How to Clean Your House in 10 Minutes or Less

Gotcha, Amy! That heading was just for you! After you said how you hate those articles, I got to thinking how much I hate them, too! Yes, it would be impossible for me to clean my house in 10 minutes. Perhaps that time frame is possible for some people, one of whom might be my sister, but it is not possible for me. And yes, Sara is home! Yay!

The more I thought about this concept of cleaning one's house so quickly, the more I thought on how I'm not fast at all...on anything really. Maybe cleaning up from lunch takes 10 min, but the house? Phew! I have a monthly schedule for that! And I still can’t get it all in. Now Sara & my mama, on the other hand, inherited a gene called "Quick Carl." They can do just about anything quickly! I inherited my daddy's gene, which apparently is called "you think too much" because that is what she is always saying to us. O well. If there is a person who can sit and think... in my bed, in the living room chair, anywhere outside on a sunny afternoon, on the back porch, in the car. Oh yes, riding in the car is one of my much loved activities, which is akin to going on vacation. Part of the enjoyment for me is getting there. Anyway, if there's anyone who can sit and think...it's me. Well, I get it honest. It's quite a nice past time, really. In the Bible focused thinking is referred to as meditating, and many times, especially if I'm outside (which is also why I love the Smoky Mountains so much) I am meditating on God's creation. At home, I often meditate on the miracle of having a child in my care! What an amazing creation and awesome responsibility!


I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. (Psalm 143:5)
They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. (Psalm 145:5)

Give it a try, but remember to get back to work cleaning your house because it will not get done while you're sitting and thinking!

Trains, Planes and All We're Up To

Welcome home Sara! She flies in to Nashville tonight! Tomorrow is "Hey Day" where we get to spend some time with "Hey," Carter's nickname for her.

With school starting today, ZZ and lots of friends, both teachers & students, are on my mind. I hope everyone has had a good day, since its already dismissal time! I miss seeing them everyday, but I am thankful to be home with Carter. Being his mom & homemaker has been such a blessing in our lives. We wouldn't change a thing. Along with those thoughts, I wanted to share what we're doing. The Rutherford County school schedule seems like a good time to start Carter back into some old habits and establish some new ones. We've enjoyed being relatively unscheduled, save playdates, naps and meals. I want to take advantage of some of the free & inexpensive things Murfeesboro has to do. I never knew! We went to Barnes & Noble storytime today and met some people who we may see again on Wednesday at Barfield Crescent Park for Wild Things. Since the park is too hot (we could only take about 12 minutes today), we'll stick to classes for a while. Sports*Com and Patterson Park have some things to do, and we like going to Discovery Center, the Stones River Battlefield and visiting different places in town. We're also starting some more "sit-down" time I guess you can call it to learn shapes, colors, numbers & letters. I hope Carter enjoys it. He loves to learn new things.

So that's what we're doing. I must add from today that Carter loved the train table at Barnes & Noble! I excitedly sent Jimmy a text: datenight at B&N is back on! B&N is one of our favorite places to go after supper on a Friday night. I think Carter will enjoy the bookstore now as much as we do, for a different reason. He didn't want to leave, and before I knew it we had been there 45 minutes! We then ran into my Uncle Jerry at Arby's for lunch. So fun to see people we know out like that. Sorry, Aunt Susie, don't be too jealous. We can meet you one day (on purpose)! So after the post office, the park, a visit to Granny's house, storytime, playing with trains, and lunch out, he almost nodded off in the shopping cart at Kroger. We made it home for naptime, and I now have a good idea on what to stock up for Christmas...trains!