Happy Homemaker Monday December 17

Here we are one week from Christmas Eve! I think it is my favorite part of our Christmas celebration. In spite of what happened last Friday (which I will address below), I am determined to continue with our celebrations and preparations with my heart turned more directly toward our Savior and hopefully a little less stress and a lot more kindness towards others. To share the sentiments of the father of Emilee Parker, a seven year old victim of the shooting, let's not define ourselves by what transpired, but let us see what we can do to help those in need.

See Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for more Happy Homemaker Monday posts!

The Weather

Rainy and cold, but not cold enough for slippery conditions, so I am grateful.

Right Now

I should be at my boss's office, but I was so tired driving my kids to school this morning that I needed to go back to bed. Woke up half an hour after I said I would be there. Oops. Fortunately he is pretty casual about work in the off season, and I wasn't going in to work for him, but for a client, so it's all good. Will head over there tomorrow.

Thinking

About what the Lord wants from me in the wake of Friday's massacre. How does He want me to feel? What does He want me to do? What does He want me to say? After much prayerful pondering I do know one thing, that I need to be a conduit for His love for us.  Even though this happened close to home (35 minutes away), I most likely will never have contact with any of those directly affected, so my responsibility is to those around me. My biggest comfort comes from Him and knowing that He lives and loves all of His children, including the perpetrator. So I refuse to hate, and if that means staying off Facebook while people vent their feelings, I'll do it. 

On My Reading Pile

Haven't been reading anything other than the New Testament. Will let you know if I ever get to anything else.

On My TV

We watched It's a Wonderful Life last night. It has such a good message, and we need those reminders right now. Other than that it has been the news, but I am now restricting myself to one newscast a night. We need breaks from it so we remember to live. Just like George Bailey.

On the Menu

Monday - pasta with chicken sausage, salad, garlic bread
Tuesday - tacos
Wednesday - chicken and broccoli divan, egg noodles
Thursday - soup and sandwiches
Friday - Adobo chicken (didn't get to it last week) mashed potatoes, peas/carrots
Saturday - pork tenderloin, potatoes, veggies
Sunday - freezer leftovers

On My To Do List

My immediate attention has to go to laundry. The sheets haven't been washed in awhile, I know at least one basket is overflowing. It is so easy for these things to get away from me during this busy time of year, but I am determined to keep at it. Also, menu planning and grocery shopping. One teen has to be picked up at the middle school at 5:50 pm and another teen has to be taken to piano lessons for 7 pm. That gives us a narrow window to eat dinner, which means it has to be ready by the time I go to pick up the first teen. Such is life.

What I am Creating

Cookies! Made four batches yesterday and have at least two more to do before Wednesday.

Homemaking Tips

Put on some music and enjoy yourself while you are housecleaning. Some people listen to audio books. I love it when I get my mind on something interesting and forget about how many darn socks I have to fold!

From the Camera

I don't have anything from this past week, but here is an outtake from our tree decorating. My daughter was putting her gifts under the tree and I was concentrating on not getting the top of the tree because the lights are out (pre-lit tree) and wasn't paying attention to what was below. I call this the name that child picture, since you only get a glimpse of three of them.

On My Prayer List

My kids, all of those affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings.

Bible Verse

"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place..." Matthew 24:15. 

We were studying this chapter today in seminary. I find this verse appropriate for our current events and goes along with what I wrote above. During these times we need to let our testimonies of the Savior shine for the world to see.

Have a blessed week.