Perfection (the Catalog Part 2)

So, a few months after the PBK catalog incident (see below), I was walking around, finding myself in a constant state of irritation. You know, when no one can do anything right, and you feel like all you've done is sigh and roll your eyes all day? I'm ashamed to admit it, but that's how I felt and that's how I was acting. And because my kids were the ones there, they were getting the brunt of all the sighing. This didn't just go on for a day, it seemed like i was in this state for weeks, and I was feeling miserable about it, guilty and, well, irritated with being irritated.

One day, as I was having my morning quiet time, I came across a familiar passage from 1 Corinthians 10. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, self-seeking, or easily-angered." (ouch! Sting of conviction.) As I glanced down at the footnote in my bible, the commentary for the verse hit home: Much irritability comes from a love of perfection...Those who are easily irritated need to remember that perfection exists only in God. We need to love him and our fellow Christians, not the visions we have for perfection we have here on earth.

I realized that my kids needed to see less of the eye-rolling, and more love during trying times, that there are going to be times (many, many times) during our lives and each day, when all we can do is go to our knees in prayer.

Does this look like a PBK catalog to YOU?

About a year ago, I remember getting a Pottery Barn Kids catalog in the mail one day. As I started to flip through it, noticing the neat, organized kids' rooms, I began to feel something like self-pity growing inside. Why can't my house look like that? About this time, someone yelled,"Mom! I need a plunger! "and someone else needed a new diaper . As I tried to walk upstairs, I stepped over Legos and army men. The pity party continued.

I could hear God's voice : Be thankful. You have a godly, hard-working husband who loves you and your kids, a home that is safe and plenty big enough, money for groceries...the list goes on...and on. I was surprised at how quickly I could forget all of God's blessings, how I could obsess over such little, unimportant things. Chris and I saw the movie "Courageous" a few months ago, and the main character's words still come to mind pretty often: When we get to the end of our lives, will we discover that so much of what occupied our time here was not of eternal value?

So.what is of eternal value? Time with our families, time with the Lord, service to those in need. Pottery Barn Kids? I'll just venture a guess and say "Nah."

Check out my Mother's Day post from May of last year for other ways God has used my kids to teach me things about Him.

Catching Up

The Three Biggest Cousins

The Three Littlest Cousins

"Mamie and Paw Paw"

Sea World

With Grandma Jo and cousin Damien

With Grammy

Pancakes with Dad!

I was warned! "When you have more kids, you'll NEVER have time for scrapbooking, blogging, and all of that." All of my friends with kids told me this, but I still didn't believe them. "Oh, yes, I will!" I replied, never thinking that naptime would one day come to an end, and homeschooling would begin. Well, they were all right. If you were one of them, go ahead and say I told you so.

Yep, even finding time to post family photos is tough these days, much less scrapbooking. (I haven't even attempted this since Andrew came along.)Despite the busy-ness of life these days, I'm realizing that this is a fleeting time, and one day I *will* have time for hobbies once again.

So, here are some photos from the past few months. We've gone to Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi since Christmas, and being able to see family was wonderful. I'll update you on the boys in a separate post. This one is all about the photos!