Recently...

I've been reflective. Maybe it's the upcoming Birthday in our house. Maybe it's my excitement about our upcoming trip North. Or maybe it's that yesterday marked 3 years since we began this journey in our "new" home. 3 YEARS!!!

My schedule at work has been crazy, requiring weekend hours, late nights and the need to be creative with the time I have at home. I love the "work" I do...but there are seasons when I struggle to embrace it. After multiple days of explaining to the kids why I had to work late {again}, working straight from 8-5 with no break, or rearranging weekend plans to accommodate appointments with clients it begins to drain me. The joy of my "work" is that it is also my calling and ministry. But that sometimes makes for confusion when the frustration sets in. I pray daily that I can find a balance between work and family. I pray that the Lord somehow redeems the late nights and long weekends away from the kids. I hope they see the value in the "work" I do someday. I hope they learn that God celebrates life and rejoices in the creation of families. It's a constant sorting out for me. I have to compartmentalize and draw clear lines between family time and work time. Some days are easier than others. During these more challenging seasons, I seek the simple things that make life great and try to make the most out of moments.

When I realize how quickly time is passing and {accept} that our baby is quickly moving away from that status, I try to capture life at this moment so I will always remember her at this great stage.She is full of joy and smiles, loves to explore, adores her big siblings and is such a pleasant peaceful soul. Yet...her independence is growing and her desire to express herself is becoming more of a daily reality. Don't let that sweet smile fool you. Baby girl can shake the walls! Exhibit A...Snoops wants to be involved in EVERYTHING and will make that desire known, making meal preparation somewhat challenging, and loud...

And yet, the face is irresistible!!

And now that the biggest swarm of tourists are gone, our beach has become a first choice for evening get-a-ways.

The little man can't see the ocean without jumping in. The above picture is the last time you will ever see Mike without trunks on at the ocean. Nate has very little fear. On this night he must have been swooped under the waves at least 4 times. At one point, after a rescue I asked if he drank a little of the ocean. His response, "No, Mommy. I drank a-YOT of it!" They run and jump until they are about to fall asleep! Sammie Grace is no longer content to sit quietly in her stroller and observe the activity. She MUST be involved. So we brought a huge towel and let her experience the beach. We figured she would sit and observe and take it in. Which lasted all of, umm...73 seconds. Sammie loves her some sand...Mama figured it would sink in eventually. I assumed she would not like it and decide to move on to better things. Nope. Maybe when she gets a few more teeth and can experience the crunch she'll change her ways. But for now, Sammie loves sand!! She'll eat it, crawl with bare legs in it until her chunky knees are red and chaffed...with a smile and shrieks of joy! I can no longer sit peacefully in my beach chair. I now spend the evenings chasing Snoops across the shoreline. Mike and I often have the conversation about how we don't want our kids to take the ocean for granted. How we want them to be in awe of God's creation and the magnitude of His power. We wonder if our frequent visits will make it common-place to them. Hopefully not, but if nothing else, they are blessed with an amazing playground at which to create some great memories!I know finding the balance in life is common for everyone. I appreciate hearing others approaches to the struggle and the creative ways we find to make little moments count. Some days I achieve it, other days I fail miserably. On those days, I hold Samantha Grace a little longer while rocking her to sleep, or read an extra chapter to the big kids at bedtime. We aren't guaranteed tomorrow, so make today the best it can be! It has been quite a ride these past 3 years. Lots of lessons learned {and many still in process}, a few tears shed, massive changes to the plans our earthly minds had in store, incredible joys and blessings, surprises that only God could ordain, new friendships, heartbreak that only God can heal and mostly deeper love for one another and the One who brings balance to my weary soul.