See You on the Flip Side

Hello, friends. :)

As you may have noticed, I never followed up on my last post, and instead promptly fell off the face of the blogosphere. The usual. However this time there was an actual reason: my husband was offered a job in the Nashville, TN area, which was SUPER EXCITING but also super busy. :D In the flurry of moving, I never found the time to follow up on my monthly goals (which is just as well since I most likely failed most of them, unless packing the house into boxes counts as organizing). 

With a new job for Will, a new(ish) baby, and a new city, it feels like the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. And with the start of a new chapter, I've decided it's time for a fresh start in blogging as well. I've enjoyed this little blog (when I've bothered to write anything on it, heh), and I may be back on occasion, but I've had so many false starts and so much time has passed since I began it that I feel a little bogged down. I think my style and purpose have shifted in a different direction over the course of the last few years, and it's difficult not to try to make my current posts fit with the style of past posts, and then I get frustrated and avoid posting altogether. Hopefully this change will break that habit. :) I also decided to return to Wordpress, which I prefer to Blogger (now that I've tried them both).

So here's to a new adventure, a new blog, and a fresh start. You can read my new blog here, if you feel so inclined: https://frecklesandfireflies.wordpress.com

See you on the flip side. :)

Happy New Year!

I love celebrating the New Year. Sometimes it’s a little surprising (and even scary) how fast the old year went by, but it amazes me when I look back and am able to glimpse a little better all the things God has done in the past year through the hard times and the joyful, and to celebrate that we have been blessed with a fresh one ahead, “with no mistakes in it yet,” as Anne Shirley would say.

Once again this year, I’m borrowing an idea from She Learns As She Goes and listing my monthly goals and resolutions. I’ll write out my list at the beginning of each month, and then check back in at the end of the month to report on how horribly I neglected them (let’s be honest). Here goes....

January Resolutions

Read the Bible Daily
Will and I are once again attempting to read the Bible in a year. It’s easy to get behind if you miss even one day (we completely fell off the wagon last year somewhere deep among the ceremonial sacrifices), so my motto this year is "Constant Vigilance!" I'd like to do some individual reading/study myself too, even if it's just 10 minutes a day. I've felt convicted recently about getting a little lazy and coasting along in my faith, and I really want to focus on Christ and His Word until they become more central to even the small moments and decisions of my daily life.

Read 4 Books
I started off strong last year with reading, but then abruptly stopped when morning sickness hit and (I am sorry to say) hardly finished a book for the rest of the year! Time is a precious commodity with a new baby but I would really like to be intentional about reading this year when I can manage it. Last year was my first time having access to a smartphone and it's easy to pick it up and fritter time away here and there instead of settling into a book. Will & I have made a pact this year to pick up a book instead of our smartphones after 9pm, and it's been really refreshing so far.

Write Thank You Notes
We have been so blessed in the past few months by the generosity of family and friends as we welcomed Beatrice home and celebrated Christmas. I have a stack of thank you notes waiting to be written, and can hopefully take out at least 1 or 2 a day while Beatrice naps.

Balance & Maintain Checkbook
This one is pretty self-explanatory. I used to balance my checkbook every week but since getting married I have definitely not been as consistent. I'd like to get back in the habit of weekly checkbook balancing sessions.

Organize the Bedrooms
Currently, they look as though they were hit by a category 4 hurricane. Partly that's because we just got home from a week in NC at almost 1 a.m. on Sunday morning, partly it's because we have a new baby and finishing a load of laundry or taking a shower is now a huge accomplishment in my world... but mostly it's because I've been procrastinating and need to just jump in there and start organizing.

And of course, I resolve to give my amazing husband and sweet baby more kisses and snuggles. Everyone deserves at least one fun goal. :)

~ ~ ~

What about you all? Do you have any resolutions for the coming month or year?

