Making Time 4 Home

This Holiday Season, has been a little bit different for our family. When you are taking care of a loved one, everything else seems to take a back seat, and that is how it should be. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the daily "to do" list and making sure that we are doing everything we can to make our loved ones comfortable, that we tend to forget  what is happening around us. This year, we put our tree up on one day, and about a week later we finally had the time to decorate it. We did not go all out this year, we only put up the decorations that meant the most to us, the ones that make us smile. It was enough, and exactly what we needed. My husband asked when I was going to take the tree down...and I honestly am not sure. It may be up till the end of January since we only got it decorated a few days before Christmas. I keep telling myself as long as its down by Valentines Day, I'm OK lol if its not down by then...you may need to call in a cleaning team and send the

We LOVE apple butter in our family...the is absolutely nothing quite as lovely as a piece of "secret toast" smothered in apple butter before heading to bed. "Secret Toast" is a nod towards one of our favorite movies Nanny McFee, if you haven't seen it check it out..then have some "Secret Toast" for yourself :) I wish that I could say I came up with this wonderful recipe, but alas it was not me. The wonderful people over at  Love and Olive Oil came up with it, and our family will forever be grateful.  There recipe, that can be found here is quick and easy, and tastes simply AMAZING!    Give it a try, snap a picture, have some "Secret Toast" and let me know how you liked it! Picture Video made by the AWESOME Olivia and can be seen here!  

A few ways you can show those around you how much you LOVE them!   Sometimes showing love is as simple as... calling a friend a quick hug in passing  holding your child's hand a few minutes longer  EXTRA tuck-ins at night time an encouraging text message  giving your last piece of candy away (yes, this just happened) a kiss listening to the same stories over and over again  choosing to smile and say yes when its the last thing you want to do making TIME in your day for others  sitting quietly with someone  saying a quick prayer for someone  being a bouncing board.   knowing when to give advice, and when to just listen to them  Put the phone down and look at your friend/family while talking  ask how they are doing  be supportive...no matter what! lighten their load  Showing someone you love them doesn't have to be HUGE all the time. The little things you do will show your family and friends how much they mean to you on a regular b

Have you ever stood in front of your front door, hand hovering over the door handle, inwardly saying to yourself " you can do this"? Or, have you ever sat in the parking lot at a big box store, gripping the steering wheel, anxiously watching as yet another person is walking into an already packed store. (seriously dont they have a limit on how many people can shop at once) Or maybe, just maybe...you are sitting somewhere surrounded my your friends/family, and while you are laughing at all the right times, smiling and nodding your head, and they can see your smile....you know the one that you have been hiding behind. Maybe you feel as if  you are sitting behind a glass window...you can see everyone, you can interact with them, but its not you. Its just a shell of who you were, and you are just going through the motions. * Anxiety is real. It is MESSY. There are tears. There are lots of tears. I have suffered with anxiety my WHOLE life...it is real...it is ha

My teenager....oh how I love her. And yet, there are days where I just look at her and say..."Who do you belong to"? Stop shaking your heads....you have ALL thought or said those words at some point in your child's life. Those moments when they are sassy, acting out, taking their sweet time to do EVERYTHING, looking at you like you have no clue whats going on (lets be honest, most of the time we don't), staying up till all hours of the night and rubbing it in that you have things to do while they can lay in bed on their phones all day and only come out of hibernation when they smell food being cooked. Ok its not really rubbing it in when all they are doing is sleeping...but to a mom who has been up for hours, its kind of feels like it. Yeah, we have all been there. I was reminded as to why I have to make her do something...even if I get the glare from the bathroom, as she slooooooooooly closes the door to start getting dressed for the day. 1st of

We almost lost him...not once, but twice. Its hard to even fathom living a life without my husband...and yet I have. when we first came home from the hospital I laid awake watching him sleep, scared that if I closed my eyes, he would be gone in the morning. I would stare at him, trying to memorize what he looked like...just in case his heart stopped. Our daughter Olivia would hold her tears in until she just couldn't anymore, and then she would break. My heart hurt so much for her, because while I knew what I was going through, I knew it was different for her. This was the strongest man in her life,  Her Nerf gun buddy, the one she watched Marvel movies with, went on daddy/daughter dates with, told dad jokes to with her "pun glasses" on, the one who prayed with her, was teaching her how she should be treated by others, taught her to stand up for herself and others even when it was hard to do....This was her Daddy, and the thought of losing him devastated her. My hu

Monday A fresh start to a new week. New memories to be made....and mistakes. This day can set the tone for your whole week.  Slow down, take a deep breath, count to ten, make a wish, start again. Take a moment to write your feelings down, to put down a memory you hold dear on paper to revisit. Make a plan, stick to it as best you can, but build in time rest and give yourself GRACE if need be. Be your authentic self. Don't let anyone steal your joy, shine your brightest, not for them, but for YOU. Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone, to make mistakes, for we learn from them.  look at this day, as a start to something great, instead of something dreaded. Embrace your journey, and be willing to work for what you want. Look to the one who loves you so much that He GAVE His life for you. Serve Him, hold on to His had, as he guides you through this thing called life. Be a friend, be a healer, be someone who speaks into the lives around you.

