Simple Ain't that Easy

Not really sure how else to say it....SIMPLE, well, it's not really SIMPLE. I never realized how much work goes into being SIMPLE!!! I don't guess it's really that difficult, just hard to break old habits and replace with new ones. But that is the work of any change, right?

So far, simplification has greatly improved our living conditions. One-third of the house has received its makeover and what a tremendous difference it has made. I can see all of our moods improving. And I actually feel like cooking in the kitchen...LOL! It is just the whole process of simplifying that is not quite that easy. It's a LOT of work. But for now, FOCUS is the key word. The other thing I've had to come to terms with is what is under my control. As hard as it is for me to admit, I cannot do it all......gasp!!! So in simplifying our living areas, I've had to put things on the list for dh and realize that those things are not my responsibility. Believe me, I have plenty of things to concern myself about so why I have felt for all these years it is necessary for me to carry the burden of everyone else's concerns I don't guess I will ever understand. But for now I need to focus on leaving other people to take care of their responsibilities and for me to take care of MY responsibilities.

Things are slowly coming around for homeschooling as well. I have a set of Ray's Arithmetic and McGuffey Readers. Tomorrow we begin those in the hopes of simplifying our education process. I am also reading a book that I wonder if it was written just for me. It is called Easy Homeschooling Techniques and it is just amazing how parallel it is to what I have been thinking and wanting for our life.

I will check back in when I've got a few days of homeschooling under my belt and a few more chapters of the book read :-)

For now....
In Christ,
ThereO

Simply simple

Things have not been going very well lately. My dad has been sick and this week he went for a follow-up procedure. He actually cried on the phone with me...that's huge. He's depressed.....I'm depressed.....uuuggghh. Considering that dh lost his dad just a little over a year ago, he's not really in a postition to deal, if you know what I mean. Even before my dad got sick we were considering a move to their town and made some serious attempts to do so, but to no avail. Then things got kind of weird with my parents because of some of their health decisions and dh decided that was the last place we needed to be. So you might say I've been riding the roller coaster on that one. Of course, I'd still love to move close to my folks. Then a few days ago dh rides my case because I want to buy something for the house and that's not necessary because we need to move anyway??????WHAT?????? Now he's talking about moving there again????? Oh geez! We are all totally on edge. The kids are wiggin out because they have no idea what to expect. They stay up way too late and have way too much time on their hands.

So after taking a breather today and thinking about things I realized this life has become WAY too complicated and that is not what God asks of us....is it??? Nope, according to Jesus, it is REAL SIMPLE...love God, love your neighbor. Okay, well we can apply that to everything else as well.....soooo....today we began our SIMPLE life. Two choices for breakfast, two choices for lunch, two choices for supper. SIMPLE. The new flooring needs to be finished and then each room receives a SIMPLE make-over. Declutter extreme! For the kids, that means a week's worth of clothing and a handful (or less) of toys. For me, that means a week's worth of clothing and a FEW books (e-gads!!!! maybe this isn't such a good idea afterall...LOL!). For homeschooling that means math and reading. Perhaps we will add back a few things as we get better at this but for now....SIMPLE! LOL! The kids are already tired of hearing me say it. Of course, it also means that instead of giving them a lengthy speech about stuff, they get a SIMPLE "you should/n't do this because x." It also means they are told ONE time...so far so good....we'll see when it has been in practice a full 24 hours....LOL!

But for now, our definition of life and it's approach is, well, SIMPLE, really!
Simply in Christ,
ThereO

Cowboy win?????

Well, I must say after the stressful day today I was quite ready to relax and watch MNF. Definitely watched the game....but relax????? Whew....not with the nail-biter I saw tonight. It is unbelievable that DC could win after ALL the mistakes but they pulled it out over the BB in the last second. Now I can look forward to a game of the unbeatens...DC and NEP.

The stress....let's see....it started off with a shot to the still-painful ankle. Dh and Princess went to a funeral for an aunt of dh. And if that wasn't enough, my dear dad and mom are not doing so well. One thing I can say....the game definitely got my mind off of all that :-)

Blessings,
ThereO

A New Start

All right....this isn't technically a "new start," not blogging-ly-speaking that is. This is my first attempt at blogging. This is a new start however at MOVING FORWARD. I am definitely not a literary genius but I've long wanted to create a blog and so here it is. As part of moving forward in life, I am creating this blog to help in documenting the songs of our family.

Blessings to All!
ThereO