Craftin'

Ah, Pinterest.  Like a siren's call, it beckoned me to create a wreath for my sister for her birthday.

We both love how it turned out.  Just a little orange burlap...

a stack of felt...

a few random buttons...

and there may have been a glass of wine or two involved.  Oh yeah, and a bag of chocolate.  Drinks and snacks, that's what sister bonding time is about right?!

Motherhood

Motherhood is hard.  And not, "OMG trig hmwrk is HARD."  But, bring you to your knees hard.  Panic and second-guess and make your heart stop hard.  I knew things like watching my little ones suffer with a fever or get hurt would be hard.  I anticipated that letting them go to school would be heart-wrenching.  What I didn't anticipate was how hard making decisions for my family would be sometimes.

Before kids, I wouldn't have said that I have a particular difficulty making decisions.  I'm a fairly practical person.  I gather knowledge from so-called experts, compare & contrast ideas.  Then make a decision based on my priority of needs and wants.  Simple, right?

Except, suddenly I'm the expert and it seems like what I decide to feed my kids for lunch will directly impact whether or not they are accepted into Harvard.  Don't even get me started on the big stuff like what school to send them to or how exactly to go about teaching them integrity, altruism and loyalty. 

But, I'm the perfect mother for my children.  They are meant to be mine and their father's and we know them like no one else in the world.  So, we know the right things to do for them, we do.  And I believe that, I really do.  Until sometimes, for a little while, I don't.  And I stumble to my knees.  And I spend a little time there.  When I stand up again, I know it.

Resolutions

Do you set New Year's resolutions?  I don't usually bother.  Really, who needs one more expectation that demands time and attention I don't have and then the guilt that comes with my lack of follow-through.

I made my first real resolution two years ago.  I resolved to declutter.  Original, I know!  But what started as a simple resolution to clear out some closets and the playroom evolved into selling our house and moving cross-country to start a new career.

Two years ago we welcomed the new year in what should have been the perfect life.  We were raising two healthy, gorgeous kids in a huge house.  The hubs had just gone back into what is a very sought-after position in his company.  I was a stay-at-home mom with days full of music classes, soccer, playdates and preschool.

Perfect, right?!  It was really except that...it wasn't.  Life felt cluttered and chaotic.  I spent too many days scrambling to meet expectations from other people and obligations that pulled me away from my family.

As I cleaned closets, I realized that we needed to declutter more than the house.  It wasn't a dramatic lightbulb moment but rather a series of events and conversations.  And through each of these, God began revealing his path for us.  A path that would lead us to a feeling of peace.  Peace in knowing that we are raising our children with the values we intended.  A life focused on family.  A life at a slower pace with plenty of time to stop and play.  A simple life.

So, here we are, two years later.  We sold our huge house and downsized.  We moved cross-country to be closer to family.  But we've changed so much more than that and our family is ever-evolving through this process to reprioritize.  And, it was all worth it.