Keep It Simple

Turkey.  Stuffing (only Stove Top).  Mashed Potatoes.  Sweet Corn.  Rhoads Rolls.  Green Bean Casserole.  Macaroni And Cheese.  Pumpkin Pie.  Pecan Pie. Apple Pie.  Pumpkin Roll.

This was our menu on Thanksgiving, which we hosted a bit early because of scheduling conflicts.  It was chaotic, memorable, exhausting, yummy and just good to sit around the table with the ones I love and don't get to see too often.  

The children outnumbered the adults, but somehow we managed to all survive and no one got (really) sick and nothing major was broken or destroyed.  In this stage of life, that is a definite Thanksgiving win.

I am living in a 'keep it simple' stage and as this Thanksgiving weekend approaches and I am technically 'done' celebrating, I am looking forward to a 'keep it simple' weekend filled with lots of leftovers, making cookies with my babes, reflecting on the reality that I am so so blessed to live this life, super simple Christmas decorating, and watching lots and lots of football...on the couch...with my feet up.

While being ____ weeks pregnant (who counts on baby #3??) is somewhat forcing me to keep things simple during this holiday season, I think it's about time I embrace this motto whole-heartedly for the next 20 or so years I have babes at home.  

This post is a reminder to myself and every other momma out there trying to do it all, get all the things done, check everything off their to-do list...to KEEP THINGS SIMPLE.

It's good to have goals...

Let's take a deep breath and put our feet up, even if the kids crawl all over us.

Let's find joy and goodness in the mundane of the breakfasts and lunches and clean-ups of the everyday.

Let's laugh with our kids and say 'I'm sorry' when we mess up (I did that a lot the past few days).

Let's remember that homemade banana muffins instead of store bought will not save the world (or our children) from cancer, bullying, or a skinned knee.

Let's really look at our children everyday, because tomorrow they will be a day older and a day closer to leaving the nest.

Let's build memories, not through Instagram-worthy photos, but by the same song sung before bed or the Christmas tradition of picking out a tree or the same three words our kids wake up to every morning or the way we eat dinner together.  

Let's say 'yes' to playing as a family and 'no' to things that take us away from that.

Let's not feel guilty about the half done baby album or the mountainous pile of laundry or the Chic-fil-A that's on our child's dinner plate for the third time this week.

Let's talk to Jesus everyday, even if it's for the thirty seconds we have in the bathroom in the morning.  

Let's turn our phones off and turn our eyes and ears to our babies.

Let's remember there are days for leggings and sweats and days to take a few more minutes to look and feel like we didn't just literally roll out of bed.

Let's say 'yes' to family experiences and 'no' to another toy that will get broken in 24 hours.

Let's work hard to be a family that talks and discusses things at the dinner table.

Let's find balance between friends and family and work and play, but understand that it won't ever be perfect.

Let's give ourselves grace after a bad day and remember that there is no one else more fit to be raising our kids than us and that we have a God that loves us despite our shortcomings in this motherhood thing.

Let's keep our routines and days and nights simple with less stuff, less doing, less perfection...and more snuggle sessions on the couch, more flour on the floor from cookies being baked with little hands, and more doses of grace given to our babies as we raise them in our homes.

Mommas, I'm right with you.  Some days I'm tired and weary and just want to lock myself in the bathroom for five minutes.  And that's okay.

  

But, I'm promising myself I'm going to keep it simple as much as I can, as often as I can...so I can really be present and enjoy the good stuff of this life.  

Happy Thanksgiving to all you beauties out there doing the good good work of raising babies or praying for babies or caring for someone else's babies.  Will you keep it simple with me?