Category: A Simpler Motherhood

If you are not content today, there is nothing you can buy this week to change that. -Joshua Becker

Happy Thanksgiving week, friends! This week is all about the pie, the side dishes (anyone else live for mashed potatoes and stuffing?!), the football, and the quality time with the ones we love. I hope you have the very best Thanksgiving weekend!

With this week also comes Black Friday and I wanted to share some quick thoughts on contentment before the busiest shopping day of the year.

Contentment Thoughts

According to a Forbes article, Americans are estimated to spend about $730 billion this holiday season, beginning on Black Friday. We could feed all the hungry people in America for 6 years with all that cash. Yikes.

Contentment is defined as a state of happiness and satisfaction. I think we can all agree it can be hard to be content in America. Our culture, led by advertisers, tell us we need bigger, we need better, we need more. They lead us to believe if we can just purchase the upgraded phone (with three cameras!!!), we will take and share photographer-like pictures. They tell us if we shoulder the designer bag, we have ‘made it’. They beat us over the head with ‘fashion as unique as you are’, ‘ultimate driving machines’, and ‘a diamond is forever’.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t have nice things, I just think it is in our favor to be aware we are being fed advertisements at an alarming rate, especially leading up to Black Friday. In fact, Americans see anywhere between 4,000 and 10,000 advertisements everyday. And I would argue we are not immune to them.

Research shows contentment cannot be bought. Not with a phone, a bag, or a diamond. Instead, gratitude has been linked to happiness. Most studies done on the topic of gratitude and happiness support an association. Practicing gratitude is free (no coupon code needed) and can lead to contentment. This book helped me begin to notice and have gratitude for the simple things all around me. Simply acknowledging and noting things, people, and experiences to be grateful for can lead to a more contented life.

Earlier this week I completed a short exercise in order to be intentional with the weekend ahead. Here it is…

Make a list of priorities for the weekend.

I made a list of priorities for the weekend in order of importance and they include:

1. Spend time with friends and family and be fully present with my people.

2. Practice gratitude.

3. Eat good food.

4. Read.

5. Watch football with my family.

6. Do some online shopping for a few things still on my Christmas shopping list.

Check in throughout the weekend.

Over the next several days, I plan to check in with myself to see if my actions are aligned with the priorities on my list. If I find myself 10 minutes in to an Instagram scroll instead of reading the book on my nightstand, I hope I can point myself back to my priorities. If after my 10 minutes of scrolling Instagram, I find myself shopping (because of those pesky advertisements), I hope I can point myself back to my priorities.

Nothing I purchase on Black Friday will bring me contentment. Instead I can find contentment in my gratitude for family, relationships, and God. Today I am grateful for much. What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?

The year of 2019 is coming to a close. We are smack dab in the middle of the holiday season, since it begins the day after Halloween (says every retail store in the States). The hustle and bustle of this magical season is upon us and I enjoy it all. The family and friend get togethers, all the baking, and the opportunity to get cozy under a blanket with a hot drink and a good book or a Christmas movie.

Sometimes it’s easy to let other things slide in my life with all the ‘extra’ things happening in November and December. Instead of making excuses this year, I want to finish strong and continue some habits I have been working on the past year and especially the past three months since Kevin and I do quarterly goals. I whole heartedly believe when I take care of myself, I am better able to take care of the ones I love.

For the next 6 1/2 weeks, I am going to continue to try and get more reading in. In this season, it’s been difficult for me to find time to read, but I discovered a big chunk of time while nursing Jack. Now nursing time is reading time. I want to continue my reading habit these last days of 2019. Another habit I want to continue is moving my body. For the next six weeks I want to move my body at least four times a week. I always feel good after a workout and I will feel better about eating the pie and mashed potatoes if I’m consistently moving my body during these holiday months.

There are lots of goals or habits anyone could implement or continue these next few months to not only finish 2019 strong, but make the holiday season a little more enjoyable. Here are a few more ways to finish strong.

