I woke up this morning, actually the alarm clock that my 4 year old set, woke me up at 5:00 this morning. I am the type that when I am woken up I have a hard time falling back to sleep. So tossing and turning began until 6:00 when I heard my second son’s usual morning scream to let the entire house know that he is awake. If I don’t sprint (stumble violently) to him immediately he will wake up Weiland who he shares a room with. YOU DO NOT want to wake Weiland up before he is ready, I repeat YOU DO NOT want to wake up Weiland before he is ready. Hence, the dramatic entrance morning by morning to grab Marty as fast as possible.
The babies have a massive gated in area full of toys that we put them into play, or sometimes I use to keep them safe and out of outlets so that I can crawl up into a ball and take a nap in there. This morning was no different, I grabbed a couch pillow and curled up to try to get even 10 min more of sleep while Marty crawled all over me thinking that it was hilarious when he would pull my hair and I would moan. This lasted for about 30 minutes until the cutest little dainty squeal emerges out of the door in the hallway. It’s official, no matter how NOT READY I am, the day has begun.
With fresh diapers and smiles both babies are strapped in their boosters for breakfast. Marty who apparently doesn’t like food, well, unless it’s french fries and ice cream, is throwing every option I try with him on the floor. Molly, who eats more than her weight has inhaled a banana and is screaming for a bit of anything and everything I try on Marty. In the middle of getting whiplash from feeding the babies on each side of me, Weiland comes out with a big smile…This is never good, my friends!
“Mom! I forgot to put my pull up on last night!” All I hear is, “Mom! I left 2 additional loads of laundry for you in my room!”
I put Molly on the ground to partake of the buffet that Marty has provided for her so that I can run and strip the bed to have it ready in time for Weiland’s nap when he gets home from school. In the time that it took me to take Molly out of her high chair and walk to Weiland’s room to strip his bed, he has successfully spilled an entire cup of orange juice all over the floor including an abnormally big and soft blanket that he apparently likes to cuddle with while eating breakfast. What’s another load of laundry at this point?!
Both babies decided to poop at the same time. Which led us to our usual wrestling match to pin them down with one hand and change them with the other, looked at the clock and it was 8:00.
Striving to Embrace today…
Here it goes…
Embracing and Thriving, two words that have become very repetitive in my vocabulary in the last year. Not because I have arrived, by any means, but because I am learning what the words mean and what they look like in the context of my ever changing life.
My friend Katie and I got home this afternoon from a conference discussing purpose, figuring out what it is and how to successfully achieve it. It was okay, honestly. Had some good points and inspirational pushes, but it really served for me as a follow up/check in from earlier this year when Katie and I attended the If Gathering in Austin, TX. I left Austin changed, awakened, and affirmed. God spoke so clearly that He sees me in my current season, He has given me dreams and passions that will come in time, but for now I need to embrace and thrive where I am currently; which I will go into as we go on this journey together. Hence the blog 🙂
In Austin I realized that I was missing an outlet for my passions, even on a small scale. You see, in the last year God opened the door for my husband, Jason, and I to bring home 2 babies. Two amazing and awesome miracles through the foster care system. We already have a 4 year old, Weiland, and we wanted to grow our family and get some siblings for him. We just didn’t realize it would happen all at once! Once the exciting newness wore off and sleepless nights got to me, I began to forget who I was, what I loved, what made me laugh, and what it felt like to take a shower and brush my teeth. So as I was drowning in diapers and teeth plaque, I felt forgotten and lost. I was tired, dirty, sad, impatient, tired, lonely, grumpy, tired, and then some more tired. Because of my exhaustion and discontentment, I could not be pleased. My marriage was suffering and my relationship with my 4 year old was suffering. Who had I become?! And then my eyes were opened in Austin, God sees me. He sees me in the midst of the diapers. I am not forgotten. This is a season that I need to embrace because it is short and Jesus is walking through it with me. But I did need to carve out some time for me, and not just for a shower, but to pursue my dreams and passions in reasonable increments. It is time to start Investing in what I feel like God has given me as my story to share.
After If Gathering ended I sat with Katie over a delicious meal and we discussed all that God was speaking to us and encouraging us to pursue. I told her, “how hard is it to really dedicate one nap time to writing my book?! I will write a chapter a month.” I even wrote it down!
So today, 8 months later, driving home with Katie talking about how this weekend reminded me of what I committed to almost a year ago. Enough is enough. So, it’s blog time! 🙂 I will be sharing about my journey of writing a book that I am so excited about. I have dreamed of being an author and speaker for over a decade. Time to put some feet to the dreams as I embrace this season and thrive while doing it!
Thanks for joining me on the journey!
Elizabeth 🙂
Embracing and Thriving 