Under Construction

I'm guessing you've noticed that things look a little different around here, huh?  For starters, it's probably a breath of fresh air that you don't have to stare at my giant, enlarged head every time my blog loads!  I had no plans to spend my day rearranging my blog, but as it turns out, that's exactly what I've been doing while my kids napped and now that they are in bed.  My quick little "tweak" turned into a brand new template being applied and thus all of my previous settings getting lost in the shuffle.  Whether I was ready for a change or not (I was) it was forced upon me today.  So, I cannot promise that this will look like it does right now when you come back.  I'm sure I'll be playing around for little while til I get the look I'm going for.  Or until I can't stand to look at a layout editor anymore! 

The good news about change is that you get to clean house, so to speak, but the bad news is that you have to clean house.  I'm getting rid of some clutter but also trying to make some updates that I've been wanting to do for awhile.  For those of you who like to keep up with my posts regularly (I'm primarily speaking to family right now!) I've added a great tool to help you do that.  If you'll notice my "subscribe by email" gadget, you can enter your email address, follow the very simple process to verify your subscription and then receive an email every time I post.  You won't have to check back to see if I've updated or not, you'll just get it delivered right to your inbox.  Pretty cool, right??  Also, if you are a feed burner subscriber, you can also subscribe to my posts and comments (not sure why you'd want to do that??) on the right as well.  If you have no idea what that sentence means, then it doesn't apply to you!  ha ha!  I'd love to have you keep coming back just like you always have.  Not everything about this new update has to bring change :)

Aside from blog housekeeping today, I've mostly just been catching up around the house.  It is crazy the amount of laundry that 4 people can generate in a week!  This heat wave is not helping me out.  I swear we've had double the clothes in use the last few days due to playing outside in various temperatures, getting messy at the park and realizing what fits and what doesn't.  I've got my work cut out for me in the next few days as I sort through everyone's wardrobes and pack the cold stuff away, while figuring out what warm stuff we each have.  As I was thinking through how I was going to do that today, it occurred to me that so much of motherhood is really about management.  Between keeping up a house, stocking up on food, planning meals, doing laundry, shopping for growing people, and creating a calendar of daily activities, there is NEVER something that doesn't need my attention or management.  Somedays I feel like I run a small company, but most days I have to be very intentional about choosing to set all of it aside to give my best attention and effort to the Lord, my husband and our kids.  There will always be a million things to juggle and some of it is essential for us to live, but none of it is more important than the people God has given me to love and serve.  And that's where the tension and management comes in.  Keeping the washer and dryer running while snuggling with a little one to read a book.  Tough to always do well, but thankfully the grace of God is abundant and full of forgiveness and fresh starts. 

Just like my little blog held it's ground today and pushed for a fresh start, so goes my heart.  I'm tired tonight.  It's been a long day and I'm already looking forward to the fresh mercy of a new day tomorrow, assuming He gives me the gift of another day!  More of Jesus to know, more wisdom to gain, more mistakes to learn from, more changes to come...It would seem that there are two of us under construction and Lord willing, I hope you'll be able to see the difference in both of us as the coming days and weeks unfold.  Good, bad and ugly,  it is happening over here! 

Thanks for being readers and friends through all the changes you've graciously weathered with me over the years.  Years...So hard to believe I've been blogging for a significant chunk of time now.   One of these days I just might refer to myself as an actual "blogger" but somehow that title still seems to big for me.  I guess if I'm not a blogger, I'd have to admit to being a giant time waster, right??   Maybe I'm finally ready to own "blogger" after all :)