Pockets to Fill

Today Rachael Anne over at Home Sanctuary challenged us to sit down and make a list of what we can do in 5, 10, and 15 minute "pockets" of time.  While I have done this exercise before, I thought it would be fun to take my first floor main rooms and group some "pockets" together.  Then I went back and looked at my last pockets list that I made here a few years back.  What a fun comparison to make!  I was in a different season and different home back then so I had a few things on my list that didn't come up this time.  But for the most part, a lot of the things I listed were the same quick tasks as before.  I just grouped them by room to help me maximize my pockets of time better. :)

Here's what my list looks like now:
In the Kitchen:
Load the dishes/wipe down the sinks
Wipe down the counters
Clean the stove top
Clear off the island
Wipe down the appliances
Empty the dish rack
Wipe the dining room table & straighten the chairs
Change the calendar (Wipe off white board, once a month)

In the Living Room:
Stack attack! (Sort papers)
Dust the phone table and the coffee table
Wipe down the phone
Straighten the book shelves
Check the answering machine for messages (Which often gets forgotten!)

In the Main Bathroom/Laundry Room:
Load/Move along laundry
Wipe down washer/dryer
Straighten counter top/wipe it down
Clean the mirror
Clean the toilet
Replace light bulbs

In the Master Bedroom/Bathroom:
Make the bed
Pick up any stray clothes and put away or in laundry
Straighten bathroom counter top/wipe it down
Clean the mirror
Clean the toilet
Straighten the towels

Other:
Clean out purse
File receipts
Clean out/organize a "junk drawer"
Schedule a dentist/doctor appointment

What a fun exercise and a great reminder that you don't have to have big pockets of time to accomplish Small Things that build Sanctuary in your home!

Our Magical Trip

How does one begin writing again when it has been so long?  Do I condense two months of fullness into one blog post?  Or perhaps, I re-start and introduce myself anew.  There have been so many times when I have wanted to sit down and record the amazing things that are happening around me. But life is moving so quickly right now that I have had to set my writing on the back burner.  Sometimes I wish I had a special camera that would turn our stories into writing for me.  You know, one that would sort of record life exactly as it was happening, on paper?  But I digress...

Now that Thanksgiving has gone by, (but thankfulness remains) I can put into motion preparations for Christmas.  My husband came home Tuesday and decided it was time to put up the tree.  It was a joy to watch him work with the kids to put it all together and decorate it.  (Yes, we have a fake tree.)  This weekend all I have to do is put out a few more decorations around the house and we'll be good to go!


Our Beautiful Tree

Speaking of decorations, I don't think I could forgive myself if I didn't at least record a little blurb about our trip to Disneyland this month.  We spent 7 wonderful days in beautiful CA the second week of November.  LR got to spend her 8th birthday at California Adventure. :)  We spent two days there, one day at Universal Studios, and two days at Disneyland.  (With one down day to rest and recoup in the middle.)  They start putting up Christmas decorations at all the parks there Nov. 1, and it is BEAUTIFUL!  They also have the Christmas parade at Disneyland every evening. Plus, they turn the Princess Castle into an ice castle at night and then it snows down Main Street! The kids LOVED that!


It really was a magical trip.  The kids' Nana, an Aunt, and an Uncle all came along for the ride and it was pure fun.  We've been saving up for this trip for three years now so that we could pay cash for everything.  I have to say, it was worth the wait!  Our kids were all at the perfect ages.  They range from 6-11 and they all had a blast.  Even our youngest only had a couple of rides he couldn't go on and he was a trooper to go on all the "big kid" rides with us.  It was worth the trip just to see their reactions to their first time flying. 

I could go on and on, but AMAZING pretty much sums it all up in a nutshell.

Well, I should be going for now.  I've got lots of things on my to-do list.  I hope I'll be able to get back to blogging more again, but I make no promises.  Funny, when my kids were small I used to think I'd have MORE time when they were all in school.  It doesn't seem to have worked out that way, but it sure is fun! 

Have a blessed weekend!
-Melissa 

Just A Few Thoughts

Is it the end of June already?  My how time flies!  Too much has been going on to tell it all here.  How about a re-cap of the last week?  This past week I was...

Blessed... with a visit from my mom and sister.  We've lived here for a year now and this is the first time my mom has been able to come out and see our new home and the Dollar Plus store.  I was so excited to have both of them here and thankful that my sister would make the trip only a day after she finished up teaching for the year.  The visit ended all too quickly.

