The Mundane Things are The Important Things

I have lately felt as though these have been meaningless days.

.........

I have not had much motivation for deep cleaning, massive organizing or elaborate renovations, as some of you have.

So many people are using this quarantine for such projects, which I think is absolutely wonderful.

But those of us who are always home are just plodding along, living how we've always lived.

It can feel a little mundane, but mundane to me is just another way of saying peace, and stability.

I have to remind myself, mundane things are the important things.

I bring fresh flowers home from each grocery trip, and light a candle on the stovetop everyday.

My morning consists of a simple, but important, hair and makeup routine.

I spend my days reading, cooking and cleaning, and helping the children through their school lessons.

Some days lately have had a bit more ambition in them...

We have tried new recipes and have baked cakes from scratch.

I spent three days making new curtains for my living room.

And the children have been to the lake twice in one weekend!

Our days are full.

But with this prolonged government order, I feel my days whittling away. Each one rolling heedlessly into the next. With no rhyme or reason...

"Today is Thursday." I say to the kids. "No, wait. It's Friday." I correct myself. But we all know it doesn't matter. Everyday feels exactly the same.

In a way it's all been truly wonderful.

Just like how life is supposed to be!

(The home living part. Not the government order part. *wink)

"I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink and find satisfaction in his toil - this is a gift of God."

- Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

Did you catch that? Be happy...

Christians are not stressed or anxious during this time, as the media and our culture wants us to be.

We know that, "If God is for us who can be against us?" - Romans 8:31.

So we carry on at home, light-hearted and free from burdens.

"Despite the upheavals that several times overtook our city due to political crisis and uproar, the business of living our life, the everyday preoccupation of cooking, cleaning, looking after the house, never wavered. When Mama Odette was still with us, remember how particular she was about the flavor of her bouillabaisse or the quality of her snails, even if angry mobs were parading down the streets?"

(An excerpt from The House I loved, by Tatiana DeRosnay)

I've noticed a similar rebellious streak in myself. It seems the more the bad news ramps up, the more determined I become to live happily and peace-filled at home.

Why give them what they want? They don't have our best interests at heart.

Wasn't it John Adams who said, "The more they kill us, the more we will live!"

(Can you tell I've been doing some reading lately?)

I like to pepper little stacks of books throughout the house.

Alongside children's artwork, I think it is a charming look.

I don't chase trends in my home decor.

The houses that sparkle with the latest trends are beautiful on the surface, but that's as far as it goes.

A house where a well-rounded life can be lived, a vigorous mind can be formed, desires of the heart can be pursued, nutritious meals can be lovingly prepared and enjoyed, this is a deeply beautiful home.

And it seems to only be cultivated by doing the mundane things.

I personally believe everybody really wants this, deep down in their hearts.

"I long for rural and domestic scenes, for the warbling of birds and the prattle of my children. As much as I converse with Sages and Heroes, they have very little of my love or admiration. I should prefer the delights of a garden to the dominion of the world."

- John Adams

(Letter to Abigail Adams, 16 March 1777)

So, maybe my days aren't meaningless after all.

If you're planning your spring garden, simmering soups, and fussing over the laundry, yours aren't, either!

Some are marching in the streets, others want to change the laws... but we are building America just the same.

Through our mundanely important things.

xo,

~ Courtney ~

New Books and Meaningful Work

I have told you before, haven't I, how I like to use my blog as sort of a journal, or scrapbook, to document our family stories and pictures.

I never expect anyone to be interested in reading what I write, since we are ordinary people and are never doing anything that you aren't doing yourselves. But for some reason people continue to come here to this blog, read through what I'm sharing, and even sometimes leave behind a "like" or a comment.

How that has warmed my heart through the years.

So I continue to write and share photos... mainly for my own personal enjoyment, but also for something to leave behind for my children. And maybe, if I'm lucky, be a blessing to you!

(My Easter lily)

These are interesting days we are in, aren't they?

