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
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Five Minute Friday, Parenting, Writing

Everyday is Laundry Day: Five Minute Friday

October 18, 2013 by Bethany No Comments

Laundry has been a source of conflict for my husband and I since the beginning. Neither of really likes doing…

Five Minute Friday, Writing

No Such Thing as Ordinary

October 11, 2013 by Bethany No Comments

There is no such thing as ordinary. Ordinary is one of those words we use to describe things which seem…

Five Minute Friday, Writing

My Night with Panera: Self-Care for a Writing Mother

October 4, 2013 by Bethany 5 Comments

I will begin today by saying that I am so grateful that it is Five Minute Friday not Fifteen Minute…

Family, Five Minute Friday, Stay at Home Mothering, Writing

My Daily Prayer: Lord Have Mercy

September 13, 2013 by Bethany No Comments

Another morning run, pushing myself mile after mile. Wanting to give up, wondering why I try at all. I beg…

Self-Care

Establish a Morning Routine: Working My Way Through One Bite At A Time

September 9, 2013 by Bethany No Comments

This is a great challenge that I think everyone should do. Quick note: there is an important difference between a…

Family, Five Minute Friday, Writing

Red: Five Minute Friday

September 6, 2013 by Bethany No Comments

My mother’s favorite color is red. Since my earliest memories if I imagine her, that’s almost always what she is…

Exercise, Five Minute Friday

Meditation on Perspiration: My 6 AM Worship

August 30, 2013 by Bethany No Comments

I’ve begun getting up at 6 AM to worship. Now I don’t mean that the praise music comes on and…

Faith, Family, Five Minute Friday, Writing

Learning to Appreciate Smallness

August 16, 2013 by Bethany No Comments

Tiny hands that have surprising strength. Little feet with minute toes that can kick and scratch with the best of…

Five Minute Friday, Writing

Lonely But Not Alone

August 9, 2013 by Bethany No Comments

I don’t feel lonely as often as most people. I like being alone. It gives me time to do what…

Five Minute Friday, Writing

Embrace Your Story, Mess and All: Five Minute Friday

August 2, 2013 by Bethany No Comments

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately preparing for the start of our MOPS year. (MOPS stands for Mothers…

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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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