In It

Oh my.

I was just going through pictures {again} and I found some long lost Bug photos. These, I haven't seen in quite some time. I actually think I didn't even edit these.

A girl after my own heart!

Nutella in hand.

Chocolate covering her face.

Enjoying it all!

I love pictures like this. These pictures capture moments that I want to remember forever. And I pray that these are also the moments that my children will recall once they have grown and moved on with their own adult lives.

These messes are what make motherhood a journey to be in. And I want to be all in it!

It's easy to drift off in la-la land {oh, wait, I forgot I don't have time for that, but anyway...} and imagine a clutter-free, organized, clean home. A home that is rather quiet, warm and inviting. A place where your adult friends can gather and sip martinis as they discuss the kind of cheese your serving or politics while jazz instruments are heard throughout your house on surround sound. Hold on....

... let me mess a few things up starting with the organized home part. Let's throw a few toys strewn about my stairs and a few baby dolls and their belongings piled on my couch. And, please, could you have the girls run their snotty fingers across all the glass surfaces in my house. And let's go ahead and have those {adult} friends over, but please ask those mommies to bring their kiddos, as well. Oh, and while you're at it, turn on some kid-friendly holiday tunes for us all to listen to.

Phew, that's better. That's the house I'm used to. That's the house I live in. That's the house that, soon, one day, I won't live in any more-- and I know I'll just yearn for these sweet years to come back to me. I'll close my eyes and see little chocolate {Nutella, I'm talkin' to you} covered faces, dirty fingernails, messy hair... and I'm sure I'll cry. I'll cry because those moments passed too fast. I'll cry because my little girls grew into women overnight. I'll cry because they left our little nest and started making their own. But my tears will be in remembrance, not in sadness {yeah, I'm lying, I'll be a little sad that those moments blew past me}-- for I know it is my job to prepare them to leave me.

So, for now, as I stare at the clutter and dirt surrounding me, I'm learning to love it more. Because the more mess, the more time I spent just being in it with my kids. Now, I'm not saying that I never clean-- in fact I have a husband who would say the opposite, but I don't obsess about it anymore. I just do it when the kiddos are asleep, or little bits here and there. Because, really, who cares? As long as it's manageable and livable and dealt with a little each day, I can handle it and so can my kids. I know they are big fans of mommy being in it. And so it I will be in.

I will be in the coloring on the walls/wiping little hineys/playing dress up/having a tea party/pretend babysitting my granddaughters {who are all named Malinda Kaye by the way}/making memories, moments with my daughters. And I couldn't be any happier!

God, grant me the wisdom to realize that being in it with my kids is what really matters. When I'm tired of waking to feed the baby, or run down from playing referee, please remind me to just appreciate the season of life I'm in and to accept the fact that soon it will pass. And when I start to miss these years gone by, bring me peace in knowing that I did all I could to be there for my children. If I do nothing else in life, I was a success because of my children. AMEN!