Intention.

     A few months back, Josh and I set out to make the upcoming weekend intentional. After reading an article that numbered the Saturdays I had left with my children before they leave the house for college, my eyes were opened to the small amount of time I have to make an impact in their lives before they are on their own making adult decisions and trying to find their own place in the world. I'm so distracted by social media and cleaning my darn house...mostly social media, who am I kidding?!
     I was completely pms-ing and sat crying on the couch pouring my heart out to Josh about how we need to be more attentive, less distracted and more focused on what we were going to teach and pass on to these precious girls in the small amount of time they are on loan to us.
From the start of kindergarten when they ask what you want to be when you grow up, well, I wanted to be a mommy. Along with a rockstar and a nurse. God has charged ME..lowly ole me, but righteous and loved and completely made new in Him, ME to be their rockstar mommy and nurse when needed. I've put more bandages and seen more blood from the dog than the kids at this point, so maybe that was God's way of fufilling my veterinary aspirations which got squashed the minute I had to perform surgery on a rat in college. I digress.

     So I've been gifted this job of mommy and I'll be darn if I'm going to let it pass me by. Hopefully you won't find this completely morbid, but, I want my kids to say things at my funeral that mirror the accolades of the things said at Josh's grandmother's funeral. Man did that lady love Jesus, and she wasn't afraid to tell you that she did, and that He loved you too. Just like Paul the apostle, she wasn't going to let it be her fault for YOU not making it into glory, because she wasn't going to let you out of earshot without telling you about her Lord and Savior and she was going to tell you BOLDLY...just like Paul did. She also woke up every morning as her kids were growing up and going to school to make them eggs for breakfast. At first, you may think that may not be that big of a deal and Dang! That is alot of eggs...she had 5 kids. But to her kids.....it meant something.  My guess is, she was thinking.."God is too great, to waste these precious moments and not show HIS love to these kids before they go off to school. Dont. waste. time. 

     How many times do I get stressed out in the morning, speaking unkindly, harshly, or irrationally, because the world will end if Mallory misses the bus, or her teeth aren't brushed before she goes out the door, or she didn't eat her breakfast quick enough, or didn't get out of bed when I told her too. Or I get frustrated that she forgot to bring her socks downstairs for the 100th time, and she complains again about having to go up to get them, or getting distracted with some toy, when I specifically told her to brush hair and teeth when she was done with breakfast. I'm sure the picture looks the same if not more hectic in your house. If you are calm, cool, and collected every morning getting your kids ready for school, I want to know what you are putting in your coffee, sister! I've been more aware of my attitude that is for sure. In the morning, I try, to the best of my ability to speak calmly, and not be stressed about being late, which we never have been late to school thus far. I hate being late and rushed, but of course, that is usually how it is. Typically, I usually leave enough time to walk her out to the bus, kiss her, tell her to have a great day, and when we have extra time, say a prayer over her before she hops on the bus. Mental note: need to make time for that every day! I don't want to throw those priceless minutes down the drain, because I'm not in control enough of my own emotions, and I resort to the hurry, hurry, and the raised voices. That isn't how I want my baby to head off to school. I want her washed in kindness and love, and jumping on that school bus, covered with the protection of the Almighty. 

So, I was convicted of not being present enough and intentional enough. This particular weekend I write about was all about intention.
Friday night, I had basically thanksgiving dinner on the table when Josh got home from work. This was in early October, mind you.  The girls gushed over how yummy it was and "OHhhhhhh the mashed potatoes!" 
"Mommy, next time..don't put so many potatoes in the mashed potatoes" 

There were a few chunks apparently that were not appreciated. I just appreciated they liked them at all (They were terribly gummy for some reason...probably because my milk went bad and so I didn't add any. OK. I lied...I did add some and then realized the milk was bad. MOTHER OF THE YEAR!. Nobody got sick, just so you know.
We then did a fire pit...the girls' favorite. We only had one piece of wood left over from last weekend's fire pit...but we lit that baby up like the Fourth of July,and roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. 

