Under Construction

I love irony...and I've got an extra dose of it in my life right now.  We have officially been moved for two weeks now and life is still, well, under construction.  The road that leads to our new home is being completely resurfaced so traffic is backed up while construction takes place.  Our new house is still about three to four weeks away from being completed as construction continues.  And just this week, I had planned to go to my new office and set up shop before the school year begins a week from now.  I was all set to at least get one space in my life organized and put together.  But, you guessed it, the school is doing some major remodeling and I couldn't get into the building due to construction.

As you may know from reading my blog, I prefer the organized life.  In the past, the details of the past few weeks may have sent me over the edge!  Instead, I now see this time as organized chaos that is serving a purpose.  Instead of organizing my surroundings, I have spent the past few weeks organizing my thoughts and priorities.  I know that this time of 'rebuilding' is just for a season.  So instead of clearing out closets, I'm clearing out negative thinking.  Instead of scheduling tasks, I'm sleeping in and swimming with my kids.  Instead of being stressed, I'm feeling so very blessed. 

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.  ~Ecclesiastes 3:1

The Perfect Message

I received a card from someone very dear to my heart that spoke volumes to me during this season of my life.  Maybe it will inspire you as well:

"God is writing a book about you.
The pages tell of your life
and the lives you were created to touch.
No one else will take exactly
the same path as you, meet the same people,
or have a chance to show
the love of God in the same way.
You are unique and so is your story...
and it's one of the Author's favorite reads.
I hope the next chapter
holds more good things
than you can imagine."
(Dayspring Cards)

Have a wonderful day!

Packing Procrastination

I am so over packing for the big move.  In fact, I have given serious thought to either selling it all or having one giant bonfire...I'll invite you over either way:)

So what is a girl to do when packing one more box will send you over the edge?  Entertain, of course!

Today I am having some sweet friends over for lunch and then planning a bbq for family that begins arriving tomorrow to help load the trucks.  Apparently cooking is a stress reliever for me...who knew?

For lunch, I am making turkey and honey mustard on croissants and BLT bites, which is a wonderful recipe I got from my friend Mary. 

Roma Tomatoes

Mayo

Parmesan Cheese

Green Onion

Bacon

Cut off both ends of the tomato, one end to hollow out and one end so the tomato stands up.  Mix remaining ingredients (I don't even measure anymore, just eyeball it until it looks right) and stuff.  Super easy and so delicious!  Dessert will be Tastefully Simple Chocolate Pound Cake with fresh raspberries or Tastefully Simple Almond Pound Cake with fresh strawberries.  Yum!

What's your favorite summer recipe?

Back to School Deals....Wait, What?!

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my job as a school counselor, but the Back to School headlines always catch me off guard in July :)

Either way, the back to school deals are beginning and it is a great time to stock up on school supplies without breaking the bank.  Check out two of my favorite money saving blogs, Money Saving Mom and The Krazy Coupon Lady to get your supply list started.

How in the world am I staying organized for back to school on top of my move?  I have a tradition of taking each boy for a "back to school" shopping day where we buy new shoes, any items on their lists that they can pick out like folders, etc., and a new backpack. We then go out to lunch at a restaurant of their choice.  They love the alone time with me and it builds the anticipation for a new school year.  When we get home, the backpack gets hung up by the back door (where it lives during the school year) and I simply drop other supplies in as I bring them home (at discounted prices, of course)!  We then go through and label everything closer to school time.

What do you do to prepare for back to school?

Shortcuts

Shortcut (noun): A method or means of doing something more directly and quickly than and often not so thoroughly as by ordinary procedure. ~Webster's Dictionary

Near our current home, there is an alternate route to get to our house from the highway. My boys have always referred to this as the "shortcut". I'm not convinced it is actually a faster way to get home, but the turn comes before the exit we normally take from the highway, so to them it seems closer. When we have been gone for awhile at games or a weekend trip, they chant "shortcut, shortcut" so that I will take the first turn.

How many times in life do we wish we had a shortcut to get through a hard time or a task? Right now, I wish someone would show me a shortcut to moving and I sure would have taken any shortcut that would have moved me through the season of divorce more quickly. There are times when you are just ready to be HOME.

When we want a shortcut and none is available what do we end up doing? One of two things: we give up or we get to work. Giving up is not an option if we desire change. Getting to work, even one small task at a time, guarantees some sort of change will occur.

So whether we are tackling a messy room, a messy financial situation or a messy season of life, let's stop looking for a shortcut and get to work. Make a plan and move forward, one step at a time. Some of the most daunting roads in our lives often lead to the greatest destinations.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." ~James 1:2-4

Garage Sale Find!

I am not a huge garage sale person, but I had a few hours on Saturday and came upon this little beauty!  It is a cottage style table top mirror with two drawers.  I have a few old desks that I have painted and plan to add this to the top of one to make a vanity.  The best part?  It still had the Eddie Bauer Home Store tag on it for $79.00 and I paid $10.  Brand new!  Love it!  I'll let you know when the vanity is complete, but I must get moved first!  Come to think of it, I probably shouldn't be bringing anything else into my house at this point :)

I'm joining the fun over at Southern Hospitality today and seeing everyone else's fun finds! 

Define Home

This is our current home (which is still for sale if you are interested :)....

And this is the garage view of the carriage house that we are building a state away...

Why the move?  Here is the long story short:

After years of hard work and prayer, I ended up a single mama of two boys one year ago.  We had been in our current state/city for six years, but all of our family (both sides) lived a state away and we missed them terribly during this trying time.  Moving was not an option, however, because I was going to try to keep life as stable as possible for my two little blessings, who were 9 and 6 at the time of our separation and 10 and 7 at the time of our divorce.

God had different plans, though.  In January of this year, a job opened up near my hometown, fifteen minutes from all of our family.  Mind you, I was NOT looking for a job and the way this came about was through a series of events that were more than coincidental and worthy of their own post.  I was one of ten people interviewed out of many applicants and I was offered the job.  I was still hesitant to uproot my kids and had a lot of doubts that this would be for the best.  God kept nudging me, though, and showed me that this was not only the best financial decision, but best for us to be surrounded with family.  I was honestly so happy with our current life and my job that I continued to question how smart this was.  After many prayers, God made it clear that this was the direction we were to go and the blessings continued to come forth.  My boys and I are able to build on family land about 500 feet behind the house I grew up in and will be less that a mile away from both sets of their grandparents.  I love this for them and think it is a suitable second choice option to the family I had hoped for them to have growing up.

So that leads us to today...two weeks before our moving day.  I am now learning lessons in patience while I wait for our current house to sell and our future house to be built.  I have always seen my home as an expression of our family; a place to grow, laugh, cry, entertain and just live life.  I love to decorate, organize and gather people around my table.  And while my houses have never been castles, they are home just the same. 

More than anything, the past few years have made it very clear to me that home is wherever we are surrounded by those we love and those that love us back.  I pray that our new home is a blessing to our family and to everyone who enters its doors.  With that as my definition of home, square footage matters very little.

How do you define home?

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. ~Joshua 24:15