Today my mom pulled into our driveway with her car full of memories.
She spent all day yesterday digging through the attic of my childhood home where my grandpa now lives in search of a few treasures. And she definitely found some!
I thought you might enjoy a few pictures. Some of these Barbies are more than 25 years old. My sister and I had just as much fun looking through the goods as Addison and Luke did.
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| My mom is not certain how the dream house goes together. |
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| Uncle Kris playing with our baby boy. |
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| He thought it was a tunnel and crawled through it about a dozen times. |
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| Are these leggings?! |
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| I found a tiny troll! |
We now have more retro Barbie accessories than you could ever want.
The entire afternoon was filled with a sense of peace. My usual overloaded mind filled with stress and the worries of the week to come, wasn't there to bog me down.
I was free to play. Free to explore. Free to simply be.
It was a good feeling.
Even though I spent time all week tracking my every activity, I had more time. Imagine that. It turns out that when we choose to keep ourselves accountable for the way we spend our time, we spend our time in more meaningful and efficient ways.
There aren't a ton of you who made it through the whole week with us. It was challenging. It was rather eye opening. And for me, it was worth it!
I'm hoping you'll continue with your daily activity that you added to your schedule even after today. I know I'm going to. If you remember nothing else from this week, remember this:
Every single thing we do matters.
and.....
Change doesn't have to be a huge event. Change can be made through very small shifts in the way we spend our time.
I'm curious, if you made it through the entire week of time tracking with us, do you feel as though you've changed? And if so, how? (Remember, if you've made it this far, you'll be in the drawing for $200 cash money.) And don't forget that today is the last day to pre-order your Much Ado About You Planner! Don't miss out. Help save my favorite handmade business.
Hoping you found joy in the journey.....
.....day 205 of a year of writing.....
I made it. Longest week ever!
ReplyDeleteKidding!!! lol... I do feel as though I changed... and it's funny. Not knee-slapper funny, but "Oh my God, You really ARE up to something with all of this, aren't You?!" funny. Between my personal experience at the conference, my week of tedious time tracking, and the reflections in (tomorrow's) blog post.. I realized that God really does know what He's doing when placing certain things in (or out of) our lives. I know that's vague - but He spoke to me at the conference, throughout the week about my time, and tonight in writing tomorrow's blog post. It is my kids, Allison. I was doing dumb things that don't matter, with stolen time that should have been spent with those two little angels that matter more than anything.
Today as I sat in church I wasn't worried about what was to come. It was mentioned that we need to sit and listen. Listen to what God is telling us. It reminded me of you Alison. I am happy to say I finally am truly "hearing"! Thanks for this journey. Now, I am hopping off this computer because this week I learned I spend WAY to much time on it!
ReplyDeleteI made it and I am SO glad I did. This week was different from my norm in many ways. God was pulling me away from things I thought were important and opening my eyes to what He wants to be important. I can't thank you enough for challenging me and being an instrument of God's peace. Your sweet little blog is helping change lives. Many blessings Allison!
ReplyDeleteP.S.~ love the pics tonight...I had many of the same toys and these pics brought back many fond memories of my own :)
I made it! I can't believe it! lol This week has been SO eye opening. I have told myself in the past that I need to spend more time in Bible study and organize my time more efficiently, but this week I was actually able to do it! It's amazing how much you can get done just by not playing games or getting on datebook. And when you really write down everything you do, you certainly hold yourself more accountable. lol Thanks so much for challenging us Allison! After a very renewing day of church services and time with friends yesterday, I feel energized and ready to go!! :)
ReplyDeleteYes! I made it! I found that I really do have more time than I thought I did as long as I am intentional with what I do with my time. Being accountable made all the difference for me. There is definitely less Facebook time and more exercise and decluttering (creating space) in my future. Thank you so much, Allison. I totally needed this challenge!
ReplyDeleteWooo! Hooo! I made it! I was so tired last night, I went to bed before you posted!
ReplyDeleteThis week has been an EYE OPENER! I have found that giving up things like getting on the computer, all the time, for example,I knew I was, but didn't really realize how much until I had to write it down. I thought I am writing that down again? (We did not have one when we first were married,by the way. I know you are thinking gosh she is old-LOL)I felt David and I spent more quality time together, and we accomplished more and spent more time as a family. It is just so easy when you have teens, and everyone is just doing your own thing. Soon one teen will be gone and off to college-this fall. I learned this week I really need to cherish the time left with him and as a family, and not be so involved with my own agenda.
Yay! I made it! I learned a lot about me as well! I learned how to be more intentional with my time! I did feel by the end I had more time! In the beginning everything I had written down looked very scatter brained and disorganized, by the end it actually looked like a list, not just random things! I too spent less time on the computer and it was nice! I wanted to exercise more and took my 15 month old son for walks everyday which we both enjoyed! Giving up the phone in the car led to some great family conversations! Even with writing everything down I felt like I got more accomplished this week than most weeks and I felt like I had more time to play with my kids! My son learned how to go down the slide by himself! so fun! It was so much fun (and a little sad) learning about myself! My family is happier now that I am "present" and so am I! Thank you for presenting this challenge! Sometimes we all need a little push and as I had mentioned in a previous post I needed reminding of my word for the year "Discipline!" So thank you for that!!
ReplyDeleteI so glad the tracking is done! I have learned how much time I wasted on facebook and watching tv. I also enjoyed adding my bath. As much as I like it, I just can't do it every day. I will be doing it at least 3 times a week. Showers are just so much easier and quicker. I've also mostly gotten out of the habit of hitting snooze. I moved my bedtime up so I was getting more sleep and put my phone across the room. I am definitly being more intentional with my time. If I'm watching tv, I'm also doing dishes, folding laundry or picking up the room. I do give myself the time after the kids are in bed to not worry about anything and just watch my favorite shows, but now I no longer feel guilty about that because I haven't done it during the day. I can't wait for my new daily planner to come. I preordered the one that starts in August cause I don't want to wait until the end of the year to have a good planner to keep track of my daily life. This week I also found more time to exercise. I used to do a short thing everyday and now I do that short thing along with a walk with my kids or a few time on my elliptical (which I hate!). Doing this has helped me see where I waste time so I can add things there and have things done in the evenings to spend them with my kids. Can't wait for my hubby to be home so he can see that my life has changed to include more time for family without leaving out other responsibilities!
ReplyDeleteSuccess! I made it through the week and am thankful for this experience! Thanks Allison, it was a necessary eye opener!
ReplyDeleteAhhh! I'm sorry, that's supposed to say "Facebook", not "datebook"..... LOL!
ReplyDeleteI made it through the week! I did catch myself updating something on facebook but I cought myself before I got too sucked it! It has been a lot harder than I thought it would be but I did make it and I think it will help me for the future when I am trying to manage my time! Thanks for all of the help and inspiration!!!
ReplyDeleteI also made it through the week...although this last week is one of the most difficult for my son and I to make it through, I made it though. Tracking my time was how I started. As I look back at what I wrote down for the week, I know I failed at many things I knew that I wanted to change before I began. I knew it would be hard. I plugged on, and by Sunday night, felt empowered. This week, I am still logging my time. It is helping me, not only keep track of things that I knew I should before, but also allows me to look back and make time for more important things in life. Thank you for that. You honestly have opened my eyes to things I just floated through, instead if being grateful, and enjoying. Thank you.
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