my heart is joyful that our junior is choosing a smaller, more nurturing environment to spend his high school time! We will be homeschooling our youngest daughter, who is 13 now….and I wouldn’t trade time with her for the world!
D2 indeed came home from the summer very much a teenager at 5’2″. I am so pleased that she’s comfortable in her own skin. I think it was not until my thirties that I liked who I was and felt somewhat comfortable with who I am…she’s miles ahead of me….God is so working in her heart and His love through her is amazing!
Tonight is date night, we have not had a night out alone in many many weeks, we’ve often had evenings with friends, but tonight it is just the two of us. I am excited to be going to the movie, we’ve opted for dinner with the children at home (done special) before hand, so we are keeping on budget. Last night’s family night lasagna and french bread was a hit with a movie with our teens and college boy, so they requested another special meal tonight….which we are happy to comply with!
This week I have been working on two big projects, both of them in areas that I am still learning! I am so ready to be past some of the vertical learning curves I am in right now, but that’s part of learning….doing the work to learn!
I told my husband Les this morning that I must love him more than anything as I stood with hands in a sink full of lasagna foul dishes….somehow cleaning the kitchen didn’t get done when we were having family night and it wasn’t prettier this morning at 5:30 when I entered the arena….I don’t think anyone would ever accuse me of being overly neat. It is amazing to me how 15 minutes in a kitchen can so clean something so messy…..it always reminds me of God’s forgiveness and washing us white as snow when we ask forgiveness. No matter how awful the kitchen was, as I address each area of dirt, whether it be on dishes, counters, floors, or dripped down the cabinets, when I take time to address each area, and remove what doesn’t belong there, the result is so pleasant….no more sticky, gooey, messes that make me feel guilty…..much like the sin that creeps in my life (sometimes parades with pride in) God, when I will allow him, patiently helps me identify and clean those areas of my heart and mind until they too aren’t sticky, gooey, stress producing messes!
I am thankful for friends who pray for me. At one point I was so overstressed and I tweeted to a friend, please pray for me today, and within hours I knew indeed her prayers were being answered as I was able to focus, concentrate and find a much more peaceful day! Karen Rabbitt, you are precious to me! Is there something you would like Les and I to pray for for your family in our morning or evening prayer time? I would be honored to do so!

God is good, pour another cup and let me hear from you!!!

hugs!

Welcome Company Coffee Girls! Today you get a short tour of the new project I began last night to improve my “ease” at home…Coffee is in the kitchen, grab a cup and follow me through to the project!!

I believe that I have one natural talent that is perhaps my strongest. I think my vision issues include a sort of blindness that involves simply not seeing the mess I am making or ignoring until its taken over a space!!!! Creative…oh yes I am as creative as the day is long, I am also just apt to come up with an idea and follow it through to completion of a new product, masterpiece, or design, however that means sometimes the challenge is making sure routines and daily schedules are followed! I am extremely detailed in art projects, in organizing marketing campaigns, but the order of one master bedroom simply is a challenge at times. I would like to think its because I grew up in an antebellum home without closets or drawered dressers, but the truth is, that was over 30 years ago and if I had wanted to learn organization by now I would have….and I have decided this is the year for my home to reflect the ease I feel helping others in friendships, my business relationships and educational consulting.

Step one.

We moved into a home in another state a year ago now (while DH was in Kuwait no less) and we chose to leave over 50% of our clutter behind. The thing is we needed to leave another 50% out after moving in to a 1/2 the size of the last home before, but we’re getting that accomplished a little more each 3nd weekend of the month…yes, we’ve declared it “one step towards peace in our home” Fridays.

Step Two

Buy, rearrange, or borrow appropriate space containers. Most of my furniture has come from careful observation of yard sales, side of the road get rid ofs, and a few friends who didn’t want this or that later on…. Recently my cousin John Stott drove up a bedroom suit to me from Tallahassee. It matched one that my late mother had had, was of the era of my Grandmother Geddie, and John was kind enough to bring it to Birmingham to bring it to me. At first I wasn’t sure it would work, the drawers were not deep (old stuffers definition of what a “good dresser” would do) But as we thought about it, the additional drawers (9) would allow a couple of items each and suddenly my clothing items would have a home. My lacy things would have a beautiful home and I would know exactly where to find them…..no more scrambling for things when that rare moment arrives when the children are gone or finally asleep!!!

