MOTHER'S DAY

There has been so much on my mind and heart lately. I had intentions of posting for mother's day. But instead I just soaked in every minute with my family & our sweet boy before we left Naperville. Trevor & I did the Whole30 in April and as part of the process you're supposed to take a look at your relationship with food. Since I was assessing my relationship with food, I decided to do the same with technology and social media. I probably should have done it for the whole month, but I just did it the last week and I'm so glad I did. I have a good relationship with social media/technology especially because I used to be anti- technology, but sometimes I feel a little lost and overwhelmed in those little squares.

Butternut Squash & Zucchini Noodles were a favorite. 
The Whole30 really wasn't bad at all, it just took a lot of prep time and dishes. 

Will has been changing and growing so fast this last month I have really just tried to be as present as possible and soak in every moment just being with him. During an interview I was asked my motherhood advice  & I reminded myself that BEING PRESENT IS BEING PRODUCTIVE. She went on to ask what I struggled with and it's the exact same thing, slowing down and reminding myself that being present is being productive.

It's this weird feeling where I am present and realize how quickly he's growing and how fast time is flying by, but I don't know how to slow it down.

One day I was holding his hands and helping him sit up and literally 3 days later he was sitting up all by himself - it happened so fast, I'm still in awe of it all. William just seems to be growing at a faster rate now and I feel like I can't keep up. It seems I can't read enough books and help him explore new toys and surroundings. He doesn't make as much eye contact anymore because he is always looking around and exploring his surroundings.

I'm constantly in awe of motherhood. Motherhood is truly magical, I can't think of any other way to describe it. Watching this tiny baby learn and develop into a tiny human has been incredible and I know he's far from being done. These last few weeks Trevor & I keep commenting about how he's such a little human now. I've had the opportunity to speak quite a few times these last few months, but I want to try and be careful because my family is my top priority. One of the topics was the influence of righteous women and I learned a lesson that has helped me prioritize my time and changed my perspective.

In the talk Mother Who Know, Julie B. Beck talks about the eternal influence we have as women. Now, there was so much she shared, but one line really struck a chord:

"Mothers who know do less."

She went on to explain that:

 "They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distractions, less activity that draws their children away from the home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world's good in order to spend more time with their children - more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully AND DO NOT TRY TO CHOOSE IT ALL....That is influence; that is power."

"These wise mothers who know are selective about their own activities and involvement to conserve their limited strength in order to maximize their influence where it matters most."

I just loved these reminders. If I truly know why I am here on earth & my purpose and mission, then I will do less because we can't do it all. There has been reminders lately that we can't achieve balance in every aspect of life. We have to choose what is most important and make if a priority. We must also be selective in what we spend our time doing because we only have so many hours in the day. 

God has not intended that we should be able to do everything we would like to do. If there were not more to do than we are individually capable of doing, we wouldn't have to make choices and we would never realize what we value most. Jeanne Inouye

Every week I fill out a small goal sheet that helps me stay focused and I have 4 check boxes at the bottom that help me keep my focus and priorities. Spiritual food, movement/me time (which is typically exercise), temporal (typically a chore or errand for the day) and lately the fourth has been some type of writing or preparing a talk. And then of course all the other moments in the day revolve around William. I know I can't do it all and I'm so grateful for the reminders and lessons I've learned about doing less and being present.