What a great response to my decluttering challenge! I’m so excited to see where this will take me, and all who are joining in, over the next year. While I’m sure there will be times I get motivated and really clear stuff out, the best part is that I am only “required” to get rid of one thing every day. How’s that for a goal that is measurable and achievable?
Yesterday, Michael and I actually went through all of his existing books and decided which ones to pass on to his younger cousins. We were blessed with three bags of books from his older cousins last week, and we needed to make room on his bookshelf. I was so impressed with how easy it was for him to go through the pile and determine “keep” or “give” for each one.
There were only a couple that he wasn’t sure about, so I suggested we keep them for now. We have two big bags to pass on, and everything we kept fits in the space we have. Plus, there are new stories to read at bedtime (Mama was getting really tired of the old ones!)
Today, I opened the rest of the Christmas cards that had come and been piling up. We usually hang onto them because we love having the update letters and photos, but I did check all the addresses against my files and then throw away the envelopes.
It is easy to look around and get overwhelmed with all there is to do to keep this house running and organized, but I am choosing instead to be thankful for the things that I have and more importantly for the family I have to share them with!
How is your year starting off?
This is the first time I have participated in the Thankful Thursday meme. I tend to spend a lot of time worrying about what is going wrong or could go wrong and focus too much on everything I need to do to keep all the plates spinning, and I want to balance it out with thoughts of what I am thankful for in my life.
So, here goes….
I am thankful that my son, at age seven and getting ready for first grade, is enjoying the Preschool VBS at our church. He wasn’t able to go when he was in preschool and was overwhelmed by the elementary VBS earlier this summer, so it is a real blessing to see him enjoying himself and being successful at this one!
I am also extremely thankful for the wonderful, godly mama who is watching my son this summer while I am at work. It brings tears to my eyes to think of how much she has blessed both me and Michael through her willingness to love him and accept him as he is.
I am thankful for a boss who is flexible and understanding of the situations that arise when parenting a child with special needs, including but not limited to taking time off for IEP meetings and doctor’s appointments and rearranging my schedule when his placement changes or when transportation doesn’t show up at the right time or place, etc.
I am thankful for friends who are willing to listen to all my tales of woe, and who are just as willing to go watch a movie or sit and laugh together when that’s what we need.
What are you thankful for today?
I can hardly believe a whole year has passed since I first start blogging. I really had no idea what I was doing but just decided to jump in and figure it out as I went along. One of the things that inspired this blog was how people often compare autism to a puzzle. I really see it as just one piece of a bigger puzzle, and how you approach that bigger puzzle is what’s really important.
Anyway, since today is a special day for me, I wanted to give a shout out to two special bloggers who are, more importantly, my best friends: Hands-Free Heart and Lisa. Ironically, they represent the first blog I started reading and the most recent one, and they are both loving, creative people who give to others everyday.
I mentioned creative – check out this amazing turtle cheesecake Hands-Free Heart made for my husband’s birthday earlier this month. It was an amazing concoction of crust, cheesecake, caramel, and chocolate-covered toasted pecans.
I had told him to be ready to answer the door that Sunday morning (the day before his birthday) because there was a surprise coming. He couldn’t imagine who would be coming or what they could possibly be bringing, but this wonderful dessert certainly made it worth being up and dressed earlier than he likes on a Sunday! (Before you think we are heathens, I will tell you that we attend church on Saturday night most of the time.)
My other friend, Lisa, is a paradigm of both creativity and generosity, making homemade goodies and crafts for all occasions. She whipped out these scarves in what seemed like mere moments for Bob and I (plus another one for Michael that is not in the picture, much to his chagrin) at Christmastime. She even made one for my coworker, and all I did was pick out the yarn. They are incredibly soft and warm, which is great given how cold it is this winter!
Lisa is also an avid stamper and scrapbooker and has started a volunteer project for the non-profit social services agency she works for. The goal is to help individuals who don’t have a way to tell their story make scrapbooks to share their lives and interests with others. She has started a blog, Life On a Page, to talk about this project, which I can see becoming a template for similar projects in other places.
So, anyway, I just wanted to thank both of these women for their friendship and support and tell them how much I appreciate their presence in my life, especially as Hands-Free Heart is going through a difficult time and Lisa is stepping out to get Life On a Page up and running. If you have a moment to visit their blogs and encourage them, that would be a wonderful thing!
