Focus Word for the new year.......ENJOY

Yesterday my dad was expecting a gentleman with whom he does business. They were going to use our house for a meeting place for a couple of hours and then go out to dinner to finish their meeting. This man is investing in some companies and has A LOT , and I mean A LOT of money to invest.

So, I went into panic mode, like I always do. I started cleaning the house. And as I am cleaning, the walls looked dirty and I realized I still haven't painted the kitchen wall. The other day I went crazy and moved furniture all around which left us with no rug and two non-matching chairs in the living room. I started to get frustrated. I have such a vision for my house and I know what I want it to LOOK like, that I get angry sometimes. I start projects and run out of time. I try and make it different and never get the project completed.

I finally had to take a deep breath. I wasn't going to get the wall painted, the chairs weren't going to get reupholstered and I couldn't afford a rug in the next three hours. I sat down and closed my eyes and asked Heavenly Father to help me out.

Of course, the immediate thought I had was that more importantly what my house looked like, was that it felt like a HOME. I made some minor changes in the decor and made sure the floors were vacuumed. I said a prayer that when this gentleman came to my home, he would feel the spirit. He would feel the love and happiness we have here. He would see the children's artwork and the pictures of family and never see the wall that needed to be painted or the mismatched chairs. Because I know my home has the spirit and we try hard to keep the spirit here. And that is more important to me than anything!

I tend to not ENJOY my surroundings sometimes. Maybe it is because I have such a vision for decor and other things, but I am always thinking of how it could be better. I am also guilty of that with my family and other things.

My dad and I had a conversation about Eleanor the other day. She was on her third major outfit. Clothes, tights, shoes and hair accessories. All I could think about was the laundry. He reminded me to pick my battles. I had to take a deep breath and not ask him to try and do the laundry in my house for a week, but I knew he was right. I need to let her experiment with her clothes. She does an amazing job for a six year old!!! She has creativity bursting from her little body and I tend to not let her express herself.

So this year I am going to try and ENJOY life a little more. Enjoy my home and pick a project that is attainable in a reasonable amount of time. ENJOY my children and not always be on them about something. ENJOY my husband who keeps me sane and helps me out so much. I want to ENJOY the moments , ENJOY the laughter, ENJOY the 13 year old who still hugs me, ENJOY the 10 year old who is the sweetest boy in the world, ENJOY the 6 year old who keeps me on my toes and blows me away with her maturity, ENJOY the three year old because she is growing up so fast.

I am going to try and ENJOY the time I have with each of these amazing children and ENJOY being a mom more. I think I do a pretty good job right now, but I am really going to try hard an embrace the word in my life......ENJOY!!!!