Happy Friday, friends! I hope you have had a lovely week with your families. We have been getting some work done around our house, and continuing on with our homeschool schedule.
I can hardly believe that we are half way through with February. Despite the cold, it has been a really nice month. The promise of spring lies ahead, which is so exciting.
I hope you enjoy the newsletter this week. You are so important to me, and I really appreciate you!
Thankful for February
February can be an interesting month for me. I really want to remain thankful for all that I have. At the same time, March is calling my name! I’m looking forward to warmer weather, and all the good things that come along with it.
But there is a reason for this time of year. I must remember that! It is good for creation to continue to have this time of rest for a while longer, while I might think it is time for it to wake up. I am the one who is wrong, to be sure.
February is a good time for us to continue to enjoy our winter’s rest, before things really start to speed up next month. It’s a great time to sleep a little bit longer, and enjoy our free time. I do like having extra time to spend with my family. While gardening is so much fun to me, enjoying indoor time with my children is, too. It is definitely something to cherish!
If you celebrate Valentine’s Day, February is a good time to devote some extra time to the ones you love. My children love this time of year! They have so much fun making small gifts or notes for everyone they love.
I do like spending a bit of time near the end of the season to prepare for the next one. February is a lovely time to prepare for spring, while still enjoying the restfulness of winter! I usually start some seeds, and take stock of my garden supplies. It is a good time to purchase the things we might need.
On a slightly different note, I’ve decided that this is the year that I concentrate on adding some extra beauty to my home. Near the end of the season, I peruse Etsy to find a couple of inexpensive items to add to my decor. It is so nice to support home-based businesses, and I’ve encountered some very lovely people while making purchases! I also like to visit thrift stores and antique shops to see if I can find a couple of new details for my home that way. The thrill of the hunt can be really enjoyable! At the same time, I know I must be careful to avoid clutter. I want to make sure everything in my home is either needful or beautiful.
Changing Your Mindset to Keep New Habits
How are your new habits from the New Year going, friends? If you made any resolutions, have you continued with them? I didn’t make any “resolutions” per say, but I did make some goals when it came to my life and home.
I am slowly reading through a book called Atomic Habits by James Clear, and I wanted to share an interesting thought with you all. He talks about the difference between outcome-based habits and identity-based habits near the beginning.
I think that when we try to change our habits, we usually look at them as outcome-based instead of identity based. When we do this, we are less likely to succeed with our goals. Let me explain.
If we focus on what we want to achieve, we have made an outcome-based habit. Whether it be losing weight, stopping a negative habit, or something we want to accomplish in our home, we likely have all made outcome-based habits at some point.
In contrast, identity-based habits are based on who we want to become, instead of what we wish to achieve.
“Behavior that is incongruent with the self will not last. You may want more money, but if your identity is someone who consumes rather than creates, then you’ll continue to be pulled toward spending rather than earning. You may want better health, but if you continue to prioritize comfort over accomplishment, you’ll be drawn to relaxing rather than training. It’s hard to change your habits if you never change the underlying beliefs that led to your past behavior. You have a new goal and a new plan, but you haven’t changed who you are…The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity. It’s one thing to say I’m the type of person who wants this. It’s something very different to say I’m the type of person who is this.”
-Atomic Habits, pp. 32-33
I believe taking this advice to heart can be life changing.
Homestead Happenings
This week we have focused on some outside work on our homestead. Our new storage building/shed is almost completed as I write since my older children chipped in to help stain it. Hooray!
While they were working, I took my little guys outside to play. Moses was all about moving from activity to activity as quickly as possibly. Play house, swing, trampoline, scooter. In that order, over and over again! He is quite the handful at times, but I wouldn’t trade him for the world.
My husband built the doors for the building this weekend in between staining. I was so happy with the result! He used tongue-and-groove paneling for the majority of the doors, and then trimmed the edges and middle. When closed, the doors look like they have an “X” design. I love it!
The stain turned out darker than I had hoped, since the wood really soaked it up. It turns out that I really like it, though. Now I’m thinking about staining the goat barn and my garden fence the same. Wouldn’t it look nice if everything matched?
Now we have just a few finishing touches to work on. Before we know it, we will be loading animal food and tools inside of it!
My husband purchased several pieces of flagstone to put near my garden gate yesterday. The area stays quite mushy, especially during the winter. I think laying stone will remedy this problem. He purchased the same stone we used at our old cabin, so this made my heart so happy.
Next week, we hope to expand our goat barn since we are hoping for babies this spring!
