Saturday, March 2, 2013

Picture Perfect? Or Not :)

So I've been thinking a lot about how I sometimes feel the need to appear that I have it all together. I don't know if it's facebook and just seeing glimpses of people's lives or what. But the truth is, our life is extremely messy. My laundry is not always done, and this morning I had no clue what to make my family for breakfast because we had no groceries. HA! Thank goodness I had a box of "Just add water" pancakes and a half a bag of chocolate chips- Bam Chocolate chip pancakes! My girls do not always smile for the camera-well Lilly does if she can see herself in the picture, but Gabby usually runs away yelling no. My usual attire at home is yoga pants, tshirt and sweatshirt. All I can say is Thank You Lord for Yoga Pants--Can I get an amen from some momma's?!

Growing up you have this incredible desire to be accepted and sometimes will do, be, or say anything to achieve that. All for this end goal of meet the love of your life, have the most perfect wedding, and live happily ever after. Or at least that's kind of the idea I had in my head. I didn't really think about all of the logistics that it would take to really "live life". Life takes a lot of time. I so wish Dave never had to work, we had all the money and resources in the world, and my laundry, dishes, cooking, grocery shopping, cleaning did it all by itself. ;) BUT that is completely unrealistic. I have never appreciated my mom more than I do now, because I had NO idea what it took to run a household and raise children. It is the best thing in the world, the biggest sacrifice, and there are days where I think to myself what in the world am I doing? Do I really have a significant purpose of staying home most days and doing all of these things. And the answer is YES! It is a season of life, it won't always be like this and for any young mom that feels alone, and that her main source of communication is 2 year old talk and baby talk-
Enjoy this season. Enjoy them cuddling in your arms to fall asleep.


 Enjoy the butterfly kisses and nose to noses. Enjoy bath time and the first time they learn how to splash and think that water is seriously the coolest thing ever.


 Enjoy watching them learn how to feed themselves even if you know that you are going to have to spend 30 min. cleaning your kitchen after you just scrubbed the floors and put everything in it's place.


Enjoy when they learn how to communicate with you and write down the funny things that they say. Watch what you say--Gabby actually told me yesterday "momma, look at me... don't do that again." I was mortified!!


They take in everything you say, everything you do-You are a HUGE example to them and who they will grow up to be. Take the time to not only love them, feed them, bathe them, ect. but nurture them, teach them, invest into their little lives.


Don't try to control the things you cannot control. Focus on the things you can. It is up to me what kind of wife I want to be, and it is up to me to love my husband, honor him, respect him, appreciate him, and encourage him. And also to make sure that he knows he is my top priority second to the Lord. 


And when you feel like you have to have it all together, you don't. Because in our imperfections and mistakes, Christ teaches us, and the truth is we are always growing and need to grow. There is no such thing as being the perfect couple, or having the perfect family. So relax, enjoy life as it is and try to be more like Christ. Don't get caught up in trying to impress people with how awesome you are. Life is not a competition and if you see it like that, you will lose every time. Life is a gift and it is beautiful if you take the time to see the beauty in every season.