quick check-in

getting ready to head home and looking forward to another quiet evening in a week of quiet evenings... the first week of them since i took this ministry position with our church 8 weeks ago. almost like vacation... not ministry-free, by any means, and not work-free either... but no meetings... no deadlines, except getting ready for sunday. just quiet.

matt and i are trying something new: dinner at the dinner table, no distractions. a huge improvement from dinner on the couch in front of the TV. the truth is, i realized that if we want our kids raised eating dinner around the dinner table, we can't wait until our kids are old enough to eat at the dinner table to start eating at the dinner table - know what i mean? it has to be an established pattern before they even come into the world. so, we're establishing a pattern. it means no TV (who REALLY needs to see THAT episode of "friends" for the 19th time, anyway??), no cellphones, no radio. just food - served from dishes on the table, not served in the kitchen. sure, it's a little more work, and more dishes to clean, but as long as the meals themselves remain simple and the dishes get done daily, it won't be that much work. (ask me about this in 6 weeks, ok?) ;)

and date night: we've finally gotten solid about instituting our date night. it's important to spend quality time together beyond the norm of home life. it's something we want to have regularly when we have kids, but why wait until then to start. again - if we establish the pattern now, carrying on with it when kids arrive will be so much easier. recent date nights have included a movie (in a theatre!!), mini-golf, and dinners out (at new restaurants!!). future dates we're pondering may include a picnic under the stars, bowling, shopping at a building salvage store like Seattle's ReStore, museums, rented movies in, etc. so far, so fun.

and one more new thing for us: redecorating our bedroom. well, to be specific, we're finishing the decorating of our bedroom. when we moved in, it was beautifully painted in two tones of blue, included pretty new carpeting, and gorgeous curtain-rods with decorative finials. i had grand schemes for that room, and then never got very far - except for a new comforter. sadly, we never grew out of our 9-year-old slovenly selves when it comes to keeping our bedroom, so this effort is an attempt at making our room a nicer place to be. and if it's a nicer place to be, maybe we'll take better care of it. i've made the bed two days in a row this week. this is huge for me. hope i can continue it. and i'll post some before & after pictures as we move through this little project.

sharing a layout on my way out the door:

{"affection" - journaling reads: "to the untrained eye, this appears to be a gentle exchange of affections between two sisters. but i'm pretty sure it's a chokehold. rebecca & elizabeth. 10/06}