Author: Jenny Irvine

Behind the Scenes; Packing for Paradise

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It’s a party! Nope it’s just a typical Sunday with the ’12’ of us! Most of our weekends are spent out on the lake with friends and family.

There is good food, drinks, fellowship, and lots of laughs to be had by all. It is a time to kick back and relax with the family. It is when my family connects and truly takes the time to enjoy each others company. The fresh scent of the Summer  air, the cool evening breeze, the mouth watering s’mores, breath taking sunsets, and many afternoons spent fishing are just a few God sent bonuses of Summers on the island. 
What you do not see on these weekend getaway pictures is the countless hours of prep! The food prep; oh, the food prep! With so many food issues this in itself is not easy. The endless loads of laundry to wash, fold, and pack/re-pack. You also don’t hear the sound of over tired children and their ‘off routine’ bedtime drama. 
Regardless, of the prepping hurdles and bumps along the way. With one in nature is exactly where we are suppose to be. Enjoying each others company and soaking up all that God created. Leaving the mess at home and the ‘undone’ aside. It is not easy for this ‘get it done’ perfectionist mother of four, but oh, so necessary! Dreams are not built by watching and memories are not made without putting forth the effort either. So are you going to stand by the way side and just let life happen? Or are you going to join me in putting the ‘undone’ aside and make some memories this Summer!!
Join me and some blogger friends as we show you the ‘Behind the Scenes‘ …no fluff, raw truth, behind all of those ‘perfect’ Instagram pictures.

Five Minute Friday; Listen

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So  we meet again. It is Friday you know where you hop over to the awesome Lisa-Jo Bakers sight and look for today’s prompt. Set your timer and you write for five minutes. That’s it! There is no editing, perfecting, or spell check going on it is just the real deal stemmed from one little word. Join in the #FMFPARTY

Go….. 

Listen…

I know my house is no different than any other. It can get loud! Our home is not very large and with four children and two adults the busyness of life sort of takes over. It is easy to get distracted with all that needs to be done. There is the ‘must’ get done list, the ‘hope’ I get it done list, and of coarse I always have my ”wish list’. However, the noises of life are so great at times it is as if I walk in a circle achieving nothing.

I must learn to listen more intently to God. I must learn to focus on ‘his will’ for my day or I will achieve nothing. He listens to me so why is it that I get so distracted?

It is as if my brain needs to replace the coffee filter at times; keeping what is important and weeding out the unnecessary. I’m afraid my list of unnecessary is probably great. Our problems of laundry not getting put away, an unloaded dishwasher, a dirty car, etc. are so small to him. Why do we make such a big deal out of it then? Should my focus be else where?

I know I struggle to keep focused on what is truly important. In fact I may intentionally choose to do the opposite of what I know I should be doing at times; almost child like in a way. How can I teach my own children to make responsible choices when I myself don’t always do so.

Truth is, I need to listen more and maybe plan a little less. I am working towards accomplishing the more important things like; reading with my kids, playing, exploring the world around us, and simply soaking up all that it offers. I should focus more on others and less on myself and listen as ‘He’ directs me every step of the way.

My ‘problems’ although they seem great to me and the noise is often a constant distraction of what I ‘should’ be accomplishing. I know my prayers don’t go ignored ‘He’ is listening to me! Like a father listening intently to his child. My family deserves my full attention too!

Stop!!!
Five Minute Friday

Throwback Thursday; ‘2011’

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 If I have learned one thing since we began our journey of homeschooling it is the art of flexibility. As someone who likes to have control of all aspect of her life being flexible  is not something that comes easy. Our week started off a bit ‘rocky’. I had very crabby kids, arguments galore, tears, and just plain drama all the way around.  My initial thought was go by the ‘planned’ routine. Which ‘do’  school. However, things did not quite work out like that; our “attempt” was very ‘sour’ and everything except productive. Therefore, this Momma who is learning to be a bit more ‘flexible’ pulled the plug on school and called it an impromptu field trip day!! Can you believe it?I packed the kids up, packed quick lunches, and we were out the door in 30minutes. 1hour later we were working on a farm at Green Field Village!!

 K.Bear and Pumpkin shucked corn for the pigs and the remaining stalks will be used for cow feed. The farmers were wonderful and taught the kids the importance of hard work and the benefits of farming simultaneously. This was much better than learning it in our text book!! Tossing the corn in the wagon was a big hit…even Mr. Smiles participated (unfortunately, I have no pictures since I had to pick him up in order to throw in the corn).

 Another big hit was the chickens (we spent a lot of time there..Oooing at them) the kids loved the noise from the rooster and the quiet waddling of the hens. Pumpkin then announced “Momma I think we should have some quiet chickens in our back yard..” My reply “our neighbors would love it…”

 Although, we did not ride the train on this particular visit we had a great view while we ate our lunch. The fall colors on the trees, the cool breeze blowing, and the chug of the train was truly something out of a book.

The mode of transportation we chose for the afternoon was the horse drawn covered wagon. Since we have been learning about  the 1800’s in history everything in the village seemed to correspond wonderfully. It was as if we were “living” our history lessons for the day!

In the end…I had 3! Yes, 3 sleeping kids on the way home and the “art” of flexibility really paid off. We learned tons, shared many great memories, and ended the day on a high note. A much better way to wrap up the day instead of the downward spiral we were heading into. Thank goodness for the ability to know when to call it quits. It is not easy to leave your comfort zone at times. Life on earth may not always be comfortable or convenient. However, God will walk with us to move forward in times of trial, when accepting new challenges, and accepting all that comes our way!