The Blessings of a Full Life

Ever since Thanksgiving, I have been looking around a little harder at all my blessings and reflecting on what I have.

  A constant source of frustration for me nowadays is how "full" everything is.  Every where I turn in our house, there is something overflowing- from the garbage can to the laundry basket, a sink full of dishes, or a dishwasher full, too.  And, as it turns out, when I have managed to empty one of them, it is filling up that very minute.  Before I can get all of the laundry put away, my laundry baskets are already half-way full, and same with the dishes.  This must be, of course, because we have a very "full" house now, with 8 of us.  Yes, I do think we've filled this house up pretty well.  My "quiver" is full, as it says in Proverbs 127:5-6:

"As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them;  and they shall not be ashamed..."

As a direct result, of course, my day is also very full.  There never seems to be enough time to get everything done.

You can always fill something up a little more, right?  Well, theoretically, I guess.  I have always taken great pride in my ability to fit things in.  I can fill a dishwasher or a fridge so full when you thought nothing more would fit.  I joke that this is just an analogy of my life- packed to the max.  You can usually pack the garbage can down and add a little bit more, if needed.   My point is that even when we get to the point that we think, "How can I do it all?"  or "I can't fit one  more thing!"  the Lord has been there for me and given me the strength to somehow accomplish it.  He can help us do things that we didn't think were possible.  

  

As a girl, I often read a poem that hung above my grandma's kitchen sink.  It reads:

"Thank God for dirty dishes.

They have a tale to tell.

While others may go hungry, 

we're eating very well.

With home and health and happiness

we shouldn't want to fuss.

With this stack of evidence,

God's very good to us."

-author unknown

So, I guess it depends on how you look it it, right?  Your cup can be half empty or half full.  I have been so blessed to have my needs met- my cupboards and my fridge have never been empty and I have never had to go hungry.  I have a very full life right now, and isn't it wonderful??  Yes, my cup is overflowing.  It is overflowing with blessings.   It reminds me of a scripture in Malachi 3:10-

"Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."  

Although every day is a challenge,  it is also an opportunity for me to grow.  I look back at when I had my first baby and think, "What was I stressed about then?"  I have found that as the years go by, we adapt and progress in our abilities.  I am grateful for that!   Even more of a challenge than just getting it all done, will be the challenge of enjoying every moment of my "full" life.  It will be to see past the full dishwasher, garbage, and laundry basket to the needs of those around me, and to make their lives FULL!  Every day as a mother, there are sweet moments that make everything so worth it!   Children are naturally so easy to please and they don't need a whole lot to be happy.  What they want the most are things that cannot be purchased- love, time, happiness.  It is a very delicate balance, one I have definitely not figured out yet, but I am working on it!

There are also times when I think, "Can someone just not need me for about 5 minutes!!?"  But then, I realize how nice it is to be needed.  How sweet it is when a crying child will come to me for kisses or someone needs help only I can give.  Don't we ultimately love the most those whom we serve, or who serve us?  I guess in a way, to be needed also equals to be loved.  What a great opportunity it is, really, to be "needed" so much!

Because life is a "package deal", if we truly want something, we get everything that comes with it.   Everything good comes with a price.  Just as Adam and Eve said in the garden:

"And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient."  (Moses 5:11)

If I want a house full of people who love me,  it requires some work.   Children's laughter, kisses, and cuddles also come with dirty diapers and some messes.  If you want to do nothing in this life,  you will also receive that much in return.  The most beautiful and wonderful things in my life have come because I have paid a price for them.

I have visited with many older women who talk fondly of the stage I am in right now- the thick of it all.  Their homes are empty now- and they have very few dishes to wash, not much laundry, no little feet tracking in dirt or little finger prints on the walls.  As nice as that may sound sometimes,  I know I wouldn't trade them for a minute.  I will have my time when I get there, and there's no way to fully understand  the challenges of each stage until I am in it.  

Someday when I'm sitting back in my rocker, (and I hope to live to be at least 100), thinking about my life, I hope to be able to say that I have lived a full life, that I challenged myself, made the most of what I had, and lived life to the fullest!  We only get to live here on this earth once, right?

Christ has said:  

• "I am come that they might have life,
  and that they might have it more abundantly."
  (John 10:10)
  How true this is for me, and I am so grateful for his endless blessings and love towards me!  May we all have eyes to see his blessings in our lives!  

Kyle's Birthday

On Nov 10th, Kyle turned 9 years old.  It was an exciting day for him!!

I decided to start a new tradition and I checked him out of school and took him out to lunch.  His 3 youngest siblings also got to tag along.  We went out to Wendy's and he got to pick whatever he wanted!   We had a great time!

We had a great time that evening with our family.  My parents came up and we all went to Bear River  bowling and had pizza while we played.  It is such fun watching the little kids roll the bowling ball and get so excited when they knock any pins down, regardless of how many there are. (This is with bumpers and the metal frame you roll the ball down on.)  Simple pleasures!  

Instead of a birthday cake, Kyle chose a cherry pie, which was a first for me on a birthday.  But hey,  I didn't mind!  It was a lot easier than decorating a cake!  For his gifts, Kyle got mostly legos because that is what he is into right now.  

The Saturday before his birthday, Aaron took Kyle fishing up to Devils Creek.  

  The weather was surprisingly warm.  They caught a few fish and had a good time together. 

Kyle is growing up so fast and I am so proud of the wonderful young man he is becoming.  He works hard at school and likes to have fun.  We love having him in our family!

Kaylee's Baby Blessing

On Nov 2nd we had Kaylee's baby blessing.  She was barely 4 weeks old, and one day shy of a month. I had planned to use the same dress for her that I had used for Erika and Heidi, but they had been 3 and 4 months old, so I ended up buying her a new dress.  She looked so beautiful!  I thought the bow was a little too big, (almost as big as her head) but it was fun for a day!  :)  It has been a really special experience having her in our home.   More so than with any of my other babies, she has been loved to death by all the older children, including the next oldest, Jordan.  I was worried that he would NOT LIKE her, simply because he is very much a mommy's boy and won't share me with anyone.  But, he has been SO sweet with her!  All the kids have wanted their turn to hold and kiss her often.  And, my oldest two are actually able to help a lot with her when I have needed it, to hold and calm her.  So nice!  

I took so many pictures- at least one of everyone holding her- that I decided to make a few collages of them all. It was such a lovely day!  The weather was so nice and it was great to have so much family there to celebrate our new little girl!