Have a Morning Routine

Morning routines have helped me start the day well these past few years. Instead of being woken by my babes, I wake up before them to shower, workout, and have some devotional time. Right now it is pretty bare bones since I have a three month old, but in the past I have also gotten in some writing time and a cup of decaf coffee.

When life is full, a morning routine guarantees I can get the things in I really want to everyday.

Meal Plan

This season is chalk full of good things and sometimes it’s easy to let meal planning get put on the back burner. I always find if I meal plan for the week ahead, I feel less crazy and more in control as the week progresses. I’m also not scrambling every night around 5:00. Meal planning allows me to plan healthy meals which include real, actual vegetables instead of throwing crescent rolls and goldfish on a plate and calling it dinner (which happens from time to time).

Get good sleep

The National Sleep Foundation recommends 7-9 hours of sleep a night for adults. Ongoing sleep deficiency is linked to all kinds of bad stuff like high blood pressure, obesity, and even a stroke. The research paints a very clear picture that sleep is important, and yet it’s still hard to log the hours. I know I’m a better mom and wife when I’m well rested and in the holiday season my need for sleep is amplified. Making sleep a priority can improve one’s capacity for all the things November and December bring.

Practice presence

In the hustle and bustle of the season, taking a moment to really, truly be in the moment allows me to savor the beauty around me in a real way. It’ a simple concept only hard to implement. When I’m being intentional about this, I try and have one moment with each kid everyday. I know it sounds like a ridiculously trivial goal, but when I take time to look each babe in the eyes and really be with them, it makes a big impact. (This was a good reread for me.)

Presence with our loved ones is one of the lovely things about this season and I don’t want to miss it.

Stop the Scrolling

Screentime. Ugh. One requirement for me being present with my people is putting my phone down. Intentionality when it comes to our phones couldn’t be more important during this season. Yes, I want to take pictures. Yes, I want to post them. Yes, I want to see how my friends are celebrating. No, I don’t want that to be my priority for the six weeks. Maybe a Social Media Sabbath will help. Limiting my scrolling will make me a happier and more present Momma.

What are some ways you can finish the year strong these next several weeks?

It was Christmas Eve circa 199_ and I was anticipating the following day like any typical American kid on Christmas Eve. I was excited for it all, the gifts especially. My mom always made Christmas feel magical. Her love language is gifts and it shines bright on Christmas. I knew I would probably get the things I wanted as I drifted off to sleep that night. On the big day, we were knee deep in wrapping paper and we got everything we dreamed along with some money to go shopping. A few days later we piled into the car to go shopping a town away. The 30 minute drive turned into a few hours and my parents played it off as if they were lost. They pulled into a hotel parking lot and my mom went inside to ‘ask for directions’. We were too young to catch on. A few minutes later she came out and said we were staying in the hotel for the night and going shopping. We went to the mall and were able to pick out anything we wanted and although it was fun to spend my own money, I most remember experiencing it all with my family. The hotel, the pool, the fancy glass elevator doors, the shopping together. It’s probably the Christmas I remember the most in my parent’s home. It was most definitely magical.

Fast forward a little over twenty years later and I am in charge of the Christmas magic in our home. Like my mom, I truly enjoy gift giving. It brings me joy to give gifts to the people I love. Being in charge of Christmas in our household makes me happy, but can also become a burden if I let it be. Over the years, I have learned some ways to simplify gift giving from friends, writers, and a whole lot of trial and error. These three ways to simplify gift giving have saved me time, energy, and my sanity during the magical Christmas season. Most importantly, because they have helped to save my time and energy, I am able to use those precious resources on the my family and focusing my attention on the reason for the season: the baby in the manger.

Most of you already know about my Christmas Plan, so you already know I am close to completing my Christmas shopping. These things have helped make my shopping lots easier.

