Priorities and Kids

I ended up watching 3 kids for 8 days last week.  On top of that, I worked a part time job, and continued my internship.  Can you say crazy?!?  I have watched kids for 8 days before, but to try to handle kids with jobs was the most exhausting thing that I have ever done!

Lesson Learned:  I want to be a 100% stay-at-home mom.  I know many women have to work in order to help out.  In those cases, I believe those moms are blessed for doing their best.  However, I want to do everything I possibly can to make sure that I can focus on raising my children without any outside distractions.

With all the changes in my life in the past few weeks, I have felt that my life is going in 20 different directions with so many pulls on my time.  I haven't been able to refocus.  Who knew that adding 3 kids to the equation was exactly what I needed to remember where my priorities lay?!?

Lesson Learned: Children are the best reminder of what really matters.  They reminded me multiple times a day that why we are here and where we are trying to go!  We are here to become perfected and return to live with Heavenly Father.  Their sweet and honest prayers remind me that no concern is too small for God (for example, we can pray to only have happy shark dreams and not scary shark dreams). :)

As hard as it is to take care of 3 kids, it was by far the most rewarding thing I did all last week.  We had a blast going to Chuck-e-cheese, playing with 10 puppies (yes, I am trying to overcome my fear of dogs), going to the Phoenix zoo, and swimming until we had all swallowed enough pool water for a life-time.  As fun as those moments are, it's the small little moments that are the best; like when you laugh until your stomach hurts after the 2 year-old teaches you how to rawr like a lion. (Isn't he a cute lion?)

Lesson Learned: It's the simple moments in life that really matter.  Don't take for granted those moments to hold someone you love, to listen to a simple but faith-filled prayer, to play pretend in the sand, to count fingers and toes over and over again!

Elder Oaks gave a great talk on priorities, sacrifices, and families in this last conference.  This talk seems to sum up all the lessons that I have learned in the past week.  I am so grateful for the many opportunities I have been blessed with to learn about having a family despite the fact that my own family still hasn't begun.  Heavenly Father allows us so many ways to learn and grow regardless of our situations!  I am so thankful to this family who shared their kids with me last week!