The Tree is Down, Hooray, Hooray!

Ahhhhhhh. Christmas was nice this year, and somewhat relaxed. The children enjoyed all the excitement and gifts and sparkle and food, way too much food. Next year I think I’m saying NO baked goods can enter this house from my husband’s coworkers who generously love to bake and share at this time of year. I usually do pretty well not to buy the sweets or bake them myself (okay, I don’t even really like to bake all that much if truth be told), but when he brings all this yummy stuff home, I can’t seem to keep my hands and mouth away from it. Arrgh.

Speaking of holiday treats, I’ve discovered, however, that I do, in fact, like coffee. It’s only taken me 36 years, but I actually like it with lots of hazelnut creamer and Splenda. Or peppermint mocha creamer and Splenda. I actually finally got to try Starbucks while we were in California, and I do see the attraction, though the egg nog latte was a disappointment. Apparently I only like my egg nog plain and COLD. Steamed in coffee was pretty gross. And, though Starbucks was pretty good, I’m not terribly disappointed we don’t have one in town. I like my own much cheaper, doctored coffee at home as well as their quite expensive brew. Except for the gingerbread latte, which was wonderful. (Nod to my friend Heather!)

Anyway, I got the tree down two days ago and the boxes back upstairs yesterday and the pine needles vacuumed and the dining room table back in its normal place. Nice. I love the decorations before Christmas, but I’m really, really glad to have the house back to almost normal today.

I say “almost normal” because we are in the midst of doing some remodeling and moving the kids into different rooms. Very cool thing: my husband is almost done with turning part of the attic space accessed from the bonus room upstairs (the room the boys currently share as a bedroom) into a very large, very nice closet, which the boys have not had up to now. Also cool: some good friends of ours gave us their son’s bed frame since they are redoing his room now that he’s getting older. It is a bunk bed with a twin bed on top and a full size futon on the bottom. We have decided that we are going to finish that closet space upstairs, move Boo into the bigger downstairs bedroom that has functioned as a very messy playroom/catch-all kind of room and let M have her old room with his new bed. We’re going to find him a dresser and find either a Captain’s bed with drawers underneath or a small dresser for J and he’ll keep the upstairs room with the understanding that part of the room will still have to be kept clear for little brother to come up there and play with the shared toys, too. This arrangement will allow us to split the boys up and allow them a little space to themselves and also to have a bed for guests when needed. We found a small used desk for $15 that will also go up in J’s room so he can study and do his homework in his own room without the distraction little brother and little sister usually bring to him.

I’m already dreaming color schemes for Boo’s room and M’s new room. Now that we’ve told the boys what we’re planning, they have been more motivated to clear out the playroom and help me decide what toys we can give away and what is throw away. They are ready to have their own space.

So, though I don’t really make resolutions, I suppose a major New Year’s type of goal for us is to get the junk in the playroom cleared out and organized and manage the transition as soon as we can get all that done. If you've read this blog for very long, you probably remember that I am not a very motivated decorator. It is hard to spend money we don't really have on that kind of thing and I don't have much of an eye for knowing how to nicely furnish and accessorize the house on a tight budget. I’m very impressed with Drew’s work up there in that new closet space, however, and it is helping me to get motivated to finish the organizing. I am beginning to see the possibilities.

So, slowly we are getting the house the way we want it. Order is slowly being made from chaos. As I examine my own heart, I pray the same is true spiritually. On the pilgrim path of sanctification, I find that I am extremely aware of my own wretchedness. The Lord is so very patient with me. I look back over the past several years, and I can see areas He has pruned and taught me and allowed me to grow, but on examining myself, I see so much still needing to be pruned away. Once again I need to remind myself of the verses I wrote out in this post. Sometimes it is discouraging to look back at things I have written many months or years ago and find I have not grown nearly as much as I would have liked in certain areas when, at times, it seems that I write about the same struggles over and over again, and, like Paul, I find I am doing what I do not want to do and not doing what I long to do. I want to have a mind that is more and more like Christ and less and less like the world. I want to learn to focus my heart and mind on Him and to live a life that honors Him. (Carla had a good post about this today, by the way.) I want to continue to press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. I am thankful for the desire to press on that He has placed in my heart. This is what I am thinking about as we prepare to close out 2007 and enter 2008.