3 Gifts

When I first started having babies, we did four gifts at Christmas. Something to wear, something to read, something you want, something you need. That worked for awhile, but then I discovered my kids didn’t always need things that fit into those specific categories. Now we do three gifts for each kid (and separate stockings) based on Jesus’ three gifts from the wise men. My mother-in-law does this as well and I may have talked my mom into it this year, too! #allthepraisehands

The average American will spend approximately $700 on Christmas gifts this year. My husband and I’s focus the last several years has been on quality over quantity. Instead of giving my kids 20 small things that will break or get tossed the first few months, we want to give them things of quality. The three gifts Kevin and I choose for our kids are thoughtful and special and tailored to them.

If your family is wanting to implement three gifts this year, but have done big Christmases in the past with lots of presents, it might be good to have some conversations leading up to the big day so everyone has the same expectations. Almost like clock work, every Christmas Eve I look at Kevin in a panic and think we don’t have enough presents under the tree. He talks me off the cliff and of course the kids are thrilled with the presents they receive and it is always enough. Implementing three gifts is one way to simplify Christmas gift giving.

Exchanges

Anyone else feel like there are so many gifts exchanges with so many different groups of people? Me too. I enjoy them, but sometimes they can be a little overwhelming. Below are a few ways to make exchanges simpler.

If you don’t want to participate in an exchange, don’t.

It’s okay to get off the hamster wheel. It’s definitely okay to opt out of a gift exchange for any reason. Just be sure to give the group or person a heads up that you aren’t going to participate. When one of my cousins and I started having babies, she asked if we could stop exchanging gifts and focus our attention more on the kids. I was thrilled and was so glad she brought it up. Communication is important. Stepping away from an exchange can be hard, but if it saves your sanity, it’s worthwhile.

Instead of buying something for everyone in the group, do a favorite thing.

A good friend recently brought up this idea in a friend group. We all usually bring small gifts for one another and she asked if everyone would be okay bringing one favorite thing instead. YES! It simplified shopping and this way everyone goes home with one really nice thing.

Ask

Okay, so this one is super simple. Ask people what they want. I ask my kids and husband what they want, I ask my parents what they want. I ask nieces and nephews what they want. It takes the guess work out of the ‘perfect gift’. There are times I want to get something special for someone that I think they will really like and then other times I will just ask. And I don’t think it’s lazy or not thoughtful this way. In fact, I think it’s super thoughtful to ask someone you love what they want. This way you aren’t wasting money on something they aren’t going to enjoy and they aren’t having to think about what they are going to do with something they didn’t want in the first place.

Gift giving doesn’t have to be drudgery. It can be fun and light and simpler with a few tweaks here and there. Tell me: how do you make gift giving simpler in your home?

Yes, it’s October. Yes, we haven’t celebrated Halloween, yet. Yes, I am going to be THAT person talking about Christmas before the jack-o-lanterns have even been carved. But friends, it’s all intentional.

A year ago I was talking to a sweet momma at MOPS and she told me she finishes her Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving. At the time I thought it was a little extreme, but the more I thought about it, the more it resonated with me. Why wouldn’t I have a Christmas Plan a few months in advance so I can enjoy and be in the moment for the actual season?

So this is the year. This is the year I have a Christmas Plan. As I write this, I am 50% done Christmas shopping and have been readying my pantry and thinking through our Christmas calendar. I want to be present with my people during the magical month of December and having a Christmas Plan will help me in that endeavor.

Plans help us achieve what we want to achieve. They allow us to be intentional with our actions so we can go where we want to go. A plan isn’t always necessary, but sometimes it is. I don’t need a plan for what I’m going to do at rest time each day (although it sure helps). But, I should probably have a plan when taking our family of six to Disney World.

For our family, Christmas is a big deal in our family. It’s a little like Disney World. It may or may not be in yours. If it is, I would argue a Christmas Plan helps make the holiday much more enjoyable and a lot less stressful.

