Thursday, December 15, 2011

A December Meltdown

I feel a lot of gratitude today. I'll admit that the past two weeks have not been my best. I've been overwhelmed, short-tempered, and plain stressed out as I have attempted to unpack from Thanksgiving (nope, not there yet), paint my daughter's bedroom furniture, keep my house liveable, decorate, feed everyone, do my Christmas shopping, flu shots, Joy school Christmas parties, host creative activities for my kids, do service, etc, etc, etc. I finally had a meltdown. A good one. And the nice thing about meltdowns is that when all is said and done and my eyes are swollen and I've apologized to everyone that I've yelled at, I usually gain a new perspective. I see things more clearly and feel more gratitude for the good things in my life. And I finally have the guts to eliminate the unnecessary to-do's that make my life too busy to enjoy the most important people around me.

I've selected a few pictures that epitomize the "reminders" that have helped me re-center myself this month as we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Savior.

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My children. I realized while writing in my journal the other day that their approval is one of the most important things I seek. I want nothing more than to be the kind of mother that they want to emulate one day; one that they trust, admire, and respect.

And during this Christmas season, the greatest thing I want to teach them is how to serve other people. Our Christmas candy cane advent calendar has been such a blessing. Its been difficult on some days to get that candy cane delivered, but it has urged us to think of others every day.
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I love hearing Hazel explain to the recipient what the upside down candy cane represents and why we're giving it to them. I'll remember this service for a long time and look forward to the days we have left.
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I love those crazy "what were you THINKING?!" moments that make for a great picture 
and/or story later... I left the girls on their own for a while the other day and came downstairs to find this. If it weren't for the marker all over their faces, they'd look like angels in this picture.
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I took fifty pictures of these girls in the tub until finally I got one worth keeping. Doesn't that relate to motherhood? Fifty moments of cleaning, teaching, repeating, and fighting to keep your temper and then one shining moment where they fill your cup to the brim and all is right in the world. 
Just for a second.

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Here's a belly update. I'm 26 weeks pregnant with our first baby boy. 
I'm grateful that my husband finally pulled it off.


(can you see how I'm carrying this pregnancy in my face?)

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I've been trying out a few different ideas to keep the spirit of service alive in our home this Christmas season. I bought these mailboxes at JoAnne's and had the girls decorate them with stickers and make them their own. They can make a gift or draw a picture for one another and leave it in the other's mailbox. (So far, my husband and I have delivered most of the notes/gifts.)
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Christmas Mice! is a great children's book about a family of mice that receive a gift from a cat and decide to make a present for him in return. My daughter decided to make a little mouse out of pom-poms and felt, which I suggested would make a great gift for her sister's mailbox...
(She decided to keep the mouse and write a note for her sister instead, but the spirit of service was still there...)
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I love this picture because they look so happy and obedient and you'd never guess that Hazel threw a major tantrum over her dinner just twenty minutes before. All three girls were an emotional mess and we had decided to cancel our plans that night until last minute we sought some fresh air and went out anyway. I'm so glad we did.
 
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I love the magic of Christmas!
(This is Charlotte watching a Q&A with Santa at our local childrens' museum)

I'm grateful for these shirts I found to flatter myself. I need to put these pictures all over my house.
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Obviously this post is more personal than most, but I have to say that one of the greatest reminders I have of who I am and why I'm here and why I sacrifice to be a stay-at-home mom is the man I married and the vision we have for our family. So so lucky. (Isn't he cute??)
Photobucket So if you're overwhelmed or having a meltdown this lovely December, please do feel free to share with another mom. I bet she can top your worst moment or at least relate to it. And if she can't, email me and I'm sure I can top it. We are, after all, in this together.

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4 comments :

  1. You both are cute. And look at all that blur in those pictures!! :) Love it:)

    You rock! We love you all!

    (and no, I can NOT see that you are carrying in your face this time. I can see that you look as good your 4th time as if it were your first)

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  2. love you! i so wish we lived closer so that we could dump on each other like this on a daily basis! (because let's be honest, there's usually something every day)

    xoxo

    bye. see ya. bye.

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  3. Isn't this why still pictures are still so important to us even when video is so accessible? Like you said, photos show the one good moment in 50 but help us focus on those smiles, the good times. Selective memories.

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  4. What a wonderful post. Thank you for sharing, I loved all the pictures to go along with it.

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