As I embark into the land of blogging, I have been asking myself "What is the purpose for this blog?" Yes, I want it to be a place where I can share the latest on what new things the kiddos are doing and saying these days or what is going on with Chad and me, but I really want it to be more than just "news." I hope this can be a place where people can get a sneak peak into our home and our hearts. I pray that as I share the things God is teaching Chad and me through this wild adventure of Daddy-hood and Mommy-hood, our readers will find themselves saying things like, "I am so glad I'm not alone...I've felt that too...I've never thought of it that way before..." I can't make any promises that I will stay current on this blog considering the 3 children, slow internet, and an honary laptop....but I will do my best!!! And now, on with my musings....For someone like me who thrives the best in environments which are: 1) predictable 2) controllable and 3) clean, motherhood can prove to cause me some trouble in these areas! Although I absolutely adore my kiddos and consider it an incredible privilege to be able to stay home with them, each child has caused my environment to be increasingly 1) unpredictable 2) uncontrollable and 3) messy. I used to think I was a pretty "on top of it" person, and I was somewhat that way up until the 3rd child was born! Now many parents who had ventured down this road before me gave me fair warning about the 3rd child phenomenon, but I must confess I didn't take them seriously! Or maybe in my pride I just thought that somehow I would be exempt from living out their warnings. I thought "I've done this 2 times, what's one more?" Haha! Oh how naive I was! Over the past year and a half since Selah was born, I have become so keenly aware of just how little control I have over the circumstances of my life and just how weak I am apart from the Lord. With two kids I managed to keep the plates nicely spinning on each hand, but I only have 2 hands!!! I joke with my friends and family who are fellow nurses that I feel like my life is one constant state of triaging. I can't even count how many times in a day I have to tell myself out loud "just let it go...." Whether it's not freaking out when the boys pee on the dirt to turn it into mud, or Cole dumps over the 3rd cup of milk in a day, or Selah does her "swiper" move when I'm not looking and swishes a whole tray of lasagne over my freshly mopped floor, and on and on and on....God has been teaching me through all of these "moments" some big lessons on "perspective." In the grand scheme of life, these "messy inconveniences" are just not that big of a deal. I have friends and family members who have suffered deep losses in the past year, and I'm fretting about my grout looking dirty??? Talk about perspective....
Through this journey of Motherhood, God has been teaching me the principle of "little by little." I know that I shouldn't fret about the messes and disorginaztion I see around me, but on the flip-side I also know that I can't just let my house fall into complete disarray and chaos. So where is the balance? I'm still working on finding it, but I think I'm getting closer! When it comes to organizing, I have been practicing the "little by little" principle by going "drawer by drawer, cupboard by cupboard, and closet by closet." So instead of attempting to re-organize my entire house in a day and getting totally overwhelmed (there actually was a time in my life when I had the time and energy to do that!), I break it down into small, manageable projects. Ones that don't take more than 30-45 minutes to complete. That is about the max amount of time I can realistically devote to a project without being interrupted at this stage of my life! And the beautiful thing is that I get the satisfaction of actually finishing it! So far I have tackled 2 kitchen cupboards, 2 kitchen drawers, the laundry room shelves, 1 laundry room cupboard, and the linen closet (all in the course of about 2 weeks). Now here is where the true confession comes in: when I find myself in the course of the day with smoke coming out my ears because the kids have just dumped out all 12 Rubbermaid containers of toys, I can secretly escape to steal a look at one of my clean cupboards! I am not kidding, I actually do this...when I'm really stressed out, I just look at my neatly stacked pillow cases or my new set of Tupperware that has all matching pieces and just momentarily go to a happy place :)
"Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you...They go from strength to strength, til each appears before God in Zion." Psalm 84:4,7
Through this journey of Motherhood, God has been teaching me the principle of "little by little." I know that I shouldn't fret about the messes and disorginaztion I see around me, but on the flip-side I also know that I can't just let my house fall into complete disarray and chaos. So where is the balance? I'm still working on finding it, but I think I'm getting closer! When it comes to organizing, I have been practicing the "little by little" principle by going "drawer by drawer, cupboard by cupboard, and closet by closet." So instead of attempting to re-organize my entire house in a day and getting totally overwhelmed (there actually was a time in my life when I had the time and energy to do that!), I break it down into small, manageable projects. Ones that don't take more than 30-45 minutes to complete. That is about the max amount of time I can realistically devote to a project without being interrupted at this stage of my life! And the beautiful thing is that I get the satisfaction of actually finishing it! So far I have tackled 2 kitchen cupboards, 2 kitchen drawers, the laundry room shelves, 1 laundry room cupboard, and the linen closet (all in the course of about 2 weeks). Now here is where the true confession comes in: when I find myself in the course of the day with smoke coming out my ears because the kids have just dumped out all 12 Rubbermaid containers of toys, I can secretly escape to steal a look at one of my clean cupboards! I am not kidding, I actually do this...when I'm really stressed out, I just look at my neatly stacked pillow cases or my new set of Tupperware that has all matching pieces and just momentarily go to a happy place :)
"Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you...They go from strength to strength, til each appears before God in Zion." Psalm 84:4,7
I wish I had that struggle. kinda.
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle! I've sure seen how these blogs become such a record of your lives--like a personal diary or journal but shared with those who love and pray for you! ATTAWAY!!!! I hope you keep on enjoying this! Blogs of Love, Grandma Holly
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