Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Haven: Cared For

Today went much better overall - I was at the table for Quiet Time a bit before 7am! Yeah! And, I had a precious time in the Word - here is what stood out to me:
Jeremiah 32: 39-41, "They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul."
Lord, please give me a singleness of heart and action - that I may fear You. For my own good and for the good of my sweet children and their children. Thank You for Your Word! Amen.

Next, the ladies were up and we stripped their beds right away and got the first load of laundry going before getting Samuel up. He got up, was nursed and changed and I began fixing breakfast.

The girls couldn't seem to wait to do a workbook page/color - so they did that while I toasted leftover Applesauce Pancakes.

We enjoyed breakfast and our Bible reading/book for the day.

I emptied the dishwasher and dishdrainer, switched the laundry and began on the huge mound of laundry to be accomplished today:

We read books, got dressed and by the time we'd done all of this - it was time for Samuel to go back down for his morning nap. While he slept - we worked on making some closet dividers for clothes that fit now and ones that we're saving for later. I traced a CD on a piece of construction paper (the girls share a closet, so the color is my clue whose clothes they are!) - then they colored to decorate the circles with markers.

We cut them out and laminated them with Contact paper. I let them watch a short movie while I did the Contact paper and put the sheets back on their beds: (note: I realized the dividers showing in the picture are the ones I made for Samuel's closet)

Next, Samuel was up and we all headed into the ladies room to start on their closet. Oh, yes - they are little ladies - they wanted to change their clothes the entire time! It was cute - and challenging to get much done! But, I did manage to sort the clothes into Emily Now, Emily Later, Rachel Now, Rachel Later. After that - I folded a load of clothes and got them put away, nursed Samuel and we did his closet as well.

Next it was time for lunch - and play and clean up, etc... When everyone was quiet, I waxed the top of the china cabinet and polished the silver. Then, I pulled out the filing and did all of that plus the needed shredding.

Right about that time, David called and said he had arranged a babysitter and was taking me out to dinner! It was so much appreciated and it was a blessing to have some time to spend with just him! So, we'll have hamburgers and oven fries tomorrow night!

After we got home from dinner, I loaded the dishwasher, make pumpkin pie popsicles (recipe to come tomorrow) and continued on the laundry. Four loads are put away, two loads are waiting to be folded/put away. I did not do any mending today or any ironing. Those still await.

Hope you all had a great day!

Updated: I forgot to mention that my sister is my motivator in closet organization especially where little clothes are concerned! She suggested the closet dividers and has a great idea for inventory too!

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, I'm truly inspired. I like reading the details of what people do, as it gives me ideas for doing more things in my own space!

Anonymous said...

I can't believe how much you accomplished in one day with three small children!

I can't WAIT to dig into my daughters room next week. My project for Monday is to clean out her room. Nothing else; if I can just do that one thing, I will be thrilled!

Thanks for the post - I love those little dividers!

Unknown said...

LOL, Monica! I have a laundry pile pic that is very similar! Great job with getting alot done! I hope you had a wonderful date with you man...God bless you!

Anonymous said...

Looks like you had a good day! I enjoyed your Bible verses too. What a sweet surprise for you to go out with your dh for supper!

Thanks again for sharing about your day! I enjoyed the pictures! :)

Anonymous said...

Good job, mama!

Melody said...

What a great idea for the clothes dividers. I may to incorporate that at our house.

glenna marshall said...

Monica,
I just discovered your blog and I have been reading for an hour here! I am so encouraged as one who struggles with staying on task at times when it comes to running my home.
I am a pastor's wife and now finally a mom to a beautiful baby boy that we adopted at birth in June. I am loving being a stay-at-home-wife/mom, but sometimes organization of my day is overwhelming to me. Your blog has been very helpful to me; I feel that my home should definitely be a welcoming haven for my little family.
Thanks for posting! I plan to read often!

Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet said...

What great pics and wonderful productive day! What a blessing to have a date night! :D

Rachel said...

Yet again... you are supermom!

I love the closet dividers idea! And I can't wait for the pumpkin pie popsicles recipe.

I now have a clean pantry thanks to your "haven" series! Pictures are posted over at my blog. Thanks for the inspiration!

Unknown said...

love all the pics!

Anonymous said...

Your posts have inspired me enough to not wait until next week. I completely cleaned out Lily's room tonight!! And my hubby was so inspired by my cleaning that he folded a bunch of Lily's clothes while I cleaned! So after cleaning, I was able to put many of her clothes in her closet and dresser drawers. Here's the rundown of what I took out of her room:

3 bags for good will
2 bags for basement (items she's too old for that I want to keep in case we have any more babies)
1 bag of trash
Plus - random items that didn't belong in her room are now put away, and a Dora Quad, a child lawn chair, art supplies, and a stroller all found neat new homes in the basement.

I can't believe how much I accomplished in barely over two hours! Her falling asleep in our bed tonight was a huge blessing!

Lily's carpet in in desperate need of shampooing, but her room is almost a haven! Next cleaning project: my bedroom!

Thank you so much for your posts. I guess I am able to join in a little bit this week!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing!You're such a great motivator!

Wendi said...

Sounds like a great day!

Bridgett said...

What a great day! W/an awesome finish too. :)

fixedonHIM said...

What an awesome day! I am so inspired by your time management with three little ones.

I have that same laundry pile...you know it's been a fixture too long when your children start jumping or standing on it to role play. If it's going to be here...we might as well make it fun! :)

What a treat for your husband to surprise you...it is such a blessing to have that time together away from the children for a bit.

Elizabeth Sue said...

How do you do it all? I feel so ashamed of myself....I have one little girl and didn't get that much done....wow! Please feel free to share how you have so much energy!

GeonHui's Bakery said...

I love the closet organizers and thanks for the link to Carrie's inventory post. I see closet organizing in our near future :)

Amy said...

Those are such great ideas for ways to care for your family. I am anxiously awaiting the pumpkin pie pops recipe :)

Jenny's Vegcafe said...

That sounds like a great day! I love that your husband surprised you with a date. How sweet!

Unknown said...

Boy, that sounds like a great day! What a wonderful idea for the closet dividers.

gail said...

its been fun following you this week. lovely post and what a great hubby. so sweet, i'm sure he appreciates all you do around your home.

can't wait to see the recipe for pumpkin popsicles!

Jenn said...

What a wonderful day you all had. GREAT JOB!!! ;-)

Henley on the Horn said...

Oh my goodness! you are so organized & keep everything so homey feeling! WOw. Did you have to slide the bar off to make the dividers stay in place? Loved all of the info about your day!

*carrie* said...

Yours turned out darling, Monica. Great idea, and what a savings! Hope you're feeling better about all the clothes.