I will be leaving bright and early tomorrow morning for my family's vacation to the Midwest. I shall be back on July 11th. Unfortunately, blogging will be scarce, since I'm not sure about the availability of internet access. See you all later!

Life has not been stressful lately. Busy yes, but not stressful. Even so, I have been feeling so tired lately. Physically, mentally, and emotionally.

I'm tired at my job, and tired when I get home. I tend to fall asleep easily on the couch these days. I think my fatigue is stemming from something more serious. Lately I've been dicontent with life in general. Working full time, as much as I enjoy it, is not where I want to be. I want to be home, raising a family. Hubby and I have decided to wait a few more years before starting a family, mainly for financial reasons (I'm the only one bringing home a paycheck!) So I know rationally things won't be how I want them for a little while longer, but it still doesn't stop the ache I feel longing to hold my own child in my arms.

I recently saw this post on Amy's Humble Musings, and this comment on her post How to “find your spot” resonated with me:
"If you’re not happy where you’re at, you won’t be happy wherever you’re going." She was talking about real estate, but it can most definitely be applied to all of life. If I'm not happy working, I won't be happy at home. Contentment shouldn't be contingent on one's circumstances. It's a condition of the heart. As Christians, we should be content wherever we are at, for that is where the Lord has placed us.

I know this, so I'm hoping my heart can quickly catch up with my head. I received this note of encouragement in my inbox this morning, and it so easily can be applied to my circumstance:

The job has been given to me to do.
Therefore it is a gift.
Therefore it is a privilege.
Therefore it is an offering I may make to God.
Therefore it is to be done gladly, if it is done for Him.
Therefore it is the route to sanctity.

--Elisabeth Eliot

As you may know, I've been celebrating a year of abundance, and what a wonderful year it has been so far! It is amazing how the Lord has opened my eyes to my selfish desires for "stuff," and it has been wonderful to creatively think of new ways to do things in order to "use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without." I completely reorganized my kitchen decor, trying to spend as little as possible. So here is the finished result!


All of the items on the top of the cabinets are things I already had around the house, mostly given to me as wedding presents. Most of these things I had kept stowed away in my dining hutch, but no more! Now, not only is my kitchen prettier, but I have more room for utilitarian things in the hutch. I did purchase 6 dollars worth of plate stands, as I couldn't find any other way to display them.

I would eventually love to make a rag rug for the floor, preferably in reds and golds. Our apartment is mostly in those shades, but I love the blue in the kitchen! I would love to paint the walls a cranberry red to balance the kitchen's colors with the rest of the apartment, but red paint would be too hard to cover up when we try to leave, and we don't really want to deal with the hassle of painting the kitchen anyway.



I'm so happy to work in a more clutter free environment. With the space being so small, it was getting difficult with all my stuff on the counters!

Thanks for stopping by! :-) To see the before pictures, see my previous post, "Accepting my Kitchen, Pt. 1"

I'm working my way through Cheryl Mendelson's monstrous book "Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House," which is the most exhaustive book I have ever seen on the subject. (But it's also the first book I have read entirely devoted to homemaking, so I don't really know what all else is out there . . . ) As I've been pouring over the pages, I have never felt so inadequate at my own housekeeping skills, and yet so excited to embrace new ways of doing things that I had never thought of before.

My greatest delight is discovering how to make a house a home, and not just a place to sleep every night. While describing the way to perform certain tasks, the author infuses meaning into what may seem mundane, from place settings to sheet folding, and keeps them from being monotonous tasks. She gives simple chores a vibrance and life that seem lacking in my own thoughts about homemaking. Reading her words gave me fresh inspiration for how I run my own home, and I'm only halfway through the book!

Being a working wife, I don't have the time and energy to keep my home running as efficient as the author seems to do. I dream of having a home where my family can gather, eat meals together, sit by the fire, and snuggle under warm blankets. A place where memories are made as we play, study, and worship together. I'm excited to one day make this a reality (Lord willing!), and I'm delighted to have read such a resource that encourages women to enjoy the art of keeping house.

I'm very saddened by Ashley's departure, and I'm missing her presence here! It was so much fun blogging with you, Ashley! I will just have to continue on without her. :-(

While I don't plan on changing the focus of the blog at this point, you may notice that the subjects will be more personal, since I have decided to stop writing at my "personal" blog and take up permanent residence here. Ashley may pop her head in every once in a while as a guest poster.

Now that Hubby dear is almost finished with his Step 1 exam (which determines how well he can place for a residency program) I should be around more. Please keep him in your prayers, as he is taking the exam on June 3.