Encouraged... by a quote that I read in my "Praying God's Word Day by Day" devotional.  It read "Walking consistently does not mean walking perfectly.  It means we may stumble, but we will not fall."  When I lose my footing, the Lord is sure to come along and set my feet on solid ground again.

"I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm."  (Psalm 40:1-2)

Frustrated... that my dog keeps digging out of our yard and I now have to keep him on a chain when he is alone.  Remember that story, the Pokey Little Puppy?  That's what my dog reminds me of.  He just has to get out into the wide wide world and see what's out there!

Joyful...  because my kids had so much fun at VBS this week.  They came home singing all kinds of fun songs and telling stories about what they learned.  It was a great experience for them.  They made lots of new friends and learned many good lessons from the Word.

Weary... from a long month of events, travelling, and excitement. I anticipate a busy July, where the fun will continue.  Many parents pack the Summer full with sports, swimming lessons, camping, and other events, but not me.  We plan one major trip (in August) and the rest of the Summer seems to fill itself up without my help.  We have company coming next week for the 4th of July and there are 3 birthdays and a family reunion plus our anniversary in July.  I try to take advantage of every moment of down time!

Reflective... because we have been here for almost exactly a year now.  It has been a good year.  The kids love their school and have made a lot of good friends.  I am so thankful for this house and for the family that lives here.  Over all, we are very blessed.

I guess that brings me full circle to blessed!  I hope that you also feel blessed by the Lord in this journey of life. 

~Melissa

^"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." -Ephesians 1:3

Company Girl Coffee 5.4.12

Today's Small Thing is to come up with "Creature Comfort" for each of the five senses.  Since I was already going to share about our guest room here on my blog today, I decided to take the idea of having company over and run with it. 

Before

After

Sight: Our guest room has a new, fresh coat of paint!  We went with two colors, both in the warm grey family.  I am going to finish one of my Grandmother's old dressers to place in there and my husband is bringing home a painting to bring it all together.  Just in time to have company over this weekend!  Yay!

Smell: Chili in the crockpot for dinner tonight!  I will be making corn bread to go with it.  This meal always fills my kitchen with irresistible aromas!

Taste: Hmm...maybe I should have saved the chili for this one! :)  I'm always up for a good chocolate and I have some Frangos hidden away for a rainy day.  Yum!

Touch: Hugs and more hugs for our friends that are coming to visit!  I haven't seen them since January so they are missed and I am really looking forward to their stay.

Sound: There will be lots of laughter going on this weekend as our children play with their children and the adults visit and play board games. 

I love to play hostess and make our guests feel at home.  We've known them for years and they are like family to us. 

Have a blessed weekend everyone!  Thanks for joining me for coffee today!
~Melissa  

April Flowers

FFA Wa-High Greenhouse

Last week I went on a field trip with my 1st grade daughter and we walked though this greenhouse.  The minute I stepped in, the sights and smells brought me clear back to my childhood.  When I was a kid, my parents owned a hardware store.  In the Spring, I would always go on trips with my mom to go pick up flats of flowers from very large greenhouses to sell at our store.  We even had a little greenhouse of our own in front of our store for the plants that needed the extra warmth.  I have such wonderful memories of going with my mom on those trips, and then helping her water the flowers when they needed it.  It makes me smile to think about it, and share it here.

Today's Small Thing  over at Home Sanctuary is to celebrate your history by finding an object in (or around) your home that brings a sweet memory to mind. 

The above picture is what came to mind when Rachel Anne talked about sweet memories.  It's been 25 years since we closed the doors to our store, but the memories will remain in my heart forever.  Now I have children of my own, and I love to take them with me to our Dollar Plus store.  They help out in any way they can and we are making memories of our own.  I hope that one day, they will look back and smile on these days with fond memories of us building something together.

Why not join us for Company Girl coffee today and share some sweet memories of your own? 
Blessings,
~Melissa

Spring Break

This week we're on Spring Break. We spent 5 days on the West side of the mountains with family. Even though it was raining most of the time, we still had lots of fun. We stayed one night at my sister's house, and three nights at my mom's. 

We arrived home yesterday, just before my DH got home. The kids were so happy to see daddy pull in the driveway, they didn't even let him get out of the car before giving him huge hugs! :)  I kept forgetting my camera everywhere we went, but here are a few photos.

