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My name is Angie. I am the wife, mother, educator, and friend behind Fresh Wanderings. I love slow, simple days spent at home where I can be found creating, gardening, baking, educating our children, and spending time in God's Word. Welcome to the place where all of these things culminate into one.

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c l e a n & t i d y

All of the Christmas decorat

I spent the entire morning wrapping gifts. Special

I spent the entire morning wrapping gifts. Special consideration was given to the perfect wrapping, the ribbons, the boxes, and what is inside of them. As much as I love wrapping gifts and making them feel special it all feels a bit trivial as I’ve already received the most special gift I will receive this year and ironically it came in the form of a text message.

As most of you know my dad was diagnosed with ALS this summer. Among all of the other losses that ALS brings, it can also bring the loss of the ability to speak. Currently my dad can still speak, but it is getting harder and harder as he loses strength in his diaphragm. For Christmas he recorded himself reading advent lessons from a book my sister had purchased earlier this year. This gift truly was a labor of love and is one I will treasure always. Now we have the gift of my fathers voice reading God’s word to us each Christmas.

This journey truly is full of bittersweet moments. In some ways it makes typical things like wrappings presents feel silly and in other ways the traditions bring a sense comfort and calm in a really hard season.

We rejoice that Christ came to earth and is familiar with our sufferings. He alone is the reason we have HOPE this Christmas.

🎄🎄🎄

A little child, a shining star, a stable rude, the door ajar. Yet in that place, so crude, forlorn, the Hope of all the world was born." - Anonymous

Spending some time today just basking in the warmt

Spending some time today just basking in the warmth and comfort of home. While waiting for muffins to come out of the oven I decided to spend a few minutes reading from a book I have full of Christmas poetry.

If you would like a new poem to commit to memory. I thought this one was beautiful and worthy of memorizing.

My counterpane is soft as silk,
My blankets white as creamy milk.
The hay was soft to Him, I know,
Our little Lord of long ago.
Above the roofs the pigeons fly
In silver wheels across the sky.
The stable-doves they cooed to them,
Mary and Christ in Bethlehem.
Bright shines the sun across the drifts,
And bright upon my Christmas gifts.
They brought Him incense, myrrh, and gold,
Our little Lord who lived of old.
Oh, soft and clear our mother sings
Of Christmas joys and Christmas things.
God’s holy angels sang to them,
Mary and Christ in Bethlehem.
Our hearts they hold all Christmas dear,
And earth seems sweet and heaven seems near,
Oh, heaven was in His sight, I know,
That little Child of long ago.

- A Childs Song of Christmas by Marjorie Pockthall

Some of my favorite corners and holiday things. Th

Some of my favorite corners and holiday things. This time of year our house feels especially cozy, like it’s giving us a warm hug.

Home truly is one of the nicest words there is - especially at Christmas.

I dusted off my neglected blog this morning to sha

We completely switched things up this year and hav

We completely switched things up this year and have decorated everything but the tree. That will come tomorrow. Slowly yet surely it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. 🎄

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c l e a n & t i d y All of the Christmas decorat

c l e a n & t i d y

All of the Christmas decorations have been taken down except for a few mini evergreens and a wreath or two. It’s time for us to settle into a slow rhythm until spring. We will focus on finishing the school year strong, establishing good habits, and planning out the next stages of our house repairs and renovations.

I’m using some daily task cards to help me focus my efforts when it comes to cleaning the house. Each day includes a few simple things that, when used over the long term, help keep our home clean and tidy. One or two of the the tasks change each day, but for the most part the tasks stay the same.

Here’s a snapshot of how this looks for me:

DAILY
•Make Beds
•Empty Dishes (A.M.)
•Load Dishwasher (P.M) I load throughout the day to help keep clutter down.
•Sweep Kitchen
•Laundry
•Quick Organization Task (one thing I can clean and tackle in 15 minutes like a linen closet, bathroom drawer, game closet, etc)
•Night Routine - before bed (pick up things that are left lying around, wipe down the kitchen, take out the trash)

Some things that get added to this list on a weekly rotation:
Monday: dust house
Tuesday: clean floors and bathrooms
Wednesday: change sheets
Thursday: clean fridge
Friday: clean floors and bathrooms (again)

Really, once we get into the rhythm, this process runs pretty smoothly. I find that the peace and tranquility it brings definitely outweighs the effort it takes to do these small tasks each day.

