Jen Russum

At Home with Talitha

May 31, 2016

I have so many pictures from Zianne playing around the house when she was a baby. She was my only child and my main responsibility so the camera was on her almost every single day. I wouldn't say I've entirely failed to get pictures of Talitha. I've still taken her growth pictures every month and I snap photos of both girls together quite frequently... if I can get them to sit still and not inflict injuries on each other for longer than three seconds. But day-in-the-life photos with just Talitha? Without big sis around to lock her in a choke hold? On mom's "fancy" camera? I don't have many of those. So the other day, Talitha and I were playing on the floor during sissy's nap, and I decided to grab out my real camera and snap a few pics of this mobile almost-one-year-old girl of mine. She really is the sweetest. ... Read more

What if you don’t like sticky floors?

May 26, 2016

Sticky floors. This is supposed to be the judge of whether or not you are a good mom. Good moms have sticky floors and happy kids... or something like that. Except I don't actually like sticky floors, and I don't think I'm the only mom who feels this way. Sure, they are only little once and savor the moment and ignore the crumbs and all that... except we can't. We can't ignore the crumbs. It's not in our DNA to tolerate a messy house for the sake of our kids. We love our kids. They are happy. And we are happy... when our house is (mostly) clean. Don't get me wrong. My house is messier than I'd like. There are crumbs here and there, and I'm okay with it. We keep a little basket of toys in the front room, and although it's a eye sore when you walk through the front door, I've learned to tolerate its bright, plastic-y presence among my muted living room decor. I understand that life with little children necessitates small messes and toys and some chaos around the home. And please don't think I'm judging you if you have a messy house. I don't care one bit. Invite me over. My kids will add to the mess, and I'll bask in your laid-back personality while praying it rubs off on me! The only problem with desiring to have a clean(ish) house is that I'm always cleaning... like always. I get up. I unload the dishwasher. I prep breakfast. I clean breakfast. I put Talitha down for a nap and put on a show for Z, so I can clean the bathrooms or do the folding. I prep lunch. I clean up lunch. I put away toys, so I can spend nap time peacefully (and hopefully every once in a while not cleaning). I prep dinner. We eat dinner. I clean up dinner. If the folding didn't get done earlier, I do it after dinner. Somedays I feel like I'm going insane. But right when I was starting to get discouraged about this never-ending cycle of cleaning, my friend Lisa gave me some encouragement. Lisa has four kids and runs an orderly household. She's not a drill sergeant by any means, but when I think of Lisa, I picture myself standing in her kitchen while she happily talks and sweeps the floor. There are dishes drying on the counter, her children are running in and out of the house, and she is quickly sweeping up crumbs from the snack or meal she just served all of us. Even before I had kids, I always respected Lisa's ability to keep her house clean while raising four children. It seemed to come so naturally. She wasn't OCD. Her house wasn't perfect, but it was always peaceful, welcoming, and mostly clean. I wanted to be like her. And now I have two kids of my own, and Lisa and I are still great friends to this day. Last time I was over at her house, I asked her, "How do you keep your house clean?" She looked at me and said quite honestly, "I am always cleaning." It wasn't the answer I wanted to hear, necessarily, but it made me feel better instantly. I am not a psychopath striving in vain for a clean house. Messes are being created constantly. And as a wife, mom, and homemaker, I consider it my duty to keep them under control. I'm not saying Micah shouldn't help. He does. I'm not saying my kids won't do chores someday. They will. (Zianne has started unloading the utensils from the dishwasher all on her own... next step is getting her to do ALL the dishes after dinner... hallelujah and amen.) I'm not saying that having a clean house is the pinnacle of motherhood. I don't want it to be an idol in my life... messy or clean has nothing to do with my identity in Christ. But for me, clean is a priority. And I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that having a clean house is going to take a large chunk of my time, especially while my kids are so young. So if you are anything like me, working hard to keep your house clean and wondering why housekeeping tasks take up all your time, I hear you. I see you. You are doing a great job. Someday your kids will take out the trash and sweep the floor on their own. It will get easier, I'm sure of it. And someday, they tell me, I'll miss having little kids and their crumbs in my house. But I think they're wrong... I'll miss the kids for sure, but I won't miss the crumbs one bit. ... Read more

Zoom Out

May 25, 2016

We visited Seattle last month for a family wedding. It worked out perfectly because the wedding coincided with Micah's mom's 60th birthday, so all her kids and grandkids got to celebrate with her in person. Micah's little sister had the idea to do a family photo shoot for her, as we are rarely all in the same place. On a cloudy Monday morning, the day after the wedding, we loaded up all the kids and headed to Greenlake for family portraits. When our photographer sent the pictures, my initial reaction was to zoom in on all the flaws... Micah and I look so tired... like we've been sleeping on an air mattress in the same room as our kids all week. Micah and I are wearing the SAME EXACT outfits we wore in our last family photo shoot in November. Why didn't I pack better so we had more options? My hair is dirty. I should have washed and straightened it. Why does my two year old never smile or look at the camera? But then I shifted my focus. I zoomed out and this is what I see now... A bunch of tired parents raising young babies in an exhausting and joyful season of life. A loving oldest daughter who traveled halfway across the world with only a backpack to visit her family and bless her mom in the midst of a year-long mission trip. A devoted mom and grandma who is thriving in her work, in her health, and in her faith. A bunch of beautiful, healthy kids who can't look at the camera because they are too busy running, playing, and laughing. My husband and me. Married almost six years. Not looking quite as polished as we did in our wedding photos, but with a life more abundant than we ever could have imagined. All photos by Ale Aerndt Photography ... Read more