View from Grandma's House

Me, My Sister, and my Grandma

Cousins with Great Gram

Indoor recreation - Coloring Grandma's table cloth

Fields of Daffodils

Then we came home to this!

Is this Spring Break, or Winter Break?

Rainy Day Fun

The sun did not shine. 

It was too wet to play. 

So we sat in the house

All that cold, cold, wet day."

-The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss

Here's a little of what happens at our house on a rainy day...

A little 3-D entertainment

Monster Cars and Lincoln Logs

Our very own book fair

Reading Time

Squishies vs. Ninjas

Ninja's Prevail!

Humor Matters

Hello everyone!  Happy Early New Year!  I hope that everyone had a marvelous Christmas.  Our home was filled with family and we had a great time making memories together laughing, opening presents, sharing meals and playing games.  I really enjoy having a nice big home that we can offer up for family events.

Christmas Eve we went to a candle-light service at my in-law's church.  Afterwards we spent time at their home for an informal dinner.  We arrived home at 9:00pm and tucked the kids into bed because we knew it was going to be a long day.  Before doing so, I wanted a picture by the tree with our "best dress" on.  I handed my brother in law the camera and hoped for the best.  Everyone was tired so they kind of just cooperated "for mom."  We got at least one that was decent, but there's one that stands out from the rest as my favorite.  It really shows the light-hearted nature of our family.  We sure do love to laugh!

From our home to yours, wishing you all joy, love and laughter in the year 2012!

~Melissa

Very Merry Christmas Cookies

To start of our Winter break, we made Christmas Cookies on Saturday!  Everyone got to help with the fun.  DH mixed and rolled out the dough.  The kids took turns with the cookie cutters making fun shapes.  (We even have an Easter bunny or two in there.)  Then when they cooled we frosted and decorated them.  There ended up being plenty to share with neighbors, employees, and the girls at the bank!  As for the rest...well, I'm sure we'll figure out something!

Birthday Joy

Happy 7th Birthday to my sweet little LR! 

Your smile is contagious and your boundless joy brightens our lives!
We love you! 

A Pantry Filled With Love

Labor Day weekend we went over to my In-Laws and canned sweet pickles.  It is actually a three day process, and let me tell you, I'm glad that we did it at their house instead of mine.  Mostly because it stinks!  Her kitchen smelled like vinegar for hours!  I gladly endured the smell for a time though, in exchange for 16 beautiful jars of pickles. :)

After pricing out what a jar of peaches cost now a days, I talked my Mother in Law into helping me can some for my pantry.  I'd done it once before with my Sister-in-Law while living in Spokane.  There's something satisfying about grabbing a jar of fruit from the pantry that you know how much hard work went into it, and exactly what ingredients! 

The three boxes of peaches we bought on Tuesday were ripe enough a day early on Thursday to peel and can.  Luckily, my MIL was willing to change her plans and come over to take care of things!  We used the small kitchen in the basement to work.  I'm told that it's the perfect "canning kitchen." 

Originally my Sister in Law had planned to come out and can applesauce with us, but she was unable to make it. That left us with 4, 40lb boxes of apples to make into applesauce!  We gave one to a friend of mine and set to work on the rest yesterday, bright and early.  My MIL arrived at 8:00am, ready with the supplies needed.  We set up the kitchen and recruited everyone to help.  The kids removed stickers from the apples while my MIL and I sliced them for boiling.

Once we got the first pot boiled, my MIL taught me how to use the "Victoria."  It was a very impressive machine!  You put the boiled apples in the funnel, core, seeds, peels and all.  The sauce comes out one end, while the waste comes out another.  We took turns cranking the handle...even RL and JS gave it a try!  It was definitely a family event. :)

After we had enough applesauce, we poured it into jars and began the processing.  I would have to say, one of my favorite parts of the day was celebrating when we would here the "popping" noise of a jar sealing.  It was a very fun filled day and I am so thankful that my MIL is willing to come over and take the time to teach me the art of canning.  It is a very useful skill to have, and very cost effective.  

Cost of peaches including fruit and supplies: Just under $1.50/jar.  In my local grocery store right now, a jar of Dole Sliced Peaches goes for $3.59!

Cost of applesauce per jar including fruit and supplies: $0.58!  Yes, that's 58 cents per jar!  I don't know what applesauce is going for in the store right now, but it's not that!  It would have been even less, but we left some apples for slicing and dehydrating as snacks this week. :)

Time spent with family learning a valuable skill: priceless!

