Things I've Learned...

Before i get started i must mention that i am once again at my mom's because we still don't have internet at home.  we're currently shopping around for a good provider, and we don't have a lot of time to dedicate to it so it's a slow process....made even slower my all the companies who can't decide who can and can't service our area.

that said, here is a list of everything i learned over our thanksgiving weekend.

#1.   my kids (and i) can survive for a weekend with very little sleep and no naps.  you may decide you don't really want us at your thanksgiving dinner after all, but we can make it to every gathering and to all the church services.

#2.   you can actually lose weight over thanksgiving if you are nursing a big, fat baby every 2 hours all day (and all night!) long, hanging out with jillian in the mornings, playing volleyball at your family gatherings, AND if your big, fat baby who keeps you up all night long decides to explode through her diaper right as you sit down with your dessert.  pumpkin pie just doesn't look good after that.

#3.   thanksgiving is not a good time to be stressing out over your christmas card.  i was just trying to stay on top of things this year.  but it's really frustrating and takes away from your thankful spirit when the photo labs can't figure out how to print your custom, made at home christmas picture.  it just can't be that complicated!!!!  but thanks for trying.  thanks for being so full of guidance and suggestions.  thanks for watching me chase my 2 year old around the store, and nurse my baby in a chair by your lab, and keeping me waiting and waiting, and then repeatedly sending me back home with nothing....

#4.   my kids don't appreciate the humor in the harmless, funny jokes i like to play on them.  like the penny game.  smile.  you know the game where you blindfold them and make them think they are gonna try to blow a penny out of a bowl and then you switch that bowl with a bowl full of flour?  yea, they didn't find that as funny as i did.

#5.   you cannot finish hard boiling an egg in the microwave.  just so the rest of you know.....that does not work.  the end result reminded me of the time tyden was 3, and he put shaeya's bottle of milk in the microwave for 33 minutes instead of 33 seconds.  same thing.  (and yes, he used to regularly make bottles for her when he was 3.  and he did a great job of it.  until that 1 time.....)

#6.   after a whole weekend of family togetherness, church, turkey, volleyball, etc.,  dave and i both decided our favorite part of it all was the 1 quiet morning we spent at home with our kids.

we just don't get that near enough.  the whole weekend was so much fun, but i loved having a relaxed morning to spend with dave and the kids.

#7.   the last thing.....i read a phrase in my devotion book yesterday that stuck with me.

it was this:    "peace lies in acceptance."    

and i'm slowly learning that it does.

peace comes from accepting that so much in my life right now just is what it is.  and it is okay.

my relationship with God, my marriage, my children, my family relationships, my friendships, my home, my body, my christmas card.....

they all need more of my time.  more of me.  i cannot reach my own standards in any one area, and i have days where i feel i just can't do anything well.  i can do it all partway, but nothing gets my full attention.

but rather than beat myself up about it, i can find peace in just accepting them all as they are. and loving them all as they are.  of course this doesn't mean i can quit trying or slack off in any area, but by accepting that "it is what it is" i can still have joy and peace and LOVE in the midst of a whole lot of imperfection.