Finding Contentment at Home
Our homes can be busy places, can’t they? Most days there is a lot going on inside of mine. Besides teaching our children and helping our husbands, there are so many homemaking tasks to take care of each day.
But I know there is much value in having a contented heart! Each day I know that I need to find the time to thank God for all that I have. This always helps me to see the bright side of things.
Another way that I have found contentment inside of my home is to take little snippets of time to either read a new book, walk in the garden, or listen to an encouraging YouTube video or podcast episode.
When the day has been especially trying, spending quiet time with my children is just what I need. Sometimes we will snuggle on the couch, or I will spend time with my two-year-old while he is napping. This quiet time gives me an opportunity to spend time in prayer.
I hope that I am being a good example to my children when it comes to contentment. I want them to understand that contentment comes from within, and that it is absolutely possible to be perfectly content while staying at home.
Simplifying Our Games
I love to encourage my children to play board games. Technology is always a temptation that I want to avoid as much as possible. During the summer, board games are a good way to fill time if the weather isn’t appropriate for outdoor play. Playing games is a good way to strengthen sibling relationships and problem solving skills, too.
Sometimes I don’t do a fabulous job of organizing these games, though. We have designated a cabinet over the fridge to house our games at this time. Usually once or twice a year, I need to reevaluate what we own, and possibly get rid of some things. Birthdays are a great time to receive games, and with a large family, this can amount to a lot of them.
The classic games always have a place in our home. For example, my daughter Mabrey loves to play “Hi Ho Cherry-O.” We probably will always own this game, and once it is completely worn out it will be replaced. On the other hand, games that are confusing or aren’t favorites probably need to go.
I like to keep games that can be played in a variety of ways. There are so many games that can be played with a deck of cards! Also, cards don’t take up too much space. This is wonderful if you are trying to simplify your home or game cabinet.
I also like to keep games where more strategy is involved. This encourages my children to think and to stretch those brain muscles!
While we haven’t reached this stage yet, once everyone has outgrown a game it probably will no longer have a place in our home. If no one in our family minds, it will be purged.
It is always good to find small ways to simplify your home. Tackling a game cabinet is an easy project that will definitely have an impact.
Homestead Happenings
Oh, has it been a fun week at our little homestead! About one month ago, my sixteen year old daughter let me know that our duck Becky was building a nest. “How cute!,” I said. Last year she tried to hatch a clutch of eggs and was unsuccessful. Well, in Morgan’s mind, the “how cute” comment was a green light to allow her to lay on eggs again this year. Our signals were definitely crossed! Anyhow, a couple of weeks ago I discovered that she was sitting on fifteen eggs. I was surprised, but excited. Baby ducks are the cutest!
A couple of days ago, I asked my husband to see if the eggs were viable by candling them with a flashlight. That wasn’t necessary, because when he went to check on them they were already beginning to hatch! We removed the male ducks from the enclosure to make sure there was no issues with them being unkind, and put metal sheeting along the bottom of the fencing to keep ducklings from escaping.
To my utter surprise, all 15 eggs hatched! Friends, they are adorable! Mama duck is very protective, but we are trying to spend a bit of time with them each day. Ducks are kind of skittish by nature, and I would like to socialize them a bit. I would love to keep several females if we can. Before the ducklings hatched, we had two males and one female. They all got along really well.
Ducks eggs are slightly bigger than chicken eggs, and are especially great for baking. If we had more females, then we would have more eggs. Before too long, I hope that my husband will be able to build a larger area for the ducks to live. Right now they are doing great, but more space for them would be nice if we keep several females for our flock.