Here is what I am doing to prepare for the magical Christmas season.

Christmas Shopping

I have a Christmas list spreadsheet I have been using for six years now. It outlines in detail who I am buying for, what I am buying, and the cost of the gift. My list has been edited over the years with kid additions, but the bones have stayed the same. Each year I copy and paste the previous year’s spreadsheet into a new tab and then add people if needed. In the past I have done this at the end of October, but this year has been different. I opened it early September and started making plans for my Christmas gift buying.

Like I said previously, I am about 50% done with shopping. The last gifts I need to buy are mostly for my own babes. My hope is to be done before December 1 and I think it’s realistic at this point.

A few things I have found to be helpful in buying Christmas gifts.

#1 Start early.

For years I have shopped year round and kept bought gifts in my ‘GIFTS’ tub. Although I have done that this year as well, I am crossing many gifts off sooner. The earlier I have my list in hand, the quicker and easier my shopping becomes. My spreadsheet holds every person I will buy for along with the gift and cost. This keeps me accountable to stay on budget, to shop intentionally, and helps me avoid impulse purchases at Target.

#2 Get the same gifts for groups of people.

This has been sanity saving for me. I get the same gifts for various groups of people. For example, I enjoy giving small gifts to my MOPS table and giving the same gift just makes sense. We also like to give gifts to some of the kids’ friends. This year they are each getting the same book. This small Christmas hack makes Christmas shopping a bit simpler and I still believe people feel thought of and loved in the giving.

#3 Shop online.

This isn’t rocket science, but it is smart. Most of the shopping I have already done has been online. I have shopped small and shopped Amazon. (Some of my favorite small shops are: Alice and Adams, Littlefield Co., Wax Buffalo, and May Designs.) When those packages come in the mail, I simply place them in my ‘GIFT’ tub that lives in my master closet. I will wrap all the gifts when the time gets closer because it is something I enjoy. My Thursday and Friday afternoons in December will be spent watching Christmas movies and wrapping gifts.

Readying the Home

No, my Christmas decorations are not up. Decorating for December brings me joy, so I am going to wait to enjoy that with my family after Thanksgiving and into December. What I have been doing is readying my pantry and purging unneeded items to prepare for the Christmas holiday.

The Christmas Calendar

We all know the month of December can fill up fast. Last year we made a list of things we wanted to do as a family. This year we did the same and they are currently on the calendar. In October. We won’t be scrambling to find time to do certain activities together because we already know when we are cutting down our tree and heading to the Durham. It’s on the calendar.

Another perk of including the calendar in the Christmas Plan is it allows us to know what we can and can’t do when things come up. If a party comes up in December, it will be easy to tell if we can do it or not. It’s impossible to do everything in December, so knowing what we do want to do and planning ahead allows us to make space for it.

Christmas Traditions

I am a sucker for Christmas traditions. They give me all the warm, fuzzy feelings and I can’t help but appreciate them all. However, I know myself and how I can get overwhelmed easily. I know myself and know I can’t do all the Christmas traditions. I know myself and what will work and won’t work for our family. This year I made a list of traditions our family will do and won’t do. I honestly think there is a bit more power in making the ‘won’t’ list than making the ‘will’ list.

We will…

We will go to a tree farm and cut down our Christmas tree.

We will read as many Christmas books as possible and watch as many Christmas movies as possible in December.

We will go to the Durham and take pictures with Santa and the giant Christmas tree.

We will do a Simple Advent calendar complete with 3 acts of kindness.

We will make a Christmas cake for Jesus.

We will make Christmas cookies (even if Pillsbury makes the dough).

We won’t…

We won’t make any elaborate meals for Christmas day.

We won’t do Elf on the Shelf.

We won’t make it to every party or community event.

We won’t do a Christmas photo shoot with a photographer.

We won’t look to Facebook or Instagram for what we ‘should’ be doing in December.

We won’t do an act of kindness everyday (but it’s a goal when my kids get older).