Now that I have all these wonderful jars of pickles, peaches, and applesauce, I needed a pantry space to store them.  I decided to make over a room at the bottom of my stairs that already has built in shelves.  It originally had paint in it, but it serves much better as a pantry!  Now, I have the perfect pantry filled with lots of love! :)

Before

After

The Other Side of After

The Birthday Boy

Today is this guy's birthday...

He's very excited to be 8!  I took cupcakes and balloons to his class to celebrate and one by one his classmates all told me how much they like being his friend.  Some told me how much they are going to miss him when we move.  He's just a likable kind of guy.  That's my boy!

He's not having a birthday party this year because he wanted to wait and celebrate with his dad, after we move next weekend.  Isn't that sweet?  He offered to use some of his birthday money to treat the whole family to dinner...how generous!  (I didn't take him up on it, by the way.)  He often tells me what a great mom I am. Thanks, kiddo...I think you're great too!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BC! 

WE LOVE YOU!  

The Blessing of a Smile

This morning when I woke up and came out into the living room, I was greeted with this beautiful smile!All she wants for Christmas is her two front teeth...

In every smile there is a blessing. I am incredibly blessed.

Why not pass on the blessing of a smile to someone you meet today?

~Melissa

Company Girl Coffee 11.12.10

I love this guy...
Oh. Sorry about that. Maybe you can see him a little better in this picture...
He's the one surrounded by all those little munchkins that adore him. (Can you count all five in both pictures?) With arms and legs flying everywhere it's hard to get a decent photo of the bunch!

I love him because even when he's had a long day at work and they all charge him when he comes through the door, he gives them his full attention.

I love him because when I cut my thumb and have difficulties washing the dishes, he steps right in to help without even being asked.

I love him because he's there for me whether I need a listening ear or some good sound advice.

I love him because he points out the positive side of my 'tunnel vision' even when I see it as a flaw.

I love him for many other reasons not listed here, but mostly I love him because he loves us with all his heart and takes every opportunity to show it.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." -John 13:34

Safety First!

This week my children learned about fire safety in school. Yesterday one of my sons approached me a little concerned and asked "Mom, does Dad check those white things on the ceiling regularly to make sure they work?" It took me a minute to figure out that he was talking about our fire alarms. I told him yes, but he wasn't satisfied. "But does he check them every week? Because if there's a fire, we want to be safe."

His persistence made me smile. We have talked about exit strategies and where we would meet, and other fire safety rules. Should there ever be a fire in our home, (which I hope and pray never happens) we will be ready for it. I believe it is important to educate my children here at home about safety matters, and I'm glad they teach it in school also.

Apparently, after a week of discussing fire safety, someone thought it would be a good idea to have our own personal fireman watching over us. Let me explain with photos.

Do you see him there, at the top right corner of the fireplace? Here...I'll move in a little closer for you.

When I questioned my son about it this morning he said that the fireman was making sure we are safe. That's my boy! Safety first! :)

Have a great day everyone...and be safe!

10 Things Tuesday

There was a time when I posted ten things that I'm thankful for every Tuesday. I stopped because the person that was sponsoring "10 Things Tuesday" stopped posting. (If you're reading this friend, then I hope you don't mind my picking up the label again.) Did I stop being thankful? Absolutely not. In fact, I'm going through a season where it is even more necessary for me to remember to give thanks, lest I be consumed by my sorrows.

There's a song that I've been listening to with my 3yr old that reminded me how important thankfulness is. "I'm thankful, thankful, thankful for everything, yes I'm thankful, thankful, 'cause God gives us all good things." Today I'm bringing back "10 Things Tuesday" with a special twist...I'm making the list with my son.

1. We're thankful for silly songs that make us laugh.
2. We're thankful that the sun is out today.
3. We're thankful for banana bread.
4. We're thankful for friends.
5. We're thankful for outings and adventures. (Specifically, going to the grocery store with mommy...and I'm thankful for the shopping buddy!)
   
6. We're thankful that Jesus goes with us everywhere.
   
7. We're thankful for penguins.
8. We're thankful for daddy.
9. We're thankful for toys.
10. We're thankful for coloring.

What a fun list to make with my son! I love his attitude of thankfulness. He hardly ever thinks about the next thing that he wants, but enjoys what he already has. A lesson that I can certainly take away from this activity.

Have a great day everyone! And don't forget to stop and be thankful today. :)

No Time for Words...

Sorry...I haven't really had time to post lately...we've been having too much fun! :)