Gina has some of the best link-ups! Today I'm joining her with a post that was harder to write than it should have been...
Why was it so hard to come up with 14 things I learned this year? It's a fact of life, my life in particular, that two or three days after I publish this, all the really significant things I learned will come flooding back to me, so I reserve the right to edit this post at any time (or at least up until the end of the week ;) )
But for now, my 14 Things, in no particular order...
(1) you can cook bacon in the oven!!! and ground beef in the crock-pot!!! (both revolutionary discoveries have saved me a lot of un-fun time over the skillet :) )
(2) how to make my own chicken stock (even if it was using chicken parts that I don't think I could name...)
(3) family vacations aren't always the scary ordeal I imagine them to be. we took two this year :) that's more than, like, ever.
(4) a happy side effect of homeschooling has been that I am learning new things too :) (finally, after all these years, I don't feel so stupid at math!!)
(4) a happy side effect of homeschooling has been that I am learning new things too :) (finally, after all these years, I don't feel so stupid at math!!)
(5) don't cancel next weekend's plans just because you're exhausted tonight. (actually, this past year I learned quite a bit about managing and working through exhaustion :) )
(6) host dinner guests... even if your home is less than perfect- like dusty, or cramped. they don't care and you can still have lots of fun!
(7) just because something doesn't go according to plan doesn't mean it's totally spoiled.
(8) having five children is hard. carrying one of them on my back makes it a little easier :)
(9) the lasting peace I feel after having held my tongue is so much more fulfilling than the fleeting gratification of spouting it off in a frustrated moment. (requires less apologies too!)
(10) our marriage is better when I let my husband test out his ideas, theories, and experiments instead of pointing out all the holes in his scheme before he's even begun.
(11) homeschooling is very rewarding when the lessons for the day go well and we end when they are completed, as opposed to my old method of "things are going really well so let's squeeze more in!"
(12) it's overwhelmingly romantic (and kinda sexy) to see your man proudly walking through the grocery store parking lot like this :) (kids suit this guy and I love him more than ever for it!)
(13) God has truly blessed my efforts to be a more peaceful, joyful, and patient wife and mother this year. He is the source and giver of peace, joy, and patience, but he often asks a mother to be the conduit of those gifts to her husband, children, extended family, and friends. I pray he continues to nurture those virtues in me in 2015 :)
(14) my days are better when I eat egg whites for breakfast
(15/bonus) internet friendships are for real :)
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And speaking of 2014, check out some of the goings on at Ordinary Lovely
this past year...
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What did you learn in 2014? Anything's legit, from the mundane to the earth shattering.
Share it in the comments here or link up with Gina at Someday (hopefully) They'll Be Saints!
Love all these:) Might even join in the fun (if I can think of any;)
ReplyDeleteMy husband just said he really enjoyed no 10 and was talking about how he likes to make prototypes first.
I get no 12, feel the same (about my guy that is;) and no 15. very true my dear friend{{}}
So glad you got to add yours to the linkup!
DeleteThese are all awesome!! Thanks, as always, for playing along with my link-ups. I second #15. <3
ReplyDeleteLove all of these but heart 1, 13, and 15. I need to do 1 because I never have before. #fail. And 13 is so very desired by my momma heart, and 15 just warns my momma heart! Hopefully I can link up to this once we get back home.
ReplyDeletethere is some poetic justice in the fact that just after writing this though, I've failed miserably at No. 13. Soooo much room to grow here. Gotta keep praying and persevering and starting over!
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