Daily Mom Stuff

I woke up this morning, as I do every morning, with a million things running through my mind of what I needed to already be up doing. This happens to me a lot. My "laundry list" won't let me sleep--there is too much to be done (especially if I am going to get to that pool later during good tanning hours!) I get up, brush my teeth, make the coffee, put a load of laundry on, water the plants, fix my cup of coffee, load the dishwasher with dirty glasses from the night before, pick up toys along the way, get some quiet time in, check my email, respond to emails, blog, drink my coffee, put on another load of laundry, pick up more toys along the way, take my 3 year old to the potty, fix breakfast and drinks for the kids, turn on the ritual morning cartoons, try to get a shower or bath hoping they don't kill each other while I am in there, and my day gets started.

Isn't this a typical day for most Moms? It seems like some days we have done a lot of work before our eyes have been opened for 30 minutes!!! The ones of you who have to get everyone, including yourselves, dressed and out the door before 8AM--I applaud you and I really don't know how you do it. I would have to get up at the crack of dawn to accomplish that -- I am sure most of you do!

We have big jobs -- us Moms. Are we thankful for our roles or do we resent them at times? We are blessed to have this opportunity, aren't we? To be able to raise these kids, nurture this household, love this husband? My heart is urging me to say that though at times I am overwhelmed by what I do, I am humbled and grateful for it at the same time.

May I remember the passage of scripture in I Corinthians 10:31,
"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
Even putting on a load of laundry and cleaning up toys--may I do all of those things with a joyful heart and a right spirit--and be thankful for the blessing of family I have been given.

Cousins

My entire childhood I never really saw my cousins. There was the once - maybe twice - a year visit to Georgia where the rest of our extended family lived. Our little Harper group was in Louisiana separated from the others. We often times wished, dreamed, that we could be a part of their lives. That we could know our cousins on a daily basis and spend time with our grandparents in the ways that our cousins got to. But, look where we are today--we have all met our spouses and are living in happily married homes. Our lives would have looked totally different had our parents moved the family "back to Georgia" like they so often talked about.

Today, as many of you know, my sister, Danyelle lives just down the street from us. She has four kids, I have two. They all absolutely adore each other. My boys wake up asking to play with them and be with them nearly every single day of the week. Whatever social event comes up, they want to know if Caleb and Alyssa (the oldest of my sister's four) are coming. Whatever family event takes place, they want to make sure Caleb and Alyssa will be there.

Last night, Danyelle and I switched a kid for a couple of hours. Titus went to their house and Caleb came to ours. When I went to get Titus from Danyelle's, of course he did not want to come home. But, when we got in the car he was saying to me -- "I wike 'syssa. 'Syssa bahwy nice to me." How sweet is that? Caleb ended up just spending the night with the boys -- which they were elated over. When I put them to bed, of course, they giggled for over an hour before finally falling asleep. Tim and I reminisced about being with our individual cousins as children while we were listening to them. The laughter coming from that room caused us to take a little trip down memory lane....

We are so glad to have the cousins so close...I am happy that my kids will grow up knowing them and being best friends with them....how cool is that?!