REality check (this may hafta become a regular thing!)

If you are still in the process of raising children be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled, will disappear all too soon, and that you will, to your surprise, miss them, profoundly.” 

― Thomas S. Monson 
( I choose this picture cuz he seemed to be teasing!)

Will I? 


Will I really? 




Cuz somedays  "all too soon", can't come soon enough.






I know intellectually that our children's childhood is fleeting and that we're suppose to cherish it, but somedays the constant mess threatens to put me over the edge.


Ben said today, "I think if I was a stay at home mom I'd get depressed...in like 2 days."


I guess in a round about way that was a compliment? I did appreciated the validation.  But I also smiled at him and said, "You'd be okay. You find nice mommy blogs to make you feel better."


So here's post to make you all feel better.


Cuz our reality today included:



Aaron being fed spoonfuls of peanut butter straight from the jar for dinner (and the saddest part being, I was really excited about it, cuz he's been even stricter on his "acceptable foods" as of late)


And Levi finding said jar, yup that's him up to his elbows, when he'd already been changed into fresh jammies.

My lovely post on the "joy" of our hands on nativity...
I do love it, BUT it also means I find this every 3 minutes:

Cuz I really did need one more thing to pick up regularly.

My flames-less candles I was so in love with, ended up like this

Everything that gets thrown in the garbage, keeps magically "reappearing". Thanks Levi.

And even though this looks fun Daddy...come Monday morning when the kids wanna slide down the stairs on my couch cushions all day long....let's just say sometimes the weekend fun just isn't very "sustainable."

Ahhh reality. 

This week I listened to a interview with Virginia Hinckley Pearce...there was a part on mothering I just loved. (There's no official transcript, so this is my best, listen and type)

Q: [Tell us about your philosophy in those years a as a busy mom?]

A. Mothering was a hard start for me, frankly.

It really was, I had some things in my head about "if you work hard things work". I had a colicky baby and I would really really hard and it didn't get better.  I would work hard all day long and nothing happened. It was confusing for me It was a confusing start. Frankly when the twins came along, it was a break threw for me, because I all the suden realized that I couldn't manage, I couldn't make things happen the way I wanted to make them happen . I couldn't control things. and with three little children that young, I looked at myself and said "Oh let's redefine what success is here."

I just didn't know what success looked like anymore. Number one, if I can keep these children alive....keep them alive and keep them fed and take care of them when they're sick that's gonna be "success".

Q. What would you, what do you tell your own daughters about these really exhausting years?

"I don't think you can tell anybody anything, I think it's an experience were meant to have and we're meant to grapple with. 

And I think it's a wonderful experience for a couple. We've read lately how hard children on a marriage, we haven't heard what they do for a marriage either. It's were you really learn to take care of each other. and where you really come to the bottom of both your reserves and you know how to go to the Lord together....it's how you figure it out together, surely it strains a marriage but it builds a marriage too"

I really appreciated that. 

Because I feel like so many days Ben and I just look at each other like: Okay we KNOW this is the most important thing, but we're just tired! We need to do this better, but can we just put them to bed and try harder tomorrow????

It's s easy to say "go"---go watch a show, go play with your toys, go to bed. It's so much better to say, "come"---come sit with me come read with me, come work with me.

Somedays I feel like I have all the parenting principles, all the doctrine, all the whys floating in my head, but that doesn't help my kids one bit. It's not enough to know my kids need hugs, I hafta hug 'em. 

So back to Pres. Monson:

To you who are parents, I say, show love to your children. You know you love them, but make certain they know it as well. They are so precious. Let them know. Call upon our Heavenly Father for help as you care for their needs each day and as you deal with the challenges which inevitably come with parenthood. You need more than your own wisdom in rearing them.” 
― Thomas S. Monson


More than our own wisdom. More than our own strength. 
To do this, to do it well, we need the Lord.