Unusual in that we are all in the same boat, experiencing the same thing!

When has that ever happened before?

The rich, the poor...

The sick, the well...

The celebrity, the commoner...

The city mouse, and the country mouse...

We are all homebound.

And here I sit, with my insignificant blog, that I decided from the start would strictly be a blog on home living, and I chuckle at the thought that what was mocked by some just a few years ago, is now a topic we all can relate to!

(But don't worry, I won't rub it in. *wink)

I will just do what I've done all along, and that is to share out of my own experiences and from the belief that home has always been the safest, most important place.

(My spring/summer faux arrangement on the mantle.)

"A long time ago- so many years ago that I could almost write "once upon a time"- the pride of a woman's life was her home. She was filled with gratefulness, for being alive, being married, having a large family to cook for, a house to live in, and household tools to work with. The glow painted on her cheeks came from her own love and excitement."

- Thyra Ferre Bjorn 1968

Now that these things are all any of us have, we might as well try to do it with love and excitement!

Here are some things we've been doing lately...

I packed away my winter centerpiece on my dining room table.

I procrastinated in doing it because I loved it and never grew tired of it.

I made it in November from a birch log that a dear friend gave to me. I stuffed it with all sorts of wintery things and enjoyed it all the way into April when I finally realized it was high time for a spring centerpiece.

I carefully wrapped it in plastic and tucked it away in storage.

My table now looks like this...

(The paper cross was made by Nola, who has always had a heightened sensitivity toward spiritual matters. It deeply bothers her when Jesus is left out of Easter decorations, haha.)

The grocery store by my house has a really nice floral department, and I've noticed lately that the spring flowers are marked down so cheap it's almost like they can't give them away!

Nobody wants fresh flowers in this time of crisis, apparently.

In the vignette I included an antique story book opened to a beautiful, colorful poem about Easter...

Those who know me know how I feel about books, especially old books!

We were recently given an abundance of books by a veteran homeschool-mom friend of mine. She was cleaning out her bookshelves of old books and gave us three big boxes filled with the the most interesting and exciting books!

It was like Christmas Day!

I poured my attention over each one, carefully dusting them off, then giving them a flip-through to air them out. It was such fun to organize them into categories- children's books, history books, homeschool books, boys and girls books, etc, then finding a place in the house to keep them.

I've already finished reading one of the books she gave me.

It's called Dear Papa, by Thyra Ferre Bjorn.

Isn't it adorable?!

The story was as precious as the cover.

Perfectly wholesome and uplifting, it's about a minister's family from Sweden who immigrated to America in the very early 1920's to take on a little church in Massachusetts.

Being from a well-churched background myself, and being familiar with all the ins and outs of dealing with church people, I found this book especially entertaining.

Now I am about halfway through the next in line from the new library given to us... Noble Deeds of American Women, by J. Clement.

This one was published in the late 1800's so the stories are quite old, but still very enjoyable and relatable to read. Like this line for example...

"It is not in the still calm of life that great characters are formed. The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties."

- The mother of John Adams 

My friend gave us a lot of children's books as well. Now that the kids' school work is wrapping up for the year, we thought it'd be fun for the older kids to pick a book they're interested in and when they are through reading it they could teach the rest of us what they learned!

Here's what they plan to read...

Although I think it's funny to note, Nola originally chose a book titled, The Mark of the Beast, which is not a children's book. She has been reading it on her own in bed at night. We've laughed that she will soon be prepared to teach us all there is to know about the end times, haha.

Now is the perfect time to read, don't you think so, too?

I would encourage you to turn off the news (especially at night, when people tend to be a little more emotional than during the day) and get absorbed in a good book, instead.

Like I wrote about in my last post, the media isn't doing us any favors.

What has it given you in return for all the devotion and attention you've given it?

Sorrow?

Stress?

Fear?

Of course. That's what they want. But good, wholesome reading can build you up and give you so much more.

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies...

