A New Motto For My Home

Last week I was perusing a magazine at work.  I think it was Better Homes and Gardens, or something along that line.  I read an article about decluttering your home.  Granted I have read hundreds of articles about decluttering my home.  And each one makes it seem so simple.  I just need to organize, figure out what to sell, take pictures of the things I treasure to put in a photo book so I can throw the actual item away...a closet system, a filing system, baskets, binders, labels...it can all be a little overwhelming and in the end I just throw in the towel without much effort.  This article was different though.  It was like the author was speaking to me personally.  As if she knew my life and my home and my energy level.  I felt like she was taking me by the hand and offering me hope.  I know the physical keeping of a home might not seem so spiritual or important, but as a woman living in a home filled with chaos and disorder I can tell you for certain it has an impact on your soul.  Without realizing it the house begins to close in and you forget how to breath deeply and fully.  The brain has so many distractions bombarding it that thoughts lose clarity and a sense of defeat takes hold.  I have found myself not even maintaining a semblance of order.  Things stay where they are dropped.  Papers are shuffled from one spot to another but never where you need them.  Piles of things that might one day be useful sit waiting for their day to come.  And chances are when that day comes, they will be buried, unable to be found and a substitute will be bought.
The house and all the things in it are beginning to possess me rather than the other way around.  And what do I do to combat it?  Two words...retail therapy.  That's right.  I go out and buy MORE stuff to take my mind off the stuff I already have at home.  I buy stuff to organize my stuff.  It would be a vicious cycle if there were room to cycle.  Instead it becomes a pit of quicksand.  The light, hopeful, joyous, free me is buried in possessions.  Too overwhelmed and exhausted to fight it. 
And then this article came to me like a breath from Heaven.  And one line in particular jumped off the page at me.  And has been percolating in my subconscious since.  And tonight as I lay in bed it clicked.  And gave me the energy to get up and go clear the counters of my kitchen.  This is the quote that has started a revolution in my home:

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.

William Morris

And that, ladies and gentlemen, has caused me to see my home in a whole new light.  And to be able to look at each individual THING and be able to KNOW what I should keep and what I should toss.  I am so excited about this! Little by little, step by step, I am reclaiming my home!   So thank you, Bill Morris for sharing your insight.  It has changed my life.

Savannah turns 3

My baby is 3!!!

My sweet sweet girl has turned 3.  When she was born I didn't think it was possible to love her more, but as she has gotten older and her personality has grown I find myself daily amazed at the depth of love I feel for her.  Even on her worst days when I have had it up to *here* with the whining and "whys" and temper, it takes just a simple "I love you dahling" on her part and I fall in love all over again.  She is so much fun it totally blows my mind.  I am so thankful that God picked this little girl just for me.  Also...drumroll please...little miss Savannah banana has now started wearing panties and going to the bathroom on the potty!!!  I am sure you other moms understand what a momentous occasion this is!  I am going to be sending her to school tomorrow in panties with a bunch of backups and we'll see how she does! 

Now to the fun stuff....pictures of my sweet.

All the pictures with her sitting on steps are from walks we take around our neighborhood.  She insists on choosing different places to get her picture taken.  Usually on various steps on walkways and porches:)



Mother's Day tea at her school.  We had tea and scones!





Visit to the lavender farm

She carried those sprigs of lavender with her all day and then put them in some water at home so they could grow "really big"

The day finally arrived that she had been looking forward to for 2 months! Her 3rd birthday:)

Her special horse given to her by her big sis, Alex




Sisters unite!

The adorable cake made by my sister, Sarah. Complete with Winnie the Pooh characters, cotton candy clouds and a candy adorned rainbow. Total hit of the party!

Add caption

There was a splash pad at the park so all the kids got to play in the water while the grownups relaxed tried to keep track of them

She clearly was pleased overcome with joy with all her presents:)

By the end she was a pro at unwrapping and getting to the good stuff quickly

The sign of a good birthday!



Hold on to your hats!

