September has come and gone in a flurry of cross country meets, a flat tire, a dead truck battery, decluttering, and more. It was a good, but busy month. And, I am counting my blessings for all of the little ways God was with me last month.
My Family
A couple of weeks ago my truck had a dead battery which my husband was able to quickly change before I had to drive an hour to go to a cross country meet. The very next day I had a flat tire right as I pulled into church. It was a blessing that I wasn’t still on the highway.
Both situations were proof that God is in the details. I am so thankful for my husband and good friends who God used to help remedy both situations.
While September was a busy month, we were able to take time to enjoy some down time. I believe taking time to slow down in the midst of busyness is so important, and I work very hard to make sure my kids have time to do “boring” things like take a walk in the woods.
Technology is great (in small doses), but there is nothing like throwing rocks into the creek or soaking up the sunshine on a beautiful fall day.
I hope my kids will look back and remember the “boring” times as some of the best times.
September was also the month in which James turned 13 years old. We now have two teenagers in the house. While I love the baby stage so much, I am really having fun with my big kids. People make teenagers out to be hard to deal with. I haven’t found that to be the case so far.
There were four days in September that were busier than normal. My parents went on vacation and I took care of my niece and nephew while my brother and sister-in-law were at work. We had a lot of fun!
My Favorite Picture
I simply love this picture of Joseph and Janna. They are at such fun ages (7 and 4). I love it when they play well together.
What I’m Reading
In September I read 3 books. This was quite a big deal for me. I feel like I really have my reading mojo back. When I was a teenager I could spend hours upon hours getting lost in a book. When I was in college I sort of lost my love of reading because there was so much to read that wasn’t for fun.
Then, life happened and my time to read anything other than non-fiction resources was again put on the back burner.
However, now that I have made it a conscious effort to read for the sheer joy of it, I realize how much I have missed reading for the fun of it.
In August I read two classics and in September I read two more. Tess of the D’urbervilles by Thomas Hardy and Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (affiliate links). I also read the popular book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. I hope to blog about it soon but for now you can see a little below about how have been implementing some of what I read.
What I’m Working On
I would love to tell you that I have been sewing and crafting, but I have not been working on anything as fun as that.
As I mentioned above, I read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. I was inspired to start applying her methods and I have been working on our clothing for the past couple of weeks. I have pared my wardrobe down to the bare minimum and I still have plenty of clothes to wear.
While I have been donating clothes like crazy, we still have SO many clothes! The picture above is just a small sampling of what I have given away. I think I need to read parts of the book again to make sure I am making the best choices about which clothes to keep for my kids.
We have been blessed with so many hand-me-downs over the years, but I want to make sure I am applying the principle of keeping only things that “spark joy”.
One benefit about applying some of the things in the book is Janna’s underwear drawer. I gave away 21 pairs of underwear that were too small and then folded the rest of her underpants in a special way.
When Janna opened her drawer to pick out a pair after I had finished folding them she was so excited. She could see what she had and has enjoyed picking out which pair she will wear each day. 🙂
One thing I will say, if you do end up reading this book, is to remember that the author is Japanese and therefore there are some things she writes about that are definitely different than what I believe. Instead of thanking objects, as she suggests, before getting rid of them I have chosen to thank God for blessing us with the items and praying that they will bless someone else.
On the Blog
I started so many posts in September that I never posted. Maybe October will be better. Here are the posts I did manage to hit publish on.
Well, that about does it for September 2015. To keep up with me until next month’s update head over to Instagram where I have been sharing all sorts of random pictures. Also, be sure to follow me on Pinterest and Facebook while you’re at it.
What were you into in September?
I’m linking up with Leigh Kramer to show what I’m into lately!
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