As someone who sometimes struggles with FOMO, I know this Christmas traditions ‘will’ and ‘won’t’ list will come in handy. If you make a list as well, please know your list will be different than mine and that’s 1000% the way it should be! It’s quite possible a tradition I desire for my family will not be one you desire for your’s. THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY TO DO CHRISTMAS. #amen

I yearn for a little more magic in my Christmas and a little less hectic. I am hopeful having a Christmas Plan will allow me to be more present during the month of December with my people. Tell me: will you have a Christmas Plan for the upcoming season? Do you have any tips or tricks you do to make Christmas a bit more magical? I would love to hear!

Sometimes we make things harder than they need to be. Like going into the store with four kids to get groceries instead of ordering online. Or cloth diapering. Or making beef bourguignon from scratch instead of going to the nearest French restaurant. Some of these things are worth the effort and some aren’t, depending on your preferences and priorities.

In this season of raising four babes at home, all under six, priorities are spoken of often. With limited resources in time and energy and dollars, my husband and I try to use those resources as intentionally as possible, especially in the midst of these sleep deprived days.

Opening our home up to friends and family is a priority for us. We have a unique situation in that we live on a farm and our neighbors aren’t close. Many people who come to our home are driving anywhere from 5 to 65 minutes to get to us. #blessthem

I am currently writing this post in a darkened room before 7:00 a.m. when all my babies will wake. I am in a season of so much good, getting the privilege to raise and school my littles at home. In this season I want and need people around me, both to encourage me and I to encourage them. God purposed us to live in community and hospitality helps foster that way of life.

Hospitality looks a lot different today than it did pre-kids. It looks like playdates and smashed goldfish. It looks like hide and go seek and popsicles in the backyard. It looks like a gifted latte and blueberry crisp. It looks like store bought cookies and a football game. It looks a lot simpler and a lot less complicated these days.

Hospitality doesn’t have to be extravagant or fussy. It doesn’t have to be a made-from-scratch meal or a meal at all. It doesn’t have to be hard or difficult or cause us to clean our entire house top to bottom with a baby on our hip. It doesn’t have to be any of those things because at the core of hospitality is friendship and kindness and generosity, not food or new throw pillows or a clean house.

Here are some ways I keep my sanity and still invite people into our home and into our lives.

Simpler Hospitality

Host often.

This sounds backwards, but it’s true. I have found the more I have people into my home, the easier it is to do it again and again and again. I have slowly built muscle memory on what it takes and what needs to be done or doesn’t need to be done when friends come over for dinner or a playdate.

Do it early in the day.

I am best at the beginning of the day. I have more energy and am a happier version of myself. This also goes for my kids. Whenever possible, I try and host things in the morning or early afternoon. Sometimes it isn’t possible say for a football game or bonfire after the sun sets and that’s okay. But if I can, I do it early in the day when we all are fresh.

If there is a meal, keep it simple.

If it’s a playdate, macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets. Sometimes grilled cheese. If it’s dinner, my go-to recipes are change your life chicken, a crockpot soup, or pizza. Hospitality isn’t about the food, it’s about the friendship. Gathering together can be life giving without a three course meal.

Stock the pantry and freezer.

I always have a few things on hand to host a last minute playdate or friend drop in. This has been especially important for us because we live about 25 minutes from town. Since I usually make macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets for playdates, I always have those items in my pantry and freezer. I love baked goods for the mommas during a playdate, so I try and have some muffins or banana bread in the freezer as well. The list of ingredients for change your life chicken is super short, so chicken thighs are in my freezer and sweet potatoes are in my pantry. And in a pinch, Casey’s is right down the road for pizza pick up. Keeping items on hand to feed people keeps the stress low when I want to invite friends over.

Clean these three things.