I have a lot of catching up to do!  It's been awhile since I last posted (at least it feels like it) and so much has happened.

First of all I am happy to report good news about the house I foreclosed on.  For the last year and a half I have been getting notices from the city of Salem saying I would be fined if I didn't keep the yard and house up to code.  When I called to explain to them I no longer lived in the house and had in fact foreclosed on it they just told me my name was listed as the owner so it was my responsibility.  And oh yeah, if I didn't get it done I could be charged up to $250 a DAY until it was taken care of.  To make a long and drawn out story shorter, last Wednesday I got an email from a third party stating their company would begin working on the property for the mortgage company.  That huge burden is off my back!  I hope all that made some sort of sense.

Two days after that good news, I got a call from the child support division and the lady said "This case has been sitting here too long with nothing happening, what's the story?" (C hasn't paid any child support since the first week of last October) She wanted ALL the details on C, what kind of person he was, who he was living with, what kind of employee he was, how long I had his daughter living with me...I told her everything.  She then told me that while we were on the phone she was able to find his girlfriend's address and phone number (he has refused to give it to me or anyone in his family).  She also said she was going to suspend his driver's license, and hold him in contempt of court.  My favorite part was when she said "I am actually really excited to be working on this case!"  Music to my ears!!!  Even if I don't get any money from him, it's nice to know that someone is looking out for me and that he might be made to have some responsibility.

On Sunday my darling sweetheart of a daughter turned 3!  I will post some pictures tomorrow, I can't seem to find my camera chord tonight.  I had a party for her with all of the family (including C and his family) at a local park.  There were a ton of people there, but one was noticeably absent...guess who?  C.  The morning of the party he dropped Alex off at his mom's with no warning.  Didn't say anything to them, just drove away.   I asked Alex if he was planning on coming later and she informed me he thought he was coming down with the flu.  I wish he would be a little more creative with his "stories".  He never called to tell her happy birthday or anything.  It felt like another door was closed and I no longer will feel guilt about her having the right to see her dad and trying to force a relationship between them. The party went well, with a few tantrums thrown by C's mom when Savannah didn't fawn over the gift she had given her  (a homemade pillow, pillowcase, hair bands, and outfit) and again when Savannah just shrugged when she asked Savannah if she knew who she was.  Evidently her feelings were REALLY hurt.  blah.  I think next year the party will be MUCH smaller.  Maybe just the cousins that are around Savannah's age and the two new baby cousins.  It's her party and everyone was trying to get her attention and it seemed like she was getting pulled in too many directions.  Next year will be much simpler. 

The final news I have is not as fun.  The last few weeks my mindset has shifted to my health for some reason.  I feel like I have neglected it (other than the occasional fad diet) the last 5 years or so.  Little things that have bothered me for years are now being addressed.  Last Thursday I had a suspicious mole biopsied.  I am waiting for those results.  I also had a thyroid ultrasound done yesterday.  in 2004 I was in the military and our department got a new ultrasound machine.  They were practicing and randomly did a scan on my thyroid.  It showed a very small but very vascular nodule, along with several other smaller nodules.  The largest one was still too small to biopsy but they said to keep following up on it.  I got out of the military and promptly forgot.  Until last week.  Yesterday I saw my doctor and she ordered the scan.  Lucky for me I work at an imaging center so they fit me right in.  I got the report today and to sum it up the nodule has grown tremendously.  It is a complex solid mass with some calcifications in it that makes it "worrisome".  There is also a nodule on the other side that has grown a little bit since the last scan.  The doctor has ordered an ultrasound guided needle biopsy.  From what I've heard these are very painful and not always accurate.  I would appreciate prayers that God would guide the doctor's needle to get cancer cells if there are any in there.
I am not feeling too much anxiety at this point because even if the worse case scenario is true (cancer) thyroid cancer is usually not life-threatening.  It can be life altering though.  The thyroid controls SOOOOO many things in the body.  I don't have the biopsy scheduled yet, but I will keep you posted on what I find out!

I think that sums up the last few weeks.  I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the sunshine that is finally here!