Quick, before I get Sidetrack'd

The last few weeks have been rough on me. There hasn’t been anything major, or even anything specific, but I’ve felt weary and worn most days; coming down with the plague hasn’t helped things either. I’m pretty confident in the fact that my malaise stems, at least in part, from not spending the time that I should in prayer, scripture reading, and meditation on the things of God. When I get out of the habit of quiet time I tend to find myself besieged by the thoughts and worries of the world.

Toward the end of last week I was reading a post at Days to Come and came across this sentence, “But my future is in the hands of the same God who was sovereign of my past.” This thought has stuck with me for several days, reverberating around in my head at various times.

It isn’t healthy to dwell on the past, but it is good to consider from time to time how God has been faithful in your past. Looking back I can see how God orchestrated events, people, and places to make me the person, wife, mother, and Christ follower that I am today. Reflection of this type leads me to gratefulness and praise which leads me back into the throne room of the Father.

This life isn’t always easy. We are beset daily by the cares and struggles of a fallen world, but I know that He is in control and that he is faithful. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” In this I can rest. In this I find joy.

Little and I have been smitten by a cold bug. It has been a rough few days of sneezing, wheezing, coughing, and running noses. I’m not sure from whence it came, but I’m pretty sure I got it from my girl.

When we went to the pediatrician last Wednesday for Little’s 9 month check-up she was in the early stages of the virus. She refused to nurse for about 36 hours (Monday to Tuesday), so I knew something was going on. I’m just glad it wasn’t an ear infection as I feared. Most of the weekend was spent with Dimetapp, saline, and bulb syringe in hand as we tried to stay ahead of the snot. There were times when I’m pretty certain she had more snot smeared on her face and rubbed in her hair than the amount normally produced by her body over a number of days.

The rest of the weekend I spent blowing my nose, coughing, and generally trying to do as little as possible; although, I did manage to squeak out a few games of Wii bowling with what strength I had left. Matt should be glad I was beset with the plague, otherwise I would have beat him for sure.

I think we are on the upside of it now. Hopefully the cough won’t hang around too long, and I’ve still got my fingers crossed that Little won’t end up with an ear infection.

I’ve been tagged by my dah-ling SIL Lu for a “7 Things About Me” meme. I’m having trouble thinking of seven things, but here we go…

1. I lived in the same house from the day I came home from the hospital until the day I got married (my parents still live there).

2. I bowl much better on Wii than I do in real life.

3. I was in the delivery room when my oldest nephew was born; it was one of the neatest things I’ve ever been able to do.

4. Matt and I met in our first class our Freshman year of college; it was a MWF 8am American History class.

5. I have a degree in Biology; from 3rd grade until my Sophomore year of college I was planning to go to medical school.

6. Although I’ve lived in Tennessee all my life, I was not a Vols fan until we lived in Knoxville.

7. I played Jo in my high school production of Little Women.

I think I will tag Tanya, Katrina, Laura, and my IRL friends Diane and Michelle if they are interested. If you decide to play along, let me know so I can come check it out.

Okay, so I have to admit that I’ve fallen off the wagon with my Spring Reading Thing list. I have been reading, but I’ve only finished 2 of the books on my original list (see book reviews here).

One thing I’ve learned about myself during this challenge is that it is very difficult for me to read non-fiction at night (before bed); by that time I am tired and looking for light, enjoyable stories that don’t require a tremendous amount of thought. Right now, most of my reading time is after Little goes to bed, so I am falling woefully behind on my non-fiction reading goals. Hopefully, I will be able to finish at least one of the non-fiction books on my original list by the end of the challenge (June 21st).

So, if I haven’t been reading from my list, what have I been reading?

Next by Michael Crichton (I got down to the last 100 pages and it was due back to the library; I’ll have to check it out again in a couple of weeks)

Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella (another cute, light book by the author of Confessions of a Shopaholic)

And fresh from the library today:

Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy (one of my favorite modern authors)

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (from my original list)

I am also sad to say that I have fallen way behind on my Bible reading; I really need to buckle down and get back to doing quite time like I should.

Anywho, off to read for a bit while Little rests. Enjoy the beautiful day (assuming it is as pretty where you are as it is here right now)!

Steph at Adventures in Babywearing has dared us to bare our souls, I mean faces, for a Blogger’s Without Makeup contest. The incentive? A little fun and a chance to win some chocolates!

So, here I am, au naturale:

Janice and Susan at 5 Minutes for Mom are at it again! They will be hosting a series of give aways for Mother’s Day between now, and, well, Mother’s Day (imagine that!). First up is an iPod Nano!

The 30 Day Organizational Challenge has come to an end, and I’m happy to report that I completed my work on Little’s closet with time to spare. I moved things, removed things, container-ized things, and better contained things. I’m quite pleased with the finished product, and there is plenty of room to grow.

Laura has asked that each participant answer a few questions about the process and experience:

1. What was the hardest part of the challenge for you and were you able to overcome it? The hardest part for me was getting started. I overcame my hesitancy by taking everything from her closet and dumping it in the living room floor.

2. Tell us what kind of changes/habits you have put into place in order for your area/room to maintain its new order? I’m trying to be very conscientious of putting things back where they belong and putting her clothes into the baskets neatly.

3. What did you do with the “stuff” you were able to purge out of your newly organized space? Most of what I purged was clothing or baby items that Little has outgrown. Because we hope to have more children, these items are now residing in the attic or her “outgrown clothing” storage box.

4. What was the biggest lesson you learned from this experience? It really didn’t take long once I began the process; it’s all about getting started.

5. Now that you have completed the PROCESS, do you think having and keeping your space organized will make a difference in your life? It will definitely make it easier to find and get to her clean clothes. The new storage for her “to grow into” clothing will also help me keep an eye on how much clothing I have for the next season.

And now the fun part; before and after photos:

I added containers to the shelves to hold onesies/tees, pants/skirts, fancy pants (what we call diaper covers), sleepers/pajamas, socks, etc. The clear bag container on the top shelf contains clothing of sizes she has yet to grow into (mostly 12-18 months for the fall and winter); the boxes on the bottom right contain clothing she has outgrown that we need to return to other people. The wicker basket on the floor will hold items she outgrows until I have a chance to sort them and get them into longer term storage.

The overall results: her closet is neater and more functional; thus, so is the rest of her room.