Sunday Morning Milestone

Every mother dreams of the day when her children are able to dress themselves to go to church on Sunday morning.  My three eldest children are quite capable of dressing themselves without supervision, although they still need a collar turned down here, and a sash tied there. 

I am pleased to announce that my youngest child is now able to put his church clothes on by himself.  Here he is – ready for Sunday School!

He is so pleased with himself!

Ahhh!  I have arrived!  Now I can spend an extra twenty minutes getting myself ready.  :)

We’ve Made Our Bed…

now we can lie in it.  Literally.  I already showed you the bench that we made.  It was a test run before we took on the project that inspired this whole woodworking craze that seems to have overcome the members of our household.  For years, I have wanted a bed – not just a mattress on a metal frame, but a beautiful headboard/footboard frame that would grace our room with elegance and charm.  I have looked at yard sales, Goodwills, thrift stores, Craigslist, and online sites, trying to find that perfect one.  I found it – several times, in fact.  However, it was never the perfect price.  So, I just laid on my metal frame and mattress and dreamed of that perfect bed.  It wasn’t a need.  It was a WANT!  I could do without it.

Then, I saw the bed.  Not just the bed, but the plans to make the bed yourself.  Same book in which I found the bench plans – and a myriad of other furniture plans.  We made it!  We love it!  I suppose you all want to see a picture of this masterpiece, so without further ado, here is our new bed! (Drum roll, please!)

I could not be happier!  The neat thing is, my husband I and made this together!  Our time was full of fun and laughter, and we learned so many things while doing this project together.  It is solid and sturdy as a rock.  We will be handing this one down to our grandchildren for sure! :)  Now, I think I need to go lie down and daydream about my next project…

Priorities

I suppose every New Year brings a flood of resolutions and plans that range from losing weight, to eating a more healthy diet, quitting a bad habit, starting a good habit, or improving some area of your life.

I am no stranger to these kind of resolutions, and I must say, that the ones I need to focus on most are usually the one that get kicked to the side of the road first!  I recently read an e-book that dealt with this very issue.  While much of the book was superfluous to my situation, I did glean this nugget of truth: Prioritize.  The author advised instead of setting several difficult goals for the new year, to focus on the next 21 days.  She said to figure out the minimum you wanted to accomplish in that amount of time, and to cut it in half!  That amount should be your goal.  Whoa!  This is totally revolutionary!  No longer do I have this huge task looming before me – just a small goal that does not seem so insurmountable.  This narrow focus causes us to prioritize the tasks we want to accomplish, and only the most important ones will survive.

Just to show you haw this can change your goal-making plans, here are a few of my goals, both before reading the book, and after reading the book.

Before – Publish another piano arrangement book

After – Spend at least 15 minutes a week working on my piano arrangement book

Before – Lose XXX pounds

After – Exercise at least 4 days a week and substitute a protein shake for a meal at least 3 times a week

Before – Get back on the coupon wagon (I fell off and got run over sometime last year)

After – Buy a paper each week, and organize my coupons (I am still working on this one, but I need to finish it soon, since you can quickly get behind when it comes to coupons.  There is nothing worse than missing a good deal because you can’t find  a coupon!)

Just a few simple tweaks to my goals, and they all of a sudden seem so much more accessible!  I have already spent more time accomplishing these “little” goals than if I had left them as they were.  It gives a sense of accomplishment and renewed excitement each time you make the goal, and if you feel like you can do more, do it!  Don’t modify your goals, though.  Keep them simple, and you will accomplish more in the end because you will not get discouraged.

So sit down and make a list of priorities.  What do you feel you have  to accomplish this year?  What would you like  to accomplish this year?  What is something you should do, but have been putting off?  Write them all down, and take small steps to accomplishing those things a little at at time.  It might take a bit longer, but in the end, it will get done, and you can cross it off the list!

If you are interested in reading this book for yourself, check it out!

The “Do What You Can” Plan: 21 Days to Making Any Area of Your Life Better  by Holley Gerth, Revell Publishing (available on Amazon.com)