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Saturday, June 30, 2012

Organizing our bathroom storage...

I have already been all about some deep cleaning... pantry and fridge... now for our bathroom storage.

We have this problem in the bathroom of having three bottles of shaving cream or the like because we were so disorganized we could not see the bottle we already had.  I cleaned off the shelf, tossed stuff we did not use or use regularly.  Then labeled the shelves...
Andrew thinks I have gone a little crazy with the labeler... all I know is that everything gets back where it goes.
Medicine Cabinet...
Storage...


and Shelves...


I have been an organizing fool... any of you have similar issue?  or obsession with a label-maker :)???


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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Birthday calendar…


This is a pretty nifty organizational tool that my sweet grandma has been using for years (let say at least 20 years).  She takes a small flip photo frame and treats it like a calendar, marking dear family and friends birthdays and anniversaries. On the first page she puts January and whoever has the first birthday or anniversary.  On the page she includes the date and a picture. 


My page in the birthday calendar.  Pretty sweet soccer
picture at age 8, if I do say so myself :)!

My grandma herself said, “I am blessed beyond measure with the people in my life.”  You can tell this is true because some of the pages have become so over crowded over the years with pictures of loved ones!

This page from July is looking a little full!

I am adding this to my summer bucket list.  I want to make one for friends and family, so that I can remember their birthdays, especially relatives I don’t get to see often.  My hope is also to use it for prayer, flipping through praying for those that are near and dear!  
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Saturday, June 23, 2012

Updated Bucket List 6.23.12

Here is what we have been up to the last two weeks!
My bucket list progress...






  • deep clean house- will slowly happen through revisiting my Organizing Spaces Series.  This week I deep cleaned the fridge and the pantry.
fridge labels
    organized fridge!
  • take more pictures again- see how many pics are in this blog post... not great or edited pictures... but it is still progress!
  • go to the pool often- went Thursday, Friday, and plan on going today
  • go to the beach- went to Hilton Head with Andrew's family


Walk on the beach...

Early morning beach run!

Sunrise...

  • see my grandparents in Annapolis- went last weekend... And even went to DC!
DC...
Andrew and I with Grandparents


Gma, mom and I...
My favorite meal...
  • see my grandparents in Ohio- leaving tomorrow!

  • Other fun things...


Ate homemade pizza with Jes... 
Photo booth at Courtney and David's wedding...
We completed a spherical puzzle...
All the kiddos...
Things I would like to read progress...







  • Finished Choose Joy by Kay Warren- this was an unplanned read, but so good for the soul! Highly recommend!

  • In progress Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas ... This is so good, but it is taking me a while. I need to get finished so I can stop carrying this 500 page book in my purse!
  • The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer- Just started this week!
  • Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abby- Just started this week!




My Summer Bucket List...





  • blog twice a week- in progress
  • deep clean house- in progress
  • learn to sew-  in progress
  • take more pictures again-  in progress
  • research next car purchases (we are not ready to buy, just so we are ready when my car stops working)
  • money day with Andrew (where we just talk through our finances and review our goals)
  • go to the pool often
  • go to the beach
  • see my grandparents in Annapolis
  • see my grandparents in Ohio-  leave tomorrow!
  • have a cookout
  • watch Downton Abbey on Netflix
Things I would like to read...

What have you crossed of your list???
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Thursday, June 21, 2012

Back to organizing spaces series...

Back in October, I made this post about my plans to organize the spaces in our apartment. Then I guess I got distracted, because I only organized our pantry.

I am going to get back on this! These are the areas I will clean... one area a week!
  • Fridge/freezer 
  • “Pantry” 
  • Bathroom storage 
  • Bookshelves 
  • “Home Office” 
  • Under TV storage 
  • Under coffee table storage 
  • Kitchen cabinets 
  • Under bed 
  • My car 
  • Andrew’s car 

This week I went ahead and organized the fridge, freezer and cleaned the microwave.

1. The Fridge:   Since we just got back from vacation, it made sense to go ahead and clean out the fridge since it was almost empty.  I cleared the shelves and wiped them down. Then I labeled the shelves so everything would have its place.
In the fridge I make sure everything has its spot.
I also label the shelves, so everything gets back in its place.

2. The Freezer:  Keeping the freezer organized is harder for me, because what comes in and out always changes.  I just took everything out, tossed old stuff, wiped the shelves, and put everything back in the most organized manner I could.  

3. The Microwave: I put a bowl of water with some vinegar in it.  The I microwave it for 5 minutes.  All the stuff that was hard to get out... easy to wipe out!
My embarrassing dirty microwave... 


Clean microwave!


















































                                  • What have you organized this week???    












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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Choose joy...

When I was in 5th grade at Girl Scout camp, every girl received a personalized award. Mine was "Perpetual Ray of Sunshine." At the time I did not know what it meant, but looking back it makes me chuckle, I must have exuded joy during my two weeks at camp. Unfortunately, I can say that much of this last month or so have not been my most shining moments when it comes to having joy.


As many of you know last month Andrew and I went through a miscarriage (if you want here is The Story of Our Valley). I have learned more through this than I can summarize in a blog post... and I am still learning.  But at the forefront is joy. Pure, real, noncircumstancial. 


I started by reading in James, knowing James 1:2-4 by heart.


"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing."


Then I poured over all of James and 1 Peter.
 "As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful."
James 5:10-11 (emphasis added)
As I prayed over this God really revealed to me that suffering and patience go hand and hand. There is no way or even reason to rush through a particular trial.  And then "We count those blessed who endured."  How often do we say we are blessed for a particular trial?  Blessed for the endurance and growth in our relationship with Christ!


"In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise an glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
1Peter 1:6-7 (emphasis added)
Wow, I have been distressed by various trials, for the proof of my faith, that is more precious than gold!  The result of this is glory and honor to God!


Then I thought about Paul and Silas in prison...
The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods. When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;"
Acts 16:22-24 (and this is just the beginning of the story :))

Their robes were torn, they were beaten with rods, they were thrown in prison, their feet were fastened to the stocks... and what was their response?  They were praising and singing hymns. How I wish I could say that is my initial response when it comes to trials! How powerful would this be??? 


At this point my response was, "I understand these things, but how can I be joyful when I am just so sad?  Wouldn't that be ignoring what I am going through?" 
So I started to read the book Choose Joy by Kay Warren. 


This is her definition of joy:  


"Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in all things." (emphasis added)


I realize when looking at this definition to have an assurance, a confidence and a determined choice are all actions that my heart must take, regardless of my circumstance.  That means that joy and sadness can happen simultaneously. That is what is so beautiful. God can take the most painful trial, use it in our lives to grow our faith, and show the world His face... if we let Him.

  So I look back on my 5th grade award... And that is what God is teaching me to be now... A "Perpetual Ray of Sunshine." Not in a way that blindly ignores life's trials, but encounters them with assurance of the sovereignty of God and praises Him through all and above all.
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