faith

Cleaning Mode and Almost X-Rays

After Niva’s brownie mix eating antics, I went into cleaning mode. The couch cushions were deep cleaned with this amazing machine, the floors were scrubbed, bedding was washed, windows wiped, and laundry done. 

Siberian Husky in living room

During my cleaning spree, Niva jumped off our bed and pretty much ran Sadie over at full speed. I heard a loud thud and then a cry. Poor Sadie was bleeding from her nose and mouth and pretty upset at being knocked down. 

She took a nap soon after and woke up looking swollen, black and blue, and downright puffy. I called our pediatrician’s office, and the nurse said the doctor might want to have x-rays taken of Sadie’s nose but would call me back with a sure answer after she talked with the doctor. 

I was supposed to head out for a work meeting, but wasn’t sure if we were going to need to take Sadie to the doctor’s office or somewhere for x-rays, so I stayed home. After about an hour, the nurse called and told me to keep an eye on her to see if the swelling increased or if she was having trouble breathing through her nose. If anything gets worse, they will want to have x-rays performed, but for now we’re just going to monitor her. 

Whew. It was just one of those days with one thing after another. After the cleanup and nose incident, Jimmy realized I washed his AirPods that were in his shorts pockets. Then Malcolm puked on the table while we were eating dinner. Then Niva knocked Sadie over again.

When hard days happen, I do a few things to try and get through them:

  • Pray. For patience, a better attitude, contentment, thankfulness etc. 
  • Talk to someone. For me, this is usually my sister, mom, Jimmy, or someone from our church.
  • Get outside. Something about fresh air always helps my attitude.
  • Reflect on what I’m thankful for. Shifting my focus from what’s hard to what is good is a game changer. 
  • Spend time in God’s Word. Often, I can look back on hard days and realize I hadn’t spent enough time in my Bible that day.
  • Laugh. Sometimes you just have to laugh at the craziness and remember it’s not forever. 

Something that made my day yesterday was a surprise package from my mom! She sent me this shirt and it came at just the right time. Thanks mom! You are the very best 🙂

Faith racerback tank top from Amazon

It’s a new day and Sadie woke up looking less swollen. Niva only ate a box of tissues in the night instead of a box of brownie mix, and I haven’t washed any electronics. I think it’s going to be a good day 🙂

What helps you on hard days?

A Few Favorites

Sharing a few favorite things lately!

-Jimmy wanted me to mention a very important favorite: we can put toilet paper on the dispenser again! Sadie used to constantly pull toilet paper off the roll, but we’ve been working on leaving. it. alone. and we’re feeling confident enough to leave it on the dispenser. Living on the edge over here!! 

-My mother-in-law gave me a mandevilla vine and it makes me so happy every single time I walk past it. 

Mandevilla vine

-I made and ordered Sadie a little picture book from Walgreens and each page has a photo of different family members (and pets, of course!). We go through the book often and talk about who is in each picture. 

-Reading. Always! I’m about halfway through Simple Pleasures, Sadie is enjoying this set of Biscuit books, and Jimmy and I are still reading The Purpose Driven Life and our Couples Devotional together (<–links are affiliate!). 

-Also enjoying my prayer journal. I’ve found it to be a great place to get all my prayers down and be able to look back on previous weeks and see how God worked in my life. My sister and I always talk about creating our own line of journals, prayer journals, and planners. Some day…

Prayer journal

-We harvested yellow squash from our garden! I’ve been getting lots of arugula, Swiss chard, and romaine every few days, but the squash has been the first non-lettuce harvest of the season 🙂

-“Special” coffee has been a favorite lately. Jimmy got us Starbucks before church on Sunday and I savored every glorious sip!

-I loved the highlighted quote below from a Bible study my sister and I did together in the Bible app. I thought that was so beautiful.

God loves the sound of your voice. Anxious for nothing devotion

What has been a favorite of yours lately?