A window to my world...

Sorry I haven't written in a while. It's been a bad week for me. I went in for a root canal on one of my back teeth and am having a hard time getting over the pain this time round.

The kids have been pretty good lately. Lilia is a good helper and remembers to bless me "that [my] owwie teeth will feel better" every time she prays. She asks me all the time if she can give me a kiss, but will she get owwie teeth if she does... Such a good kid. She is also doing really well at school. When she started preschool this year she came home with a set of books called, Bob Books Collection 1. It has 18 books in it, each progressively harder with more difficult reading skills. Well- Lilia is now on the last book in collection 1! She is reading "Sox the Fox" its about a fox that wants to eat a hen and then hen warns all her friends and they all get away from the hungry fox. It's cute. We are in the process of finding and buying her the Bob Books Collection 2. :D She does love reading.

Lacey has found a new love in our rockband drum set. She loves banging on the drums, and using the foot pedal. It's pretty cute. She is also starting to talk more, which is nice. She say "Hi. " and "Bye bye!" very well as well as dad and mom. She is working on "All done" and is a pro with "no!" We were worried about her hearing for a while but it turns out she is just taking her time talking (most likely because her super helpful sister is quick to talk for her). She understands directions very well, and follows them almost everytime. She loves to help me clean up. Such a cutie!

I was reading a friend's blog last night and she posted about a friend of hers who wrote a blog about motherhood. This friend had written that most days she barely touched her "to do" list, and that it felt like on most days she was "running in molasses." Not really getting anywhere, but working hard to make the small bits of progress that she had made. I really like this analogy. It is so true! Everyone has a list of things to accomplish throughout the day. Some write it down, others type it up, some keep it in their head. I can't tell you how often my short list of "to do's" takes me days to accomplish. It's amazing that I find time to do anything between diapers, baths, preschool drop off, cleaning up the latest child mess, lunch making, child dressing, and any other number of regular and not so regular items that trump the "to do" list.

But at the same time- it is on those days when you find that even without finishing your "To do's" you have accomplished so much! You have paid attention to your children, you have cared for them, you have told them (maybe not in words) that they are more important than the laundry or scrubbing the kitchen. You have been a mother. You have loved, and taught, and hugged, and smiled at your children. In the eternal perspective of life, you will be better remembered as the mom who helped her children grow up in a loving home. Not as the mom with the cleanest kitchen. It is so easy to get caught up in everything that isn't done. It is much harder to stop and remember that even if you can't manage to clean every room in your house, you CAN be there with your children, doing what needs to be done (and sometimes doesn't need to be done) with them.

I love the idea that when Joe gets home and sees the house in a bit of turmoil I can tell him that I spent the day running in molasses. My goal for that specific day was to keep up with my kids and if any of my "to do" list was completed, well- that is a bonus!

Hopefully life is good with you. Have a wonderful weekend!