Weekend

This weekend did not go as I expected, but hey, that's normal, right? Saturday, I was dressed and ready to go do my workout when my friend's son texted and said he was on his way to do some yard work for us. He did an amazing job!! It is such a relief to have things cleaned up out there! He worked for about 6 hours, and by the evening, I needed to get my little people fed, bathed, and to bed. That workout didn't happen!

Sunday, my oldest was down sick all day. We didn't make it to church. . . again. I had to go shopping. We were out of coffee at home. So, I bought a $0.50 coffee at the Meijer bakery. The only thing they had were those little creamers. So, I cheated on Whole30, and put 2 creamers in my coffee. It was gross, but it helped clear my head!

We stopped by Mad Goat on the way home. I got a cold brew coffee for me, a hot coffee (with heavy whipping cream) for Matt, and 2 bags of coffee beans for home. We dropped off Matt's coffee at the hospital, and we went home. The boys were in charge of bringing the groceries in from the van. Well, 1 of the 3 gallons of milk made it in whole. . .

I caved and put heavy whipping cream in my coffee. Then, I added stuff and put it in the blender to make it a smoothie. It was good, but another cheat because no dairy is allowed on Whole30.

The kids and I worked on picking up the house all day, and I made dinner. No workout again.

I could sit here and beat myself up over my failures this weekend, but I'm not going to do that. We moms are our own punching bags too often. Instead, I'm going to list all the things that went right this weekend:

• Our yard got some MUCH needed attention.
• I didn't yell at my kids (scolded, yes; but no yelling).
• Snuggles and book reading with my little ones
• Precious time spent caring for my oldest
• The house still needs a lot of work (laundry is my enemy), but it's much more picked up now!
• We got an invisible fence for Eleanor, and she's responding to it beautifully!
• We are eating healthier.
• The kids and I were able to really bless Matt with that middle-of-the-day coffee yesterday. :)

Some of my time this weekend has been well spent reading STILL {when all else fades away} by Tiffany Nardoni. This book is my friend's heart printed on paper. You cannot read her story and not change. This has everything to do with my perspective on this weekend. Tiffany has been to the worst place any parent can imagine, and she'll be the first to tell you that things are just things. Plans fail. The only things of true value are God's love, our trust and faith in him, moments spent loving our family and friends, and learning to hold what (and who) we love with an open hand. How could I be down in the dumps over laundry, a couple cheats on Whole30, and missed workouts after that? No, I can't. Reading her story opens my eyes to the importance of: reading that storybook with my little one, snuggling with my babies on the porch swing, a soft answer to wild children, smiling and enjoying their silliness, and seeing how my 12 year old still covets and treasures my attention when he's feeling sick. These little things are actually the big things. Tiffany, if you're reading this, thank you so much for sharing your story. I am only on chapter 6, and it is already helping me be a better wife and mom. I am blessed to call you my friend. Love you!

So, today, I am going to care for these precious people who call me Mom, feed them, get done what I can, and remember that today is a gift. If we don't get a tomorrow, what will I wish I would've done today? 

Love and hugs from this mama to you. Have a happy Labor Day!