Everything's new- yeah!! Well....except for the furniture. I think when you envision a new house it has new furniture in it. Then you move in with your old furniture and it isn't quite what you pictured. But, that will come. The appliances are all new though and it's great, well, except for that I have to read seven owners manuals to figure everything out. It's great having more options, but simplicity is wonderful too. Put the clothes in, push start. Easy. Ok, there's a little more to it than that, but not much. My new washing machine has probably 30 different options of ways I can wash clothes and I can't help but push the "normal" cycle every time. Once I get through that owner's manual maybe I'll learn what the other buttons are for.
My washing machine sings to me. At first I thought, "ok, that is over doing it. Do I really need a singing washing machine?" By singing I mean that it doesn't make a loud buzzer sound but plays a tune when it's done. At first I had a hard time connecting the tune with the fact that my laundry was done, but now I get it. Hey, why not?
One of the hardest things about having a new house is trying to balance keeping the house clean with normal living habits. I think I spent every waking hour of my first 3-4 weeks here just cleaning. You want to keep this perfectly new house well, perfect. But, it's impossible to do with 4 kids and two adults who have bad habits of leaving stuff out, tracking stuff in, not hanging stuff up, etc. We're the same family in a new house. I've been upset with the kids over their messes and I've had a hard time knowing how upset to be over it. On the one hand, we need a place where we can feel at peace and organized and happy, but on the other hand we need a place where we can kick up our feet and feel comfortable. We don't want a cold place where dust and clutter are nonexistent, but we do want a place where the spirit can dwell.
I was discussing this with a friend recently and she told me something that helped me. She said to just make sure that my kids knew that I loved them more than I loved the house. That made a lot of sense to me. Since then I've fallen back into my normal cleaning habits which weren't that great to begin with, but at least I feel more balanced. And, I still get upset with Christian every time he walks through the house in his wet boots, but hopefully things will improve. I think you all have great advice on this subject so feel free to leave comments. It will help me.
Another blessing is having a wood burning stove. It's so warm and it's so fun to watch. But, now I'm blaming my inability to get off the couch on it. Who wants to get up and do laundry when you can sit by the fire and get warm. Dang!!
One of the greatest parts of having a new house is having a reason to invite friends over. We've had my parents over for dinner and another time a group of friends w/families came over and it has been a lot of fun. I love to get together with people, but I get so scared to have them over at my house. I just need more practice so it won't be so scary. And, I could use some more dishes, ya know. I just need to buy a few things to help me feel more confident in entertaining guests. We've got another family coming over in a couple of weeks and soon after my grandma will come for dinner.
On another note, one of the new things I got was a new phone. I got a smart phone for Christmas and it has changed my life. I don't know that it has improved, but it has changed. Aaron and I took forever to join the Smart phone generation if you will. That's just how we do things.
One thing I like about my new phone is having my camera in my pocket. All of the pictures from my last post are from my phone. It struggles with action shots and in low lighting, but so does my point and shoot camera. I'm impressed with it. Right now my SLR camera is collecting dust. Yikes!
If any of you are on Instagram I joined that . Instagram is interesting. I can see how I could really waste time on it and I can also see how it could be good. Right now it's neither good nor bad for me. It's just there. Maybe some of you have opinions on that too. Feel free to share. For now I'm posting pictures and if you want to "follow" me I'm at nikwolthuis. I'm still learning how to use it and Emma and Carly help me all the time.
Sorry for the rambling. Have a wonderful week. I'll leave you with a scripture I read in a Friend magazine yesterday,
"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."
-Psalms 118
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| Iceskating with friends |
2 comments:
Love this post Nikki. I know I get overly obsessed with having a clean room. I have decided it is because it is the one thing in my life I can control. I really have to force myself to let go some times, which is hard.
One of the things I like most about Instagram is the way I force myself to notice things/moments more. I guess that could be said with any kind of photography.
Love you!
Great post nikki! What great advice about making sure the kids feel more loved than the house..it reminds me of a quote i heard a long time ago..."did i marry my house or did i marry my spouse?" it was something like that anyways! What a cool house you've created together and what a beautiful family you have too!!!
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