The Going Home to North Dakota Edition
So as I have already bragged mentioned, we spent the 4th of July weekend visiting my family.
I’ve asked you several times before if you’ve been to North Dakota.
And more importantly, have you since been?
We stayed with my sister Yvonne who lives on a farm.
Yes, she has cows and new baby kittens. She also has one of the most beautiful, clean and peaceful homes ever.
Every room has a view.
And every room is…how shall I say this…spotless.
I tried not to sigh repeatedly, and I tried not to blame it on good luck and birth order. (She’s the oldest of six; I am the youngest.) Instead, I kept a watchful eye on the habits she’d formed and wrote them all down in 3-ring binder.
Tell me you, too, struggle with keeping up on the housework and you will be my new BFF!
In this case, the pictures will speak for themselves.
A tire swing.
Cousins.
And precious time spent with Grandma and Grandpa.
On Sunday night, the cousins had a sleep-over. They camped out in front of the Chronicles of Narnia (the first movie, i.e. the best one), giggled and ate a ton of popcorn.
Now. About that popcorn.
Auntie Bon (as my sister Yvonne is called) was very generous to let them have popcorn in the family room. She is, in general, a very generous person…but she is also, as I have already mentioned, somewhat particular about her home.
Imagine, then, her surprise when Angela—deciding she needed a place for her ice water—flipped the bowl of popcorn upside down and used the bottom as a stand.
Leftover hulls and salt EVERYWHERE.
My sister’s mouth dropped open in shock…and then she started laughing. “I can’t believe you did that,” she gasped. “Never in a million years would I have expected you to do that!”
Angela looked fittingly remorseful, and apologized for her rash decision.
The word “impetuous” has nothing on my Angela.
Anyway, for “real” today I would just like to say…
Real is realizing that every day’s a gift.
******
And say a prayer for your rash-of-heart friend.
What great pictures! How bless to visit your sister! Many Blessings to you and your family!
Loved the pictures, looks like a great time with your family. I also loved your real comment! True, true words, and a good reminder. Seriously? I struggle with housework. I love to cook, I love to decorate, but cleaning?? Well, I would rather sit down with a good book and a cup of coffee!
I too struggle with cleaning. I know you've seen my house and you might argue with that but the truth is that I struggle with the routine cleaning. I'm great when it comes to crisis cleaning. I need to work on those habits that you mentioned your sister has perfected because I know it would make it easier and more peaceful for myself in the long run.
It can't be a birth order thing because I'm the oldest and my house… my house looks nothing like that. My house is a wreck. Of course that may have something to do with the four kids under six…. Nah. It was a mess when I had no kids. But I suspect by the time I have an empty nest I may have learned how to keep house. Maybe. I hope.
Oldest here too, and my house is, how shall I say it, "lived in"!!
I've assigned the resident children (as well as myself) certain chores, daily and weekly, and we all try to keep up. It is getting better… but when you come to visit, make sure I have advanced notice – so I can crisis clean before you arrive!!
So glad you enjoyed your trip to ND! As you know, my two oldest boys live in opposite parts of ND (Neche and LaMoure), so yes, I get to ND at least once a year… and look forward to each trip!
Blessings~
Your house will have plenty of time to be tidy once your littles are all grown! Then, you'll have time to clean … and it'll stay clean a little longer (maybe!! My mom begs to differ and it's just herself and my dad at home, now.).
The pics tell of the fun you all had on your visit. I have to admit that your sister's reaction is probably a mirror of my own in the same situation! I hope that I would have recovered with as much grace… my kids do some pretty shocking things that will remain unmentioned 😉
Of course I struggle with cleaning. And I only have two children.
SWEET!!!
I have 2 SILs (one with 7 kiddos mind you) and their homes always seems to look so spotless.
They giggle when I comment on it. I know that somewhere in those homes, there is a "quick hide the stuff we have company" closet.
I've yet to find it..but I'm still lookin'. 😉
BTW, I'm sitting here with a cup of coffee reading some fav blogs. Instead of washing the pile of dishes or putting away the piles of laundry. I try to keep on top of the cleaning but, there are some days/weeks when I just get behind.
But it will get done.
hi from one Minnesotan to another! Glad to see you had a great 4th of July!Stop on over and see my blog at http://www.momsbookshelf.com
Your lovely posts never fail to charm a smile from me.
Dear Auntie Bon,,,,
I am an empty nester, just hubby and me and my house does not look anything like yours ;-( please, share your secrets with us, thankyou 😛
I love it when you post about going home to ND. We lived in SD for seven yeas and it is still "home" in my heart. There's somethings about those Dakotas. Your parents are adorable by the way.
Beautiful pictures. So peaceful!
We're empty nesters now, but the house still looks like it did with the 7 kids… and that's not like your sister's house. Say…maybe I can blame it on the 6 local grandkids! Yeh, that's it…
Hi Margaret,
My husband was born in Minnesota, he has lots of Aunts, Uncles and cousins there still; he was raised in South Dakota and that's where his immediate family is and where we visit every fall. I've been through N.D. on the way to my mom's family reunion in Saskatchewan and found it to be just as beautiful as S.D.
As for messy houses…I always thought I had a hard time keeping up with the clutter because I had 5 boys and all their friends running around constantly, but no…it must be me. The boys are grown up now and it's just my husband and I and we have to work at it every day. We love it when we have company coming because the house looks great! We both would rather be working in the garden!
Oldest of five, daughter of a VERY neat mother, and I'm struggling with maintaining my house. I like to maintain the fantasy that if we had a bigger house… like an upstairs or a basement, so that everything wasn't completely in view all the time… things would be better. As is, with 8 kids and a small house, we have to travel light, much to my kids' dismay as I toss everything in sight! *grin*
I just wrote about IHeart Organizing in my latest post… that is one inspirational lady!
Great post! It's funny how someone can impress us so much with their making of their home — we take a little of that with us and somehow, it does rub off!