The house is quiet, and everyone except for me is sound asleep. My faithful dog is resting at my feet,and my hubby is gently snoring next to me. I should be sleeping, but I cant. My brain has decided that tonight we will travel back and revisit old wounds.Tears that I thought were long dried up have been silently and steadfastly making their way to the surface today. Grief can make you feel things you never thought a human could be capable of feeling. One moment you are fine, and then the next you are remembering something and all of a sudden you cant catch your breath, and it feels like you are sinking, unable to push yourself back to the surface. It can feel as if you are caught in a tidal wave and every-time you feel like you are about to break through, another wave crashes into you, and you are once again floundering in a sea of grief. If you have lost a loved one, then you understand what I am talking about. If you have never experienced this, then I pray that you

I am in our 7th year of homeschooling... and we have finally gotten in to our groove. let me tell you, it took many curriculum, may tears of frustration from me and my daughter, and MANY tries and errors, but we are here. We are to a point that we know what our end goal is, and we are cultivating the lovely in our home. Here are 5 truths that I struggled with as a new homeschooling mama, and why I now embrace them.  1. We are not behind. I have a background in teaching, so for me it is hard when I feel like we are a little behind in a subject. I have to constantly remind myself that we are right where my daughter needs to be, and we are learning/mastering at her pace, which will lead to a more fulfilled education in the long run. 2. We do NOT have to have a "set Schedule" While I like having some structure for our school days, I do realize that we are NOT doing school at home...we are homeschooling.  Sometimes we need to stop and move on to another subject before my d

I slowly closed my eyes and savored the taste of the cookie I had just sunk my teeth into. As I was reaching for another one, there was a nagging voice inside my head saying  "you just blew your diet!" I inwardly groaned, and pushed the cookies across the table, eyeing them with that hunger only someone on a diet can feel...you know what I am talking about right? That feeling of starvation that feels as if there is an animal inside your stomach clawing to get out. Well at least that's how I feel when I am dieting. As I sit at the table fidgeting, my "diet voice" starts to talk to me. (you all have a diet voice too right???or is that just me?) "Go ahead, eat another one...you already blew your diet for the day!" "One more isn't going to make you gain too much weight." "why do you even bother dieting, you blow it EVERY TIME!" "this is why you are fat...you have no will power" "doesn't matter if its

No I am not perfect...not even PRACTICALLY perfect. I am a hot mess, wrapped up in a tornado of chaos, who is just trying to make it to appointments no more the 10 minutes late. There...you now know the truth. I have great intentions of leaving the house 30 minutes early, of making sure that the gas tank is always full, my phone is always charged, and that my purse is stuffed with things to do such as books, word puzzles, and maybe even some kind of snack. In reality, my gas is ALWAYS on empty (seriously I drive with it BELOW the orange line, its a wonder I haven't ran out of gas),I am constantly struggling to get anywhere on time, and if I do manage it..it is truly a minor miracle. My phone is constantly in need of being charged, and my purse is so full of old receipts and things that my family have thrown in there that there is no longer room for my beloved books. Oh, and snacks....if I dig deep enough there might be a flattened mini Three Musketeers left over from Hall

Last night I stayed up late...OK it was only 11:30 but I thought I was big stuff making it past my 9pm bed time. I made myself stay awake, because I was going to get to sleep in for the 1st time in for what seemed like forever. And then this morning comes around and my body decided that..Nope, you my friend are going to get up at the same time you usually get up...and you will not be able to fall back asleep! Sometimes I wish we could just slap ourselves, and say behave...or go back to sleep at least. Instead of kissing my half-asleep husband and daughter goodbye, I got to spend time this morning talking to my husband before he went to work. Instead of grabbing a granola bar and eating it as I walked out the door, I got to have breakfast with my daughter. I got to take time to really clean my home (anyone else Spring Cleaning?) Sigh...I got to spend time in my home.  I am a homemaker at heart. I love making our home clean for my family. I love having the laundry done,

Old Worn thread-bear favorite loved That describes a piece of clothing that my mother gave me years ago. something that can no loner be worn, but for some reason I just cant let go of it. I tried to do so today, I actually told my self that I was being silly, and that I no longer needed the actual item, to remember the memories associated with it. I quickly tossed it in the trash, and after starting at the trash can for a full min. I reached back in side and took it back out, gently folding it and placing it back in the bottom of my drawer. It isn't the prettiest thing anymore, but when it was first given to me, it was beautiful, and I was so excited. now it is tired, worn out, and not looking all that great. It has stains on it, and is a little faded, and yet I still love it.  Does feel like your heart is like an old piece of clothing...something that is tired, and worn out. it may not be as pretty as when you first gave it to God, in fact it may be stained. Have the cares

04.15.19 Today starts a new adventure in the Gregory home. I am coming home to be a full time Homschooling mom after working outside of the home part time for the last two and a half years. Its time. We know this is the right move. The last few weeks have been filled with the awesomeness of Gods provision. Huge things being taken care of, that could only have happened by Gods plan. In my heart I have Peace about coming home. I have been so excited, and have literally been counting down the days to when I will be a Homemaker again. I have nothing against moms who work outside of the home, you are awesome and deserve awards, but my heart, my joy is in being a homemaker/homeschooling mom. It always has been. And yet.... I struggle with the what ifs. What if we don't have enough money? What if this is a bad decision? What if....fill in the blank...I am pretty sure I have though about it. I have spent countless hours running numbers in my brain and trying to

Are you ever afraid that people will see the real you and want to run away? Do you find yourself trying to be a "little less" then your true self, because you know that you walk/dance/skip/move to your own beautiful beat of music?  If you answered "yes" to either of those questions then this post is for you. My circle of friends know, and this is important, GET ME! I can be crazy, do stupid stuff and no matter what I look like they will STILL love me. its the people outside my circle that I worry about. I worry that if I say something crazy, like I ALWAYS tend to do, that the people who don't know me, will think I'm kind of crazy (who am I kidding, we all know I am), and then write me off as someone they don't want to get to know. This has happened to me in the past....and it did crush my spirit. Over the last few years I have grown into myself, I have learned to trust my feelings, and to pursue the dreams that I have.  I have walked down many