When Life Gets Busy? Refocus Priorities

It's been awhile since I've blogged.  In the last month I've ran in the Cupid's Undie Run, celebrated Mr. K's 6th birthday and lead a couple activities through some of my volunteer commitments, not to mention being a mom to four kids, wife to a farmer, and have dealt with a couple rounds of "crud" going through our household.

Needless to say, life's been busy.

In fact, I've been doing a lot of thinking and praying lately about my busy life, because it has seemed like I've just been busy and not really productive.  I realized that this was not good for me, and not good for my family.  I needed to refocus and really think about what my priorities are.

So what are my priorities?  

My top priority is obviously my family.  My relationship with My Farmer and taking care of my kids is #1.  I never want to get so busy that I miss out being there for my family.

I am so lucky that I get to be Mom to these four 💗

My next priority ties in with supporting my husband and that is the farm.  Anything I can do to help My Farmer and help our farm is a priority.  Farming isn't only the way we make a living, it is also both of our dream and the way we want to raise our family.  Spring time is around the corner and then this role and priority in my life will become greater.

Spring planting will be here before we know it for My Farmer and I

My final priority is being a positive role model and a supportive influence for others.  I feel like I can do this through my volunteer efforts.  But I will admit, this is an area where I've been taking a lot of time to think and pray on refocusing where my time would be best spent.  I am a loyal person and that can make it hard to step away.  But as my family and farm both grow, I know I need to give a little in this area.  It's not that my volunteer commitments don't align with my goals and priorities, it is just that I realistically don't have time to fulfill all of these commitments properly and on time.  That is something I recognize and I don't like to give less than all.

So what does this all mean?  What changes am I making?

I'm not positive yet, but it is something that My Farmer and I have been talking through together.  Serving is an important thing to me and it will always be apart of my life, but at this time I know I need to decrease my commitments.  I will add though, that this blog has and is something that I enjoy.  It not only is a personal outlet for me, I know it is supportive tool for our farm too.  Thank you for catching up with me today and I look forward to bringing my blog back into my focus and priorities.

Have you ever had to just stop yourself and refocus when life seems too busy?  What steps have you taken to refocus your priorities?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

The Quest for Life as a Super Mom

Life as a Super Mom?  Is it really possible?  I have been thinking about this, oh I don't know, the last 3 1/2 weeks since MP arrive... and especially this past week.  Being a Mom is huge identity of mine.  According to my parents, I've wanted to be a Mom since I became a big sister at the age of 15 months.  When something is so important to you, you want to be the best - you want to be super.

First thing first, what is a Super Mom?  My definition of a Super Mom is a Mom who takes care of her family and home at an exemplary level.  Now I like to think that I do a good job of taking care of my family and home, but at an exemplary level - both family and home simultaneously...  I'm not sure how often that happens.

There are some days I feel like I am on top of meal-time, kid activities, and keeping the house clean, but on the same day, bed time will be a struggle and I get behind on laundry, and I get knocked back down to reality and realize that I'm not perfect.

But do I have to be perfect all the time to be a Super Mom?  Will my kids remember the times I made a frozen pizza for supper because I just didn't want to cook that night, or will they remember having picnics in the park after going to the library for story time?  Will they remember dishes sitting in the sink for the day rather than being washed right away, or will they remember singing and dancing to the "Wheels on the Bus" instead?

Maybe I should be looking for Super Mom moments, those little successes that make you feel on top of the world, rather than complete days where nothing goes wrong.  Because is it the moments or days we remember?  I have to admit, I've been having quite a few Super Mom moments lately - but never a full day of only them.

So here's to those Super Mom moments!  For all those Moms out there - I hope you all have a Super Mom moment today, or tomorrow, because I obviously am not having a Super Mom moment today getting this blog posted at a decent time...

Life as a Super Mom
Maybe not always, but at moments I feel like I can and am able to do it all!

