One day I just sort of woke up and decided the boys needed a dog. After looking at a couple of ads online and driving with the boys all over the state of Texas that day to look at various dogs, we found our perfect little mini-schnauzer Tucker. He is the best dog ever, and we just love him to death! BK has never had a dog before, and he's even loving it, too! I've totally become that annoying dog-person that I always made fun of others for being. But oh well. I needed a simple little creature full of unconditional love and the inability to argue with me--and so I completely understand now why people are in love with dogs. I'm sure it will be crazy with 3 boys and a dog, but the dog is the least of my problems. He's the easiest one of the bunch!
In other news, BK switched jobs! It was totally unexpected, but a former boss that he had done part-time PT work for called him out of the blue with an amazing job offer, and so he took it! He has been sad to leave all of his co-worker friends at his previous job, but we're loving the more flexible hours, and the huge pay increase for sure! Several weeks ago I sat down to look at some things with our finances with some new goals BK and I had felt really strongly about implementing, and I admittedly was sort of stumped as to how to make it all work. And the next day he got the call about the new job. The Lord has always taken care of us, and He continues to, as long as we're doing our part for sure.
Another unexpected thing came up around the same time. I've been taking a look at the things I "need" for Baby #3, and I wondered with our new goals how I would find some extra money to justify doing some fun projects and getting some new things without putting us behind in other areas. Sort of out of the blue, a temporary babysitting job fell into my lap. It's been nice to earn some extra money to save up to spend on fun baby projects! And we've enjoyed watching this baby girl, too. It's been good practice for figuring out how to manage the two boys plus a newborn (and a dog). It turns out it's not impossible, so that's good to know for sure!
This week Spencer has turned into the least trustworthy child on the planet I'm convinced. I cannot turn around for two seconds without some HUGE mess or problem presenting itself because of him. BK and I have both just been beating our heads against a wall trying to figure out what in the world to do about him sometimes. I suppose that's just life with a super spunky almost-three year old boy though! Well... that and being pregnant in the middle of it all. The past few months I just feel like we've floated from one problem or disaster to another with not much breathing room in between. But when I take a step back to look at the situation more clearly, I realize this is just life, and that usually it just doesn't seem so overwhelming because I'm usually not pregnant. Kids will always get sick, they will always make messes, they will always be disobedient, they will always test boundaries and limits of patience... (and they also do a lot of great things, too, of course!)... it just seems like a much bigger deal when you're tired and uncomfortable and not feeling 100%! This too shall pass, and then I'm sure I'll be wishing the worst I was dealing with was the potty messes of today when they're teenagers tomorrow, and we're having to deal with real issues.
Overall, my life is really, really great, and I have a billion things to be grateful for. I keep waiting for a day to happen where things just run smoothly and peacefully, and I finally realized that I need to do better at creating those situations rather than waiting for life to ever "settle down." I decided that one way I could do better at that is to re-dedicate myself to reading my scriptures every single day. I decided that surely by showing the Lord that He comes absolutely first in my life, that He'll be able to bless me with the things that I need, and the things that my family needs. He should come before the cleaning needs of my house for sure, and the minor needs of my children and husband. So I've made a new rule for myself that once I sit down to read my scriptures (and I try to choose the calmest time I can, but sometimes I just have to make do with what the day holds) that unless one of my children is in physical danger, I will not stop--no matter if they're arguing or dumping out every single bin in the playroom or bothering the dog. Because before it seemed like whenever I would sit down to read, something would come up and I would get frustrated after 12 seconds of trying to mother my children and read my scriptures at the same time and give up. And even when I hear a huge mess brewing upstairs, I just remind myself that it really doesn't matter, but that putting the Lord first and finding peace in choosing the right for 10 minutes or so DOES matter. At the end of the day, I've started reminding myself that even if I get discouraged thinking of the 50 things on my "list" that didn't get accomplished because of the chaos of the day, that if I can go to bed thinking "at least I had 10 peaceful minutes to read my scriptures and ponder something besides the most efficient way to encourage my children to clean up the playroom, then I HAVE accomplished something HUGE. Because it's the most important thing. And everything else will work out or be put in perspective after that.
Like I mentioned, life is good--just a little bit of a downer weekend for us, and I think it's important to record those moments, too, sometimes, to read later and then appreciate life's progression or personal growth!
Here's to Monday getting better! :)
I appreciate this post more than you know. You encouraged me to step up on one of my spiritual goals thank you!
ReplyDeleteAnd congrats on the good news of new job for B!