On Your Mark. Get Set. Go!

I'm attempting to re-group after a crazy start of the week and before an even crazier end of the week!  Last night, we had our Relief Society Celebration dinner.  I always love going to these.  First of all, it's a night out with the girls, and second, I ALWAYS hear something that I feel like was meant "just for me!" Last night, I was listening to one of my very favorite ladies in the world talk about her life and the moments in her life that meant a lot to her. She brought out a little quote that a woman in our neighborhood had given her over 10 years ago when she first moved into her home.  It was simple; it was profound - and it was meant for me!  It said, "BREATHE IN. BREATHE OUT."  I looked at the gal sitting next to me and said, "Geesh.  I REALLY haven't done that today!"  Then, I stopped and took a few giant breaths in and out and...I felt better. Really.

So here I am, taking a few more breaths in and out.  Life is crazy.  Things are chaotic!  I'm not even going to pretend that my house is clean right now - although half of it is!  I wish I could see the light at the end of this tunnel I am currently zooming through, but the reality is...it's probably a few months out!  At the moment, I have a load of laundry sitting on the laundry room counter waiting to be folded, with another in the dryer that will need to be folded shortly.  There are dishes in the sink waiting for the clean dishes in the dishwasher to be emptied.  I have our company invoices needing to be created and mailed. Last  month's reconciliation needs to be done. I have tons of pictures I want to blog and a few movies on Netflix I would like to watch before we cancel this month. My roots are WAY overgrown and my split ends need a trim.  Tonight my boys have soccer practice and I need to pick up a friend's son to take with them.  The Young Women play their last 2 volleyball games tonight and I'd really like to go watch. I play volleyball tonight. Cole has softball.  We have a run to fit in somewhere today (hopefully not started after 10 pm). The kids have spelling tests and Kaitlin still has 15 minutes left to practice piano that she didn't get finished this morning. Soccer socks and shin guards all need to be washed. I need to go back over Brandon's hand-me-down soccer cleats with gray Sharpie so the pink doesn't show through! The rolls for dinner need to be rising by 1:00 and the hamburger (which is thankfully already browned) needs time to defrost. And this is only my list for today!

On Saturday I am running in my first "practice" 5K, Cole is golfing in a charity golf tournament, the boys have a soccer game at 12 and Kaitlin has one at 3. Then, coming up, we have 3 science projects (that the kids came up with on their own and are very excited about) that mommy needs to find time to do with each of them.  We will have 2 soccer practices a week, Cole has 2 softball games a week, I will have an indoor soccer game per week, and the kids will have 2 soccer games on Saturdays. We have Spring Break coming up and Cole took a few days off so we could go to our timeshare and have fun with the kids.  We are still training for our "REAL" 5K at the end of March.  Kaitlin turns 9 and this is her year for a friend party.  Her first recital is in 2 months and she needs lots of help practicing her very complicated, but beautiful pieces. The Girls' Camp Kick-off is coming up. The boys have a field trip at school. Our first meeting as Ma's and Pa's for the trek is at the end of the month.  Easter and General Conference in April, with the boys turning 7 and their friend party. Little League will start at the end of April, while soccer is finishing up. Not to mention, the basics like making sure we have FHE each Monday and keep sticking to our goal of reading scriptures 5 days a week. And somewhere in there, there will be 4 sets of little finger nails that need clipping, boys that need haircuts, date nights for Cole and I, helping out in the kids classes, visiting teaching and making treats for hubby to do his Home Teaching, going to the temple, several blog posts to do, a few Presidency meetings, mutual activities, dinners to make and and grocery shopping to do, company bills again and hopefully a tax return! BREATHE!

I don't know why, but somehow getting that all out there kind of seems to help.  The fact that I can even keep track of it all, really does amaze me.  I'm excited about all that is coming up, but I am also exhausted just thinking about it!  What happened to the quiet months we've just enjoyed?  Oh boy, did I enjoy them!  I know this is what life is - crazy, calm, crazy, calm - but I guess I just wasn't quite ready for the transition! Having said that, I have a tendency to treat life like a checklist.  Do this - check. Watch this - check. Be here  - check.  I don't want to be like that.  I want to enjoy the DOING.  I don't want to just get it done.  All these moments are going to go by so quickly.  My boys will never do their first science experiments again and I don't want to just help them get it done. I want to laugh and have fun with them while we are DOING them together.  Kaitlin will never have a first piano recital again. I want to enjoy every moment of practicing with her - realizing that some day very soon, she'll be better than me and won't need my help anymore.:( I want to be there (in body and in mind) watching my kids run around those soccer fields.  I want to enjoy and remember the training that Cole and I are doing and how much fun it's been to run together. I want to be there to watch when Cole plays ball. I want to have fun coaching and playing indoor soccer. I want to make sure I keep focused on what is really important and I want to make sure I am tolerable to be around during all of this! I don't just want to check it off as I go, I want to cherish doing it and etch the details in my  mind.
Holy Moly!  You know those butterflies you get at the start of a race?  I have those now just thinking about all that is coming up!

I am so grateful for the last few months when our family has had the time to focus on the important things - each other and the gospel basics - FHE, scriptures, and prayers.  I feel like we have created a very strong foundation and now, as we add a "few" more things to the mix, I feel confident that we can keep up with it all.

It's a crazy journey, isn't it?

And so... now, I'll take a few deep breaths in and out and...ready or not...here I GO!