Hospitality

I've been thinking a lot about hospitality lately. I'm going to be called, (or am being called) to do a lot of it in the near future, and I want to do it well.

It seems to me there are two schools of thought regarding having people in your home, and I'm not sure how I feel about either. What we have always done in the past, is simply to open up our home. Basically to include the person staying in our family. Generally this method doesn't require a whole lot of extra effort on our part. The person staying with us doesn't feel like they are putting us out, and for the most part seems to work quite well.

I'm thinking of changing this. Making the person feel more important, more special. Making more of an effort in the small things. Fresh flowers by the bed, don't think I'll go as far as mints on the pillows, but you get the idea. I'm just not sure.

I love that people feel a part of our family when they come to visit and I don't want to change that, but have been challenged to become more of a servant and to serve people better.

In light of this, Tim and I have taken to sending out "encouragement boxes" to people. It is simply a small box with a few items inside- a chocolate bar, some soap, a candle, coffee and of course a book. Put in a pretty box, with a homemade card simply letting people know we are praying for them. We take one person every two weeks and send it out. It has been so much fun! It has been so good for Tim and I as well, as we talk over who we feel we should send the box to, and that person's name goes up on our chalk board in the kitchen. A constant reminder to pray. We have been trusting God will bring someone to mind who is in need of a little encouragement.

Tim gets home tonight, we are having a bunch of people in for LOST. I've been busy cleaning and getting snacks ready for tonight. I always go overboard with the food for these things! Don't you wish you were coming?

100

This is my 100th post. Sort of exciting. Now I just have to talk Tim into making the site more 'pretty' . Seems to me with a web designer for a husband, this should be a fairly easy task. But since I have been asking for more than a year... and something has yet to materialize.....

We are going to Grace Kids tonight. The first time I have ventured out on my own. I'm a little nervous. Rexdale is not the best neighborhood. But it is a straight line from the highway to the school.... now if I can just remember how to get home.......

I've been running around doing house repairs today. Tim is not handy... so it often falls on me to get these things done. I wait and wait for him to do it and finally throw up my hands and do it my-self. Beside the bathtub we've had some water damage, so I cleaned out the rather large hole, repaired it, and am just waiting for it to dry to caulk and paint. The downstairs window was replaced, but the trim needed to be repaired as well. A little wood filler, and once that dried it needs to be primed and painted as well!

I've been trying to find a Wii fit. It is supposed to be good exercise and fun as well. They are no-where to be found, but if I wasn't so lazy I could have had one yesterday. Jen found one, but I waited too long to go and get it!

At Last

Tim is away at his last conference for the Spring season. It as def. been a time of growth for me. how stressful it has been! As I look outside at the beautiful GREEN, I thought, just a short month ago that this time would never happen. (around the time Abby was throwing up in the bathroom) yet here we are. How much easier it is when kids are healthy to look after them as a single parent!

WE are going to have a busy couple of weeks- or month really. Grace and Justin will be stopping by twice in the next couple of weeks. Kathrine will be coming to stay for a fews days as well. There there is some kid from Australia who is doing a world tour and visiting all the people who have influenced him. So he is coming to visit Tim. A little odd, but should be interesting! All in all Tim is delighted as he loves having a revolving door!

I'm still hoping to head down south at some point in June... but when is still a mystery.

My garden is looking....well... interesting. The plants need to grow up... and it looks...well... colorful. I'll post pictures sometime when I figure out how.

The kids are scrambling to go outside for a bit..... so I'm going to do that... have a good night!

Idenitity

I don't think, as a child I ever suffered from an identity crisis. For the most part, aside from the occasional very typical teenage times, I was very comfortable with who I was. I remember being fairly self assured.

From time to time, since becoming a mom, my sense of self has become somewhat eroded. Tim mentioned to me this morning that it seems I have been a little depressed lately. He noticed as he has been the one making dinner the last few nights, and the house is hanging upside down. Now, to be fair some of that is circumstance, but it is true never-the-less.

I'm never sure which comes first. In the summer, it is always tougher to keep on top of the house. Outside calls me, the kids want to be out, and trek enormous amounts of dirt inside. But, I'm not sure if the situation has changed, or if my ability to cope has. The chores just don't get done. I can't get them done, no matter how good my intentions. So is that that change in routine or something else?

I've never handled change well, and perhaps this is my own inability to cope with change (my routine has changed now that everyone wants to be outside) that is causing this. As a child my mom often threatened to send me home when we went on family vacations because I was such a little terror. Change in routine destroyed me for a few days and I was almost impossible to live with. I've been on such a short fuse the last few weeks!

Frankly, I'm thinking there must be something like that going on.... nothing else really makes sense. Mental battles are so difficult!

I've got to get the laundry done, Tim is leaving in the morning for yet another conference... but it is the last one!!!!!

Spring

It has been a long time since I've posted. It seems that spring time, as much as I love it, is always the busiest time of year for us. The kids have been living outdoors as much as possible. So much is happening, I'm not sure where to begin! Michaela has been taking swimming lessons, and as much as I hate getting in the water, she LOVES being in the pool .... kick, kick she says as she happily frog kicks around. Nick is happily engaged in baseball, and Abby decided to forgo soccer so she can start her beloved ballet in the fall.

It seems the kids will be moving schools in the fall, but we still have yet to hear the official word.

Tim has one final conference this week and then he will be done for the spring. Tim is hoping to take all of July off work, concentrating on writing and is hoping to start another book.

Me, I'm just holding it together. This time of year balancing the housework, and outdoor time is always a challenge.

My husbands quote for today.. "I like sad stories about dogs...they make me cry at the end too....." ahhhh the great Tim Challies.....