Month: December 2016

The Mama Diaries 

I’ve been mulling over the coming new year and what that means to me as a mom. What it means to me as Everley’s mom. Naturally, I think about the new shoes and outfits she’ll be able to wear; the dresses I bought her when she was tiny and she probably won’t fit them till this summer; the dolls she’ll play with more than she does now and the skills she’ll discover the more she plays; the bigger smiles and the louder giggles that she’s sure to produce; the adventures we’ll take together on play dates and family vacations… It will be a whole new year of exciting discovery with EveyMarie, and I am ready! More than just the fun stuff… I’m mulling over what I want her to know about the world around her, even at this early age, and what I want her to understand about herself and others.  One simple little thing that I’ve been noticing lately in our interactions – which does have to do with the world, herself, and others- …

Home: For the Holidays

Merry Christmas! For us “Christmas” lasts until January first, and then we begin the letdown into non-holiday winter. Is that how it is for you guys?? It’s been crazy over here the past few days in our neck of the woods. Wrapping and ripping, feuds and laughter, hormones and balance, tears and smiles. We’re full of contradictions! I hope it’s been a tolerable holiday for those of you who haven’t wanted to go through it, and I hope it’s been delightful for those of you who’ve looked forward to it. I’d mentioned in a Insta post around Thanksgiving that I might do a Holiday House Tour, since I do love the holiday season and really enjoyed decorating our humble abode this year. So I snapped a few pictures to share of our simply charming cottage. A bit overdue, I apologize :/ When the Little Person has a cold, it’s difficult to find time to post. I’ll tell you bits and pieces of the property’s history and the story of how we fell in love with …

If: You Get a Dog

If you get yourself a dog, you’ll say to yourself, “He’s so cute and cuddly. I love having a dog.” When he piddles in the middle of the floor, you’ll think twice. But only for a second or two.  When you first teach him how to obey, you’ll be so pleased with his learner’s spirit. After you’ve run out of treats, you’ll wonder if he actually knows how to obey.  And when he goes out for exercise and business, you’ll ask him, “Why are you leading me? How do you already know how to get there?” You’ll show him how to follow over and over and hope he pipes down the sniffer.  At home he’ll be such a sweet snuggler, warming himself in the crook of your arm and nuzzling your nose. You’ll find yourself saying, “I love you no matter what, always and forever.” But then he’ll get board and chew your work boots and kill a chicken or two. You’ll ask yourself why you got the dog in the first place.  When a …

Mr DeClutter vs Ms TalkItOut 

After finishing his breakfast and depositing his dishes onto the counter, he began flinging wide the cabinet doors, inspecting collections of dishware, pulling out all cutlery, and throwing away pens and twistyties… This is my husband. Mr DeClutter himself.  They should make a commercial of his frenetic cleaning skills. I walked into the chaos as he threw up his hands in disgust, “This kitchen needs a makeover! There are junk drawers, and piles of business cards we never use, utensils we don’t use anymore, way too many mugs, and…” Okay, I got the picture. I started to ask some preliminary questions to make sure we were on the same page, “Is this a project you’d like to do today? Is this something you’d like to work on together? What do you think the five main problem areas are of this room?” You see, I’m the Talk-It-Out Plan-It-Out Girl and he’s the Throw-It-In-a-Massive-Pile-Get-Mad-About-It-Tear-It-Apart-Put-It-Back-Together-Again Guy.  Yea.  So we pulled a little Chip & Joanna Gaines here. You’ve heard them talk about their marriage, right? Total opposites. Couldn’t …

Through: the Forest

You know that phrase, “seeing the trees through the forest”? We referred to it often when I was a Vision Therapist. Sometimes we are so focused on the tree in front of us and the tree to our left and the tree to our right that we become overwhelmed… as a result we’ve lost perspective and we’ve gotten lost in the forest of trees. We’re no longer seeing the trees that make up the whole forest. (In Vision Therapy this is known as central focus and parafieral awareness 😉)  The holiday season for us is much like this phenamanon. We tend to just see all the trees -sadness, despair, loss, misery- and no forest -God who is sovereign over these emotions. Or we see a thick dense forest of pain and anger that will consume us and we miss the individual trees of blessing and hope.  It is difficult to explain to those who have not suffered during the holiday season how much resentment, turmoil, and bitterness is wrapped up under the cheer, lights, ornaments, …