Step Three

Use Nester’s guides to It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful…and hang up the things I already owned to make it work around it. In my heart of hearts, this set will be painted black and hand rubbed like the set Dh did for me last year that now is owned by Miss Madison in her room. It turns out that when you have a bunny named Huckle Berry, you need furniture to match…Madison has always been naturally organized, so obviously its not environment, perhaps a throwback to another generation???

Step Four

Move the clothes into the drawers….WOW…who knew that surfaces didn’t have to hold clean or dirty clothes! Dh was SO delighted to find he had 4 drawers of his own in the large dresser and a place to store his holy hunting clothes in the chest on chest bottom drawers. With a few hangers in hand, that which didn’t fold to be put away was hung up and suddenly my former storage place we happened to sleep because a tranquil, beautiful room!!!!

Who knew!!!!

Step Five….details to come….

Creating a romantic evening for date night today…dessert and a movie at home….candlelight, clean room, and well, prolly one of those drawers of lacy items won’t be in its drawer tonight! After all, marriage should be an intentionally wonderful thing, and I am intent upon surprising my handsome husband tonight! We have candles that have never been lite from years of buying what looks nice, but has no use except for special dinners at Christmas and Easter…that’s a new rule…no longer will we wait to celebrate, experience, or create special times for our own family as well as our extended families….life is too precious and if you’re not careful you wake up and your baby turned 13 or 30 without you stopping to enjoy them. I have promised myself to be more intentional about not wasting God’s blessings of family!!!

hugs!!!!

P.S. And I am going on a hot date with my three little men from down the street to the water park this morning at Wilson Park…..because some days you just gotta enjoy life! While there is definately work to be accomplished in business today, an hour or two of refreshed times will definately help this tired Mom re energize for the tasks later!

P.S.S. The Master bdr furniture is one part antique given to me and 4 parts pieces that match found on ebay in Tallahassee FL for $300.00 total, stored by my cousin for a year, then hauled home in a pickup. The black bedroom set was a $75 find in a yard sale refinished with paint later….the comforter a JCP outlet find for $19.99, the curtains for $1 yard tea stained black and white to black and ivory fabric at Walmart ($12) The tassells and pillows made from scraps. to make the room mine, the rabbit a present from my 13 year old daughter for Mother’s day. The bed itself and its mattresses, a free one new from Sams given by a couple who’s mom didn’t come to live with them, the wood part of the bed, part of a $15 find. God provides!

Dear Friends,
I am on the road again, hence the note on the door to help yourself. Today I am in Brentwood in the HGDiTV studios again. Today we’re working with Allison Worthington Mrs. Fussypants of Mrs. Fussypants.com Alli is the mom of five, stepmom of one, and is the owner of BlissfullyDomestic.com and Mrs.Fussypants.com We’re cooking up programming for HGDiTV to continue Blissfully Domestic’s stellar work on finding good things for women. How fun to have Alli’s character Mrs. Fussypants on the sets, she’s SO funny!
My daughter is with me today, while my son is at football practice and college man is home working. Dh joins me tonight in Brentwood and we work on taping for our ministry tomorrow morning then head home.
God has been whispering loudly again to me, when I get tired, when I get overwhelmed to “just do the next thing” and then rely on Him. Its working but I still get so overwhelmed managing family, home, work, and life.
The children are home for 2 weeks then return for 2 more weeks with their natural dad and stepmom in another state. Its been a new time for us as a blended family, to grow as their natural father’s new family has expanded with his marriage and they suddenly have a scad of new aunts, uncles, and a new set of step grandparents. I am thankful they are accepted….but even as much as I believe there is plenty of love for all of us, its hard to find myself being compared and measured by complete strangers to me (the new family and friends) and usually not in the kindest of ways. Of course, they are thrilled with the new groom (I was too, why would I have married him if I hadn’t of been) But our marriage ended long ago. I know its just human nature, but my gosh, I have been mom their whole life, I am willing to accept their stepmom as part of their life, but do people have to always try to make it a competition. We are so different (I’m 44, she’s 28, I own my own business, she is a paramedic I have reared 4 children, these are her first stepchildren) and she has value for their life as I do. I want them to without guilt love and spend time with us all. I want to uphold and honor their father and his wife as I would hope he would honor and uphold Les.
My heart is still very sad for my friend whose husband ended his life this week in Texas. She and their two children are so shocked as we all were, my heart is even more saddened that I cannot be there for the funeral tomorrow. I will find her next week when I am in Texas though.
God is God and we are not….help others find God through your heart.