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Home ยป Blog ยป Inspirational Service

Inspirational Service

by Sarah Turner Clover Lane

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Two falls ago I attended a retreat put on by Power of Moms.  I loved it. I met friends I will have for life during those few fast days.  One of the mothers I met I just instantly felt a connection to.  (I know, that sounds like a quote from that super queer Bachelor show! Ick, sorry.)  Her name was Allyson and she was this vibrant, energetic, confident, beautiful (no I am no exaggerating) mother of six.  I didn’t have enough time to ask her the 150 questions I wanted to, but I knew if I had that chance, we could talk forever.  I pretty much felt like that with everyone I met that weekend.

Anyways, Allyson sent me the link to her blog soon after we left and although she is not a consistent blogger by any means, within two posts suddenly her and her entire family was in Thailand, volunteering every day, all day in orphanages.  I wasn’t a bit surprised either.  She seemed like the type of girl that when she sets her mind to something-watch out.  She chronicled her entire trip there and the photos and stories were wonderful.

I read every post with envy.  And awe.  Awe at her bravery.  Awe at the fact that she didn’t just talk about wanting to do some incredible service project with her family, that she didn’t do what I think is easy-find every excuse NOT to go-(because you can always find excuses for just about anything can’t you?) but she DID it.  All the planning, the money, the inconvenience, the medical stuff, the passports, the long flights, the car travel, the time change, the children’s ages….all the hurdles…she did it.

I think she posted twice in the year since her family was back at home and then I found this in my email box last week:

Dear friends and family,
      Sorry I am late sending this out to everyone!  Lots of you have been so kind to wish us well and ask for the blog.  Here it is www.carefreetimelessness.blogspot.com .  We are 10 days into our 4 month adventure.  To fill in some of you who may not know the details, we have checked our kids out of school for the rest of the year to do some humanitarian work. Let me tell you, I have a whole new appreciation for mom’s who home school ๐Ÿ™‚  Let’s just say we are still in the “adjusting” phase.  We are traveling with the — family who has 5 children, so we are quite the spectacle traveling around with 11 children and 4 adults!
      We are in Cambodia right now helping in an orphanage.  We are in the middle of building them chicken coops so they have a way to get more protein in their diet with the meat and the eggs.  Man can not live on rice alone ๐Ÿ™‚  It has been truly amazing to be here.  The Cambodians have captured my heart.
       We then are going to Thailand to go back to the 2 orphanages we helped with last year for a month.  Their website is www.homelifethailand.com Sam is doing his Eagle Project there, helping them build a new type of greenhouse because the rain continually washes out their gardens.  Thanks to all who contributed funds to that!  He was able to raise the money needed.  We are so grateful to all of you.  Then we are on to India to volunteer at a boarding school for children whose parents have leprosy.  It is called Rising Star Outreach.  The parents have all been cured of leprosy, they just have residual problems from the disease.  We will be helping their parents as well as the children in the school.  To finish the trip off we go to a small village in Spain to help in an impoverished elderly community.  Hopefully we will all survive each other!!  Anyway, we love you all and hope life is being good to you!   
 XOXO, Allyson and crew

You can read Allyson’s bloghere-I pretty much cry at every blog post she writes.  There are some pretty profound things she says in there…I can’t help myself.  

____________________________________________

Don’t forgetyou have a chance to create and enter your own recipe into Chef Boyardee’s Make It Boyardeelicious Recipe Contest ending March 11, 2011.

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February 9, 2012 ยท 14 Comments

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Comments

  1. Magnolia Verandah says

    February 9, 2012 at 5:54 am

    My goodness! That is a huge thing to do. Bless her.

    Reply
  2. kara jayne says

    February 9, 2012 at 6:48 am

    ally is one of my best friends i met while on study abroad in israel. you figured her out pretty quickly. she is amazing. her determination is a key reason we decided not to put off taking our kids this summer on a service trip to the Dominican Republic. thanks for highlighting her and what she is doing on your blog!

    Reply
  3. chercard says

    February 9, 2012 at 7:16 am

    talk about loud actions, small words!

    Reply
  4. Anonymous says

    February 9, 2012 at 1:51 pm

    What a cool family!

    Reply
  5. Simply LKJ says

    February 9, 2012 at 3:13 pm

    What fabulous things they are doing, and such a leap of faith.

