Cozy Little Tip from My Mom

My mother's always looking out for me!  This morning, I awoke to a text message (she's so high-tech) from her.  She's so full of good ideas!!!

I'm a Southern transplant to the Northeast, so these negative double-digit temperature readings are no friend of mine. (I maintain that having been living here for twenty years does not improve my tolerance of cold weather and that I am a Southern Girl at heart!)  Staying cozy inside is definitely at the top of my priority list, but like so many, I want to find ways to stay warm without spending every single penny on heating fuel and wood pellets. 

So here's my mom's tip of the day:  Put a big pot of water on the stove to boil, and let it simmer for a couple hours.  You'll increase the humidity in your house, and you'll make the air feel warmer!   Glam it up with a chopped up apple and a couple cinnamon sticks, and add a gorgeous fragrance to the air while the water's simmering...

Have a blessed and beautiful day, and stay warm!  If you have any tips to share, please leave a comment! 

Apron-ista!

I'm not entirely sure that an apron counts as a "fashion accessory," but in my world, it's right up there with shoes and handbags.  Seriously.  Well, maybe not right up there, but certainly close.

There's something so transformative about a fabulous apron!  It brings out my inner Donna Reed, I suppose.  At the very least, it helps me pretend that somewhere, deep down inside, there might be a glimmer of someone so composed and efficient - and supremely cheerful - as Donna Reed.



I'm sharing one of my favorite aprons here, in case any other apronista's are out there reading.  I have oven mits to match!  How cute is that!!!??? 

There's something I'm always drawn to about really old-school homemaking.  I think there's something about serving that we've lost these days.  And that's sad.  But more and more I'm noticing women all around me refusing to be defined by the self-serving culture we live in.  They are determined to be more than that.  I'm seeing a "homemaking revival" (if you will), and it's so exciting!  

As women and homemakers, we have so much power.  We completely set the tone of our homes.  I am guilty of not always doing this as graciously as I should.  There are days I am more impatient or less industrious than I ought to be.  I know God's always refining me and is patient to show me how He wants me to serve Him in my home.

I wonder if we realize the comfort and the beauty we have the power to infuse into the lives of our husbands and children and friends.  We really are the hearts of our homes.

We also have the ability to be women in such a way that we really let our men be men.  And that is really cool (although I know it's totally not P.C. to say that).  These are all things I want to explore more, both in my own life and in this blog.

I'm praying today that in whatever capacity you are currently serving the Lord and your family, that God will give you encouagement and grace to do it with your whole heart, as unto Him.  I also am asking that God will sprinkle His beauty throughout your day, helping you to find ways to make your heart smile, even in the midst of some of the mundane things that sometimes we must do as homemakers.  I'm asking that God will give you joy in the serving.  I pray He'll remind you in your spirit that even the little things you do - or some days the things you may give up doing - to take care of your family are precious in His sight.  


Today, remember the source of your beauty "....should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."  1 Peter 3:4

I'd love to hear more about what you think about what it means to be a homemaker, what taking care of your man means to you, and what you think of aprons!  So please leave a comment, if you'd like!

How to be a Housewife

Since September, I've been a full-fledged "housewife."  It's the job I've been dying to land.  Really, I'm rather cut out for it:  I love wearing aprons, setting the table, planning meals, taking Starbucks deliveries to my husband at work, being available for whatever the kids need at any given moment.  

My back was giving me fits all through the summer, so stopping the little bit of work I was doing has been a big help with that as well!  (Love when "doctor's orders" are to stop working, right!?)

Being home is amazing!  It is so many things.  It is all at once exhillarating and exhausting.  It is a lifestyle blessed with unparalleled flexibility and options and also limited by the schedules of all three of my children.  Homemaking is something that I see as a calling for this season of my life, and God is stretching me and changing me daily in ways that are often challenging and always rewarding.

My prayer for this blog is that it will be "real."  I know that so many times we as wives and mothers long to connect with each other and to relate to each other, and the busy stuff of life sometimes stands in the way.  Sometimes we see the surface of each other's lives and think that we are not doing as good a job with this whole "Christian wife and mother" thing as some of our friends.  And sometimes that may be true. (I know I have friends who knock my socks off with the way they manage their homes and care for their families!)  But I truly believe that most of the time, we are all getting up each day and facing a lot of the same joys and challenges.  

Every day I'm learning "how to be a housewife."  I am not an expert.  Not even close.  Serving the Lord by being a wife and mother is something really important to me, so I'm chasing after God's heart for me as a homemaker.  I'm learning, a little at a time, how to get out of my own way, how to let God set my priorities, how to find time for fun with my friends, how to be an even better follower of my husband's wise leadership.  Someday I hope to learn how to keep up with a two-year old while I'm wearing heels, but that may be asking too much...