When I am hosting, I make sure three things are done if I can (this doesn’t always happen with playdates). Clean the toilet. Wipe down the counters. Sweep or vacuum around the outside edges of the main living area where the crumbs congregate. If those three things are done, the rest can go undone and it’s not a big deal (mostly).

Enjoy people.

When it’s finally time for guests to come over, my main purpose is to enjoy them. To listen. To engage. To be present. After all, the whole purpose of hospitality is friendship and I want to be a good friend to my people. Sometimes this means I leave the dishes for after my guests leave and sometimes it means the kids go down late for naps. I want to be sure I enjoy the people who enter into my home.

Hospitality doesn’t have to be over complicated or a lot of work. It can simply mean friends gathering around a bowl of macaroni and cheese or slices of pizza engaging in one another’s lives.

A personal goal I have is to invite entire families over more often. Inviting friends over for playdates and big get togethers comes naturally to me, but inviting a family over for dinner hasn’t been my cup of tea. Maybe it’s because we live in the middle of nowhere, maybe it’s because our evenings fill up. I can give lots of excuses, but I want to intentionally invite a family into our home more often.

How can you make hospitality simpler and be intentional with inviting others into your home and your life?

Fall is mere days away and the apple orchards and pumpkin patches are calling my name. I get more excited about this season than any other for many reasons, comfort food being one of them. I love a good casserole in the oven or a yummy soup with crusty bread when the temps cool down. It is also harvest time, so I try and find uses for things coming from the garden and around the farm: apples, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and zucchini. I don’t have much of a garden this year, but luckily I have friends and family who do and are generous enough to share.

Here are my tried and true favorite fall recipes. Hope you enjoy!

Change Your Life Chicken

If you’ve been around here long, you have heard me talk about this recipe. It is for moms. It is for minimalists. It is for all of us. Few ingredients and not a lot of fuss for a delicious meal. You won’t be disappointed you tried this one.

Crockpot Carnitas

I have been making this recipe nonstop since I found it. Dump everything in the crockpot and let it make your house smell amazing. Your husband will thank you.

Chili

This is a go to because it’s easy and I don’t ever pull up a recipe. I basically use whatever I have in the pantry or fridge. Leftover peppers, frozen sweet corn, chili beans, kidney beans, frozen tomatoes, leftover pizza sauce. Anything goes and it always tastes good.

French Bread

This isn’t a meal, but it could be. This bread is so easy and so worth it. It makes three loaves, so we eat one and I freeze the other two for another time. I love to make this on a lazy Saturday afternoon while watching football.

Chicken Pot Pie

For whatever reason when I was a child I loathed every night chicken pot pie was on the menu. As an adult, it is one of my favorites. And my kids love it, too. I use a Pillsbury pie crust, which makes it super easy to throw together. I’ve heard you can make these and freeze them, but I’ve never tried that. Please share if you have!

What are your go-to recipes for fall? As soon as it cools down, I am hoping to make my first big batch of chili and pull out some french bread from the freezer to go with it. I am ready for you, fall!

The first day of fall is right around the corner and I am here for it. Fall is all sorts of lovely from the apple picking to the crisp mornings to the baking and comfort food. It’s one of my very favorite times of year and this year is no different.

As most of you know, I recently had my fourth child and am in the glorious season of feeding around the clock and so many snuggles. I love this stage and am trying to savor it as much as possible. Feeding around the clock requires clothes that allow me to do so. I put more thought into my fall wardrobe this year than in the past, mostly because everything I wear has to be easy to feed in. So for me that means no dresses this fall. I could purchase a nursing dress or two, but I haven’t needed one badly enough to spend the money.

This fall all my clothes must be nursing friendly, which means lots of tops and some bottoms. It also means cardigans and button down tops that have easy access. And, as always, it means comfort. Comfort is super important to me (elastic waistbands forever) and I want to be comfortable in what I put on my body.

