I will not merely survive 2014

2013 was a blur.  It was a blur of survival in its finest form.  I remember last Christmas I was 8 months pregnant and my dad asking me what I thought about the upcoming year.  I remember telling him I knew it would be the most physically exhausting and most difficult year for me as a parent thus far.  And, I was right.

For some, three kids is a piece of cake.  It was not for me.  It was a day by day challenge and still is at times.  I feel like 2013 was started in survival mode and we accomplished what we set out to do.  All 3 of my kids, myself and my husband survived - go us!

But, I am really ready to tackle 2014 with some bigger goals than mere survival.  I am ready to jump into parenting 3 with Cole's first year of life almost behind us (sniff sniff). 

If you don't know about Ann Voskamp, you should.  She is INCREDIBLE.  She is a farmers wife, homeschooling mother of 6, writer and incredibly uplifting and challenging.  Her blog www.aholyexperience.com is a place I will live a lot this year.  She wrote on January 1st about instead of having a new years resolution you should have a new years revolution, and that is what I am ready for this year.

To kick off the new year, the girls and I painted our fingers and toes bright purple.  Do you know when the last time I painted my finger nails was?!?  At least a year ago.  Sad, but true.  But we did it as a statement.  When you are merely surviving, the small things go by the wayside.  You are way too busy emptying and refilling the dishwasher, throwing kids in and out of the bath, and changing laundry to sit and paint your finger nails.  And if I did paint, I painted the girls because I did not have time to maintain my own.

But, this is my life.  And as Cole is (way too) quickly approaching his first birthday and these baby years are all flying by, I want so badly to be in the moment.  And since life as a mom is super busy, super crazy, that means I am up at 6:15 to work out and shower before the kids get up so I can enjoy my day with them.  It means I empty the dishwasher at 10:30pm before hopping into bed so in the morning we are ready to hit the ground running. 

I keep telling myself - this is a season.  And this season is FAST! 

I highly encourage you to read http://www.aholyexperience.com/2013/12/a-grace-plan-a-doable-life-change-plan-for-a-new-year-a-new-you-with-printable/ this blog post by Ann.  It will give you some gusto to tackle your upcoming year!