Life is so precious......

     I have been reminded how fragile and unpredictable life can be. Friends of ours lost their 15 yr old daughter and had four of their other children injured in a car accident on Valentines Day. How quickly our lives can be overturned! My heart is breaking for them. I hope I never have to experience the pain they are going through right now. I can't imagine. All I can do is pray for this wonderful family and trust that God will comfort them.
     Since the accident I have been thinking about how much of life we miss out on. We put our heads down and push through our days....checking off our mental list of everything we need to get accomplished and feeling discouraged when things haven't quite gone as planned. I am usually one of those moms with her head down just trying to get everything done.
      I recently asked myself.... How much do I miss while my head is down and I am just trying to get through my day? How many times have I inadvertently wounded one of my girls' tender hearts by being to busy with trying to get it all done that I haven't taken the time to really hear them? Do I really just want to end my days thinking "Phew today is finally done" or do I want to experience everything God intends for me to experience?
     Looking back through these past few months I have realized that I am pretty much just pushing through life, trying to get each day done and over with, trying to check off each box just to be done with it.I know that my wonderful, loving and amazing God has so much more in store for me than I am allowing myself to experience. He doesn't want me to just make it through this life, He wants me to make a difference in this life.
     How do I make a difference? How does this crazy busy, tired, stressed out mommy make a difference in such a huge world?  The answer.... I start with what God has given me. I start by making a difference in my wonderful husband's life and each of my precious daughters' lives, by making sure that every day they know how much I love and treasure each of them. I can start by showing kindness to others even if I don't feel like it. You never know how a simple smile can affect a persons day!
    No matter how long your to-do list is, or how busy you are please don't just put your head down and make it through life. Slow down and take the time to love those around you. Leave your husband a love note (even when he doesn't deserve it!), take your wife on a picnic (even though you are tired!), play outside with your kids (even if it is freezing out!). Let them know that they are important to you. God has amazing and wonderful things in store if we just take the time to listen to Him and trust Him.

 I'm planning my next post to be more of an update on the kids and our family. Thanks for reading!



Clean House..... What's that??

   It amazes me how quickly our palace can go from being neat, tidy and somewhat clean to being a complete disaster zone in a matter of minutes. I would love it if our pink palace would look like all those neat, tidy, beautifully decorated homes you see in the magazines and on TV. In reality our palace will never look like that. The reason??? Hurricane Presley! OK so she is not the only reason (being a large busy family certainly plays a part) but seriously my baby is a busy busy girl! She leaves no cupboard unopened, no toy unplayed with, no room untouched! Out of all of our girls, she is by far the busiest. Most of the girls were quite content playing quietly with their toys, not Presley. She needs to be exploring and checking everything out. I could get frustrated and angry that she is messing up my palace, but I don't. I smile, I laugh, and I shake my head. There are more important things in life than having a gorgeous house. It is such a joy to watch my little girl learn and explore. So what if there is paper all over the floor, toys from one end of the house to the other, and cookie crumbs on the couch. She is happy and that is all that matters to me.
     One day I'll have time to dust, keep up with laundry, and make sure the house is tidy. However I don't see that day coming for a very long time. If I have to choose between having a perfect house and making memories with my girls, memories will win out every time! I do think having a fairly neat house is important and I am teaching the girls how to maintain a house and the importance to being neat, but I want my girls to feel free to make a mess without the fear of getting in trouble for it. God has graciously given me 6 wonderful little girls and  I intend to spend as much time as I can loving them. The dusting and windows can just wait!! So if you come into the Pink Palace and the dust on the piano or the fingerprints on the windows bother you....... I'll show you where the dusting supplies are, you can go ahead and clean up while I go play baby dolls with my girls! ;0)