When Life Makes You Slow Down UPDATE

Well, it looks like I'll be going another week without a Farm Friday post.  Yesterday morning, my father-in-law was admitted back into the hospital.  His spleen, which was torn due to the accident, reopened and bled into his abdomen.  So, it looks like we'll be back in the hospital for a couple of days.  He is doing much better today though, compared to yesterday.  I appreciate all the messages and thoughts I received from my Thursday When Life Makes You Slow Down post.  Thanks for all the prayers!

When Life Makes You Slow Down

It has been over a week since I have posted on my blog.  Since my last blog post, my family was hit with an unexpected change of events, which has made all of us take a break from the busyness of life and be with and for each other.  Last Friday night my father-in-law was in a motorcycle/deer accident.  He is doing great now, especially considering everything.  From the accident, he has fractured four ribs, had a partially-collapsed lung, has a fractured scapula (shoulder blade), a small tear in his spleen, a small brain bleed and second degree burns from the road rash.  I'm happy to say that after just five days in the hospital, we were able to bring him home yesterday late afternoon/early evening.  He has a long road to a full recovery; his progress this week has been amazing!

This is the reason why you should wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle.
This is the reason why my father-in-law is still with us today.
I am so happy, proud and fortunate that he has always been a helmet rider.

The simple things...

Today as I was playing with my son after dinner I was reminded of how the simple things in life are what makes life great, from seeing the corn begin to tassel, despite the hot weather and no rain in over a week...

To hearing my son laugh...

All I can say is life is good and God is great!

Happiness = Giving Up Things...

Last week I was reading a blog post from the Prairie Princess about "15 Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy" and I thought about those things today as I was busy comforting my 14 month old as he has a new molar tooth coming in, as I'm days late on responding to emails, and as I feel a little "behind" on getting things off my "to do" list done!

Anyways, I'd like to share with you the "Things."

1. Give up your need to always be right.
2. Give up your need for control.
3. Give up on blame.
4. Give up your self-defeating self-talk.
5. Give up your limiting beliefs.
6. Give up complaining.
7. Give up the luxury of criticism.
8. Give up your need to impress others.
9. Give up your resistance to change.
10. Give up labels.
11. Give up on your fears.
12. Give up your excuses.
13. Give up your past.
14. Give up attachment.
15. Give up living your life to other people's expectations.

The top three "Things" speaking to me today are:

• My Need to Always be Right - I need to remember to let things go and not always feel like I need to have the last word, or prove that I am correct.  This need has caused unnecessary stress and pain to me and others in the past.  I don't need that in my life, so I need to remember that I always don't need to be "right."
• My Need for Control - I feel like my need for control kind of relates to my need to always be right, but at the same time they're different.  I've always been independent and have been known to not delegate very well...  Now people that really know me are laughing out loud probably right now because they know how little I like to delegate.  But if I am feeling overwhelmed by just "stuff" I need to learn to let go and either delegate or reprioritize my priorities.  And I feel like reprioritizing might need my attention the most.
• My Excuses - At the start of this blog I gave excuses right off the bat about why I am just feeling a little bogged down right now.  If I stop giving excuses, then I have no other reason but to get things done that need to get done, as well as starting doing things that I may have pushed off for a long time because of excuses I gave myself.  

What "Things" would be best for your to give up?

Figuring out what I need to do to keep myself and my family  "in line" for happiness

The value of time

Today I got to thinking of the value of time.  It seems with life today we are often thinking about how much time we have to do this, or how many things we have to do in a short amount of time.  I'm sure I'm like many of you and have a never ending "To Do" list.  As I was working on crossing some of those things off today, I got to thinking about how since I finally got some of things done, I now have time to do other things...  It seems like there are always things that can "take away" my time.  I then sat back and just enjoyed some time with LP.  We played, read books and laughed.  And I never once looked to see how much time it was taking and it was great!

Time.  We are often reminded how precious time can be, so make sure you are utilizing your time wisely and enjoying your time.