decisions...

life is a series of decisions.

marriage is a series of decisions that you learn to make while considering your spouse and their opinion more highly than your own.

we made a decision this spring to downsize into a smaller home in order to expedite the process of paying off some debt and increase our savings. we (well, basically i told mark on our first date that i was going to raise my own children even if it meant i lived in a card board box, and if he wasn't ok with that then this relationship was headed no where :) also made a decision 13 years ago that my primary "job" would always be Mama. everything else would be secondary. we are still in a season of our lives where we believe my presence in our home is the most valuable place for me to be spending my time. and considering our eldest turns nine on monday, and that kind of sucks the air out of my lungs, i am dumb founded how fast these years are passing me by and i WANT to be here!!

my brother-in-law has a famous saying, "these are first world problems" and they are indeed. consider, if you make more than 35,000 a year you are richer then 75% of the world. if you make more than 50,000 you are richer than 99% of the world. we don't hear about that "1%" very often in the news, do we?

pretty sure according to the rest of the way the world lives we could house like 5 families in our cozy little space. :)

we are redefining, "love is patient" as we wait in line for our one bathroom. we are more eager to come to someone's unnecessary beckoning because all we have to do is take 3 steps down the hall. i am SUPER efficient in my cleaning because i can clean the bathroom and the kitchen AT THE SAME TIME :)  i have been the number one donor to the local goodwill. you quickly find out what is a daily necessity and what is superfluous. the children have been hiding their toys because they know i am in the downsize mode, and if it's not consistently being used, someone else gets to have it. i feel lighter, simpler, and way more at peace in our cozy space. there is little room to hide from one another... fights have to quickly be solved because you are bound to brush passed someone or need to get into someone's space (er... the bathroom) sooner than later. we have yet to host a get-together.... but if we do, wear your skinny jeans so we can all fit!

about two weeks ago my husband bought me one of the sweetest gifts he's ever bought me (that is a bit melodramatic, but if you were washing every dish by hand you KNOW what i mean)! here it is..

if you don't know what it is you haven't lived.

this is a portable dishwasher... heaven on wheels! it hooks up to the sink and cleans your dishes. one of the most necessary appliances in our home... (again, a first world problem with a first world solution!)

we are learning some great lessons during our downsize. mainly, ALL we need is each other.. a roof over our heads, a little floor space, and A LOT OF LOVE!

happy friday,
~s