Life is Good: Day One

For the next week I am going to randomly share with you things that I am grateful for. Often times I find myself so caught up in the day to day craziness that I forget to "stop and smell the roses". So, this week, I will be looking for the good things in life. You never know what I may be grateful for on a given day. It may be something as random as wet wipes! I mean, who could not be grateful for wet wipes?

Anyway, here goes. Sometimes, when I am sitting quietly, with no distractions of the little people sort, I find myself thinking. This often happens when I am driving, or listening to music. So, the other night, while at a concert with Brek, my thoughts began to wander. I found myself thinking of one thing, and then another, and then another, until eventually, my thoughts turned to my family.




My family....one great husband, and as my license plate so eloquently states, 6 wild kids! (The license plate was Brek's idea. He thought he was pretty clever!)

I know there are some people out there who think I'm crazy....you have HOW many kids???? As our family grew, we began getting different responses to our announcement of yet another baby. For the first 3 babies, maybe even 4, we would hear congratulations....that is so exciting....we are so happy for you, etc. However, with baby #5 and 6, the responses began to change ever so slightly. We still heard many congratulations, but we also heard, "Wow! Was that planned?" or my personal favorite "Don't you know what birth control is?"

But, despite the craziness, I would have to say that blessing #1 is my family. If given the chance to do things over again, would I do things the same? ABSOLUTELY! My children (and my husband, of course) are my treasures. Each one of them brings something wonderful into our home. They each have unique gifts and talents.

Don't get me wrong. We do not live a blissful, trouble-free life. We have our fair share of fighting, crying, whining, and frustration. My yard is frequently littered with bikes, basketballs, golf clubs, shoes, etc. My garage has random sticky spots, most likely from popsicles. And I have laundry ga-lore!! But the good outweighs all of that about a trillion times!

If you don't believe me, then you've never seen Maddy's smile and heard her little giggle.



Do I have a lot of free time for myself? No. Can I do all those things I used to be able to do without kids? No. BUT, I get to do something far better. I am taking part in a great work. I am helping to raise part of the next generation. I am hopefully making a difference in the lives of 6 very wonderful little people. I get to see them grow and mature and become remarkable in so many ways. I get to feel love like you can't imagine! I get to feel joy...not just momentary happiness, but true joy!



So, there you have it. I'm a mom and proud of it! I have the greatest job in the whole wide world!





(Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go prepare for the onslaught that is about to hit. Any moment now, the kids will be walking through the door, dropping backpacks, grabbing food, and in general, creating chaos! Let the fun(?) begin!)