Tuesday, August 9, 2011

I'll Count My Blessings

The house is busy as usual, the girls are downstairs playing, and I'm enjoying my little man's toothless smile looking at me.

I can hear the girls giggling, Lincoln is cooing, and in this moment...

Nothing else matters.

Not the housework, not the stress of everyday life, not the bills, not even the fact that I can't seem to form a complete thought lately or get enough sleep.

All that matters right now is that God is showing me what it truly means to be blessed, and that the path we're on was paved by Him. His plans are always on purpose, for His purpose.

Those loads of laundry that are piling up? That's a blessing.

All those little bright colored dishes still laying in the sink? A blessing.

The many, many toys scattered all around the house? Blessing.

And the 2yr olds that unscrewed their sippy cups and poured milk over their (mischievous) heads? Yep, total blessings.

Oh and those not-so-nice comments that some people have had to share lately about having too many kids? Yea, those aren't important.

I don't deserve these blessings, yet He still gives in abundance, He still pours out His love, and He still holds me up on my meanest mom days.

With every giggle, every hug, every funny story they tell me, and every little helping hand, I am overwhelmed by the gifts that these kiddos are. They cook with me, they check email with me, they run errands with me, they put away laundry with me, and they still hug my neck after a draining day when my patience was thin.

They are treasures...


I'm the one who gets to stay home with them, care for them, kiss thier boo-boo's, and listen to their little voices sing in the car on the way to the store. To know that God has chosen me to do that, well, it overwhelms me.

Even in the stressful midst of this semi-controlled chaos, and even when the time out chair has been the most used seat in the house, God reminds me that motherhood is a calling, my calling.

Do I know what causes this? Yep.

Better me than you? If you say so.

And are we finally done? God only knows.

But I do know when people say, "wow, you have your hands full!", I can say with my whole heart, "I sure do, but this handful is my greatest blessing." :)

15 comments:

Jen said...

Kate,
Thanks for keeping it real. :) I still :) always always LOVE to read your posts.
Hope it was a good day,
jen

cowartclan said...

I hear ya, I too am OVERWHELMED by the blessing of my sweet children. They are as good as it gets. They help me see areas that God is working at refining me (patience ~ today that was my friendly reminder from God), they make me laugh, smother me with LOVE, melt my heart with sweet comments, and bless me with the gift of FAMILY and me being a MOMMY. I hope your day tomorrow is a smooth one!!

Kate @ Bliss and That said...

That was really, really good, Kate... :) Just what I needed to read at 4:20 A.M. after yet ANOTHER night feeding, sigh. This is all worth it and part of His plan and part of my ministry and calling. Thanks for the reminder and have a blessed day! :)

Thoughts for the day said...

beautifully written, and so real.

Anonymous said...

Nice:) And thanks for reminding me of my blessing:)

Laura said...

Amen!

trooppetrie said...

too many kids, that is comical. i say have as many as you want. i agree the clothes can wait and so can the toys, because you know what they will be there again tomorow

Victoria said...

great post!!! i love your blog and your 6 babies are beautiful!!

i am one of 7 kids, so 6 is a perfect number to me :)

God is great!

Tracy said...

When someone says to me that I have my hands full I always say, "Yes, and my heart is too!!" Your post reminds me of the book "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. If you haven't read it,I HIGHLY recommend it (you know, in your spare time). ;)

Marisa said...

I get the "boy, you've got your hands full" with just my three :) I'm not quite sure why people like to express their opinion to you about the size of your family. It's not like you're going to downsize to make them happy. People need to mind their own bees-wax. (How's that for grade-school?) You certainly are blessed!

Anonymous said...

Awww. I love it. :D Sweet photo too. I want a big family, Kenny not so much...

Ruth said...

Aww! And what a sweet blessing YOU are to them, and the rest of us peeking in on your life.

Ruth said...

And I totally don't get it when someone mentions "too many kids" or something related. I mean, if you love kids, and you can provide for them, than WHY would you choose money/cars/house/travel/WHATEVER over these precious, eternal, beautiful, souls????!!!

Laurel said...

LOVE it!!!

I always love reading your blog, because it brings back so many, many memories. Oh how I miss those days ... I truly do. Why, oh why, did my little ones have to all grow up.

When people tell you that you have too many kids, you should just say, "What?!? I've just gotten started. I have a friend who has TWICE as many." :)

I know, I know, I still have 6 kids left at home. But, I MISS the years with my 6 Big Kids. And, with my youngest 4 being 9, 10, 11, 12 ... I just don't have the little ones any longer. In a few short months, I'll have 3 teens at home, which only leaves 3 youngers.

Missing my pregnancy. Wishing I had a baby coming soon. Guess I'll just have to wait for the grandbabies now.


:) :) :)

Anonymous said...

Amen girl!