Sweet vs. Salty

Sunday night treat from Will: mango sorbet in a waffle cone. Mmm. :)

William is a decided sweet tooth whereas I prefer salty snacks. This works out well because when we splurge on a treat I get the lion's share of our French fries and pretzels while Will gets to finish my ice cream or soda. Lately I have begun to suspect that Baby Hendrian shares William's taste in treats, because every time I have a bite of ice cream or a sip of coffee, an enthusiastic round of break dancing takes place inside me. I told Will it is probably his fault that the baby has a sweet tooth because he has been devotedly plying me with all his favorite comfort foods ever since I became pregnant. Oh well. I guess while Will is sharing his ice cream, there will just be more French fries for me. :)

What about you - do you prefer your snacks sweet or salty?

Inklings of Autumn

I thought I would want summer to last forever this year, but once or twice this past month it's slipped into my mind that I might be looking forward to autumn... the misty mornings, cozy blankets, scarves, hot tea, and bright leaves sound so inviting. However, I then remember that winter comes after autumn and sternly reprimand myself. I'm still not ready for snow.

Container Garden

Last year Will and I planted only 3 or 4 tomato plants (which promptly died), and on the other extreme, several hundred radishes (which unfortunately all lived). This year I settled on a tiny container garden of mostly tomatoes and absolutely no radishes under any circumstances. The plants seemed to enjoy the rainy morning yesterday. :)

Summer Snippets.

The Orange Leaf in Holland, MI. Our favorite frozen yogurt ever.
I especially recommend pink lemonade, chocolate-covered banana, and mango. :)

Hello again. It's been some time since I last blogged.

The short explanation is: I haven't written any posts. I haven't taken any photos. I fail at blogging.

The long explanation is: Towards the end of February, Will and I discovered that we were expecting a baby! :D Last August I miscarried our first baby, and the recovery was rather lengthy and difficult, physically as well as emotionally (though we felt so comforted by the prayers and loving support of friends and family). Needless to say, we are so thankful and excited and overwhelmed that God chose to bless us with the gift of another precious little life in His good timing. :) We don't deserve such goodness.

Will and Mom sampled a flight at New Holland Brewing Company.

Shortly after my last post, morning sickness set in with a vengeance and so I stopped writing because: A) the very thought of driving to the library and looking at a computer screen made me nauseous, and B) I couldn't explain why I felt so nauseous because we hadn't announced that I was pregnant yet. Somehow my new repertoire of skills such as making toast (or, if I was feeling really adventurous, macaroni and cheese... from a box) or folding a pile of laundry (...or falling asleep in the middle of folding the laundry), or hanging out on the bathroom floor seemed like they would be difficult to explain. However, I am very thankful that I was feeling sick because it was reassuring to know that our baby was growing. :)

Watching the sunset at Stony Lake with Mom & Dad.

By the time we revealed the news and I started to feel better in mid-May, we were getting ready to move into a new rental house in town, so we were busy with painting and packing for a few weeks. We moved into our cute little home on June 1st, and then we spent the next month unpacking and settling in. I did a little part-time work at a gift shop for a month, we butchered chickens and went to market a few times, we had our 20 week ultrasound (so exciting!), I visited my parents, my parents came to visit us, Will has been working a crazy amount of hours, and the summer has flown by. 

Exploring downtown Holland with Will and my parents.

Things seem to finally be slowing down and settling in a bit, so hopefully my next update will be a bit more timely. Now that we live in the village limits, we actually have internet at our house, so who knows, maybe it will only be 4 months until my next post. ;)

The Lavender Labyrinth (a few miles down the road from our house).

Note: My parents took all the photos in this post when they visited at the end of July, and I think they are probably the only documentation I have of our summer. Yes, I really have been that awful at writing things down and taking pictures. It's been a wonderful summer though. :)

An evening of putt-putt golf with Mom & Dad.

Coffitivity

Image via www.coffitivity.com

Have you ever heard of Coffitivity? If you click on the link you can listen to the ambient background sounds of a coffee shop in the comfort of your own home. Apparently it's supposed to boost your creativity! The website says that "the mix of calm and commotion in an environment like a coffee house is proven to be just what you need to get those creative juices flowing." This seems to make sense to me, because while I like complete quiet for reading, I always thought it was much easier to write rough drafts of papers in college when I typed them up at a coffee shop. Maybe I'll give it a listen and see if it helps me write a more creative post next week. ;)

What do you all think? Do you work better when it's quiet, listening to music, or hearing soft ambient sounds like a coffee shop?