The man who never reads lives only one."

- George R. Martin

Other than getting lost in a book, another great way to ward off stress and worry during this time is to keep very busy.

I don't mean just busywork, but meaningful work.

Everyone, including children, needs a purpose.

This is one of the reasons why I don't think it was right for everyone's jobs to be taken away from them. But since this is the situation in which we have found ourselves, through no fault or choice of our own, Micah has wisely thrown himself into some meaningful work around here.

Our old picket fence was rotting and breaking down, so Micah has been working on building a new fence for us...

It's made from treated lumber so it will never again rot.

I am very happy about that!

We plan to paint it bright white.

As for me, my work has always been home and family, so what I busy myself with each day feels about the same as before. Just with a heightened sense of wanting to do it extra well at this time.

One of the most impressionable things I've ever heard came from someone who was a child during the Great Depression. He came from a loving and stable farming family and said, "We didn't know we were living in the Depression. Life felt the same. We always had milk from our cows and eggs from our hens. We had a mother who made our clothes and canned our fruit and vegetables. We didn't know we were living in such a dark time."

That has stayed with me, and now I would like to impart that same carefree atmosphere into my children's lives, so that in twenty years when they read about COVID-19 they can say, "We didn't know the nation was in such a terrible crisis. Home life felt the same." 

One of the ways I like to do this is by taking an interest in mealtimes.

"Don't ever think of husband and children as "just the family." Fuss a bit for them and you will be rewarded. Be sure the silver is straight and even at each place, and the napkins are folded neatly. Make each meal the most important task you've ever undertaken."

- Thyra Ferre Bjorn

Meaningful work is nourishment to the soul.

What about you?

What are you busy doing these days?

What are you reading?

As always, feel free to leave a comment...

Thanks for stopping by today, friends.

xo,

~ Courtney ~ 

Making Our Own News

I broke up with the news.

I gave it my attention and emotions all last week and it didn't love me back. (How rude!)

I was not a news-watcher prior to Coronavirus, but probably like every other American I got lured in by the notion that I should be informed.

Well, I am now informed, and no better for it. So off I go, back to living (hermit-style, of course, because we must not abandon our quarantine mission just yet!) and I am in a far better state of mind.

If we don't like what's in the news, we can always make our own news!

What goes on in our own homes with our own people is more significant anyway.

Yesterday was our wedding anniversary.

I knew over a week ago that there would be no date night or weekend getaway for us this year.

So the kids decided they'd put together a romantic dinner at home for us.

Anything is as profound as we make it to be!

I guess I have succeeded in handing that philosophy down because they really blessed us with a special evening...

They set up this little table and hung a sheet for privacy.

They even had our wedding video playing quietly in the background!

Here's Nola hard at work in the kitchen preparing our appetizer and dessert tray...

And Soren made sure our water glasses were filled to the brim all evening long...

The waitstaff allowed me to get a photo with them!

Aren't they cute?!

We will definitely come back to this restaurant again! We found the entire staff to be very professional and accommodating. 

(*wink)

Micah made sure they each received a generous tip, then shooed them all off to bed.

Yes, this is much better than getting hung up on the news.

I think they just enjoy scaring us.

I've been proud of some of my friends and family this week, embracing this call to home and spending their isolated days baking, reading, and painting.

It's an exciting time for our nation!

We will see a lot of art, like music and poetry, come out of this.

Turmoil always has a way of bringing out the best creativity in people.

And we will see closer, more loving families come out of this, too.

Being stripped of all unnecessary excess in life forces us to settle into what really matters.

Of course Christians should know how to live like this, anyway...

"Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

~ Hebrews 12:1

But maybe God, like a good Father who knows what's best, just thought He'd do it for us.

Of course there will be those who will come out of this rattled and licking their wounds.

We know this type.

They preach kindness and acceptance and love for our planet, but when something squeezes them, out comes anger and profanity.

( If only they knew how bad this is for them! Just cutting the profanity out of their lifestyle would help them by leaps and bounds! 

