Friday, October 15, 2010

Staying up late, hanging out, and loving it!!


[Life is about RELATIONSHIPS!!!]
With the weather being SO AMAZING...we've been bending our bed time routine a little. I guess I've felt a little less worried about sticking to our normal routine, because we are on a modified homeschool style fall break this week.

Anyway, its been great!! We've been staying up late, playing outside, and just bonding as a family. Last night after dinner, we put the two little girls to bed, then headed outside for a few hours.



[So what did we do?!]
1. Play catch!! Scott and the kids played a fun game of catch for 20-30 minutes which the kids just loved. It was impressive how good they all were at judging where the ball would come down.


2. Let's get our SWING on: Then I felt like I was back in elementary school as we all laughed and swung on the swing set. I don't know what it is about swinging, but it just makes me feel young, carefree, and alive...I know I'm a bit crazy.

3. Race, race, race: The funniest thing that happened last night was that for probably the last 30-45 minutes all the kids wanted to do was race. We raced as a family, they each took a turn racing themselves against the clock, they tried to race against the dog, and finally they convinced grandma to let them race her. What a HOOT!!



[TIME=RELATIONSHIPS]
Sometimes I have to remind myself that life is really about relationships, NOT about schedules, agendas, or projects. What does this mean...it means I put God and my family first. It means that I'm dialed 100% into my family most of the time, and not distracted by less important things. It means I lead a simple life...always trying to keep my priorities straight and my focus on my Savior. Sometimes its just plain hard. I like my projects, my quiet time, my schedules, and my agendas.

['WE' Projects NOT 'ME' Projects]
However, if it ever feels like my kids are getting in the way of me getting my stuff done, that is when I know I've totally missed the point. Life is about building relationships with others, and when you have a family one of the most important areas to do this is by building REAL, deep, and meaningful relationships with your family, by working together, playing together, learning together, talking together. I've found that most of my 'ME' projects, have become 'WE' projects. What a HUGE AMAZING gift this paradigm shift has been for me. Its a balancing act that's for sure, but I'm learning a TON!! I'm a happier mom, a better wife, and feel A TON more fulfilled as a woman.

3 comments:

Mindful Mothering said...

Love this post!

I feel SO good when I am really in the moment with my family :-) I love my projects and schedules too, but when it gets in the way of my little people, I always know it's time to make changes in my priorities. LOVE the freedom we have with homeschooling :-)

Tricia said...

So fun to see what you're up to. Thanks for all the wonderful posts...you're so inspiring!

Brittaney said...

So true. I love those sweet moments when we are present in our kids lives and really feel how sweet it is to be their mom and to be able to raise a child of God.
Love you! You are always an inspiration to me.