simply homemaker

“Let all the creatures praise His holy name, forever and ever”

I’m experiencing what people call “the days go long while the months go fast.”

How is it the middle of February already?

It seems like it was yesterday that I landed back in the U.S., struggling to stay awake in classes and unpacking my life from the Ruffin’s basement (which, still is an ongoing process). Today, we are here. Life looks a lot more stable and sometimes it feels like I have never left. I again have a full work and school schedule, weekend plans, and even future plans.

It feels so busy again all of a sudden. From just hanging out with my family all day long to getting home at 11PM at least once a week, it’s totally been a transition. My doctor recently prescribed vitamin D because I have not gotten enough sun! In the midst of transitioning, I found myself turning to comfort food: pies and pasta and bacon, pretty anything homey and cozy. I am adding in tons of kale to my diet while waiting for the snowy weather to gently leave – it’s been so fun playing in the snow, but I’d love for my car to work and to walk outside a little bit more.

With the hour-long commute three times a week, I’m thankful for books that keep me occupied on the metro (and that having to take the metro actually forces me to work through these books), although reading them on the moving train sometimes makes me sick. Anyone got any tips for motion sickness? I just got new earbuds for my iPhone so I can start listening to audiobooks next week.

Currently reading and loving: God’s Smuggler. It is an incredible story. This book has shown me how God is in control of all things. I see this faith bleed into every area of my life, from work to school to relationships, I now take an “one day at a time” approach because He really knows what is going to happen and thus there is no need for me to worry.

The last two weekends have been filled with friendships. Two weekends ago, I had some girlfriends over and made homemade pho. It was a labor of love and totally worth it, as we all got to connect over dinner and I got to enjoy a warm bowl of home. I am starting a new series of gatherings where girls in our community take turn hosting and we commit to seeing each other at least once a month. Inspired by: Made for People by Justin Whitmel Early. Great book, best of the year so far.

This past weekend, I went to seminary chapel with a new friend and then drove 2.5 hours to Williamsburg to see my friend Brooke! She gave me a tour of her graduate school, we had crabcake for dinner, and I had amazing choco mint ice-cream. Drove home on a sunny Sunday afternoon and saw the Eagles win the Super Bowl. And then I made an apple pie with mama Miller’s pie crust recipe, always the flakiest and always a hit! Totally 10/10 weekends: food, friends, and football!

This season feels much like the summer of COVID, when I lived with Julia at the Lighthouse. It’s a full day of work every day, short breaks of standing up to get a water or lunch. I would use my bathroom breaks as real breaks, which is not really good. But it’s so fun to be so engaged at work again and feel excited about what I am doing. It also feels similar to that summer because if I’m not working at my dining table, I’m baking, cooking, or spending time with people I love. It’s a simple and happy life, an ordinary life filled with little miracles.

It’s fun for me to be in this stage of life and finally think about what’s next, less with an anxious participation and more with a quiet expectation of God’s plan and His will. I signed up for Stephanie May Wilson’s course (!) called Love your Single Life, and I’m excited to be going through this next spring with a group of women who want to invest in this season of life with intentionality. I also have a couple trips in the spring planned out (sunny California is included) and my dear friend Julia is coming to visit me next month!

Catching up with: my blog, feeding myself, and making sure my parents’ visa applications are filled to prepare for them to come in May for my graduation.

All the while also: setting up calls with college roomies, making sure I answer letters and phone calls from friends, and planning a bake every Wednesday night for youth group.

Grateful for this busy, but fulfilling, season. I would not have it any other way.

And now, it’s finally time for me to shut off my computer and get to the brownies, because it’s Wednesday night.

Let all creatures, including me, sing and praise Your name in the midst of the mundane: baking, washing dishes, doing laundry, and getting homework submitted.

I hope everyone on the East coast is enjoying the snow! We had fun sledding today. If you don’t have snow, go do something fun, like a walk in the afternoon!

See you next week 🙂

Love,
Tram