Clutter-Free....sorda

I was recently asked how I keep my house so clean with my kids home all day......I literally chuckled under my breath. CLEAN? More like the appearance of clean. Yes, if you walk in my house right before a house showing and the kids are already in the car, my house is clean. If you walk in my house 2 minutes after our return when the showing is over, IT IS NOT CLEAN. Toys start getting pulled back out, snacks start making crumbs again, and dirty clothes starting piling up. To be honest, I do not like clutter. If things, papers, or toys start piling up in a certain area, I can handle it for awhile but then I have to get it put away for my sanity. I have mastered the art of stuffing in drawers and have bought many plastic bins for easy cleaning.....and hiding:).

So, that is how answered the question. I have about 4 junk drawers in our home. One is in the kitchen and 3 are in our roll top desk. These drawers house anything from a garden shovel to a toy helicopter or from a dart gun to a hammer. I love these drawers because when I start seeing things all over, I just stick it all in there and it is out of my sight. Then, when those drawers get full, I clean them out once a month and start all over with the stuffing. So, is that considered clean? Not really, but it does help me feel like it is. I can't do it all. I can't have a incredible, spotless, and most-organized house and really concentrate on what's most important: my kids. I can't cook every meal from scratch everyday, three times a day and read fun books with Samuel while it rains outside. These sneaky tricks I have only help me to feel clean but give me tons of time to do the things that matter most like making a volcano with Katelyn. I honestly can't tell you the last time I mopped my kitchen floor or cleaned out the freezer. I can tell you how great the MLK documentary was that Katelyn and I watched and how many questions she had. I can't tell you the last time I even looked under Katelyn's bed (there could possibly be all kinds of things under there) but I can tell you that Samuel's favorite thing to do with me is paint pictures. I can't tell you the last time I dusted our blinds (I may never have...lol) but I can tell you how much Katelyn lights up when she is on a horse and the excitement it brings to watch her ride.

So, is my house really clean? Yes and No. Most of the time, NO. Yes, if I have recently stuffed all the clutter away. I don't know what happened when I got into my thirties but it seems I have gotten to a place of seeing importance in things. I don't feel bad anymore if someone stops by and our house looks "normal." I know that I will never get back these years with my sweet little ones and I have to pick and choose what gets clean each day. So, if you ever come to my house, open a few drawers and you will see where it all goes......just don't look under Katelyn's bed!! Keepin' it real!!!

Junk drawer in kitchen....I can't even tell you what's all in it!!

Our kitchen this morning: Basketball shoes and Josh's computer bag still is still in the floor from last night. Samuel wanted to clean the dishes for me, which means water is spraying all over the place and he is soaked. Cinnamon rolls are still sitting on a dirty stove top. A hair-bow of mine sitting on kitchen countertop(my nanny and mom would hate that something that goes in your hair is near food...AHHHH). School books all over kitchen table which is an everyday occurrence. I couldn't get the laundry room in the picture but there is laundry falling out of the dryer that I didn't fold last night. It will stay this way until this afternoon and we've had all of our fun..:).

A Nine Year Old Understanding

I have wondered how to feel, think, write, and talk about Newtown. I didn't want to take away from anything that was going on and I also wasn't quite sure what to say. Josh and I had no problem letting Katelyn know what was going on at the very beginning. As the story went on, we never told her really anything else. She saw the pictures of the kids and teachers and we prayed for their families daily. When Katelyn and I got to actually discuss it, I was surprised by her first thought. I guess the thoughts of children are so different and really show us a heart that has not been tainted by this world. When I asked how she felt, she said," I wonder what happened to that man to make him want to do something like that." I just looked at her. Her first thought was not anger, rage, or even sadness. Her first thought was compassion for someone who was considered the "evil" in this event. She wanted to know about him and questioned that maybe things in his past that were done to him made him feel he had to do this. I was floored. In an instant, I saw Jesus. I saw Jesus in her wanting to understand the evil in our world and make it better. I saw Jesus in her compassion for his family too. I saw Jesus by the way she felt sad for him that he must have wandered in life to make a choice like this. As we talked, I wanted to see it her way. I wanted to not be angry but be full of compassion and grace in the face of unspeakable evil.

Later that night, she wept with her dad thinking of these children and their families. She cried tears of compassion and true sadness for children she will never meet and families she may never see. She never questioned God and His authority. She never questioned whether God was present there or not. As a nine year old, her faith is not based on circumstances but on truth. I envied her in these moments. I longed to have the faith of a child during this. I saw how she was comforted but the scripture her dad gave her. Lately, I have tried to see things through my children's eyes. I have especially wanted to see Jesus the way they do. I want to have that faith that is simple and steady. There are days when I want to see God and everything about Him through the unbiased and faithful eyes of a nine year old.