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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Five Minute Friday, Writing

Half Agony, Half Hope: Reflection on the Mom Writing Life

April 27, 2018 by Bethany 1 Comment

I don’t want to write today. I mean, I do but really I don’t. I can’t think clearly and there…

Faith, Five Minute Friday, Writing

Arise, the Winter is Nearly Past

April 19, 2018 by Bethany 13 Comments

The seasons are slow to turn here. We had sleet and hail today, and it’s nearly May. We’re all cold…

Family, Five Minute Friday, Parenting, Writing

Tired But Not Defeated: Where I Turn 35

March 8, 2018 by Bethany 13 Comments

  Tired doesn’t begin to cover it. I can blame hormones, the random incidents of small children up in the…

Five Minute Friday, Writing

Choose to Bloom

February 23, 2018 by Bethany 4 Comments

It was 80 degrees on Wednesday and the following day was in the 40s. I knew when I saw the…

Faith, Family, Five Minute Friday, Parenting, Writing

Letting Go Not Giving Up

January 26, 2018 by Bethany 6 Comments

My kids are not normal. That’s a hard sentence to write. I realize that normal is subjective but when it…

Five Minute Friday, Parenting, Writing

The Nonnegotiable Moments

January 18, 2018 by Bethany 6 Comments

I thought it would come easily. I spend all day, most days with my kids. I know what I imagined…

Five Minute Friday, Writing

February Can Be the New January

January 5, 2018 by Bethany 6 Comments

There is something almost magical about a new year. It seems to embody all things being made new. We get…

Advent, Five Minute Friday, Writing

My Soul Feels It’s Worth: Embracing a Different Christmas

December 15, 2017 by Bethany 4 Comments

  I told myself this year would be different. I would be less stressed out and I’d engage more. But…

Advent, Five Minute Friday, Writing

The Year the Magi Came

December 1, 2017 by Bethany 2 Comments

I’ve always loved the story of Magi, but it’s a bit different from the rest of the Christmas story, it’s…

Advent, Family, Five Minute Friday, Writing

Making the New Familiar

November 24, 2017 by Bethany 6 Comments

  Today I opened the boxes. The ones I packed over a year ago, when this new home seemed like…

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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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