Things that matter...

Prioritizing. How many times have I heard an older woman say to me..."Honey, your children are only little once...you can have that spotless house in order when they are grown and gone. Take time now to enjoy them while they are little. Sit and play with them. Soon they'll be gone, and you'll wish you would've let the house go sometimes to enjoy them, but it will be too late." Having 5 children, it seems I've had to accept the fact that I wear a sign that says, "GIVE ME ALL THE ADVICE YOU HAVE!" I just cannot see the sign! I have heard that little speech many, many times though, and it causes me to stop....and truly let the words sink into my head. Then I prioritize.

I enjoyed making a bow for Ellie to wear tomorrow. It matches her dress that I made for her. As I was hand-stitching the bow...the breakfast dishes were sitting in the sink.

I found a large cylindrical glass vase for Joey. He had a bucket full of tadpoles, but couldn't see them. So we scooped out four of them, and put them in the see through vase to watch them swim around. It is sitting on the top of my refrigerator now.

Tonight after the boys were done with their baths, instead of making sure the bathroom was "spick and span", I sat down and painted Ellie's fingernails a pretty pink.

There was a time, when I did not sleep well if everything in the house was not in order. Nowadays, if the house is in order...but I was grouchy and snapping at the kids to get it that way....I do not sleep well. Lest you think I am a slob...I'm not. I have learned a lot in my journey of prioritizing, that sometimes it IS more important...to get that vase for the tadpoles, than it is to vacuum the floor before the baby goes down for a nap. The vacuuming can wait...but an excited boy with a bucketful of tadpoles cannot. I want to take time for things that matter in my home. For my family, my husband and children....for little pink fingernails, and magnifying glasses, tadpoles and hide and seek...Thomas the tank engine...reading stories...learning about fish and animals. I'm sure the day will soon come, that I miss that vase of tadpoles sitting on my refrigerator. But, I will have a happy memory of sharing an exciting time with my boy...and THAT is what really matters.