enjoy today

As a mom, the ratio of good days and bad days changes drastically from the ratio one experiences before kids. It was easy to enjoy most days when I was free to design what each day looked like from a morning run to lunch with friends to dinner with Dan. Rarely was my patience pushed to the max, my energy drained and my sleep interrupted. As you get older, life becomes harder, even if you don't have kids. A lot of the time it seems like many of us are just surviving the rough season we're in. 

Before Angus was born, I was already thinking we were going to have to survive the next year by just doing our best and getting through it. It sounds sad but Dan and I both know it isn't going to be easiy having 4 kids, 5 and under. We are going to be stressed and exhausted most of the time. But then I had a thought. These are precious years with my kids. 

Angus is going to change quickly, especially those first 6 months. I have no idea what he's going to look like or what his personality will become. Adelyn is so cute right now. She's a HANDFUL for sure but she is so fun. I've never seen a 1 year old with so much personality and emotion. Winter is four and learning so much about the world around her. She says and does the funniest things and has the craziest imagination. Mya is growing up fast. She's so smart. Every day she comes home with questions about things she learned at school that day. She is always pushing herself to do more or master a new skill. It is such an amazing thing to watch these little people grow and learn things about the world around them. 

God gave me these kids to teach and love but also to ENJOY. 
If I'm simply surviving today, I miss out on the fun stuff. This isn't an easy mindset to have. That's why I've written it down on my dry erase board on the fridge. ENJOY today. That way I'm reminded every time I get something out of the fridge which is like a bazillion times a day.

As a christian it's easy to have the mindset that we are simply putting up with this awful world before Jesus returns. That's not exactly helping anyone. 

Ecclesiastes 2:24 says, "There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God."

This isn't based on our circumstances. This is a mindset. No matter what is happening, we are supposed to be thankful for the blessings and enjoy the good stuff. And there is plenty of good stuff to enjoy.