The Early Years

A couple of days ago I struck up a conversation with one of my blogger friends about how to cope in the early years. I have to confess that every once in a while I feel a bit overwhelmed when I think about the responsibilities that come with this blessing called motherhood. Day in and day out, I am responsible for the well fare of these five small children. There is a long list of things that I must do to care for them, not to mention the lessons in life that I must teach them. That's why I enlisted the help of my friend over at http://raisingfive.blogspot.com/ . I must say that the response has been incredible! I have been very encouraged!

Katherine said: (Her comments in bold, followed by my own thoughts.)
1. Get up on time.
I am so bad at this. I get up when I hear the first footsteps hit the floor in the morning. I have to admit that I am NOT a morning person! I am only up early because I am forced to be. One thing that I will be working on (and will ask friends to hold me accountable to) is to get up earlier than my children so that I can have a few quiet minutes to myself to prepare for the day. That means time to pray, read a devotion, and of course, have a cup of coffee!
2. Shower, dress, and put on makeup before the kids wake up.
This might have to be done while the kids are distracted with breakfast. I have a hard time showering before they get up because when I do, it wakes them up. But if I can get in a routine where their breakfast is waiting for them at the table, then it might work out.
3. Have a plan.
I am the queen of lists. The problem is, when my list gets too long, I get overwhelmed. But I'm working on that! I do a load of laundry a day, and I tend to the "basics" (dishes, meals, cleaning) done out of routine. One thing I really need to work on is how I react to interruptions. I don't do well with interruptions in my routine. When I get in the "zone", it's hard for me to put down everything and turn my attention to kids.
4. Structure for little ones.
Yep. I believe in it. It's just hard to stick to it. My kids go along with it for a while, but then one day they just wake up and it isn't what they want/need anymore. They just grow! And when they grow, sometimes you have to change things up a bit. The problem is, where one has outgrown a particular routine, I have one smaller that hasn't. It's hard to have 3 or 4 different routines going.

I am so thankful for all of the advise and feedback that I've been getting from this conversation. It has really given me my motivation back. It has also helped me to remember who I am doing this for. As someone over at Raising Five said, I am going to "make the commitment to give the area of motherhood over to God as a sacrifice of worship to Him." I know that He will honor that and when I feel overwhelmed, He brings me women like all of you who have been through it or are in it now to encourage me to keep pressing on in faith!

Isaiah 40:11 "He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young."