"A man who avoids all vulgar expressions cannot well remain a vulgar man." - Norman Foerster )

These are the types that panic and lose all ability to make rational choices.

When a rational person comes along to offer them hope and encouragement, they become outrageously offended!

In their thinking, since they're panicking and miserable, we all should be, too!

When they can't succeed in pulling us into their hysteria, we will hear them say that we are ignorant, and not taking this pandemic seriously.

But a mature person will be able to see past this.

We know that, "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."

~ Matthew 12:34

The reason why Christians aren't panicking is because we have God's promises.

We have our own testimony and history with God.

We've seen Him provide for our needs.

We've experienced His faithfulness.

So this can be a time of deep contentment and rest for us.

About a week ago when I was grocery shopping, there was a sign in the bread aisle that said, "Limit one per customer." I immediately thought of Psalm 37:25, "I have been young and now I am old, yet never have I seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread."

That one loaf of bread sustained our family perfectly.

I should have known it would.

But being whispered to by the Holy Spirit in the bread aisle isn't the only unusual way God has ministered to me this week.

I opened Soren's second grade health book to read to him, shortly after contemplating breaking up with the news, and I read this...

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine... Wrong thoughts can make you feel unhappy, fearful, or grouchy. They can even make your body sick."

That did it!

The news was making me think wrong thoughts.

In my pursuit of keeping my family far from this dreaded virus, I could actually be having the reverse effect on my health!

Just the stress alone could make me sick!

Time to make our own news...

Here is just a tiny sampling of the things we do once school work, chores, and piano practice are done for the day.

Roman made a little table for his room from scrap pieces in Micah's workshop...

The kids have been working on making homemade notecards...

In an attempt to "flatten the curve" my mother called and asked if the kids would make her some notecards so she didn't have to go to the store.

We've also been reading a lot.

Here are a few books I've read out loud to the kids this winter.

We really enjoyed these...

And lastly...

Instead of allowing the lack of supplies at the stores to cause me to stress, I'm trying to use it as an opportunity to think outside the box.

For example, we have't been able to find Airborne vitamins, which is what we're normally used to.

So we had fun with a little experiment making a vitamin drink from fresh ingredients...

Our idea was to pour hot water from the kettle over fresh lemon and berries and make an afternoon tea.

Sipping hot drinks is good for cleansing the body of impurities. Plus it is very comforting!

Doesn't that look pretty?

Once the water was poured, I covered each teacup to allow them to actually steep just like real tea.

We waited about 5 minutes...

We each enjoyed our drink with a teaspoon of raw honey stirred in right at the end...

If we make this again I will steep for longer than 5 minutes and try pressing into the fruit with a spoon to release even more of the juice. The flavor was very mild.

But even so, I thought it was a great first attempt!

What about you?

Have you thought about breaking up with the news?

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

~ Romans 12:2

Thanks for stopping by my blog today, friends.

I wish you health and happiness during this time...

xo,

~ Courtney ~

Downs Hotel

Hello again, friends.

Today I want to welcome you to Downs Hotel...

Otherwise known as, our latest school project.

The idea to create our own little hotel as a way of studying hotels in our homeschooling, came last  month when I took the kids to visit a lavish 5-star hotel in our area.

(Look at that mirror!)

This hotel is about 45-minutes away from us, in Kohler, Wisconsin, and is such a treat to visit.

My mother came along, too, and we made a day of it!

I told the kids we'd do a study on hotels by visiting one, asking lots of questions, then recreating the experience at home.

They were excited to try it!

(The lobby displays some of the original china that was used here 100 years ago.)

Before we left home we wrote down our questions for the concierge.

The kids had questions like...

~ How many different job titles are here?

~ How many visitors come through in one day?

~ Is there a dress code for the workers?

~ How many rooms do you have?

etc...

I happened to notice a framed certificate on the lobby wall that looked like a recognition from Forbes.

