Bethany Vitaro - Honest yarns of faith and family
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Bethany Vitaro - Honest yarns of faith and family

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Share Four Somethings February 2025

Share Four Somethings February 2025

February 27, 2025
  • My Books
  • Five Minute Friday
  • Parenting
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Faith, Five Minute Friday, Parenting, Uncategorized, Writing

Lead & Guide: Five Minute Friday

August 24, 2017 by Bethany 6 Comments

    I like to follow directions. I don’t know if it’s the way I was raised or just a…

Faith, Five Minute Friday, Writing

Speak to Me, I’m Listening

August 18, 2017 by Bethany 5 Comments

When my first child was born, I was so anxious for her to talk. I wanted to know what she…

Faith, Family, Five Minute Friday, Writing

I Belong Where I Am (And So Do You)

August 11, 2017 by Bethany 2 Comments

It’s another one of those days. The ones where I was up in the night with a child who is…

Five Minute Friday, Uncategorized, Writing

Are You Even Trying? Five Minute Friday

August 4, 2017 by Bethany 2 Comments

  Photo Credit: aqua.mech Flickr via Compfight cc   Are you even trying? So often I utter these words to…

Five Minute Friday, Parenting, Uncategorized, Writing

A Place to Launch and Land: Five Minute Friday

June 9, 2017 by Bethany No Comments

Photo Credit: obsequies Flickr via Compfight cc   When you first get pregnant some people refer to the pregnant woman…

Five Minute Friday, Marriage, Writing

Visiting Our Marriage: Making Time to Connect Amidst Raising Kids

May 26, 2017 by Bethany No Comments

  It’s official, last week it was 14 years. It feels like a long time and yet barely scratching the…

Five Minute Friday, Parenting, Stay at Home Mothering

Motherhood; Costly But Strategic

May 12, 2017 by Bethany No Comments

photo courtesy of Twinkle Photo   I was recently able to share with my MOPS group some of my thoughts…

Faith, Five Minute Friday, Parenting

Let Wisdom Replace Doubt, Even In My Parenting

May 5, 2017 by Bethany No Comments

I was raised with a very strong sense of duty. You show up on time, and keep your commitments even…

Five Minute Friday, Marriage, Writing

We’ve Got This: Five Minute Friday

April 7, 2017 by Bethany No Comments

Photo Credit: ryeckman Flickr via Compfight cc I hate that I couldn’t handle it alone. I love to write but…

Faith, Five Minute Friday, Writing

Just As I Am: Redefining What It Means to Be Unconditionally Loved

March 31, 2017 by Bethany No Comments

Identity and purpose have been heavy on my mind lately; who I am and how I define myself.  Because I…

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This girl! She just comes to life on stage. The la This girl! She just comes to life on stage. The last three months have been grueling for us all. (Hard work for her trying to learn all the songs, dances and lines and for us managing schedules and transport). 
She'd never done a musical before and it's been quite an experience. In the end, I know she's proud of what she and the rest of the cast accomplished. (And still has two more shows to go!)
So grateful to @chrysostomacademy for opening their doors to homeschoolers and giving her this chance to shine. 

#musicmanjr #chrysostomacademy #parenting #parentingteens #theaterkid #homeschoolkid #babygirlgrowingup
At least seven years, possibly longer. I've lost t At least seven years, possibly longer. I've lost track at this point. 
There is still tons more work to do but I'm officially done with my first full manuscript edit and ready to send this well loved (and sometimes hated) project off to my beta readers. 
Holding my breath and hoping it's as good as I hope and not as bad as I fear. 

#manuscript #firstedit #betareaders #actsofwives #amwriting #amediting #historicfiction #onwriting #amwriting #writerproblems #theendisnear #musedontfailmenow #writingonthego #writerslife #wordcount #80000strong
#justafewmorewords #honestyarns #author #writing #workingtitle #AuthorsOfInstagram #WritersOfInstagram #alwaysawriter
What does rest mean to you? I've always thought of What does rest mean to you?
I've always thought of rest as either physical rest (sleeping) or something like a vacation when there is a freedom from responsibilities. 
I'm taking some time off from work this week and it's harder than I thought it would be. I'm not actually going anywhere so the daily needs of the house and family remain. 
If anything those needs loom even larger because without my job taking priority I suddenly feel responsible and even guilty for all of the undone projects. 
There is a sense of panic about what my in-box might look like when I return, and the need to feel valuable at my job.
Perfectionism raises its ugly head as I try to figure out the ideal, most efficient way to spend my week. 
But instead of galvanizing and exciting me, it paralyzes me. 
All the usual things still need to happen (laundry, cooking and cleaning), my children are still here and my husband is still working his paying job. 
Perhaps what I need most is freedom for my mind and spirit. 
The freedom to not be in charge of everything. The freedom to let go of the outcome (even though it wasn't truly within my control to begin with.) 
While I have always tried to create some sort of Sabbath rest, I wonder if this is the part I'm the worst at. Because the responsibility of life and parenthood never takes a day off. The weight of responsibility for their present and future needs is palpable. Some days I can almost feel my body bend under the pressure. 
Except these children are not mine alone, they are given to me to steward. The same power that spoke the world into motion is at work in their lives too. There are good plans for their life that I have no knowledge of or responsibility for. 
I may not be able to take the week off from parenting but I can take a break from worry and strife. I can be present without having to be pressured to produce perfection, in myself or in them. 
Now I just need to take a deep breath, and begin. 

#honestyarns #sabbathmonday #parenting #sabbath #rest #timeoff #presentoverperfect #freedom #recoveringoverachiever #preventingburnout
The only thing better than having a garden is havi The only thing better than having a garden is having a friend with a bigger, better garden. ☺️ Especially one who lives out in the country and invites you to come harvest berries (and peas) during a heatwave and it's a good ten degrees cooler than at home. 
So grateful for a community of friends that continue to be part of our kids' lives and education in so many ways. Last night was the most relaxing, fun I've had in a while, especially considering this heat. 

#garden #gardenlife #harvestoffriends #berries #summer #summergarden #natureday #notaschoolday #alwayslearning #alwaysgrowing #communityeducation #communityhomeschooling #microfarm
In the last week this kid has turned 15, and finis In the last week this kid has turned 15, and finished her first year of high school. She's become more independent while still being very aware of the benefits of childhood dependence. She's strong and stubborn, funny and deep, delightful and exhausting. 
I see glimpses of possibility and hear whispers of intermittent competence. Most weeks I'm not even sure how I feel about her growing up and I'm for sure grateful that she is my first and not my last. 
But this week has mostly been the joy of milestones completed with cautious moments of optimism. 
They get older. The problems are different. There is still joy, there is still struggle. But we change too. Our shoulders grow stronger and our hands open wider. 
I'm not ready to let go, but I'm getting used to the idea. 

#thisis15 #babygirlgrows #growingup #rootstogrow #wingstofly #celebrate #endofyear #homeschoolyear #honestyarns #faithandfamily
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