Yesterday was a crazy day! Things did not go as I had planned, but last night as I reflected on the day, I was proud of all the things I accomplished even though everything didn't go as perfectly as I had envisioned it.
Here was my vision:
I'd wake up
have my personal devotional
eat a healthy breakfast
have morning devotional with the older kids before they head out the door to school
exercise
get dressed in something other than sweats
do my hair
put on makeup
clean the house
By this time it would be time to:
wake the little girls for school
feed them breakfast
do their hair
make sure they match and they've brushed their teeth
have morning devotional before getting in the car and
dropping the girls off at school
Come home, blog a fabulous unforgettable blog post
have my meditation time
make strawberry jam and homemade bread
deliver gorgeous loaves of bread and hot jam to the neighbors
mop the floors and clean the stove-top
pick up #6 from Kindergarten
have lunch
Spend the afternoon playing and reading with her
Make cookies just in time to pull them out of the oven right as the older kids are walking in the door from school.
Pick up #5 from school
Get homework done
Take #5 to her piano lessons
Library field trip with the kids
make a gourmet dinner right on time (6:00 is dinner time for us)
eat dinner
clean the kitchen
have a spiritual well-planned fhe
pj's & teeth brushed
family prayers
story time
and finally bedtime
That was how I envisioned my day.
BUT It really went like this:
Woke up, still tired. Fell back asleep.
Woke up again
Forced myself to get out of bed.
morning devotional and breakfast
morning devotional with kids that ran extra long and was not what I was envisioning nor do I think any of it made sense.
late out the door -boys almost missed the bus
exercise
By this time I'm late waking the little girls up for school
scramble to get them fed, dressed and out the door. Teeth were not brushed, but they did match and their hair was at least brushed.
Came home
meditation time
wrote a crappy blog post
got dressed - no makeup but I did put on jeans and a t-shirt
but hair in a ponytail
cleaned the kitchen and it looked so good!
time to pick up #6
Head to the store for bread since we're out and I didn't get any made
lunch of leftovers for me, cinnamon toast and cucumbers for her
start on the bread - I decide to try a new bread recipe (bad idea)
It takes forever! and my bread loaves came out flatter than they did going into the oven! (FAIL!)
I wash dishes and start on the cookies
Fresh warm gooey cookies are coming out of the oven right as my older kids walk through the door - (WIN!)
Pick up #5
Start on jam (not homework)
Drop #5 off to her piano lesson
Run to the library (by myself) where I spent too much time-
Now I was late picking #5 up from her lesson, luckily Clint was right there and called to say he would pick her up. (Blessing)
Make and finish another batch of jam
Start on dinner (which took way longer than it should have to make) while trying to clean the kitchen and do homework with the girls (not a good idea)
Now half the kitchen is clean, some homework is finished, and only half of our gourmet dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches, Campbell's Tomato soup, and salad is prepared- by this time it's 6:20
#4 needs a book from the library and Clint is busy
I quickly run him to the library before it closes (my second trip in two hours)
We make it. He finds his book, we head home
Where I Finished dinner
We didn't sit down to eat dinner (which is now cold) until after 7:00
This ends up working out well because my oldest just happened to come home from work right then for his lunch break and we were able to eat dinner together with the entire family. (miracle)
Finally after cleaning the kitchen we sit down to an unorganized last minute Family Night.
#4 taught us about the Atonement
He showed us the VIDEO Because of Him
As I watched this video (and cried- I dare you to watch this video and not get teary) I realized that it doesn't matter how smoothly my day goes or how much I accomplish. It's not about being perfect. It's about trying and giving it my best, and letting Christ make up the difference.
My family didn't care that the floor wasn't mopped, that their teeth didn't get brushed before school or that their dinner consisted of cold grilled cheese sandwiches. They won't remember any of that. But they will remember the way I made them feel loved, the way they feel when we spend time eating and laughing together as a family, and the way the Spirit feels as we discuss the gospel and bear our testimonies with each other. That is PERFECTION. That is a perfect day.