    Reply
  6. LizzyP says

    February 9, 2012 at 3:14 pm

    Allyson is fantastic in a superhero kind of way. But I love reading her blog because I am reminded of my first interactions with her–she was so warm and kind. And how about her spunk?!

    I'm so glad you're mentioning her on your blog. Just yesterday I was thinking "OK, how can we get the word out that there are 28 more kids who could be sponsored for $150 a month?"

    Reply
  7. Pam says

    February 9, 2012 at 6:32 pm

    we had an amazing group of moms that weekend didn't we?? Allyson and her family are doing fabulous things..she is so inspirational!

    Reply
  8. Stacy Heckman says

    February 9, 2012 at 8:25 pm

    Wow – thanks so much for sharing. I look forward to reading her updates. She is truly inspiring for so, so many reasons.

    Reply
  9. onehm says

    February 10, 2012 at 6:09 am

    Thank you so much for sharing this! So very inspiring and I loved reading about their experiences so far.
    Beautiful family, inside and out!

    Reply
  10. Stacy Colella says

    February 10, 2012 at 2:41 pm

    On the main Thrity One Page they asked what blogs we like to read. I gave you a shout out so maybe you'll get some new readers/subscribers. I love reading your entries and think that you're an inspiration being a mom of 5 and always seem to give and share so much.
    Thanks,
    Stacy Colella

    Reply
  11. meg duerksen says

    February 11, 2012 at 3:33 am

    wow.
    she is amazing.
    it made me rethink….i have always thought "never" about taking our family together to a faraway place.
    we could!
    we should!
    i want to.
    or….i want to want to. ๐Ÿ™‚
    because man….it would be hard!

    thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  12. Karen says

    February 12, 2012 at 5:36 pm

    As I read her post, I had to remind myself to breathe. It makes my own "problems" seem rather silly in comparison. What a beautiful family.

    Reply
  13. Rachelle says

    February 17, 2012 at 5:27 am

    Thanks for sharing this, beautiful Allyson will be spotlighted on powerofmoms.com next week! So glad you pointed more there!

    Reply
  14. Unknown says

    February 27, 2012 at 11:34 pm

    Just catching up on your blog Sarah – it's been too long – and was excited to come across this. Ever since I got that same email from Allyson, I've been itching to take Allyson's lead and head on out to somewhere wildly interesting. Someday it'll happen. But for now, Ashton and I get to head to Australia to do two Power of Moms Retreats over there – we leave next Tuesday. Should be quite an adventure and I can't wait to meet all the wonderful moms who'll be at those Retreats.

    Reply

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Welcome!

Sarah Turner

When our first baby was placed in my arms I knew there was no place I wanted to be other than home with him every day. Twenty five years, and five more babies later, (six children, now ages 26-8), I still feel the same. I blog here about motherhood, how to make a house a home, easy recipes, and simple living. You can read more about me here.