“Rhythm is one of the most powerful of pleasures, and when we feel a pleasurable rhythm we hope it will continue. When it does, it grows sweeter.” – Mary Oliveri

I spent the entire morning wrapping gifts. Special

I spent the entire morning wrapping gifts. Special consideration was given to the perfect wrapping, the ribbons, the boxes, and what is inside of them. As much as I love wrapping gifts and making them feel special it all feels a bit trivial as I’ve already received the most special gift I will receive this year and ironically it came in the form of a text message.

As most of you know my dad was diagnosed with ALS this summer. Among all of the other losses that ALS brings, it can also bring the loss of the ability to speak. Currently my dad can still speak, but it is getting harder and harder as he loses strength in his diaphragm. For Christmas he recorded himself reading advent lessons from a book my sister had purchased earlier this year. This gift truly was a labor of love and is one I will treasure always. Now we have the gift of my fathers voice reading God’s word to us each Christmas.

This journey truly is full of bittersweet moments. In some ways it makes typical things like wrappings presents feel silly and in other ways the traditions bring a sense comfort and calm in a really hard season.

We rejoice that Christ came to earth and is familiar with our sufferings. He alone is the reason we have HOPE this Christmas.

🎄🎄🎄

A little child, a shining star, a stable rude, the door ajar. Yet in that place, so crude, forlorn, the Hope of all the world was born." - Anonymous

Spending some time today just basking in the warmt

Spending some time today just basking in the warmth and comfort of home. While waiting for muffins to come out of the oven I decided to spend a few minutes reading from a book I have full of Christmas poetry.

If you would like a new poem to commit to memory. I thought this one was beautiful and worthy of memorizing.

My counterpane is soft as silk,
My blankets white as creamy milk.
The hay was soft to Him, I know,
Our little Lord of long ago.
Above the roofs the pigeons fly
In silver wheels across the sky.
The stable-doves they cooed to them,
Mary and Christ in Bethlehem.
Bright shines the sun across the drifts,
And bright upon my Christmas gifts.
They brought Him incense, myrrh, and gold,
Our little Lord who lived of old.
Oh, soft and clear our mother sings
Of Christmas joys and Christmas things.
God’s holy angels sang to them,
Mary and Christ in Bethlehem.
Our hearts they hold all Christmas dear,
And earth seems sweet and heaven seems near,
Oh, heaven was in His sight, I know,
That little Child of long ago.

- A Childs Song of Christmas by Marjorie Pockthall

Some of my favorite corners and holiday things. Th

Some of my favorite corners and holiday things. This time of year our house feels especially cozy, like it’s giving us a warm hug.

Home truly is one of the nicest words there is - especially at Christmas.

I dusted off my neglected blog this morning to sha

We completely switched things up this year and hav

We completely switched things up this year and have decorated everything but the tree. That will come tomorrow. Slowly yet surely it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. 🎄

Today, I'm celebrating all the things I'm thankful

Today, I'm celebrating all the things I'm thankful for.

• Family
• Friends
• Our home

This year has brought a lot of unexpected and hard changes, but it has also brought many good ones as well. I know these things sound very broad and generic, but aside from God’s grace these things listed above have been such great sources of unconditional joy.

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends! 🦃

This summer we learned that my dad has ALS. ALS is

This summer we learned that my dad has ALS. ALS is a disease that causes the motor neurons to degenerate over time until they eventually die. When they die, they can no longer initiate or control muscle movement. This diagnosis has really impressed upon me the importance of each and every thing my dad is still able to do. I am so grateful for all of it, no matter how big or how small….they are treasures and we want to hold on to those things as long as we can.

I’m passing this on to you because that's what friends do when they have learned something the hard way, also because this life is a gift and it truly needs to be seen as such. Instead of using the words "have to" for things that I may not love but that are required of me, I have been impressed of their value as "get to’s".

For example:

•I get to ______ do laundry
•I get to ______ carpool teenagers
•I get to ______ make dinner for my family
•I get to ______ clean bathrooms
•I get to ______ stay up late while my children finish homework
•I get to ______ work from home

Realize that not everyone GETS to do these things. Someone in the world would love to do the things we get to do every single day. Things we often take for granted. And sure, it seems silly to apply it to the things no one typically loves to do, like doing laundry that never seems to end or cleaning the house just to see it end up messy again. But even those things we get to do because we have a Heavenly Father who allows us to have the people or things in our life that create all that laundry and all those messes to clean.

So I'll pose the question to you: What do you get to do today? Tell me in the comments. I can't wait to hear what you GET to do.

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