being intentional.

When we first moved to this old farmhouse in the middle of a bunch of trees {and not much else}, I felt pulled toward a more simplistic way of life. I clearly wasn’t going to turn into Laura Ingalls, but I did want to slow down and be more intentional with my time, my resources and my energy.

The natural tendency for my personality is to over-commit, over-schedule and over-exert. I have a hard time saying no. Yet, all of the striving and running left me feeling burnt out.

This move gave us a chance to step away and re-evaluate our priorities.

Even the fact that we were reducing our square footage energized me. I knew this meant a clean sweep of stuff. Because, we have way too much. In my pregnancy-nesting-get-rid-of-everything mode, I was able to donate, give away and sell a vast majority of unused items. Everything else ended up in the barn to be stored for months until this weekend when we cleared a ton of it out also. {A friend will be hosting a Garage Sale for Orphans and we couldn’t think of a better place to donate our things}.

We looked like the Clampett’s driving down the road…

With all that said, lately, we have stopped being intentional. We have gotten caught up in schedules and commitments and just the busyness of life. The past couple of nights have been all-night-all-you-can-eat-buffets for Charlotte so I have felt drained during the day and unable to be “productive.” The guilt associated with a lack of productivity has caused me to step back and stop to think about what is most important.

I’ve been reading Tsh Oxenreider’s “Notes from a Blue Bike” and have been convicted to slow down. To be intentional. To love well. 


Because I want to hold myself accountable, I thought I’d write out a few ways to live and love intentionally {particularly in this season with littles and a newborn}…

1. Prioritize my to-do list and select the one most important thing to be done today. Allow myself the freedom and grace to not choose anything from the list some days. Instead, use that time to sit on the floor with my little loves to build puzzles, read books or build spaceships with legos.

2. Date nights: make them happen. Even if they consist of a bottle of wine and conversations on our front porch swing after the littles have gone to bed.

3. Call friends to come hang out for the afternoon. Even if the house is messy or the construction projects are never-ending and they need to step over a few boards and a pile of bricks to enter.




4. Travel. When Dave and I first moved to Arkansas, long before kiddos, we used to take turns planning little weekend’s away to explore our new state. Even if it just meant a long drive and a hike and picnic in the afternoon. We’d also regularly travel the country and the globe to explore new places together. I miss those adventures and I want to cultivate a love for travel in my children. Travel is in my DNA and Dave and I dream of the days when we will all hop on a plane together to explore a new city or a new country {that may have to wait a few years with this crew} but, for now, we can plan little outings for our Saturdays. We can explore new places by hopping in the car and going for a drive. There are so many cute little towns or awesome hiking trails within a short drive from our home. 

5. Say no {when it’s appropriate}. Be protective of our time together as a family. This time is not only rare, it is precious and deserves to be fought for. Even if this leaves me feeling guilty for not being able to commit to as many things as I would like to in this particular season.

6. Turn off the TV. Cartoons can quickly become a babysitter when I’m nursing or trying to get something accomplished {like this post or the dishes in the sink or dinner…}. A little TV watching is fine in our house and movie nights with freshly popped popcorn are one of our favorite traditions but I need to be better about helping the kids foster creativity instead of sitting in front of a TV screen.

This is happening while I type. Creativity in action.

{I stole this next one from Tsh because this weather is perfect for being outside and we have the perfect little spot for a blanket overlooking the pond:}


6. “Do what you’d normally do with your kids—read books, sculpt play-doh, help with homework—but do it outside on a blanket.”

For more awesome ideas on how to live and love slowly and with intention, check out Tsh’s post, The beauty of living…slowly.