Quick Bits 🦃 #021

Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother's house we go....

Dear Reader,

The season is upon us! The time of year that the hurried-er we go the behind-er we get; at least that’s how it feels to me. I feel like the days and weeks, the chores and to-dos, the sacred days of my children are just flying past me, and I am at a complete loss at how to slow it down.

This past weekend I had one thing I wanted to complete: Get the Christmas lights up above the windows and in our pass through. The darkening days require a bit more light. You know what happened instead: I spent 15 hours curating pictures from the past year.

My husband and I have been trying to figure out the best way to get hardcopies of the pictures I take. Tomorrow we celebrate our twentieth anniversary. There are TWENTY YEARS of PICTURES to go through, because I have put this off since year number two of marriage.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, I am someone who has always had a camera and has always taken pictures. There are a lot of pictures; throw in the complications of changing tech and storage methods and it’s a seemingly insurmountable task.

Fifteen hours were spent this weekend organizing, selecting, and ordering pictures from only the past 11 months. Granted half of that time was organizing a photobook specifically from our family reunion trip to Germany. It was tedious and time consuming work, but it will be well valued.

So much of our every day falls into this gray area. The work we do is good and necessary. It’s not always exciting or fulfilling in the moment, but we trust in the day when we can look back and see the fruits of our labor.

A word as we stand at the end of the year, with the mounting lists of to-dos and expectations: Grace. For ourselves, for our loved ones; giving it all to the one who can redeem all things.

Happy Thanksgiving and Many Blessings on You and Your’s! 🍂

Jessica

PS 🎉 I just reached 100 subscribers on Substack 🎉, thank you to those of you who have subscribed and shared my words! It means so very much. In this day and age of AI it’s so easy to feel disheartened when coming across computer generated content. Please know that everything here, words, pictures, and thoughts, are my own flawed ramblings and never that of AI.

⬇️ Scroll down for this month’s Quick Bits! ⬇️

Quick Bits 💌 #021

1. I’ve been focusing on replacing digital content with hardcopies. I was all in when the switch to digital began, but in recent years we’ve seen the issues of expired licenses, crashed servers, and the PC-ification of media. In addition to our pictures we’ve slowly been adding to our DVD collection at thrift shops. We scored 23 movies this weekend for as many dollars.

   

2. I have a pre-Christmas wrapping tip for you! Instead of using paper and gift bags, start switching over to fabric bags. Collect fabrics at thrift shops and sew them into a simple bag, pillowcases are fantastic, as well as sleeves and pant legs. Get some fabric paint and ribbon and have some fun with it! We’ve done this for many years now, and I’ve slowly started switching birthday gifts as well to fabric.

3. My mind has struggled the past few weeks. I don’t know if it’s the time change, the darker days, or perimenopause (hello, 43). I am struggling to focus on most things, and even when I manage I still make stupid mistakes. I’ve just finished a quilt top. After it was done I realized there were mistakes and had to pull seams apart to fix it. No solution as of yet, but just wanted to let someone out there know they’re not alone.

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Currently Reading, Listening, Watching 📚

🕮 Night by Elie Wiesel
🎧Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton

Quotable Quotes 💬

“Child,” said the Lion, “I am telling you your story, not hers. No one is told any story but their own.”
- C.S. Lewis, The Horse and His Boy

Recent Writings 🖋️

You can find all of my recent writings and recommendations HERE.

• Kathryn Haines has a lovely new series on Holy Habits for Homemakers

• Alyssa Falkentook is sharing about a Cozy Thanksgiving, with some lead-ins to Advent.

Our Favorite Christmas Picture Books

Creativity as an Act of Worship

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This article is written by Jessica M. White: Wife. Mom of 5. Seeker of God's Truth and Beauty. Drinker of ink, baker of chocolate chip cookies, lover of words and learning.