Homemaker’s Challenge ~ 31 Days to Clean {Week 2}

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For the last 2 weeks, I’ve been spending time reading through Sarah Mae’s ebook 31 Days to Clean. It is an easy read that offers 31 days of challenges and ways to get your house ~ and most importantly your HEART ~ in order. Each day offers a ‘Mary and Martha’ challenge for the day ~ one something that can physically be completed to take care of the physical environment around you and the other to look at various heart issues.

In short, it’s something that is completely doable and encouraging all at the same time. :)

Joyful Mothering is hosting a challenge during the month of May and I’m just now getting around to posting how I’ve been participating…even though we’re ten days in. The nutshell ~ so far, so good! Many of the things that have been the Martha challenges are things that I generally keep on top of, so those haven’t been too difficult overall.

Sometimes getting to the heart of the matter IS. Day 9 addressed the issue of laziness, which is often an area that tends to rear its ugly head {over and over again}. This verse in the daily study really stuck with me:

“Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly as though you were working for your real master and not merely for humans.”

Colossians 3:23 {God’s Word Translation}

Putting off can be so easy to do, especially when my little earthly offspring are driving me nuts and I don’t FEEL like doing it for them. Or I want just five more minutes to do what I want to do.

But that’s not what I’m asked to do, is it? I’m asked to respond with my WHOLE heart in whatever I do. Scrubbing a toilet. Folding endless laundry. Sorting through seasonal clothes that a certain 6 year old has completely unorganized.

This week I printed off a round of my Daily To Do List or Daily Docket. I’m using these to keep track of my Six List {from Day 6 of 31 Days to Clean}. Having a pretty ‘to-do’ list helps me out immensely and also helps keep me focused on the things that I NEED to do each day.

 

Join in the 31 Days to Clean Challenge! We’re using Sarah Mae’s 31 Days to Clean as a Homemaker’s Challenge. Feel free to jump in and purchase the book {PDF or Kindle} at any time.

The Story of Our Move {Part 3}

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If you are just tuning in, you might want to read Part 1 and Part 2 the first part of our moving story {I promise, it’s fun!}.

Our drive to the airport that Saturday morning involved a flurry of phone calls back and forth between our realtor and us and we waited to hear what this new couple thought of our house. We anxiously waited, flew to Florida and obsessively checked email and texts {ok, I obsessively checked}.

Saturday passed with nothing solid in place and Sunday we prepared to leave on our cruise.  We had brought along our laptop in hopes that we may be able to connect with our realtor at some point while in a port, because the internet fees were outrageous on the ship. We settled onto our ship, but while we were somewhat relaxing…it wasn’t quite what we were hoping for, especially with the thought of having two mortgage payments looming over our heads.

Tuesday we arrived in our first port and found a Starbucks {go figure!!}, bought a coffee, and logged into our email account to find an email from our realtor with an offer on our house! We began emailing back and forth with her, gave her our thoughts on what we would agree to…and then headed back to the ship and out to sea.

Still waiting.

Wednesday we ported in Cozumel and again found another coffee shop. After getting a good laugh at the signs on the tables surrounding the shop {fortunately, we were ‘costumers’}, we set up camp, waiting to hear from our realtor. This would also be the point that we discovered that our debit card had a freeze put on it due to suspicious activity {umm…our own from traveling in Mexico}.

Our purchase of a bottle of authentic vanilla extract and a coffee proved to be MOST beneficial. After emailing back and forth with our realtor…WE HAD A CONTRACT ON OUR HOUSE!! From the day we listed our house until the day we had a contract on it ~ ten days.

Thank you, Lord!!

Vacation and relaxation were in full swing … but now we had to wait and see if our purchase on the new house would go through as planned in five days, while we were still away from home.

Suffering Through Diagramming

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If you have to diagram, it always helps to have someone to commiserate with you, right?

My Husband Thinks He’s Funny…

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Rick has been out of town the last few days, so when Kaleb walked into the house and said there was a snake in the garage…I was none too happy.

I ran out and found it all coiled up in the garage, but between the kids opening and slamming the door to get a look at the snake, it got a little irritated with us.

Rick suggested via the phone that I grab a shovel and either try to whack it’s head off or scoop it up and carry it outside. IT would have none of it and kept striking at me.

And even though I know it’s ‘just’ a black snake, I really have zilcho tolerance for a snake that isn’t happy with me.

I snapped a picture of the intruder, sent it to Rick to have him verify that it was ‘just a black snake’ and when I went out to the garage 10 minutes later to check on it….the snake was gone.

I texted my hubby to let him know it was gone and do you know what his reply was?

“Van door was closed, right? :)”

 

Can you FEEL the love??

The Art of Romance by Kaye Dacus {Review & Giveaway}

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English professor Caylor Evans has a writing past that few people know about and one she isn’t exactly proud of. Although she now writes inspirational romance novels, there was a time when she wrote more ‘steamy’ books under a pseudonym, inspired largely by the model on the cover art for those books. That model still inspires her current writings…and her thoughts of what her ideal man would be.

When Dylan Bradley returns home after losing his teaching position he finds himself immediately drawn to Caylor, but compared to Caylor he feels inadequate. Secrets are hidden in his past that he is hesitant to reveal ~ years ago he put himself through art school by painting cover art for several romance novels.

There is something familiar about Dylan that Caylor can’t quite put her finger on.  Although both are hesitant to take a step toward a relationship, they have grandmothers that enjoy meddling a bit in the lives of their grandchildren…but will they together be able to discover the true art of romance?

My Thoughts

In The Art of Romance, Kaye Dacus introduces two wonderful main characters that you will grow to love as their story unfolds. Dacus tackles some different issues between the two main characters that are not typically addressed: a male that suffered from an emotionally abusive relationship and then an age difference {Caylor is seven years older than Dylan}.  Both of these issues are  handled wonderfully and the characters are deeply developed.

The Art of Romance is the second book in the Matchmaker series by Kaye Dacus and you will love all of the characters introduced in this book, and hopefully we’ll be seeing a spin-off involving all of Dylan’s brothers in the future! I have absolutely loved all of the books that Kaye has written and this one will be put on my ‘to keep’ shelf for sure!

Find Out More

~ Visit Kaye’s website

~ Join Kaye’s Facebook fan page

~ Buy Kaye’s book on Amazon

~ Read an excerpt from The Art of Romance

The Giveaway

Would you like to win a copy of The Art of Romance? I have one copy to mail to one of my readers! Leave a comment on this post ~ be sure there is a way for me to contact you. The giveaway will be open until Tuesday, May 10th at 8pm.

This book was provided for review by Barbour. All opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

Private Prejudice

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Zachary was sitting next to me while I was flipping through pictures of the royal wedding online.

He asked: “Are those pictures for real, or is that Private Prejudice.”

Think he’s heard enough about Jane Austen?

Head on over to Mary's at Not Before 7 for some more Tiny Talk Tuesday!!