Time changes everything

It's funny now to think back to what life was like with my first pregnancy. There was the wonderful luxury to just take a nap whenever I needed to. Now I look forward to the 20 or 30 minutes that I MIGHT have to put my feet up in between the time we complete our necessary afternoon school work and when the two youngest get up from their naps. And of course, there are days when that doesn't even happen. My husband blessed me with allowing me to quit my job very early on in my first pregnancy and just enjoy that time. Looking back I'm not even sure what I did every day! I know I did a lot of house hunting as we were looking for our first house. And I know I kept our little rental house clean and handled very easily the grocery shopping and cooking. I'm sure I did a lot of reading and napping and baking. Pete and I could run errands or visit with friends in the evenings. What a life! Little did I know that in less than 7 years things would be so different. Although grocery shopping has become an expedition of sorts and the idea of cooking dinner sometimes seems daunting after a day of juggling diaper changes and teething, crabby babies with teaching consonant blends and drawing maps of the Nile River, I definitely wouldn't trade the chaos for anything. I'm just going to keep praying that God will give me strength for each day and the ability to prioritize- and recognize and be okay with the fact that I won't get everything done. It would be nice to have the laundry washed, folded, and put away all in one day, have the kitchen sink completely empty before bed, and not see a stray sock or book or toy anywhere, but life is messy, right? The fact that things have changed so much in the past 7 years makes me wonder what the next 7 will bring! My hope is that while we will remain busy, we will also have things more streamlined! Maybe we'll be through the diapers and teething stage? Perhaps I'll be able to leave some children home while I get the groceries? Maybe my husband will have homemade chocolate chip cookies on a regular basis? Maybe I'll enjoy knitting again- accompanied by my girls? It's fun to dream and wonder, but I'll stop now for I don't want to wish away the precious time of my babies childhoods!