Just 10 minutes...

I am a project person. I love the sense of completing monumental tasks of cleaning and organization and the subsequent chaos control that they bring to our home.

Reality check...

I have three children who are messy little creatures and a husband that still places his shoes beside the shoe basket in the entry way (I love you hunny!)...


...add in some homeschooling...cooking...laundry...dance class...baseball practice...gardening...


Projects NEVER get done around here.


As I prayed about our summer on the last day of school I asked God to help me order my To-Do list according to his purpose each day. When I actually take time to pray as I'm preparing my list of things to do, things always go better and those tasks that remain feel less like failures. 


Honestly, I should really add "pray" to the top of my to-do list for each day...


The overwhelming sense of disorder in my home was getting to me by May when we finished our school year. And I promptly sat down and started making a list of things that I would accomplish this summer before we start the new school year...


Then I had an epiphany...(thanks, God!!)


I don't have hours of uninterrupted time to accomplish Hercules-sized labors...


...but I do have 10 minutes.


Even little one can sit beside me and play quietly for 10 minutes while I work.


So, I've begun to set the timer and work on a small task for 10 minutes. When the time is up, I am finished (even if the project is undone). Those of you who know my first-born, perfection driven personality probably doubt that I actually left a project undone...and you were right the first few times.


Then I learned...


I cannot organize my bedroom closet in ten minutes...but I can put all of the clothing I no longer wear into a bin for donations...


...in another ten minute segment later that day I organized my shoes and purses...


...another ten minutes and my hubby's clothes were re-organized more neatly...


All summer long I have followed my 10 minute rule and have accomplished quite a lot. 


But most importantly, I have learned to cut projects into manageable chunks so that my children are a blessing to me instead of interruptions in my projects. After all, aren't my children's tender hearts why I'm home anyway??


Oops...the timer's ringing... Blessings to you as you manage your projects this summer!

Title change?! ...

My oldest is about to turn 11...As I've been poring over "old" photos to add to her slideshow for her party (a family tradition) I've been feeling more than a bit sentimental over the whole thing...









Where did the little girl who used to run around wearing dress up clothes and my old high heels go...



... and where did this breathtaking beauty come from? 

Wasn't it just yesterday that I held that impossibly tiny baby in my arms for the first time and said "I'm your mommy"...

I've been Mommy now for what seems like a long time and I've loved hearing each of our kids learn to say it.

Let's face it, there's nothing sweeter to our ears after a long day than a toddler hug and an "I wuv you Mommy." Or an older child admitting "I'm so glad you were there, Mommy."

But lately, I've noticed a new word creep into my beautiful oldest girl's vocabulary, and the first time I heard it, it came as a shock.
Perhaps I'm just being melodramatic but a title change was not what I was looking for right now...

You see, I'm no longer "Mommy."

She's started to call me "Mom."

I can't quite point to why this seems so significant ...  but it is...

It almost seems to me like we're about to embark on a new journey together...

as Mom and Daughter. 

And while our relationship hasn't really changed on the surface, it seems like our journey together is now much more...significant?...important?...vital?...

I can't quite find the right word.

We've had a Just Between You and Me book for several years now. It's getting dog-eared and some of the pages are now bent at the edges from repeated use. But it is a treasure trove of insight into her soul. She writes to me - no holds barred - anything goes - and I write back to her.

The first entries are precious in her little girl's handwriting, full of spelling errors and even some backward letters...

But lately, her questions have become deeper, and I sense that my precious girl is on the cusp of a new part of her journey.

So while a part of me feels the need to mourn a bit about my change in title, I'm glad it hasn't signaled a change in status.

As we continue to walk through this journey together, I'm just proud to have the privilege of walking at her side...

no matter what she decides to call me.