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Nothing pretty, flashy, or spectacular. Just an o Nothing pretty, flashy, or spectacular.  Just an ordinary Monday morning breakfast counter after the kids leave for school.  Because ordinary gets the short hand in our culture but really it's extra special. 
It's a symbol of unselfishness, contentment, prudence and gratitude.  There is a certain peace about the ordinary.  It's the opposite of temporary-it holds the joy of contentment and gratitude and prudence all in one hand.  It's lends itself toward peace, and a settling in, not a constant search for more or less or anything.  Ordinary is authentic and good enough- in short it's a gem in disguise. ๐Ÿƒ
I love my home and I hope you do also. With all t I love my home and I hope you do also.  With all the imperfections and maintenance it requires, when I pull up and walk in I want to stay, to relax, to feel safe, for daily life to be easy, and to care for "home". I want simplicity, ease, convenience.  To me when my home is simple, without being filled to the brim of things that just take up space I love it best.  I hope if you've participated fully or even partially as time allowed in 40 Bags in 40 Days you've found that joy and pride in your home.  I plan to share more little challenges and tips as the year proceeds to trouble shoot areas and keep maintenance effortless and the house love flowing.  Daily life in our homes should bring us joy and ease while we care for our families, we should be thoughtful stewards of our money and of our time and simple living is the answer to that. 
Thank you for participating! ๐Ÿก
I think this is one of the best things about the 4 I think this is one of the best things about the 40 Bag decluttering process.  When I know what I have and have removed all that I don't, it cultivates more discretion and caution about what I bring back in.  I think there is also some realization of how much money is wasted on fads, or thoughtless purchases.  It's quite eye-opening.  I've become so much more careful, and find we all take better care of things, as do my children.
The final week of 40 Bags in 40 Days! I've tackle The final week of 40 Bags in 40 Days!  I've tackled all the areas of my home with exception of my oldest daughter's room (not the photo)- which she is excited to work on this week.
The simpler the room, the easier it is to clean an The simpler the room, the easier it is to clean and straighten up.  And then the more enjoyable it is to actually sit in that room.  It's not a hard equation, all it takes is ruthless purging-and not just little things but larger items also.  Functional furniture is the key and very few decorative pieces especially when children are in the home, makes life so much easier. 
๐Ÿƒ
As we head into the last week of the 40 Bags in 40 As we head into the last week of the 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge I'm hearing from so many of you what a difference it has made in your appreciation of your homes, a certain contentment, and at the same time a thrill of looking in on the organized kitchen, closet and living space.  I agree!  I love purging, cleaning and organizing a space and then going back later that day just to get that wonderful sense of accomplishment.  It makes such a difference! 
๐Ÿƒ
A lighter, fresher, calmer home is the result of de-cluttering.  I even had a participant who had been planning on listing her home, start 40 Days just to get her house ready to sell, and then was so ruthless in the process and also thrilled by the results that they decided to stay put in what seemed like a new home to them.  What a savings of time, money and energy. 
๐Ÿƒ
Next week I will be talking maintenance and answer all questions! โ˜€๏ธ
Tips For Shared Kids Rooms- This bedroom has seen Tips For Shared Kids Rooms-
This bedroom has seen every configuration possible.  With kids spread out 18 years apart, I've had to be creative over the years-which I think is the key to sharing rooms.  It is all possible-I consider it a rare luxury and privilege to not have to share a room although I know that is not the norm today. 
๐Ÿƒ
I like to create a simple look with white furniture (this ends up making room transitions easier also when moving someone out and someone else in.) I also like to match bedspreads for a cohesive look. 
๐Ÿƒ
Clip on bed lights save space. 
๐Ÿƒ
A simple shared book shelf can hold a child's special books and knick knacks and if necessary can be assigned per shelf.
๐Ÿƒ
When my kids were younger I had my dad build me a large wooden roll out box for under each bed.  This held each child's toys. 
๐Ÿƒ
All clothes are kept in a closet instead of dressers to save space.
I feel like I bailed on everyone following 40 Bags I feel like I bailed on everyone following 40 Bags progress and tips.  My excuse is the stomach flu ravaging us all here in the last week with me being the last to fall and the slowest to recover.  On top of that the weekend before I tried to roller blade (don't even ask how many steps I made it) and majorly bit it.  Thankfully I think I just sprained my arm. So I've been using one arm for nursing sick children back to health, and doing whatever cleaning and cooking and straightening I can do.  Alas, last week was a wash.  We have two weeks to go.  I'd like to continue and end on a high note.  How about you?  Even a little de-cluttering counts! Spring is in the air and I can't wait to throw open my windows and let fresh clean air circulate through my fresh clean orderly home. โ˜€๏ธ๐ŸŒท๐ŸŒฑ
Especially where kids are concerned- we tend to th Especially where kids are concerned- we tend to think that the more things they have the happier and more occupied and loved they will feel.  Nothing can replace human interaction and I've found that too many toys has the reverse affect.  They cause overwhelm-just like us - we'd rather sit in an orderly space than one filled with too many things to do and too much stuff.
โ˜€๏ธ
When it comes to kids closets here are some tips-
1. Hand me downs don't all have to be received.  Or received at all.  Be choosy and keep just what they will use and need.
2. When children are presented with too many choices, tension and acrimony can exist.  Being able to open a closet with a reasonable amount of outfits can create more peace.
3. Cultivating independence in care of clothes is easier when there is less and the space is simplified and organized. 
โ˜€๏ธ
More tips coming on the blog this week.  I am moving my blog platform so I can't make any promises - it's under construction and that's exciting!
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