Heaven Is Here: A Wake Up Call

I'm a tad bit behind the times and just barely got around to reading Heaven is Here by Stephanie Nielson (the same Stephanie Nielson of the blog The NieNie Dialogues).  I cannot believe how drawn into the book I got; I read the entire thing in less than 24 hours (yes, my house, children and husband were all grossly neglected during those 24 hours).  I absolutely loved it and would highly recommend it to anybody.

And although I didn't agree or appreciate 100% of her story, her story definitely helped me remember a few very important things.

1.  It is a joy and a privilege to be a mother.  Every day may not be perfect.  My house is always in disaster mode. I may lose my temper or feel like I'm going crazy.  Sometimes I just want to wear noise reduction earphones All.Day.Long.  But in the end?  There is absolutely nothing I would rather be doing.  I love my littles more than I could ever describe.  I am lucky to have them and am very aware of how blessed I am to be a stay at home mom.

2.  My husband is amazing, and I need to do a better job of reminding him of that.  He is my best friend.  He is my everything.  I would be a huge puddle of a mess without him.

3.  Nothing matters more than family.  Friends, jobs, hobbies...they all come and go over the years.  However, family doesn't go anywhere.  That is where our most important time and focus needs to be.

4.  I am good enough just as I am.  I may not be as good as a blogger as so and so, I may not be as athletic as the girl down the street.  My clothes from high school may not fit me anymore (and heaven knows they never will again!), but those things do not define who I am.  Constantly comparing myself to other people, or the person I used to be or sometimes even the person I wish to be is poison.  My heart, how I spend my time, the service I provide - THOSE define who I am.

5.  My religion/testimony are a huge part of who I am and I am far too reserved about it.  Don't get me wrong.  I will NEVER be outspoken or pushy about my beliefs.  And I feel like I am very open minded and accepting of others.  I can appreciate that somebody else has a different belief system than I do and I would never try to force them to change their minds.  But does it really hurt if people know that I am a Latter Day Saint?

I tend to not be too personal on this blog; I save that for my family blog.  However, from this point on, you will probably get more information about me and my family than you ever wanted.  Everything I've done with this blog so far will stay the same.  Promoting handmade artisans and small businesses, sharing yummy recipes and fun projects that I do around the house; those will all still be here.   There will just be more mommy stuff,  more family stuff and more real life.

This is my favorite photo from our weekend.  Sunday morning was perfect.  My husband (who has been pretty MIA since he started a new job in June) was home, the weather was cloudy and rainy and all three of my children were happy to just play together for longer than 10 minutes.  I'm talking a couple of hours of happy noises and play with uninterrupted, peaceful, adult conversation with my dear hubby.  It was nothing short of amazing.

How was your weekend?