Erin Akin Carroll

This post was sponsored by SC Johnson. These are my honest opinions on the product. I do not post reviews on products I can’t stand behind.

Now that spring is almost here, we are ready to put our house on the market. I can’t think of anything crazier for a mom of two small boys and two dogs in the house. But we’re going to give it a shot and hope that we’re able to get some bites.

But it’s really up to us. This is a buyer’s market and we are going to have to be very diligent about keeping things clean, avoiding clutter, and making sure the house smells clean.

I’ve created a little system to do a quick cleanup of every single room. I have a bin in each of the boys’ bedrooms to help me pick up the toys and get them out of the floor quickly. The plan also includes keeping surfaces like the dining table and kitchen countertops clean of clutter so I can easily wipe them down if we get the call that there’s a showing.

[Read more…]

I went to a church women’s retreat this weekend. It was a wonderful little getaway to Charlotte. The retreat lasted from Friday night until Saturday afternoon. It was the perfect amount of time to refresh, get connected with the Lord, and have great time with girlfriends. And just enough time so that when I started missing my boys at home, it was time to come home.

Two of my good friends also went up there and we had the best talks in the car on the way up to Charlotte. There is something so rejuvenating about getting so much time to laugh.

The sessions on Friday night and Saturday morning were just what I needed to hear. On Saturday morning, we heard a great word. We focused on joy and seeing the beauty in the little things.

This verse was referenced and it really spoke to me.

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Habakkuk 3:17-18

I started to think about the past few weeks we have had. All of the hassle we have gone through with Hayes’s doc band. The ear infections and the tubes. Hudson’s sickness and general toddler struggles. And then Hayes catching what Hudson had. Our anxiousness to sell our house and Todd’s stress at work. We’ve been pulled in a million different directions with our responsibilities. We’ve been stepping in to help each other with the boys as we have been tied down to our responsibilities. We’ve spent so little time together as a family of four in the past few weeks.

Life is happening. We’re just busy.

But we have so many reasons to rejoice. We are thankful. While our kids are sick, they are generally healthy. Todd has a job. We have a roof over our heads. We have family and friends that care about us.

The many, many reasons to rejoice don’t take away the hard times, but they are a reminder that God is there. He isn’t leaving us and he puts so many things right in our view every single day to remind us of that.

The gorgeous spring that we’re having already. The beautiful dogwood trees that line our street that serve as a reminder of the cross. The full moon last week was incredible. The vibrant colors on the azalea bushes. Christian radio when I’m in the car with screaming babies. It speaks to me and reminds me to be peaceful.

So I will be joyful. As things distract me and and pull me from Him, I will remember to rejoice. I will be joyful in God my Savior.

This post was sponsored by SC Johnson. These are my honest opinions on the product. I do not post reviews on products I can’t stand behind.

Spring is in the air in beautiful South Carolina, y’all.

The azalea bushes look like they’re starting to bloom. The Japanese magnolia trees have bloomed. The grass is green and soon the dogwoods will bloom.

The feeling outside makes me want to open all the windows and put on some cheerful, happy music. It inspires me to swap out some of our decor for “lighter” decor. It inspires me to buy fresh flowers and put them in vases around the house.

[Read more…]

I always thought of myself as an extravert.

We moved a lot so I learned quickly how to start conversations and talk to new people. Many of these new people probably thought I was weird. Who just walks up to someone and starts a conversation? But I had to find ways to make friends. And I made friends.

I’m friendly and I always want to make sure that other “new people” feel comfortable and welcome.

But I never really liked social situations with tons of people. I still don’t. In those situations, I feel like I have to find the faces I know as soon as possible so I’m not wandering around looking for someone to talk to.

I don’t love small talk. It just feels awkward to me.

Fortunately, at this point in my life, as a mom of two, making good friends has been relatively easy. Most of these women have just popped into my life. Really, God put them there for me. Because He knows that I don’t like to go out looking for friends.

I’m sure that as the writer of this blog, where I put my heart “out there” every week, I don’t seem like such an introvert. But I can’t see you when I tell my stories. This is therapeutic for me because I’m not telling this stories face to face with someone.

And it’s not that I don’t enjoy being with people. I absolutely do. I just prefer to be with small groups of people and I tend to thrive in those settings.

My life has taught me  how to be an extravert, but it’s just not who I am.

So I’m curious. Which one are you? An introvert or an extravert?