Pieces in my Fall Capsule

1 dressy tank

1 Lalabu tank (ESSENTIAL)

2 dressy short sleeve tops

5 t-shirts

2 nursing short sleeve tops (not pictured because #laundry)

1 sweater tank tunic

1 3/4 length top

1 black cardigan

1 long sleeve tunic

1 kimono

1 sweater

1 pullover

1 long sleeve blouse

3 button down tops

3 long cardigans

1 zip up jacket

1 jean jacket

1 sweatshirt

1 vest (not pictured)

1 pair of Lalabu leggings

1 pair of Albion jetsetters

1 pair of jeggings

1 pair of jeans

1 pair of tennis shoes

1 pair of sandals: These are great!

1 pair of flats

2 pairs of booties

My uniform the past several weeks has been leggings and my Lalabu soothe shirt paired with my jean jacket or a cardigan. I feel confident I could wear that everyday out of the house and be completely content.

As you can see, there are 38 items in my capsule and I’m honestly not sure if I will wear everything. However, in this postpartum stage my body is changing and I want to have options. I also know there is a good chance I will be editing my closet in October when all of sudden it’s not 70 degrees anymore.

Are you implementing a capsule wardrobe this fall? If so, what are some of your go-tos?

Savor: to enjoy something completely

Jack is on my chest, his legs and feet curled up as if he were still cozy and snug in my belly. The smell of him consumes me and I immediately take it in. There isn’t anything better smelling than the head of a newborn. In fact, I’m convinced if someone could bottle that smell, I would buy a lifetime supply. His head and cheek are soft against my chest and I wonder how he will ever be big enough to play soccer or go to school or (gasp) grow up and leave the house. It doesn’t seem remotely possible. My other three babes are sleeping and I am fully here in this moment with my sweet Jack.

A few hours earlier three children are crying at once while I attempt to discuss exclamation points with my oldest at the dining room table. I close my eyes for a minute to get my bearings and take a deep breath. I attend to the two older crying children while trying to soothe my baby with some bounces and butt pats. The older ones run off to play as I bounce and cuddle Jack and have my oldest identify the difference between a period, question mark, and exclamation point. The morning continues like this: each child needing my undivided attention, sometimes all at once and sometimes one or two at a time.

Each season is full of the beautiful and the messy, the easy and the hard, the good days and the tough ones. It is easy to wish seasons away when the messy and hard and tough things happen. I will be the first to admit I have been on that train. When three kids are crying while I’m trying to homeschool, my brain goes straight to wishing for things. Wishing the baby was just a little bit older so he could sleep on his own without my help. Wishing the middle two wouldn’t need me to kiss every owie and enforce ‘I’m sorrys’. I am good at wishing for things to move faster and get easier.

But when I am in the beautiful and the easy and the good, I want time to slow, stop even. When Jack’s head is on my chest and his mouth is open just a bit and I can smell that sweet head of his, I don’t want him to get one hour older.

I believe this is the push and pull of motherhood. Each and every season is full of moments when all is right in the world and moments when nothing seems like it is. And as I gaze at my fourth child starting to stir beside me, I realize I have been playing this game of tug of war the whole seven years I have been a mom.

I think it’s good to acknowledge each season and the good and hard that comes with it. For me, to acknowledge is to empower. When I realize I get the privilege to snuggle a sweet newborn and yet I have the struggle to keep all the balls in the air with my other kids, it is far easier for me to be grateful for the good. Recognizing and naming the good in the season and acknowledging the hard is healthy for both my physical body and my mind.

So, when I have two hours in the afternoon to snuggle my littlest man, I am going to savor it. I am going to smell him and hold him close and remember this season won’t last forever. He will be six and playing soccer before I even realize it. And when I feel like everything is falling apart, I am going to do my best to take a deep breath, smile at all my babies, and send up a prayer of gratitude and a prayer for patience. I fully believe God will give me what I need in this season to live out the purpose He has for me in raising these four little souls.

Tell me: What season are you in? What makes it beautiful and what makes it messy?