As parents, we are bombarded with information on how to be a good parent. It’s overwhelming. Society tells us. Our kids tell us. Other people tell us. It is easy to feel like a failure, even when you give everything you have. We need to quiet out the excess noise, and pare down the hundreds of do’s and do not’s to what really matters. Setting priorities is essential to avoid the extra unnecessary stressors that distract us from what needs to be our focus. Take the reigns on what’s important in parenting and focus less on the frills that won’t make or break your child.

Marriage is a commitment filled with promises that are made between two imperfect people, yet tied together with love and a vow. With the words “I do”, you promise to love and cherish your spouse. Although society says love can be temporal and disposable, and that it is okay to disregard your vows; God paints a different picture. His is one of perseverance, companionship, love, and devotion.

I watch my precious kids grow up before my eyes. Each 24 hour period passes almost as quickly as it arrives. I try to balance all of life’s details, while still prioritizing my kids. Despite the slew of stuff that bombards each day, I want to stop and breath in the moments that make each day special. I want to appreciate my kids and savor the moments that I don’t want to pass by. Hopefully if I pause long enough I can create a memory that can’t be taken from me. So as I hear the laughter bubbling through my house, and the joy that kids bring, I want to put aside my tiredness, my work, my distractions and remember how fleeting these moments are. I want to soak in just one more memory.

It was 8:20pm, the kids were in their room winding down for the night. Me and my husband were relaxing on the couch, as I hear the pitter patter of little feet. This is a normal occurrence at night, the kids seeking their one (or three) last goodnight interactions.

As parents we need to be at the front lines for our children as their number one advocate and protector. Taking the first blows as situations come charging at our kids, whether it be filtering what they hear, protecting their steps, or nurturing their heart we need to invest in our kids with passion and conviction, teaching them what true love is and learning it ourselves. There are few days that go by that some foreign food substance hasn’t lodged itself on my shirt, or that the coffee pot has run dry way too early; yet, we need to plow forward. Not because it’s easy, but because we love our kids, and we are going to be held accountable for how we parented them.

These last couple of weeks have been dicey. The busyness that accompanies a transition to a new house has certainly effected me and my family. It has taken time to fall into a new routine; no wonder God reminded me to pray for patience this morning.

Peaceful that is what I’d call this moment. How is this possible with 3 kids? When I had no kids I felt frazzled, and yet now I am relaxed? What caused this paradigm shift? I stopped living as though I had no kids.

Awakened at the crack of dawn by a 31″ girl and a 37″ boy. I stumble half awake as my children ask for “dinks”, a.k.a. drinks. We start our routine of breakfast, cartoons, devotional… the list continues.

My prayer is that I can be the best wife and mother I can be. A task that would be easier if I had a Ken Barbie husband and children who lived at Super Nanny’s house, but the reality is, I am not perfect and neither are they. I have to keep my head in check and focus so I can love my family as much as they deserved to be loved despite our big ball of imperfections. Today I’d prefer not to focus on what our family needs to change, but rather how to work on ourselves.