Year 38

Another year older today. As we sat at Cracker Barrel last night for dinner, David asked me what were some highlights from the last year. I thought I would share them here too:

- A new baby in the home. Avonlea Elanor joined our family this year and has filled our home with so much love and joy. The children all adore her, and they ask me often if we will have another baby. I always reply that that’s up to the Lord, but it is so sweet to me how much they love her. Big families truly are a gift. 

- Many renovation projects at our house making it feel more and more like home. The inside of our house is barely recognizable these days with the kitchen painted and tile done, downstairs floors completely refinished, several lighting fixtures refinished, and our front door refinished too! None of that could have been possible without the hard work of my husband and the way that the Lord has blessed his business. 

- A family trip to the Smoky Mountains with my mom and Lee. It was so much fun to go camping together and explore so many new places. We got to go fishing for trout, see the Dixie Stampede, hike in the woods, see a bear, and just seeing mountains again was so good for my heart. It was a special family memory for sure, and I’m so thankful it could be with the kids’ Gramma and Papa

- a new homeschool curriculum and rhythm. This year we switched everyone over to Simply Charlotte Mason so that we could continue family style learning after Ryenne aged out of The Peaceful Press which we had done since she was 2. Needless to say, I was very nervous and anxious about switching after the comfortable familiarity of TPP, but oh! SCM has been soooo good for us! Every day is different and exciting and I find myself looking forward to prepping for the day! It’s a LOT more hands on than the past few years have been (we even switched over from Teaching Textbooks math which was very hands off), and while that does require more of me, I can see it paying off in dividends. The girls just soak up every minute and I love being so involved in their education. I still can’t believe what a blessing it is that I get to stay home with my five wonderful children every day! This change been a big highlight for me that I was not expecting. 

- learning to make freshly milled bread. My mom has been telling me about it for years, but this spring/summer I finally caved and bought a mill and mixer and we’ve been loving having homemade bread! Especially since it is so nutritious. I have always gone through seasons of making sourdough, but making FMF bread is soooo much easier and more rewarding since it is filled with vitamins. All of us get filled with just one slice! Not only was it a highlight to learn how to mill my own flour and make bread, but getting to teach my two eldest has been so much fun too. It’s so neat to see how things like this get passed down - from my mom, to me, to my daughters. Just as it should be. 

It’s been a full year and I can’t help but feel overcome with gratitude for all the Lord has done. It’s been a year of growth and sanctification too- which can be painful and uncomfortable at times- but is so beautiful too. I know I have grown as a wife and a mother, and have learned to depend on the Lord in many new ways. He is so faithful and patient with me!

Six Months of No Instagram

 

Six months ago yesterday I deleted Instagram from my phone and said goodbye to a long 9 year chapter of my life.

I feel more at peace than ever about this decision and likely will never have Instagram again - except maybe when I’m a gramma and want to keep up with my kids posting my grandkids ;)

I was a brand new mom when I first started building an online platform - Breezy was only a baby when I began. While I wouldn’t change the last 9 years because that would completely discredit all the ways the Lord used that chapter in my life and in others’ lives, I will say, this is the advice I’ll be giving my own daughters when they are young moms one day:

• Social media and even “influencing” has many benefits, but there are many drawbacks as well. The main one being the reality that it is a constant distraction from your most important work. It is designed to be engaging and entertaining and addicting, so don’t feel hopeless when you struggle to handle it well. However, recognize that it is something to be handled carefully and maybe not even handled at all if it is affecting your loved ones. 
• You don’t need to see what everyone is doing every day, and you don’t need to show what you’re doing every day. There is a certain level of “busy-body-ness” that is present in needing to know what others are up to. Be content with and faithful in your own work within your own walls for your own family and for God’s glory. 
• If you find yourself out of sync with your children, you may be allowing too many phone interruptions to happen throughout your day. Put your phone away completely for a day or two, and watch how things fall back into place and seem more manageable. Don’t underestimate the amount of overwhelm, stress, and anxiety directly related to our phones. 
• Pour into your real life friendships over online ones. You will be far more encouraged by an afternoon spent with a mother who has gone before you in motherhood and is walking the next season, than you will from the young, inexperienced online voices who are still figuring things out but just aesthetically documenting it along the way. Don’t think that a high follower count or a viral reel holds more credit than the woman in the pew in front of you who is faithfully discipling her children day in and day out - the proof is in the pudding.
• There are so many other pursuits out there worth chasing rather than chasing after a social media following. When I started, Instagram was simply a platform to document and write and create, but by the time I left it had changed into something else: a sort of hustle of following new trends or creating time-consuming reels or just getting sucked into the black hole of scrolling. Spend that valuable time mastering a skill like cooking or embroidery or sewing - or learn the priceless skill of just being able to sit down outside and take notice of things around you. God put you in a real world- spend time in it. 
• Lastly, a reality check. Even if you delete social media in order to be more present with your family, you will not be able to stop time. My baby is 7 months old now, and I feel like I spend so many quiet, undistracted moments with her, yet here we are 7 months later. Time doesn’t stop, even if you eliminate the distractions. The clock keeps on ticking. So spend your time wisely❤️

I’m not saying everyone should delete their social media platforms, but I do think it is something to be handled carefully. I pray already that my daughters (and son) will be able to handle it well, and this is just some of what I will tell them myself one day.