Daniel

Daniel is my son. He's nearly all of seven months old now, and it's amazing the joy of life that he is for me. I thought being at home with a baby/child all day long would be terrible company and that I would become tired of childishness. So far from true! I love Daniel's company! Yes, it is limited in scope to very minimal conversation and activity. But what he lacks in skill he makes up for in sweetness! We have a grand time together, and I am so glad that I get to be his mama.

My Homekeeping Notebook Pt 1

I began working on my own version of a Homekeeping Notebook about a year ago. It's a wonder of organization, and I don't know what I would do without it. Yes, it can be a temptation to spend more time playing with the notebook than using it, but I am glad to say that it has been a truly useful tool.

Here are the sections of my notebook:

Schedule

Menus & Shopping

Health

Pregnancy Planning

Devotions & Prayer

Children

Home

Finances

Information

Holidays

Recipes

Gardening

Beware the Time Eater!

I have to mention this one, because today it got me! The internet is a great resource, and I'm not at all technologically backward, but today again, I was reminded that the internet can be such a great time-waster. We homemakers are blessed that we don't have a boss breathing down are necks keeping track of our computers everyday, but that makes it especially important that we keep track of ourselves. Whether it's facebook or those killer forums, keep the internet for what it's good for: research, recipes, keeping up with friends (but there's no need to keep up with allll 479 facebook friends), learning new skills, keeping track of finances and banking, earning extra money, learning/education etc. and stay away from those time-eaters!!

What makes a cozy home?

My sister and I talk about pretty much everything. It was several years ago that we began discussing this topic of a cozy home, and it may very well have been my first journey down the road of homemaking. I think this was before I met my husband, so we would have both been single at the time, which, by the way, is a still a great time to consider and begin making a home. What a wonderful ministry of hospitality ladies, whether married or single, can have when their home is a welcoming, cozy place to be.

This conversation of a cozy home has continued and evolved over the years and we still continue to discuss it today, but never fear, we have made some headway. One thing we did was identify the homes we felt had this mysterious element, and one home above all others came to mind as we talked - our grandmother's house. Grandma is an amazing lady - fiesty, strong, talented, and much to our chagrin, a woman with fewer wrinkles than her 20's and 30's grandchildren. Sad indeed. But along with all this, every home she makes is a cozy place to hang your hat and hang out. Another home is my husband's grandparent's home. The interesting thing is, these two homes are entirely different, yet both extremely cozy.

I sat down one day and actually wrote out a list of the elements of each of these two homes. My grandmother's homes are all bright and colorful - though the colors do seem to change from house to house, with coordinated furniture and decorations, and fairly up-to-date in design. She has a number of handmade items, but they are not nick-nack types. My grandfather does woodworking, so the house usually has a wooden element in its decorations. And then there's the ruffles. In her family days, she used to sew drapes for a living, and I'm guessing they all had ruffles. Now, I hate ruffles, but I can't deny that they do play a part in the coziness. My husband's grandparents have such a different home. The carpet is flower patterned, hand sewn tapestries hang on the walls, the furniture is from another era, there's a bowl of fruit in the living room, and a romantic coal fire in the fire place, yet a moment in that home and it is impossible to feel anything but "at home." It's not exactly the decor, or even the attitudes of the ladies, as they have very different personalities, so it must be a combination of the two as well as something else - some indescribable quality. What on earth is it?