Just what I wanted.

  It's probably a little silly for me to be sitting down and blogging right now. I need to finish the dishes and fold some laundry and get ready to host book club tonight- and the boys will likely wake up any minuted from their naps. But here I am, blogging anyway.

  I'm tempted to say that this week seems to have kicked off the holiday busy season for us, but then I thought about it. We actually hosted Thanksgiving and then Tyler's birthday party a few days after and that is probably what kicked off our busy holiday season. We seem to have something going on (one, both, or all of us) every single evening from here until Christmas. That's probably a slight exaggeration, but you know what I mean. 

  All that to say, this morning as I was sort of rushing around packing up teacher gifts and baking breakfast to share at Bible study and loading the boys in the car- I had a moment where I let myself feel a bit overwhelmed and said to myself "just get through these busy weeks." You've been there too, I'm guessing.

  Then I remembered something my friend Chelsea had said a few months back in reference so balancing motherhood and marriage and keeping up with housework and everything- this is just what I wanted! The very things that were overwhelming me this morning are the exact things I intentionally added to my calendar and have been looking forward to doing. Even more, they are things I specifically prayed for! (mom friends to spend time in the Bible with every week, a safe place for my kids to be loved on by others, making gifts of food to love on others) So I snapped out of it instantly! I decided to stop complaining and embrace the crazy of this busy holiday season. I want it to be busy and full of the best things! And who cares if my house is really really clean or my Christmas decorations look good or my gifts are perfect? 

  Maybe you still have 90% of your Christmas shopping to do, ten parties to attend, teachers gifts to buy, treats to make,  challenging family members to host, whatever. I know I'll have to remind myself of this at least a dozen more times over the next few weeks, but will you join me? The very things that can stress us out or frustrate us this Christmas, they are just what we wanted to begin with. Take a step back. Embrace them and love them (and stop trying to making everything picture/pinterest perfect)! And while we're at it, we should all probably embrace this saying too!