When I asked the concierge what kind of standard needs to be met to get attention from Forbes, she told us that, "Everything must be exquisite, and done to perfection."

Even their cafe is beautiful and unique...

We learned that the stained glass walls were imported from England then bought at auction by Mr. Kohler many years ago.

It's simply called, The Greenhouse.

Isn't that lovely?

We all enjoyed an ice cream cone here...

When the time came to create a "hotel" at home, we used our observations from our field trip, and the information the concierge gave us, for our ideas and inspiration.

For example, the lobby had some games and puzzles out, inviting visitors to relax and enjoy...

So the children included games in our hotel lobby...

We enjoyed browsing through the hotel gift shop and selecting something to purchase...

So the children remembered to include a gift shop as well...

In preparation for Downs Hotel, each child picked the job description they wanted for themselves.

Then they were responsible for gathering the items and clothing they would need to perform their job, as well as setting up an area for it in the house .

Here they are the morning of Downs Hotel...

Welcome! Come on in and meet our staff!...

Elsa was our concierge. 

Here she is ready for a days' work of greeting customers at our front desk...

Soren was our doorman, but he also ran the gift shop...

Nola wanted to be the maid...

Roman was our restaurant host and chef.

He named his restaurant the Black Horse Cafe...

And I was the hotel manager...

As you can see, we all dressed the part and wore name tags. Roman did a great job of making our name tags, as well as all the signs for the hotel...

He even worked with Micah to create a Downs Hotel brochure. 

The pictures I took of it are not that good, but for documentation sake I will include them...

The kids wrote an "About Us" description...

Roman said he wanted our hotel to be over 100 years old!

It was our concierge's job to make sure each guest received a brochure upon checking in at the front desk.

Which leads me to my next point... We invited some of our relatives over to experience the accommodations at Downs Hotel.

Here they all are enjoying lunch at the Black Horse Cafe...

I am so thankful for family members who are willing to come over and "play" with us...

(A close-up of the menu Roman created.)

Some tips I can share with you if you want to create something like this in your homeschool...

I allowed the kids to explore this whole idea all the way through to the end of their imagination.

I did not micromanage it or force anything on them.

They designed Downs Hotel according to their inspiration and interests, not mine.

I was just there to help and allow their ideas to come to fruition.

So, when the kids said they wanted the hotel to have a pool, I encouraged them to stretch their creative muscles and make a pool...

(Notice the No Diving sign, water cooler, and towels, haha!...)

The funny moment of the day was when our housekeeper announced she had worked hard enough and was going on break. We then found her relaxing by the pool like this, haha...

Another tip I can share that worked out really well is we put together envelopes of toy money (purchased from the Dollar Tree) that were given to each guest when they checked in. That way our customers had "money" to spend at the gift shop and restaurant.

This gave the kids a good opportunity to conduct transactions with customers and practice change counting.

The last tip I'll share is to remember to have some employee training before the event and hold a staff meeting right before everyone arrives.

This was helpful to make sure we were all ready and on the same page.

At our staff meeting I reminded the kids to stay in character and play up their part!

"Remember," I said, "She isn't Aunt Jenna today, you are to call her Mrs. Phillips. And Grandma is a customer today, so don't ask her for gum from her purse!" 

Haha!

I encouraged them to check on our customers and say things like, "So, where are you fine folks from? Are you enjoying your stay? Let us know if you need anything."

(The kids thought this was really fun!)

Overall, I thought our idea for Downs Hotel turned out well and was a great learning experience for the kids...

(Taking lunch orders.)

(Satisfied customer!)

But the most important part to me was creating a lifelong family memory, which I believe we accomplished.

That alone is worth the mess and hard work!

"We've been delighting guests for over 100 years in our farmhouse-themed hotel.

We take pride in taking care of our visitors.

Thank you for choosing Downs Hotel."

And thank you, friends, for stopping by my blog today!

xo,

~ Courtney ~