Some thoughts

I have been challenged lately in my mothering. I feel like I'm being reminded all the time how quickly time goes and how we have this one chance to be with our kids, teach them, play with them, love them. The thing that is hard for me is balance....How do I balance my marriage, my children and myself and be the best wife, mother and me for all. I love my family, my husband, my kids, I really wouldn't want to be doing anything else than be here with them. But there is that pressure, that feeling that I'm not doing enough for someone. Am I living up to my potential? Am I doing enough as a mother? Am I teaching Alyssa enough? Do I hold Mason enough? Am I neglecting Nate? Am I spending enough time with the Lord? I feel challenged to be more aware of what God has called me to. What are God's dreams/desires for my life? I want to "live a life worthy of the calling you have received."(Ephesians 4:1). I know that being a wife and mother is what God has called me to and I want to do my best job at it. But ya know, it gets mundane sometimes and I take everday things for granted. I want to make the most of my time with my kids and Nate, not waste it or wish it away. One thing I remember my sister saying is she loved being four. She loved that year being home with my mom. The one thing I remember her saying is that she loved folding sheets with my mom. It wasn't the many activities she did, or pre-school or even DisneyLand (which we did do when she was 4), it was a simple, everyday, mundane task that my mom made fun for her. Thats what she remembers, or at least what I remember her saying. It really stuck with me and helps me remember how important it is to be all there, even in the ordinary. This poem "Time is of the Essence" brought all of this to mind today. It's in a book called A Mother's Heart, it's been good for me.

Now is the time to get things done...
wade in the water,
sit in the sun,
squish my toes
in the mud by the door,
explore the world in a girl just four.

Now is the time to get things done...
flowers,
snails,
how a cloud looks;
to ponder "up",
where God sleeps nights,
why mosquitoes take such big bites.

Later there'll be time
to sew and clean,
paint the hall
that soft new green,
to make new drapes,
refinish the floor-

Later on....when she's not just four.

I have an almost four year old who is about to get up from her nap. I can't wait to make the most out the afternoon with her :)