These Moments

While on my quest for more joy in my home, it has led me already down long forgotten paths.  Routines and activities that for one reason or another have been left out of our lives.  One of these is playing games.  If your house is anything like ours, then stashed on closet shelves or tucked away in closed corners you have boxes of board games.  I will admit for the first time in my life, I may be a board game addict.  Not that I am addicted to playing them, mind you.  But that I like to collect them.  And although having a nice collection of unique and fun games is nice, if all they do is take up space and collect dust whats the point right?

Each and every game was bought with the intention of bringing my family together around the table for a bit of fun and possibly some learning.  As I placed each box in my cart I imagined my family drawing just a bit closer to each other and having some time where we were all focused on each other and not on the other things in life.  I saw each small sacrifice of money as well spent since I was exchanging it for an opportunity to better my family.

Insert face palm with the faint sound of a mom shaking her head slowly side to side as she realizes that one great tool to help her in her quest of joy for her family has been hiding unused in the closet this entire time!  Sigh....

Well, enough with the regret.....lets play some games!

This week we played GEO BEE CHALLENGE.  (you need to say it with a deep announcers voice to make it right.)

I know it seems like an odd choice for our first game in a while, but we have been studying world geography in school and I thought the kids might get excited about the knowledge they now have.  And, I was right!  My daughter seemed surprised at herself at how many she got right.  I was quite proud of her.

The night was a success, and everyone seemed more at peace as we made our way towards bed time.  It is important for us as a family to stay connected, even if that means playing a silly board game to do it.  Now to dust off some more games....

On The Craft Table....

I have hats!  First of all I love to craft.  Currently my craft habit revolves around crochet, knitting, spinning, felting and quilting.  At this moment I am "hooked" on crochet.  A great friend found a hat she liked and asked if I could make one for her.  The hat was beautiful and you can find the original here at liveinternet.  I said of course I could make that hat.  It didn't look that difficult, until I read the directions, or should I say tried to read the directions. The original directions are in Russian and though I do speak a bit, my vocabulary does not include crochet terms.  There is a "translation" which is supposed to be in English, but its not any English I understand.

So, whats a girl to do...

Make it up as I go, I guess.  So I present my first attempt at what I think I will call the Russian Spring Bonnet.

Not to bad if I say so myself, which I do.  I enjoyed this challenge and I learned a lot from it.  In fact my second, more refined hat is in progress right now.  This lovely hat though is bound for international travel as I have decided to give it to a good missionary friend.  All this spring flowery crafting has certainly helped brighten the gloomy days we've been having.

Since I have decided to set aside a bit of time everyday to craft, I have found myself calmer and more able to tackle the day.  I definitely have a need for artistic expression, which must have come from my mother, an artist. (thanks mom!) I have struggled in the past as seeing my crafting as something relegated only to the weekend or when everything is done in the house.  But now I recognize the role it plays in me just being me and how necessary it is for me to feel in balance.  So for now, I will continue on happily creating.

Moments....

I am big on "to do" lists.  Now granted they may not always be written down in a nice neat manner but believe me, there is always a running list in my head.  I seem to have it decided in my head that if I do not accomplish my list (or even half my list on some days) then I must have made a misstep some where along the way in my day.  And to be honest I feel a bit let down, or dare I even say it, a failure as a mom.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not having a pity party over not getting ALL the laundry done in a day.  And I know I am a good mom, but the feelings are real.  And what I have realized is that the knowledge of these impending feelings will often dictate the choices I make in a day.

And when given the choice when driving down the road to either continue on and make it home in time to maybe knock a few more things off "the list", or to turn off the road at a sign marked state park and see what might be in store, what do I do?

Well, today I threw the list out the window.  And for one beautiful afternoon I shared some glorious moments with my kids.  Moments of laughter, of exploration and of peace.

I don't regret it at all, and I hope in the future I can loosen my grip on my lists, and change my ideal of what a mother looks like.  Because a mother who takes the time to walk hand in hand in the woods, is the kind of mother I want to be.