31 Days to Clean - Days 5 & 6

My family and me on our way to church this past Sunday.

As I continue on the cleaning and homemaking journey, I am constantly reminded to why... Why is this important?  Why should I complete this task?  It is easy for me to look at my windows, blinds, carpet, etc and think: I did this recently, there is no need to do it again. Yet ultimately, I do.  Now on the other hand, I am very quick to examine the Mary challenges and "do them in my head" while marking them complete in my mind.  This is not true accomplishment as I am ensuring that nothing changes in my life.  I do not allow room for growth by doing this.

31 Days to Clean - Days 2, 3, & 4

A photo of my fridge, why? Because people like blogs with pictures. :)

Today's challenges were easy, yet difficult for me to complete.  The Mary challenge asked what I can do today to bring my house to life, the Martha challenge was to wipe down and clean my fridge.  Both of these seem easy enough, but they are both things I try to do routinely, so doing them today proved a little difficult.

31 Days to Clean - Day 1

The Hospitality of Abraham Icon

As the days progress, I will probably begin tackling two days at a time as I may not have a full 31 to complete this book!  Anywho, today's challenge was particularly difficult for me.

31 Days to Clean - Introduction

A few years ago I read the ebook, 31 Days to Clean: Having a Martha House the Mary Way.  I found it to be an excellent tool in helping me balance cleaning and entertaining/serving others.  I tend to be a person who does one or the other.

O Death, Where is Thy Sting?

"O Death, where is thy sting?" - 1 Corinthians 15:55

My husband and I were talking about this verse the other day.  He was telling me that it's one of those Scriptures in which we see the "already, but not yet" as well as a taste of prophecy.  For those who fall asleep in the Lord, they can truly proclaim that death has no sting and hell has no victory.  But for those of us left behind, we feel the sting of death as our loved ones are physically separated from us in the world.

Tonight (10/17/16), my dad's sister, Yolanda, passed into eternity.  Only three weeks have passed since the death of my dad.  I have still been coming to terms with my earthly loss and yet here I am again faced with such a reality of a physical separation of a Tia that I have really grown to rely on in this past year.  She and my dad were very close and my own relationship with her had grown tremendously in the past several months.  She has been retired and I am a housewife balancing life with my husband in a new occupation that takes more of his time than that of his former work.  Although we were in very different points of our lives, we spoke frequently and even several times during the day.

Sweet Dreams

A beautiful photo of my dad.  

Friday the 14th marked three weeks since the loss of my father.  Some days are mostly good while others are extremely difficult and filled with sadness.  I would have never imagined that such a loss could hurt so deeply.

Losing My Daddy. In Memory of Samuel Garcia 02-12-1949 to 09-23-2016.

My wedding day, Dec. 2, 2007.

It's funny, I have found writing to be therapeutic to me since my youth.  I always kept journals either in paper or digital form, but when I got married back in 2007, my "need" for writing seemed to disappear.  Perhaps it was because I had found a new confidant in my best friend and husband, Peter.  

Over the years as we grew I found two new confidants that I had not known before: my dad and my mom.

The Zoo

We love getting out as a family.  One of the most amazing things about having flexible work schedules and homeschooling is having the opportunity to get out for family "field trips" in which we learn together about new things.  This post is old, intended for publication over a year ago, but the value remains.  Children learn best from interaction and the opportunity to experience the world.

What Does Your Baby Really Need? Baby Registry Tips for New Moms - Updated 2018 After Baby Number 4

My first pregnancy 20 wk ultrasounds

So, you're pregnant!  It's an exciting time, especially with a first baby.  The mind wanders and dreams of what being a mom will be like, what the new baby will be like, and all of the cute things that can be done with a baby.  It is a grand romance of the mind, but then, registering for gifts begins.

When to Use Blogger and When to Use Wordpress.com - An April Update

This month has been a very busy one for my family and me.  I looked at my calendar today and realized that the month is already almost over!  I have so many blogs on my mind, but have not been able to make the time to sit and type.  At the beginning of the year, I started a candy buffet business.  It was a little slower to start than I had anticipated, but these last two months have been busy for me.