In this post, I am participating in Making Your Home a Haven, and Marriage Mondays.

So far, I am really enjoying these challenges. Last week, I lit my candle every morning and remembered to say a little prayer for peace in our home and family every time it caught my eye. I found that having the candle there as a reminder, when I started feeling myself pulled in too many directions, I was able to collect myself there at the kitchen sink, turn to my children and say ‘mommy is doing ___ right now, I’d love to help you with ____ in a few minutes just as soon as I can.’ Amazingly, it worked and the wee one who needed me for something so very pressing (like changing a game in the wii or to hear them tattle on one another), stepped back like I made perfect sense and let me finish when I was doing. So that rocked. I will be keeping that going for sure.

This week’s challenge is to play soft music and focus on using peaceful words to maintain peaceful relationships. I’ve always listened to loud, angry music. I’m not a horribly angry person, I just really love Soundgarden. However, at the same time, I have also got a real soft spot for Bing Crosby and Glenn Miller – music my grandparents adored. So this week I will not listen to my 90s rock and will instead focus on that. Courtney also posted a sample of the music she likes the most, it’s a lovely wordless piano piece and it really does change the feel of the house. I think I will switch to that at supper and keep it on through bedtime. I also really love Point of Grace and listen to them quiet a bit throughout the day, which is poppy and borderlines on country, but is also churchy, so I think that fits too.

Once the music is playing, it’s time to focus on the more important aspect of this week – our own reactions to others. As humans in general, I think most of us are guilty of this. I know that as I sit here typing this, I have a clear head and a positive attitude about greeting my husband when he gets up later. However, I also know that when he gets up and he’s got his morning grumpy cloud over him it will be very hard not to react to that! Maintaining a calm voice and greeting him with a smile will be my top priority this afternoon, so far it has worked well this morning with the kids. Anything that keeps the peace around here makes me happy. 🙂

Today is Thanksgiving here in Canada and as a family we all have so much to be thankful for it’s wonderful – and important to keep in mind when the little things in life are not going our way. We drove down to Toronto to see my parents, sister, aunt and uncles and had a great time with everyone. My father encouraged our two older kids to climb the tree in their yard and there was wee one #2, up in the tree in her stripey tights and jumper. So cute!! Sidebar: my father later climbed the same tree and broke a branch off! Really! He is 61 years old and still climbing trees!

With this mindset, I have already broken up many sibling squabbles without raising my voice this morning. This is something I am aiming for in my daily life. One squabble at a time!