We have improvised the

S'more here. No graham crackers are available for a decent price,but I found these cinnamon cookies which are oval shaped and don't crumble like graham crackers. Way better if you ask me. Then we proceed to spread nutella on our cinnamon cookies. Best. Smore. Ever. Period. I was present, I was focused. The girls were glowing from the flickering of the fire, but their hearts were glowing too.

S'more Bite!

      Saturday Josh golfed in the morning. I got up with the girls and made family breakfast. Mallory loves family breakfast. Everyone sitting down together eating breakfast. Simple.  But she loves it and requests it. Even before she started kindergarten this year..we would do family breakfast on the weekends. This Saturday's  breakfast consisted of strawberries, cheesy scrambled eggs and fresh baked croissants. While I cleaned up breakfast Mia worked on a puzzle with Mallory, then I asked Mallory if she wanted to do some school work. She almost exploded with enthusiasm. Mallory sat and worked independently on math and science while I cleaned up. After I was done I found the girls working on the puzzle together. I sat to check Mallory's work and called her over to point out some things she missed.Then Mia started whining and complaining about how she wanted to do school work. I got the preschool workbook for Mia. Smarty pants Mallory rocked that 1st grade workbook and learned about liquids and solids and greater and less than. When Mallory finished the things she hadn't done before, I went over the concepts again just to make sure she got them and we practiced counting by 2s 5s and 10s and we covered place value too. I was calm, present and focused. I ran upstairs to shower and Mallory said she would help teach Mia and go through her workbook with her. Mia was doing things like which object is taller,  smaller, shorter...etc. I came down to an exasperated Mallory who said, "Mommy, Mia isn't very good. She keeps drawing lines instead of circling and she just isn't very good at this." Believe it or not...there was probably a time when Mallory wasn't good at it either. :) 

When Josh got home, we headed out to grab lunch on a rare beautiful day. We ate outside at an Italian restaurant where an accordion player serenaded us with his musical stylings and refused to take money. A nice change from those that don't leave until you pay up. We followed lunch with ice cream from their favorite ice cream place...and only ice cream place. :) Josh took Mia with him to get a haircut right where we were in town and Mallory and I went shopping for a birthday present for the party we were attending on Sunday.  I said no to a million requests to get this or that because she NEEDED it. Josh's grandma would have said..."no honey...what you really need is Jesus"

We went without naps this day. We didn't get home to nearly 4. We rested on the couch had a snack and watched a movie. Josh and Mia snuggled on one side, Mallory and I were on the other. There were a few two many requests for goldfish and copious amounts of snacks that were hindering my slumber...which never comes easy, and I may have spoken tersely. No more snacks...it will be dinner time soon. Dinner was 

Dominoes pizza. We had a coupon :)
The girls gobbled it up...we got baths and did our bedtime routine...to which I obliged Mia in reading an extra book and rocking her for a few extra minutes. I was present. I was focused, on that sweet smelling, silky haired, footy pajama'd 3 year old.  I gladly welcomed those extra baby cuddles.

Funny side story. Mia and I were talking about my friends son and how he was going to be a big brother soon. She asked if he was still a baby and I said no..he is getring to be a big boy. "Does he go pee pee on the potty? " You know, because babies don't pee in potties, they pee in diapers. 
"Um I think he is starting to use a potty."
"Well, I use the potty. ..but I'm still a baby,  because I still have baby buns, right?"

Haha. Yes Mia...you are still my baby...because you are my little baby buns. Nothing cuter than bare baby buns streaking through the house. Amiright?! 

All in all, now that it is December, and I've had this particular blog in the queue for over 2 months. I have to say I have been more aware of the fleetingness of time and the urgency of instilling Godly greatness in our girls (and my marriage) I can't do that with my head glued on Facebook, browsing the news, or plotting my next crafty adventure on Pinterest. 
Make an assessment, whether you have kids or not. Are you distracted from the good stuff in life, the people around you, your relationships, because you are too focused somewhere else? Find balance. Be present.  

Until Next Time,
-L