A Season for LOVE

Christmastime can either draw us TO people or push us AWAY from people. It’s really OUR choice.

Sometimes we’re forced into situations that will completely tell us about ourselves:
“I don’t really want to talk to them when I see them over the holidays…”
“Pleeease, don’t let her approach me. I might tell her how I feel!”
“I’m already depressed this season. I couldn’t possibly help anyone else.”

These are conversations we might have with ourselves. And, do you know what? The root of all three of them is selfishness. Opening up to other people usually requires some form of sacrifice. Sacrifice requires selflessness.

This season beckons us to RELATE with others, to show them the LOVE that we’ve received (undeservingly). Extending ourselves can be difficult, but if we prepare our hearts ahead of time, surely we can give just a little bit more than we thought we could.

Keep in mind this Christmas season that there is always someone worse off than you. And, if you begin to look at people as souls that need a touch of love, I bet you can muster up the courage to reach out to someone else and cause LOVE to flourish!

Spread LOVE!!

Kids’ Bedroom Overhaul

My daughter has been sleeping in a BIG room for some time now.  And it’s almost time for little brother to join her.  Not sure how happy she’ll be when he finally moves in!  We’ll wait and see how that unfolds…

My dear sister helped me out with how to best use the room’s space.  We went with a simple “nature” theme, since both of my kids love to be outside.  Although the room is not finished (I still have to paint a large tree mural on the main wall), it’s a much better sight to see than what was there before.

This is not a “before” picture. Didn’t get around to that. Selah loves her shelf. She organized the dolls/stuffed animals by herself.

Curtains are from Ikea. They’re great because they are sooo long, and you can just hem them to whatever length you need.

We stacked two bookshelves (thanks, Laura!) and hid them (because they didn’t match!) with one of the curtains. It’s also nice because you don’t see a messy bookshelf when you enter the room.

Selah shows off her new “reading nook.” Well, she calls it her “stage.”

Blake’s bed. We’ll have to embellish his shelf a little. He doesn’t have many “boy” things that he really cares about yet!

Bedspreads are from Domestications. The apple green was a nice match with the curtains. We put another set of curtains over a closet/storage door. Helps to bring more color into the other side of the room, and somewhat acts as a headboard behind Blake’s bed.

Little round rugs from Ikea. Nice splashes of color. The mural will go on the wall you see toward the far end of the photo.

The mural will incorporate these vibrant colors (blue, green, even a little pink/red) to tie the room together.

Weather or Not

I wonder if people are ever gonna STOP complaining about the weather.  If it’s sunny, people complain that it’s too hot or humid.  If it’s raining, people complain that they can’t go outside or do yard work.  If it’s snowing, people complain that they can’t get out of the driveway or that they have to shovel the snow.  

Whatever the weather is, that’s what it’s gonna be.  Just get over it.  Be flexible and plan around it.  Have a (good) back up plan if the weather isn’t how you thought it would be.  Please.

Expose Your Ears to New Music

You can expose your family (and yourself) to new music by turning on the radio or playing a CD in one or two other rooms. Rooms that you may end up passing through a couple of times per day. I recently turned on a classical radio station in our Great Room, because I know my children play in there frequently. After about 10 minutes, I heard jumping and laughing, where I found my 3-year old dancing around the room, saying she was a “dancing princess fairy.” She then had me sit down on a chair (as I was now the “audience”), and she performed a few song & dance concerts for me. The music she heard really inspired her. This is a great way to introduce a variety musical styles (classical, jazz, folk, rock-n-roll, etc.) that you may not normally listen to.